Star Wars – Renegade, Part III
Korriban
Uzhek managed to twirl away from Dooku's initial slash, then returned with a cut meant to slice through the Count's midsection. Dooku parried the attack and stabbed at Uzhek's neck, a slight hint of ozone escaping the blade and filling Uzhek's nostrils.
The Force Protection shell Uzhek had created that was currently holding back the acid rain would not stop the attack; Uzhek twisted away, throwing himself to the ground and flicking the tip of his blade vertically at the same time. The edge nicked Dooku's cloak, burning several of the fabric fibres. Feeling both his fast-beating heart and the throbbing pain in his shoulder, Uzhek quickly stood up again and began to edge backwards, keeping his lightsaber in a solid Djem-So stance.
The black taint from the Dark Side aura was beginning to take hold on Uzhek, and he knew that if he stayed here for much longer it would twist him completely against his will. He had to get out of here and back to Coruscant, now that Thrak had been eliminated.
Dooku seemed to sense Uzhek was thinking of escape. He moved in the direction of Sentinel, blocking Uzhek off from his escape root. He twisted his red blade around in a fancy gesture, almost like a lightsaber fan, to symbolise he wasn't going to let the Jedi pass.
Before either of them could move, however, a loud scream pierced the air and the Force around them. Both Uzhek and Dooku fell to the ground, covering their ears as the scream got louder. Uzhek knew what it was without even having to look.
Thrak.
Uzhek was dimly aware of a glowing orb advancing on him – was it Dooku? Had he erected a brighter sphere of protection against the acid rain?
Uzhek's own barrier had failed him, and the green rain had begun to burn his clothes and exposed skin. Unless he got out of there he'd be burnt to a crisp, just like Thrak should've been.
Thrak…was he the glowing orb that had now picked Uzhek up?
"You're not dying today," the orb said in a voice that echoed inside Uzhek's head.
Without responding, the Jedi lost consciousness.
The pain was excruciating, beyond anything Darth Thrak had ever felt before. It had almost made him unable to summon enough Force power to stall the flow that had carried him and drag himself across to the bank. He'd drawn heavily on the Dark Side aura around him, amplifying his power and ensuring his escape from certain death.
It had, however, come at a price. His skin was now horrifically charred, cracked and peeled all over, and it was doubtful he'd be able to return to full strength for a while. His sanity appeared to have taken a hit after the extreme pain.
He screamed.
He screamed, and the Force was penetrated by an intense hatred. A pain worse than the acid river, worse than a lightsaber wound, worse than anything Vjun had ever experienced. Thrak's pain shook the Force and spread out across the area, knocking down any living creature that could feel it.
He vowed that his pain would be returned in kind to Uzhek, the Jedi who had scarred him. He swore to himself that he would not rest until he had exacted his revenge.
To get it, however, he'd need to head somewhere else. He needed to regain his power in order to shut Uzhek off from the Force permanently.
He stood from the bank, the rain burning him further, and strode towards the fallen Sith Lord in front of him. Dooku was near-unconscious, his hands clamped tightly over his ears and his eyes squinted shut in pain. Uzhek appeared to have vanished.
Dooku slowly looked up at Thrak, who bent down to pick him up by the neck. Dooku's Force barrier appeared to still be functioning.
"You're coming with me," Thrak told the old man.
It was a while before Uzhek awoke, and when he did he found his surroundings had dramatically changed. He was lying on a small bed, and wherever it was he was on a ship. It wasn't Sentinel, however.
The tendrils of dark side aura that had saturated him on Vjun appeared to have dissipated, now that they were away from the planet. He felt the light side clearly within him again.
He looked over at the nearby pilot's chair, seeing the familiar bulk of Rounslo. A few minor burns pockmarked the other Jedi's shoulders and back.
"You survived," Uzhek managed weakly.
Rounslo turned in his chair, appraising Uzhek with a grin. "Good to see you're finally awake. Sorry about the locale here, I had to leave Sentinel behind. Javelin was the closer ship to where you were lying. We've gotta start getting ready."
Uzhek raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'ready'? Aren't we going to finish off Thrak? For that matter, how come you didn't kill him?"
Rounslo blinked in surprise. "I thought you'd finished him. I saw him get thrown into the acid river, and I was positive that was a point of no return. You're saying he ain't dead?"
Uzhek shook his head, looking out the viewport into hyperspace. "No. He sent a scream through the Force that knocked me and Dooku down. You didn't hear it."
"Not a thing. I had my Force protection up, so that might've had something to do with it."
Uzhek slowly levered himself off the bed. "We have to go back and finish him, and Dooku –"
"Hold on there, hornhead," Rounslo warned. "We've got a better chance of defeating both if we beat Thrak to his next destination."
"Which is where, exactly?"
Rounslo pulled up some data on the monitor near Uzhek. A brown and yellow planet appeared, revolving silently as a hologram in front of Uzhek. He'd seen it during his training at the academy, heard Masters Yoda and Ki-Adi Mundi talk about it as an ancient Sith graveyard. It was a burial site teeming with dark side energy, and if Rounslo was right, and Thrak was indeed heading there to replenish his power, then they needed to get there as soon as possible.
The planet was Korriban.
Thrak was unsure of how far away Uzhek had gotten but he was fairly sure the Jedi would still be searching for him, especially since Thrak had stolen the vessel he'd left behind. He still had no idea how Uzhek had managed to get away in one piece, especially against Dooku.
On thought of his prisoner Thrak turned to look behind him, as the old Sith started to sit up. He'd been stun-cuffed at wrists and ankles, and a large strap held him against the bulkhead of Sentinel.
Dooku looked up at his captor. "Why haven't you killed me already?"
Thrak gave a mirthless laugh through his acid-burnt lips. "You're a powerful receiver of Force energy, and I intend to use you."
Realisation dawned on Dooku's face as Thrak turned back around. "You're heading for Korriban, aren't you? You're taking us to the Sith tombs."
Without answering, Thrak continued on. He kept them flying for hours, phasing out Dooku's protestations and questions and giving him no response. When they finally arrived in orbit of Korriban, and Thrak could see the sprawling deserts beneath him, the Sentinel dipped into the atmosphere.
Thrak manoeuvred the stolen ship down towards a particular cluster of tombs in the northern hemisphere. His target was a large structure in the center of the cluster, with a tall tower that came to a peak at the top. Below it was rumoured to be the tomb of the revered and powerful Lord of the Sith, Darth Bane.
Thrak had followed Bane's work for a long time, studying his research into Force manipulation, holocron construction and dark side interpretation. Apparently he'd had a major falling out with his apprentice, Darth Zannah, but what this falling out had led to was never clearly illustrated. Thrak hoped that somewhere within the tomb, the final resting place of the great Dark Lord, he could find what he needed to restore his power.
Dooku had gone silent as the Sentinel landed outside the tower that sat directly beside a gaping abyss in the sands. The abyss could have swallowed Sentinel up easily, and it was believed that at the bottom of such abysses, scattered across the planet, were concentrations of dark side energy so volatile that they killed whoever strayed into them instantly, whether they were Jedi or Sith. If Thrak's plan didn't kill Dooku outright, the abyss would.
He grabbed the stun-cuffed Sith and hauled him to his feet, dragging him behind as he made his way to the tomb. Dooku was attempting to get out of the bonds holding him but the Force scream and the acid rain on Vjun still had him severely weakened. He could not escape as Thrak pulled him into the tomb.
Bane's tower was dark and stony, with bracketed lit torches lining the walls. There was a stone pathway leading into the main tomb, a large, cavernous room with an open pool of liquid in the center. If Thrak's research into Bane's exploits was accurate then he knew exactly what was in the pool, and was keen to avoid it.
Dooku looked at the pool, bemused. He obviously hadn't studied Bane's works. "What do you intend to do, exactly?"
Still holding Dooku by the neck, Thrak grinned maliciously. "The dark side energy here is massive, comparable to Vjun. The only problem is that it is not readily accessible to anyone who enters – it must be absorbed by a Force scion with enough power to siphon it. You're a powerful Force-user, and a dark one at that. I intend to initiate a Force transfusion, using you to absorb the dormant power. Then, once you have it all, you will transfer it into me directly through use of what's in that pool there."
Without waiting for a response he dumped Dooku close to the pool, which sat in an inbuilt groove in the floor, and unhooked his lightsaber. He ignited the red blade and raised it high, closing his eyes.
"Bane!" he screamed to the walls. "Give me your dark power! Restore me to what I once was, so that I may be able to carry on your dark legacy!"
Blue and amber forks of energy struck the blade like it was a lightningrod, and in one swift motion Thrak spun the blade inwards, around his body, and aimed the tip squarely at Dooku. The Sith Lord was knocked backwards as Bane's energy entered him fully, moving through his chest and head and making his eyes glow. Dooku screamed as the energy coursed further into him.
After a few moments the energy ceased, and Dooku's body began to luminesce. He twitched his wrists, and almost instantly the stun-cuffs shattered and fell to the ground. His hands were laid out, palms flat, next to his sides. His voice sounded unearthly as he spoke.
"You want this power?" he asked. "Let's see how long you can take it for."
He raised his hands in front of him to release the energy, like Force lightning, and lowered his lightsaber. He raised his head to the sky, closing his eyes again and waiting for the power to strike him.
Uzhek and Rounslo had been watching the two Sith from afar since they'd entered the tomb – they'd arrived at Korriban approximately one hour before Thrak had. They'd certainly been prepared to take on Thrak, and had a shot at both taking Dooku down.
They hadn't been prepared for a Force transfusion, especially with what was in the pool; Uzhek had studied up on several ancient Sith Lords of the older Republic eras, and Bane had happened to be one of them.
"What are we going to –" Uzhek began.
Before he could finish, Rounslo had run off. He was headed straight for the energy coursing around Dooku's hands.
Uzhek's scream was drowned out by the loud thumping of Rounslo's heart. He didn't have a choice – there was only one way he could stop Thrak from regaining his power. This had to end, here and now, and he wasn't going to let his friend die.
As Dooku released Bane's energy, Rounslo dived straight in front of it. The amber and blue light cascaded within his vision, throwing him across the tomb floor.
Darkness took him.
Uzhek and Thrak both screamed "No!" at almost exactly the same time, albeit for different purposes. Upon the release of the dark side energy Dooku slumped to the ground, unconscious from the effort and dangerously close to the pool.
Uzhek swiftly ignited his lightsaber and lunged towards the still-weakened Thrak, slashing wildly. Anger filled him with each stroke, anger that shouldn't have been there. His Jedi calm and emotional restraint vanished, and all that he cared about now was killing this imitation Sith Lord once and for all. He had to end it, and avenge Rounslo. Then he'd take care of Dooku.
Frustration clearly etched upon his face, Thrak managed to match Uzhek stroke for stroke. The blue blade collided with the red, stalling any attacks on either combatant. Uzhek had re-adopted his Djem-So stance, while Thrak seemed to be favouring Ataro.
All that mattered to Uzhek now was killing Thrak. Rage fuelled his attacks further until finally he started to gain the upper hand on the Sith Lord. He began to beat Thrak's defence back, forcing him to become more and more defensive as the ferocity of Uzhek's attacks grew. If they'd been fighting even with Mandalorian beskar blades, which were meant to be indestructible and lightsaber-resistant, they would have shattered a long while ago in this battle.
Finally, Uzhek knocked Thrak to the ground. He kicked the Sith's lightsaber away across the tomb floor. With no weapons to defend himself, Uzhek moved in for the final kill.
He was stopped almost instantaneously by a bolt of Force lightning. It glowed electric blue and left a similarly-coloured imprint on Uzhek's chest. He fell backwards to the ground, staring at who had shot him. It wasn't Dooku.
Rounslo was standing tall now, and the his body luminesced with amber and blue light. Dark side energy flared in his palms, and his eyes glowed a deep and burning yellow. He had a wide, slash-like grin on his face, malevolence clearly defined in his features. Bane's energy appeared to have twisted him to the dark side.
The rage Uzhek had felt was quickly replaced by sadness, a deep and unyielding sorrow at what had happened to his friend. It was now apparent that he'd have to fight both Rounslo and Thrak in order to make it out alive.
Rounslo's voice had the same unearthly quality Dooku's had had when he'd possessed the energy. "Neither of you are worthy to stand in this tomb. I am the only one fit to remain here."
Uzhek took a step towards his friend. "Tallin! I know you're in there somewhere! You can fight this!"
Rounslo put a hand on his lightsaber hilt, and it crackled with energy. "Why would I fight what I am? What we all are? You understand, Uzhek – you touched the aura on Vjun. You know what the dark side offers. Surrender to it, in the tomb of our great progenitor Lord Bane, and finally understand what it is to have true power."
"This is not Bane's tomb," Dooku suddenly said from behind them. He was slowly getting to his feet, still weakened from the energy transfusion. "It's only been made to look that way. Another Sith Lord adopted Bane's teachings and thought of himself as Bane's heir – something I'm sure the impostor Sith on the ground before you can relate to. I felt it all, when the energy was in me."
Rounslo turned to face Dooku, his eyes blazing. "You lie! This is the tomb of our great Dark Lord and master, Darth Bane! His legacy continues in me!"
"You," Dooku spat, as if he were uttering a vile curse word, "are nothing but an echo of a man, a misguided follower whose energy resided in this tomb until someone came along to unlock it. The true location of Bane's tomb is unknown to the Sith, the real Sith. You've possessed that Jedi, a Jedi weaker than me, and therefore don't have long before the body gives out on you."
Thrak was getting to his feet; Uzhek saw his face had become deeply furious. "So I travelled here to find power, when all that's here is the disembodied persona of a Bane wannabe? There is no true power here?" He began to scream. "I came here for nothing! I was deceived!"
He lunged at Rounslo, his blade springing into his hand through the Force. In one swift motion he impaled Rounslo through the heart, the red blade sinking deep into his torso. Rounslo's eyes lost a little of their glow, but he turned his head to appraise Thrak thoughtfully, as if he were a scientist examining a cell culture.
"You wanted power for yourself?" he asked. "You came to be replenished? Then here – be replenished."
He reached forward and grabbed Thrak by the front of his cloak, lifting him high into the air and throwing him backwards, one-handed, across the tomb. As Thrak landed a short distance away Rounslo twitched his fingers towards the pool. A small, crablike creature arose from the liquid, dripping lightly. It looked to Uzhek almost like a crustaceous armour plate. It appeared his guess about what was in the pool had been true.
It was an orbalisk – a crustacean deeply attracted to the dark side of the Force. Bane had had two on him for a long period of time, it was said, and they had grown to encompass his whole body. They fuelled the user in the Force, but in return parasitically took living energy and human tissue from the host. If someone were to be struck by one, it was almost impossible for it to be removed. Bane had apparently had his removed at some point, but how that had been achieved was unknown.
Uzhek didn't need to have known Bane to know that Thrak did not even possess a fraction of what the original Dark Lord had had. If the orbalisk were to latch onto him fully, sucking away his power, it would kill him. Thrak did not have enough strength in the dark side to adequately hold onto an orbalisk.
Rounslo flicked his fingers again, and the Force threw the orbalisk onto Thrak's shoulder. Ripples in the Force symbolised Thrak's pain to Uzhek, and it was worse than what he'd felt when Thrak was in the acid river. Uzhek could almost feel the tiny teeth boring into him, and for a moment he felt pity for what Thrak was going through. Thrak's screaming drowned out all sound as he stumbled around aimlessly, weak and in severe pain as the orbalisk burrowed itself deeper into his acid-burnt skin.
Uzhek turned to find Dooku, but in the brief moment of distraction it seemed the Sith had vanished from the tomb. Rounslo was watching Thrak with malicious glee, his eyes restoring their glow. It appeared the lightsaber stab wound had not affected him even slightly.
The Jedi knew his friend was gone, and there was only one course of action. Despite the fact that the persona possessing Rounslo was not actually Bane, merely an acolyte who had styled himself as such, he knew it couldn't be allowed to reach the surface. That kind of power needed to be contained, and never allowed to leave.
"I'm sorry, Tallin," he whispered, clutching lightsaber.
With the blade ignited he ran at Rounslo, who was still watching Thrak's painful display. Uzhek thrust his lightsaber directly for the center of Rounslo's head, but a split second before he got close enough Rounslo raised his hand. He turned his head effortlessly, his eyes still glowing brightly.
"You've touched the dark side," he said plainly, "but you obviously do not want to explore its virtues. You are unworthy of wielding the Force."
He thrust his left palm onto Uzhek's chest and energy began to flow between them. Uzhek's eyes rolled into his head as he felt life leave his body, felt his life force ebbing away as Rounslo drained him. All he could feel was the sorrow, sorrow at losing his friend to the dark side like this, sorrow that he too would soon leave this world behind…
A fast-moving object collided with Rounslo, knocking him backwards and releasing his grip on Uzhek. Uzhek hit the ground hard, his lightsaber deactivated and sliding away from him across the tomb floor. He turned to see Thrak attempting to wrestle with Rounslo, but it appeared Rounslo was holding him off. With a powerful kick he sent Thrak flying off him, landing right next to the orbalisk pool.
Uzhek tried to call his lightsaber to him with the Force, but found nothing happened. He could not feel the light – or dark – side, and was unable to do anything. Rounslo had drained him off the Force.
Before he could contemplate what this meant, Rounslo had gotten up and strode over to Thrak. The imitation Sith Lord was attempting to stare down the possessed acolyte, but it was obvious this battle would not last much longer. The Bane acolyte had the upper hand, with no competition at all from Thrak.
Thrak got to his feet, weakened almost to the point of death. The combination of the orbalisk pain, the burning from the acid river and the lightsaber battles had finally taken its toll on him. Even if he miraculously defeated Rounslo, Uzhek knew Darth Thrak had very little time left. Thrak seemed to realise this as well.
He stood at his fullest height, staring straight at Rounslo. His lightsaber was ignited in his hand, red blade glowing brightly. Rounslo laughed at the blade as he would at an annoying Coruscant moth fluttering nearby.
"You know that can't hurt me," he said, his voice echoing the unearthly quality around the tomb again.
Thrak nodded, but without verbally responding he suddenly slashed downwards horizontally. The blade swiped at Rounslo's legs, slicing them both off at the knee. Rounslo cried out in surprise, falling sideways towards the pool. He reached a flailing hand out and caught Thrak by his neck, dragging him down as well.
Together, the two Sith fell into the orbalisk pool.
A loud, horrific scream filled the tomb as the two Sith fell into the pool. The crustaceans swarmed around them, digging deep into both of them. The Bane-possessed Jedi appeared to be handling them, even though the pain was still excruciating, but Thrak had nothing left in him. A flood of orbalisks and water crashed down on him, drowning him in liquid and acidic pain. He felt the dark side flowing through like a fast-moving river through a crack in a dam, and he knew there would be mere seconds until the dam finally burst and his life burst out with it.
The Bane doppelganger was now covered head to foot in orbalisks, and his screams were drowned out. Thrak felt the dark side filling him, overflowing within him. Even the most powerful Sith could only take so much power on, and when it was all too much it would be released, along with their original energy, in one potent, final burst.
In retrospect, Thrak had always known he was destined for a triumphant end. Most Sith could only hope that they'd be killed by their apprentices, thus continuing Bane's 'Rule of Two' concept, but Thrak, having no apprentice, knew he needed a better end. Dying at the hands of a mongrel Jedi, a Zabrak who'd been chasing him endlessly across the galaxy whilst he evaded capture at every turn, had seemed a rather lacklustre finale for him.
Going out fighting someone who had sullied a great Sith name within a literal pool of dark side energy, seemed like a much better end.
He let the pain wash over him until it just turned into background sensation, as the Bane impostor finally released his energy.
Having a fair idea of what would happen once Rounslo was in the pool, Uzhek had started running the second that Thrak had slashed off Rounslo's legs. He was still weak, and his speed had been significantly decreased, but there was no other option. He was not going to just wait there to die, a Forceless Jedi who'd failed both his mission and his friend.
As he neared the halfway point in the stone corridor he heard a loud noise behind him, and turned to see a large flash of deep blue energy. The Rounslo-Bane impostor hybrid had released their Force energy in a final burst, exploding inside the orbalisk pool. The energy expanded into the whole of the tomb tower, and Uzhek heard it start to collapse.
Without the Force to aid his speed Uzhek knew his chances of survival were slim. Regardless, he ran for the exit. He could see the light of day outside.
The corridor began to collapse.
The Jedi's vessel had proven easy to fly, and soon after leaving the tomb Dooku had taken off from the surface of Korriban.
He hadn't realised, until he'd taken on the Force persona's energy, that this wasn't the tomb of Darth Bane. It was only after examining the persona's thoughts and memories, memories that had flooded him fully, did Dooku realise the truth. This acolyte had wanted to be like Bane, but he certainly was not Bane. He was a cheap facsimile, a doppelganger unworthy of Bane's title.
Dooku knew that eventually either Thrak or the pursuant Jedi would defeat the persona, or the persona would defeat them and continue to exist in that body for the few minutes it had left. Only a powerful Force user could sustain the possession for a long period of time, and the only one who'd been able to was Dooku. The persona had only been tricked out of Dooku's body and towards Thrak's was because it had mistakenly believed it could enhance Thrak's power, giving him youth and sustainability. The second it had left him, Dooku knew that one of the two prior events would take place.
Which meant, either way, that there would be a tremendous burst of dark side energy.
The burst of energy would more than likely destroy the tomb – a hypothesis Dooku saw confirmed, as the tower crumbled down towards the abyss beside it. The corridor he and Thrak had entered also appeared to crumble inwards, and in moments the discharge of Force energy had left nothing but a pile of charred and crumbled rubble.
No-one appeared to have escaped it alive – Thrak and the two Jedi were gone.
Or were they? Dooku pondered for a moment the possibility that they'd survived. Maybe they were deeper inside the tomb, or had somehow erected a Force barrier to protect themselves from the collapsing tomb. Scanning the Force, however, Dooku could not find any of their presences within. The Force signatures of Thrak and the two Jedi were nowhere within or near the tomb.
It appeared Thrak had finally met the tumultuous and destructive end he'd needed.
Satisfied, Dooku jumped the captured Javelin into hyperspace. Lord Sidious would definitely be pleased.
The End