Strike, sweep, block, strike, sweep, parry, dodge, flip, block, kick. Vaukel and Claieva hashed it out for what felt like hours. Vaukel had gotten his mask knocked to the floor after taking a roundhouse kick to the face from Claieva and even lost his jacket after using it as a diversion to land a punch square in her nose. The two fierce warriors, stood apart from each other, bruised, bloodied, and drenched with sweat, this duel was anyone's game now.
"This bitch is tapping into the dark side," thought Vaukel, "she's pissed because she can't slip past my guard… This is good… If I can make, he desperate enough, I can slip past her own guard and deliver a counterattack."
"It's time I ended this game," growled Claieva.
Claieva formed her left hand into a claw and tore out pieces of the walls to her left and right, then she hurled them at Vaukel.
"Oh crap!" he thought.
Vaukel cut the pieces of the wall into… Well, more pieces; but as he cut down the last piece, he backflipped out of the way of a surprise thrust aimed at his neck, then he buckled down and tanked up as Claieva went hard on him.
"I WON'T LOSE TO THAT BRAT! AND I WON'T LOSE TO YOU!" she roared as she slammed her lightsaber against Vaukel's.
Vaukel kept a cool head as he weathered the inquisitor's relentless assault. The two of them locked blades, broke away, and Claieva went in for a thrust, Vaukel stepped to the left and delivered a twist kick to Claieva's gut, then he grabbed her by the face and shoved her back.
"You can't always have it your way, little girl," said Vaukel.
Vaukel jumped at Claieva and went for a thrust. The inquisitor gasped and stepped back, all while still trying to get her bearings after taking that kick to the gut. But then… A small smile formed on her face. Something started to fly into her offhand… But then she screamed, causing Vaukel to stop dead in his tracks. Claieva dropped to her knees, clutching a stump.
"What the…?" he murmured.
Vaukel looked at gasped. Kayla was on her feet. And what's more… She was wielding different lightsabers, each one that emitted a blue blade.
"…It's been a long time," she said as her offhand lightsaber returned to her hand, "…Big brother."
Vaukel smiled, he raced over to Kayla and got a good look at her eyes. They lost their yellow glow. They were brown again.
"…You're back…" he said with a light chuckle.
Vaukel gave Kayla a big hug.
"…You're back…" he said.
"…It's… Good to be back," she said.
Meanwhile, things weren't looking so good on Admiral Trecam's end.
"Guardsmen! Guardsmen!" barked Trecam, "where are those blasted guardsmen? What happen!?"
"Sorry, they can't come to the comms," said a voice.
The admiral whirled around and gasped, seeing Daralec, Orthus, and Lavok standing on the bridge, with a saber guard corpse.
"Can they take a message?" Daralec asked as he tossed the body on the ground.
"Intruders!" barked Trecam.
Orthus shot the admiral in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. Daralec drew and ignited his lightsaber, then he jumped at the closest stormtrooper and cut his left arm off, then he spun around and took off his head.
Lavok started blasting alongside Orthus, landing precise kill shots at the stormtroopers on the bridge… Including a few of the crew who were foolish enough to go for a weapon.
"That looks like the last of them," said Orthus.
Daralec deactivated and clipped his lightsaber to his belt, then he marched over to Trecam and forced him to his feet.
"Alright listen up! The bridge is under our control now!" barked Daralec, "so let's all play nice and cooperate… And your boss here will get to go home to his family… In fact, everyone here will get to go home to their families."
No one moved. No one said anything. Everyone just looked at each other in silence, as if they couldn't make heads or tails with what Daralec just said. Suddenly… Admiral Trecam started chuckling.
"…The extermination of your kind has made you irrational Jedi… You were foolish to think you had time to secure the bridge," he said.
"…What are you talking about?" asked Daralec.
/\/\/\/\/\
"…I'm sorry I wasn't there Kayla… I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you and your mother… I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…" said Vaukel, "…I'm… I'm sorry…"
"…Just promise me, you'll never leave me alone again…" Kayla said as she hugged her brother tighter, "…Promise me… You won't leave me in the dark…"
Vaukel pat her head.
"I promise," he said.
Kayla buried her face in his chest.
"…Thank you," she said.
Vaukel let out a long breath and smiled. Kayla looked over Vaukel's shoulder and saw Claieva was still trying to get her bearings after losing her hand. She pulled away from her stepbrother and walked over to her wounded, former colleague.
"It's over Claieva," she said, "you lost."
Claieva looked at Kayla.
"…Ehe, so it's come to this," she said, "we certainly had some good times, eh Kayla? Hunting down Jedi… Training with the other inquisitors… Our master giving us a lesson in 'Loss'."
Kayla said nothing.
"Oh… That's right… You were spared from the rod," said Claieva, "all thanks to your beloved 'Dark Father'."
Kayla frowned.
"You know the others and I were having a discussion one day… And one of us asked what you would've been like… If you endured the same level of torture as us… If you NEVER became our master's pet!" she roared as she ignited her lightsaber and swung.
Kayla drew and ignited her own lightsaber, blocking her attack.
"What made you so damn special!? Why was he never hard on you!? Why did he never punish you!? Why was he so soft towards you!? HOW COME YOU EARNED HIS DAMN FAVOR!?" Claieva demanded as she swung at Kayla like a madwoman.
When Claieva and Kayla locked blades, the former took a kick to her left shin and another kick to the face to stun her, then Kayla used an ability on Claieva that she thought she had forgotten about for so long: Force Choke.
"Kayla! KAYLA!" Vaukel yelled in a panic.
"It's okay Vaukel," she said.
Kayla slammed Claieva into the wall and held her in place.
"Now you listen here, and you listen well," she said, "I'm not staying my hand because you and I were once friends, or because you and I were like sisters… I stay my hand because killing you now would have no meaning."
Kayla ignited her main hand lightsaber and held it at Claieva's throat.
"But should Lord Vader be lenient enough not to take your life for failing him, I'd like to leave you with a warning. If you ever come after me or Vaukel again… Your life is forfeit," she hissed.
Kayla deactivated her lightsaber and slammed Claieva into the wall again before letting her slide down to the floor. Kayla walked back over to Vaukel and let out a long breath.
"That felt good," she said.
"…You surprise me Kayla… You're actually sparing her?" asked Vaukel.
"If she dies by my hand, it'd be a mercy killing. Her fate is in Lord Vader's hands now," she said.
Vaukel looked at Claieva and saw the wounded inquisitor trying to get to her feet.
"…Valid point," he said.
"Now come on, let's go regroup with the others," Kayla said as she started walking away, "when we return, I'll see if I can get you some… Help."
"Help?" he asked as he started to follow.
Kayla stopped and turned around.
"…Vaukel… What you told me about what she did to you… I can't afford to worry about you snapping and going insane. Especially after what you went through during the purge," said Kayla, "besides, I'm sure these guys have top-notch healers."
Vaukel opened his mouth to respond when, he and Kayla heard the sound of multiple footsteps heading their way. The two of them turned.
"Kayla! Vaukel!" yelled Daralec.
"You guys!" chirped Kayla, "thank goodness, I thought you guys-"
"We have to get out of here," interrupted Daralec.
"Eh?" asked Kayla.
"We just found out the empire sent reinforcements. They'll be here any minute, so we need to go right now," Daralec said firmly.
Claieva had a surprised look on her face as she got to her feet.
"Wait… Reinforcements?" she asked.
"Oh, don't act so surprised, lady," said Daralec.
"Yeah, we know you called for reinforcements, probably before we even boarded this damn ship!" snapped Orthus.
Claieva had a confused look on her face.
"What the hell are you talking about? I never ordered for reinforcements to be called," she said.
Orthus and Daralec looked at each other.
"I told you he did it on his own," said Lavok.
"Who did what on his own?" asked Kayla.
"That imperial admiral called for reinforcements on his own volition," said Lavok.
Claieva's expression changed from confused to fearful in the span of a few seconds.
"He added that someone powerful is on their way here to deal with us," said Lavok, "we must leave, immediately."
"Did he say who?" asked Vaukel.
Just then, Kayla turned pale and started rubbing her arms.
"…Kayla? What's wrong?" asked Daralec.
"…I feel… Cold," she said.
Even Claieva, who was battered, bloodied, and wounded, turned pale and began to shiver in response to the cold sensation that washed over her. Everyone slowly turned around as they were met with the haunting, subtle sound… Of breathing.
Someone came around the corner of the hallway. Someone tall, clad in a full suite of black Sith armor. He stood silently at the group, not uttering a single word as he stared at everyone before him. This individual. This being. This figure, that only Kayla and Claieva had ever seen before, had made the temperature in the hallway drop with his very presence, sending chills, not just through the wounded inquisitor and the former inquisitor; but through Vaukel, Daralec, and even the two Mandalorians.
"…Um… Kayla… Who is that?" asked Daralec.
"…My… Master," Kayla said slowly.
"…No seriously, who is that?" Daralec asked in disbelief.
"…Lord Vader," Claieva said slowly.
Suddenly, Claieva found herself frozen in place as the dark figure. The dark lord of the Sith, approached the group. No words still came from him… Only the sound of his breathing was heard, which grew much louder as he came closer.
"M-My lord… I can explain," Claieva said slowly as she tried to move.
Darth Vader stood before Claieva, looking down at her; everyone else stepped back, not knowing what was about to happen. Darth Vader put a hand on Claieva's right shoulder.
"…You have failed me Inquisitor," he said.
Claieva felt something pressed against her gut, causing her to gasp. She slowly looked over her left shoulder and smiled.
"…You're all going to die here," she said with a twisted giggle.
Suddenly, a crimson red blade pierced Claieva and the inquisitor dropped to the floor, dead.
"OH CRAP!" exclaimed Daralec.
Kayla started shaking. She knew she was next. And sure enough…
"You have forgotten your place, Kayla," said Vader, "by working alongside those Jedi and those renegade Mandalorians, and killing imperial personnel, you have betrayed me."
Kayla swallowed.
"But… We need not be adversaries. I am willing to grant you immunity for your crimes, if you kill those four individuals and return to my side," he said.
Kayla swallowed again and slowly shook her head.
"I… I… I won't…" she said, "I-I-I'm sorry b-b-but I won't. I won't do it. Y-You're not my master anymore, I-I won't do it."
Darth Vader was silent for a moment, he deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. Suddenly, in a flash, Kayla was lifted up off the floor and clawing at her throat as she became short on breath.
"Then you will die," said Vader.
"Kayla!" screamed Vaukel.
"Lavok!" barked Orthus.
The two Mandalorians moved forward, drew their blasters, and started firing. Darth Vader raised his free hand and blocked the oncoming bolts, all while still choking out Kayla. Daralec pulled Vaukel in close.
"Vaukel, I have an idea, but we need to work fast," he whispered, "follow my lead."
Vaukel nodded.
"Keep firing!" barked Orthus.
But Darth Vader kept blocking the bolts. Working fast, Vaukel and Daralec pulled out pieces of the hallway wall and used them to sandwich and contain the dark lord, releasing Kayla in the process.
"Kayla! Are you okay?" Vaukel asked as he raced over to her.
"Tha… Tha… That's not going to hold him forever, we have to go," coughed Kayla.
"I concur," said Lavok, "this is a fight we cannot win."
Suddenly, the makeshift 'prison' that Vaukel and Daralec made started to slowly… Expand and open up. Kayla let out a fearful whimper.
"Run… RUN!" she screamed as she jumped to her feet and took off.
Vaukel and the boys followed, no one bothered to look back.
"That is one scary-ass guy!" yelled Daralec.
"Guy!? Are you insane!? That's not just some guy! That's… That's death! That is an agent-No, the embodiment of the dark side itself!" yelled Orthus.
"No one stop!" yelled Kayla.
Everyone arrived at the elevators and got them open, the Mandalorians took one elevator and Kayla, Daralec and Vaukel took the other.
"See you at the hangar," said Orthus.
Their door closed. Vaukel hit the button to go down. But there was a problem… The door wouldn't close.
"Vaukel, let's close the door now," said Daralec.
"It's not closing," said Vaukel.
Kayla started shivering, hearing the haunting breathing.
"He's getting closer!" Daralec yelled in a panic.
"I know that!" snapped Vaukel.
Kayla peeked around the corner and saw a red glow. She pressed herself against the elevator wall and squealed. Vaukel smashed the button and the doors closed, then the trio went down.
"Are we alive? Are we all alive?" asked Kayla.
"Yep," said Daralec.
"Still breathing," Vaukel panted as he put his back against the wall.
"I've faced off against my fair share of enemies since I became a Revanite… But I've never been pursued by someone who walks after you," panted Daralec.
"Lord Vader walking after us isn't the problem. The problem is making sure he doesn't catch you," said Kayla.
The elevator opened. Orthus and Lavok were waiting for everyone.
"Thank goodness, we thought that… Thing, caught you guys," said Orthus.
"No time Orthus, we have to keep moving," said Kayla.
The group took off for the hangar.
"The sooner we're off this ship, the sooner we can get back to the others and put this… Terrifying ordeal behind-US!" screamed Kayla.
Kayla stumbled back and fell over as a crimson blade came right at her neck. Darth Vader didn't just catch up to them, he was waiting for them. Kayla scrambled to get away; but her former master held her in place as he marched over to her, raised his lightsaber, and brought it down.
"NO!" Vaukel roared as he jumped in front of his stepsister and blocked the attack.
"Vaukel!" screamed Kayla.
"Kayla, run!" Vaukel grunted as the dark lord bore his blade down on the Jedi Knight, "Daralec! Orthus! Lavok! Go with her!"
Kayla got up and made a run for it, Daralec followed, however Orthus and Lavok stayed behind and took aim at the dark lord. Vaukel gritted his teeth in frustration, he only knew Darth Vader by name; but he never fought him… And now he wished he weren't attempting to… if you could call it that.
"How is he bearing down on me with one-"
But Vaukel was interrupted when Darth Vader grabbed him by the throat and hurled him into the wall to his right. Lavok started blasting, the dark lord responded by blocking his volley of bolts.
"Orthus, go!" he ordered, "I'll keep him busy!"
Orthus, not wanting to argue, gave Lavok a nod and took off. Vaukel slowly got to his feet and followed as well, leaving the Mandalorian warrior to 'keep the dark lord busy'.
"Come on! Come on!" Kayla called out from the gunship.
"Let's go!" yelled Daralec.
Orthus and Vaukel picked up the pace, as they did though, Orthus stopped and looked over his shoulder.
"Orthus, come on!" yelled Kayla.
Orthus kept running and boarded the gunship, he made his way towards the cockpit and jumped into the seat.
"Let's get the hell out of here," said Daralec.
The gunship's engines fired up and the starship started to take off when… It stopped.
"…Why are we stopping? Why are we stopping!?" demanded Vaukel.
Kayla screamed.
The boys looked. Darth Vader had his hand out.
"Oh crap!" yelled Vaukel.
"Vaukel, can you fly?" asked Orthus.
"Ye-Yeah?" he asked slowly.
"You're at the helm," Orthus said as he jumped out of his seat and ran out towards the ramp.
Orthus unslung his blaster rifle and started laying down heavy fire on the dark lord. Darth Vader used his main hand to block the shots with his lightsaber, all without turning his attention towards the young Mandalorian warrior.
"We've got to get him to let go," said Kayla.
"How!?" demanded Daralec.
Kayla raced out to the ramp and looked up; she saw that the TIE fighters were still docked.
"Daralec! Help me with this!" she called out.
Daralec raced out onto the ramp and got ready to help when… The gunship moved up and came crashing down, causing Kayla, Orthus, and Daralec to come tumbling out.
"Okay… Nevermind," groaned Kayla.
"K-K-Kayla!" Vaukel called out.
Kayla gasped and ran into the gunship as Orthus and Daralec tried to collect themselves.
"Vaukel, are you okay!?" she called out as she raced towards the cockpit.
Vaukel was seen struggling to get out.
"I'm stuck! I'm stuck!" he grunted.
Kayla gasped. She quickly looked out of the window and saw Darth Vader coming towards the starship. This was bad. Very, very bad.
"Vaukel, hang on, I'll get you out of here," said Kayla.
"Kayla! We have a huge, problem!" Daralec called out.
Kayla looked out at the others, then she looked back at her stepbrother.
"Just go, go! I'll be fine," he said, "…provided that a fire doesn't start that is."
Kayla nodded and ran out.
"He's coming," said Daralec.
"I know," said Kayla, "listen, Vaukel's stuck in there, can you get him free Daralec?"
"Me? What about you?" asked Daralec.
Kayla looked over at Darth Vader.
"…Orthus and I will hold him off for as long as we can," she said as she drew and ignited her lightsabers.
"Kayla, he'll kill you!" snapped Daralec.
"…Yeah," she said, "…probably."
Daralec groaned and went to go help Vaukel, Kayla and Orthus went to go intercept Darth Vader, the young initiate stood in front of her former master, trying to be as stoic and imposing as possible.
"I won't let you hurt my friends," she said.
Darth Vader said nothing and started swinging his lightsaber at Kayla, immediately putting her on the backfoot with powerful one-handed strikes. With an upward strike, Kayla's guard was shattered, and Darth Vader brought his lightsaber up to strike her down. Orthus fired a wrist rocket and struck him dead on, the shockwave sent Kayla tumbling back.
"Gotcha," said Orthus.
But through the smoke, a lightsaber came flying at him. Orthus gasped and jumped out of the way, the crimson blade caught his jet pack and his right side.
"GAH!" he yelped.
"Orthus!" yelled Kayla.
She raced over to the young warrior and saw his jet pack starting to spark and smoke, thinking fast, Kayla took it off, turned and saw Darth Vader marching over to them. Kayla hurled the jet pack at the dark lord; but he tossed it off to the side with the Force where it exploded far from him.
"Oh, come on! That was a dead-on hit! How is he still fighting at full strength!?" exclaimed Orthus.
"You don't know what he's capable of," Kayla said fearfully as she got ready.
Suddenly, Darth Vader stopped and looked up. Unbeknownst to Kayla and Orthus, another Vorn gunship was seen flying in, letting loose a storm of blaster fire. Darth Vader casually took a step back as the Vorn gunship made a sharp turn and out came a familiar face.
"Ersanan!" Kayla called out as the Revanite Master dropped in.
"Master!?" Daralec exclaimed as he and Vaukel came out of the crashed gunship.
"Get on the ship, now!" he ordered.
Ersanan ignited his lightsaber.
"Ersanan, wait, don't fight-"
But Ersanan engaged Darth Vader before Kayla could finish. This time, the dark lord gripped his lightsaber with two hands as he and Ersanan crossed and locked blades. Kayla and the others, seeing that they've been given an open window, took off and began to board the gunship.
"Are you kids alright?" asked Mandalore the Callous.
"We're fine… Well… Orthus took a hit," said Kayla, "he needs a quick patch up."
"Please tell me, you guys have a plan to try and bury that bastard so we can escape," said Daralec, "there is no way in hell we are leaving my master behind."
Ersanan and Darth Vader traded strikes with each other, though the dark lord had been severely crippled and wasn't as mobile as before, he was still able to stand toe-to-toe with the powerful Revanite; both of these mighty warriors used a combination of quick, precise cuts and thrusts in an attempt to try and slip past each other's guard and land a single hit.
"He's strong. Stronger than the other masters I've sparred with back at the citadel," thought Ersanan, "if I'm not careful, one mistake could cost me a limb… Or my life."
Darth Vader and Ersanan broke away after they locked blades, then they swung and locked blades again. As the Revanite battled the Sith Lord, Zarayvia moved the ship up just enough to fire at a few of the docked TIE fighters. Ersanan looked up fast and broke the lock, but Darth Vader quickly followed it up with an upward swing. Ersanan gasped and raised his left arm, letting the Sith take it clean off.
"Gah!" he yelped.
Without wasting time, Ersanan used the Force to bounce away from Darth Vader as the imperial fighters came crashing down on him. Ersanan stumbled and dropped to one knee, clutching his severed arm.
"Dammit… I should've caught the damn blade," he groaned.
"Master!" Daralec called out.
Ersanan turned and looked at his apprentice as the gunship dropped down low. Ersanan slowly rose to his feet, then he headed to the gunship as quickly as he could, boarding it and sitting down as the ramp closed.
"He's on, let's go!" Daralec called out.
The gunship took off and headed to the Revanite fleet. Unbeknownst to them, the pile of crashed TIE fighters was blown open and Darth Vader walked out just in time to see the gunship vanish from view. Darth Vader reached behind his back and unclipped something from his belt: It was Kayla's… No… It was Inquisitor Abaven's main hand lightsaber.
The dark lord looked at it in silence before letting it fall to the floor of the hangar deck, then he turned and proceeded to head to his shuttle, that was waiting for him at the other end of the hangar without a single word.
Author's note: You don't defeat Darth Vader. You can only escape him...