Star Wars: The Dark Empire

Episode 1 – Exodus

Part 9 – Redemption and Despair

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O'Dus prison, deep Catacombs

Kaya ran through the deserted halls, drawing ever closer with every step to Marka, her heart. She could feel his inner struggle, for the first time since he had woken up he had allowed her in. As she ran, she sent all of her feelings for him through the bond, feeling his struggle as he fought against his demons. The seductive lure of the Dark Side threatened to overwhelm him time and time again. Kaya was sure the feelings she was sending him were all that were stopping him from falling. But he couldn't last for long like this, the vision had been clear; she had to get to him quickly or he would die, or fall.

Sprinting as she felt Marka's nearness, she rounded the corner into a passage and found herself face to face with three of the ugliest people she had ever seen. One was completely hairless, without even eyebrows. His pasty skin wrinkled and uneven on his ravaged face, and the pale sheen of sweat looked like slime from a Hutt. The woman who was groping the young man could have been beautiful once, but the scars that criss-crossed her face and exposed body and the Sith tattoos that covered those scars and every other inch of her skin gave her the look of a dangerous maniac. Kaya stared at the young man for fully two seconds before she realized that she was looking at Marka, her husband.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" Kaya screamed, as she rushed towards them. The vision had never showed anything like this. Nothing could have prepared her to see him like this. The left side of his face had been shredded, his ear ripped in half. Far worse, though, was the grey colour of his skin and the way his veins pulsed under his skin, both marks of the dark side. And his eyes, his beautiful grey-blue eyes; glowed a poisonous yellow.

"…And here's his pretty Jedi wife," said the bald man, regarding her with interest. "Aren't we one big happy family?"

"Kaya?" croaked the Sith woman, sounding mortified. She released Marka and moved away from him as quickly as if she had suddenly realized he had the plague.

"Kaya, the Jedi," growled the man, turning from the woman to her, and then finally to Marka. "I'm amazed, my apprentice, by how far you have fallen, how deep your betrayal has gone."

If the man had referred to Marka as 'my apprentice' he must be the Sith master Rengath Fer'rer. And the woman, she didn't recognize her or her voice, but there was something familiar about her. Searching through her feelings, she came up with the only possible answer, the most terrible one imaginable. The woman was…

"Belaya?" she whispered tearfully, looking from her to Marka. His yellow eyes met hers, and understanding flashed between them. He couldn't have done anything to save her, and hadn't told her simply to ease her pain. Kaya wished, though, that she had known. It would have made the painful moment of seeing her aunt, twisted beyond recognition and a mockery of all she had ever stood for, easier to bear. But she understood why Marka had done it, and she forgave him.

Meanwhile Belaya had turned on Rengath angrily. "You said she had been killed at the same time as all the others!" she accused him, her voice a gurgling-hiss.

"I thought my apprentice would have been sensible enough to finish with her soon after I left," growled Rengath "Apparently I was wrong."

"And if she had known, she'd have been able to hope, and you couldn't have allowed that," said Marka sardonically; earning a vicious Force-blow in the midsection that sent him keeling over and groaning in pain. Kaya gave a small cry and ran over to him, but as she reached him she suddenly found she was no longer moving, and was surprisingly high up. She shrieked with fright as she realized that Marka's old Sith master held her in the air. She was helpless.

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O'Dus prison, the ruined western wall

From just inside the compound, Jadan leaned out slightly. Republic soldiers and the five Jedi fought off the first wave of attackers. The Republic soldiers were quite good as soldiers went, certainly better quality troops than the Imperial forces that were guarding the compound. However, as drop-soldiers they were almost certainly elites, and they were nothing on the Imperial Blackguards. Jadan then focused on the Jedi. They were pathetic, he'd seen Sith apprentices fight better. The only one who looked even slightly competent was the purple one with worms on his head.

"Next wave, we attack. Go straight for the Jedi," he whispered, Aro and Demetrius nodded with acceptance, silently stretching their muscles.

Soon more legionnaires arrived, Jadan quickly had them organized. This was the last sizable detachment of troops in the prison. The troops that had been sent to kill the prisoners; but had arrived too late. They had to break through the Republic lines, or the traitors would escape. All except one, the crown traitor, Marka.

At Jadan's command, the legion surged forward, the three Sith at their head. Lasers were spitting from both sides, being deflected in some quarters by Jedi and Sith. Jadan hit them hard, having already killed two from deflected blaster fire. Two more commandos fell instantly, gaping rents in their bodies. More shots came at him; he deflected one back to the sniper, dodging three more. With his training and Force-sense it was just too easy. Another came at him with a contortis-woven blade; Jadan blocked his blow, pushed him back and slashed him open; all the while deflecting lasers properly with his other blade.

Finally, two Jedi rushed him, seeing the damage he was doing to their forces and having dealt with five legionnaires between them. One was a dark-haired, dark-eyed young man, noticeably tall although not nearly as tall as Jadan, with twin lightsabers. The other was a much shorter woman, with red hair and striking green eyes. They were working in tandem, but their level of skill was so much lower than his that Jadan was able to take them both on at the same time, as well as any commandoes who ran near. No more lasers were aimed at him now, they must be afraid of hitting their Jedi. Fools, it was the only tactic they had at their disposal that might take him down, and they weren't using it. They were weak; they deserved the quick, painful death he would certainly give them.

The young man had potential; with his blades he was able to almost constantly engage Jadan's left. He hadn't learned all the proper defensive Force techniques though; a quick blast sent him flying backwards. Jadan turned on the red-haired woman, regretting that he would have to kill her. He would have loved to break her; she would have made a pretty pet. A quick Trakata technique sent a blade through her heart, her eyes widened in surprise. Jadan slipped his blade out as three more commandoes ran at him; two strikes and all three were down.

"MIRA!" the young man cried as the woman fell, his face as shocked as hers. Shock gave way to rage, and he charged. Jadan sneered; he loved her, how touching.

Five more commandoes charged slightly ahead of the young Jedi, their faces nearly as murderous as his. Two legionnaires had moved to Jadan's side during the fight, obviously deciding that his constant deflection of lasers and killing all enemies within reach bettered their own chance of survival. Now seeing the odds set against them, they beat a frantic retreat. Jadan would have killed them for cowardice, but he couldn't afford to let his guard down. He switched to Yoshi Ma, dropped four of the enemy commandoes in a second. Even through his rage, the dark-haired Jedi's shock and fear were apparent. Only one left, and the Jedi.

Suddenly Jadan found himself with two more opponents; one was an old man he did not know, the other was certainly Banali; both of them traitors. They were both armed with two lightsabers each. Faced with three lightsaber wielding opponents with six blades between them, Jadan was forced to pull back. Banali wasn't that strong, but the old man surprisingly was. Jadan could have dealt with him alone easily, but with so many opponents he could never hope to win this fight. Flight was his only option.

As he pulled back to the relative safety of the prison, he noticed Ramon was attacking Demetrius, using a white-purple, double-bladed lightsaber that Jadan knew instantly as Marka's. Demetrius had been beating the purple-alien Jedi; but now faced with Sith-trained Ramon, an opponent of exceptional caliber, she was badly outmatched. Nearby, Aro was being beaten back by the two Jedi he faced, the blonde man and the white-haired woman. Jadan cursed, three traitors had somehow gotten lightsabers and had joined the battle, swinging it firmly in the Jedi's favour. On his own, Jadan could have beaten the old man, and Ramon, although he would be tougher. But while two opponents were extremely difficult to face, three was suicide.

"Fall back!" he commanded, deflecting blows from the enraged dark-haired Jedi, who was slashing wildly, without much skill. A low slash from Jadan would have taken off his legs if Banali hadn't defended for him. Jadan had no time for follow-up attacks; all three of them were attacking in unison. He leapt backwards, back-flipping and landing lightly. Aro was running into the relative safety of the compound, the remnants of the Imperial guards close behind him. Ramon was close on their heels, vengefully striking down guard after guard. A quick glance was all Jadan needed to see that Demetrius was dead, he cursed. Thinking quickly, he blasted the ground with the Force, spraying fine, black sand into the air, creating a virtual sandstorm. Shielding his face, Jadan ran back into the compound. If they were to dislodge the Jedi, they would need Master Fer'rer and Belaya's help, and they needed their help now. Jadan immediately tried to patch though to them, then remembered neither of them had bothered to take their personal communicator. He cursed again, it had been needlessly foolish of them, but swearing would not help the situation. If he could not patch through to them, he'd just have to find them, and Marka's cell would be a good place to start.

Aro was busy catching his breath beside the top of a staircase. In the small space of the stairway a single Sith could stop any number of opponents, for an indefinite period. "Wait for me here, and stop the traitors if they try to follow," Jadan snarled, not caring that the man looked ready to bolt. A conflict seemed to play across Aro's face. Jadan knew what it was, he was deciding if he was more afraid of their enemies, particularly Ramon, coming inside; or Jadan's wrath if he ran.

"See that you are here when I return," Jadan hissed, the threat in his voice as thinly veiled as a cantina dancer. He spun on his feet and ran at a full tilt down the stairway deep into the bowels of the prison. Even now, he knew, traitors were escaping.

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O'Dus prison, deep Catacombs

Marka lay, watching horrorstruck as Kaya was lifted into the air. It was a technique frequently used by Sith on victims they were about to torture or kill with the Force. By raising them so their feet no longer touched the ground, they could not get away. Most also panicked when they found themselves floating; which made extracting information much easier. But this could not be happening to Kaya, not Kaya! He charged at Rengath, only to be swatted aside as easily as a stray leaf. Nearby Belaya stood stock still, eyes wide, as though not quite believing what was happening.

"Come back to the Dark Side," Rengath warned "or she dies." His hands rippled with energy as if to emphasize his point. "Last chance."

Despair crushed Marka like a ton of rubble; he yanked hard on his inhibitor, not caring that it was cutting into his neck and causing fresh blood to run down his spine. He would do anything to save her, even fall to the Dark Side. But if he fell, he would be forced to let go of all his attachments, including her. She would almost certainly be killed in that scenario. How he longed to be able to help her, but there was nothing he could do, nothing at all! If he could not save her, at least he could remain true to what she had taught him about life, love and the Force. Even if it cost him his life; even if it cost him her.

Rengath suddenly flinched, "She's pregnant! My my, apprentice, you have been busy." He laughed hideously "While you make up your mind, I'll just get rid of this little inconvenience." Rengath gave a few quick motions, Kaya shuddered and cried out as invisible blows rammed into her abdomen. Marka felt the pain she was in through the bond; silently he cursed himself for not being able to do anything. Fresh tears leaked down his cheeks.

"You'll kill her, and the baby," said Belaya, speaking for the first time since she had found out that Kaya was alive.

"That's the idea," cackled Rengath. A conflict seemed to play across Belaya's face, but Marka did not care, he was beside himself with grief. His heart was being tortured to death before his eyes.

At the edge of his vision, Marka noticed Belaya's expression harden. The sudden snap-hiss of a lightsaber took both him and Master Fer'rer by surprise. Rengath twisted desperately to avoid Belaya's strike, releasing Kaya. Marka sprinted to catch her as she fell, while Rengath drew, igniting, and blocking Belaya's second slash in one fluid motion with his curved red 'Makashi' hilt blade. In less than five moves she was struck to the floor, chopped just below her breasts, her hands gripping in death-lock onto her still ignited blade. Marka's heart sank, she had been doomed as soon as she raised her blade against the Sith master.

"The wage of betrayal is death," said Rengath, turning back to them and deactivating his lightsaber.

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O'Dus prison, deep Catacombs

Kaya was in unbearable agony as she lay in Marka's arms, her stomach muscles were clenched up, she was sure she would lose the baby. But even through her pain she spared a glance for her aunt. She looked up into Marka's face, and noticed something strange happening. Colour was returning to his grayish skin, the veins were receding. Most disturbing were his eyes, blue and yellow were swirling in a vortex, the blue slowly dominating. Rengath was staring at him too. Marka closed his eyes for a long second, when he opened them again, they had stilled. Miraculously they had returned to their natural crystal-blue colour. He looked down at her and smiled, his whole face lighting up with warmth and love. He had done it, he had beaten the Sith poison. The terrible scratch marks down the left side of his face remained, but otherwise he was wholly restored to his original looks, if a little more gaunt after a week without food. Marka's smile twisted into a snarl and his blue eyes went as cold as ice as he turned to look at his old Master.

"You resisted the dark side," said Rengath faintly, if his eyes widened any further they would probably pop out of his head. "You beat twenty doses of Sith poison."

"Deeds speak louder than words," gasped Kaya through her pain.

Rengath snarled with anger "I still have half a vial left, but if you've already resisted Sith poison it won't work again on you. Even if that wasn't the case, I don't think another twenty doses would make much of a difference." Electricity started to crackle across his body as he finished "As you will not return to the dark side, you have no further use for me. Goodbye."

Kaya wrapped her arms around Marka's neck, hugging him tightly as she closed her eyes, the crackling of electricity growing louder. They would die together in each other's arms. She buried her face into Marka's strong neck, and waited for the end.

It never came.

Suddenly she was aware of Marka putting her down, and quickly moving away. Rengath was lying facedown on the floor, his face snarling and eyes wide in frozen surprise, Belaya's lightsaber sticking out of his back. Kaya stared at the top half of Belaya's body. She had thrown her lightsaber into Rengath's back while the Sith master was concentrating on forming his excessively powerful lightning, his premonition muffled by his huge use of power. Belaya raised her head slightly and smiled at Kaya, the smile only one totally content with their lot can give. Then her head dropped down to the stone floor, her now-brown eyes glazing over. She had come back to the light in the end; her last act had saved them. Kaya was weak with relief, but she knew their ordeal was far from over.

"Goodbye," she whispered, fighting back tears.

Suddenly a rough hand grabbed her Force-inhibitor, creating space between it and her neck and half choking her. Marka ignited the lightsaber in his other hand, the lightsaber that had originally belonged to the Sith master, cutting through the inhibitor and quickly pulling it off, the heated metal searing her skin. "There's no time to mourn," he told her "we have to act at once if we're going to save the child." He already had his Force-inhibitor off.

Kaya felt his clumsy healing reach into her as soon as her inhibitor was off. She used her more practiced skill to guide his greater power. Their hearts beat in unison, as they poured all their power into saving their dying baby. "You're not afraid to be a father any more?" said Kaya, remembering his reaction when he had first found out about her pregnancy.

"I want this child," said Marka, pouring even more power into his healing as if to emphasize the point, his jaws clenching in exertion.

"Thank you," said Kaya softly, smiling girlishly. Thinking of nothing else she could give him, she stood on her tiptoes and brought her lips to bear with his. After a moment of surprise he was kissing her back just as fiercely and possessively. Their power merged, becoming something far greater either of them could have achieved on their own, the healing washing over both of them.

Marka gasped and pulled away. "What was that?"

Kaya shook her head, she didn't know. Marka suddenly looked far better, his face was far less drawn, and the weeping scratches down the left side of his face had sealed into scars. She was fully healed; the child inside her was alive and well. "She's alive," was all Kaya could say.

"She?" said Marka, recovering from his shock and stepping back into her embrace. "And how are you so sure?" he said, smiling so widely it looked painful. Kaya didn't think she had ever seen him look so joyful except on their wedding day.

Before she had a chance to reply Marka turned, his face intent; hugging her protectively as though sensing danger. A few seconds later Kaya felt it as well; she looked up just in time to see Jadan run into the passage.

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O'Dus prison, the ruined western wall

"I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM!" screamed the dark-haired Jedi Dustil, only just visible from where Ramon was through the fading dust cloud.

"You'll do no such thing," said the deep-purple Jedi Kaah who was holding him down, his face drawn with pain. He must have managed to tackle Dustil down during the Sith's retreat, stopping him from chasing Jadan into the prison, where he would have certainly been killed. This despite that one of his worm-like appendages hanging from his head had been sliced in half during his fight with Demetrius, and he was obviously in a lot of pain.

Ramon looked down at Demetrius' body, from the gaping wound he had created in her chest to her face. She had been his first; she had used him for her own perverse pleasure, and then discarded him. She had been twenty-one then; he had been twelve. Thinking back Ramon knew that had been a huge influence in why he had become the way he had become.

"You are a womanizer," Marka had told him bluntly not so long ago "and you seem to like to make lesser men, without your looks; strength or power feel like exactly that"

Maybe it was time to put the demons of his past to rest. Kneeling down, he closed Demetrius' shocked eyes, and stroked her hair back. "I forgive you," he whispered, three words a Sith would never say. It was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders; suddenly the sky seemed much brighter, even the black rocks had their own beauty.

The stench of death filled the area, the smell of burned flesh, blood and open bowels. Ramon's stomach clenched, he could never get used to that stink. Screams of the wounded and dying, the tears of men forced to put their stricken friends and comrades out of their misery. The red haired Jedi's body was shaking, her limbs stiff. She wasn't alive; it was just the result of muscular tension when she had died, Ramon had seen it many times before. Others were twitching, but she was shaking the hardest, as though her body would not accept that she was dead. At the sight of her, the strength went out of Dustil, Kaah let go of him and he crawled to her, crying out her name.

"If that's what it means to be in love," said Banali softly, moving next to him. "May I never know it."

Ramon did not reply, he watched the young Jedi gather his wife in his arms, rocking her gently, even as she continued to shake. The other Jedi came around him, putting their hands on Dustil's shoulders, his grief too great for words. Ramon knew that if it had been him who had been killed he would have received no such mourning. She had been much loved; he was unloved. The only one who would probably mourn his passing was Marka, and only as an asset; wait …Marka! He was still in the prison.

Ramon sprung into action. "You, Kaah, get those two back to the shuttles," he ordered, pointing to Dustil and the body of Mira. None of them would be any use in combat at the moment. "Laman, you're in charge of the defense of this sector. I doubt that they will come again, but if they do you must be ready." He would have done it, but he had to find Marka. Kaya had said he could go, as soon as the others were safe and he had removed Force-inhibitor. That had been the first thing he'd done after he'd found the small stash of lightsabers in the first shuttle, quickly planting the young girl he had been carrying in the arms of a caring Republic officer.

Kaah started to argue, but at that point two of the shuttles that had come down to pick up all the evacuees lifted off the surface, and blasted upwards in a deafening roar, drowning out his words.

"We could all escape right now," pointed out the blonde Jedi Mical.

"We leave no-one behind," admonished Laman, "Marka's still in there, and Kaya."

"Kaya Weston?" Kaah said, his eyes widening. Ramon turned to him, evidently he knew her. But now was not the time or place to discuss it.

"Marka's your leader, right?" said Mical. At Ramon's nod he added, "Can I come with you?"

Ramon smiled; he liked this young man already. Between the two of them they might be able to take on Jadan, maybe even Master Fer'rer. He'd have liked to take all the Jedi with him, and Laman and Banali; but they nearly all the Republic commandoes were dead or wounded, and the shuttles had to be defended.

"Lets go," he said, and set off at a run.

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The 'Archon', Space, Pandema system

The battle had just begun, and with Lorn giving most of the orders Carth had begun to feel a bit useless. With nearly ten thousand ships each side he hadn't ever been in as large a space battle, excluding the terrible last one of the Mandalorian wars. Ships were being destroyed every second, lasers, missiles, fighters, mines, all work of weapons attacking, and defending. While Bastila's Battle Meditation gave the Republic a noticeable advantage, and they outnumbered the enemy; the Sith ships were of much higher quality, with the sole exception of the 'Archon', and their crews generally better trained. Tactically they were on even terms, but that was only because of Lorn's extensive strategic knowledge. If it hadn't been for the Battle Meditation, they would be losing badly by now.

Suddenly a huge new blip appeared on the command screen, Imperial ships were blasting out of hyperspace just behind the volcanic moon of Plau. Carth quickly estimated numbers, there were five thousand at least. That many would certainly turn the battle in the Empire's favour.

He patched through to Lorn as quickly as he could. "Tell Bastila, if there's any way she can step up her Battle Meditation, she has to do it now. If we haven't got a good advantage by the time their reinforcements come, we're finished."

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Pandema, Meditation chambers of the Dark Lord

Darth Messiah smiled as he felt a slight power increase from the Jedi using the unusual technique he had never seen before. It irked him that the Jedi had been able to come up with a powerful Force technique that neither he nor any of his Sith had discovered. But he had latched onto her Force signature now, even from this range she would not last long. He pushed both his hands under his robes as he moved into meditation position.

Blackness swirled, sucking the light out of the room as he began his attack.

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The 'Jaeger', Space, Pandema system

Lorn half-turned as he heard the Jedi Master give a scream of terror.

"Lia, help her," he cried. With the battle in full swing he could not afford to attend to Master Bastila. She had stopped using her battle meditation, and the effect was considerable. The Imperial fleet was coming back strongly, their more powerful ships and better training beginning to tell. Lorn barked a series of orders, making the Republic ships form up closer to stop holes in their ranks from forming.

"I can't," Lia wailed. Lorn looked at her more closely, Bastila looked as though she were being assaulted by shadows. They were attacking, but blindly, as though they knew the general area but not her precise location. She was fighting back with the Force, but not doing very well. A nearby officer tried to push one away, but as her hand touched it she screamed. The life was sucked out of her body before their very eyes, decades worth of aging appearing in seconds. When she finally fell to the floor she looked at least a hundred, and she couldn't have been much over thirty. Lorn could almost smell the fear on the deck, the Republic officers were hardened soldiers, but they could not face the supernatural. Laser busts as well as Bastila's lightsaber went straight through the shades.

"Come away from there," Lorn ordered. This was out of their league; Bastila was in the Force's hands now. "And stop firing, you'll just hurt somebody, or damage the ship."

With nothing that he could do to help her struggle that was being waged just behind him, Lorn turned his full attention towards the space battle, which the Empire's fleets were beginning to dominate. And the reinforcements, which were blasting out of hyperspace and forming up around Plau, hadn't even joined in yet.

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O'Dus prison, deep Catacombs

Jadan stopped dead as he ran into the passage. Five bodies lay scattered around; three of them wizened old men. The other two were his Jedi captive-turned-Sith Belaya and his Master Rengath Fer'rer. He did not need to look far to see the culprits; Marka, his opponent, stood hugging the pretty Jedi girl, his wife, Kaya. He had to admit, despite Marka's scars and ripped left ear, he looked surprisingly good, no Dark Side ravages. Jadan had to assume that he had somehow been able to beat the Sith poison. The two had broken away now; Marka held Master Fer'rer's curved 'Makashi' hilt red blade ready and ignited. Jadan ignited his red and yellow blades.

"I never thought it would be this easy to succeed my master," he laughed. "Thank you Marka. With your death, this day will be complete."

"Don't count on it," said the Jedi girl boldly.

Jadan laughed, "You know what, since I'm such a nice guy, I'll let your girlfriend go. She gets a head start of however long you last."

"She is my wife," said Marka coldly.

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Kaya turned to him "I have to go now, don't I?"

Marka nodded. She was out of her league here, and the healing she had just gone through had taken a lot out of her. Marka pressed Belaya's orange blade into her hand, and understanding flashed again between them. 'Makashi' hilt blades were impossible to use effectively in conjunction with a second blade, and both of the lightsabers hilts were built to be used two-handed, while Jadan's were made for single-hand usage. Jadan was also far more skilled in twin lightsabers, and while Marka had specialized in the double-bladed variety it could be translated much more easily into a single weapon. And Marka would never have left Kaya to run through the prison unarmed.

"I'll bring support," she told him as she kissed him lightly and started moving away, Marka knew he would certainly need it. This was a fight he couldn't win, facing Jadan, who was his equal in lightsaber skill and his superior with Force ability. Jadan had his preferred weapons and his combat armour laced with contortis, and he was at full strength. Marka didn't have any of those things, and despite the healing he had inadvertently received he was far from full strength. Nearly all the fat had been drained out of his body during his imprisonment; he now bore a surprising resemblance to the male models that were so popular on Bentu'va, who starved themselves to make their muscles stick out. It would be a wonder if he survived this encounter. He started preparing defenses for any Force-related attacks Jadan might throw at him.

Jadan was advancing on him; neither fast nor slow, swinging his blades in wide arcs, Juyo style. Then he stopped, "What the Sith'ari is your woman doing?"

Marka didn't look back, that was the oldest trick in the book, getting your opponent to look away when you were about to attack. He turned, though, at the sound of Kaya's voice.

"Use it as a shield!" she cried, hurling Rengath Fer'rer's contortis-woven breastplate at him. Marka caught it one handed, quickly turning back to Jadan, making sure that he didn't pull a fast one.

Jadan hadn't moved. "I don't need trickery to beat you, Marka," he said, smirking at his opponent's reaction. "Use it as a shield, ha," he scoffed, "Armour, as a shield!"

Marka wrapped the chords that were meant to attach the armour to the body around his arm, never looking away from Jadan, gripping the largest bunch with his left hand. As a shield, Fer'rer's armour worked very well, as well as any he had ever trained with. It was one of the best and most expensive suits ever commissioned, armour made to withstand even the most powerful lightsabers. That Belaya's lightsaber hadn't burned through it after going through Rengath was testament to its strength. It had no backplate to get in the way of his arm – the lack had cost the Sith master his life– and its flexible base meant to protect the groin moved easily against his shoulder. Few trained these days in the ancient style of using lightsaber-shield combinations, mainly because even contortis-woven shields were destroyed very quickly when lightsaber blades were energized to full power. Marka had though. He moved into a classic en guard position.

"I love you!" Kaya called from far behind him.

Marka's face relaxed slightly, she was getting away. "And I, you," he whispered.

"How touching," said Jadan, irony thick in his voice. "I might have to shed a tear."

"She is away," said Marka calmly.

"She is not the one I want to destroy," Jadan retorted, swinging his blades in wild arcs as he began his charge.

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Stay tuned for "Exit O'Dus', the epic finale of Star Wars: The Dark Empire Episode 1 – Exodus