Damocles' Sword

They moved silently through the night. He led them and he knew they were only a few moments shy of reaching his quarry. He continued to stalk through the night, hunting his prey. Dierak looked to his right and taped into his comlink. "Lotus, I am in position. The village sits there and I see nothing but Twi'leks."

"I know," came the light voice on the comlink. "This is where they were. I can feel them. I will stay here; you move on and head towards the north. I feel ripples there and my sources tell me that the Jedi only left here recently."

"Affirmative," came the cold voice of the Mandalorian. He simply keyed a switch on his wrist and he cloaked.

The Sith soldiers that went with him merely waited to siege the village. A few more moments and Lotus came on the comlink, eager to speak to the commanding officer. "Lieutenant, I want your soldiers to storm the village. Slaughter them, but bring me the Shaman alive."

"Yes, ma'am. But how do we know who is the Shaman?" The young Sith soldier asked.

"She'll be the one who uses the Force and a lightsaber," came the cold and seductive tone of the Sith Apprentice.

The commander waved his soldiers to move towards the village. As they ran into the village, the distinct sound of death, explosions and blaster fire raked the village. Hundreds of innocent villagers were slaughtered. Suddenly, a thrumming sound caught the attentions of several soldiers as the sound was followed by the grunts and agonizing screams of Sith being cut down by an azure blade.

Nazri leaped out and slashed at two Sith soldiers, cleanly slicing one in half and maiming the other. She used the Force and shoved three hapless and surprised soldiers into a flaming hut and she leaped into the air deflecting blaster bolts right back towards the soldiers. Several of the Twi'leks began to fight back, using lighter weapons and only a handful of frag grenades. The woman had rallied her own people, while dodging and slashing through at some of the soldiers. She brought her blade to bear down on the head of a Sith before she channeled raw energy through the Force and electricity flew from her left hand, sending three Sith soldiers far away and screaming in agony as the lightning ripped through them.

Nazri had continued fighting, slaughtering as many as she could before the presence of another arrived. She spun around and saw a lithe figure staring right back at her. The Dark Jedi had a blue eye on her right and a green eye on her left with her raven-coloured hair loose and blowing in the wind.

"So," said the human woman, "you're the Shaman." Her crimson blades ignited, her eyes blazing with delight at the prospect of dueling the worthy fighter before her. "Can't say I'm impressed." With that, she leapt at the Twi'lek, eager to cleave off her head.

They had walked through the long and daunting valley before them. No one had said a word. Dante only looked at his companions before he continued walking through the valley. The valley was a former dale that had dried up and formed a large trench with absolutely no light. The valley of the Shadows was an appropriate name for the trench. The moonlight had reached the plains above the valley, but the shadows had covered the long path that divided itself into two plains. The group had continued, unhindered yet.

As they continued walking, the darkness had shown that it would not abate yet.

"Looks like there is no end to this place," Rin said quietly.

"I agree," came the low growl of Frreral.

"Just relax, we'll find it yet." The young Knight assured his companions. Suddenly, to their right, an open hole had been found. A cave's entrance. "See?" Dante only smiled at his companions.

"Either you've got really good timing or you're just foolhardy." The wookiee grinned and joined Dante as the young man entered the cave.

The group walked through the narrow tube, ducking from any down sweeping stalactites or the ground rising stalagmites. The surface was rocky and the air was damp and cool. Frreral had begun to lead the group due to the simple fact that his eyes were so much better than the rest in the darkness.

Suddenly, the group came to a halt. There were four tunnels that led elsewhere.

"So," Rin said, after a few more moments. "Where do we go?"

The other companions just looked at each other. After a few more moments, Dante finally spoke up. "We each go into a tunnel. Find what we can and meet back here."

Everyone else merely nodded. Dante left first into a tunnel and Rin followed suit. Frreral put his arms on his Padawan and nodded to the young Jedi.

"May the Force be with you, K'Grhuk."

The whipid bowed.

Dierak had paced himself, running straight towards the valley. He had continued on, knowing that he had a much larger prize before him than slaughtering a village. If the Sith had a talent, it was certainly for slaughtering. His HUD gave him a display of the route most likely traveled. He smiled. He was going to make sure that he had the Jedi. He had no intention of letting anyone get away.

He suddenly stopped, looking at the valley before him. So, this is the Valley of Shadows. He slung his disruptor rifle to his shoulder and began to continue moving. His cloak would keep him safe for as long as he needed. He would enjoy this day, slaughtering the Jedi and earning his credits.

Dante walked through the tunnel, eager to claim his prize. He had felt an odd presence within the cave. Something that was elusive and angry. He brought his hand to the pommel of his blade, eager to grab hold of it should the need arise. Something was taking a keen interest in him and the worst thing was that he wasn't even sure what it was. It felt familiar. But whatever it may be, the creature certainly could evade the Force, if only for a while.

He steeled himself and powered through the tunnel, feeling more elusive shadows around him. The blade was now in his left hand, his thumb eagerly stroking the activation plate. For an instant, he thought he saw a facet of red eyes gleaming at him. The image had disappeared immediately. The vibrations in the Force came from everywhere. The young man stopped and slowly began to notice that the insidious ripples through the Force were continuing to move around him.

Activating the cerulean blade, he spun around and cleaved a kinrath spider in half. He didn't pause to reflect on the fresh kill of the kinrath. Using the Force, he shoved three more kinrath away from his back and he leaped at two more that were coming at him, eager to taste his flesh.

The young Jedi sliced through the head of the sickly yellow coloured creature and drove his blade right down on the creature's other unfortunate companion. Feeling a tremor through the Force, he dropped to the ground and rolled to one side, narrowly escaping the pincer of the vicious kinrath that desired to feast on him.

Feeling for his lightsaber, the young Knight rolled on the other side of the kinrath, only to feel no blade. He looked up and saw that his blade had rolled off towards the duo of dead kinraths.

The kinrath lifted its pincer high in the air and felt an invisible hand wrap itself around the creature and threw it high into a stalactite, impaling the creature. Before it could even realize it was dying, the creature let out a wail and three more kinrath were attracted by the human's presence.

The young Jedi returned to his feet instantly, withdrawing his disruptor pistol and he opened fire on the creatures, one blast hitting one of them in the eye. He spun around and shot twice more at another kinrath, dropping it instantly. He forced himself to remain calm, his training taking control over himself. He used the Force and shoved the other two kinrath into each other, causing them to fight one another while he continued to open fire on the three that were no longer dazed by his Force push. With a rapid movement that would have put the commandoes to shame, the young Knight holstered his blaster and had his lightsaber in his hand, ignited and flaring brightly.

He heard a high-pitched wail and spun around, groaning as he saw a rather large kinrath make its way towards him. There was no doubt that this one was the mother of the nest. He immersed himself into the deeper connections to the Force and he felt the anger roiling from the mother. He bought himself to touch with the creature's mind, to ease its suffering and to calm it down. The creature began to calm down, beginning to enjoy the soothing feeling that the Force sent to her.

Too many kinrath had been killed today, the young Jedi didn't want to make any more die. They were only protecting their nest, but there was also something else here. Another presence that made the creatures calm yet disturbed. He walked through the kill zone, eager to leave the creatures to devour their brethren.

As he left, he found another adjoining corridor that led towards the direction Frreral had gone. He looked through it and felt nothing but an eerie calm within the chamber. The Jedi looked back at the kinrath, who were busy feasting, and he entered the tunnel.

Lotus had struck three times with her dual blades, each time the Shaman had blocked each strike. She's good, the woman thought. Too bad she has to die. Spinning around, her crimson blades met the sapphire blade and both Jedi came face to face with one another.

"You're going to regret this," hissed Nazri.

"Oh, something tells me quite different," purred Lotus. Her eyes burned through the Twi'lek's soul. Her eagerness at destroying the Jedi was nothing compared to meeting the one she had fought before on Honoghr.

Nazri head-butted with the Dark Jedi and brought her blade to bear on the Sith's face. To her dismay, Lotus had blocked it and had begun to push Nazri on the defensive.

"You're good, Shaman. But I'm better."

There was some truth to those words as Nazri had been forced to continuously block each strike that came her way, threatening to slice through her stomach and chest.

The Sith spun around, her twin blades moving like a blur all around her. Her right blade butted against the jaw of the Shaman and she only smiled. The fight was over. She brought her second blade to cleanly slice the Twi'lek in half. "Good fight," she said. She laughed as she enjoyed the expression of fear that was infinitely placed on the shaman's face.

He entered the corridor. The predator had to find his prey, and this one was very eager to get it underway. The Mandalorian found that he had four tunnels to choose from. He smiled deviously. He retrieved 4 portable frag mines and he began to bury it within the entrance. He had programmed the mines to detect his signature and allow him to pass through it unscathed.

He made his way into the third corridor. Walking through the corridor, he only found the ancient corpses of those who had gone before. He smiled at the fools. He continued to traverse carefully and silently, his personnel cloaking device was still activated. He heard a grunt from a creature and he began to relish the thought of fighting the Jedi once more. The low thrumming of the lightsaber could be heard throughout the tunnel. He stopped near a half-eaten corpse and noticed a large whipid slicing a kinrath spider in half. The orange blade had lit the way and the Mandalorian was eager to fight his opponent. His training had allowed him to stay hidden even within the presence of a Jedi. Any well-trained assassin learned this technique. The Jedi had a habit of putting an assassin out of business if they were amateurs.

The whipid paused for a few moments, looking around. The Mandalorian cursed himself mentally, wondering if his cover had been compromised. The Jedi looked around once more and then deactivated the blade and began to walk throughout the tunnels. Dierak knew that the Jedi must be well in tune with the Force right now, as he was traversing through a dark tunnel that seemed full of surprises.

Dierak looked around once more and he knew he was alone in the tunnel. He gazed out at the Jedi, enhancing his vision with the help of his helmet and he found that the Jedi found a solid door that seemed to have no control panel or physical means of opening the door.

K'Grhuk deactivated his blade and clipped it to his belt. The young Padawan felt himself grow more in tune with the Force and creating a mental image of the door, he felt for the hinges, locks and any other devices. The door was completely devoid of any trap. Reaching into his senses, the Jedi used the Force and began to slowly open the door in front of him.
No matter how many times he saw it, the sight still amazed him. The Mandalorian gazed at the Jedi while the whipid used his mind to lift the door open. Suddenly, the door clicked into place and it didn't fall. He watched the Jedi enter the room and the Mandalorian left his hiding place and slowly began to make his way towards the whipid.
K'Grhuk had found a room of treasure to some historians. But in it, he only found disappointment and some failure. The room was somber; the tomb had a sarcophagus in the center with the name of a Jedi—Val Qurashi. Behind the sarcophagus stood an obelisk that happened to have the cylindrical shape of a lightsaber hilt embedded in it. He grunted, remembering the familiar name. Dante and Frreral had mentioned the name of the Jedi Knight who had sought out the mission decades—perhaps even a century—before Dante and Alec had begun their journey.

There was a sudden sound of a bone or piece of rubble dropping. The whipid's head shot up. He closed his eyes halfway, reaching out into the Force to feel what was lurking behind him. He felt an elusive void that wrapped itself into existence and then into another void. K'Grhuk spun around and his blade flew to his hand, flaring to life as it crashed into a metallic blade.

Dierak only smiled through his emotionless helmet. "You're done for Jedi." He brought his sword in an upward slash, expecting the Jedi to counter it. The Jedi shoved the Mandalorian with the Force and growled. "Ah," he grunted, "you're terrified. Come then, let me end your fears."

K'Grhuk leapt at the Mandalorian, his blade eagerly trying to lop off the head of the Mandalorian. With a blunt smash to the face of the Mandalorian, the Padawan spun around and sought to impale the warrior.

Anticipating it, the Mandalorian brought his blade down in front of him, its sharp curve facing the floor as the energy weapon struck against it. In one sweeping movement, the Mandalorian reached out with his gloved fist and smacked the whipid away from him. The whipid was certainly stronger there was no doubt in that, however the Mandalorian had certainly been resourceful.

K'Grhuk thrust his blade for the gut of the Mandalorian once more, but as expected the Mandalorian blocked the lunge. Immediately, using very little effort, the whipid leapt back and spun about, cleaving the sword's handle in two, barely missing the Mandalorian's hand. To his pleasure, the Mandalorian screamed in pain as the lightsaber had grazed his gloved fingers.

Knowing that the fight was not over and certainly enjoying the engagement, Hessian extended his retractable wristblades. He leapt at the Jedi, who had paused for a split second, and he slashed through the robes, slicing through the furred skin of the whipid. It was his turn to seek pleasure from the whipid grunting in pain.

Shaking it away, the Jedi shoved the Mandalorian with the Force into a pile of broken skeletons. It was time to end the fight.

Dierak Hessian couldn't agree more.

"Down you go, Mandalorian!" K'Grhuk hissed as he ran for the Mandalorian.

Dierak only smiled, knowing that this whelp had not even participated in the war. He retracted his blades and continued to lie on his back, his back supported by the skeletons behind him. He waited as the Jedi ran at him. Two seconds. It felt like an eternity. His hands were stroking the heavy blasters on his holsters at his thighs. One second, he thought. In a blurred movement, he had his blasters out and firing several rounds into the Jedi as K'Grhuk raised his blade in the air.

Falling back from the blaster fire, K'Grhuk dropped his lightsaber, the energy dissipated as the activation plate was released. The young Jedi tried to throw himself into a healing trance, but found the pain all over unbearable. The whipid was bleeding to death; the scent of burnt flesh, fur and ozone raked across the tomb. He heard footsteps coming towards him. He saw the Mandalorian standing above him, blasters holstered and a disruptor rifle aimed at him. "Before you kill me, what is your name?" The whipid wanted to know who had been able to best him, when not even his sparring companions back in the Temple could defeat him.

"Dierak Hessian," the voice behind the mask said. "I'll make this quick."

The last sound the Jedi heard was the discharge of the rifle before he knew complete, utter darkness.