Shaak Ti stood out behind Maris's house, rubicund complexion turned up towards the sun. The huge, light-generating orb hung seemingly in suspended animation over the jungle planet of Felucia, as if taunting Shaak Ti's dark fate. She gave a soft sigh of exasperation, and angrily turned and moved back inside the house. The jingle of weapons greeted her as soon as she entered, and the first thing she saw was Maris's mother holding two rather large shotguns, and Maris's father holding a huge rifle that looked like it could take out ten people in one round, one shot.
"What's the situation?"
Shaak Ti sighed again, but this was much more audible. "They still haven't reacted," she said slowly, glancing at her hip, as if expecting her comlink to beep with the Sith's reply to her challenge. "I know they're coming, I just don't know when!" she exclaimed, leaning against the wall. "I can't even see their ships-!"
"You wouldn't," Maris's father said gruffly. His graying hair bobbed as he raised his head from loading the massive rifle in his hands. "The sun would obscure your view. I'm sure they have cloaking panels on their ships, as well. Chances are, they'll launch some landing ships, and just storm us like that."
"Will your radars pick up those?" Shaak Ti asked.
"They should," Maris's father answered. "Unless we get shot at. Then, we won't need the sensors, anyway."
As if on cue, a loud, resounding horn-like sound came from outside. Shaak Ti jumped at the unfamiliar sound; both Maris's mother and father dropped what they were holding, seized their weapons, and bolted for the door.
"Let's go, Jedi!" Maris's father called back over his shoulder. "They're after you, you're fighting!"
Shaak Ti took off after them the second Maris's father had spoken, and the young girl came down from her room at a frightening pace. She seized Shaak Ti's arm as she darted past, dragging her out the door and into the street in seconds. "Come on," she said sharply. "You've become the head of the village's warriors-you need to lead them! They look to you as a leader. We can't let them down."
"You're absolutely right," Shaak Ti said, her lightsaber flying to her hand with a flicker of the Force. "So, what do you say we give these clowns a welcome party?"
"Everyone in the village knows what to do," Maris said hurriedly, still dragging Shaak Ti. "Don't worry about them. We need to be right in their faces when they land, though. Our lookouts have determined their landing point, which is exactly in the middle of the village. They'll just fan out from there and sweep the area looking for us."
Shaak Ti found herself right where Maris had said they would be: the middle of town. It was strangely desolate; all the usual traffic of people, speeders, and animals had disappeared. The clamor and din of merchants, shoppers, and travelers had completely disappeared, leaving an eerily silent stretch of empty road lined by vacant buildings. Shaak Ti wasn't sure where exactly ships were supposed to land, but she knew that they were close from the sound echoing in her montrals. The tall, curving horns picked up sound on both sides of the spectrum that were beyond most species' hearing range. The heavy whine of engines coupled with the roar of thrusters and the metallic scraping of disengaged landing gear filled Shaak Ti's head, soon followed by the staccato beat of many, many feet marching perfectly in synch.
"Well?"
"…they come…"
Maris could feel her heart leap into her chest, but swallowed it down again and took a few deep breaths. She could have no fear within her when she finally met the slayer of the entire Jedi race. Fear started her on the downward spiral to the dark side, just as it had with Darth Vader. Shaak Ti had told her the story. Vader had feared for his forbidden attachments, and thus, had driven himself to whatever means necessary to save her. Unfortunately, it was the path he took that killed his wife, and sent him even further into the Sarlaac's mouth. Maris had thought that dispelling her fear would be easy; but now, face to face with what could possibly be fear itself, she wasn't so sure.
The first of the troopers came.
Their white armor shining defiantly in the sun, their blunt black rifles held across their chest, they came in rows and columns of perfect assembly. Shaak Ti watched as they all brought their rifles into firing position, and then took aim at her and Maris. She remained as she was, where she was: standing perfectly still, hands open and relaxed at her sides, eyes calm, half-closed, and fixated on the troopers heading her way. An unintelligible yell suddenly broke through the repetitive staccato beat of the footfalls of the soldiers: their rifles snapped back up to bear, and they turned to face each other down the middle. Five troopers turned inwards from either side, and then all took several steps back. Shaak Ti's body, formerly still, suddenly gave a violent shiver. Her lengthy head-tail and montrals trembled, and clashed violently with her orange-and-white colored body. The troopers cast a wary glance in her direction, but otherwise did not acknowledge her. The Togruta could sense a presence in the Force approaching them at a rapid pace, with only the intent to kill in his mind. Shaak Ti knew that this was what Qui-Gon had said when he said that she was being targeted by one of the greatest evils this world had ever seen. This man purely radiated the dark side, and Shaak Ti could hardly feel the light side in the area.
And suddenly, it swelled.
Shaak Ti called upon the vast forces of the light side of the Force, bringing about a dramatic shift in the balance of the planet. Rotting under Vader's feet, the soil suddenly came alive again, whispering of the Jedi who had trodden here only minutes before. Shaak Ti suddenly became a living temple of the Force, with nothing but the pure essence of life flowing through her. A deep breath took it all in; a thorough exhale dispelled the dark side and all its emotions.
"Jedi Master Shaak Ti. You are under arrest for the crime of high treason to the Imperial Crown."
Shaak Ti's eyes slowly slid closed, and the smallest hint of an impish grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Don't you mean the crime of following a path not yours?" she said softly, not opening her eyes. Her grin only grew, though, and when Maris looked at her master, she found herself smirking the same smirk. Shaak Ti was suddenly venting an air of confidence and defiance. And it was quite contagious. Vader, though, was not amused.
"You may either submit and come quietly, or I will arrest you by force."
"Or executed."
"I am not above killing a rogue traitor such as you."
"You will not kill me, Anakin. I know you better than that."
Vader did a double-take at the sound of his name, and, for a moment, he could do nothing but reel from the shock. The audacity of Shaak Ti's remarks stunned him: most would be running in fear, or already rushing in to their demise, pitting themselves against his crimson blade-but Ti…no, she was far beyond anything Vader had ever seen. In the face of such danger, she mocked him. "How dare you speak to me with that forsaken name!" Vader finally cried, his red lightsaber springing into his hand and blazing to life. "You will either fall to your knees and beg for mercy, or you will die!"
Shaak Ti's eyes finally opened, but Vader was none too pleased with what he saw within them. There was the fire of the light side, and the blindness of one about to die. "I refuse," she hissed, venom suddenly creeping into her voice, "to be your pathetic little puppet. And you, Anakin, should have refused to be Palpatine's puppet. You were so much better than that-you had such promise. My Chosen One, why turn and forsake that which gave you life?"
"My mother is dead!" Vader cried. "And I have no father. Qui-Gon is dead; Obi-Wan is dead; Padme is dead. The light side had not the strength to sustain us! I have no life left within me!"
"And who do you think killed them?" Shaak Ti asked, calm once again. "The very scum you have become. Open your eyes, Anakin: I cannot defend you, nor justify your actions this time."
"You will not speak to me with that name again!"
"I will not be demeaned by a Sith!"
Vader suddenly lunged at Shaak Ti, his anger taking him over completely. Shaak Ti didn't lift a finger; Maris did. The blue blade Maris had constructed sprang into her hand and ignited, and she brought it bear in front of her. She didn't move, though: she trusted Shaak Ti to defend herself.
And defend herself, she did. Shaak Ti's light side powers suddenly revealed themselves to Vader in terrible certainty. Vader tried to check his attack, but his new body did not respond to him as well as he would have liked. He faltered, but did not stop, and Shaak Ti's attack hit him full-on. A powerful Force-shove met Vader's chest with crippling impact. The Sith lord flew back, his lightsaber falling from his hand and flying across the street with something resembling horizontal terminal velocity. Shaak Ti made no other move; she simply stood for a moment, tracking Vader's flight pattern with tranquil coal orbs. Vader finally landed, and crashed into the side of a building. He slowly slid down the side, collapsing into a heap at the foot of said building.
Maris took the scene in with shock. Vader's menacing black armor had been hurtling towards them one second, and then, in the next, Shaak Ti had blasted him across the street and possible into oblivion. Maris had counted eight seconds of hang time before Vader finally hit the building-several feet above the ground. He would have kept going! Maris glanced at Shaak Ti, still stunned by her master's true power. Even while she had been fighting Starkiller, this power hadn't been evident in the slightest. Maris could see now why exactly Shaak Ti had been hailed as one of the top five Jedi of her time: she was truly deeply in tune with the Force, and allowed it to work within her to its fullest potential. No more was she Shaak Ti the Togruta Jedi-she was nothing more than an instrument of the Force, and that was why she was so powerful.
And you can be, too, young one.
Maris started at the voice she heard, but it was unfamiliar to her. It was a deep voice, clearly male, and older. Perhaps forty-five? Fifty? Maris cast about warily for someone else in the area, but there was no one there. Her heart climbed into her throat and began pulsating like a tribal drum. Who are you? she subconsciously called out, reaching into the Force for an answer.
I am Qui-Gon Jinn, a Jedi of the Old Republic, the voice answered, calmly and through the Force. Shaak Ti had told you of me?
Maris kept her outward appearance as steady as she could, and reached deeper into the Force. No, she has not, she replied.
I am a Jedi Master from Anakin's childhood. I was the one who discovered him as the Chosen One and brought him to the Temple to be trained. I was killed by a Sith lord of old: Darth Maul. My apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, took Anakin and trained him as his apprentice in my stead. I have since joined the Force, and I now communicate with living Jedi through it.
Maris shook her head slightly, but said nothing. Qui-Gon went on: Only beings who are truly in synch with the Force can hear me. Your master; Yoda; Obi-Wan; and now, you. You have discovered the secret of Shaak Ti's power, and now you, too, can access her same power. Just allow the Force to work through you, and you will prevail. You are the shatter point, Maris: fight with Shaak Ti and the Force. Do not allow Vader to intimidate you. Deep down, he is still a lovesick little boy mourning for the loss of his lover. Now, I must depart from you. But please, bear in mind my words.
And, just like that, Maris was shocked back to the present. All around her, the living Force swirled, channeled through Shaak Ti and directed towards Vader. His lightsaber came to a rolling halt at Shaak Ti's feet, the red blade still protruding from the elaborate handle. Shaak Ti carelessly kicked the saber back in Vader's direction, and this time, it stop halfway between them.
"Pick it up. I do not slaughter defenseless."
Maris was shocked, once again, at Shaak Ti's integrity. She refused to win by luck alone. What was she trying to prove? Then, it hit Maris: it wasn't Shaak Ti that was speaking. It was the Force, using Shaak Ti's voice. Maris slowly took a step back, feeling the raw power simply falling off Shaak Ti. As she did, Vader shakily stood up, calling his lightsaber into hand with a flicker of the dark side.
"Jedi," he snarled, the animosity in his voice prevalent, "You made a grave mistake in not following up that attack. In that fraction of a second, you could have ended it. But instead, you chose to spare me, and so, you will to see the consequences. And those consequences entail your death."
Shaak Ti only offered a coy smile, and she slowly extended one hand to vader. Maris could feel the Force flowing in and around and out of Shaak Ti, and she offered the light side to Vader, hoping to provoke some memories. "Come back," she said softly. "I know you, Anakin: this isn't you. Don't make me fight you."
"Consider yourself lucky, Shaak Ti," Vader rasped harshly, "you won't live long enough to wallow in your own self-pity and sorrow."
The barb effectively slid beneath Shaak Ti's skin, but she ignored it as best she could. "Anakin, I will do what I must. I cannot allow my personal feelings to get in the way; I will kill you if I must."
"You will try."
And Vader had returned for round two.
A/N: Clouds are fluffy…and tasty…like cheesy cheese that smeels and tastes like cheese
Quote from my cousin via text message. Review, please.
