Disclaimer: All Star Wars characters and places belong to Lucas Arts, though I
own the story.
Authors notes: See end of story.
Existence
By Sithchick-uk
Around about now in a galaxy not too far, far away...
Kuan De'mour, captain of the cargo ship Tanteeva, had just finished his
big shipment of brand new protocol droids to Alderaan, he only had to
make the trip two times a year for they paid him well.
He was about to instruct his co-pilot, Cody Baas to set the nav computer
for their temporary home on Dantooine, when a small blue/green planet
emerged on to the sensor screen, it was curious because they had never
noticed this planet on previous runs. As it was only half an hour away
Kuan and Cody both decided to take a small detour to get a closer look at
this small, uncharted planet (much to the dislike of their own protocol
droid XP30) "Really Sir Kuan, do we have to visit this planet?" said the
droid, in as much as a disapproving voice as his vocal circuits could
muster.
"Of course we do, the planet is uncharted, there maybe some thing
valuable on it", Kuan said smiling. He looked at Cody, who was staring
down at the read out of the planet. "What do you think? Cody my good
man" Cody looked up quickly apparently startled "Oh, sorry, I was
looking at this planet, its so blue, erm I think its a good idea, I'll go and
ready the shuttle" saying this Cody got up and left the cockpit.
"Well I'm not going, all that water, I shall surely develop rust!" XP30
said defiantly. "Oh don't worry X, you can stay here and look after my
ship", said Kuan as he stood up and stretched, Kuan, who was quite tall
for a human, nearly hit his head on the cock pit roof. "I've put her on
auto pilot so don't touch any thing", he said leaving to join Cody.
The Taneeva set up orbit around the small blue/green planet. The
shuttle, with Kuan and Cody, left the docking bay and made its decent.
They landed on a small piece of land; the sun was just rising. They were
in a field, which was surrounded by a forest of trees (which were minute
compared to those on Kashyyyk!) It was quiet, except for the wildlife,
which was in chorus. Kuan did a quick check to see if the atmosphere
was breathable, which it was. Kuan opened the shuttle door and stepped
out closely followed by Cody; the sun was warm on their faces. Kuan
took a deep breath and said to Cody "This is nice, I wouldn't mind
settling here", Cody smiled and started exploring.
What they didn't know was that they were being watched.
A small warning signal chimed on Kuan's sensory device. Quickly he
spun around with his blaster in hand. Cody! Get back in to the shuttle, I
think one of the locals has found us", he whispered to Cody. Cody did as
he was told, but peered out of a side porthole.
The black clad figure rose up from behind the bushes and walked in to
the light. The figure in fact was a young extremely pretty, woman of
about 18; she had black hair with red streaks, a pale complexion but
striking blood red lips also she was about three inches shorter than Kuan.
Kuan lowered his blaster slightly as the stranger folded her arms 'she
looks human' Kuan thought to himself. "So who are you?" the stranger
said. Kuan was startled "Well at least you speak basic! I'm Kuan
De,mour and this is my co pilot Cody Baas", he gestured to the young
man peering round the shuttle door. "And you?"
"I am Kenla Sa'talee and I am somewhat of a myth around here, you see
I am what's known as a vampire around these parts, a special one I must
add, but I'll tell you all about that later, so what are you doing on this
dump then?"
"Dump! I think its beautiful", said Cody walking towards Kuan and
stopping at his side. "What's it called?"
Kenla raised her eyebrows "It speaks! Ha ha only kidding, this is Earth,
and the island you landed on is called England, so where are you two
from?"
"I'm from a planet called Dantooine, and Cody here is from Alderaan.
We were on our way back to Dantooine when this planet came up on to
our sensors, since it was uncharted we decided to check it out," said
Kuan shrugging.
"Cool! I've always wandered what it was like in space, but I doubt this
bunch of humans will ever stop playing war games and get further in to
space, I mean that they've only been to the moon, how pathetic is that,
look do you want to come to my house? I think that we would be a bit
more comfortable than sat in this field, its only around the corner." They
agreed.
Kenla led them out of the field and down as small dirt track. Kuan and
Cody stopped at the gates to the house and looked on in awe, they had
never seen a dwelling so luxurious, surrounding the solid oak front door
were two stone pillars on either side, entwined with climbing ivy, and on
either side of the front step were two stone lions. Kenla noticed this and
laughed at them both. "Its not that big you know, I've just had it for a
while," said Kenla opening the front door.
"On Alderaan, you would have to be near royalty to have a dwelling this
large," said Cody. Kenla gestured them both to the front room and told
them to sit, she left the room for a while and came back carrying a tray
with three cups. "Its called tea," she said hand them both a cup, "It's
made from the dried leaves of a plant, on the other side of the world."
Kuan and Cody drank the tea, which to their surprise was pretty good.
"So," said Kuan putting his empty cup back on to the tray, "What's all
this vampire business?"
Kenla looked up from taking a sip of tea; she put her cup down, "Are you
sitting comfortably? Well, the humans have always believed that
vampires were a fable, that they were not real. Once a human has been
drained by a vampire from the neck (Kuan noticed that Kenla's canine
teeth seemed to grow when she said this) they turn into one after they
drink from vamp blood, because a vampire is technically dead they have
no pulse and they feed off the blood of humans (Kuan and Cody
grimaced), oh and also they can live forever. Now somehow I was chosen
by the powers the be that I should be the 'chosen one', the prophecy goes
that a chosen one will one day be picked to lead the vampire race to a
new dimension, where the won't have to depend on humans any more,
and that she would be identified by black and red hair, wings, the power
to read minds, and some telekinetic abilities, phew! That was 500 years
ago and I haven't figured out this other dimension stuff. Oh and one more
thing, ordinary vamps can't venture out the sun or they would become
Mr. or Mrs. Dust but I can." Kenla sat back and waited for a response.
Finally Kuan spoke up, "I never saw any wings?" Kenla looked up
"Yeah, I figured you would say that, well I can kind of melt them back
into my body, it takes effort to do it but I've gotten used to it."
"Look, I know this is asking a lot but, can I come with you? You could
drop me off some where?" To Kenla's surprise Kuan took it seriously
and started to confer with Cody who looked a bit pale. Eventually Kuan
looked up and said, "Only with one condition, that you don't consider us
as a snack." Kenla jumped up and pulled Kuan into a hug, "Really! Oh
this is great, don't worry I can go without for fifty years."
So it was decided. Kuan told Kenla that Coruscant would be the best
place to start exploring the galaxy. On the way Kuan and Cody found out
that Kenla was not always called this, in fact her birth name was Dawn.
She was called Kenla when she was chosen, it meant 'angel of death' in
some forgotten language.
They soon made the jump to hyper space, and were nearing the galactic
capital in just two hours. Kenla wasted some time by re-arranging a few
items in a small backpack she brought along; her sword would not fit so
the hilt was left poking out. She had had the sword for 400 years, it was a
samurai sword given to her by a Japanese emperor who wanted to be
turned so that he had more power over his subjects. The metal had been
folded 200 times so the blade was only one molecule thick; it was truly a
sword of honor.
Kuan and Cody with the help of XP30, explained all about Coruscant,
and especially about a group of people called the Jedi (which Kenla took
great interest in) and how they manipulate the force, which is both
natural and mystical presence, it is an energy that binds the galaxy. It is
created by all living things, surrounding and penetrating them with its
essence. Kenla asked if she could be set down near the Jedi temple, so
she could explore them further and test their skills at fighting.
The shuttle left the docking bay and set off towards the planet. Kenla
looked out of the shuttle window to the strange planet below, what
striked her most was that there was no visible body of water. All the land,
and sea beds were covered in buildings. The water, it seems was drained
off into huge underground caves and stored. The shuttle settled down on
the roof of a monad near the Jedi temple.
"I'm going to miss you Kenla," said Kuan shaking her hand, Cody stood
there with his head down.
"I'm going to miss you too, once again thank you for bringing me here,"
said Kenla pulling them both into a hug. Kuan and Cody said their good
byes and set off back into the skies. She was going to miss them. She
turned around and faced the Jedi temple, she walked to the edge of the
monad and looked over the side 'I can't see the ground' Kenla thought to
herself. Sure enough, about thirty floors down the building was shrouded
in cloud, she wandered how tall these buildings actually were.
Light was fading fast, Kenla released her wings, and they unfolded out
from two strategically placed folds in her black robes, they stretched out
to their full extent, (Kenla eventually decided they looked like dragon
wings 10 years ago) they had a wing span of 14 feet. Kenla stepped off
the side of the monad. It felt good; it had been along time since she flew.
Kenla flew high over the repulsorlift traffic, fast so that no one got a
good look at her. She landed a fair distance from the Jedi temple
entrance; she walked the rest of the way (she melted her wings back into
her body on the way). As she arrived at the entrance, two great doors
slowly opened. Inside there was a great entrance hall, in which a man
was walking towards her. He was a dark human with no hair and brown
robes, much like her own. As he got near her, he had a strange expression
on his face.
"Greetings, my name is Mace Windu, we saw you coming on the
security monitors, what is your business here?"
Kenla smiled, "You get right to the point don't you? Well I'm here to
test my skills against you Jedi."
Mace Windu turned around and gestured Kenla to follow, "Come with
me, I believe master Yoda will want to see you, by the way what is your
name?" Kenla told him as she was led to what looked like an elevator.
They stood in silence as they went up about 20 floors. The elevator doors
opened and led onto a corridor.
Along the corridor there were four slabs of stone and carved on each
was a sentence
There is no emotion; there is peace,
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge,
There is no passion; there is serenity,
There is no death; there is the force.
They arrive at a door and inside there was a great circular room with
twelve chairs, eleven were occupied. Mace Windu led her to the center of
the room, and took his place in the empty chair next to a small, green
alien with large ears. Mace Windu conferred with the small alien, others
around her muttered to themselves and to each other, in Kenla's eyes
they looked uncomfortable. She felt awkward. The small green alien
stopped conferring with Mace Windu and looked up at Kenla.
"Strange it is, I can feel you not, disturbing it is (he frowned) why here
are you?" His voice made Kenla smile, "Am I right in thinking you are
master Yoda? (He nodded) For along time I have trained and honed my
fighting skills, and some others, and just yesterday I was told of a people
called the Jedi, who use an energy called the force. I came here to test
myself." Yoda nodded again.
"Wise you are to come here, a noble person you are... Agree with you
the council does." Yoda and Mace Windu stood up and led Kenla out of
the room but before she left she notice some of the other Jedi Masters
shuddered as she walked past.
They walked along way down the corridor until they came to another door.
Inside there were no chairs or any other kind of furniture. The room was empty
except for two humans stood in the middle. The elder had long brown hair past
shoulders and a short moustache and beard. The other had short brown hair which
led into a long very thin plait, both had clothes similar to Mace Windu's except
that they were beige. The younger looked to the other with uncertainty on his
face
when Kenla entered the room. Mace Windu walked towards the elder of the two
and greeted him warmly; he started to explain about Kenla quietly to him. Kenla
remained with Yoda near the door, she noticed the young one kept eyeing her
suspiciously.
After a minute or two, the three walked over to herself and Yoda. The elder
bowed slightly "Greetings, my name is Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is my padawan
learner Obi-Wan Kenobi (he nodded) I think I might have what you are looking
for, I volunteer my young friend Obi-Wan to fight you."
At this news Obi-Wan looked shocked "Master?" Qui-Gon looked down and
smiled warmly, "This will be good training for you, we will be here to look over
you." Obi-Wan looked down, "Yes master."
Obi-Wan too his place at the far side of the room, he detached something from
his belt, a cylindrical piece of metal about 20cms long, it had small red
buttons on
the end of it.
The confusion must have shown on Kenla's face, because Qui-Gon leaned
over and said, "That is a light saber, the weapon of a Jedi." On hearing this
Obi-
Wan ignited light sabre, a jet of pure energy burst from the light saber hilt. A
Blue
beam about one and a half metres hummed gently as Obi-Wan warmed up.
"I'm impressed, well I only have this, its 400 years old so I'm reluctant to use
it." Saying this Kenla took off her backpack and pulled from it her samurai
sword.
She removed its sheath and ran her fingers gently to the tip. She handed it to
Qui-
Gon,
"This is a noble weapon but it is has no use against a light saber, here use
mine." Qui-Gon unclipped his from his belt hand handed it to her. Kenla was
shocked, "Are you sure? (He nodded) Thank you. I promise I won't break it."
Kenla took her position across the room from Obi-Wan. (She noticed a fleeting
glimpse of annoyance) She chose her stance and ignited the light saber. The
green
light beam hummed softly in her hand, the hilt was warm to the touch. She waved
it a few times to get the feel; it was light and elegant. Kenla was going to
enjoy
this.
Obi-Wan started a run forward and jumped waving his light saber into an arch
of blurred light; his attack was swift but not that swift. Kenla easily blocked
it,
now it was her turn, she jumped up and flipped over the padawan and swung for
his flank but he turned on his heel and blocked. There was something satisfying
about the sound and smell the crackling light sabers made as they grated against
one another. Kenla kicked Obi-Wan in the chest, he went flying backwards and hit
the wall, Kenla took this brief opportunity to throw Obi-Wan a sneer. He saw
this,
he got to his feet swiftly and went on the offensive again, and Kenla countered
every attack. It was now she knew she had won. She disengaged the light saber,
Obi-Wan was in the middle of another flying attack when she held out her hand
and focused her mind on her target. To Obi-Wan's surprise he had stopped in mid
air, he couldn't move a muscle. She moved her hand around; Obi-Wan did the
same. She pulled her hand back flicked it forward, as she did this she released
Obi-wan from her telekinetic grip. He went flying across the room and landed in
a
dazed heap next to the window.
Kenla gave Qui-Gon his light saber back and thanked him; she walked
over to Obi-Wan, who was struggling to get to his feet. She held out her
hand to help him get up but he refused. Kenla shrugged her shoulders and
walked back to the three Jedi masters. Qui-Gon stepped forward and
bowed slightly again and said,
"I apologise for my padawan's behavior, you fight well, no extremely
well." Kenla frowned slightly, "Please tell me Qui-Gon Jinn, why do you
Jedi act so strange when I'm around, like take for example, when I left
the council room, the other Jedi acted like they were scared of me."
Qui-Gon looked down and said, "We Jedi have never encountered a
being such as your self before, now that we have seen you in action we
have reason to fear you. I see that Obi-Wan was trying to knock you back
with the force many times but it never touched you."
Mace Windu spoke up, "The force surrounds any living being and
penetrates it, that is how we have power over the weak minded. The force
it seems will not surround you. We are blind to your presence here."
They stood in silence for a minute or two, Obi-Wan rejoined his master.
Kenla returned her samurai sword to her backpack and turned to leave the
room. They did not try to stop her. Just out of ear shoot of Kenla, master
Yoda spoke quietly, "Strong is she, a lost soul she is, either a great friend
or a great foe she will be."
Kenla was soon out of the Jedi Temple; she walked to the end of the
platform and stepped into the darkness.
Meanwhile...
A lone figure sat cross-legged in a vast training room, four droids lay
crumpled and smoldering around him. He perspired only slightly, he
allowed himself a small inward smile, he had taken out the droids two
seconds faster than his personal best. He felt his master's presence before
he entered the training room. He rose to his feet quickly; a dark figure
with his face hidden by a cowl stopped walking and said, "Come her my
young apprentice." He did as he was told; he was a tall man he had a
frightening crimson tattooed face, his eyes looked like they were ablaze
and ten small horns adorned his head like a crown.
"Yes my master, what do you wish of me?" The cowled figure held out a
small flat round object, it was a holo emitter. A small figure of a young
woman appeared, the blue image flickered slightly. There was no
mistaking, it was Kenla. The cowled figure spoke again; his voice was
soft and menacing.
"I saw this young woman when I was on my way to the senate, she was
going to the Jedi temple, the force could not detect her. Bring her to me
my young apprentice, you did well handling the black sun, so this will
just be an errand to you. I want her alive Darth Maul."
Darth Maul bowed and said, "I will leave immediately. I will not fail you
my master." Saying this he turned and left.
The cowled figure spoke again in the gloom, "I know you will not fail
me, my young apprentice." He left the training room.
Back on Coruscant...
Kenla flew for along time before deciding to see what was below the
cloud layer. Even though it was nighttime on Coruscant, Kenla's
vampiric eyes could see as if it was daylight. Beneath the cloud layer lay
a world that the people above had forgotten along time ago, it was the
seedy under belly of Coruscant. A few dimly lit alleyways proved the
best landing sight, she decided to leave her wings out for quick take off,
it need be.
It had been a long day; Kenla felt a twinge of hunger nag at her gut. A
door opened to her left; Kenla retreated to the shadows. A human
staggered out what looked like a bar with an alien companion, they said
their good byes and the alien skulked off into the gloom. 'It's better than
nothing' Kenla thought to herself. She walked up behind the human, put
her hand over his mouth and dragged him into the shadows. His blood
was tainted with alcohol but it tasted good. She left his heavy body next
to the door he had come out of.
Kenla started to explore the dank alley, she would have to get her meals
down here from now on, it was too crowded above the clouds. She had
only gone about 100 metres when she could sense a crowd of people
around her. A man with shocking green hair stepped out of the shadows;
Kenla did her best to hide her wings. A small black, spherical droid
floated past, took a look at Kenla and few off again.
"Well, well boys looks like we've found ourselves some fun." He
laughed.
Kenla sighed, and rolled her eyes. Obviously this was not the reaction
green hair was looking for. He ordered one of his lackeys to attack. Kenla
jumped high into the air, using this distraction; she pulled out her sword,
and in one swing she took off the attacker's head. She landed gently, still
in attack position. The others backing green hair were still in shock,
"Blast her!" he shouted.
'Now is a good time to leave,' thought Kenla. She unfolded her wings
and made a vertical take off through the barrage of blaster fire. The shock
of her wings seem to scatter some of the attackers, but green hair took
aim with his blaster and fired, it hit her in the shoulder, this did not
hinder her ascent to the cloud layer. She made it to the top of the nearest
building, 'good thing I had that meal,' she thought to herself as her
wound healed infront of her eyes, though it sill stung a lot.
Meanwhile...
Darth Maul waited inside his cloaked sith infiltrator, he had sent his dark
eye probes out 10 minutes ago. As he waited he studied the holo image of
his quarry. He noticed her hair the most; he had never seen another
human female with this colour hair before. He admitted to himself she
was pleasing to the eye, he was looking forward to confronting her, 'no,'
he told himself mentally, the darkness of the force enveloped him as he
sensed his droids returning.
He awaited their return out side on the building edge. His black cloak
shifted in the breeze. The three droids floated up the side of the building.
He got a read out from the first droid. Success! The droid found a match.
Her last location was in the Crimson Corridor. He knew it well from a
previous mission.
He pressed a small button on a control pad located under his gauntlet.
His speeder bike halted beside him, he mounted it and set off at top speed
to the Crimson Corridor.
He sped along at low altitude avoiding the ever-present lanes of traffic.
A traffic droid detected his speed and started a pursuit. Maul blocked the
droids transmissions; he did not want any more interruptions. He led the
droid into the cloud layer; he ignited one edge of his dual-bladed light
saber, and swiftly took out the droid. He deactivated his light saber and
attached it to his belt.
He had arrived at his destination. He left it on auto, floating 20 feet
above the ground in the shadows.
He saw a dead body lying next to a door, he approached it. The body had
two puncture marks on his neck. Darth Maul was mystified. He heard
voices and instinctively melted into the shadows. The green haired man
was walking alone cursing to himself. Darth Maul stepped out of the
shadows behind him; he let the force penetrate the green hair's mind,
green hair stopped walking and turned to face Maul, his eyes were out of
focus. 'Weak minded scum,' thought Maul. He searched the human's
mind, he had seen her.
"Where did she go?" Maul asked, his voice calm and measured. The
human raised his arm slowly and pointed upwards, "up there."
Maul released his grip on the human and called his speeder bike,
mounted it and set off to the cloud layer. The green hair human walked
off dazed and confused; Maul had wiped his memory of their encounter.
Before he entered the clouds he saw the decapitated alien, he smiled, his
quarry was better than he thought.
His speeder bike rose quickly. He neared the top; his quarry was in sight.
She was sat on the edge of the building clutching her shoulder, in her
other hand was a sword which was smeared with purple blood, she wiped
it clean with a rag, until it gleamed in the streetlights.
Darth Maul dismounted, and removed his light saber from his belt, but
he did not ignite it.
Kenla stood up to face this person, his face was cowled and half hidden,
he removed it. She was slightly shocked about the crimson and black
tattoos, and then she noticed his small horns, she thought they were cute.
They both stood in silence. Maul noticed the burns through her robes,
but there was no wound.
Kenla had her sword ready if she needed it, she also noticed his light
saber hilt. "Are you a Jedi? Because I thought only Jedi carry them," she
gestured with her sword. She noted the disgusted look on his face. She
smiled awkwardly and said, "Sorry, I've only been on the planet a day,
and I only learned about them this morning."
Darth Maul finally spoke, "My master whishes to see you." He clipped
his light saber back onto his belt.
Kenla smiled, "Nice voice, you should use it more often (Maul quickly
averted his eyes), okay, take me to your leader. Sorry I've always wanted
to say that."
Darth Maul beckoned the speeder bike, he got on, he noticed she had no
means of transport so he made some space for her.
Kenla sat behind him, and put her arms around his waist. She smiled to
herself again, 'this guy works out' she thought.
Darth Maul tensed, but relaxed. They took off at a slower speed given the
extra weight. It wasn't long until they reached his ship, they dismounted.
The speeder automatically stowed itself.
Kenla followed him onto the cloaked ship, there were two seats at the
front, Maul took the helm. Kenla sat in the remaning chair, she was
impressed.
They took off; Maul kept the ship cloaked until they reached the upper
ionosphere.
'Why can't I sense her?' Maul thought to himself as he sneaked another
look at her. She looked at him; quickly he averted his eyes again.
"So, what's your name?" she said quietly
"Darth Maul." He said
"Oh." She replied, she deliberately left it open so he would have to say
something. It worked.
"What are you called?" he said
"Kenla Sa'talee, so what is your master's name? Just so I know how to
greet him." she trailed off, they came to a very large space station, Kenla
had never seen anything so big before.
"We will have to use a service hatch, there is no gravity, my master will
inform you of his name." he said in a final sort of way.
The ship docked successfully, the weightlessness began instantly, Kenla
laughed to herself she thought it was great. The hatch opened, Maul let
her go first (only for defensive purposes, he wouldn't be able to detect an
attack until it was too late) he pointed down a corridor. It's was hard at
first, but maneuvering became easier as she pulled her way along the
corridor. They came to a t-junction; she looked back at Maul, he pointed
left. They came to a door, Maul moved forward and punched in the
access code. The door opened with a hiss. Gravity returned as the door
closed behind them. Kenla felt stupid as she fell on one knee. He offered
his hand, she took it he pulled her to her feet, "You dropped this," he said
handing Kenla her samurai sword. "Thanks." She said putting it away.
They came up to another door. It was an elevator they stood in silence;
Kenla stared at the floor. The elevator went up about 5 floors; Darth
Maul lifted his robe hood over his head and hid his face. The door
opened up onto what looked like a promenade; there were a lot of people
about. He waved his hand using the force to mask his presence, he
achieved it to great extent, most of the people didn't notice him. He
couldn't hide Kenla, but she looked normal so no one took a second
glance. They arrived at another door but they didn't enter. Maul stood
infront of Kenla to hide her from view. He pressed a button on the side of
the door. They waited. The door opened.
A small man with grey hair and a warm smile greeted Darth Maul and
invited him in; Kenla followed staying behind him.
When the door closed the warm smile vanished, a scowl replaced it.
"You fail me Lord Maul?" he said.
Darth Maul kept his head up and stepped aside exposing Kenla, "No, my
master."
"Ah, my apologies Lord Maul, indeed you are a strange being little one,
you can call me Palpatine, Senator Palpatine. And you are?" he asked, his
voice soft and menacing. Darth Maul went and stood behind him and
kept his eyes on her all the time.
"I am Kenla Sa'talee, your apprentice here tells me you wanted to see
me?" she said confidently. Palpatine seemed disgusted that she was
taking this tone with him. Darth Maul widened his eyes in warning. But it
was too late. Palpatine bared his teeth, he held up his hands and blue
lightening erupted from his fingertips and shot towards Kenla. She
ducked but it hit her, she looked up, the lightening was not touching her,
instead it traveled safely around her. It stopped.
Palpatine took a deep sigh and finally said, "I had foreseen this, it can
only affect force wielding beings, now to test your strength."
"For crying out loud, first you zap me, then you want me to fight some
one, which I'm guessing is going to be Darth Maul, what do you want to
see me about Palpatine?
Darth Maul looked shocked and impressed, but he backed away all the
same.
"You are indeed perceptive my child, but you need to be tested before I
tell you any thing further, and if you are what I think you are you will not
need a light saber." He said putting his hand around her shoulder guiding
her out of the room, "Come lord Maul." He did as he was told and
followed.
They arrived into a vast training room, Maul noticed that his four
training droids had been taken away to be repaired. He took his place in
the training room and readied his light saber.
Kenla sighed and got her sword. She stood in an attack stance. Maul
removed his robe, which fell silently to the ground; he was reluctant to
fight her. They stood staring at each other; Palpatine stood at the wall of
the training area. "Begin." He shouted.
Darth Maul activated both crimson edges of his light saber and twirled it
over his head like a baton, the light merged into a shield of energy. Kenla
sighed and ran forward and jumped up with her sword trailing, she
decided not to attack from behind him to give him a sporting chance. He
blocked with the hilt, Kenla's sword sliced into it about 2cms; their faces
were a foot apart from each other. At the same time they both flipped
back, this time Maul ran forward, he swung his light saber forward.
Kenla ducked and successfully and kicked Maul in the chest, he landed
on his feet. Maul bared his teeth as he recovered from the attack quickly.
He continued attacking, but Kenla avoided all the attempts. Kenla saw an
opening and took advantage of it, Maul swung at her again, she ducked
and stood up with her sword at Maul's throat, again they both jumped
away at the same time. With this Palpatine left the room, Kenla guessed
he was bored.
She ran towards Maul and knocked him to the ground with a telekinetic
blast. She pinned his arms with her knees. His slight saber deactivated, he
let go of it. Kenla threw away her sword. She stared into his flaming
eyes. She shut her eyes, got up and started to walk away; she felt a hand
on her shoulder stopping her. She turned to face him.
They kissed.
Maul waved his hand, he let the force wander and turn out the lights.
The next morning.
Kenla sat on the window ledge and watched the sun come out from
behind the brown planet of Coruscant. She was in a state of peace. Darth
Maul stirred behind her, she felt slightly hungry.
"Will it be alright if you could take me down to Coruscant?" she said
putting her arms around Maul who was dressing himself. He nodded and
said, "My master whishes to see you first."
Kenla got up and went back to the window; "You'd do anything for him
wouldn't you? Personally he gives me the creeps."
Darth Maul turned sharply around, anger raged from within him, he
looked Kenla in the eyes, those deep blue eyes, the anger faded. He
couldn't stay angry at her for long; he had never felt this way before,
never.
Kenla stood out side Palpatine's door reluctant to go inside, she knocked
and entered. A cowled figure was sat in a chair facing the window; his
hands were draped limply over the arms of the chair. "This is my true self
Kenla, Dark lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, by being a senator I will rise
to power, and destroy the Jedi."
Kenla went and sat on the window ledge, "Sith huh? Well I guess you
don't like those Jedi do you?" said Kenla.
Darth Sidious Smirked, "I have a proposition for you my child, how
would you like to become my hand?"
Kenla looked bewildered, "Your hand, but you've got two of your own!
Or do you mean that I get to do your dirty work?"
"Something like that, no one will know of your existence, you will get
tasks that are so delicate that I would only entrust them to lord Maul.
Lord Maul has to have more time to perfect his training; I can't have him
running errands, he has to be at his peak when facing the Jedi. Of course
you will have your own ship, and unlimited resources at your disposal.
With the blockade of Naboo proceeding as planned, I may need you if
lord Maul is indisposed." Said Darth Sidious placing his palms together.
"Can I think about it first?...ok thought about it, hmm you've just got
yourself a new hand. Is it all right if I can go down to Coruscant? There's
something I have to do." said Kenla.
Darth Sidious smiled, "Of course my child, you can take your new ship,
it's called the Star Chaser."
"Really! Oh wait I can't, I've never flown a ship before in my life." Said
Kenla.
"Don't worry, lord Maul will teach you all you need to know, I see that
you like him?" he said smirking.
Kenla quickly looked to the floor allowing herself an inward smile, "You
could say that."
"I will inform lord Maul to meet you in hanger bay 147 in one hour, I
will tell him of our arrangement. Fare well for now Kenla." Saying this
Darth Sidious rose to his feet and left the room; Kenla was left to stare
out of the window into the blackness of space.
Kenla found the hanger easily, but had to wait for Darth Maul to get there
because of the access codes.
The hanger was huge, at first Kenla thought it was empty but Maul
deactivated the cloaking device. Beautiful was the only way to describe
it. To the best of her knowledge the front of the ship looked like a bird of
prey with its wings folded back. The tail end was the same, except for the
forward pointing stakes. The ship was pitch black with a few red
markings on the wings and hull.
Maul saw the expression on her face and smiled, he did not allow her to
see this of course.
"This is really mine? (He nodded) its beautiful! I really hope I'll be able
to fly it. Come on," Kenla said dragging Maul along behind her.
Flying was easy; Kenla caught on pretty quick. She was taking the
controls in just an hour. They flew down to Coruscant to practice landing
(cloaked of course) she perfected it in two tries. She took Maul back to
the space station and said she would like to take it out on her own, he was
reluctant but agreed.
Kenla took the star chaser down to the planet surface; she left it cloaked
on the top of the building she first arrived on. With a fleeting glimpse of
the Jedi temple she flew into the depths of Coruscant.
In the Jedi temple...
Obi-Wan Kenobi was stood staring out over the buildings of Coruscant.
He turned to Qui-Gon Jinn and said quietly, "Master, I believe our
forceless friend is back, I've just witnessed her jumping off that building
over there." He pointed.
Qui-Gon looked a little shocked, "You say she jumped? I think a talk
with her may be in order, come Obi-Wan." They left the room quickly;
they exited the temple on two speeder bikes. They arrived at the building
quickly. Obi-Wan nearly hit his head on Kenla's ship, "Master a cloaked
ship!" Qui-Gon looked over the ledge, "Yes, I know Obi-Wan, looks like
she went down this way." Obi-Wan was disappointed, he had not
mastered the force so expertly like hie master Qui-Gon, but he should
have tried to search for ships.
They mounted their speeders and slowly descended through the cloud
layer.
Kenla was back in the same place as she was last night, even though it
was daylight, none of the suns warm rays penetrated through the thick
cloud layer, it was always gloomy and dank. She also noticed that the
body of the human had been removed. Again she waited in the shadows
for her next victim. She didn't wait long; a lone human walked briskly
from the bar entrance, Kenla fell into step silently behind him. He
stopped and looked sharply around; he saw Kenla smile, and also saw her
extending canines. He started to run, but she caught him easily, she
covered his mouth to prevent him screaming. Kenla had only just began
to drink from him when she heard some speeder bikes closing in fast. She
dropped the human (who had fainted) and started to run, but it was too
late.
Qui-Gon ignited his light saber and jumped from his speeder to cut off
her escape route. Obi-Wan did the same behind her, Kenla was trapped.
Qui-Gon told Obi-Wan to check on the human. "He's alive master but
he's lost a lot of blood, it seems it came from a neck wound, two
puncture marks?" said Obi-Wan.
Kenla smirked "Perceptive little runt isn't he? Now why don't you just
move along, then I won't have to kill you."
"I don't think so Kenla, why are you acting like this?" said Qui-Gon
calmly.
"Because it's who I am, what I have been for 500 years." Said Kenla
with her voice raised.
They started to engage in battle.
A few stories above them, Darth Maul arrived silently on his sith
speeder; he left it hovering as he guided himself onto a small platform.
He was situated above the fight ensuing below, he knew he couldn't
compromise his position so he did his best to quell the darkness inside
him, it left him feeling naked, but it had to be done. He watched the battle
unfold beneath him, desperate to join in, but he knew his master's plans
would be ruined.
Kenla did her best to avoid most of the attacks from the two Jedi, but
some grazed her. She had her sword but it only connected with light
saber hilts and not flesh.
An opening, Kenla took advantage of this opening left by Qui-Gon.
Success, her sword cut deep into Qui-Gon's arm, she drew first blood.
Above the battle, Maul smiled, urging Kenla on.
Below the fight stopped for a moment, Kenla smiled as she ran her finger
along her sword, and licked the blood from her finger; it tasted better
than she thought. This gesture seemed to drive Obi-Wan to attack, rather
than defend. Then Kenla made a mistake, she thought Qui-Gon was out
of the fight, until she heard the tell tale hum behind her, she looked back,
her attention faltered.
It seemed that time slowed down as two searing hot blades ran through
her midriff. She fell to her knees; the Jedi deactivated their light sabers as
they watched her fall to the ground. Silent and motionless she lay there,
darkness engulfed her.
Above, Darth Maul was stricken, rage filled him, but he knew he could
not intervene, this enraged him further. He made a silent vow that if he
ever met those Jedi he would kill them slowly, let then die in agony. He
left in silence.
Obi-Wan looked up, he thought he heard something, there was nothing
there, he quickly dismissed the idea.
"She fought well," said Qui-Gon gingerly touching his bloody arm. "She
has earned a proper funeral, bring her Obi-Wan." He did as he was told,
his master was right, she fought bravely. Not many people would take on
two Jedi with confidence. He laid Kenla's body carefully on his speeder
bike. They took off towards the Jedi temple.
Later on.
"The council has agreed to a funeral pyre, I think that they are eager to
be rid of her." Said Qui-Gon beckoning his padawan learner. Obi-Wan
guided carefully the repulsor lift stretcher and followed his master to the
top most tower. The room was small and had five small windows, in the
center it had a low table surrounded with logs. Kenla was placed gently
on the table, the logs were lit. "Come Obi-Wan, let us leave her spirit in
peace." Said Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan nodded and with one last look at Kenla
they left the room and locked the door.
Kenla was dreaming, she was floating through the blackness, it was
getting warm, really warm. Kenla awoke with a start. The flames started
to lick her robes, she scrambled to her feet. She jumped off the table,
over the flames. She tried the door but it was locked. The smoke was
starting to sting her eyes. Kenla smashed one of the windows, it was just
big enough to squeeze through. She clawed her way to the top of the
temple, smoke was bellowing out of the broken window. It was now
night and she found that her sword was hanging from her shoulder it was
hung like a sash.
She looked down at her stomach, and saw the two burnt holes in her
robes, "I really need some new clothes."
She unfolded her wings and flew over to her ship, it was still there. The
take off was smooth she was at the space station in no time. Kenla
docked and went to Palpatine's room. He wasn't there, she went to
Maul's room, and silently she opened the door. He was kneeling on the
floor staring at the ground. Kenla put her hand on his shoulder. He
looked up at her, his eyes widened. He jumped to his feet and embraced
her.
"What's wrong?" said Kenla, her head buried in his shoulder.
"I was told to follow you, I saw those Jedi fight you. I thought you were
dead." He said, his voice faltering.
"Oh, well I'm sorry you thought that, I was going to be a pile of dust if I
hadn't woken up in time, those Jedi were going to cremate me, I just got
out." She said hugging him back, "By the way where's Palpatine?"
"Senate meeting." he said quietly as he let go to look at Kenla.
" I need to ask you something? I can't keep calling you Maul can I
what's your real name?" said Kenla
Maul looked at her, as if that part of his life was forgotten. "Khameir
Zarin, my species are the Zabrakian and the planet is called Iridonia.
Please tell me, how did you survive that attack?"
"I heal real quick, it's one of my vampiric qualities." she said. Maul
looked puzzled, he finally said, "Vampiric?"
Kenla explained. At the end he smiled. Kenla was mildly surprised, he
asked to see her wings. "You are truly a being of wonder, you are the
only one of your kind that has these powers?" he said. Kenla nodded and
said, "Your master said before, when I first met him, that he knew what I
was, I'll ask him next time I see him."
"Kenla, when I saw you run through like that, down in that alley, I made
a promise that if I ever meet those Jedi who did that to you, I will kill
them in your honor." He said gripping Kenla's hand.
Tears started to well in her eyes, "Really? You would do that for me?
That's so sweet," she said. He wiped away the tear gently, he smiled.
"My clothes look like hell, will it be alright if I can get some new ones?"
she said showing Maul the holes. Maul put his hand through one of the
holes and started tickling her. They were thrown into fits of laughter,
again the lights were turned out.
The next morning Kenla awoke to find a package at the bottom of the
bed, it was from Maul. A new set of clothes, she smiled. There was a
long, light violet skirt, with tight trousers to go underneath. A tight black
bodice made from the same material as Maul's belt. A light violet top
with long arms and material that flowed from the forearms, much like
Maul's robe. It was beautiful, it fitted perfectly. She threw her sword
over her shoulder and left to find Maul. He was in his training room
fighting the repaired droids. She watched quietly as he took the all out
swiftly. A new record, a second faster than last time. He noticed Kenla
stood in the shadows, she walked out into the light and did a small twirl
to show off her new clothes.
"They're beautiful, thank you." She said, she kissed him. She saw that
he looked glum.
"What's wrong?" she said.
"My master whishes to see you right away." He said quietly.
" Right, see you later." She said kissing him again.
Kenla stood out side Palpatine's door, she pressed the door chime. The
door opened.
"Come in Kenla, I've asked you here to give you your first assignment,
lord Maul is going out today to retrieve the missing queen of the Naboo,
it is believed that two Jedi are with her. I want you to watch over the Jedi
temple, to see if these Jedi take the queen there. All the information you
require will be in your ship's data bank. Leave immediately." Said
Palpatine sitting down in his chair. Kenla left the room in silence.
Maul's ship was gone from the hanger, she wished him a good journey.
"No wander he was a bit down, I bet those Jedi are Qui-Gon and Obi-
Wan, I hope he gets to fight them." She said boarding her ship, take off
was smooth as always.
Kenla landed on a building closest to the temple and prepared herself for
a long wait.
Two days passed, she had a few close shaves with traffic droids nearly
hitting the ship. She had a report from Sidious to watch out because Maul
had an encounter with a Jedi on an outer rim planet called Tatooine.
It wasn't long until a ship landed at one of the Jedi landing pads. Quickly
she left her ship and flew over.
"It was Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, they had a small boy with them, he had
to be no older than ten. They entered the temple. Kenla sneaked in
through one of the top windows, and made her way to the Jedi council
chamber.
The door was slightly ajar, Kenla listened quietly to the discussion going
on inside. They were testing the boy, she heard voices closing in. She hid
beside one of the great stone slabs, it was Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, they
entered the council chamber. She heard the conversation, they exited with
the boy.
Kenla left the temple, flew over to the ship and readied it for take off.
She followed the Jedi, cloaked, they made one stop off before they left
Coruscant. She reported to Darth Sidious on a secure channel before
pursuing them into hyperspace.
She arrived at a small green planet, she also noted the blockade. A
picture of the planet came up on her sensor screen, it was called Naboo.
She landed on a relatively flat building inside the city walls and made her
way, across the rooftops following the Jedi, the small boy, a girl with
weird hair, a really strange orange alien, and some others. They went
inside a large building, it looked like a hanger. She waited. Some small,
yellow ships exited from the other side of the hanger.
Kenla climbed to the hanger exit and looked over the side. Maul was
there! He started to engage the Jedi in battle. He was wonderful, even
though he was out numbered, he was not outgunned. They left to fight in
another part of the building.
A gust of wind caught Kenla's wings and sent her sailing off the top of
the hanger, eventually she regained control and landed in the hanger. She
ran after the fight, she entered a vast room with great pillars of light, and
platforms connecting them all. There was a loud cry, Kenla followed it
and arrived at five force field barriers. She could see Maul looking over
the edge of a great shaft, then all of a sudden, Obi-Wan leapt out of the
pit, now sporting a light saber, Maul had not expected the attack. With
one swing Obi-Wan sliced through Maul's midriff, he was sent tumbling
down the great shaft.
Kenla was in shock, the force fields began to open, she ran forward but
was stopped at the last one. Rage began to fill her as she saw Obi-Wan
cradle his dying master.
The barrier opened, instead of engaging the Jedi in battle, she dived into
the pit after Maul. The Jedi never sensed her.
It was along way down, but the end was in sight, Kenla opened her
wings to slow her descent, she landed heavily besides the two halves of
Darth Maul. She knelt beside his top half, crying she kissed his lips
softly, then a breath, he was still alive!
Wiping away her tears, she placed his two halves together. Summoning
all the energy she had, she let her hands hover over Maul's stomach.
Then a strange blue light left her palms and floated around Maul's
midriff. The light grew brighter as his two halves were pulled together
and healed leaving no mark.
Kenla was feeling extremely exhausted, but it worked he was
unconscious, but alive and breathing well.
Kenla hauled him over her shoulder, using her wings to steady him she
began to climb a small ladder embedded in the wall. But before she left
she pocketed Obi-Wan's light saber.
It took nearly an hour but she reached the top. She let Maul fall to the
ground, her old wounds began to bleed again with the lack of energy, she
to slipped into unconsciousness.
Darth Maul awoke, slightly confused by the surroundings. He sat up and
felt his stomach, he saw his legs, they worked he was alive. He looked
over at the great pit, he recognized where he was. He turned and saw
Kenla lying on the ground, blood oozing from her stomach,
she was out cold. He kneeled beside her, gently he picked her up in his
arms he realized that she healed him, and with the what remained of her
energy she brought him out of the pit. He left quickly with his renewed
energy.
A full three days past. Slowly she opened her eyes, Darth Maul was sat
beside her, he had drifted off to sleep. She took hold of his hand, he woke
with a start, he saw Kenla was awake. Relief flooded to his face as he
held her in a long silent hug. He let go and stared at her with a warm
smile.
"It worked then, your all better. I didn't know if it would work but I had
to try." she said as tears started streamed down her face.
"Yes I'm fine, all thanks to you. Kenla I, I love you, I want to be with
you always." he said, his voice faltering.
He looked to the door suddenly and stood up. Darth Sidious entered the
room, he saw Kenla was awake and said,
"Ah I see your awake my child." He was carrying a black bottle, "This is
for you, fresh of course."
"Thanks, I need to ask you something, when I first met you, you said
you knew what I was, is that true?" said Kenla. He sat down on the end
of her bed and said,
"For years I have heard tales of a being just as mysterious and as rare as
the Sith, with extraordinary powers that far surpass our own. But they
were just tales. They called your kind the vampyr."
"So the myth was carried from my planet, I wander how." She said
pouring herself a glass of blood. Darth Sidious nodded, stood up and left.
She drank deeply and placed the empty glass on the bedside table. Darth
Maul sat beside her again and said,
"My master has granted me five days to recover, three have past, I still
have two days left, I want you to come with me, I will show you all I can
of the planetary systems." He said holding her hand.
Kenla smiled and said, "That would be nice, when can we leave?"
"As soon as your well and ready." He said.
"I'm ready now, I'm fine, really. Which ship are we taking?" she said
sitting up.
Darth Maul frowned slightly, he did not want her getting up so early after
waking up from a coma, he sighed and said, "I think yours would be
better suited for the job."
Kenla stood up, she was a bit shaky at first but she soon regained her
balance.
She packed a few items in her backpack, including the bottle Darth
Sidious gave her, just incase she got peckish on the trip, and a change of
clothing.
The first destination on the trip was the Dagobah system, there was
nothing of importance there, but Darth Maul seemed to be drawn to it.
Kenla asked what was wrong but he dismissed the question. Next was
Alderaan, a peaceful planet famous for its beautiful landscapes and
excellent cuisine, Kenla remembered that Cody Baas was from this
planet. The end of the first day was drawing near they had one last place
to visit before retiring for the night. Tatooine was the destination, it was a
harsh desert planet far from the galactic mainstream. This was where
Maul first encountered Qui-Gon Jinn. It was a place to lose yourself in if
you didn't want to be found.
The two retired for the night early because Maul was still concerned
about Kenla's health, after much reassuring Kenla gave up and went to
bed.
The next day the first on the list was Dantooine, this was Kuan
De'mour's home. It was a small olive blue and brown planet, there were
very few settlements on the surface. They were getting ready to leave
when a large cargo ship appeared on sensors. It was the Tanteeva. Kenla
told Maul all about Kuan and Cody and how they let her tag along to
Coruscant. Then a familiar voice echoed from the comm.
"Unidentified ship, please identify yourself." It was Kuan, his voice was
unmistakable.
"Hello Kuan, how are you doing?" she said into the transmitter. (Maul
stayed silent)
"Kenla? is that you? Hey Cody come here its Kenla. I'm great, is that
ship yours? Its beautiful." Said the voice.
"Yeah it's me. Do you really like it? I've only just got it. Cody are you
alright?" said Kenla.
A shy voice answered, "I'm fine thanks, how do you like space so far?"
"It's great, listen I'm gonna have to go now, times short. I'm taking a
quick tour of some planetary systems. It was nice speaking to you again,
see you around." She said.
Kuan spoke again, "Glad you like it kid, nice talking to you too, see yah
later." The transmission was cut.
Kenla smiled to herself as she laid in a new course on the nav computer.
Maul stared at her for a moment then looked out of the window as the
stars burst into starlines as they entered hyperspace. Kessel was next, it
was an odd potato shaped planet that has a brutal prison camp where the
inhabitants are forced to mine a telepathy inducing spice. They went past
this planet cloaked so as to not attract unwanted attention.
They were just about to leave when they felt a shudder as a huge star
ship dropped out of hyperspace right infront of them. They were going to
collide, there was no time to take evasive action. Maul looked on in
horror, and Kenla began to scream. She held out her hands, a strange
green ball of light erupted from her palms and flew out of the front
window leaving it untouched. The green ball of light grew large very fast
and soon it was a swirling vortex large enough for the ship to pass
through.
Maul expected an explosion but none came. He opened his eyes a
fraction, to his surprise the view infront was totally devoid of any large
spacecraft on a collision course with them. In fact, it was devoid of
almost anything except the stars, kessel was not there, neither its moon.
He looked over to Kenla, she was out cold. She did not wake for an hour,
but when she did she was exhausted. Maul sat her up, she asked for the
bottle from her backpack, he got it promptly. After she took along swig
from the bottle she felt better.
"What did you do? Where are we?" said Maul quietly.
Kenla was quiet for a moment, a small smile creaped onto her face.
"I understand now, I thought that I would never be able to do it." She
said standing up and looking out of the window, she turned around to
Maul and pointed out into the blackness of space.
"Do you remember the vortex? I created it, this is another dimension, a
different reality." She said ecstatically.
Maul was a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of another reality, but said,
"Can you get us home?"
"Yes, but I need your help. Since it uses all of my energy to create it,
you will have to pilot the ship. Right, are you ready?" she said
confidently.
Maul took the helm and nodded. Kenla finished the bottle off and
discarded it. She was surging with energy, she stood at the front of the
ship, calmed herself and held out her hands. The green ball of light began
to form in her palms, it made its way outside to the front of the ship and
began to glow brightly. It began to spin and form the great swirling
vortex again. The ship was pulled inside, Maul felt a bit nauseous. It
stopped they were back home. Kenla collapsed on the floor and Maul set
the nav computer for Coruscant, they made the jump to hyperspace
quickly.
Maul laid Kenla gently on the bunks at the back of the ship. She opened
her eyes gingerly, her head was pounding. She felt like she had just been
on an all night pub-crawl.
"Are we back? How long was I out?" she said sitting up.
"Only ten minutes this time, were on our way home now." Said Maul.
Kenla laid back down and said looking up at the roof,
"Good, well my body is learning to cope with the energy required, soon
I'll be conscious all the way through the process."
It took just over two hours to get back to the space station. There was a
recorded holo message left by Sidious, he requested that they both come
down to the surface immediately. By this time Kenla was fully recovered
enough to let Maul take his own ship down.
It was night when they landed on opposite buildings near to the senate.
Maul led the way on his speeder and Kenla followed on the wing. They
arrived at a back entrance to the senate. Maul knew the way to
Palpatine's private quarters, they were outside his door in no time, and
they entered without hesitation. Palpatine greeted them, unusually warm.
"Master we came heeding your message, as soon as we saw it, what do
you wish of us?" said Maul bowing slightly.
"I mearly wish to inform you that I have been elected chancellor of the
senate, my take over of the galaxy is proceeding as planned." An evil
grin spread across his face when saying this.
He turned to Kenla and said, "Did you enjoy your brief tour Kenla?"
"Yeah it was good until we nearly got destroyed by a ship coming out of
hyperspace, but don't fret, I created an interdimensional vortex that saved
us, hmm I like that word, though I was out of it for a while, but I'm
getting over that now." She said folding her arms feeling proud of
herself.
Palpatine looked at her in surprise, the evil grin returned, and he said,
"Indeed, you truly are a strange find my child, and with powers that no
one could ever dream of. Answer me this my child, could you create a
kind of window so that I can see this other dimension?" he said.
Kenla thought for a while, smiled and eventually said,
"I can go one better than that, no in fact two. I can show you what your
life would have been if you made different decisions, than the ones you
did, or I can show you the future, just ask a question like what would
happen if I did this or that, you know that kind of question. But you're
going to have to wait because I simply do not have the energy to do that
today." She said shaking her head. The grin vanished from Palpatine's
face, he turned his back on her.
"You disappoint me Kenla, very well leave, go have your rest." He said
in a final way.
Kenla shrugged said good bye to Maul and left.
Kenla had no intention of going back to the space station, she was going
to have some fun, Palpatine had worked her up, she needed a release for
this pent up emotion, but first, some refreshment.
After she quenched her thirst she returned to her ship and retrieved the
light saber and attached it to a rung on the lower part of her bodice. She
threw her sword over her shoulder, she was ready. She set her ship down
near the Jedi temple and stood out on the ledge.
She entered the temple through the high window again. She found Obi-
Wan easily, he was in the large room she first met him in. He was
with the young boy Kenla had seen before with him. She entered the
room and slammed the door behind her announcing her presence.
Both Obi-Wan and the boy turned sharply to face her. Obi-Wan knelt
down to the boy and whispered something to him, the boy nodded and
ran off through a back door. Obi-Wan got to his feet again.
"I thought you were dead," he said readying his new light saber.
"Yeah well, what can I say, surprise?" Kenla said smirking, "I have a
bone to pick with you Obi-Wan, you see you went and sliced my lover in
half a few days ago, oh he's alright now I healed him, just incase you're
interested, I'm here to repay the favor." A manic smile spread across her
face, Obi-Wan looked horrified.
"You saved him? But he is a Sith. I must warn you Kenla, Anakin has
gone to spread word of your arrival to the council. Is that my light
saber?" he said, pointing at it.
"Why yes it is, how observant of you. Fitting that I will use it to kill
you." Saying this Kenla unclipped the light saber and ignited it. "You
will die slowly just as your master did."
That had done it, Obi-Wan ran forward igniting his light saber. Kenla
counter attacked blocking every attack Obi-Wan dealt. Kenla knocked
him back with a telekinetic blast, she discarded the light saber and got her
sword. She walked over to the crumpled heap on the floor, knelt down
behind him, grabbed his hair and yanked his head back exposing his
neck. Kenla put her sword to his throat, she was about to make the cut
when Mace Windu, the small boy and some others armed with blasters
burst into the room.
"Back off Jedi or I'll carve him up like a Christmas turkey." She shouted
moving the blade closer to Obi-Wan's throat.
Mace Windu ordered the others to stay back.
"There is no escape Kenla, let him go," Windu said calmly. "Oh don't
pull that holier than thou bull, there's always an escape route." Saying
this, she let go of Obi-Wan's hair, making him get to his feet by lifting
the sword blade under his chin. Once he was on his feet, keeping her eyes
Windu and the others, she aimed a powerful telekinetic blast at the large
window behind her, it shattered instantly.
Kenla shoved Obi-Wan into Mace Windu and made a run for the
shattered window, she released her wings and was about to jump through
when four blaster shots hit her square in the back, she fell forward onto
the floor, rolled over and held her sword out but they were already on top
of her, pinning her down. She managed to knock a few unconscious with
well placed hits from her wings, until they too were restrained.
"Release me now Jedi scum, or you will pay." She said through clenched
teeth.
"I don't think you're in any position to make idle threats. Now get up
Kenla." said Windu aiming a blaster at her heart. She got to her feet,
throwing off the ones holding her wings. There were six blasters trained
on her, she had no choice but to obey.
Obi-wan lad the way to the council chamber, by this time Kenla was in
restraints. Mace Windu took his seat next to master Yoda. The ones
holding the blasters pushed her into the center of the room. Kenla looked
back and sneered at them. Obi-Wan stood before master Yoda,
"Master Yoda, the sith myself and Qui-Gon Jinn encountered is still
alive, Kenla healed him." He said in a disgusted voice, pointing at Kenla.
'Come on girl gotta think, how can I get out of this one? Oh there's that
power I use in 1809-I wonder if it still works? Well there's only one way
to find out.' Kenla thought to herself.
Yoda's voice brought her back to her senses.
"Alive? Changes everything this does, the master and apprentice together
again. What say you Kenla?" he said dismayed. Kenla looked up at him
"Oh sorry, wasn't listening all that much, all I can say is bye bye,"
saying this she shut her eyes. She knew it was working when she hear the
gasps around her and the restraints clattering to the ground. It had
worked, she had transformed into an invisible mist. She floated high so
she could get a good look at what was going on below.
Mace Windu had leapt from his chair and made a grab for the restraints.
The others were spinning in circles like fools with their blasters held out.
Kenla decided it was time to go, silently she drifted out the council
chamber to the room with the window she entered in. making sure no one
was coming she regained her solid form.
'Nice exit' she thought to herself. Kenla leapt from the window and took
flight. She made a point to fly past the council chamber's windows. She
hovered out side and tapped on the window, every one in the room turned
to face her. Kenla laughed and blew a playful kiss to the people inside,
and then she noticed that Obi-Wan had her sword. Obi-Wan realized this,
he held it up for her to see.
Kenla mouthed at him, 'give me back my sword.'
He smiled and shook his head. Anger swelled inside her as she made for
the smashed window, it was the next one along from the council
chamber. She waited in the room for them to come to her, it wasn't long.
Obi-Wan entered with Mace Windu and Yoda behind him.
"Looking for this?" Obi-Wan said in a patronizing voice.
Kenla held out her hand and got a telekinetic on the sword, it flew out of
Obi-Wan's hand and was making its way to Kenla when it stopped in
mid air. The Jedi were using the force to prevent Kenla getting it back. It
was as if some invisible tug of war was taking place.
Kenla sighed angrily and said,
"How weak you are that it takes three of you just to hold it there against a
little girl like me. Give me my sword, now."
"Gladly." saying this Obi-Wan and the other Jedi simultaneously
released their force grip on the sword, and it hurtled towards Kenla and
ran her through. She looked down at her stomach then up at the Jedi. She
frowned and said with one hand on her hip,
"That is so like you, to set me up like that. That's it I've had enough, I'm
going."
She grimaced as she pulled the sword from her stomach.
She left in silence.
"Very powerful she is, and an ally with the dark side she is, this is
disturbing." Sighed Yoda as he walked awkwardly to the window and
peered into the night.
Kenla sat in the cockpit of her ship for a while thinking of an excuse for
four blaster burns and a tare in her clothes. Her mind drew a blank, so she
decided to just bear the consequences. She took the ship up to the space
station and waited in her quarters till Palpatine got there.
She had only just dozed off when Maul entered the room, he tapped her
shoulder to wake her. She yawned and sat up.
"Does he want to see me now?" Kenla said stretching.
Maul nodded and said, "What happened?"
"Oh, I had a run in with that Jedi and a few of his friends, it's nothing
serious don't worry." Kenla said smiling at him. She stood up and left the
room.
Darth Sidious was sat silently in his chair, Kenla walked up, and stood
beside him.
"I appologise for my tone earlier, what is it that you want me to show
you?" said Kenla quietly.
"There's no need to appologise Kenla, I know you are still getting used
to this way of life. I have contemplated on the matter for a few hours
now, and I ask to see the future. The force can only give a vague picture
you see, and sometimes it has a veil of mist that shrouds it. That is all I
ask." He said
"I tell you know now that I have no control on how long it stays open."
Said Kenla as she walked infront of Palpatine and turned to face him.
Kenla placed her palms together then pulled them apart slowly, a small
ball of green light was hovering between her hands. Gradually she
seperated her hands to their full extent until there was a vortex, about one
and a half meters across hovering in mid air.
"Touch the vortex, the image will follow." Said Kenla, her voice was
labored.
Palpatine rose from his chair and extended a hand to the vortex, he
touched it. The vortex began to swirl violently, he withdrew his hand
quickly. The center turned white and an image began to form. A figure
was slowly walking down a ramp from a transport ship, he had a walking
stick, it was an aged Darth Sidious. On each side were rows of men in
white armor, in front of him was a black clad figure bowing on one knee,
he rose as Darth Sidious approached him, he was tall and had a black
helmet that covered all of his face. His long black cape bellowed behind
him as he walked along side Sidious. Then the image began to fade, the
vortex destabilized and disappeared. Kenla fell to her knees, exhausted
by the effort it took to keep it open.
"Thank you my child, it is now certain that young Skywalker will be
mine, he will be turned." He began to laugh. Kenla was struggling to
keep her eyes open. He summoned Maul into the room to assist her.
When Maul entered he saw Kenla on the floor nearly passing out. He
lifted her up in his arms and took her to her quarters.
"I didn't see you in his future, nor I, but in that scene of his life the end
was very close for him." She said softly, she then fell into a deep sleep.
Maul stroked her hair gently and said quietly,
"You can't keep doing this Kenla, for surely you will die. If the master
keeps making you do this, I will take you far away from him, where we
can live in peace, together, forever."
The next morning, Kenla was feeling her usual self. She even felt up to a
training session. She had just started when Maul walked up behind her.
Kenla turned to face him, his expression was difficult to read.
"Master Sidious wishes to see you right away." He said.
"What's wrong?" she said quietly.
"Nothing's wrong, you had better go." He said smiling.
"Right, see you in a bit." She said, comforted a little by his smile, she
left the room.
A conflict raged inside of Maul, in one hand he has his loyalty to his
master, who near enough raised him and taught him everything about
mastering the force. In the other he had Kenla, who showed him that
there is more to life than just being an apprentice, and that people who
are adept in using the force, aren't always the strongest beings, and most
important of all, she had shown him what it is to feel true love.
He exited the room.
Kenla pressed the chime on the door and entered.
"You wished to see me?" she said.
"Ah yes, come my child, stand before me, I wish to see the future again,
perhaps a different part this time." He said smirking. Kenla, who was
now stood infront of him, sighed. The ball of light began to form in her
hands. But before the ball of light began to grow, Maul ran into the room
and seized Kenla around the waist and ran out of the room with a burst of
force assisted speed, there was a cry of anger and blue lightening filled
the room behind them. Maul let go of Kenla and she ran along beside
him.
"What's going on?" she said keeping up with Maul.
"We're leaving, I wasn't going to let him make you do that for him
again, take your ship and follow me cloaked I'll send you co-ordinates,
go." He said hastily. Kenla nodded, they parted in the hanger, Maul ran
to his ship and Kenla to hers. They both cloaked their ships and took off
from the hanger. Kenla received the co-ordinates as Maul jumped into
hyperspace, she entered them, star lines formed as she to made the jump.
They came out at the backwater planet of Tatooine. It was true to its
reputation, it was a place to loose your self in.
They stayed for a while, hidden from the republic and the chancellor.
After a year or two, the pair moved to Earth, as it was not charted, they
lived in peace, for the time being.
The End
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU
Authors notes: Well I thought I would be nice and give it to you all in one go!
It took me just under two weeks to write on and off. Grrr I'm annoyed with
myself because I should have been revising for my A-levels, but what the hey. I
hoped that you enjoyed it!
Feel free to e-mail me at sithchickuk@yahoo.co.uk