Chapter Eight: Graduation

Tobin was approaching twenty years of age when his training ended.

In the last few months he had taken to running across the surface of the planet at speeds that even Valus and Jalia had trouble matching. At first, Valus ran with him. The Sith considered it a challenge. But as they ran Tobin drew on the Force, funneling his yearning and confusion and even anger into Jedi techniques to replenish and heal himself.

Even more, though, he realized during the course of his training that neither Valus nor his mother were able to sink themselves into the Force as he did. When they used the Force, it was as if they gathered it to themselves, like pulling in a breath. But Tobin did not pull it into himself. He sank into the Force itself, merging with it in a way neither of his masters could.

In that state, there was no exhaustion. There were no limits. He constantly left Valus behind, often kilometers at a time. On the day his training ended, he was sunk so thoroughly into the Force Valus could barely even see him, much less keep up with him. He came to the edge of the valley, and embraced as he was in the Force, Tobin did not even hesitate to launch himself from the valley wall. He flew in an arc over the entire kilometer-wide valley, and landed mid-stride on the other side. His feet did not even stop moving.

By the time he finished his lap around the region and returned to the cave, Valus stood waiting for him. The Sith was as always dressed in his traditional black trousers and smock, but his grin seemed singularly un-Sithlike.

"I had to send out an aerial drone, but I was able to see that jump. I've never seen anyone come as close to flying as you did then. Simply amazing."

It was the first time Valus had openly praised Tobin, and the young man wasn't entirely sure what it meant. "Come," Valus said. "Your mother is waiting for you."

The two walked in what could almost be described as companionable silence, except that one of them was Sith.

They arrived at the tomb that had been their home for the past six years, and indeed Jalia was there waiting for him. She dressed that day in her best and only Jedi robe, just as Valus wore his best Sith clothes. As they approached, Valus left Tobin's side to join Jalia. The two, the Last Jedi and the Last Sith, stood side-by-side as they studied him.

"When I woke this morning," Jalia said, "I sensed in the Force that the day had come. I have nothing left to teach you, Tobin. Neither does Valus. Other than what lessons you can glean from the holocron, you have completed your training."

"But there is one last thing I wish to give you," Jalia said. She reached into the sash of her robes and removed a single signet ring. "This was the signet ring of Princess Sariah Fel. Only persons of direct royal descent may wear it. There is a DNA scanner in it that will sever the finger of any one not of royal blood. I have placed it on my finger before, so that it can record my DNA. Now it is time for you to have it."

"I doubt it would fit," Tobin said.

"It is made of fluid gold," Jalia said. "The molecules of the gold will expand to the width of your finger, or contract to sever it if you are not a Fel descendent. Put it on, Tobin. The time for hiding our lineage is over."

Tobin took the gold ring from his mother. The signet held an ornately carved F for the Fel family, overlaid by the Imperial crest For something with the ability to do as his mother described, the ring was deceptively small. However, if felt warm to his touch. With a last look at Jalia and Valus, he slipped the finger over the ring finger of his right hand.

The warmth continued as the gold seemed to crawl over his skin. He watched as the ring really did expand, until it fit snugly on his finger. He waited a moment, expecting at any moment for the ring to contract until the finger came off, but it did not.

"You are Tobin S'Artin no longer," Jalia said. "Your true name is Tobin Solo Fel Artin, son of Jalia Jaina Solo Fel Artin, daughter of Jianis Solo Fel Artin, son of Avdarin Solo Fel Artin, son of Andeus Solo Fel Artin, son of…" She recited Tobin's entire geneology without pause or hesitation, as if the names were long captured to her memory. Tobin knew why she recited those names now, and concentrated on every name and every word. He locked them all deep into his mind, ensuring he would never forget. "…son of Princess Sariah Solo Fel, daughter of his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Soontir Solo Fel II. By confirmation of the Fel royal signet, you are of the Royal blood. Never forget, my son."

"I won't," Tobin said. He looked from his mother's somber face, to the more jovial one of Valus. "Why today?" Tobin asked. "I haven't had any new lessons in several months."

Valus looked up, and unconsciously Tobin sank himself into the Force and instantly felt it. A ship had made orbit. A large ship filled with many hundreds of thousands of people.

"Shishtari eagles do not leave the nest on their own," Valus said as his gaze settled back to Tobin. "They are forced out, not by their mother, but by the father returning from his hunting cycle. The father throws them out of the nest, where they either fly or plummet to their death. In this way, only the strongest survive to continue the species. The Sith believe conflict is the process whereby the strong thrive, and the weak are eliminated. That time has come for you to be thrown from the nest, Tobin."

"There will be a fight today," Jalia said. "I can't tell you if we survive or not, but those above us are coming in anger. Somehow they know we are here. If you survive today, then your training will be complete."

"If not, then we will know you were not the Chosen One after all," Valus said with an indifferent shrug. Sith to the last.

The sound of drop shuttles reverberated through the hall. Tobin turned and ran back to the main entrance, and behind him he knew the other two did as well. They emerged just as the first of ten shuttles were landing. The shuttles carried no markings other than the marks of battle. Several were scored by old laser cannon fire, but otherwise there was nothing to mark them as Imperial. However, they looked very familiar.

Tobin and his mother had an identical shuttle hidden in a nearby cave. These were the pirates from the star destroyer they fled from. Somehow the Zabrak had discovered Korriban. And judging by the sheer number of pirates pouring out of the shuttles, they were determined to take complete control of it.

Valus arrived at Tobin's side. "A few months ago, I went back and hid the pirate freighter. Levitating something that large was…challenging. But when I deactivated all the systems an automated beacon went off. It only managed to broadcast for ten seconds before I destroyed it, but I knew that eventually someone would intercept the broadcast and triangulate where we were. I knew it was only a matter of time before we had to flee this world."

On Tobin's other side, Jalia came to a stop and examined the pirate troopers. "The Zabrak brought all of his raiding crews. Looks like four hundred men."

"So many?" Tobin asked.

The pirates poured from their shuttles like so many insects from the hive, made small by distance. Even so, there were a huge number of them. "We can set traps throughout the catacombs," Tobin said. "We could defeat them."

"We could," Valus said, "and we will. Come!"

The pirate raiding parties formed up into squads of forty men grouped by the shuttles they arrived in. The ten squads broke up and began exploring the ruins. At the head of each was a pirate equipped with the most advanced scanning equipment available. Scanners could detect heat, motion, even the presence of complex organic compounds that indicated life forms in the air. Tobin knew from his training with Valus that such devices were so sensitive that even if Tobin could hide himself, they could detect the organic compounds exhaled with his breath.

They did not try to hide from the machines, and as a consequence all four hundred raiders slowly converged on the main entrance to the catacombs.

Tobin chose a spot against the stone ceiling of the entrance, invisible in shadow, from which to watch their movement. At their lead, he saw a familiar figure towering over the others.

The Zabrak had changed little. He had no hair to gray, though his horns did seem a little longer than before. This was normal, since Zabrak horns continue to grow for life. But he was the only one Tobin recognized. He knew his mother would probably recognize more of them.

Tobin sank himself into the Force and threw his senses far and wide. "It's a trap," he heard the Zabrak say. "These abnormals are smart. They hid from our ships sensors when they escaped last time, so I know they could try to hide better from these. They want us to sense where they are."

The others waited for the Zabrak to make up his mind, and so did Tobin. Come in, Tobin whispered to the Zabrak. It is a trap, but you can defeat it. You are the Zabrak

The Zabrak visibly swayed under the power of Tobin's compulsion. "It's a trap," the Zabrak said. "But we can defeat it. I am the Zabrak!" He shook himself, as if waking from a dream. "Come, friends, let's go defeat this trap and kill those abnormals! The bounty on their heads will allow the whole lot of us to retire to a life of ease and wealth!"

The other pirates cheered and they began pouring into the passage. Tobin waited patiently as they came in and then started to bottleneck as the passage narrowed. Sith catacombs were not just meant to honor their dead, but also to be defended.

Tobin let half the pirates in before he reached out with the Force and ripped the stones of the roof ahead of him free. Blocks the size of speeder cars fell into the middle of the line of pirates and threw the whole passage into darkness.

Into the darkness, a red and then a blue lightsaber lit, as Jalia and Valus charged the divided pirate force from the front. Tobin dropped from his hiding place and lit his saber.

This was the value of his life and the lives of his mother and Valus—that value was the blood of the pirates he began spilling. Caught in darkness between two opposing sets of lightsabers, the pirates collapsed into fear and chaos. Blasters discharged in every direction, killing fellow pirates as effectively as lightsabers.

After six years of training with a Sith, Tobin learned how to shut off that part of his mind that cried out in pain with each life that ended. And there were so many, crying and calling out to friends and comrades who in all likelihood were the very ones that fired the killing shot.

With his senses enmeshed with the Force, Tobin saw everything as clearly as if it was day, but the pirates were in utter darkness, until one loud voice called over the cries and screams of pain. "Put your bloody thermal goggles on your stupid space rats!" the Zabrak roared.

Many were too terrified to comply, or simply didn't hear, but enough did obey that the previously random blaster shots began to slow and concentrate on the lightsabers.

Even one with the Force, Tobin knew that he was not impervious. Other Force-users had died in the past, and he knew it could happen just as easily to him. Still, of the two hundred they trapped, almost half perished at the hands of only three defenders.

Tobin felt Jalia and Valus retreating back into the passage. He launched himself against the walls of the high, narrow passage and ran as fast as he could, using his speed and momentum to hold himself against the wall. When that began to fail, he leaped over the heads of his attackers to the other side and repeated the process, until by switching walls he was able to pass over the whole attack force.

The three defenders regrouped in one of the main Sith tombs off the main passage, well ahead of the pirates. Valus was grinning evilly, but Jalia was breathing hard and favoring her left shoulder. As she turned to meet him, he saw why. A blaster bolt must have slipped through her defense and given her a glancing blow to her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Does it matter?" Jalia snapped. "I'll be fine. There is no slowing down, and there is no going back."

"There is only victory, or death," Valus said. "The next best site is the tomb of Darth Avadra. It is another high, narrow passage with an abrupt turn and a two hundred meter drop to the floor of her tomb itself. If one of us were to play the lame duck, we could likely lead a whole group to their deaths."

"Then it should be me," Tobin said. "The two of you should set up the next trap on the other side of the tomb."

Jalia opened her mouth to protest taking orders from Tobin, but then realized she had no better suggestion and nodded. "May the Force be with you," she said softly as she and Valus left. After they were gone, Tobin stepped back out into the main passage and lay down on the steps.

Already he could hear the pirates coming down the long, slanting hall. He released some of his Sith shielding and allowed his body heat to bloom. Those at the head of the raiding party would see a gradual spot of light in their thermal goggles. He released his shields completely around his thigh, and knew that this spot would appear brighter than the others. To someone using a thermal imaging system, it would appear there was a burn scorched on his thigh.

He heard voices whispering as they got closer, and could feel the excitement and the anger building. Finally, the Zabrak roared, "Get him, boys!"

Tobin made a show of scrambling to his feet as the pirates charged. He used his lightsaber to deflect blasts, but was careful to only deflect one or two back into his attackers. He didn't want them backing off.

Fears of them retreating were ill-founded, however. If anything, they charged harder and Tobin found himself having to retreat even faster. He faked his limp, but the very process of pretending to be injured slowed him down.

He followed twisting passages he had come to know like the back of his hand and led them into the long, narrow passage of the tomb of Darth Avadra. Ahead, he could see nothing with his eyes, but with his face he could feel the cold breeze and with his ears he could hear the echo of distance. With the Force he knew the cliff was nearby.

Thermal imaging would be enough to show them the edge of the cliff if they saw him disappear. But if they saw him continue beyond the cliff, they would have no reason to stop. Tobin sank into the Force and when he reached the abrupt turn where a walker had to know to turn hard right or else plummet to their deaths, Tobin continued straight and stepped off the edge of the platform.

The Force buoyed his feet and he continued his false limp as he "walked" over air. The pirates in the lead had no reason to even bother to notice the floor ended. The walls and floor were at the same ambient temperature of the air itself, and so in their scopes there was almost no difference. With the brightly lit target of Tobin directly in front of them, the pirates surged forward, and began falling to their deaths.

"Switch to active IF!" the Zabrak called out once more, and once more the pirates under his command did so. With the active infrared scopes projecting light outside the normal spectrum of most sentient vision, the pirates were able to see the impossible. Their target stood in open air ten meters out beyond the edge of the drop off.

The Zabrak himself shouldered through the men until he stood on the edge of the drop-off. "You've grown, boy!" he shouted at Tobin.

"So have you, Zabrak. I would suggest cutting back the nerf steaks."

"We've come to take back our shuttle."

"You're welcome to it. How long until you collect it and leave?" Tobin asked innocently.

"Not too much longer, Abnormal," Zabrak growled.

There was something wrong. What Tobin heard in the other man's voice was a confidence that should not have been there. Zabrak had just lost three hundred and fifty of his men against three defenders. That should have given him pause. But there was no anxiety in what Tobin sensed of the Zabrak. Rather it was a sense of anticipation, and even glee.

Tobin threw his senses skyward, and trembled with what he detected.

"You've contacted Imperials?" Tobin asked, incredulous.

"I've contacted MY imperials, boy," Zabrak said. "The sector Moff has been receiving kickbacks from us for ten years. So did the Moff before her. Why do you think we were able to operate so openly? If the Empire wanted to destroy us, it could. But we're useful. We do the work the Emperor doesn't want to do himself. We're a magnet for those he wants out of the Empire, and a weapon to those he wants destroyed without trial. And right now, boy, he wants you and that fellow freak of yours destroyed. And he's going to help us do it."

Darkness threatened Tobin. He had been so concentrated on the pirates he never even opened himself for any other threats. Once he did, he immediately felt the Imperial troopers descending on the tomb from the other side.

The side Valus and Jalia were setting up their trap.

Tobin allowed himself to drop abruptly from his position and fell freely three hundred meters. He slowed himself and landed lightly at the base of Avadra's massive tomb. Avadra had made up for her mediocre tenure as Sith Lord by having an obscenely large tomb built for herself.

Mother! Tobin shouted through the Force.

He heard the sound of blaster fire and received a sense of determination and pain from his mother. The Imperial troopers had attacked.

Tobin ran as fast as he could. The whole hall blurred before his eyes. Those looking from the shadows would have seen a rush of air as he flew by. He soared up the steps to the spot Jalia and Valus had chosen for their ambush, and came to a halt abruptly.

His mother lay on the ground. Her eyes were closed in pain and her breath came in short spasms as she clutched her chest. A force of Imperial troopers flooded the space in front the fallen Jedi with their high-powered arm blasters firing rapidly.

Only one thing stood between them and Jalia. Darth Valus, last Dark Lord of the Sith, stood with his feet apart and a deathly evil grin on his face, as he wielded his lightsaber faster than even the expertly trained troopers could follow. His robe was shredded with burn marks where blaster bolts had come close, but so far none had struck.

Over his shoulder, Valus yelled, "Take her!"

Tobin nodded. While his mother's emotions for the Sith had been complex at best and ambiguous at worst, the Sith's motions for her had been very simple. Darth Valus, Dark Lord of the Sith, loved Jalia with all his heart. So much so he was willing to commit what amounted to the worst crime a Sith could commit. He was going to give his life in the hope it would save another.

Tobin gripped his mother in his power and pulled her from the ledge. She came to his arms, gasping in pain. So close, he could smell the burned flesh of her chest where she took the blaster bolts. He could see the scorch marks. He felt as her heart struggled to beat with only half its tissue.

His mind closed off all thought. He could not afford to think about what this meant. He couldn't afford to dwell on the fact that his mother took a blaster bolt to the chest. All he knew was that he had to get away.

He carried her easily as he fled back down the passage any into the tomb. By this time Zabrak and his pirates had already reached the floor, but they remained only in a corner of the huge space. Tobin easily by-passed them and reached the passage that would eventually take them to their home catacomb.