Emperor Sidious was a very, very happy man right now. Finally he had rid himself of the guise of sniveling Palpatine, finally he had rid himself of the troublesome title of Supreme Chancellor and taken his rightful role as Emperor. He ruled the entire galaxy. His war, rightfully his, for he had manipulated it from both sides, was almost over. The Jedi were all but eradicated. And his new apprentice was proving to be a most useful in his bid for galactic domination.
Things could not be better.
Still, loose ends were starting to appear in the tapestry laid out before him. Flaws, holes, problems. Things that he had not counted on. Things he could not control. But he would have to tie up the loose ends before they unraveled his entire tapestry. The loose ends such as the surviving Jedi Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan... they would deal with themselves. Obi-Wan would go after his apprentice and die horribly. Yoda would come to him, and suffer a similar fate. All too easy.
But there was another loose thread on Ilum as well. He could sense it. The Force was disturbed there, rippling like a pool of water that a stone had been thrown into. And that ripple, if not dealt with, might spread.
He already had a number of difficulties he needed to deal with on Coruscant, including waiting for Yoda as a trap. And Darth Vader was already on Mustafar cleaning up some necessary details. So it was that Emperor Sidious had been forced to call in another of his underlings for this job. Underlings he had aplenty, it seemed. Despite the treacherous nature of the Sith (he never made any secret of that, just sometimes that he was a Sith Lord) always others would flock to him, drawn by his power. Such power could even overwhelm their common sense. Many of the former Separatist leaders had been like that. Stupid, power hungry, and now very dead.
The young lady before him was nothing like them.
She was power hungry, but she was smart about who she pledged her alliances too. She took every situation and carefully weighed her options before making a decision. She always found a way to come out on top. In a way, she reminded Palpatine of himself when he'd been very young.
Physically, they looked nothing alike, even given their different genders. He was ancient, and after Windu's last attack, deformed and physically hideous, his inner evil now visible to all who had the brains to see it. She was rather pretty, in a rough, muscular sort of way. The young woman was in her early thirties, having just become a Jedi Knight herself, though she'd been banished from the order for her overly aggressive measures during the Clone Wars, including slaying helpless captives and being needlessly brutal to enemies.
This was, of course, when Sidious had found her.
Five foot four, very slender, somewhat shapely and pleasing to the eye, but a body covered in hard muscles from years of fighting and training. Her hair was a shoulder-length light auburn, and her eyes were a pleasant forest green. A pleasing smile graced her lips.
All in all, one would hardly think her capable of any sort of malicious thought, which was precisely what she wanted them to think. Sidious, fortunately, knew better.
"So what's the job?" she asked, after stepping briskly into his inner chambers. Both of the red clad guards made no comment. They were used to Sidious summoning this girl.
"Job? It is a mission, girl..."
"Don't call me girl. I'm an adult already," she huffed back at him.
"I will address you as I see fit," he replied, sinking down into his throne. "You are not yet Sith, not yet my apprentice, not yet worthy of being addressed respectfully. Continue to serve me, and some day you earn that. But today is not that day, girl."
She bit back a sharp retort, her eyes flashing like fire. "Yes, Emperor," she said in a sweet, respectful tone.
"Three Jedi are unaccounted for on the far planet of Ilum. I will provide you with coordinates. Find them all, and kill them. Move in secret... the Clone Troopers there are incompetent but will be very efficient if they happen to find you... former Jedi."
Her lip curled up in a sneer. "Jedi."
"These may well be the last three in the known Galaxy," lied the Emperor smoothly.
Instantly her sneer vanished, replaced with a grin. "Well then, better finish uprooting the weeds, shouldn't I?" she asked rhetorically, giving a mock bow and turning on her heel to skip out of the chamber, lightsaber banging at her side as she ran. A gift from Sidious, it was also something of a test. All her life, Attca Namon had found a power in the Dark Side. And she'd enjoyed it. The feeling of it. So she'd gotten kicked out of the Jedi Order had had to find a new teacher. The Sith was the answer. If she proved herself, she'd be made a Sith Lord as well.
She would prove herself. She was good.
Just not very nice.
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"No mistaking it," remarked Ryuin, slipping the device back into his robes. "Jedi transmission, keyed to our communicators. Just one order."
"Which is?"
"Return to the Temple."
"Then we have to leave this place as quickly as possible. There may be more fighting on Coruscant," said Terke. "The Temple may be under attack by the Separatists."
"Or the Clone Troopers," replied Ryuin.
"Whoever it is," she replied. "Do them no good, we do here. To Coruscant we must go."
"Now all we need is an exit," remarked Ryuin darkly, thinking. Jedi Knight that he may have been, he was inexperienced if well trained. He could not think of a way out. He idly wondered if his Master would have had the same problem if he had been here right now.
Jedi Masters did not come into their position simply by a measure of how old they were. Master Marra was a prime example of this, still in the youthful age of her species. Master Windu was another good example, having been the youngest Jedi to ever sit upon the Jedi Council. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was already well on his way to becoming a master himself, if ever he could temper his ambitions and arrogance.
No, a Jedi became a Master through wisdom.
Ignoring the musings of her former apprentice Terke Riith, ignoring the hacking cough of their colleague, Ryuin, Marra Henis rested herself comfortably on the cold hard floor; legs crossed beneath her hands, arms resting on her knees, and allowed herself to meditate. Her eyes drifted closed, her breathing slowed, and she allowed her mind to leave the confines of her body, stretching out to become one with the Force, one with the energy field that permeated all living things and bound the Galaxy together.
After a short while, she knew what she needed to know, and she allowed her mind to drift back down into her head, opening her eyes again. Sensing something had changed, eyes of both of the Jedi were upon her instantly.
"We go this way," she said, standing, brushing off her robes and taking lead. She activated her lightsaber, a bright emerald blade, and held it high overhead like a torch to illuminate her way as she made her way unerringly amongst the rubble and towards the deeper caverns of the temple. The emerald glow sparkled off of the countless, nearly priceless Jedi jewels imbedded into the caverns walls, making the pathway sparkle. Ryuin and Terke, both with lightsabers drawn and activated, followed after her.
"How do you know this is the right way out?" asked Ryuin, trailing along behind the other two.
"Always knows what she's doing, Master Marra does," remarked Terke without hesitation. Her faith in her master was unshakable, even in light of recent events.
The violet-skinned twi'lek turned a rather interesting shade ofdarker purpleby her former Padawan's convicted statement, but thankfully the glow of the lightsabers and the crystals made it impossible to tell. "The Force is guiding us," she said, deciding to be diplomatic with the 'us' instead of 'me.' "We are following it deeper into the tunnels below the temple. From there, we should find a way out."
She did not add this was wishful thinking at best, for none of the Jedi in many millennia had ventured lowered than the upper caverns of the Jedi. They could have stretched as deep underground as a mile, or perhaps more. None could say what was down there, none of the records in the Archives held any information, and none had been interested enough or daring enough to find out.
But now they were being forced to.
A shift up ahead brought them all instantly to a stop, bodies tense, ready to move the instant it proved to be a cave in.
If anything, it proved to be worse. There was a shifting of the rocks atop of them, and they could hear voices very clearly. The metal tip of a shovel came into view high above them, sending dust and snow down into the cavern as the Clone Troopers were doing their best to dig them out. All three instantly extinguished their blades of light and slapped themselves hard against the wall, hoping they hadn't been seen.
The dust, however, might prove their undoing. Angrily and almost fearfully, Ryuin slapped his robed sleeve over his mouth, muffling a coming coughing fit that threatened to expose them. Both of his companions glanced at him in alarm, and he too felt he wouldn't be able to muffle it for much longer, but after a long moment, he managed to nod. The fit had passed.
Another iron shovel's head slipped through the crack, however, widening it, and a sliver of light passed over them. More dust and snow slipped down into the cavern. And then a Clone Troopers helmet came into view, and they realized they'd been discovered. Two of them, at least. Possibly more they couldn't see.
Marra reacted swiftly, but instead of drawing her lightsaber, she stretched out her hand to stop her companions and instead reached upon a more subtle trick the Jedi taught.
"There is no one down here, Commander," she stated, her voice low and commanding.
"There is no one down here," repeated the Clone Trooper. His companion nodded.
"You're going to try and search on the other end of the Temple," she stated again, her voice the same commanding tones.
"We're going to try and search on the other end of the Temple," repeated the Clone Trooper.
The two Jedi beside Marra breathed a sigh of relief. Satisfied, she could not resist adding "And cover this hole while you're at it," playfully.
"And cover this hole while we're at it," they spoke in monotone, sliding a heavy stone rock over the hole to cover it again. Again darkness surrounded the three Jedi. And they knew they were still in danger, those Clone Troopers wouldn't be fooled for long. But it was a start. Igniting their sabers and using them as light, they plunged deeper into the temple. Deeper into the very core of Ilum, away from danger...
... and into the cold, dark unknown.
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All things considered, she made good time.
A sleek, black little ship, barely a dot against the landscape, had landed, avoiding detection by the Clone Troopers. Though they served the Empire, order 66 was absolute. No Jedi were exempt from it. And she would technically still be considered one. Leaving the Jedi Order wasn't as cut and dry as she would have liked. They still stuck their noses in her business, still kept her on a short leash. She was going to be glad when they were all dead and she and the Sith were in charge of the Galaxy.
Darth Attca Namon. She rather liked the sound of that.
Emperor Sidious had provided her with her ship, as well as the coordinates for the Jedi Temple on Ilum. She'd dressed accordingly for the weather, a white fur coat over her black skin-tight bodysuit. Her auburn hair flapped lightly in the icy winds as she surveyed the landscape. Sidious had also provided her with rather unique information that would aid her in capturing her foes. Information even the Jedi were not aware of.
Knowledge truly was power.
Ah, she thought, there it is.
Trudging through the snow was unpleasant, she was used to warmer planets, but it was well worth it. She was making her way to a cave on the opposite side of the mountain that housed the Jedi Temple. Safely hidden from view, hidden even from the Jedi (proof, yet again, of their narrow-minded arrogance) it was easily accessible to those who hade made it centuries ago.
Attca Namon stepped inside, and instantly the lost technology lit up, illuminating the room. Sigils and runes of bright silver-blue were marked along the walls. Marks written in the ancient, lost language of the Sith. A language she too would someday know.
The Jedi would come this way. With the temple collapsed and clone troopers on the outside tunneling in, this was their only way out. Dark Jedi Attca Namon sat down on the ground, lightsaber cradled lovingly in her lap. Soon it would spill the self-righteous, corrupt blood of the Jedi.
She would wait for them.
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How long passed in those caverns beneath the Jedi Temple could not be counted. With no sky and no sun, hours and minutes blended together in the darkness as the three Jedi made their way deeper into the complex, guided by Master Marra Henis and her through her the will of the Force. Finally, however, deep in the underground caverns and thoroughly lost, they were forced to come to a rest. Ryuin was still ill, and Terke's legs were tired from trying to keep up with her long-legged companions. So they set up a quick camp for the night, agreeing to sleep, eat, and press on once everyone was rested. They would sleep in shifts.
Jedi Knight Ryuin's shift passed with little trouble and rather uneventfully. Coughing fitfully, the Jedi slipped the glasses from his nose and lay down on the cold, hard ground to try and fall asleep while Terke took over.
She shivered in the dark, in the cold. She was bundled up in as many layers as she could, considering she'd had to drop behind a few things to move more quickly, but still, she was frightened. Troopers were after them, they were alone and cut off from the outside world. The Jedi Council couldn't reach them. No one was coming to save them. And for the first time, she wasn't sure they could get out of this in one peace. She was very scared.
"Terke?"
Terke's head snapped up in an instant, but to her vast relief it was only Marra. The Jedi Master had awoken and padded over towards her in near silence. She hadn't heard her until she'd been almost right on top of her.
"Master... ahh... scared me, you did... ahhh..." she whispered, breathing heavily. "Miss your shift, did I?"
The purple-skinned twi'lek smiled gently, "No, I could not sleep... your shift is not yet over, but if you wish I will watch for you. I am rested." She sat down beside Terke, and the two Jedi drew comfort from one another's presence. They could scarcely see one another in the dark hallways, but they could feel each other's warmth and hear the beat of each other's hearts. Here, in the midst of darkness and chaos, they had found a small measure of peace and comfort.
"Clouded, the Force feels," Terke admitted after a short while of silence in the dark.
Marra nodded. "A dark presence shrouds us. All of Ilum, it seems, is in this dark cloud."
"Be the Sith, could it?"
"Perhaps," replied her Master.
Silence reigned after that. Even Ryuin's coughing had faded away as Jedi Master and Apprentice regarded one another in the darkness. They'd been through so very much together.
But then more sounds were heard from above, interrupting the silence. They glanced at one another. Terke's eyes narrowed darkly.
"Clone Troopers... hear them, I can," she added, tilting her head. The large, pointed ears on either side of her head swiveled, allowing her the maximum sort of hearing given the distance her and their pursuers. "At least sixteen or so. On foot, they are. And... I believe their commander is with them. His step is heavier, more sure of himself, he is."
"Then we must go. My powers will not work on so many, and not on the likes of their commander. His will is anything but weak," stated Master Marra.
"I'll wake Ryuin."
Master and Apprentice nodded at one another, their minds thinking in almost perfect rhythm, just like their hearts. In seconds, their companion was up and they were on the move, the Clone Troopers closing in on them from one end...
... an unknown darkness welling to meet them the other way.
The proverbial rock and a hard place.
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"Stop. I've got an idea."
The two Jedi women skidded to a dead halt as Ryuin spoke. They'd made their way into a small underground cavern. It sloped upwards, and from this the three of them drew hope that perhaps they were heading back towards the surface. The two Jedi, purple and green-skinned, turned to face their paler companion as he stood against one of the columns supporting the massive rock, panting for breath. He was exhausted. Lack of sleep and his illness were killing him just as well as if the Clones caught him.
"Leave me behind," he said. "I'm only slowing you both down. Get out of here."
Master Marra made her way to Ryuin, placing a hand on his shoulder on a comforting manner. "No," she stated. "We will not abandon you."
He lightly shrugged off her touch. "We don't have any choice."
Terke's ears swiveled, and her eyes grew wide. "Coming, they are."
Ryuin looked up, looked right into the eyes of Marra, hoping to convey just how important his message was. He spoke simply. "Better two of us get out instead of none of us."
A sigh told him it had. "We'll come back for you," she stated, her voice brooking no further argument. Reluctantly, he nodded, then gestured towards the far cavern. The exit. The way out.
Remaining behind, Jedi Knight Ryuin held out his lit lightsaber in one hand, and waited. His other hand came to adjust his glasses.
"Come and get me," he said simply.
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Terke and Marra ran side by side down the final tunnel which they believed would lead them out. The longer-limbed twi'lek had unconsciously slowed her gate while green-scaled padawan had lengthened hers, a common practice the two had employed on countless missions before. Here, in the midst of danger, they were united once again by their common bond.
Whether or not it would be enough for what lay ahead was a question not even the Force could provide an answer to.
They came to a near dead stop, skidding along the floor as suddenly the rough stone walls of the caverns became replaced by smooth, handmade structure, high ceilings and circular columns. It was a manmade structure, like the Temple above had been before it was destroyed. Silver-blue runes of an unknown nature surrounded the walls, glowing, allowing them both a chance to shut off their lightsabers and still be illuminated. Both of them walked forward in marked awe.
"What is this? Part of the temple?" asked Terke, her voice subdued, yet it seemed to echo off the walls.
"A part the Jedi of old must have built," remarked Marra. Despite the danger, her natural curiosity overwhelmed her, and she was examining the walls, trying to decipher the runes. "These are Jedi runes... but I do not recognize the alphabet. Perhaps this temple was lost in a cave-in... that would explain why I saw no mention of it in the archives."
"There is no mention of the temple, because it is not yours, Jedi filth..."
A voice rang out, echoing among the walls. Marra and Terke instantly went back to back, lightsabers out and active, searching for their opponent. No such luck. The structure of the walls and empty hallway made it so that sounds echoed. Even Terke's pointed ears could not find their opponent's exact location.
"This Temple belongs to the righteous power of the Sith, the true masters of the Force. And you, dear Jedi, are trespassing..."
The attack came from nowhere, so fast and violent it knocked the two Jedi apart. A violent blast of invisible energy, or force, knocking them both ways. Marra managed to halt her impromptu flight before she slammed into a wall, neatly hitting it feet first and leaping off, rolling into a crouch. Terke, with less warning and far less room to maneuver, slammed fully into the far wall, hard enough to knock her unconscious. Her violet lightsaber flickered off.
"Terke!"
Then their attacker became visible, leaping down to land where they had stood moments before. A dark-robed woman with auburn, shoulder-length hair and green eyes that blazed like fire. A smirk played on her lips as she lifted up her own lightsaber, and a crimson blade shot forth. She held it before her, advancing menacingly towards Marra, who grimly awaited her.
"Were I you, Jedi, I would be far more concerned with myself..."
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Clone Troopers poured into the cavern where Jedi Knight Ryuin lay waiting for them. In disciplined fashion they spotted him and instantly filed into two lines, one before the other, the first crouched low. All sixteen of them had their rifles trained on him. The likes of Yoda couldn't have deflected that many shots all at once, and their commander knew it. He stood slightly to one side, arm upraised, ready to give the order.
"Where are the other two?" he asked.
"Ah, so that's why I haven't been blasted to bits then," remarked Ryuin. "You want information."
"Tell us, Jedi. Where are they?"
"Just past me," he replied, raising his lightsaber. Fingers twitched over triggers, but none of the troopers fired. They couldn't, without an order. "Just get past me and you'll catch up to them, I imagine... but that's not going to happen."
"Fi-"
Ryuin lashed out with his lightsaber, but not at the Clone Troopers. Too far away, too many to fight. Instead, he lashed out at a natural rock formation located directly to his side, amplifying the attack with the power of the Force behind his arms. The attack sliced clean through the rock and sent waves of tumbling stone and crystal crashing down into the cavern. The Clone Troopers, caught completely off-guard, were quickly buried in the rubble and crushed, including their commander.
When the smoke and dust cleared, a steady coughing interrupted the deathly silence, as Ryuin shrugged off a heavy rock that had damn near crushed him as well and crawled out of the rubble, limping along down the corridor.
He made a silent note to himself never to try anything that stupid ever again.
"Well, nothing for it now... better try and catch up before they leave me on this rock," he muttered, limping off down the corridor, coughing heavily the whole way. The dust had upset his lungs again, and his illness still hadn't faded.
At least he'd solved one problem today.
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Author's Notes:
And now we are introduced to the villain of the story, the wicked Attca Namon. Also a character based on a good friend of mine, who was kind enough to be the bad girl. I tell you who later. What's any good Star Wars story without a Dark Jedi in it? For those confused slightly by the timeframe of the story, allow me to clarify. Certain elements are happening in the Galaxy, but since I am not showing you those elements, they might be referenced by people who are aware of them going to happen, having already happened, or the like. And Ilum itself is a short while behind the rest of the Galaxy, being so remote as it is. So they don't receive news from the rest of the Galaxy until later than usual, and vice versa.
Trecebo: My thoughts exactly. I mean Yoda was able to survive, why not the likes of Shaak Ti or Luminara? Still, their names were not in the book, and we didn't see them specifically die in the movie. So in my mind, they're still alive.
Ray1: Glad someone likes it. Please feel free to enjoy the rest as it develops in my mind and is transformed onto paper and then finally into fanfiction on the net.
DarkKnight92: I know Shaak Ti. She and Luminara are my favorite Jedi Masters from Clone Wars. A pity we did not see more of them in Episode III. Will the Padawan be an OC or modeled in your own image?
Blood-debt: I always did wonder what the male form of Mary-Sue was, much obliged for informing me. Next chapter will be coming shortly.
Ultimate R-Man: Don't we all? I agree, a good moment but a sad moment, with all the Jedi dying. Still, makes sense really. Vader slices up the younglings, the isolated Jedi get done in by the Clone Troopers. Or, in this case, special agents.
Comet-hime: Lots of fun. I do so enjoy working with Terke and Marra, they're such fun Jedi, aren't they? Hope you enjoy the rest of the story as it develops.
