Chapter XVIII

Taria and her stormtroopers were at the base of the flight of steps when the first stormtrooper fell to the floor.

Her yellow bladed lightsaber flashed forth and blocked Jedi Master Quinlan Vos' lightsaber. Anya went through the remaining stormtroopers with ease; her lightsaber a pure ring of energy as she ran through them.

Taria used the Force to throw the Jedi Master back and ran toward Anya, her yellow lightsaber slashing through the young woman's left hand and crippling her.

Anya fell to the floor, her eyes staring in horror at her stump of a left hand, her beauty lost in the sight of her disgust.

"Taria?" said Quinlan, confused as he rose from the debris, "we thought you were dead,"

"Not quite," was Taria Neth's reply, she used the Force to grip Anya's throat and throttled the woman. Anya's blue lightsaber fell from her grasp, "Master Vos,"

Quinlan rushed forward with lightning speed and aimed his lightsaber at Taria's chest, the former Jedi released her grip on Anya's throat and skillfully twisted her lightsaber, intercepting Vos' blow and sending a shock through his system.

Anya recovering quickly picked up her lightsaber and leapt toward Taria, "Die Sith scum!"

Taria avoided the woman's blade and swept her lightsaber upward, sheering the hilt in two.

In disbelief, Anya pulled a lightsaber from the Ceremonial Archway, its blue blade flashed forth, she leapt toward Taria again and came down.

"Anya no!" shouted Quinlan.

Anya's blade flickered and sparked as it made contact with Taria's blade, and the woman fell upon Taria's lightsaber. With a flick of her hand Taria threw Anya's corpse aside and turned to face Quinlan.

Quinlan Vos had lost his memory many years prior, and that tapped him into unbelievable dark side power. Now, at this moment Taria felt Quinlan restraining his wrath and fury, using all his Jedi discipline to keep himself from surrendering again to the dark side.

Taria laughed and stretched out her hand, pure red dark energy materialized before her gloved finger tips and ripped their way into Quinlan. The Jedi Master stumbled backward and into the stone walls and crumpled, unconscious.

He had survived her most powerful Force technique, but it did not matter. Taria was a decent Jedi Hunter, she would never kill an unarmed opponent, there was no honor in that. She deactivated her lightsaber and entered the Archway