Chapter 12
The first thing that Killian noticed as he regained consciousness was the screaming, followed almost immediately by the smell of smoke; slowly, he opened his eyes, and when he had, his mouth fell open in horror at what he was seeing.
The building where the gathering had taken place was gone; in its place was what looked like a mountain of fire that stretched interminably towards the sky, with heat so intense that Killian could feel it even from this distance.
Dozens of bodies lay around him, either slowly getting to their feet like him or laying unmoving at odd angles covered with debris; several Mandalorians were yelling things that Killian couldn't understand and pulling debris off of others desperately searching for living members of their clans.
Slowly, Killian raised himself to his feet, wincing at the pain his body was in; gently, he touched the back of his head and winced again when he took his hand away and saw it had blood on it; his head had hit the ground.
"That can't be good," Killian thought with a grimace before he looked back at the scene around him; Killian had heard stories of hell, and as his eyes took in the carnage around him, he was sure that this was as close as someone alive could get.
"I have to find the others!" Killian thought quickly, shaking his head to try and clear the fogginess that seemed to have taken over, "They've got to be out here somewhere…."
Slowly, Killian limped through the destruction, desperately looking for any sign of his clan; after several minutes of endless searching, Killian spotted a warrior in silver armor lying under a large rock and groaning in pain; from the voice, Killian gathered that it was a woman and on her armor was the Farr clan's insignia.
Killian tried several times unsuccessfully to move the rock that the warrior was currently trapped under before realizing that it was hopeless; it was just too heavy; swinging his head around to look for help, Killian saw that no one was paying attention to his cries for aid and tears of helplessness slowly ran down his cheeks before he angrily wiped them away.
"You have the power to save her; use it," the dark voice whispered in Killian's ear softly, making him start suddenly,
"People will see me if I do," Killian whispered to himself as he glanced around nervously,
"No one is watching, boy," the voice replied, "And that rock is far too heavy for you to lift alone. Do you want her to die while you go and look for help?"
"Of course not!" Killian retorted angrily, "But I don't know how to use the force!"
"I will help you, Killian," the voice said softly, "Close your eyes and concentrate on the rock, imagine it to be as light as a pebble, then just reach out and pick it up!"
Killian bit his lip in indecision for a moment before the warrior groaned and made his decision for him; slowly, he closed his eyes and did as the voice told him, imagining the heavy rock as just a simple pebble.
Slowly, Killian reached out his hand and imagined gripping the rock in it. To his surprise, Killian could actually feel the stone in his hand, though it did feel lighter as though it weighed nothing; slowly raising his hand, Killian heard the voice whisper to him,
"That's it, Killian. Now drop it!"
Killian carefully moved his arm until he felt it was a reasonable distance away and then opened his hand, starting slightly as the rock crashed onto the ground hard; opening his eyes slowly, Killian saw with surprise that not only had he moved the rock off of the woman, but he had also moved the rock more than fifty feet from where it had previously lain,
"Well done, Killian…." The voice whispered before Killian felt its presence disappear.
Before he could think on it any longer, the warrior groaned in pain, snapping Harry's attention back to her, quickly Killian limped over to her and knelt down beside the warrior,
"Are you okay?" Killian asked softly as he tried to focus on the woman and not on his own pain,
"I think my ribs are broken," the warrior replied in a painful voice,
"Can you walk? We need to find the others, and I don't want to leave you here," Killian said.
The warrior nodded quickly before she seemed to focus on Killian,
"I know you; you're the chieftain's nephew, aren't you?" The woman said softly,
Killian nodded quickly as he helped her to her feet,
"My name's Killian; what's yours?"
"Cait Farr," the woman said simply as she put her arm around her stomach and rested the other on Killian's shoulder,
"Thank you, Killian, for helping me," Cait said through ragged breaths,
"I couldn't just leave a clan member behind, could I?" Killian replied softly.
Cait nodded quickly before she slowly rose to her full height and looked around at the devastation surrounding her,
"The Republic will pay for this!" She growled, and Killian nodded his agreement; he knew that the Republic could be conniving just based on the comics and books he had read, but this went far beyond that, this was brutality, and Killian felt a level of hatred for the ones responsible flow through him.
"We must find the chieftain and any other members of our clan," Cait said quickly as she and Killian began to move through the wreckage,
"Do you think anyone else is alive?" Killian asked in a small voice, making Cait look down at him; though Killian couldn't see her face through the T shaped visor, he felt her hand gently grip his shoulder before she spoke in a soothing voice,
"Worry not, little one; the chieftain isn't that easy to kill, nor is the rest of your family; we'll find them,"
Killian nodded quickly, and the two began to limp away to look for survivors.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A few hours later (or so it seemed to Killian), Cait and Killian had managed to find half a dozen of their fellow clan members alive and three who had not made it. However, unfortunately, there was still no sign of Lec or any of Killian's family, and the boy was beginning to lose hope, despite Cait's assurances that they would find them.
The sun was beginning to set, and Killian began to inwardly panic, despite his best efforts; what would happen to him if Argyle and Terra were dead? He would be alone again, alone on a strange planet with no one to look after him, he was sure the Farr clan would not cast him out, yet the fear of being on his own again made Killian shake slightly.
Killian was sitting on a large rock, staring silently in despair at the ground, when he heard a voice call his name suddenly,
"Killian!"
Killian's head snapped up immediately at the sound, and a smile slowly began to form on his face as he saw Terra and Aola running towards him as fast as they could; behind them, Lec, Argyle, and Alexander were limping to keep up with the pair. A moment later, he was squeezed very tightly by Terra, who sounded as though she were softly crying, though he couldn't see her face through her helmet.
"We've been looking all over for you! We feared you'd died when we lost track of you!" Terra soft quickly as she pulled away from the boy; when she did so, Killian was almost immediately tackled in another hug by Aola, who openly sobbed into the boy's shoulder as he gently held her and rubbed her back to calm her down.
"I thought I lost you," Killian said softly, desperately fighting the tears that threatened to fall,
"You almost did," Lec replied with a grimace, "We owe you our lives, nephew,"
"Thank you for watching over him," Terra said to Cait, who nodded her head quickly at the words.
"What happened to you all?" Then, once Aola had let go, Killian asked, "We've been searching for hours!"
"We were trapped under a pile of rubble," Argyle replied, "Took us a while to dig our way out, and then when we couldn't find you, we feared the worst,
"Are you okay?" Terra asked as she looked Killian over, "You're bleeding,
"I'm fine, mom," Killian lied, though his face showed the truth as he grimaced slightly,
"You don't need to pretend with me, Killian," Terra replied softly as she took off her helmet and knelt down to examine him,
"I hit my head when I fell," Killian replied, his mother's eyes seeming to draw the truth out of him.
Terra quickly turned Killian around and stared at his head, gently moving his hair to get a better look before turning him back to face her,
"We'll need to have a medic take a look at you the first chance we get; until then, stay close to me and let me know if you feel woozy, understand?"
"Yes, mom," Killian said quickly; Terra nodded at him before rising to her feet as Alexander slowly limped over to Aola and Killian,
"I'm glad to see you're alive, cousin," Alexander said between grit teeth, "I was worried,"
"I'm glad to see you alive as well, Alexander," Killian replied, "I thought…I thought I had lost my family again…."
Alexander's eyes widened at the words before he regained control and offered a sly grin,
"You should know better than that, cousin; you can't kill us that easy,"
"Indeed," Lec said as he removed his helmet, his face showing how angry he was, "But I promise you, nephew, that the republic will wish they had killed us by the time we are finished with them, Mandalore will have vengeance for this!"
A few of the others nearby heard Lec's proclamation and slowly limped over, seizing the moment; Lec continued in a loud voice, filled with anger,
"We invited the Republic here in good faith, and they instead brought only betrayal and death! They have shown that they do not deserve to be allied with our people, they have no honor, and those without honor deserve only to die like the scum they are!"
More Mandalorians began to join, and Killian's eyes widened at how many were now listening to Lec's speech,
"I promise you, we will make the republic bleed for this!" Lec roared to the crowd, who had fallen silent, "And when their precious republic lies in ashes, then Mandalore shall consider the debt to our people paid!"
Roars of approval followed Lec's words, and then to Killian's astonishment, the warriors began to kneel in front of Lec; Terra slowly kneeled and placed her hand on Killian's shoulder and forced him to his knees; moments later, Argyle and Aola did the same until Lec was the only one standing amongst the crowd, a look of shock on his face before he managed to regain his control.
"I accept the trust you have placed in me," Lec said in a tight voice, "I shall be known as Mandalore the Avenger, and I will lead you, my people, to the gates of Coruscant, and we shall burn their republic to the ground!"
The roar that followed was deafening, and Killian winced at the noise, even as his mind raced at what had just happened; Lec Farr was never the Mandalore in the comics, and if that had changed, then what else would change from what Killian knew?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next few weeks flew by so fast that Killian felt as though he had gotten whiplash; the first thing Lec had done was order the clans to tally how many had been lost; to the horror of Mandalore, it was discovered that the Republic's betrayal had cost nearly three thousand lives, and several dozen clans were now leaderless.
After the tally, Lec had gained further favor with the various clans by having a mass funeral for all those who had fallen due to the Republic's betrayal. Killian had looked down from the high platform that he and his family stood upon with awe at the uncountable number of warriors who stood silently as the bodies of their fallen comrades burned before them.
"The republic has awoken a sleeping giant…." Killian had said softly; Lec had heard his words and nodded at them,
"A very apt analogy, Killian," Lec said with a nod, "And this giant will crush them for it,"
"When do we strike, father?" Alexander asked as the crowd began a sad mournful for the dead,
"Soon, Alexander," Lec replied, "There is still much to do before we are ready for war, but you and the children will not be fighting yet,"
"What!?" Alexander replied angrily,
"You are not ready," Lec said sternly, "You are still a boy and have not even finished your basic training,"
"But I am ready to fight!" Alexander replied angrily,
"I will decide when you are ready, and I say you are not!" Lec growled, "Do you wish to object further?"
Alexander glared at his father for a moment before hanging his head in shame and muttering, "No, sir."
"This war will not be over in a day, Alexander," Lec replied softly, "Your time will come, I promise,"
Alexander said nothing more for the rest of the funeral. Killian tried to console the boy afterward, but he angrily shrugged off Killian's attempts and told Killian and Aola that he wanted to be alone before retiring to his room for the night.
After the funeral, Lec summoned all the remaining chieftains and began taking account of everything that Mandalore had that would help with the upcoming war effort; Killian didn't see much of Terra or Argyle due to how often they had to attend council meetings alongside the new Mandalore; the Sith also attended these meetings, much to Lec's annoyance, to further cement their alliance with Mandalore.
Buta seemed to worsen in his training after the bombing, saying, "Now that war had been declared, you little brats need to be ready to defend your honor and that of your clan!"
Many times, Killian found himself so exhausted after the day's training that he would forgo a shower and just collapse in his bed, only to have to get up earlier the next day to hurry and take one before he went down to breakfast.
One day, after a particularly brutal day of training, Killian went to his room and locked the door to ensure no one could enter; a moment later, Killian took the small Sith Holocron from its hiding place and sat it on the floor before he sat down in front of it and closed his eyes in meditation.
It had taken him a few days to learn how to open the Holocron, but once he had, Killian was astounded by how much he had learned in just a few weeks; he still struggled a great deal at times when attempting some of the things that the Holocron tried to teach him, but he was learning control, and that was enough for him, for now.
Today he was trying to learn how to make objects float, the object in question being a small red ball, and yet no matter how much he tried, the ball refused to move even an inch off of the ground until, at last, Killian grew so annoyed that he threw the ball as hard as he could at the door, only for it to bounce back and hit him in the head, making him cry out in pain and rage.
As Killian lay on the floor swearing in anger and cursing the red ball for all its worth, a knock suddenly came on his door, making him jump in alarm,
"Just a second!" Killian called as he quickly grabbed the Holocron and put it back in its hiding place; a moment later, Killian opened the door, and his jaw fell almost comically at who was standing on the other side,
"Good evening, may I come in?" Darth Malgus asked softly as he stared down at the boy,
"Um…sure, sir," Killian said softly as he moved out of the way, allowing the Sith lord entrance, before quickly closing the door.
For a few moments, nothing was said, and Killian began to fidget nervously under Malgus' gaze until, at last, Killian asked in a small voice,
"May I ask what this is about?"
"You should learn to be more careful with your studies," Malgus replied, making Killian pale instantly,
"I don't know what you mean, sir," Killian replied quickly, making Malgus chuckle,
"You cannot hide from me, boy; I've sensed your presence for some time now, such power in one so small, you should be proud."
Killian opened and closed his mouth several times at this, trying to think of something to say, before finally realizing he was caught,
"I'm trying to learn how to control it, but it's so hard,"
"The most rewarding things in life usually are," Malgus replied, "How are you attempting to learn?"
Killian was going to lie, but the truth seemed to be pulled out of him against his will as he stared into Malgus' eyes,
"I was given a Sith Holocron and have been using it,"
"Who gave it to you?" Malgus asked,
"The other Sith who was with you the day of the bombing,"
"Faeth?" Malgus asked in a surprised voice, "That witch gave you a Holocron? Interesting, where is it now?"
Killian suddenly looked at Malgus with trepidation before asking,
"Are you going to take it from me?"
"Of course not, child," Malgus replied, "I simply wish to see it."
Killian frowned for a moment in indecision before finally, he walked to where he had hidden the Holocron and pulled it out; a moment later, it flew out of Killian's hands and into Malgus', who studied it intently for a few moments before turning to Killian,
"I expected more, to be honest," Malgus said in a soft voice, "This is just a training Holocron and a very basic one at that; why would Darth Faeth give this to you?"
"I don't know, sir," Killian replied, "She cornered me before the bombing and offered it to me to learn with, and I am trying, but it's so hard!"
Malgus looked at the boy in front of him for a moment shrewdly; for some reason, Darth Faeth had taken an interest in the boy, and that alone was enough to make Malgus interested as well,
"You can't expect to learn the ways of the force through a Holocron alone; it takes discipline and a guiding hand…." Malgus said, "What you need, boy, is a teacher; and you are fortunate as I have grown weary of listening to the endless council meetings that Lec Farr has called."
"You want to teach me how to use the force?" Killian asked in shock,
"I sense great power in you, child," Malgus replied, "And it makes me curious, which is a rare thing indeed; I warn you, however, if you wish to learn from me, I will not be gentle in your training, you will learn quickly, or you will be cast aside and forgotten, I have no time, nor patience to coddle the weak, do you understand?"
Killian stared at the large Sith in front of him in shock; what should he say? Should he accept the offer? This was Darth Malgus, after all; the one who would one day lead the attack on Coruscant and raze the Jedi temple to the ground; the one who would one day name himself as emperor of the Sith Empire; he was a monster!
"I don't want to hurt anyone," Killian said in a scared voice, "I just want to protect my family,"
Malgus threw his head back and began to laugh at the words before finally regaining control of himself,
"A Mandalorian who doesn't want to hurt anyone, the irony of that statement is hilarious, child."
Killian turned red with anger and humiliation at being mocked and opened his mouth to respond when Malgus cut him off,
"I can sense your pain, boy; you have suffered greatly under the hand of those who should have protected you, and yet you have allowed that pain to control you instead of you being the master of it; your pain and anger could serve you well if you allowed them to."
Killian stared at the Holocron that was now floating in Malgus' hand; try as he might, Killian could not deny the truth in the Sith's words; for so long, he had been afraid and angry at the world for how Mrs. Murray had treated him and how no one had helped him or even cared until he met Terra and Argyle; and yet, despite all that pain and anger, Killian didn't want to become like the ones who had hurt him.
"If I learn from you," Killian began, taking a breath to steady himself before continuing, "I won't become a Sith; I only want to learn to control my power and make sure those who would hurt my family are made to pay for it."
Malgus grinned at the words; the boy held great promise, his anger was magnificent to behold, and though his naiveté made Malgus chuckle, he knew that once the boy was given his first taste of power, he would want more, and then he would be Malgus' to shape.
"Then let's begin," Malgus said softly, motioning Killian to sit across from him on the ground, the Holocron floating in the air between the two.