Everything was going as planned. They had rescued Trajh and made it out of the Sith base unnoticed . . . or so they thought . . .
Sari and Bow ran with Trajh, trying to reach the outer tree line of the Southwestern Shadowlands of Lonü. If they reached the tree line they would at least have a chance of escaping from their soon-to-be pursuers.
[I still can't believe that that person looked and sounded like Diz! I don't understand how he could have survived the Sith purge!] Sari thought.
•Don't think, just run. : Bow said through the Force, intruding on her thoughts.
There was only half of a courtyard between them and the tree line, but their pursuers had already found them . . .
Sari sensed the shock net before she saw it, and its path toward Trajh. "Look out!" But she knew he wouldn't have the speed to dodge it. She leapt in front of him and was caught in it, being electrocuted at the same time. Sari landed on the ground and struggled to get out of the net as Bow ignited his lightsaber. He moved to protect both Sari and Trajh from their phantom attackers.
But he didn't know that they were Jedi hunters and that the whole rescue mission had been a trap . . .
Bow fought the urge to help Sari. He had to concentrate on blocking whatever their attackers threw at them. But it was almost hopeless. Jedi hunters were trained in the art of capturing and killing Jedi, and they did their job extremely well . . .
A sonic charge flew through the air and exploded, sending out a highly-focused, high-pitched wail. Time seemed to slow, and Bow couldn't concentrate enough to use the Force.
Sari, however, had finally been able to reach her lightsaber and slice through the net. But she didn't think that there would be someone behind her. The person behind her grabbed her sword arm and twisted it so that it was only inches from her neck.
"Drop your weapon or she dies!" Bow looked at her precarious situation. He couldn't attack Sari's captor, because if he tried to get close, the hunter would kill her for sure, and if he threw his lightsaber he would most likely hit Sari, if the hunter didn't decapitate her first. What he needed was time to think, but the hunter was growing impatient.
"Hurry up Jedi, make your decision, my arm is getting tired." He said as he moved the lightsaber closer to her neck. Bow deactivated his lightsaber and threw it to the ground. Trajh picked it up and began to admire it.
"Hmm. Your lightsaber is very interesting Jedi, a good addition to our collection." Bow tried to keep calm as he learned that Trajh had been a Jedi hunter the whole time . . .
The person holding Sari still held the lightsaber close to her neck and didn't deactivate it until both she and Bow were in force restraints. They were then led back into the base they had just "rescued" Trajh from, but instead of going to the holding cells where Trajh had been held, they were led to the torture chambers, where many Jedi had been converted into Sith by torture, manipulation, and fear of death by Diz and his fellow Sith lords . . .
Bow and Sari were separated, each literally being thrown in a separate cell. The cell that Sari was thrown in was pitch-black, and she couldn't sense anything because of the heavy concentration of the dark side. The fear and pain of people who had previously been in the cell was almost overpowering, as was the sickly-sweet smell of death and the energy of lightning . . . Force lightning.
Sari tried to fight her rising fear, but was unsuccessful. Her pulse quickened as an evil laugh echoed through the room. A bolt of Force lightning shot out of the darkness and struck Sari. Pain shot through her, but a couple seconds later it stopped. Then two bolts sang through the air and struck her, followed by a third and a fourth. They stopped, and then started up again, this time with more intensity. A chorus of laughs echoed through the room as she yelled in pain. But it wasn't even close to being over, this was just the beginning . . .
The lightning stopped, leaving Sari on the verge of unconsciousness. "Now that you've experienced the power of the dark side, do you still wish to be our enemy?"
Sari didn't answer; she was in too much pain.
"Well?" The voice questioned.
She still didn't answer.
"Give her some time to think Eyre. It's a big decision for her and we wouldn't want her to . . . make a mistake. Besides, we have another Jedi to . . . tend to."
[. . . . That's . . . Diz's voice . . . . I can't believe he's teaching his own Sith now . . . here on Lonü . . . and we never knew . . .]
Beams of light spread through the dark room as the door opened and four figures walked out of the cell. The door shut behind them, leaving Sari in the darkness, slowly drifting into unconsciousness . . .