Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars (if I had, Disney would never have got their hands on it)
Purge: Predator
Deep in the bowels of Coruscant, there was screaming coming from a dark laboratory, far below the surface of the planet. Up above, the Imperial Senate functioned as usual, speeders crossed the skylanes, and the vast majority of the citizens in the upper levels enjoyed the perks of the lives of the rich, famous, corrupt, wealthy and powerful.
There was one blight on the landscape however. The Jedi Temple, which had been razed eight months ago, all of the Jedi within slaughtered for their role in their attempt to take over the Republic by killing Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. The bodies of the dead Jedi, from the smallest younglings, to such noted luminaries as Jedi librarian Jocasta Nu, battlemaster Cin Drallig and Council member Coleman Kcaj had all been piled high outside the temple, burned not as a mark of respect, but out of contempt, disposing of the bodies of all the traitors as one would dispose of chattel.
The Empire had risen. Unknown to the majority of the galaxy, the Sith had finally succeeded in the culmination of their thousand year plan and had taken over the galaxy, dismantling the Republic and putting the Empire up in its place while eradicating the Jedi Order in one swift stroke. Emperor Palpatine now ruled from the Imperial Palace as his stormtroopers and Star Destroyers were rolled out across the galaxy as he consolidated his hold on the galaxy, a dark shadow eclipsing the light side of the Force as the galaxy entered the dark times.
But there were sparks remaining. While Palpatine's plan had destroyed the Republic and the Jedi, there were some few remaining pockets of resistance. Rebel cells, Separatist holdouts, pirates and others refused to bow to the might of the new Empire and continued to fight a war that they had long since lost, that they had lost the moment the first shot had been fired during the Battle of Geonosis.
The Jedi however, still existed. While the vast majority of the Order had been all but destroyed, some had managed to escape Order 66, whether through luck, skill, or genuine miracle. The last transmission from the temple had been a message warning all other Jedi to stay away from the temple, to go into hiding, to avoid the new Empire and it's Sith leaders at all costs. Many had heeded that warning.
Many had not.
Darth Vader swept down the corridor towards the laboratory where Grand Inquisitor Hydra, the new leader of the Inquisitorius, the group appointed to hunt down and destroy all the remaining Jedi, made her lair. Since her assumption of command, the group had done incredibly well at hunting down the remaining Jedi, and now it appeared as if they had captured another one.
The man who had once been Anakin Skywalker mused on what she might have discovered this time. Truthfully, while he would kill any Jedi traitor if he came across one, there was little left to excite him anymore. Order 66 and Operation Knightfall had removed the vast majority of their opposition, and after his success with Master Cho'ana Bene on Vaklin, Vader had come to the realisation that he had been going about it all wrong. The Jedi were no longer a threat to the Empire, they were too few, too weak, too scatter, too divided and too leaderless.
But that didn't mean that he was relaxing in any way. There was a continuous echo playing in his head, of the few Jedi he thought that could still be a threat who had managed to avoid the same fate as the rest of their Order. Truthfully on their own they were of little threat, but he did realise, unlike the Emperor, that some of the remaining Jedi out there could pose a serious problem unless they were dealt with, swiftly and without mercy.
Yoda had been defeated by Darth Sidious it was true, but he was still out there. Obi Wan Kenobi had defeated Anakin Skywalker and had left him for dead, but he was still out there somewhere, still a potent threat. Shaak Ti was the only other remaining member of the Jedi Council and had managed to outwit him during their duel during Operation Knightfall, with Coleman Kcaj sacrificing himself so she could escape. She too was still out there somewhere, still dangerous. Other than the last few members of the Jedi Council, there were other Jedi that Vader wanted found, legendary Jedi all, all of whom could pose a threat to the Empire and its designs if they were allowed to flourish. K'kruhk. Tholme. Rahm Kota. The Dark Woman. Quinlan Vos. T'ra Saa.
And there was one that he wanted found more than he wanted Obi Wan found, and with a bit of luck that would be the reason for Hydra's summons.
He swept into the room where she practiced her many interrogative skills, and the smaller woman, clad in a bright red uniform befitting a member of Imperial Intelligence, complete with black cloak over one shoulder, turned to face him, her emotionless face betraying nothing, her silver eyes and hair glinting in the lights as she beheld the Dark Lord of the Sith.
"Lord Vader, welcome to my humble abode." She greeted with a slight inclination of her head and Vader strolled closer to her, observing the blubbering Jedi she had chained to an upright operation table coldly.
"Grand Inquisitor, I see you have bagged yourself another Jedi guest." Vader said in greeting, looking at the weak, battered, bloodied and broken man whimpering between them, and Hydra smiled.
"Quite, a member of the ISB found him on a paltry little world in the Lahara sector, simply called Horn Station. Apparently our fine Jedi friend here visited there many years ago and freed it from the tyranny of some crime lord. Turns out the crime lord still had friends who for a generous fee were more than willing to help us encounter one another. And so here he is." Hydra purred, patting the Jedi's cheek sharply, making him groan in fear.
"I have no use for such paltry low level Jedi Inquisitor. You know of whom I seek, does he have any information on any of them, or did you simply call me down here to waste my time?" Vader demanded, his patience short, in no mood for any of the games that plagued the court, Intelligence or the Admiralty.
Hydra bowed her head, only slightly chastised.
"My apologies Lord Vader. No, he has no information on any of the Jedi you had me prioritise, but he, after some persuasion," she said with a dark purr, "identified another Jedi, the very reason he is still breathing. Our friend here was in hyperspace when Order 66 came into effect, and arrived at Kaliida Shoals Medical Centre believing all was well. Another Jedi came through, slicing clones to ribbons and they escaped together. They have since parted ways, this one was trying to hide on Horn Station to escape us when he was brought in. After some interrogation, he revealed to me the existence of his accomplice, a Master Voolvif Monn. That's the reason I called you down here, I have no knowledge of this Jedi, and wondered if you wished to interrogate this fool yourself." She told him, but to her surprise Vader didn't answer, he was staring at the beaten Jedi, leaving no indication of what was going on beneath his dark mask.
There was something, the Force, there were threads, drifting aimlessly for now, but he could tell a convergence was coming. This Jedi, this saviour of some forgotten world, he was rather unimportant in the general scheme of things. However, Vader could feel the Force at work here. This man could lead him to Voolvif Monn, and from there, he believed there was more to be found. Yes indeed, the Force was at play here, calling to him.
Perhaps he would indeed find what he sought.
"Master Voolvif Monn is a Shistaven Jedi, powerful in his own right. He was involved in numerous theatres throughout the war, the Battle of Muunilinst, the Battle of Cadezia and the Battle of Tar Morden among others. Where is he?" Vader asked, turning his attention fully to the captured Jedi, who struggled to glare at him.
"I'll tell you nothing darksider!" he spat bravely, at least he did at first until Hydra rolled her eyes and sunk a crackling electrified wire into the flesh right above his heart, making him scream in pain as his body convulsed, shaking from head to toe.
"Wrong answer Jedi. Where is Voolvif Monn?" she demanded irritably, and he looked as though he was going to resist her again, so she viciously applied the cable to the blood congealed hair on his head, making him scream as his hair burned off into his scalp, Vader standing there silently as he watched her at work.
She removed the cable, leaving the Jedi panting and crying, whispering under his breath for mercy. Growing impatient, Hydra was about to strike again like the viper she was when he finally gave her what she needed.
"Arah. He's in the Arah system." He whispered, the self-loathing evident in his voice, and Vader turned, admittedly slightly impressed, to face Hydra, who gave him a quick, predatory smile.
"Thank you dear Jedi. And now, go to your grave, knowing that you have just cost the life of yet another Jedi when your ilk are already so few." She purred, and her hand moved like lightning, and a second later blood gushed from the Jedi's neck, his head hanging limp, already dead, allowing Hydra to wipe her blood-stained hand on a cloth on the table beside her.
"Most illuminating Inquisitor." Vader commended as she gave the Jedi a last, contemptible look.
"Thank you Lord Vader. I'll alert an Inquisitor, Tremayne will do, he can take that Pau'an one with the impractical lightsaber that Malorum let in…Lord Vader?" Hydra asked, as he did not appear to even have reacted to anything she had said.
"No. I will deal with Voolvif Monn personally." He informed her, and she raised an eyebrow in shock.
"No disrespect intended Lord Vader, but I thought, the Emperor thought, that you had moved beyond your obsession with hunting down rogue Jedi." She said diplomatically, and he turned his inscrutable mask to face her.
"That is correct Inquisitor. However, Voolvif Monn, I sense there is more to him than meets the eye. The Force is at play. I think that finding him could very well lead me to others, including those that I seek." He informed her, and her eyes widened in surprise, only a little, before bowing her head in acknowledgement.
"As you wish Lord Vader. I'll continue my searches for your targets in case Monn is a dead end. And I'll find some other Jedi to send that Pau'an fool against." She promised, and he nodded before sweeping from her torture lab, bound for the Arah asteroid belt, with murder in mind, leaving Hydra looking at his back with an unfathomable expression on her face.
XX
The newly christened Imperial class Star Destroyer was now the backbone of the Imperial Fleet. Renamed from the Imperator class, which had been a whitewash to try and hide from the Senate and the public the oncoming Empire, these new Star Destroyers already numbered in the thousands as they spread across the galaxy, enforcing the Emperor's will. Side-lining the Venator class Star Destroyers, these mighty weapons were now the mainstay of the fleet, and it was due to their speed, power and the resources at their disposal that the Savage now bore Vader to the Arah asteroid belt.
Commanded by Captain Talbot, a veteran of the Clone Wars, it was one of the newest ships in the fleet, and Talbot was eager to put it through its paces. Having gone through the war having little respect for his Jedi Generals, he had however made good relations with the clones that were under his command. In addition, he was also something of a speciesist, having little use for anything that wasn't a human. As a result, he had eagerly volunteered for the mission to help Vader hunt down an alien Jedi Master.
"As you can imagine Lord Vader, we will take every precaution necessary to make sure the Jedi doesn't elude us." Talbot assured Vader as they stood at the front viewport, staring out into the black abyss of space, watching the asteroid field come into view.
"See that you continue Captain." Vader ordered, his mind mulling over the situation.
The dark side was his to command. Filled with the energies of the dark side, Vader had become stronger than ever before, at least until his maiming at the hands of Obi Wan. He had forsaken everything in an attempt to save Padme from death, and had willingly slaughtered the treacherous Jedi who had betrayed the Republic, the Emperor, and him. But there was one Jedi that he was seeking just as much as he was his former master, one who he very much desired to lay his hands upon. Not a high profile target, like Yoda or Shaak Ti, but someone who he sought for other means. The Emperor…did he suspect? Did he know of his search? Surely Hydra would have told him, even though Vader would rather it remained quiet. But what would the Emperor make of it?
"Lord Vader, we are receiving a priority message from Coruscant. It's the Emperor!" a crewman exclaimed from the pit on the left hand side of the command walkway, and Vader nodded.
"Hold our position and do not enter the asteroid field so that I can send a clear transmission." He ordered, sweeping from the bridge into the captain's ready room, bowing his head as the Emperor's hologram materialised before him, his yellow eyes glowing in malice.
"Lord Vader," he snapped angrily, "I thought we were well past this obsession with hunting down those few Jedi that still remain."
Vader raised his head to meet his master's gaze.
"I am my master." He assured him, and Sidious looked at him sceptically.
"Truly? Then why pray tell are you currently hunting down yet another Jedi? You did well on Vaklin and proved to me that you were ready for other things, and yet now you disappoint me." He growled, and Vader bowed his head before looking at his master.
"There is a reason for my involvement master. The dark side spoke through me. This Jedi is connected to others, and I intend to follow it to the source of the nudging I felt from the Force." He informed his master, who looked at him, his face suddenly torn between approval and exasperation.
"You say the dark side spoke to you? While I am pleased that your connection to the dark side is strengthening, I fail to see why you would concern yourself with one solitary Jedi, especially when their order is shattered and they pose no threat." He hissed, though he waited, giving his new apprentice an opportunity to explain himself.
"I feel he is connected to other Jedi my master. And I feel that by following this trail, I can find one particular Jedi who has eluded me. Not for revenge, but for conversion to the dark side. They could be a great asset." He told his master, and the Emperor was silent for a second before he realised just who it was that Vader was searching for.
"And what is the nature of this search Lord Vader? A last glimmer of who you used to be?" he demanded, and Vader shook his head.
"No my master. Through victory, my chains are broken. I intend to break that final link to my old life and emancipate myself. If in the same way I can serve the dark side's greater purpose, then so be it." He told him, and Sidious smiled.
"Very well then my apprentice. Continue with what you are doing. But bear in mind, the Jedi are broken. They pose no threat to us and our plans. But, as my master instructed me, one must always take the opportunity to emancipate oneself from one's past. The dark side is with you my apprentice." He told him, and Vader was certain that he had a vague glimmer of pride in his master's voice before the holo flickered out and left Vader standing in the ready room in the dark.
XX
The Emperor laughed slightly. Yes, Vader was finally beginning to grasp that his old life was gone, and as predicted, the dark side was becoming his natural ally. True he had his obsession with the Jedi still, his dealing with this Jedi personally rather than sending an Inquisitor to deal with it was proof of that, but provided he kept his eye on the true goal and didn't allow himself to become distracted, well, he wouldn't begrudge his apprentice a little sport.
And his search for this elusive Jedi…he briefly wondered if Vader was telling the truth. He highly doubted it. After all, there was a bond there. Perhaps he did seek to break that last tie to his own life. Perhaps he did seek to help with the dark side's vision for the galaxy. Or perhaps Vader was seeking an ally with whom he could try to topple his master, in accordance to the Rule of Two.
Either way, Vader was finally growing into the Sith Lord that Sidious had always hoped he would become.
Everything was going as planned.
XX
"There's been no sign of any movement Lord Vader. The asteroids are too densely packed to enable us to successfully scan for any life forms." Talbot informed Vader as he swept back onto the bridge.
"No matter. Prepare my Starfighter, I shall hunt the Jedi alone. Maintain position above the asteroid field." Vader ordered, and Talbot nodded, though he looked hesitant.
"I can send a force of stormtroopers with you my lord." He informed him, and Vader turned to observe the captain stonily.
"Do you doubt my ability to kill this Jedi?" Vader growled, and Talbot urgently shook his head.
"Of course not Lord Vader, I just…well, you'd be alone and there's no telling what traps the Jedi might have left behind." He protested feebly, and Vader observed him for a moment.
"You have your orders captain." He told him coolly before sweeping from the bridge, the dark side building in him as he headed to the hangar bay, while the same crewman who had alerted him to the message before looked at his screen in puzzlement, as though trying to figure something out.
XX
Vader's black Eta class Starfighter descended from the hangar bay of the Star Destroyer, the Dark Lord summoning the dark side to him as he prepared for battle with the Jedi. He could feel him, a lone spot of light in the blackness of space, somewhere in the asteroid field. Vader eased his fighter into the asteroids, his mind searching for that of the Jedi in the Force. Yes, there he was. Hiding in the centre of the asteroid field, like the coward he was. He couldn't help but muse on as to why Voolvif Monn had come here of all places. Perhaps he had assumed that he would be safe here, far removed from the galaxy. Perhaps he had thought that the Jedi that Hydra had killed wouldn't talk. Perhaps he sought to lure Vader here.
Regardless of his reasoning, he would soon learn that it was foolish of him to have come here in any case.
Vader nudged his fighter to avoid a slow moving asteroid that was coming into his flight path. The asteroid the Jedi was making his home was just ahead, clearly hoping that its location would deter anyone who came to call. How very wrong he was.
Vader eased his Starfighter closer, noticing a small hangar bay that had been cut into the asteroid. Wondering just how Monn had come across this place, he stretched outwards with his feelings to check the way before landing his fighter in the hangar bay.
Climbing out of the ship, Vader looked around, alert for any signs of ambush, finding none. There were however imprints, leftover feelings of other Jedi who had come here and managed to leave again. The dark side was providing, somehow, Monn and whatever other Jedi had been here would lead him to the Jedi he was looking for. It was all coming together at last. After all this time, he was finally beginning to feel that the dark side was flowing through him, working with him after his maiming.
He swept through the asteroid, his cape gliding across the floor as he expanded his awareness, determined to find the Jedi. Monn would lead him to other Jedi, and through them he would find the one he was looking for. But first he had to find Monn.
The asteroid facility was small, it seemed to be nothing more than a small storage space that had been cut into the rock. Beneath his mask, Vader frowned, his charred and scarred flesh cracking as he did so. There was no practical reason that the storage facility would have been cut into the rock, at least none that he could think of. There had been a small outpost here, mining oridium, and had passed between the Republic and the Confederacy a couple of times during the war. The station itself had been destroyed in the last battle, and Master Foul Moudama had failed to prevent the station being destroyed in time, but had managed to seize the oridium that the Separatists had been trying to steal when they tried to flee the system. This facility must have been an overflow storage of some sort.
Vader entered into another corridor, and at last, he saw the Jedi.
Voolvif Monn was a Shistaven wolfman, and he was sitting cross legged in the middle of the main storage area, his lightsaber laid in front of him, his eyes closed as he meditated. Vader approached, the Jedi making no move though me must have been able to sense Vader at the very least since he landed. That meant he wasn't reacting for a reason, which meant he was most likely unconcerned about the fact that Vader was here. Either he was incredibly stupid and assumed he had a chance, or he was resigned to the fact that he was going to die and wasn't going to do anything to hurry the process along.
"Master Voolvif Monn." Vader said in greeting, his red lightsaber hissing to life in his hand as he approached the Jedi, who opened an orange eye and looked at him, apparently unimpressed.
"You have come a long way darksider just for me." He growled, still sitting completely at home, not moving as Vader approached with murder in mind.
"Jedi. I'm looking for someone and I believe that you know how to find them." Vader growled, and Voolvif looked at him, his fangs glinting in the light of the storeroom.
"Come on darksider, you know as well as I do that I won't help you find any more Jedi." He growled and Vader looked at the Jedi, raising his hand and closing his hand into a fist.
"Come now Master Monn. Other Jedi were here, and I will find them. Tell me where they are and who they are and I will grant you the mercy of a quick death." Vader vowed, and Voolvif clawed at his neck as Vader started to crush his windpipe with the Force.
"Never, Sith!" Voolvif vowed and with that the Jedi leapt into action, seizing his lightsaber in his claws and gesturing, sending stacked crates hurtling towards Vader.
Vader hissed in annoyance, springing back from the attack, allowing Voolvif to escape his grip, the wolf Jedi leaping up into the darkness of the many stored stacks of crates far above them.
"Impressive Jedi. But you are only delaying the inevitable, the Sith have triumphed and there is nothing that you can do to change that. Now, tell me who and where the others are!" Vader demanded, just as the lights shut down, plunging the room into total darkness.
Vader cursed his own foolishness. Guided by the dark side as he was, he was so focused on Monn that he hadn't considered exactly why the Jedi would be lying in wait for him like this. Now, Monn was on the run and the wolfman, a natural predator, would have the advantage here on his own turf, especially in the dark.
And it was then that lethal claws ripped into Vader's side, making him cry out in pain as the claws dug into the little flesh that he had left. His lightsaber swinging around, Vader tried to cleave down at Monn but the Jedi had already retreated back into the shadow, snarling maliciously.
"Surrender darksider." Monn ordered, and Vader scoffed, getting his pain back under control, anger coursing through his veins.
"Come Jedi, come out and face me. Die like so many others of your kind." Vader spat, and Voolvif chuckled.
"You seek to goad me Sith. It won't work!" he snarled and then leapt from on high, claws ripping into Vader's back as his green lightsaber sprang to life, blocking Vader's red blade as the Sith Lord directed the Jedi's attack away from him effortlessly.
"Clever Jedi. Not clever enough." Vader hissed, his red blade cutting at Voolvif's head and forcing the Jedi back onto the defensive, Voolvif's green blade blocking Vader's as he attempted to cut the wolfman in two.
"I've heard of you Master Monn, a solitary Jedi, aloof from your peers, yet a cunning warrior and true Jedi." Vader commented, blocking another swing from Voolvif as the wolfman backpedalled, edging back along the corridor that Vader had entered from.
"Yes, and I won't tell you what you want to know. The other Jedi I helped will remain out of your reach!" Voolvif promised, ducking as Vader tried to cut him down, spinning and his claws cutting into Vader's stomach, knocking Vader off balance and allowing Voolvif to flip back into the darkened storeroom.
Vader snarled in fury, coming at Voolvif with the full fury of the dark side, his red lightsaber flashing in the darkness of the room as he hammered away at Voolvif's defences. However, no longer trapped in the confines of the corridor and given free run of his own home turf, Voolvif was now a much more potent force to be reckoned with.
Found by Woostoid Jedi Master Paouoish Rahhdool on a desolate world not far from here, Voolvif had been recruited into the Jedi Order, eventually becoming an apprentice to the very same Jedi who had found him. Trained in the ways of the Force, Voolvif had quickly become a prodigious user of Form V, Djem So and he and his master had done much in service of the Republic. Just before Voolvif's trials to become a Jedi Knight, he and his master had been sent as part of the Jedi task force to the world of Baltizaar, which the Bando Gora, a Force worshipping criminal cult, had taken control of. During the catastrophic battle, Rahhdool had been one of the Jedi who had been killed in the Bando Gora's onslaught before the battle had eventually ended with the group being forced to withdraw by the remaining Jedi. Having briefly come close to the dark side due to watching the captain of one of the Bando Gora brigades, a towering figure dressed all in black with his face covered in a skull mask complete with curved horns, murder his master in cold blood, the Council had named him a full Jedi Knight, deeming the Battle of Baltizaar to be his last trial. Determined never to allow his bonds with others to take him close to the dark side again, Voolvif cut himself off from the rest of the Jedi, becoming isolationist and aloof, though still serving the Republic.
That had changed when the call had come for the Jedi to go to Geonosis. Abandoning his solitude, Voolvif had returned and had been part of the arena strike team that had been caught in the opening salvo of the Clone Wars. Wounded by a Droideka, he had fought on, protecting Barriss Offee after she was wounded during the battle, and continued to defend other Jedi as they fell to their wounds, including Council member Even Piell and T'ra Saa. Following Yoda's evacuation of the arena, despite the wound he had suffered, he and Coleman Kcaj had taken command of a group of clone troopers, heading into the tunnels beneath the arena in order to flush out the Geonosians who had fled down there, including the former Geonosian Senator Picor Goolga who Monn had helped capture, while also dealing with the various beasts the Geonosians had tried to unleash on the Republic forces, saving many troopers from being flanked by creatures just as dangerous, if not more so, than the acklay, reek and nexu that had been in the arena.
Still remaining aloof from other Jedi, despite so many feeling indebted to him following Geonosis, Monn had continued to command Republic forces, being third in command of the entire Battle of Muunilinst where he had fought bravely. As the war continued he fought on many more battlefronts, being reunited with Coleman Kcaj and Even Piell on Cadezia, and leading the charge himself on Tar Morden, a snowy world where he had nearly been killed by crab droids before he, along with Agen Kolar and Aayla Secura, had been saved by newly knighted Anakin Skywalker. Still stationed there at the conclusion of the war, it appeared as if Voolvif had been out meditating in the snowy wilderness when Order 66 had gone into effect. Sensing the brutal murder of Ubese Jedi Master Kryuse and his Aqualish apprentice, Voolvif had cut through the clone troopers arrayed against him before fleeing into space. Escaping the clones, he had then aided some unknown Jedi into fleeing the Empire, before coming here, in order to wait out the storm, and if so, fight to defend those he had tried so hard to protect.
Voolvif delivered a powerful two handed slash down at Vader, forcing him to retreat as the Jedi unleashed his defensive. Vader deflected the blade away from him, however the Jedi was already moving on to his next manoeuvre, his blade swinging down at Vader's shoulder. Locking the two blades together, Vader forced Monn backwards, his red lightsaber hammering away at Monn's defences, the wolfman slowly falling back, moving towards one of the piles of crates stored throughout the room. Snarling as he blocked another of Vader's swings, Monn then used his claws to swipe at Vader's mask, distracting the Sith and allowing Monn to flip up onto the crates, his lightsaber poised.
Vader knew better now than to jump up after him.
"Do you fear me Master Monn?" he asked in amusement, and Monn gave him a wolfish smile.
"Quite the opposite." He promised, and with a gesture, he sent the entire stack of crates toppling downwards towards Vader.
Vader snarled in fury, raising his hand to deflect the onslaught of crates, but that was the opening that Monn needed as the wolfman sprang through the falling crates, his green lightsaber crashing down at Vader. Vader snarled in fury as he had to let some of the crates fall and shatter, scattering refined ore everywhere as he hastily raised his blade to fend off Monn. Monn edged back a little as Vader readied his blade, this was over.
And it was then that the Jedi attacked.
Giving a savage roar, Monn sprang at Vader, his blade going right for the control box in the centre of his chest. Having learned since that technique was last used against him Vader easily caught the attack before forcing Monn off, his saber cutting towards the Jedi's head. Monn pirouetted out of the way before delivering a heavy handed blow to try and cut Vader in half from the shoulder on downwards. Vader sidestepped the move before hacking down at Monn, savouring the power of the dark side rushing through him as he forced Monn backwards, his saber a lightstorm of scarlet energy as he pressed the Jedi back, the Jedi remaining unflustered, allowing Vader to force him backwards, his blade deflecting Vader's strikes. Monn then gave a savage grin, using the Force to flick some of the ore at Vader, giving him just enough of a distraction to lunge forward, his blade piercing Vader's shoulder.
Vader roared in fury, his saber crashing into Monn's, the Jedi seemingly shocked by Vader's sudden upsurge of power and the Jedi was forced back, panicking slightly as Vader hammered away at his defences before he locked their blades together, Monn leaping back before Vader could cut him in two.
"You have done well Voolvif Monn, but your race is run." He growled, and Voolvif snarled angrily before he leapt back at Vader.
His green saber came swinging down at Vader, the Dark Lord easily blocking his attack and forcing him off, twisting around to bring his blade around to cut the wolf in two. Voolvif intercepted the blade, shoving it away from him and stabbing at Vader's neck, but Vader easily caught the blade on his own, flicking the attack away and flurrying his weapon, forcing Voolvif to retreat as the Sith Lord came at him, the power of the dark side pulsing through him. Vader was like lightning, his blade coming from all directions it seemed, his strong attackers hammering away at Monn's defences, forcing the Jedi to retreat more and more as Vader followed through on his advantage. Catching Monn's blade and shunting it out of the way, Vader struck like a serpent before Monn could angle his blade in tine, the red beam lancing through his shoulder, the wolf screaming in pain.
Wicked claws then slashed into Vader's chest as the Jedi surged forward, his green blade deflecting Vader's defensive attack as he stuck his claws into Vader's chest, trying to rip out his neck but Vader seized Monn's wrist and with a violent gesture, the wolf roared, his wrist now shattered and useless, and leaving the wolf, who needed both hands to keep up the momentum of his chosen form, unable to properly hold his weapon. Monn snarled as he was pushed back into retreat, barely able to keep up with Vader as his red blade crashed away at his defences, forcing him backwards. Monn snarled, trying to fight through the pain and still use his lightsaber, and was putting up a considerable defence, but he was no match for Vader.
Lunging, Vader scarred the top of Monn's right leg, the wolfman howling in pain as he desperately tried to fend Vader off, as Vader swung his blade backwards and sent Monn's blade soaring from his hand. Snarling in panic, Monn sprang forward, the claws of his good hand creating a hiss of sparks as he ripped into Vader's box, but there was then a flash and a hiss of scarlet mist as the arm he had just stabbed into Vader had been sliced off, dropping to the ground as Monn reared backwards in pain, crying out as Vader gave a final angry noise and stabbed his crimson blade through Monn's stomach, before blasting him across the room with a final Force push, sending the Jedi crashing into a discarded pile of ore against one of the remaining boxes, where he sat, panting weakly as Vader stalked towards him.
"A valiant effort Voolvif Monn, but your race is at an end. Now, tell me, where are the other Jedi who you helped to escape?" he demanded angrily, and Voolvif glared up at him, coughing up a bit of blood weakly.
"As if I would tell you." He spat, and Vader raised his hand, closing off Monn's windpipe as the Jedi started to struggle for those last few precious breaths.
"Tell me Jedi. Where are the others who you helped to escape?" Vader demanded, and Monn chuckled darkly as Vader released him.
"It won't matter to you anyway Vader." He snarled, and weakly pulled at his clothes to reveal a shining light beneath them, blinking more and more as Monn weakened.
"A rather infantile trick Monn." Vader snarled, and Monn chuckled.
"Don't worry Vader, killing you is just a bonus." He gloated, and it suddenly clicked just what Monn had done.
"The oridium ore...there was derillium used to stabilise it, you turned it into a weapon!" he exclaimed, and Monn chuckled.
"Yes Sith, your ride is about to be destroyed as soon as I die, and you can go with it, and best of all, you will never find the other Jedi!" Monn boasted and Vader roared in fury and turned, fleeing as fast as he could before the asteroid exploded.
XX
"Sir, we need to move the ship now!" the crewman yelled from the crewpit, and Talbot looked at him, severely unimpressed.
"Son, the Jedi is no threat to us at all." He told him irritably, but the man shook his head.
"The oridium ore that was mined here, it was stabilised with derillium, and if anything happens to set off the derillium it will set off the entire asteroid field!" he yelled, and then his screens started to blare.
"Evasive action, get us out of here!" Talbot cried in panic, but by then it was too late.
XX
Vader blasted his fighter out of the asteroid, just as he felt Monn die behind him. And with his final breath leaving him, the Jedi's transmitter set off the bombs he had planted long before Vader had even arrived in the system. The oridium mines had been protected by derillium mines during the war, and had also been used to stabilised the oridium and make them more powerful and increase the yield. However, after the closure of the mines the derillium had become free floating, and as such had been waiting for something to set it off, which Monn had readily provided the opportunity for. Rigging an explosive capable of taking out the asteroid he had made home, the explosion would erupt and set off all the derillium in the field.
His fighter barely edged above the shockwave of the explosion as the derillium ignited, setting the entire asteroid field off in a massive conflagration. Pulling the ship upwards, he skirted the fiery wave as he made for a safe distance.
The same could not be said for the Savage. Not figuring out Monn's trap until it was too late, the Star Destroyer hadn't moved in time, and the shockwave had split the ship in two, the pieces tumbling into the burning asteroid field. Monn had risked himself, lured Vader here, in an effort to take out both him and take out a Star Destroyer into the bargain. Vader cursed in fury. True Monn was dead but he still had no idea where the other Jedi he had helped to escape were, and on top of that he had lost a Star Destroyer.
The Emperor would be most displeased.
He steamed in fury. Monn had been more of a formidable foe that he had thought, and had wounded him in several places, and to further the problem, he had no idea who the other Jedi were and the Savage had been destroyed.
He scowled, and was about to jump to lightspeed when a hologram of Hydra flickered to life before him.
"Lord Vader, did you find Voolvif Monn?" she asked and he glared at her through his mask.
"Yes, and he is dead. However, he managed to take out the Savage before he died annoyingly. What do you want?" he demanded irritably, trying to ignore the slightly smug smirk on her face.
"Well, as I'm assuming Monn didn't want to talk, fortunately I found a data fragment from Horn Station. It turns out that while Voolvif Monn allowed my last victim to escape, he was spotted elsewhere on the station, talking with others. One of whom was a Trandoshan." She purred, and Vader looked at her in incomprehension, not quite grasping where she was going with this.
"And?" he asked, still furious.
"Well, she was seen talking to Monn, as was a human female and a young Zabrak. Now, while to me all Trandoshans look virtually the same, the human woman was recognisable. I ran her through the system, and can you imagine who she and the young Zabrak were. Jedi Master Keelyvine Reus and her young apprentice." She gloated, and Vader felt a surge of triumph entirely unrelated to the day's events.
"They are the ones! I knew it, Monn was but a means to an end." He declared, and Hydra looked at him curiously.
"You mean he was nothing but a stepping stone?" she asked, and he nodded.
"Yes Inquisitor. Scour the galaxy for Master Reus and her apprentice, they will lead me to the one I'm looking for." He ordered, and she nodded, though she looked very suspicious.
"All this for one Jedi, losing a Star Destroyer, just for one child who wasn't even part of the order when Order 66 was executed? Why is Ahsoka Tano so important?" she asked, and Vader glared at her.
"Don't question your orders Inquisitor, just do it. And while you're at it, find the other Jedi as well. We could do without any more little surprises organised by the broken remnants of their order." He commanded, and she bowed, still looking suspicious, as the holo flickered out.
Vader leaned back in his chair. Hydra could become a problem, she was getting much too curious and far too ambitious. But provided she kept doing her job, then he couldn't complain.
He had underestimated Monn, that much was clear. The wolf Jedi had sacrificed himself to try and take out Vader, and to make sure that the other Jedi he had helped escape, would survive. They had found one and now he was dead also, but that still left the Trandoshan, Reus and her apprentice.
And through them he would find his former apprentice, and when he did, well, then he would either convert her…or kill her.
XX
Hydra looked at where Vader's image had vanished. What was his concern with this young failed Jedi? And he was so dead set on finding this girl, this failed Jedi, that he wasn't thinking clearly, the loss of the Savage was more than enough proof of that. True he had taken out Monn but the way he was going, there was more to this than she knew. This young Jedi he was so interested in, she meant something to him.
She smiled coldly.
Vader was obsessed with finding this youngling for reasons unknown. As a result, he wasn't as focused as he usually was, he was sloppy, making mistakes. And that meant that she was in the perfect position to take advantage of the situation.
Vader was making mistakes, and she would be the first to make sure that as soon as he bungled, she would be there to take advantage of it.
XX
Streaking through space, her eyes closed as she meditated in her cabin, she suddenly opened her eyes.
Vader was getting closer to his former apprentice.
Shaak Ti sighed, steeling herself. She had failed to stop him once before. She would not fail this time.
She would find Ahsoka.
And she would find her before Vader did.
She had to.
Hello there!
I fancied doing a little story set during the Great Jeid Purge so here we are, set not long after Revenge of the Sith and the Purge comics. Vader is becoming what we know, but he also is still learning, and as such he still has his obsession with the Jedi. But now, he is looking for Ahsoka, but why is he looking for her? Is he really just trying to break the last links with his past as he told the Emperor? Or is he trying to get her to join him to try and topple the Emperor?
Either way it seems the Emperor is on to him, but Hydra is also keeping an eye on him, and unlike the Emperor, she could have an active interest in trying t topple Vader
And then theres Shaak Ti, who is also searching for Ahsoka to try and spare her from her former master
Who will find her first? Who were the other Jedi Voolvif helped to escape, and will Vader encounter them too? And will two of the last four Council members in existence meet and settle the score that begun the night of Operation Knightfall?
Let me know what you think and ill hpefully see you soon!