Chapter 2: Escape – Part 2

Within five steps that he took, alarms blared and klaxons flashed, breaking the atmosphere of serenity inside the Enclave. Evidently, someone had felt those Jedi die and had sounded the alert, likely as not to be Master Ka'RanTik.

He walked on, moving stealthily, sensing the life flowing around him and avoiding others wherever possible, he was not prepared to take on all the Jedi yet, not all at once anyway.

As he approached the elevator, the door pinged open, a Jedi Knight stepped out, lightsaber at guard position. With haste, Devien attempted to kill him before he could shout for help, but he did not, instead attacking. Foolish ingrate, Devien thought.

He dodged the few tentative cuts made by the Knight, then there was a hissing as his opponent's blade singed his cloak, for this lightsaber had been built with a length extension control, the first of its kind to do so. Do you know what you've done! He thought, Do you know how much trouble I went through to get this?

He felt the pure, tainted wrath of Sith Rage flowing through him and let himself be carried away by the dark side, it was as if the flow of the Force erupted with raw power! The Knight knew it was only a matter of time before he too was defeated, fighting as though there was a chance that he could win. There was not.

There was a whirring and a bam! as triple-layered durasteel blast doors slammed shut over the lift doors. Enough! thought Devien, as he, still in a rage, used the power of the Dark Side to fling the unfortunate Knight through the layers of blastproof durasteel to utterly destroy the interior of the elevator and send the entire thing plummeting down the shaft. Lets just say there was not much recognizable of the Knight when the wreckage was examined afterwards.

He then jumped into the now empty elevator shaft and landed perfectly at the bottom, his rage having cooled, he continued making his way to the hangar bays. He was about halfway there, having avoided three heavily armed patrols and silencing a technician who just happened to be passing, he had to go past the dormitories in order to reach the Hangar.

There was a group of Padawans who had just finished morning lessons and were discussing Jedi principles as he passed. Suddenly one of them took notice and shouted a warning to his fellows. They ignited their lightsabers and advanced, albeit slowly.

'Don't you know that a lightsaber is supposed to be the last resort in any conflict?' Devien said casually. Momentarily distracted, it was easy for Devien to get a grip on the leader's throat and crush it, he crumpled. 'See what I mean?' Stunned by the loss of their friend, the last thing they saw was a blue blur. A moment later, seven bodies littered the ground, but he was once again, gone, with seven new lightsabers.

As he approached the hangar bays, Devien felt a presence in the Force, one that he knew well, it was the distinctive feel of Master Lik'Tan Ka'RanTik. It was feasible that the oh so esteemed Jedi Master had anticipated him and was now preparing an ambush. Well, he thought, it had better be one hell of an ambush if they are trying to get me.

He unclipped two of the lightsabers from his belt, it didn't matter which two, they were all his anyway. He ignited them as he strode, haughtily into the hangar bay. Master Ka'RanTik stood there, along with a hundred Republic troops and thirty Jedi knights and masters.

'Devien Tavar,' he started, 'you have no chance of escape! Surrender now and we might take a lighter view on your case'

'Why Master, have you not learnt from dear Master Agarnon's mistake, you foolishly assume that since I do not want to be captured, I fear death. On the contrary, I embrace death as I would my own brother, everyone dies, its just a matter of when. Those who I killed, I decided it was their time for them. Now if you'll kindly step out of my way...'

'You will not leave this room except in chains or in pieces!'

'I plan on being in neither, but in that ship,' gesturing towards his personal multipurpose assault fighter.

'Come quietly and I assure you it will have bearing on your...' he was cut off as Devien Tavar lunged, lightsabers flashing. The space where he had been was filled with blaster bolts, the few which came close he deflected right back at the soldiers. Barely hearing their screams, he focused on clearing a path to his ship.

The Jedi around him charged, with a lot more coherence than the rabble who had cornered him in his room. He parried any slashes which came close, along with the arms which held those lightsabers, plucking each one out of the air as it fell. All around him, Jedi and soldiers were falling. He cut a swath through them, none of their strikes even coming close.

More and more closed in, in a totally unheard of manoeuvre, using the Force, he threw all the lightsabers he had upwards then ignited them simultaneously. The room flashed with many colours, they descended and formed a whirling perimeter of energy, at its core stood he. Any Jedi stupid enough to try and get close was instantly shredded, as he added the lightsabers of those fallen in battle to the vortex of death.

Then, with a shout that demanded attention, Master Ka'RanTik said, 'Fall back, he's mine!'

The Jedi obeyed their Master, retreating, lightsabers still held at guard position. Devien held himself loosely, relaxed, if he was worried it did not show in his face or in the aura of calm he radiated. But underneath this facade was the burning fury of someone who had been through extreme torment.

All the lightsabers turned off, one by one and returned to him, attaching themselves to his robes and belt, seemingly without need for anywhere to clip themselves. Held there by the Force? Perhaps.

He strode forward, lightsabers on him like mail made of cylinders, seeming not to hinder his movement any. All of a sudden, his lightsaber was pressed against Master Ka'RanTik's violet blade, Rage against Calm, Passion against Peace, Discord against Harmony. He withdrew, the two opponents circled each other, searching for an opening.

Their lightsabers clashed again, cool blue sparking off brilliant purple. He increased the power and speed of his strikes, flashing as Master Ka'RanTik parried each blow. They seemed to be equally matched, but one never could tell with him. Devien upped the ante, drawing on his skill combined with the torrent of Dark Side power that ran through him. Master Ka'RanTik faltered for just a second and his lightsaber grazed the older being's left arm. Devien used the Force and propelled him into the nearest wall, not easy to do when your opponent is six feet taller than you.

He took the chance and sped to the ship, using the Force to start the engines and shields before he even reached it. The ramp lowered, he rushed aboard and hit the sublight drives, concentrated ionized Tibanna gas roared out of the exhaust ports, incinerating the dozen or so Jedi around the fighter.

He lit up the sky with the luminous vapour trail and shot straight up, plotting a course for the Tatooine system. He pulled the lever and disappeared into hyperspace.

As he gazed out of the viewport at the swirl of incomprehensible colours that marked the passage of spacetime outside the ship, he contemplated what he was to do now, when he reached Tatooine and after he was done there. Then he knelt in silence and meditated, feeling the rush of energy that the Force always brought him when he reached this trancelike state.

He saw many possible futures, what may or may not come to pass, events that would not kill an ant and those that would change the Galaxy. He saw what fate befell others and the cloudy images of his own destiny, ever closer yet ever more distant; for a moment, he saw eternity itself, the infinite bounds of time and space surpassed by a mere mortal, yet this was no ordinary mortal.