Star Wars: The Path of Darth Venison

by VenisonStories

The Battle of Kommaden was a great victory for the Rebel Alliance, and now word goes around that there is another base on the remote planet of Dantooine. Venison begins to teach Rooda the ways of the Force as the Empire continues to spread throughout the galaxy. Rakine learns of a new threat that challenges the Rebel Alliance. Will the rebels continue to succeed in their rebellion?

4. Chapter 4

"Now master Raph-Elan," Organa tried to reason with him. "This-"

The Jedi drew his lightsaber and pointed it at me, but he did not ignite it, revealing his blade. He simply held the weapon at me.

"If he is in here, then you're all in danger. He's a Sith Lord! Get out, quickly," the Jedi warned the rebels.

Everyone started to move around in the council chamber and the Jedi turned to Leia. She ran to Organa and in a quiet, calm manner, the rebels, including Organa, Leia, and Antilles, started to step away and slowly evacuate the room. Organa took Leia by the hand and walked out in fear, without a word, leaving Rooda and myself with this older Jedi. She stood up from the chair and watched as I faced the Jedi.

"I know what you're thinking," I stared at him, watching his reactions toward me. "You think I'm evil just because I know the Dark Side of the Force. You think the word "Sith" is blasphemous to your Jedi religion." I spoke calmly.

As he kept pointing his lightsaber at me, a threatening stare grew on his face. And without moving a muscle, he activated his lightsaber, and a long orange blade ignited from it and pointed right at me.

"You dare not mock the Jedi Order."

Rooda stepped closer and rest her hands firmly on her lightsabers, ready to defend me. I hold a hand out to her as a sign to stop. I want to make it clear to the Jedi that we mean no harm.

"Believe me when I say I'm not trying to mock your Jedi Order. I know what's been troubling the surviving Jedi. Loss," I stopped and thought, before continuing again. "Many Jedi have been killed when the Empire dawned. But I had no part in the Order to kill them."

But the Jedi didn't believe me, and so he glared at me, and I felt his anger rise. He was ready to attack. His lightsaber's orange blade hummed in the air as he kept it pointed at me.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Anger. You feel anger. But that is not the Jedi way." I watch him as he continues to glare at me. "Do you really intend to strike me down right now, having only your anger fog your mind."

I slowly walked around him and we both slowly started walking counterclockwise in a circle. He kept his orange blade pointed at me.

"All the anger and hate, those are the Dark Side aren't they? I can feel them within you. You're better than this, you're a Jedi. And you don't know why I'm here or what I'm even doing. So why don't you just put your lightsaber down and listen to what I have to say."

We both stopped walking counterclockwise around each other after walking in a full circle. He thought about what I said as he stood there silent. Then he sighed. He lowered his blade deactivated his lightsaber, his orange blade shrank down into the emitter.

"Why do you toy with me like this?" He looked down to the floor then back to me. "How do you know the ways of the Jedi?"

"I was taught."

He rolled his eyes.

"Don't believe me? Two words. Rakine- Cerivian."

He lost his glare and his expression started to turn slowly from a face of anger to a face of worry. He kept his arms folded.

"Rakine-?" he muttered.

"He was a Padawan at the time of Order 66. He came to me, to teach me the ways of the Force."

I watched him to see what his reactions were. I stopped talking and he looked down at the floor closing his eyes. He tried to clear his thoughts through meditation.

"You mean to tell me-" he opened his eyes to me, "-that Rakine is alive? Rakine Cerivian?"

I nodded as he rubbed his blond bearded chin.

"He's alive. He's survived. And he's the Captain of the Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps on Yavin 4."

He almost got excited by knowing of Rakine's survival, and he continued asking questions.

"And Karus?"

I stopped and looked down to the floor, shaking my head.

"Karus survived Order 66, but he had just fallen recently. At the hands of Sot-Kolok, an Inquisitor, just before the Battle of Kommaden."

He sighed and turned to the floor.

"Karus," he mumbled quietly, "he was never a fighter. He always talked about how he's much rather be a pilot. He was never fit to be a Jedi or even hold a lightsaber. How I wasted my time trying to train him-"

"No way." I looked at him in surprise, but also disbelief. "You were not Karus' mentor in the Jedi arts."

"No?" He began to walk closer than me, and I took a step back. "How do I know so much about him if I never trained him? Hm?"

He was right. He knew Karus deep down, he knew he was never meant to be a Jedi, and that he would have been much better as a simple pilot.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"My name is Yoshi Raph-Elan, a Jedi Knight of the Old Republic. As you are aware, I was Karus' Jedi mentor when he was young."

I nodded.

"I've tried so long to teach the boy the ways of the Force. I have felt him as he trained. He learned it and he did indeed learn to grow powerful in the Force. He just didn't know how to- let it out. Use it for himself. Or so he said."

"About Karus, the night he died, we had a cremation for him on Yavin 4."

Yoshi Raph-Elan nodded.

"A Jedi's funeral."

"After that, later that night, he came to me as a Force ghost-"

Yoshi looked at me in disbelief, with a fill of his eyes and the shake of his head.

"He told me of a power to levitate. That even the best Jedi can't master it. That it is impossible. He told me everything he knew about the Force."

The Jedi raised an eyebrow.

"If he was told about the power to levitate from his master, and that you claim to be him, you have to know this power."

Yoshi Raph-Elan stood silently and stuck his lightsaber to his belt. He held his arms to his sides and began to meditate through the Force. I turned behind me to see Rooda walk over to me and watch him as he used the Force around him. We felt the Force swarm him in large shrouds as he slowly lifted into the air. His feet lifted at least six inches in the air before the Force jerked violently in a burst and he collapsed on one knee. The Force left him and he started panting and rubbed the short blond hair on his head.

"It can be done-" he spoke to me between breaths, having used a lot of energy trying to float in the air, "-it's almost impossible, not even I can do it.

"How strong are you with the Force anyway?" Rooda asked him.

Yoshi stood up and cleared his throat.

"I've been known for my unnatural strength in the Force, I've done a lot of things in the past. When I were younger, at least, twelve years ago I was able to take down large GX1-series battle droids with my bare hands. And I always focus in the arts of the Force. I constantly reminded myself of the living Force, it is where we Jedi, and Sith, draw our power."

I nodded and turned to Rooda.

"Remember all that, when you try to focus your energy."

She nodded.

"You have an apprentice?" Yoshi asked me as he looked at Rooda.

"She was, but, I decided not to train her as her master. Because she knows well already how to fight in combat. She's just learning of the Force to help her."

"So she's not your apprentice? Then what relation is she to you?"

"We're- we- uh" Rooda looked to the floor nervously.

Yoshi Raph-Elan raised an eyebrow.

"We're in a relationship," I answered.

He sighed and rubbed his head.

"Now attachment, that's forbidden in the Jedi Code-"

"But there is no Jedi Order anymore," Rooda spoke up. "You don't have to follow the rules of a lost-"

Immediately, Yoshi grabbed his lightsaber and ignited its long orange blade, and he pointed it at Rooda, the tip barely touching her nose. She backed away in fear and we felt his anger rise intensely as he glared at her.

"The Jedi will never be lost," he spoke in an angered tone.

I ignited my darksaber and smacked his orange blade away from Rooda with my large black blade. He backed away and I stepped in front of Rooda, deactivating my darksaber. I looked down at the pyramid cap that Rakine gave me meant to enhance my darksaber, giving it a greatsaber blade size.

"She never meant to insult the Jedi religion, if that's what you think she did. But she's right. The Jedi Order has been disintegrated and only a few if its members have survived. You and Rakine are the only survivors I know of the Jedi Order. Who knows if there are others?"

Yoshi looked down to the ground, deactivating his orange lightsaber.

"You said you two were in some relationship?" He asked us.

We both nodded.

"And the Jedi Code doesn't have to apply to us. We're not Jedi," I continued. "I may be a Sith Lord, but I have feelings and emotions, I am allowed to be attached to others while you Jedi weren't."

"But the Jedi Order has been eradicated," Yoshi mumbled.

"You can be loyal to your Jedi Code and prohibit attachment, or you can accept the loss of the Jedi Order and move on. You will be able to express your true self. You will be allowed to feel romantic attachment for a special someone, and you can show anger and fear without submitting to the Dark Side like me." I looked down, then back up to him. "We are not so different you and I. The Dark Side is only another path in the Force, where you can be free to express yourself in person and in battle."

I watched as Yoshi stepped back to collect his thoughts, he sat in a chair and put a hand on his head.

"Are you really telling me the truth? Are the Sith really just another type of Jedi? You can show true emotions and learn more techniques in the Force?"

"Of course," I answered. "Now were not suggesting you to submit to the Dark Side. We're saying you can simply learn more from it. You can follow Rakine's path in between, balancing Light and Dark, walking the "Grey Path" so to speak."

"The Grey Path?" Yoshi asked confused.

"It's what he calls it. During Order 66, he and Karus escaped Coruscant to hide around the galaxy. They eventually stumbled upon Yavin and hid on Yavin 4. They found the rebel base starting there and Karus started as a soldier for the Alliance. Rakine continued to train himself and he searched for a way to learn the Dark Side, so he can grow stronger in the Force. He met the Sith Lord, Darth Sorin on Hoth and trained under him for some time. As Rakine grew older, Sorin grew harsh and started taking advantage of Rakine as an apprentice. He possessed him and controlled him to do his personal missions for him while he stayed on Hoth where he was safe. Soon Rakine quit the apprenticeship and temporarily broke the bond between them. About seven years passed and Rakine grew full knowledge of the Dark Side since. He's walked the Grey Path since then, and has been looking for people to help the rebel cause against the Empire."

"After eight years now, since the rise of the Empire, both Karus and Rakine survived?" Yoshi thought to himself. "Then how did you get into all this?"

"Rakine sailed the galaxy for allies to help him in the Rebel Alliance for years, after training to walk the Grey Path."

"Of course," he nodded. "The Grey Jedi was another class in the middle, focusing on both Light and Dark sides of the Force. Has he mentioned the Grey Jedi to you?"

I shook my head.

"He only told us the differences not the similarities."

Yoshi nodded slowly.

"And, what happened next with Rakine? After walking the Grey Path what did he do?"

"He came across the Zant system and met us in our home village. He befriended us and introduced us to the Force and life outside our system."

"You mean you started off living an isolationist life in this- Zant system?"

"More less," Rooda said to Yoshi.

"Rakine took us to Coruscant and he felt I was Force-sensitive when we met. He was willing to train me in the Force as an apprentice. One night we got into a fight, and I had no clue he was possessed by Sorin at the time." I turned around and pointed to the sockets where my antler-sabers drill into my head, replacing my natural antlers. "I lost my antlers in the battle and thus, back on Zant, I lost my position as a warrior. I lost my respect, my dignity, my honor."

"Your culture was adamant about this sort of thing were they?" Yoshi asked.

I nodded.

"Zant is full of primitives, it's a very traditional and cultural world. Just a stag's antlers represents their masculinity."

Yoshi nodded.

"Without them I was nothing but a phony. So I grew into a fit of rage and left Zant by itself, not a warrior to defend it. And what a fool I was. In my own rage and anger, I began to hate Rakine for what he's done, unaware of the fact that it wasn't him that ruined my life back on Zant. Lord Sorin did all this to bring me to him, on Hoth. I was foolish enough to take his apprenticeship and I was desperate to have a new name for myself, since "Eyt Pezymn" was now shamed on Zant. So I accepted Sorin's request of mentoring me in the Dark Side and I quickly rose as one of the Sith, Darth Venison."

"You never wanted to be a Sith Lord did you?" Yoshi asked sympathetically.

I shook my head.

"But it was too late. I had the outfit, I knew the Dark Side, I had these new antlers surgically drilled into my head, permanently replacing my past antlers and scarring my head of my submission to the Sith forever. But I knew all wasn't bad, I knew that the Jedi Order didn't allow people to be in love or to have hate or anger. And if I chose that path, I'd never look at Rooda the same way I see her now." I turned to her with a smile. "It's okay for a Sith to be romantically attached to someone, but not for the Jedi. Beside that I knew how similar the Jedi and Sith are, and I wanted to acknowledge that they were both the same in the past. They grew different, the Sith grew apart and discovered the Dark Side of the Force. They're different but that doesn't necessarily make the Sith completely bad. Only most of the major Sith Lords are fully corrupted by the Dark Side and use it for evil. But not me."

"You're not truly evil are you?" Yoshi looked at me.

"Not completely. I admit I have done a great many regrettable things in the past, and I still can't look at myself the same way for it."

"What did you do?" He asked.

"I went back to Zant as the new me, a Sith Lord, and I intended to steal back my honor that I lost in that village. And in my anger I killed my own chief, and stole back what was stolen from me. Then I asked Rooda to join me, so I can make her a more powerful warrior, and I offered to make her my apprentice. So I could teach her the Dark Side. But back the. She wasn't fully Force-sensitive, nor did she have any knowledge of the Force. So I took her to Hoth, in hopes of my old master, Sorin to train her and turn her to the Dark Side."

"It didn't work," Rooda chuckled. "He was too hesitant and lazy."

Yoshi Raph-Elan nodded.

"Soon I found out about what Sorin has done and how he deceived me and tricked me into meeting him and being his apprentice. I found out what an evil man he was. I turned against him and realized the truth, that Rakine never caused harm to me. It was all Sorin's doing, and Rakine was his puppet."

"By now you must've gained Rakine's trust and killed Sorin did you?" Yoshi asked.

I nodded.

"After we ended his tyrannical rule over Rakine, he never got negatively affected by the Force again. So the good and loyal Rakine was back, and he led the two of us to Yavin 4, and introduced us to the Rebel Alliance. We were eager to join if it meant the cataclysmic fall of the Empire."

"What's your story on how the Empire affected you?"

I sighed.

"Our goal was to protect our home village from annihilation. We left to quickly learn the Force, to make the job easier. When we came back, everyone and everything was gone. All our people gunned and mowed down, the huts and buildings, destroyed and left to decay. When we came back we were in Hell. And we knew it was the First Galactic Empire. Only Imperial stormtroopers are so precise." I chuckled. "Yet they can't even hit me from six feet away."

Yoshi sat down in a cloud of sadness, after hearing my story.

"So you're with us are you?" He asked. "You remain loyal to the Alliance to help overthrow the Empire?"

We nodded.

"I believe during this rebellion, we members of the Jedi-" I held a hand our to him, "-and the Sith," I pointed to myself, "can finally make agreement to not do harm to the other."

"So we are not going to fight each other in the near future?" He asked with a sense of relief.

"We are to cooperate if we are to successfully fight against the Empire. Plus if I really wanted to kill you and everyone here, I would've done it by now." I spoke in a dark, yet honest voice.

Yoshi nodded again before standing back up.

"How old are you, Lord Venison?" He asked.

"Nineteen years," I answered.

"You've been a Sith how long?"

"At least a few months to a year."

"What happened to your arms and abdomen?" He asked, looking at my cybernetic enhancements.

"Lightsaber battle scars. I was stabbed in the stomach by Lord Sorin in our final battle. And I lost my arm and hand to Darth Vader."

"You mean to tell me, that you've faced Darth Vader, and you were lucky enough to survive?!"

I nodded slowly.

"You're quite the aggressor are you?"

"I am. Back home we were known to be aggressive and viscous fighters. It seems there are things that we still use from our old lifestyle."

Yoshi and I both turned to a doorway, feeling a presence, to see little Leia leaning in watching us. She stood under the frame and leaned her head against the wall.

"It's alright Leia. Nothing's going to happen. We're not going to fight," he slowly walked toward her.

"Good," she smiled. "Does that mean were all safe too? Can we come back in?"

"Of course you can" he answered calmly.

She walked in and Organa walked behind her, his hands on her shoulders. Antilles and a few other rebels came in after them. All their eyes focused on me, Rooda, and Yoshi Raph-Elan as we stood in the aisle of the council chamber. Organa approached is in a calm manner.

"Everything is alright, I hope? No conflict between the three of you?"

"No conflict," Rooda answered Organa. "Just a conversation, an explanation for our arrival."

"We do hope to help this Alliance on Dantooine remain strong. We are sent from Yavin as reinforcements to help the Rebels here." I turned to Yoshi.

"You're both part of the Rebel Alliance?" He asked. "Interesting."

"We hope that our presence will greatly help the Rebel Alliance," Rooda said to Organa.

He nodded.

"To be honest, we need all the help we can get."

"Pardon me for asking, Senator Organa, but aren't you still needed in the Imperial Senate?" Antilles asked him.

Immediately both Rooda and I turned our heads to Organa, but we felt no signs of danger from him.

"About that, yes I am technically with the Empire, being a member of the Senate."

I raised an eyebrow.

"But with this Alliance," he continued, "I am helping to conspire against them. I hate this new tyrannical rule and how its been terrorizing systems for eight tears. That's why I'm in the Rebel Alliance. And fortunately, The Empire, they don't know where I am or what I'm doing when I'm not in the Senate on Coruscant. They even my dear daughter Leia is on their side. They don't know she is trained politically to speak against the Empire. Both Mon Mothma and I agree she has such a beautiful voice, and if she grew up a strong rebel, she would make a wonderful leader, both in politics and in the Rebel Alliance," he chuckled. "But we can't show any suspicion towards them. When I'm out there in the Imperial Senate, I have to agree with them, even if I'm really against it. I can't risk any suspicion going towards me or it will greatly affect the rest of us on Dantooine."

"The worst thing to come out of all this would be Emperor Palpatine himself being suspicious of your ideas or agreements," Yoshi Raph-Elan nodded.

"Emperor... Palpatine," I growled quietly but I know Leia heard it, because she backed away from me in fear.

"Rakine told us that Palpatine is really a Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. A really evil Sith Lord, not like Lord Venison." Rooda said to the rebels, to Yoshi, to Organa, and to Leia. "Sidious is a cruel and heartless monster, only doing what he thinks is right, even if it means ending countless innocent lives."

"He's a corrupt and heartless beast," I spoke up. "Just another one of the universe's greatest monsters."

"I agree, Lord Venison," Organa nodded, "But we cannot afford to risk saying the wrong things in the Senate."

"I'm sorry, we?" Rooda and I asked simultaneously.

"I was wondering if anyone would help me to speak in the Senate."

"We can't go," I shook my head. "If Darth Sidious, one of the most powerful Sith in the galaxy, is ruling the Empire, you can guarantee he is strong with the Force. If we went there he could sense the Force in both of us. Me I'm a Sith too, and Rooda is already learning the ways of the Force. If we went there, and Sidious begins to call us out, because he knows what we are, what a threat I was to him some time ago, and how our presence there even shows that something's up, it won't be long before people start pointing negatively to you, Senator Organa."

He nodded, acknowledging the facts that our presence would mean the end of the Rebel Alliance on Dantooine. The poor Senator might be alone on this one.

"Nevertheless, we must act quickly, but not be too hasty in the Senate," Organa nodded slowly. "I can try to contact Mon Mothma to help me speak in the Senate. She is a wise political thinker and a powerful political speaker. If we can try to call of any further invasions and negotiate to the Senate why we believe it is wrong, maybe we can get at least a few agreements on our side of the conflict."

"It's a bold move," Yoshi shook his head slowly, knowing if it failed, it would have imminent disaster follow.

"How bout this?" A rebel walked over to us. He was a tall man, at least in his mid-fifties, with a small scar on the right of his chin and an eyepatch over his left eye. His hair was black and balding at the front, his hair turned gray above his ears, and his body had a very muscular build and he held a brown quiver in one hand.

"Yes, Corporal Shirante?" Organa asked the man.

"For now, Senator Organa, you will go to Coruscant with no troubles, and with Mon Mothma to help speak alongside you. The rest will be sorted out soon. All that matters now is that you speak out there and try to increase chance of rebellion against the Empire, creating as little suspicion as possible. And if anything does happen to you while you're out there, just contact me and any reinforcement will come to aid you."

Organa nodded.

"Then I will make contact with Mon Mothma of Yavin." He walked out the council chamber and headed down one hall to another part of the base.

Rooda and I looked at each other.

"That whole plan itself is suspicious Corporal," Yoshi looked at the rebel.

"As long as they give away little to no information on the rebellion, then you may hope that this Alliance never dies." Shirante chuckled and pat Yoshi's back. "I would expect a Jedi to be wise enough to know that."

I glared slowly at Shirante.

"You shouldn't ever insult a man's wisdom, even a Jedi's," I said quietly. "You're lucky he doesn't use the Force on you right now."

Rooda chuckled and Shirante turned to me, raising his empty hand and pointing at me accusingly.

"You are in no position nor do you have any authority to give me such mockery. You may be one of us rebels now, you may be a Sith Lord and all, but guess what? You're in my base now." As he looked sharply at me his eyelid twitched as I continued to glare darkly at him. "Wipe that smug look of your face newbie! You are to treat us fellow rebels with the upmost respect, because we are at war against the Empire. And in war, there will be no complaining or whining to me or anyone else in this here facility. Got it newbie?"