7
"Peta?" he tried to ask, but nothing came out. He tried to move the rest of his body, but it seemed too relaxed to budge, as if it were under a debilitating influence of some sort. As the apparition began to take slow steps towards him, his mind tried to seek an answer as to what was going on.
He thought at first it may be some evil trick of the dark side, taunting him with what he wanted to see, but he quickly dismissed that idea. He had sensed the influence of the dark side within Kreygor, and had almost given into it himself, and this was definitely not of its foul making.
Maybe he was hallucinating, he thought. Maybe his mind was allowing him to see her one last time before he gave himself over to the dark side and his ruin.
But that could not be it either. It was surely impossible, but he could sense her in the room with him. The same feeling of warmth and comfort he had always enjoyed when in her company was present here, but how? He reached out with the Force, and gently touched the essence he could feel before him. She opened her soul to him, and for a short while all of his pain was forgotten. He could not believe it. It was truly her, and it was as though she had never departed.
She now stood so close that he could reach out and touch her, if such a thing were actually possible. He urged himself to try, but his body still would not respond. She looked right into his eyes, and smiled.
With all his heart he willed himself to speak, but he could not. He wished so much to tell her how sorry he was for how he had behaved, and the choice he had just accepted. He would have died from the shame if she didn't relax him as she did.
She moved one finger to her lips, as if to quieten his concern. Through the Force, he could sense her feelings, almost as clear as his own. She didn't want him to feel the pain anymore, or to suffer in solitude. More importantly, with everything she had she was willing him not to make this fatal mistake and lose himself in a futile bid to avenge her.
It was then she tilted her head slightly and slowly shook it. Upon her face, her eyes and smile formed an expression of amusement, and to Macan this proved the most amazing thing. For even in this his most hopeless hour, she had taken the seriousness of his situation and had cast it aside with her light of heart. As he felt all the temptations of the dark side leave his body and mind, she opened her mouth to speak.
"You are never alone," she reminded him compassionately, and then came closer and moved as if to kiss him. As their lips came near, he closed his eyes again, thinking not of the sure impossibility of being able to touch such a spirit.
Then all too soon he took a sharp intake of breath and his eyes snapped open. Kreygor again stood before him, his scarlet lightsaber held at the ready, illuminating his malevolent face with its red glow.
Before he even understood why, he turned off the lightsaber in his hand and lowered the hilt to his side. Kreygor watched him with more than just a hint of disbelief, and an entire mass of disgust.
"You disappoint me, again," Kreygor told him.
"I've been doing that a lot lately, disappointing people," Macan confessed. "But I won't disappoint the one who matters."
"You are indeed foolish," Kreygor claimed. "I killed the woman you loved. And now I am before you. Take your retribution!"
Macan's answer was to toss the saber aside. It clanged against the metal floor and rolled away into the shadows. Kreygor watched it for a moment before shifting his gaze back towards Macan.
"You do know that this decision will deliver your death?" Kreygor asked, moving toward him.
"I will gladly accept that," Macan explained, "rather than give myself to the dark side."
"As you wish," Kreygor sighed, and raised his saber for the killing strike.
Macan thought about his decision again, but he only needed a split second to confirm to himself that it was the correct one. Head held high for the first time he could remember in years, he stood ready to accept his fate. As he awaited the end, a green blur flashed before him and the wicked crack of sabers colliding rung in his ears as Kreygor parried. He looked to his right to see Li New and Codan had arrived at the entrance to the room. Using the Force, Li New summoned his thrown lightsaber back to him, and the two of them charged into action.
Macan stepped back out of the way as his two friends took on the challenge. Their sabers swung round onto the attack as the expression of anger on Kreygor's face intensified. Now, he decided, he would truly show the Jedi what it meant to face the power of the dark side. He swung his own saber round in defence and parried both attacking sabers in one stroke, and before Li New could regain his balance, Kreygor threw him aside using the power of the Force.
Codan quickly moved back onto the offensive, but Kreygor rolled out of the way and held his left arm out. Codan was slightly shocked, then a little annoyed, to see his own green saber fly into Kreygor's awaiting hand. The blade ignited, and Kreygor charged forward with both sabers flailing, a colourful dance of death that Codan had to retreat from. His own purple blade flashed left and right with great speed as he tried to fight off the assault.
As quick as he could Li New leapt back to his feet and rushed forth. Kreygor whirled around, parrying Li New's attack as he continued to harass Codan with the other saber.
Macan watched with respect and admiration for his old friends. Their skills were developed to a far greater level than what they had been at when he had last seen them at the Academy, and neither of them showed any signs of fear or anxiety as they took on this formidable enemy.
The fight raged on, and Kreygor was pressed back out into the corridor. Now in a more confined space, the two Jedi found it difficult to attack at the same time, and Kreygor sought this as an advantage. His sabers came around again, and Codan quickly back stepped. The green blade in Kreygor's left hand severed one of the pipes fastened to the wall, and an oily liquid spewed out across the floor.
Codan suddenly found himself on a very slippery surface, and Kreygor pushed out at him through the Force. His footing gone, Codan could do little but collapse to the floor as Kreygor's red blade came down toward him. Li New quickly lunged to parry the attack, then ducked as his enemy's green saber flashed passed overhead. As Codan struggled to his feet, Li New used the Force to temporarily divert the flow of oil straight into Kreygor's face. The Dark Jedi faltered slightly and backed away, trying to clear his eyes.
Macan stood watching the fight from just inside the corridor. He was growing steadily more frustrated at his apparent uselessness, and decided he must do something constructive. Through a nearby door on his right, he caught a glimpse of a control panel, and peered inside the room. He realised he had found the heart of the facility. More control panels and monitors lined the walls of the room, and in the centre an enormous holographic display of the nearby systems was being projected from a device within the floor. In just seconds Macan had hit on an idea and moved into the room.
Kreygor was forced back even further, and again found himself in the duelling arena. Rylo had struggled to the back wall, and was sitting against it with a hand across his wound. Without being able to take up his saber he too was reduced to just a spectator as the conflict raged.
Glad of more room to move again, Codan and Li New spread out and attacked from both sides. But Kreygor, now totally immersed in the dark side, continued to wield both sabers with terrifying efficiency and neither Jedi could find a telling blow. As the fight fell further back into the room, they neared the fallen body of Ro-Donic, and with a simple command to the Force, Kreygor sent it sailing through the air towards his enemies.
Codan stepped back out of the body's flight path, but with split second reactions Kreygor altered its course and it crunched into the Jedi, bundling him over. However, the event was the opening Li New had been watching for. Though only for a millisecond, Kreygor's attention had been focused completely on taking Codan down. Li New's saber was already on the attack, and before Kreygor could react his left arm was severed just below the elbow. The forearm had not even started to fall before Li New's blade was coming around again, searching for the killing strike. He was rightly surprised to see the red blade in Kreygor's other hand come across in defence, and the force of the parry sent Li New stumbling.
Codan pushed the body of Ro-Donic off of him, and flipped back onto his feet. Then he saw an astonishing sight. Kreygor, minus an arm but with a new expression on his face of absolute rage and ferocity, was proceeding to press Li New back with some of the fastest and strongest saber attacks he had ever witnessed. For a short moment he stood, finding himself almost unable to believe there were beings so evil, and so totally immersed in the dark arts that they could not even feel it when pain was upon them. Shaking it off, he saw his green saber, still in the hand of Kreygor's severed arm, was lying not far away, and he summoned it to him.
"That's mine, thank you very much," he said, and raced up behind Kreygor to attack once more. As Codan took some of the pressure off, Li New found himself able to move offensively again, and the two Jedi began to force Kreygor back.
Continuing to move and spin with staggering speed, Kreygor parried all three attacking sabers for several moments, but even he could not keep up such a defence. As Li New deflected the red blade aside, Codan's purple blade burst through the Dark Jedi's chest, and pierced his heart.
The Jedi stepped back, and for a moment it seemed Kreygor was going to continue to attack despite his wound. But no man could suffer such agony, and he fell to his knees. The grip of his right hand failed, and his saber fell to the floor. As the blade retracted, Kreygor's face finally changed to one of realisation. He had never believed his great powers in the dark side would let him down in battle, yet here he was at death's door. He wearily reached his arm toward the two Jedi, longing to take them both by the throats and throttle them. If he just had a little more strength he would make that so before his body finally gave up, but he found himself diminishing.
As death came over him, he let out a deafening roar, and the Dark Jedi's last ever action was to unleash a torrent of dark side lighting from his outstretched hand. Taken by both the surprise and power of it, neither Li New or Codan found enough time to react, and they were sent sprawling through the air for a good twenty feet before crashing back to the hard metal floor.
Kreygor's arm dropped to his side, and then the lifeless body fell forward in a heap. Codan groaned, managing to sit up through pain and clenched teeth to see their adversary lay beaten. It was finally over.
Beside him Li New lay still, taking deep breaths and immersing himself in the Force for its support. It had been a truly exhausting day for both body and mind.
For several long moments the Jedi remained still, and it was only after Macan's appearance that they struggled to their feet. At the back wall, Rylo also stood and slowly made his way over to them, joining them in the relief of the moment as they looked down upon their defeated enemy.
There was something about the look in Macan's eyes as he stared down at Kreygor's body.
"He told you," Codan realised.
"Yes," Macan confirmed.
"I'm sorry," Codan told him, not knowing how Macan was going to react. "I didn't mean for you to find out that way, but we were in such a rush, and your head needed to be clear. I couldn't risk telling you before."
"It's alright, really" Macan told him calmly. "I'm fine now."
"You are?" Codan asked, stretching out with the Force to sense Macan's emotions. Strange, he thought. No nerves, no fear, and definitely no anger. Something big had happened, and not just Kreygor's death.
"Well there's no use hanging around here," Li New urged. "We could all do with leaving this place behind."
"Yes," Macan agreed. "But we stop off at the command room first. I figured something out."
It was getting late in the day by the time they launched their ships. Codan and Li New took point in their X-Wings, with Codan flying the injured Rylo's craft. Behind them, Macan followed in the Dark Jedi transport, with Rylo and R2-G3 along for the ride. In a strange way Macan was glad that the Dark Jedi that had escaped had not taken this ship, as he was becoming quite attached to it. Besides, their decisions made sense in one way, as their smaller fighters would obviously be much more handy in a dogfight.
As they left the atmosphere, Macan initiated a scan of the surface, and grinned as a large explosion registered at the site of the Dark Jedi's facility. Obviously de-stabilising the polarity of the power generators, then initiating a slow increase in their output had been a good idea. It hadn't taken them long to completely overload and detonate.
"Nice move, Macan," Codan said over their open communication channel. "No more Dark Jedi will be using that as a training ground."
"And no more Jedi will be tortured within its confines," Macan added.
"I'll salute that," Li New said, checking his controls. His readings indicated three more fighters were approaching the planet, and he grinned as he saw their identification. "A little late I'm afraid," he said into his com unit. "The party's over."
"Is everyone alright?" Master Reeldo's voice came back. "What happened?"
"Just another day in the life of a Jedi," Codan said.
Macan listened as his two friends discussed the events with the Rodian Jedi Master. It had been a long time since Macan had last spoken to him, and wasn't sure what to say when Reeldo was informed of his presence.
"Macan?" he asked. "I must admit to being taken by surprise to hear of your involvement."
"Master Reeldo," Macan greeted him, remembering that Reeldo too had once shared a special connection with Peta all those years back. He had after all been her instructor. "It is good to finally speak to you again."
"Indeed," the Jedi Master agreed. "There is much I have long wanted to discuss with you."
"I understand," Macan said, and then allowed himself a deep breath. "And I believe I'm finally ready."
"That is good to hear," Reeldo was pleased. "Will you be accompanying us back to the Academy?"
"If that is no trouble master," he replied after a moment's thought. "There are people I need to speak to, and poor decisions that need rectifying."
"Then let us waste no time. We will rendezvous back at Golon II, and see if Captain Baska is ready to take us back to Yavin."
"Sounds good to me," Codan agreed.
"Let's go home," Li New wished.
The six small vessels entered hyperspace once more.
