Chapter 17

Denz was aware of the giant vorts that had suddenly appeared on the other side of the crater. He did not dwell on their presence for very long, however, since Cordell was pushing what advantage he had.

Denz blocked and parried with one of his lightdaggers, while attempting a thrust or slash with the opposite one. But Cordell's speed and reflexes had increased exponentially. So every time Denz deflected an attack and countered with one of his own, Cordell's always seemed to be able to get his lightsaber into position to stop the attack and continue on the offensive.

After another failed attempt at penetrating Cordell's defenses, Denz leapt backward a couple dozen feet to regroup and analyze the situation. Suddenly an explosion of power blinded his Force sense, and a quick glance at Cordell showed that even in his delusional state he had sensed it as well.

Denz looked over at Jyo and Salah again and saw the two of them on the ground clutching their heads. Denz did not know exactly what had happened, but he could now sense that Jyo and Salah's Force power had quintupled. Denz smiled slowly as his eyes scanned and identified the Force currents running between the two individuals.

A mind-meld is it? But their power hasn't just doubled as with a normal meld. Denz nodded to himself as he turned his attention back to Cordell who had lost interest with Jyo and Salah. It seems the observations I made while disguised as Trey Jint were correct. Not just any two people could mind-meld and create that kind of power. No. This must be what I've theorized to be … a soul-meld.

Once the shock subsided, the two friends stood. No words needed to be said. Every thought, every question traveled instantly to the other person via the link … and answers and speculations came equally fast.

After a moment, the two turned their attention to the advancing vorts. Simultaneously they started to walk. They also ignited their lightsabers, holding them down at their sides. At an unseen signal, Jyo and Salah became a blur as they sprinted into the crater.

Meanwhile, Denz blocked and sidestepped another attack by Cordell. He smiled at how little time it took for Jyo and Salah to become so close. I had felt something between them even from the beginning, but I don't think they even realized it.

While Denz whished he could dwell on such happy thoughts, he knew he had a job to do. First he deactivated his lightdaggers, sliding both hilts back up the sleeves of his robe where the arm clasps grabbed and secured them. He then turned to Cordell who had not seemed to think twice about the drop in defenses as he charged and swung his own lightsaber wildly.

Denz jumped ten feet straight up, and Cordell ran underneath of him. As he landed, Denz thought. I hate to think I had to fool Jyo and Salah into believing that my lightdaggers were my ace in the hole to beat Cordell, but if I hadn't shown them off, they might have interfered.

As it was, Denz was now concentrating all of his energy on getting inside Cordell's head. Breaking through the mental barrier was as hard as trying to fight Cordell physically, but in the end it finally caved. 'Cordell! Think about what you're doing!' Denz forced the thought into Cordell's mind.

'Denz, help.' Was the weak reply.

This startled Denz. Cordell's request for help did not make any sense. 'Cordell?'

'…Trapped.'

Jyo deftly raised his lightsaber to stop the vort's attack, he then pushed up and jumped into the air, kicking the vort in the face, knocking it off balance. Jyo followed with a Force push that sent the vort reeling backward.

Salah suddenly broke away from the vort she was engaged with. She spun around and away only to stop several feet away, where she raised her own lightsaber to impale Jyo's vort as it fell over backward. She turned and swung her lightsaber like a golf club, flinging the deceased vort off and into the one she had just been fighting. The two entangle creatures flew up and away before crashing down onto the crater floor.

Another vort was already taking swings at Jyo who dodged them easily, and the other two had Salah surrounded. One suddenly let loose a piercing screech that made Salah's head scream out in pain. She knew the other vort would be attacking, but Salah felt as thought she had been paralyzed. The sensation of flight abruptly replaced the pounding in her head, and she opened her eyes to see a vort's amphiarm embedded in the ground where she had been. Salah immediately knew that Jyo had Force pushed her out of the way at the last moment. She made a mental note to watch out for that move.

'Trapped? What's that supposed to mean?'

Cordell's response was as faint as ever. 'All I know is I got hit with that bolt of energy and was about to attack again when I was suddenly in immense pain and blacked out.'

'Are you aware of anything that's going on now?' Denz queried.

'No.'

Denz opened his eyes just long enough to catch a glimpse of Cordell without breaking off the mental link. What he saw helped him to relax. Instead of charging at Denz to deliver the death blow, Cordell was on the ground clutching his head. Apparently, Denz's mental intrusion was having more of an effect that he had anticipated.

'Denz.' Cordell's voice seemed a little louder. 'I'm not still unconscious, am I?'

'That you aren't.' Denz responded. 'I myself am not completely sure of what's going on.'

Suddenly a third voice entered the mix. 'Come now. Surely you must have at least some logical assumption, Denz Solo.'

'That voice!' Denz suddenly got a mental picture of the strange creature he met in the forest of Jedron. 'Pan!'

'Quick and to the point as always I see, young Jedi.'

'What's going on?' The volume of Cordell's voice was greatly diminished.

'Care to venture a guess, young Solo?'

'Let's skip the guessing and get right to the explanations.' Denz demanded.

'As involved as this whole thing may seem it's really quite simple.' Pan began. 'I belong to a species that arrived in this galaxy not long before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Unlike the Yuuzhan Vong, we had not come for conquest but for entertainment.' Pan paused, and Denz could almost see the smile on the creature's face as he continued. 'And what amusement we received as we watched this galaxy struggle against the Yuuzhan Vong.' Pan sighed. 'Alas, our pleasure was not to last. The Yuuzhan Vong, though not completely vanquished, were undoubtedly defeated in the end. Thus we needed to seek new entertainment.'

'You used us.' Denz's voice was like ice.

'In a way, yes. The Jedi had always fascinated us in that their mental abilities were so similar to ours. They had also proven to be quite the warriors. However, the older Jedi were not easily influenced.'

'So you went after the minds of yet to be Jedi.' Denz growled.

'We needed two people that were completely different. We had learned of the eternal battle between light and darkness, and that the dark side was unstable. And while we could no longer control you, Denz Solo, when your premature reawakening unexpectedly awoke some hidden power in you; your cousin, Cordell Durron, whom we had already chosen to be your opponent was all too easily influenced.'

Jyo dashed underneath of the lunge and jumped straight up, dragging his lightsaber along the length of the vort's body. He flipped out of the leap and landed behind the beast, which split in two and fell to the ground in opposite directions.

Jyo turned in the direction of Salah and felt it without enough time to move out of the way. The ground erupted beneath his feet as the vort Salah had clobbered earlier burst out from underground. Not being able to avoid the attack, Jyo did the next best thing. He took one step and positioned himself right where the vort's head would emerge, and using the Force to steady himself, rode the vort like a turbolift until it reached its full height.

The vort looked around, puzzled. It could smell Jedi, but could not see any. Jyo did not give it a chance to figure it out. He drove his lightsaber into the top of the vort's skull and yanked left causing the blade to tear out of the side of the vort's head. Jyo leaped off and paid no attention as the vort fell dead to the crater floor. He noted that Salah had taken down another vort, and was in the process of dispatching the last one. Knowing this, Jyo deactivated his lavender lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. He then began to walk toward Salah as she Force kicked the vort in the chest, bringing it to the ground, then with one swing of her lightsaber, slit the creature's humungous throat.