One chapter left to go! :-D And here is the big scene! (At least, I hope it comes across as such). I would like to mention, there's quite a few references to other books and stories here, ranging from Star Wars: Knights of the Republic, Tales of the Jedi, and a trilogy that I still can't remember the name of. (It involved Kyp Durron and also had the scene I reference here talking about Exar Kun's spirit. This also references Legacy of the Force, of course. So, now for the Kayala/Corrun fight scene. :-)
Chapter 13
"You're sure he's coming?" Kayala wringed her hands together, looking at the face of the dead Jedi's apparition. This wasn't good, not good at all. If Darth Corrun was coming, then her training was over.
"Yes," Mara inclined her head. She raised it again to say, "And unfortunately he has indeed become the thing of legend."
"The Sith'ari?"
"Yes. Leia and I have begun calling on the other Jedi- those who have died long before us. There are a few-" Mara bit her lip, apparently thinking. "There are few who aren't Jedi, per se, but have chosen to help us. It's a little odd, when you think about it."
"Isn't it all?" Kayala mumbled, thinking about the lightsaber in her hand. It wasn't technically real, but apparently her talent led her to make things believe it was real, so much so that it actually hued things apart with its blade. She had her suspicions that this wasn't entirely her power, that some of the Jedi that liked to show up at random were aiding her. No real surprise there, though, considering how much they wanted Corrun dead.
"Well, Sith and Jedi don't usually work together."
"Sith? I thought they couldn't become 'one with the Force!'"
"Who knows? The Force works in strange ways. Anyway, there will be help behind you."
"And what exactly am I supposed to do?" Kayala let her imaginary lightsaber vanish so that she could cross her arms. Instantly she felt relief at not using so much power.
"That's what we're debating. Most of us want him dead, but we saw what happened when Luke killed Caedus with the same idea. Like it or not, the revenge factor is there, and he could play that card if he wanted. Someone else suggested a game of Sabacc- winner takes the galaxy." Mara glared over her shoulder at someone that Kayala couldn't see. "Yes, Katarn, that means you!"
"Somehow I don't think he'd take that for an answer," Kayala scowled.
"Same here. Actually, we'll be lucky if he doesn't just land and strike you dead without saying a word."
Kayala shivered. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"That," Mara said with a grin, "is why we're going to be here."
"Great. What about Han?"
Mara frowned, shifting uncomfortably. "Well… he's…. he's not going to be around to see it."
"You saw him die?" Kayala shrieked.
Mara quickly waved off the idea, then rubbed her ear. "No, of course not! Just the opposite! We're going to make sure that he doesn't get killed, should you fail."
"He'd kill you if you weren't already dead."
"No doubt about that." She grinned. "Point is, while you are our last hope, we're not very hopeful." Kayala snorted at Mara's bluntness. "On the bright side, you will give us a reason to force Han to-"
"Do what?" Han came up behind Kayala, both hands clenched with indignation. "I did not just go through all that to watch someone else die! I want my shot at Corrun, regardless of what happens to me! I want-"
"Sleep," Mara said shortly, motioning with her hand. Han crumpled to the ground, completely unconscious. She sighed. "Scoundrels have such a tendency to overwork themselves."
"Huh?" Kayala looked between the Jedi and Han. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, though he won't be happy when he wakes up."
As Kayala watched, Leia appeared kneeling beside Han, then another, much younger woman with similar features knelt on his other side. They both reached down and picked him up, taking care not to drop him. They began walking down the hill, two glowing apparitions caring the grown man to safety.
"That looks freaky," Kayala commented.
"Han would think so, too, if he woke up. But he's not going to, not until the battle is well underway." Mara knelt on her knees so that she could be face to face with Kayala. "Look, Kayala, I'm sorry that you've been put in this position. I know it's not enviable. But we need you. There's something you should know. I've been talking with the others in the Force, and they told me that over four thousand years ago, a man named Exar Kun trained here. He was a Jedi, and very ambitious. He became interested in Sith artifacts, and so sought them out. However, during one of his excursions, he was broken in a Sith tomb; he arose again a Sith. For a short time he ruled the galaxy before being betrayed. He sought out refuge in his temples on Yavin 4, where he chained his spirit to one to avoid death. Four thousand years passed, and he was forgotten.
"Then one day, Luke Skywalker decided to use that temple as training grounds for the New Jedi Order. Soon after one of his apprentices was killed, he was forced out of body by the Sith Lord, where he could only contact the young Jedi twins, Jaina and Jacen. As Kun swooped in to attack, Luke used the Force to aid Jacen in stopping Kun from killing him. Then the Jedi apprentices took their lightsabers together to attack Kun's spirit, destroying the darkness with light. Exar Kun was finally defeated.
"But recently, as soon as Luke fell, something rose again in that temple. It was an echo of the spirit that dwelled there before, but it still remained. This may not seem important now, but it is. Luke became the Sith'ari where Exar Kun fell, and he is coming here, where Exar Kun rose."
"You think there are parallels?" Kayala asked, drawn in by the story.
"Yes, I do. At first we considered attacking Darth Corrun with lightsabers, or with the light side of the Force. But that won't work. Corrun can still use the light side of the Force to heal and bring things back to life, even while he uses the dark side to destroy it."
"So what should I do?" This was starting to sound even more impossible than she first imagined.
"I don't know. But one of the… more unusual, Force-users here, suggested that you have some unique ties to the Force. You told Han that you felt them when hunting. You also have an uncanny ability with creating illusions, which is ironic after I threatened you with them to begin with. You won't have much time when Darth Corrun arrives, but think of some way in which you can use both those powers. I'm sure you can think of something. We will be here to back you." Mara smiled, gently giving Kayala's shoulders a shake. "May the Force be with you." She disappeared.
"Wait!" Kayala stepped forward to stop her, then grunted with frustration. "Why do they always do that? 'We'll give you help' they say, and what do they do? Vanish in thin air! Agh!" Kayala kicked the dirt and sulked the entire way back to the Millennium Falcon.
Like a comet foretelling doom, Corrun's shuttle streaked across the early morning Dantooine sky. The cool air rushed in a moment later, sending dew drops flying off the tall bits of grass and spraying the young Jedi. Kayala felt her heart sink; he was here. She pushed herself off the ground, standing and brushing dirt off her pants. She walked in the direction that the shuttle had disappeared, not running so that she could conserve energy. She had an idea about what to do, but she wasn't sure that it would work on someone as powerful as Luke had become.
"May the Force be with you," a voice whispered in her ear.
"Thanks, Mara," she said quietly, not needing to see the Jedi to know who it was. As it was, none of the others had shown themselves yet. They would wait until she confronted Darth Corrun. The key was that she did not get into an actual fight with him. All of her plans hinged on him taking just a moment to talk to her, so that her attack would not immediately cause alarm, just confusion.
It took her twenty minutes to find where Corrun had landed. When she did, she saw the shuttle first, and then the dark figure standing tall just outside. He held a lightsaber but he did not seem to be in a hurry to use it. When he saw her standing at the top of the hill, he strode forward to meet her.
Kayala stayed where she was, hoping he wouldn't just zap her with Force lightning. Instead he came within a few meters of her, his shirt and hair ruffling in the morning wind. "Hello, Kayala."
How the Force does he know my name? Kayala thought with a stab of fear. This was a powerful man in front of her.
His somber expression did not change. "It is a sorry thing that the Jedi have brought you into this when you would not have been touched otherwise."
"What do you mean?" Kayala asked warily, hoping to distract him. She still wasn't sure what he meant, but she doubted he would say anything good.
"I am only interested in stopping those who want revenge on each other, those who cannot see when to forgive. You have nothing against me or any of those who have power to cause galactic-wide problems."
"Oh." He was wrong though. "My parents were on the station with the Jedi, restocking supplies."
He frowned, a look of confusion crossing his face. "I see. Perhaps fate has brought us here, then."
"Han always said that fate is what you make of it."
"Han- where is he? I can't sense him." This time Corrun looked generally worried. He turned his attention to Kayala, his gaze intensifying. "Where is Han Solo?"
She cringed. He was pushing at her with the Force, making her tell him. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. He prodded harder, making the desire to tell him hurt. "The Jedi took him, I don't know where."
He let go, apparently realizing she told the truth. "Jedi? But there are no-" He stopped short, looking past her. She looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw just how many glowing figures stood behind her in various positions and expressions. There was Mara and Leia, and the woman who had helped take the unconscious Han away. Then there were others- a short green one, grizzled old men, people in masks that hid their identity to those who couldn't recognize the markings, and aliens that Kayala had never seen before, among others.
"This is unusual," Corrun said simply. "You all wish to go against me?"
It was Mara who stepped forward. "Yes, Luke. Where once we would have followed you where ever you took us, now we must not let you go forward. You seek to destroy those who would take revenge, but can you not see that you will have to destroy yourself, as well?"
"I know that, and I know it will have to be done once my work is finished."
"You're work is finished here, Luke. As Jaina said, you have become corrupted. Eventually you would realize that even the smallest being can harbor revenge and act on it, and there would be nothing left living in the galaxy. And you would not stop there, not as the creature you have become. It might not happen immediately-"
"But it rarely does," another man said, stepping from the line. He was masked, hiding his identity from Kayala, but his voice betrayed his gender. Corrun seemed to recognize him, however. "You may intend to do good, but slowly your ways become more drastic until you finally grip the galaxy entirely and without remorse. There are very, very few who can stop even if they know when to. You have researched the stories of the Sith and the Jedi, and you know mine. Can you honestly say that you will be able to stop at killing the most powerful in the name of good?"
Corrun said nothing, listening to the man's words. It seemed to Kayala that the man who spoke was not Jedi, but not entirely Sith, either. Finally, Corrun had something to say. "This cycle must be stopped, and the only way is to stop the source-"
"The Force is composed of dark and light side elements," an old woman said sharply. "You of all people know this. The only way to destroy revenge is to destroy life and the Force itself. You will not do this, but you are welcome to try if you like." Her lips curled into a snarl, and she disappeared entirely.
Kayala shivered. Mara spoke again. "Ignore her. Don't do this, Luke. Step back. Let the course of events run clean on their own."
"If you do not think you can do this, the Force can be stripped away from you, Skywalker. You would not be the first," another woman said, standing by a weary looking man.
Corrun shook his head. "No. I will do what I need to do, though your points are valid. I will remember what you've said, so that my work will still have meaning."
"Then you will die," Mara said quietly, stepping away.
Kayala shot her a glare. I'm the one he's going to kill! she thought with frustration.
Corrun lit his lightsaber. Kayala glanced at the red glow coming from the weapon, then held out her hand. She concentrated, letting her weapon materialize in her hand. Once she felt its weight in her palm, she switched it on. The blade ignited yellow, then slowly faded in and out of the other colors: green, blue, purple, and even orange, before cycling back through to yellow.
"Unusual weapon," Corrun said simply.
Kayala shrugged. "I couldn't decide, no one said what it should look like."
Corrun raised an eyebrow and then started to swing his lightsaber in an arc before stepping in to attack. But Kayala stayed where she was, envisioning a rope weaving between her left hand and his. He let go of his lightsaber, trying to yank his hand away, but she held it tight.
Now, for the Force.
She strengthened her concentration on the rope, only barely noticing the other Jedi who had fallen stepping in and placing a hand on the rope illusion. She could feel Corrun trying to pull away, using everything he could to break the bond, but she suddenly tapped into one of his attempted attacks.
She screamed at the same time he did, feeling a sudden rush of power flood her as she successfully broke into the Force that flooded through him. He dropped to the ground on one knee, no longer trying to attack her, but trying to sever the connection.
"What are you doing?" he growled, staring at her with anger. "If you want my power, that will only make you a Sith, too." His eyes glowed with rage, making the darkness that surrounded them all the more noticeable.
"No," she shook her head, feeling sick to her stomach. In her still free hand, she raised the lightsaber she had created. The Jedi holding the rope closed their eyes, a soft whisper surrounding them as some meditated on the Jedi code out loud. "I don't take any of it."
Corrun realized at the last minute what she was doing "No!" he roared, yanking back on the powers that had been flooding between them on the rope twisted of the Force. He grabbed the lightsaber with his right, robotic hand, and attempted to throw it at her.
She brought the lightsaber down on the rope. It snapped in two, and the last thing she saw was the white explosion emanating outwards from the spot where the rope had broken. The only thing above the roar that she heard was her and Corrun's screams.