New chapter up. We're nearing the end here, people. Hope you're enjoying.


Nikka POV

I had just finished a lesson with Arcann and was heading to my ship to shower and change. Our lessons were getting more and more intense, but I was finally starting to make real progress. I even managed to get the upper hand on Arcann a time or two, with him not holding back. He never held back. It wasn't in his personality to go easy on someone. He told me, if he held back, I wouldn't learn.

In the control center, I ran into Rio, Lana and Hylo, all talking very seriously.

"Something up?" I asked, looking between them.

"We think we know where Theron is." Rio said. "Lana and I are heading to an abandoned Imperial space station to confirm."

"We think he's on Nathema." Lana said. The word alone sent a chill down my spine. I could tell it did the same thing to Lana. I'd only felt a Force echo from the planet, she'd actually been there before and, no doubt, she remembered.

"I'm going with you." I said.

"No, you're not." Rio replied, very commandingly.

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at my brother.

"Yes, I am. This is Theron we're talking about. I've stayed behind every time you've asked me to, but I need to be there this time."

Rio sighed. "I can't have you there with me. We have no idea what we're walking into and I can't worry about you. Not now."

"You don't need to worry about me, Rio. I can take care of myself. Even more now than I ever could." I could feel the weight of the lightsaber on my hip. I found it comforting and it gave me confidence. The new lightsaber I had just constructed a week ago felt like an old friend now.

"No. And I will not discuss it further." Rio said, turning on his heels and heading towards the shuttlebay. Lana gave me a sympathetic look, then followed behind. Hylo did the same.

Angrily, I stormed off to my ship. I figured I'd cool off once I showered and changed, since some of my emotions were from the intense battle I had just fought with Arcann. Unfortunately, I was just as angry afterwards. More so even. As I paced up and down my ship, I realized there was only one thing I could do: go to Nathema on my own.

I ran to the cockpit, firing up my ship and sent a message to the control center that I was planning on departing. Everyone who would think to stop me or ask me where I was going were with Rio, so I had no trouble getting off the planet. Once clear of the planet, I set my hyperdrive autopilot for Nathema.


Theron POV

I had left my bread crumbs for Lana and the commander, as well as a set of coordinates. The risk was high that the gemini droid at the heart of this whole mess would know what I was up to, but if I couldn't get the commander to Nathema, then my life was pretty much forfeit anyway. The time for stealth and deception was over. I could only hope my efforts would pay off.

I was beyond relieved when the commander and Lana showed up at the coordinates. I was also relieved that neither of them killed me on sight. I could tell from the look on her face that Lana really wanted to kill me, but thankfully, Commander Drucos was more patient with his anger.

I explained everything to them as quickly as possible. I told them about the gemini droid listening in on every conversation and about the heralds of Zildrog trying to find and awaken Zildrog itself, which was less of a serpent god and more of an advanced machine capable of destroying damn near everything. It was an outrageous story, but both the commander and Lana had seen and heard worse stories that turned out to be true.

I also begged Commander Drucos to forgive me for what I had done to Nikka. She was the most important thing in my life and I had left her for a good reason, but the act killed me. I just hoped my sincerity translated to the commander. Leaving the Alliance was one thing, but hurting Nikka was on an entirely different level, when the person in charge is her brother.

Fortunately, though Lana looked very skeptical, Commander Drucos believed me enough to go along with my idea to stop Zildrog and his zealots. Thank the Force for a levelheaded commander.

The three of us headed to stop Zildrog, but I had to leave them to finish the job themselves, since the head Herald of Zildrog was on his way offworld. He had become too influential and powerful to be left free. Even if we succeeded in stopping Zildrog, he would still be a major pain in our sides if he was allowed to continue on his path. Zealots had a way of doing that kind of thing.

The herald didn't know I was a spy, so I planned to follow him to his ship, then take him captive and return him to Odessen for judgment, assuming there was still an Odessen to go home to when all was said and done. I had complete confidence in my friends and their ability to get the job done, but would they stop the machine before anything was destroyed?

Things were going exactly as I had planned, but what happened next, I did not plan.

When we walked into the hanger bay, standing in the middle of the room, alone, was Nikka. She was surrounded by dead members of Zildrog's cult, but she didn't have a blaster out. There wasn't even a blaster hanging at her side, that I could see.

She smiled in our direction, but it wasn't a happy smile. "Hello, Theron." she said, calmly eyeing us.

"Old friend of yours?" The herald asked.

"You could say that." I replied. I pulled my blaster out and so did the herald.

"Just kill her, so we can continue with my plans. Once Zildrog kills the Alliance commander, there will be much to do."

I planned to turn my weapon on the herald, setting it quickly to stun, so we could take him alive, but Nikka started to laugh and I was caught off guard.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Without another word, Nikka lifted her empty hands towards us and both our weapons were pulled out of our hands. The blasters flew towards Nikka and she caught them, perfectly positioned to fire.

I was only able to marvel at the feat in stunned disbelief for a moment before I felt a burst of pain and then darkness.


To Be Continued...