I don't own Star Wars or any of the characters.
Nox, the city of Boneyard. Here factory cities exist under massive domes, smokestacks sticking need like into the sky. Life outside the domes is unbearable. Within the domes, scrubbers filter breathable air, but danger is always present. In the sulfurous twilight that passes as night on Nox, mutated slash rats scurry up from the decaying underworld of factories. No one is safe from their predation.
"Don't lose it, Shae!" called Rori.
"Where's Master hawk?" asked Shae.
"Gone elsewhere." responded Rori.
The two female Je'daii ran after a slash rat. The hideous, mutated beast had a girl held captive in its tentacle like jaws. Sharp spines ran along the beast's striped back. Its green skin was covered in red growths and patches of black hair. Sharp claws dug into the cement as a boney tail moved from side to side.
Out of nowhere, Hawk appeared. The Twi'lek Je'daii struck at the slash rat above with the forcesaber, cutting the girl free of the best's tactical jaws. Rori caught the girl with the Force, slowly lowering her to the ground.
"Be more careful, child! Next time we will not be here to save you!" gently cautioned Rori.
"You're Je'daii. Ma don't like Je'daii. She say you be nasties." spat the child.
The child ran off without as much as a thank you to the Je'daii for saving her. But that was how it was on the settled worlds. People feared the Je'daii and what they could do. The conflict of the Despot War and those like Daegen Lok did not help the Je'daii's image passed Tython.
"At least she didn't spit on you." remarked Hawk.
"Masters—incoming message from Master Fenn." informed Shae.
Rori and Hawk listened in to the transmission Jake was sending.
"Hawk, are you copying? Lok and Xesh escaped us on Krev Coeur. Bel was wounded. We're now on Kalimahr—the closest med facility I could find. Lok did something to her mind. She…believes she's on fire." reported Jake.
"Mind twist—Lok's back to the old tricks that got him sent to Bogan." said Hawk.
"I fear there is worse news. Sek'nos fell into a chasm on Krev Coeur. I can no longer sense him. He may be…dead." sadly informed Jake.
Shae refused to believe what the Je'daii master had told her. Sek'nos Rath was the strongest, fiercest person she knew. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be.
"No! I won't believe it!" screamed Shae.
Shae tried to reach out and touch Sek'nos' mind, but there was nothing there. She tried again. And again. And again. Each time there was nothing. No Sek'nos. Only a black abyss where his familiar Force signature should have been.
"I—I can't feel him in the Force! I would know—I should know if…if" panicked Shae.
"Shae! Sek'nos is too far away for any of us to sense." reasoned Rori.
Hawk placed his hands on the confused girl's shoulders, making her look him in the eye.
"Pull yourself together, Shae Koda! Your emotions take you out of balance! Focus! Be patient! You were brought on this mission because you have a strong connection in the Force to Xesh! He may be here on Nox. Find him!" commanded hawk.
"Yes, Master…" weakly responded Shae.
Shae pushed all thought of Sek'nos out of her mind. She had to clear her mind. They were still on a mission. They had to find Xesh and she couldn't do that acting like a panicked child. Focusing on the bond she had with Xesh, Shae zeroed in on the Force Hound. She had caught his presence in the Force and didn't plan on losing him, not after Sek'nos. With Shae at the lead, the three Je'daii followed the Force to Xesh and Daegen Lok.
XXX
Trill returned to her ship. She called up the maintenance droid aboard, wanting to see if the repair to the ship had been completed.
"Repairs to the ship finished?" asked Trill.
"Completed. Mistress. Advice disposal of this…being. Predor Skal'nas would be displeased with its presence onboard." suggested the droid.
Trill turned to the Sith she had saved from falling to his death.
"Kill him? Idiot droid. Opportunity has just been handed to us. This one is strong in the Force. His knowledge of this system could be the key to infiltrating the Force-rich world my master seeks. I'll mask my connection to the Force so he won't sense it. All right, big boy—wake up." berated Trill.
Sek'nos shot up in bed, panting and sweating, confused about where he was.
"Where am I? Who're you?" weakly asked Sek'nos.
"Settle back. You smacked your head. Hard. You've been unconscious for quite a while." informed Trill.
Trill pushed the Sith back down onto the bed.
"The name's Trill. You are?" said Trill.
"I'm Sek'nos Rath. I'm…uh, I'm a Je'daii." spoke Sek'nos.
"Oh, a…Je'daii, you say? I'm a…fortune hunter." told Trill.
"Thief?" muttered Sek'nos.
"Cute. Let's say that I find things before they get lost. There's these thugs after me for borrowing this ship." calmly informed Trill.
"You stole it. And the rightful owners are after you." panted Sek'nos.
"Pretty harsh talk about someone who saved your life. You see, I was getting away when…" began Trill.
"Wait. I remember now—I slipped off the ledge! I was falling toward the underground sea! Knew hitting it was going to be like hitting duracrete. Then, I saw this ship…flying towards me. My only chance of survival was to use the Force to push off a wall and make it to the ship. Then it all goes black…" recalled Sek'nos.
Trill leaned in close to Sek'nos, their faces close enough to kiss.
"That's when I saved your red hide from certain death and you knocked out my ship's stabilizer… Are you made entirely of durasteel, Je'daii? I'm thinking you would have bruised the sea had you hit it." remarked Trill.
"Spast! My friends! They must think I'm dead! They'll leave and I'll be stranded on Krev Coeur!" realised Sek'nos.
"You been unconscious for days—chances are they've already had your funeral. The crystals seem to be messing up my comm. system. But don't worry…I'll get us offworld and the comms will come back online." assured Trill.
Trill went back to the cockpit. Sek'nos laid back down, sleep overtaking him the moment his head hit the pillow.
XXX
Daegen Lok impatiently waited for Xesh to complete the forcesabers. The fallen Je'daii had cut his hair to shoulder length and trimmed his bearded into a manageable goatee while waiting for the forcesabers to be complete. Lok's lips twisted in to a sinister smile, glazing at the human forge master who had had mind tricked into letting them use the forge and give him better clothing.
"Ah. Better. No more Je'daii prison rags! And our thanks to Forge Master Gratz for volunteering his foundry. Right now he believes that a pack of nashtah have invaded his forge—and if he is very quiet they will not eat him." spoke aloud Lok.
Lok retrieved the armour Xesh had ordered.
"Here is the armour you ordered made. Clean up—we have to meet some people." instructed Lok.
"Stop talking, Lok. This phase of alchemical alteration is critical. If it is inaccurate, you will lose your hand when you ignite the blade." remarked Xesh.
Lok remained silent for the duration of the weapon's forging. The Force Hound put the last touches on the forcesaber. Xesh took the weapon, the familiar feel in his hand reinvigorating him.
"On Byss, this was the weapon of a Force Hound—the weapon of a slave. Here, you say it is a weapon of power. Concentrate on your anger to ignite the blade. It may take some practice for a Je'daii to draw forth the darkness." instructed Xesh.
Lok took the forcesaber, easily igniting the blade.
"Oh, I don't think so. I have a lot of anger." replied Lok.
"So. You have the blade of fire from your vision. What's next? Show it to the Je'daii to convince them the vision was true?" mockingly asked Xesh.
"Ha! Funny. No. They'll need more than that. It will take an army. Fortunately, I know where to find one." laughed Lok.
XXX
Shae tried not to gag as she and the other Je'daii maneuvered the smog covered city of Boneyard.
"This place reeks! How're we going to find Xesh in this crowd? All I sense is gray…" muttered Shae.
"You told Master Ketu that you share a bond with Xesh, Shae. Use it. Can you sense him here or not?" questioned Rori.
"I'm too angry with Xesh to concentrate! Stinking narglatch! He betrayed us! He betrayed me! Oh…!" spoke Shae.
An image of Xesh flashed before Shae's eyes.
"I sense Xesh here, masters—and I can track him! He's not far…" said Shae.
XXX
Lok entered a cantina. Xesh followed after the fallen Je'daii. The two fugitives strode up to a table occupied by an elderly male human, yellow skinned male Twi'lek, female Devaronian, and a male Iktotchi missing and eye and part of his horn.
"Behold the one-time inner circle of Queen Hadiya. These were her most trusted generals. The Twi'lek is Bakko—chief advisor, and first to answer Hadiya's call. The Devaronian, deadly Shri-Lan and the human, brutal Gav Vannar. 'Left fist' and 'right fist' of the queen. And the Iktotchi, Ka'un Damm—well, he was known as 'the butcher,' among other less gentle names." introduced Lok.
"What we were then is not what we are now, stranger. The Despot War is already ten years dead and so it the queen. Let it lie." snarled Ka'un.
"The scars remain, don't they, Ka'un Damm? For some of us, the war will never be over…will it?" spoke Lok.
Lok revealed his face to the criminals. Instantly, the four rose from their seats, brandishing blades and slugthrowers.
"Daegen Lok!" shouted Gav Vannar.
"Murderer!" hissed Shri-Lan.
"Kill him!" yelled Ka'un.
"For the Queen's honour!" snarled Bakko.
Bakko charged the fallen Je'daii with twin swords. Lok sliced the yellow skinned Twi'lek's swords in half with his forcesaber. Xesh easily disarmed the remaining three opponents. With a glowing purple blade held up to the Twi'lek's throat, Bakko stared into the dead eyes of the fallen Je'daii.
"Let's talk." simply said Lok.
"What's there to say, filthy Je'daii?" growled Gav Vannar
"Je'daii? No longer. Not as I heard it. Heard you were a Je'daii prisoner on Bogan. Doubt they let you go. Je'daii never let you go." stated Bakko.
Lok turned to Xesh, his forcesaber still held dangerously close to the Twi'lek's throat.
"Look at them well, brother. This bunch of unrepentant scum would have been rulers of the system, if Queen Hadiya had kept clear of Tython." remarked Lok.
"Fortune favored you, Daegen Lok. We wound up here on Nox, the only world that allow us to land…after Tython. Still, it is an odd pleasure seeing you again, Daegen…" seductively spoke Shri-Lan.
"A pleasure always, Shri-Lan—and now that we're not trying to slit each other's throats for a moment, I have an offer to make you." proposed Lok.
Lok deactivated his forcesaber and allowed the four criminals to be seated so they could discuss his proposition in a more civilized manner.
"Come back to Shikaakwa with me. Rouse those who will follow you even now. Raise an army! Take back your homeworld! Nox has not forgotten their promise to Hadiya—nor have those hiding on the moons of the giants! Resentment festers! Gather your allies and we will take Tython!" exclaimed Lok.
"Been there, Lok, darling. We lost." said Shri-Lan.
"This time will be different." insisted Lok.
"How? As a Je'daii, you killed Hadiya and ended her dream of conquest! Now, you're calling us to arms—asking us to follow you down the same foolish path!" commented Bakko.
"This time I will be leading you, so we will succeed. Hadiya knew that she could only rule settled worlds if all the Je'daii were dead! I want to save the Je'daii and the system. But the Je'daii are stubborn and won't hear reason. They must be made to listen." stated Lok.
"Why not just kill the Je'daii and be done?" questioned Gav Vannar.
"You really are thick. No wonder you lost the War. We need the Je'daii to save the Tython system from the dark army I saw in my vision!" told Lok.
The criminals almost burst out laughing. It seemed the rumors were true. Daegen Lok had really gone mad.
"You want us to follow you because you have a vision?" laughed Shri-Lan.
"yes! Now you understand! And make no mistake—you will follow me." Declared Lok.
"Daegen Lok. I sense someone in the Force. As a Force Hound, I'm used to tracking others—now someone is tracking me. I sense dark anger." sensed Xesh.
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