"Your just a Jedi, a knight that enforces their belief of justice upon the galaxy because of a stupid philosophy." Daisuke shouted as he stood up straight. Pain coursed through his arms and legs, his calves cramped and ached along with the burning acid running through his veins. It was an intense duel between the two, the Echani arts attempting to overcome the Mandalorian physical offensive stance.
"Yeah, so what. I may be a Jedi, but at least I've made up my mind on how I plan to fix the galaxy. You just stand by and watch as the war continues, like a scared Bantha." Riax replied. His body ached equally with Daisuke's. The Mandalorian style required a powerful offense with a fortress like defense. Riax absorbed as many blows as he delivered, but his younger age left him at a disadvantage.
"Don't judge me Jedi, this temple was built to uphold neutrality for physical training. Ideals will get you no where. You have your reasons, and I have mine." Daisuke said taking in deep heavy breaths. Even though he was standing and was considered the victor to the challenge. All that witnessed the bout realized it wasn't the easy victory he was used to. "Besides, it is you allegiance that I should question." Daisuke said confusing a minority of spectators.
"Is that so, fine. Question me all you want, you won't get any answers better than your own." Riax sat up with a smile seeing Daisuke's annoyed expression. Daisuke knew that if you question his path on the force, to anyone else his answer would seem confusing and unreasonable.
"I can tell that there is more to you than Jedi training. Dark things reside within you, and they come out in battle whether you know it or not." Daisuke said referring to multiple fatal or critical blows that he nearly received. Strikes that would cripple him, or cause an instant injury.
"Now look who's talking about philosophy." Riax chuckled.
"I respect you, Jedi. But personally I hate you, and I hate you more because your different from the rest." Daisuke said. His ability to sense the force within people was less of a force sight, but it was like a feeling he gained from a person when around them. A sixth sense that saved him from potential traitors and backstabbers.
"I always thought individuality was a good thing. Wait a minute, you hate Jedi, yet you stay at a temple run by a council." Riax rose to his feet and let his limbs hang low. The fight was over, Daisuke was the official winner.
"There is more to this place than you can understand. Atris has saved my life, I shall repay her by supporting this place as much as possible." His anger fell and was almost completely gone. It was now a heated conversation between the two. "Now that you understand my reasoning, please tell us why you became a Jedi."
Riax was taken back by surprise and he looked at the floor from the corner of his eye. He didn't know why he became a Jedi, or even if he ever wanted to. His memory began strangely, the entire situation beginning with Anya's room before she returned. But at times, he felt a familiar strength whenever he needed it, it arose when his emotions began to run wildly. Whether it was his abilities growing, or a corruption of the Dark Side was a confusing topic.
"All I remember is waking up in the Jedi temple. From that day on, I learned their ways and became one of them. It was strange, they always pressured me more than the rest, like I was supposed to reach the Master status from the beginning. But inside, I know there's a reason why I am where I am. Is that what you wanted to hear, Daisuke." Riax said as his energy returned to him.
"Maybe your not Sith, but determined. Either way, I will keep watch on you." Daisuke said turning away from Riax and making his way out of the room. The room remained in silence as the tension within the air died away. After witnessing a Jedi and an Echani prodigy battle each other until one fell, the air was stricken stiff.
"He thought I was a Sith, damn. I thought we wouldn't have to go through this stuff here." Riax mumbled. Shaking off the pain in his shoulders and not even realizing the confused looks, he simply walked out of the room.
But as the trio remained within the temple walls, each performing small tasks for their own reasons. Throughout the galaxy, terrible crimes were committed and justified by more than just the Sith. The political and military policies of the Sith were not pure evil, they had a set list of laws, but they ruled with a tight iron fist.
She did not have a difficult time surviving, through the years it actually became easier. With a sickly mother unable to perform difficult tasks, the daughter handled the hunting and all other chores. With a simple short blade found within the wreckage of a crashed luxury ship in hand, she leapt over roots and rocks.
Her Cathar blood gave her senses, agility, and balance, superior to most. At that moment it was being put to the greatest test she encountered yet. A recent Slaver search party found the food storage her and her mother hid for emergencies, they emptied it completely. Her mission was to find the days dinner, while saving food to begin their emergency stash again.
The only way to do that at the same time was to find a meal big enough to do both. The world of Kashyyk provided countless large beasts, some were inedible, most were simply too powerful to attempt. As her hope began to fade, her search ended when the target discovered her first. The chase began, the hunter attempting to catch its meal, while the prey planned out the defeat of the predator.
Elashi, a young Cathar-Echani hybrid, raised on the world of Kashyyk by a sick mother. Was now being pursued by a Katarn, a large lizard like beast that moved through the trees quickly and silently. The horns that protruded from its legs gave it the ability to grapple onto trees and continue moving above its target. The fear of growing tired and being caught by the proud beast plagued her mind, but her destination provided that glimmer of hope she needed to continue.
An extended branch grazed across her side ripping clothes and flesh alike. It was a painful wound that normally would've left her in agony, but the damage the Katarn would be able to inflict was easily greater. Continuing to run forward, using cuts in the trees as her guide, she pressed towards a trap that would save her. Low growling and the rustle of the leaves were her only way of detecting the Katarn.
A small clearing was approaching and the distance between them seemed like miles of agonizing leaps and steps. A sense of panicked relief washed over her as she left entered a small part of the jungle floor where the light of the sun reached. It was a small gap between the trees, but the light created a circular clearing where her trap was perfectly placed.
A sudden blow to her right arm and ribs shook her out of the dreaming state she was in. In disbelief, she looked back expecting to see the Katarn ready to pounce, but instead a large Viper Kinrath stood before her, its front arm raised up and its pointed end was seconds away from piercing through her. Unable to move quick enough to avoid the attack, her mind began to go through her memories.
She began to recall why she was on this planet in the first place, it went back to how her mother and father meet. He was an Echani commando on an elite team, her mother was a sickly, yet beautiful to every species, Cathar. Promising to take her to a beautiful place, the two left the Cathar home planet and traveled the galaxy.
Her mother knew the details of the story, and refused to reveal anything else. The only bit of information she knew was that eventually he had to leave on a mission and left them on Kashyyk. Her mother always believed that one day, he'd return and take them away again, but Elashi always had doubts. She honestly believed he abandoned them, and until the day he returned with his Republic Military glory and a perfect reason, nothing will change her mind.
Now she laid there on the ground at the mercy of a ruthless non-sentient beast, her chance of survival reached a new level of zero. With no memory of any other world, and not permitted to come into contact with the native Wookiees. The only person she ever knew, trusted, or cared for, was a hopeful fool. That thought enraged the Cathar blood within her, but the Echani side still felt fear and sorrow.
As the Kinrath's appendage came down upon her, a loud roar shook the trees. The same beast that hunted her, pounced from its hiding position in the trees and descended upon them. It crashed down on the Kinrath and quickly rose to its feet putting distance between them. It was predator against predator, Elashi took the chance to rise to her feet and limp to safety. Only looking back when she heard the roars of the Katarn. The aching pain in her ribs throbbed viciously, and her only way of escaping alive was to set off the trap. Removing her right hand from both the enormous bruise and the average tear in her skin, she brought down the blade slicing a vine that kept the entire intricate system together.
Even though it was made with random large pieces of metal that fell from the upper lands and sharpened branches. The vine she cut released them from their catapult hidden in the trees, launching them at an angle piercing through both the Kinrath, and the Katarn. In the midst of their battle, projectiles pierced through them instantly pinning the Kinrath to the bottom of a tree trunk and killing it. Even though mortally wounded, the Katarn survived and slowly crawled towards Elashi.
There was a connection between them, she felt as if there was a loyal pet within the savage hunter. She felt its will to kill and eat, its primal instincts driving its body. There was also her will to overcome those instincts and turn them against it. Silently she whispered hateful words and the world swayed to her command.
"Just die." That was all she needed to say to it before the Katarn growled lowly once more. With a small thud, its body dropped against the ground and the it lay motionless. This wasn't the first time she had to kill a beast, and it wasn't going to be the last. But it was the first time she truly felt hate and superiority over her prey, and a pride that she was able to end the life of a monster even a wookiee feared.
Being a mix between two different species, she inherited and lost traits from both. The claws, feline eyes, and the agility of the Cathar from her mother's side, the silver hair, eye color, and human skin from her father's. Ever since the Sith laid siege to Kashyyk, patrols and slavers traveled the ground floor. The Wookiees were forced from their homes and remained in hiding throughout the planet, powerless against the might of the Sith. It hasn't been long, but only a few months ago, Darth Reaver stood before the Wookiees and murdered a rebellion alone.
It was a true beastly massacre, Wookiees attempting to regain their freedom through the use of honorable fighting against a hooded Sith. Darth Reaver alone, with a single scythe-like weapon, decapitated and beheaded an entire village. Elashi's mother told her of the magnificent grandeur of the Jedi, but after that moment, Darth Reaver resembled a god. That rebellion took place and ended in less than a single hour, yet it left a life-long impression on Elashi.
She still had a small hope in the Republic and the Jedi, fear alone blocked the glory of Reaver from reaching her. But it was when Jedi made their way through the barricade and found Reaver did she truly lose faith. Instead of attempting to free the people of Kashyyk, the Jedi attacked Reaver and took him away. She began to question the Republic, the Jedi, her mother, father, all people that seemed to follow a path of justice in her life.
The Republic was unable to break through the defensive barricade established by the Sith, and her mother remained ever vigilant in believing they would come for them. Elashi believed the truth she came to, but it left her hopeless, all the saviors of her life were gone. Until a Dark Jedi was killed by a pack of Katarn, they dragged away his mangled corpse but a data pad fell from his pocket. Knowing that the man was doomed, Elashi quickly recovered the pad and left the scene before a search party arrived.
The information saved within the pad was his personal journal, records of the battles he's seen or the deeds he's done. Keeping the journal a secret from her mother, Elashi read through his life and thoughts. She came to an understanding as she read through the philosophy of the Sith, and agreed perfectly. In her eyes the Republic, the Jedi, Wookiees, her mother, even herself all they had left to cling to was hope.
Hope wasn't enough to survive in Kashyyk, Elashi needed the ability to be stronger than the obstacles in her way. As the journal continued, she read how the Sith promised the owner strength, and unlike the Jedi, he actually received that power. Page after page was filled with detailed descriptions of his training and other events, it constantly mentioned a mysterious energy known as the Force.
She began to understand the difference between the weak and the strong, how the strong can bend the galaxy to their will. Elashi wanted to have that power, not out of greed, but so she wouldn't end up relying on a simple thing known as hope. Unlike the rest of the sentient beings under Sith siege, she wanted to grasp the situation and gain the power that she felt that she deserved.
It would bring her one step closer to finding her goal, Darth Reaver. No matter how strong she became, she knew that Reaver was another level, but he became her idol. Even though he was taken away by the Jedi, Elashi knew that they were too weak to cage that power permanently Obviously, this respect of the Sith was a secret from her mother. If her sickly mother ever knew how she thought of the enemy of the Republic, the outcomes were dreadful.
"Smoke?" Elashi's Cathar nose detected the scent of smoke, a sign of mayhem on Kashyyk. A small fire on a massive jungle planet would be able to create an inferno so high it could be seen from the stars. After being lost in thought for a short time period, her gaze rested upon the direction of her home. A mixture of fog and smoke made vision difficult, but the flickering flames in the distance were still shown.
In a hurried rush, she dashed home to see if her mother survived. The thoughts of her mother attempting to escape from the burning world, or even trying to breath was painful. Red lines grew around her silver eyes as the smoke caused them to burn and tears to swell. Within the red background she saw multiple figures walking around a motionless form on the ground.
As she drew closer, already preparing herself for the worst. The identity of the figures began to show, Slavers that deemed a sick Cathar useless and killed it. It was a painful sight for Elashi to behold, but at the same time, a thought in her mind brought her to peace.
Her mother was a optimistic weakling, her belief in the Jedi had left her to die with a smile on her face. But Elashi knew that if she were to die now, it would be impossible for her to become one of the strong. But a voice in her mind, an urge told her to submit and fake defeat. That same entity promised her power beyond belief, and the strength to make a difference in everything. As Elashi read through the journal, she found something akin to a god, she began to follow this beings teachings and wanted to gain its power. This deity, was known as the Dark Side.
Dropping to her knees, allowing her weaker emotions to come forth, she began to cry on the ground. They were tears, true and honest tears of sorrow, but underneath them was an ambition.
"Shim sees another, it looks healthy to me. Unlike this fodder.." A Rodian Slaver said as he saw Elashi fall to her knees. With a simple blaster in hand, he walked towards her ready to kill if she wasn't worthy. His dark green skin covered in dirt from being tackled by Elashi's mother.
"Whether it's sick or not let's bring it back. Rumba'll love having something different than Wookiees." A light blue Twi'lek said in basic. His blaster rifle was warm from firing a few shots into Wookiees for Rumba, his Hut employers, carpet collection. It was also the same rifle that shot Elashi's mother. "Just put it to sleep, pick it up, and let's go."
"But its a Cathar Echani, thingy. Does that make a difference." The Rodian shouted back in its annoying voice. It spoke in Basic because of having to deal with Human Slave traders that didn't bother learning other languages. Elashi's subconscious mind knew to get revenge for repeatedly being called a thing.
"Good, that means we get paid more. An exotic slave is a better slave, and you know Rumba is always looking for the best." The Twi'lek shouted back and started to walk away. A Gamorrean bodyguard stood next to him and followed silently, satisfied after mercilessly beating multiple natives to Kashyyk.
"Good night, little slave. Don't worry, you have nice skin and Rumba will sell you for big money. Bad for you, good for Shim." The idiot Rodian said before drawing a stun baton from behind his back and tapping her on the back. She received a powerful jolt from the small tap and knew to prepare for a powerful blow. With a quick and simple strike, her body went limp and a bruise began to develop on the back of her neck.
"Hurry up, Shim. Damn Rodian." The Twi'lek grumbled as he continued on. They walked passed the murdered bodies of Wookiees that fought bravely to prevent their people from being enslaved. All of them failed miserably, over the years the amount killed only grew. Stepping upon a recently upgraded platform, the Rodian walked onto the lift and sighed. Being a physically lesser being, carrying on his shoulder was a difficult task.
"Why you make me carry little Cathar? Why don't big tough Gamorrean carry it?" Shim complained as he readjusted her. The piggish Gamorrean growled and snorted at Shim for complaining, the Twi'lek eyes rolled after pressing in the pass code for the lift. The pass code was made so Wookiees couldn't escape to the shadow lands or rise from them unless they were enslaved.
"Stop complaining, we're getting paid for this and I killed the other one. So shut up, we don't want trouble with the Sith." The Twi'lek stepped off and handed a Sith soldier their identification papers. The silver armor of the Sith made them obvious figures of authority, and the rifles they all carried made that authority hard to argue with.
"Go on." He said and returned to his position. The slavers quietly walked away trying to keep distance between themselves and the multiple Sith patrols that walked through the platforms of Kashyyk. It was a dark time for the natives, but for the predators and slavers, this was a paradise.
The Sith provided Slave Identification papers to all that signed the contracts and were able to pay the expensive fee. At that point, it didn't matter what happened to them as long as they didn't interfere with official business or do anything that may interest the Sith.
"Hey, Jerod. How much you think this Cathar will sell for?" The Rodian asked. "I think Rumba will keep it as his personal toy." Shim continued not knowing how much he was annoying Jerod, the Twi'lek.
"Listen, Shim. I don't care how much money that fat Hut-slug has, he doesn't know how to run a business. I do." Shim grew silent knowing how his partner felt about their employer. Jerod planned to eventually kill the slug and take his place as head of the business, but that would take time.
"So are you going to keep Cathar?" Jerod slapped his forehead knowing that his Rodian friend missed the point.
"Just shut up, let's get back to the ship. I want to get paid." Jerod said as they walked across the wooden platforms and aboard a large cruiser. A small luxury civilian cruiser customized to have all rooms replaced by cells and energy shields. It gave the potential slaves the basic needs, a bed, a bathroom, and a camera to keep an eye on them.
They entered a section of the ship designed for the stronger species, like Wookiees or Gamorreans. The amount of howling and roaring that the Wookiees made awoke Elashi, and the first thing she felt was the impact of a hard floor. The stun baton had a lasting effect and they didn't even bother treating the wounds she gained. The bleeding stopped, but her skin turned a dark blue from the Kinrath's blow and the cut remained open.
Standing up weakly and calling up enough energy to limp to her bed, she dropped upon the stiff mattress and rested. The being known as the Dark Side promised her a better future, and she believed that this was the way to get it. Ignoring the pain, she began to rest as the engines ignited and lifted the ship off the planet and into space. Unfortunately, the destination they were heading for was a Telos docking city, and it just so happened that Riax and Carth decided to escape from the boring temple and explore the city life.