SOJOURN
It was early evening at the beach that had once been a popular vacation spot for the wealthy elites.
Kira and Damask sat on the balcony, sipping a warm drink served by the protocol droid FourDee. After demonstrating his abilities on several more experimental beings, none of whom had shown the same level of lucidity that the Bith had, Damask had declared that such intense effort required rest even for a being as adept as himself.
And after feeling such raw darkness and inferno from the Force and the collective aura from Damask's experiments, Kira had to admit that she was a little worn out herself.
"When can I start with the bodies?" Kira asked, "Reanimating them like you did?"
"Midichlorian manipulation is a dangerous skill to master," Damask replied, "because it requires a high level of midichlorian concentration, and it requires a strong presence of dark energy in your own midichlorians, which you can summon by channeling it. It will take time for you to master the darkness, and allow it to come forth without taking over. You could fall to the dark side completely if you allow its influence to consume you."
Kira thought about the aura of rage she had felt in the laboratory, and then replied, "For too long, I was cautioned to avoid feeling it, even if I really wanted to. Even if using the dark side meant doing what I was supposed to do, and win. Lately, I've been feeling like nothing I learn from the Jedi will be enough to take down Ultor and the Coalition, and now, now I'm ready to do anything to defeat them. Even if it means embracing the dark side
When Damask looked at her in surprise. Kira elaborated, the emotions of grief and anger beginning to boil inside her as she continued her monologue.
"Luke held me back too much because he thought I wasn't ready, and then he stopped me from taking revenge when Ultor killed Ben. If getting my revenge means using the dark side, so be it!"
She felt more impassioned and defiant as she spoke.
Damask looked both impressed and cautious at once.
"I know the dark side well," he said, "It can be a powerful tool, or a lethal poison."
Kira remembered Damask's experimentation on the Bith cadaver in the liquid tank.
"That creature, that you brought back and killed again, he seemed to know you. He called you Apprentice," she remembered.
Damask frowned and nodded, closing his sunken eyes.
"He was my master, in another life," he replied, "I was once a Sith Lord, the same as your grandfather Darth Vader."
Kira tensed, feeling a burst of discomfort at the mention of Ultor.
"My grandfather redeemed himself," Kira said defensively, "He became Anakin again before he died, and saved the galaxy from the Emperor. Ultor every bit as evil as Palpatine was."
"Of course," Damask replied, "As a Sith Lord, you seek the ultimate mastery of the Force, so much that nothing else matters. It consumes their being, turns them into a shadow. But, as your grandfather proved, even the most twisted can turn back and escape from the infinite darkness."
"You're not a Sith anymore?" Kira asked with a keen interest.
"I sought power once, and I turned to Darth Tenebrous. He was a master of sorcery, but he sought the secret to immortality. I found it by studying the homeworld of the midichlorians, but before I could tell my master, he attacked me out of jealousy. I had to kill him, and I realized how horrible the dark side was."
Damask looked sorrowful with regret as he spoke. "That's when I decided to save people with my knowledge, rather than let it fill me with hate. As Darth Plagueis, I took an apprentice of my own, to teach my gift to."
"Darth Sidious," Kira remembered, "Ultor's ancestor."
"Trust me, I didn't know what I was getting into," Damask replied, "I searched far across the galaxy for an apprentice who had not been found by the Jedi. Palpatine was a young man from humble origins, with a young wife and child. But he knew he was different from most, he had a powerful gift. Palpatine wanted more than the life he had, and so he sought me out to teach him the ways of the dark side."
"Skyler is descended from Palpatine," Kira said, filling in the gaps inside her head, "Palpatine's family must have stayed behind and disappeared. That must be why Skyler was found by Master Skywalker, and why he felt the dark side in the first place."
"It seems as though the darkness in Palpatine did not die with him," Damask replied, "He cared more about power than his own family, and left them to their plight. I was too selfish to even notice. By practicing the secrets I had acquired with my new apprentice, the old greed I thought I had left me returned. It was only when he tried to kill me that I remembered how poisonous the Sith are."
"The Sith don't care about anybody," Kira said, "Ben was Skyler's best friend, and he cut him down without a second thought. No remorse or hesitation. And he taunted me afterwards." Her previously relaxed hands turned into fists and shook at the memory.
Damask nodded. "I cared enough about my apprentice to include him in my quest to end death once and for all. I had hoped he would feel the same, but he only wanted power for himself. That is why, after surviving his attempt, I have remained in the shadows, watching everything unfold without intervening."
"But you have all of these Sith here," Kira said, "And you can bring them all back to life! You could have used them to conquer the galaxy and have your revenge on Palpatine! I know I wouldn't wait for so long. I don't intend to."
"I could have struck back," Damask replied, "But I realized that the way of the Sith was not worth disrupting the inner peace I finally achieved. But I saw something in you that no Jedi has possessed in generations. You are not afraid of the dark side. You are willing to enact justice with any means necessary."
Kira nodded, her heart pounding as she agreed with every word the old Muun was saying.
"I do want justice," she said, "I want to make them all pay for the terror they've caused."
"My secret can achieve it all," Damask replied, "With the power to control the midichlorians, you will be able to eclipse the powers of Ultor and his enforcers."
"I want to learn it all," Kira said, "I am ready to learn whatever you have to show me."
"It will be my pleasure," Damask replied, "but that ability alone will not be enough to defeat the Sith."
Kira raised her eyebrows with skepticism mingled with her curiosity.
"What else do I need?"
"An advantage of the Sith teachings is that they encourage the infinite growth of raw power," Damask replied, "Skill in battle will be needed to match the dark energy of Ultor, skill beyond the meditative ways of the Jedi."
Kira suddenly sensed a notion of danger. She stood up and looked suspiciously around the balcony, whipping around in the chilly air towards the beach.
She was proven right when Damask outstretched his bony hand towards the inside of the manor, summoning a Y-shaped lightsaber hilt to him.
Kira ducked and activated her blue blade as Damask turned on the power of his lightsaber, revealing a bright yellow glow.
As Damask lunged with his tall frame, Kira brought up her own lightsaber in a defensive horizontal motion, pushing back against Damask's surprisingly strong offensive.
Damask pulled back his weapon with both hands, then twisted to Kira with strength unnatural for his thin, aged body.
Kira tried to meet his attack with a more aggressive offense, but the weight of his blow caught her off guard, knocking her off her feet and over the balcony railing.
Kira hurled through the evening wind and landed with a crack on the sand, her lightsaber knocked slightly out of her sweaty hand.
Kira grabbed it and hobbled to her feet as Damask jumped off the balcony, still wielding his yellow lightsaber.
She only had a moment to shake the sand from her robe and hair before Damask made up the ground between them, sweeping his blade in a rapid motion.
Kira had to clash against his lightsaber twice in order to push it back, her arms practically snapping in half from the effort.
She hollered with a wave of frustrated energy, rushing at Damask and swinging low towards his long legs.
Damask pushed her lightsaber hard with his own, the blue and yellow forming an X as the gaseous plasma smell grew closer to Kira's nostrils, the sparks flying directly in front of her face...
Then, Damask pulled back and abruptly switched off his lightsaber, smiling faintly.
Kira lunged at Damask with a vicious swipe of her lightsaber, the tip of her blue blade stopping short of the Muun's long head. Kira's arms tired, allowing her blade to waver, close enough for him to practically taste the plasma rod of energy
"You have the right spirit for the intense training that is to come," Damask remarked, "With some practice, coupled with the midichlorian manipulation, this Ultor will be no match for you."
Kira stared with confusion at the old man, then turned off her lightsaber with a hollow feeling inside her. She was still panting and trying to catch her breath from the physical effort of fending him off.
The sun set fully behind her as she walked along side Damask back into the mansion.
"I was better than all of the other Jedi at the Academy," Kira could not help but reveal without knowing why she thought this was important to say, "Except maybe my friend Tahiri."
Mentioning her best friend, Kira suddenly became sad, a shadow passing over her lonely heart. She had never been in touch with Tahiri after leaving the Jedi, not daring to hear her best friend plead with her to return. Not after Kira had hurt her so terribly, and not when she still needed to forge her own path.
Damask seemed to sense his new student's lack of comfort.
"It won't take long here," he said gently, "Soon enough, you'll see your friends and family again. But when you do, you'll be far stronger and more capable than they thought possible."
MORABAND SYSTEM
The Sith cruiser Phantom Revenge snapped out of lightspeed into orbit of Moraband's crimson surface.
Talon stood surveying the landscape before her on the command bridge, silently feeling her master's presence. She reached out to him with all the devotion inside her. Talon was a Sith, she knew that her goal was power like nobody had known.
But before being a Sith, Corla Kreshi had been nobody. She had been powerful with the Force from a young age, but Luke Skywalker had passed her by and she had felt as rejected by him as she had by her family and community.
At least until the Dark Master had found her and made her feel special. She had felt loved in a way that she had thought nobody was capable of, and so she would make sure nothing happened to Ultor.
Behind Talon, Nihl, Judicar, Paxis and Wyyrlok lurked in the corridor, ignoring the robed Shadowguards armed with saberpikes as well as the armored Shadowtroopers walking by.
"Ultor's not here," Judicar whispered, eager to avenge Talon's humiliating debriefing on Chandrilia, "and she can't take all four of us."
"What'll he think when she's not with us?" Judicar asked skeptically.
"He'll realize that she's not special like he thinks," Paxis replied viciously, her head tentacles whipping back and forth as she looked to their distant target with her back facing them.
"Besides," Nihl added with his usual bloodlust, "He won't be around for too much longer to think much of it."
From the crimson surface of Moraband, a lone ship emerged from the bleak emptiness, a Herald-class assault shuttle.
"The students surpass the master," Nihl declared, pulling his long lightsaber hilt from his robe, "and the golden favorite is brought down to earth."
The four of them activated their differently-shaped lightsaber blades, and a large wave of red charged onto the command bridge to attack.
Talon turned and raised her lightsaber hilts, meeting the attacks of Nihl, Judicar, Paxis and Wyyrlok.
The Coalition personnel hurried as fast as they could away from the command deck, eager to avoid the certain bloodshed to come.
Wyyrlok and Paxis together pressed against one of Talon's blades, pinning it behind her while Nihl and Judicar attacked from the other side, forcing her to fend them off with one hand.
Finally, the weight of Nihl's blade allowed him to use it to pry Talon's weapon out of her hand, and he kicked her in the stomach with glee.
Talon cried out as she fell to the durasteel floor of the command deck, with her other lightsaber being crushed to pieces by Wyyrlok's round, dagger-shaped blade.
She backed away fearfully as the other four went in for the kill.
Suddenly, four bodies flew up from the deck and slammed hard against the ceiling, dropping their lightsabers in a hail of flying sparks and cinders that lit up the command bridge and caused a line of fire to become ablaze.
Nihl, Paxis, Judicar and Wyyrlok went crashing down foolishly on the hard deck as Ultor approached, his face obscured by the hood over his head.
Talon smiled grateful at her master as she used the Force to recover her still-working lightsaber.
"This was always bound to happen," Ultor said to his four dissenting apprentices, "and now, I cannot afford to let you live."
The four of them tried to recover their footing and summon their discarded lightsabers, but Ultor used the Force to take control of the small fire, bringing to closer to his trapped apprentices.
Nihl, Paxis, Judicar and Wyyrlok backed away and retreated as Ultor sent the flames after them with a raise of both his hands.
Vengefully, Talon brought her own lightsaber forward with a thrust, stabbing Paxis through the back. The Nautolan screamed as she fell face first into the flames, which Ultor then caused to expand, the smoke filling up the air inside the Phantom Revenge.
Judicar tried to aim a kick at Talon, but she caught his foot and brought her blade down in a slicing motion.
Judicar howled in pain as Talon let him fall into the fire, burning painfully along with Judicar's corpse.
This left Nihl and Wyyrlok.
The Nagai and human both tried to flee from Talon, making a last ditch effort to retrieve their lightsabers with the Force.
Ultor interfered, sending the airborne lightsabers into the square hearth of the fire aboard his command ship, causing them to light up in a gaseous explosion.
Ultor then used the Force to expand flames even further, causing them to tear through Wyyrlok as he dropped his lightsaber and screamed, slowly dying from his rapid burns.
Nihl, however, managed to jump over the fire.
He desperately charged at Ultor, his feet dancing around the flames.
Ultor sent a kick at Nihl before he could strike, causing his apprentice to stumble backwards and land directly in the path of the fire.
Ultor smiled as Nihl burned along with his fellow traitors, quickly turning to ash.
Ultor relished the smell of the smoke and ashes drifting into his nostrils, sniffing the toxicity with enjoyment. His devilish grin was illuminated by the growing flames, the smoke consuming the entire room.
Finally, Ultor allowed the fire to compress, using the Force to shrink the blaze until it was small enough to flicker out.
Talon walked eagerly over the burnt floor to her master, stepping over the burnt carcasses around her.
She knelt at her master's feet determinedly, looking up at his haunted face.
"Master, I am ever loyal, and ready to devote myself to you in every way."
"I know, and that is why I am willing to share the secrets I am about to uncover with you alone," Ultor replied, giving Talon's twin head tentacles a pat, "I have discovered information that will bring more power than the universe has ever seen. With it, we can cheat death and our enemies to their knees in an instant."
"What must we do to use it?" Talon asked.
"I know where the Master I have been seeking is," Ultor replied, "With the knowledge he possesses, we will destroy the living Jedi and we will no longer have use for these crime syndicates that make up the Coalition. We can crush them and achieve our victory with the Force alone."
"I look forward to it all, Master," Talon replied, "Especially ruling with you the way I always dreamed."
"You were always special, in a way that nobody else could hope to be," Ultor replied, "With my training, you've proven that there's nothing you can't do."
Suddenly, the built-in holoprojector on the ceiling beeped, and displayed the large, transparent head of Krunge, the Hutt Cartel majordomo.
"Dark Master!" Krunge bellowed, "The Hutts must speak to you now!"
"How dare you disturb me now!" Ultor yelled, immediately losing his composure.
Talon rose to her feet and stood protectively at his side, crossing her arms in defiance of the intruder.
"Your Lieutenants had no right to abandon the siege on Chandrilia!" Krunge snapped, "Dozens of our best mercenaries and assassins, dead to Republic drone bombs! And your Lieutenants left us to fight and lose the battle you wanted to wage!"
"You do not question me!" Ultor yelled, raising a hand in rage.
Talon gently stroked his back before beginning to rub his shoulders. This gradually calmed Ultor down, allowing him to regain his composure his heavy breathing slowing down and his reddened face regaining its normal pale color.
"With respect, the Dark Master has a great many important things to deal with," Talon said, "and we promise that your efforts will be rewarded in due time."
"You've said that before," Krunge replied.
The orange Toydarian was suddenly pushed aside by a young, undersized Hutt, who was then joined by the bespectacled Gorga.
The new Hutt bellowed in Huttese at the two Sith, shaking his tiny, slimy fists.
"What my cousin Rotta is trying to say, is that you have done the Hutt Clans a great disservice," Gorga said in perfect Basic, "It will take a lot to make up for this."
"What if we promised you Tatooine, and all of Jabba's old territory," Talon inquired appeasingly, "You will have as much control in the Outer Rim as you do in Coruscant's underbelly, and in the existing Hutt Systems."
"How do we know you won't desert us again?" Rotta demanded.
"The might of the Coalition was able to penetrate Republic defenses on Coruscant," Talon replied, "We will help you storm the desert world of Tatooine, and reclaim every asset that Jabba once had there."
"Is that a promise?" asked Gorga, squinting behind his large glass frames.
"You have the word of the Sith," Talon replied.
Once the communication had ended, Talon gave her master's arm a comforting squeeze.
"Once we discover the secrets that are waiting for us, we won't have to play nice with filth like them."
"I look forward to it," Ultor replied, "We will crush them without mercy, just like all others who stand in our way."
TATOOINE
Although Tahiri had grown up here and knew most of its sights, she felt no sense of home from the planet itself when she took in the familiarity of the vast desert world of Tatooine.
The civilization of the Tusken Raiders had been an entirely different reality from what Tahiri now knew, and it was one she was loathe to ever return to.
Tahiri had felt welcomed by and more at home with the Jedi than even her birth parents, who had been very much in tune with the anti-Jedi sentiment among Tusken Raiders.
They had cast her out into the harsh desert of Tatooine, and Tahiri had been left to fend for herself until Luke Skywalker had found her and taken her to train as a Jedi.
Tahiri knew deep down that her parents had on some level been trying to protect her from the rest of their tribe putting her to death for her abilities, but nonetheless, she had never been able to stop resenting them.
As Tahiri piloted her StealthX into the blue sky of Tatooine over the endless Dune Sea, she allowed the familiar, ever coming and going anger to pass through her, before disappearing into the oblivion where it belonged.
Only the present mattered, Tahiri told herself, and it didn't matter how close she was to her most traumatic experience. Her life had changed infinitely since the day Luke had found her thirsting and starving, and she was stronger for it.
Tahiri began to touch down near a medium-sized igloo next to a series of moisture vaporators and a round-shaped entrance leading below the surface level of the sand layers into a dwelling.
Aside from the original Lars family home under their moisture farm, Luke had crafted a secret hangar underground where the exiled Jedi stored their craft, including the StealthXs and consular Corvettes they had brought during the evacuation from Ossus.
Tahiri landed her craft in the hangar below the ground level, next to the Millennium Falcon, which stood out starkly among the many Jedi vessels.
As soon as Tahiri climbed out of her fighter, the hatch to the Falcon slid open, and the sound of a Wookiee yell proceeded three figures emerging.
Tahiri eagerly rushed to greet Han, Leia and Chewbacca.
"You're back," Han said with a smile, "Hope you didn't run into any trouble."
"Just the usual," Tahiri replied, giving each of them a quick hug, "a group terrorists and a government army that wants us dead or alive."
Han and Leia could not help but chuckle at the irony, despite the bitterness of their situation.
"Is Luke coming back soon?" Leia asked, "And Tionne?" Given their sibling bond enhanced by a deep Force connection, there was no doubt on Leia's mind that her brother was safe despite his missing status.
"He and Tionne took a detour, just to keep the Republic fleet guessing," Tahiri replied, "Hopefully they'll shake them off before coming back."
"Knowing Luke, he will," Han said, "He'll be all right."
The four of them proceeded from the hangar, where Threepio was waiting by the entryway.
"Oh, Mistress Tionne!" Threepio exclaimed, "I am glad to see you all right. If I may ask, I hope Artoo hasn't gotten Master Luke into any trouble?"
"I'm sure they'll be okay," Tahiri replied with a rueful smirk as they walked up the steps onto the hot surface.
"Being back here brings back such memories," Threepio commented as he followed them up onto the ground level.