Sorry about the lack of an update, it's been a busy few days for me. This is a mediocre chapter, but it is a setup for later events in this story as well as the sequel. The heart of the story is coming up in the next few chapters.

Chapter 6-Misguided Vengeance

The tension around her was unbearable to most people but Sabe loved it. She, like the rest of the hastily assembled Chandrilian Fleet, had been nervously awaiting the impending arrival of the Empire. Now that they were coming, Sabe felt only relief. It wasn't the Empire that terrified her; it was the inaction, the purgatory the entire planet chose to place themselves in under false pretenses of ignorance to the coming storm. People tried to carry on as usual as if these were normal times, times of peace.

She had to give the people of Chandrila credit, though. Inspired by the courage of their Senator's denouncement of the Empire, they rallied to Mon Mothma's cause, vowed to support and protect her, drove away the scattered Imperial forces on the planet, and ended diplomatic ties with the Empire. It was this courage that gained the attention of Sabe, that caused her to twist herself away from the torrid limbo of the Naboo Royal Palace and join passionately in a cause she knew her old friend Padme would most certainty believe in. Her close relationship with Mon Mothma's old colleague and friend had won her a spot as a trusted aide of the Chandrilian Senator, and she had been even more thrilled when discovered that Padme herself made occasional visits to the planet.

She was with Anakin now. Sabe was truly happy for the two. They had been close ever since they had first met; she had sensed that her Queen had developed a special bond with the little hero of Naboo, and was not surprised that the two of them were married. The love between the two of them was so perfect, so complete, and Sabe wondered if she would find that kind of love one day for herself, before she got too old.

Senator Mothma, as they still referred to her with that title in respect, had worked tirelessly the past year putting together a ragtag rebel alliance, and Sabe had been there with her every step of the way. The rest of Chandrila, however, saw their momentary courage fade away and quickly lapsed into a state of knowing obliviousnesss. Now that the dark reality had finally dawned upon them there was nothing but hopeless panic. The few warriors left among them had all gathered onto the moon of Frorick as a temporarily base for the Chandrila Fleet.

As Sabe tirelessly worked the databases, Senator Mothma turned to her in a state of lethargic joy. "Good news, Sabe. The Mon Calamarians have sent a fleet of three starships under the command of Lieutenant Ackbar and should be arrive here shortly to reinforce us. This, along with the help we are getting from Serenno, should nearly double our resistance capabilities."

"And what of our allies on Utapau?" She had a special interest in that group.

"General Kenobi arrived safely a few days ago with the son of Skywalker. I do not want them to abandon their base and have told them so, but he and General Dodonna insist on joining us. Oh, and I almost forgot, Senator Organa has allowed the Alderaanian volunteer army to 'desert' and help our cause."

"Our numbers do seem to add up well against theirs. Senator Organa told us the Empire is only sending three Destroyers." Sabe was eager and confident for the upcoming battle. She imagined herself sneaking away in a fighter and blowing up the Super Star Destroyer by herself. Hey, if that Anakin could do it as a nine-year old…

"Have you ever seen a Destroyer ship, Sabe?"

"No, I haven't."

"Without chance on our side, a standard class Destroyer is powerful enough to take out the entire Mon Calamarian Fleet." She did not verbally express her regret at having inviting her friends to their likely deaths.

"We have the Force on our side though, Senator."

Mon Mothma looked at her aide sadly. She was so young and naive. "My dear Sabe, I hope you'll realize sooner rather than later that there is no glory in battle. Only death."

Darth Rache blinked his eyes in anticipation as the young Corellian's ship approached the planet of Utapau. He felt so close to his ultimate goal of revenge, a revenge that forced him to ally himself with the unthinkable evil. He couldn't let the shadow down though, not on his first mission for him. Trust from his Master was necessary, he knew, for him to see the realization of his desires.

Sacrifices had to be made for that ultimate goal. Darth Rache, former Jedi Padawan, would have to kill for the first time. He would have to kill the rebels at the base, rebels who in a previous life he felt he might have sympathized with. He would have to kill a Jedi Master with the devious powers of deception, powers that he had only recently been aware of.

But then, he and the Temple younglings had been most deviously deceived by Skywalker. And who was Skywalker's Master, his mentor, his best friend? Darth Rache allowed the fury the burn inside him, and he directed that fury against Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi was equally responsible for the massacre at the Temple, and Kenobi was equally deserving of punishment.

His ship found its way to the coordinates his Master had given him, diving into the deep sinkholes that dotted the planet's surface under the cover of nightfall. He landed a few levels above the Rebel base and slowly worked his way down. He crept silently and was undetected by the few sentries whom he Force choked to death at a distance. He would not use his lightsaber now, for he did not want to attract any attention.

As he finally approached the makeshift base he saw two people conversing with each other. There was no one else up at this time of the night. He reached out into the Force to see his prey. One of them seemed to be an officer, a tough man who would put on a good fight but did not stand a chance against his powers. The other was an invalid; he lacked legs and moved around in a hoverchair…Skywalker! Skywalker's presence surrounded this man, and as that foul traitor's scent invaded Darth Rache's perception he felt all his control and cloaking disappear.

Obi-Wan jerked awake in the middle of the night and he immediately felt for his lightsaber. There was a disturbance in the Force. It was a dark presence, the fingerprint of the Sith. Obi-Wan immediately sprinted from his room and into the hallway, trying to trace the darkness to his source. He found himself at the entrance of the cave that housed the makeshift base and found the corpses of General Dodonna and Cliegg Lars. He examined them closer and discovered that their chests had been pierced by a lightsaber. Thoughts and anxieties of the following morning's mission to reinforce their Chandrilian allies were immediately overshadowed by this new threat. The enemy was here.

Obi-Wan did not need use of the Force to follow the Sith's oddly familiar presence through the base. He followed the corpses of the recently slaughtered, the unfortunate trail of a mad rampage. Luke! Obi-Wan searched for him through the Force and was relieved to find that he along with the rest of the Lars were still safe, for the moment.

Darth Rache felt the pain and suffering around him and basked in him, giving him the strength to continue. His thoughts were not focused on his mission, but he told himself that his Master had told him to wreak havoc on the base. And the child! He had to get the child of Skywalker.

Darth Rache allowed himself to grin. Killing Skywalker would be the ultimate satisfaction, but holding the fate of his child in his hands had to come close. He felt for the disturbance in the Force that his Master had told him about and sprinted as fast as he could towards where he knew the infant was. He was almost there when he felt another disturbance in the Force. Kenobi! He had forgotten about the other Jedi.

The two of them faced off in a waiting room. Obi-Wan was horrified when he saw the face behind the dark Sith cloak, as well as the red lightsaber that glared in the hands of Mace Windu's former Padawan.

"Padawan Grello! What do you think you are doing?"

The response was pure anger. "You! Don't you even dare call anyone your Padawan! You don't deserve to be a Master, not after what you've done!" Darth Rache had completely forgotten his Master's advice on facing Kenobi. There was no hiding or cloaking. Darth Rache projected his anger blatantly to anyone that might sense it.

"I don't understand, Tep. What have I done?"

"You are a monster! Just like the one you created!" With no more hesitation he made the first move against his Jedi opponent, aiming his bright red lightsaber straight at Kenobi's heart.

Obi-Wan reacted quickly and easily fended off his opponent's blows one after another. Tep Grello had been close to Knighthood and his saber skills were more than adequate, but he had neither Obi-Wan's strength nor his experience. Obi-Wan let the battle between them act as merely a diversion as he plunged his thoughts deep into his opponent's heart, seeking the motivation that drove this pitiful excuse for a Sith Lord. He saw an image of Anakin raising his lightsaber, of Mace Windu falling out the window, and of Anakin's rampage in the Jedi Temple. He noticed how Tep Grello favored his right arm over his left one, which seemed to be dead to the Force. The answers came quickly to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Obi-Wan stopped his passive defense and shifted to an offensive stance. He started lashing out at the former Padawan and pushed him back into a corner. Grello snarled at him and defended himself fiercely. Obi-Wan finally spoke.

"Tep, listen to me. I'm sorry for your loss. The Jedi Order has suffered much lately."

"The only ones who will suffer will be you and your Padawan."

How blinded is he by his dark delusions? Does he not know that he is cornered and at my mercy? "Padawan, let me help you. Wrongs have been committed, but you can't right those wrongs by helping the evil that caused them in the first place."

"Don't tell me what to do, Kenobi. I am not a Jedi anymore, and I don't need your lectures." He lunged at Obi-Wan, aiming his lightsaber at his neck. Obi-Wan met the parry and pressed back with his weapon, slowly pushing the red lightsaber back towards Darth Rache's neck.

"You sound like the very man you seek vengeance against, Grello. I see you are a fitting replacement for him." There was no reply. "Why are you here, Tep? Do you think killing me result in anything?"

"I am here to…" but he paused when he remembered the other part of his task.

"You are here for the boy, aren't you?" Damn, he didn't do as good a job as he thought on Tatooine, and Cliegg had paid for it with his life. "Do you know why Darth Sidious wants Anakin's son?" Obi-Wan pushed forward with his saber, backing Tep up against the wall until he had no room to move. Tep considered the question. Perhaps his Master would kill the boy out of spite. Or they would have held him as bait for Skywalker. Perhaps his Master even wanted Tep to train the boy as a Sith.

"You are a fool, Tep Grello, if you think that. How much do you really know about the Sith?"

"More than you can ever imagine, Jedi!"

"Then you must know the rule of two. There is only a Master and an Apprentice. No more, no less."

Darth Rache hadn't been informed of that rule before. He considered its ramifications. Surely it didn't mean…

"You are right. I'm sure Sidious does mean to train young Luke," said Obi-Wan. "It's quite devious of him to send you to bring him your own replacement."

"No. You lie!"

"Who deals with lies, Tep? The Jedi or the Sith?"

Darth Rache responded with a strength and fury unknown to him before, unleashing the full might of the Force. Obi-Wan was caught by surprise as he felt himself pushed into the opposite side of the room. His shoulder caught the edge of an end table and his lightsaber flew out of his hands. It was a perfect opportunity for the young Sith Lord, but by the time Obi-Wan regained his senses his opponent had already ran off. He considered a pursuit, but realized he had more important priorities to deal with than a confused kid pretending to be a Sith Lord.

With General Dodonna dead he had to organize what remained of the rebel forces on Utapau by himself and reach Chandrila in time to defend the Senator. The Lars and Luke weren't safe either, not with the Empire's knowledge of their location. Obi-Wan swore at himself, trying to make the best of a bad situation. Finally, he concluded that Luke, Owen, and Beru would accompany him to Chandrila. After he had led the rebels to their destination Obi-Wan would take his leave and bring Anakin's son to safety at Dagobah.

He raced through the caves in dark confusion. He did not want anything to do with Obi-Wan anymore. He sensed that what he had said about the Sith to be true. He Master had betrayed him then. He could not go back to Sidious. He had failed him anyhow. He didn't have the boy, and Obi-Wan was still alive. He had nowhere to go. He had revealed himself to the Jedi, and once word got out they would hunt him down and kill him. As would his Master, as punishment for this utter failure. Darth Rache did not hold any delusions about his Master's capacity for mercy. Maybe before his conversation with Obi-Wan, but not now. Not if he was a meaningless fill-in, an expendable gap between two generations of Skywalkers. For once the Jedi and the Sith had a common cause, and it was to kill him.

His mind raged at the Skywalkers for being more important than him. He raged at Sidious for his deception. He raged at Obi-Wan for telling him the truth. He raged at himself for being an unknowing pawn. That was it, he told himself. He would not be a pawn any longer. He would not go into hiding. He would get his revenge on all of them.

Darth Rache remembered something his Master had said about a dark planet filled with the secrets of the Sith. What was its name? Corridor? Corribor? Korriban! Yes, that was it. He didn't need a master to learn the dark arts. He will teach it to himself, absorb all the darkness there, and become more powerful than his enemies could imagine.