CHAPTER 14

AN OLD ENEMY

A figure slowly, fluidly, walked out of the shadows. It was dressed totally in black. The long floor length robe flowed slightly at the bottom.

Luke Skywalker was impressed. Even though his new Master had gone through many disfigurements he still walked normally and with a hint of dignity.

If Yoda was impressed he didn't show it. Actually he thought the dark Lord's entrance was way too showy.

"Master," Luke said when the cloaked figure came into the pale light. "I have brought Jedi Master Yoda."

"Excellent."

The Sith towered over the old Jedi who regarded him mildly. Yoda could still see Sidious was as ugly as he had been thirty seven years ago, if no uglier. Even so; the Jedi didn't let anything get to him. He looked up at the Sith boredly and said in a flat voice. "Hello, Chancellor Palpatine."

The startship holding Dorina, Jay, Maya, Rie and Esore landed on Geinosis only an hour after Ruden's ship had taken off.

As soon as they'd penitrated the atmosphere the Force spoke to Esore. It told her her Master was there and where he was located.

"I see a colisium down there," she said pointing at the planet's surface.

"So?" Dorian said.

"Master Yoda is in there."

"How do you know?"

She looked right at the other Jedi Padawan. "The Force told me," she said.

"Oh." Dorian didn't argue. You never argued with the Force.

The purple haired girl pulled hard on the control yolk and landed the ship. With it landed safely on the surface she turned it off and swivled around in her chair to face her friends. "Okay, everyone," she said all authority. "Here's what we'll do; we'll split up and search the whole ruin. If you run into trouble scream at the top of your lungs and try your best to get rid of it."

"What about our lightsabers?" Maya asked.

Esore stared at the blond girl as if she were stupid. "That's what it was made for."

"Yeah!" Dorian cheered, throwing his fist into the air. "Finally! A real mission!"

Jay rolled his eyes. "If you're that loud in there you'll give us away instantly."

Dorian glared at the blond boy.

Esore started for the door. There was no time for arguements. "Let's go," she said urgently. "Forget about fighting each other. The real fight is in that building."

"So you still remember my name," Palpatine said cockily.

"Hard to forget your name is," Yoda retorted, totally calm. "Why would I? Easy to remember evil is."

The Sith chuckled lightly. "Still the same way, I see," he said. "Still talking the same way too."

Yoda snorted. "Still foolish you are."

Sidious growled. "I'd rather be a fool than someone who can't stop living in the past and refuses to face the future."

"Our difference that is," the Jedi said. "Learn from my mistakes I do. Ignorant you are. Repeat your mistakes over and over you will."

Palatine angrily used the Force to pick the Jedi up. "You just think I do because you think you're perfect."

"Perfect I am not," Yoda replied, as he hovered in the air. "Far from it I am. If perfect I was; In this situation I would not be."

The Force led Esore deep into the colisium. As she descended she felt her Master's presense getting stronger. The only thing was; she wasn't just feeling his. She also identified energy from Luke Skywalker too.

What's he doing here? she thought, stopping to ponder. Did he decide to rescue Master Yoda instead? If so; why didn't he tell us? Does he need us as backup incase something goes wrong?

Then she saw something below her feet. Between a tree root style floor. She saw Yoda, Luke, and a figure that looked like a shadow.

What's this? she wondered, kneeling down and peeking through the branches. And why isn't Luke doing anything about is?

"You were never perfect," Palpatine said. "You are pathetic and weak."

"You say that why?" Yoda wanted to know.

"Only the weak stay in the light." was the answer. "The strong embrase the dark. They let the dark in. They let their true colors show. They don't put on a hero act."

"Put on an act I do not," the Jedi replied. "Content in the light I am. Embrace the dark-"

Palpatine used the Force to shut him up. "Spare me the honorable Jedi talk." A lightsaber burst to life. "You know where the light leads you, Grand Master of the Order? It leads to a dishonorable death." The blade rested just an inch from the old Jedi's eyes. "It leads to your type of people getting cut down by people like me!"

Jedi Padawan Rie Secura could feel the Force was strong in this part of Geinosis. Why is it so strong here? the Twi'lek thought, her yellow lightsaber deactivated for the time being. There must be more Jedi than us here. On someone else with the Force. Like a Sith. Or... She remembered what had happened here fourty years ago. A Jedi ghost...

She spotted a flight of stairs, through the gloom, a few feet away and started for them. Maybe the cause is on a lower level...

Suddenly a scream broke the stillness. Rie immediatly recognized it. Maya! she thought turning around. She's in trouble!

As the Twi'lek ran toward the place the scream had come from the other girl came running out of the semi-darkness. Her blue lightsaber was activated and held in her right hand.

Rie could tell the blond girl wasn't planning on using it. Her eyes were wild in fear and she just kept on running. Somehow I don't think a driod is chasing her...

Sure enough, as Maya got closer to the other girl a huge green bug creature (like the one that tried to eat Obi-Wan in Attack of the Clones) came out of the shadows and let out an unplanetary wail.

What in the galaxy!

Maya ran at her. "What is that?" the Twi'lek asked.

The blond girl ran past Rie and grabbed her arm as she did. She drug her toward the stairs. "I don't know!" Maya screamed. "And I don't want to find out!"

Yoda could feel the ozone coming from the Sith's blade. His Force power began to work against Palpatine's.

The ex-Chancellor could sense it. "Do you really think you can stop me from killing you?" he demanded.

Yoda just looked at the Sith and smiled.

Rie and Maya dived for the stairs and tumbled into the passage. They got up and ran, hearing the monster's screamed echo behind them as they went.

'He's too big to fit in here," Rie concluded as they went. "He can't come after us now."

Maya sighed in relief. "Thank the Fore."

Jay and Dorian weren't having much better luck. Somehow they'd crossed each other's paths and decided not to split up again.

Dorian didn't realized until it was too late that he's accidently triggered an alarm somewhere. When the boys rounded a blind corner in the hallway on the second floor they found themselves staring down the blasters of over a hundred battle driods.

That had caused Dorian to go into his wannabe hero mode. He'd pulled out his green lightsaber and bulled his way through the driods, hacking and chopping. Jay had followed, covering the other boy's back, using his purple lightsaber to deflect the bolts coming from the blasters of the remaining driods.

When they made their way through the driod possy they turned and ran.

The thing was; the driods regrouped, gaining more numbers, and were following them.

"Wait! Maya slow down!" Rie grabbed her friend's arm and brought her to a stop.

Maya looked back at the Twi'lek in annoyance. "What?" she demanded.

"If we keep running we'll either fall down the stairs or find ourselves the center target for battle driods."

Maya thought that over for a second. She hated battle driods. "All right," she said. "I'll slow down."

They crept the rest of the way down the stairs.

Jay and Dorina leaned against a wall, near a stairway, panting.

"Dorina, you idiot!" Jay gasped. "Why weren't you more careful?"

"ME!" Dorina exclaimed. "You're the one who was too chuicken to go by yourself!"

"Chicken!" the blond Padawan exclaimed. "You're the one who wanted to follw me!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was no-"

Jay shoved his hand over the boys mouth. "Shh!" he hissed. "Do you hear that?"

A/N

Hope you liked the chapter. I'm very sorry about the spelling error. I don't know how to spell coilsium.. If I got anything wrong about the dark side and the light side I apoligize. I had to wing it. I packed my books away so I can't read up on it anymore. I can only guess. Hope you don't mind.