CHAPTER NINE: HUNTERS
Obi-Wan, Anakin, Koon, Nya, and Quinlan went back to the Amber Crow at the docking bays. At least, they tried to. "I think this is a shortcut." Quinlan said, pointing to a cave. Nya raised her eyebrows. "A cave?" She asked. "Caves on Korriban are often filled with lots of weird animals. Weird and deadly." Obi-Wan frowned. "Isn't there another way?" He asked. "Well, yes." Quinlan answered. "But then we'd have to go they way you came." "And what's wrong with that?" Koon asked. Quinlan pointed. Nya and the three other Jedi looked. A gunfight had started outside a bar. These three drunks were shooting at five policemen in brown uniforms. "Ah." Anakin said. "I see." "Into the cave, then." Koon said. The five of them entered the cave. "Keep your lightsabers out." Anakin said. The sound of four lightsabers was heard, and flashes of green, orange, and blue light were seen. "I'll lead." Quinlan said, brushing his way up to the front of the party. "Since I have a bright-colored saber." The others didn't protest. Quinlan used his lightsaber as a torch, to guide his way around the twisted and creepy paths of one of the thousands of caves on Korriban. Suddenly he stopped. "What's wrong, Master Vos?" Obi-Wan asked. "I sense a great disturbance in the Force." Quinlan said, very seriously. "We shouldn't be here. Out! EVERYONE OUT!" Shocked by Quinlan's abrupt yelling, the five of them shuffled for the cave entrance, about to be their exit. They scampered across the damp stone ground, running for the opening. But there was no opening. There wasn't even a mark of one. "What the hell?" Nya said. Koon ran his fingers along the cave wall. "There's no sign of an entrance here." He said in conclusion. "What!" Quinlan yelled. "That's impossible! We came this way." "We sure did." Obi-Wan said. "But there's no opening." Suddenly, a dark evil laugh rang through the cave. It echoed off the rocky walls. A shadowy figure dropped to the ground. "You have fallen into my trap." He said. The figure's voice was a raspy, dry, creepy voice. A voice that comes from a Zabrak. "Show yourself!" Quinlan yelled, pointing his lightsaber at the figure. Green light splashed onto the figure, revealing his red and black face. "Darth Maul!" Quinlan exclaimed. The figure smiled. "No." He said. "Not Darth Maul. Matpro Morjan."
"How did you find us here?" Koon demanded. Morjan simply laughed. "My Master sent me here." Dragus answered. "Stupid Jedi scum…" "Master?" Obi-Wan asked, confused. "Dark Jedi don't have Masters." "I am a Jedi hunter." Matpro said. "My master is Darth Exodus." "Darth Exodus?" Koon asked. "Who the hell is Darth Exodus?" "He's an official Sith Lord who is the master of me…and my counterpart." "And who is your counterpart?" Anakin demanded. A second shadowy figure dropped to the ground. "It's Darth Dragus!" Anakin yelled. The second figure laughed. It was a woman's voice. Quinlan waved his lightsaber at the second figure. Green light went over her, revealing her extremely white skin and red ponytail. She was wearing a black uniform, and was pointing two heavy pistols at Quinlan. "Aurra Sing!" Koon yelled. "That's right." Aurra Sing said. "You will not survive this." Morjan yelled. He lit his two double-bladed lightsabers. Aurra Sing lit her single-bladed saber. The duel began.
"Nya! Run!" Obi-Wan screamed. Nya retreated into the cave. Sing spun towards Anakin. Anakin brought his saber down and the two of them clashed. Although Sing had no connection to the Force, she was exceptionally skilled with her lightsaber. Sing jumped up, flipped, and brought her saber down on Anakin's like a sledgehammer. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan, Koon, and Quinlan were focusing on Morjan. Dragus spun his two double-bladed sabers extremely easily. He twirled the one in his right hand at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan put his mind into his saber and swung it around, blocking the blows Dragus threw at him. Koon jumped and tried to kick Dragus in the face, but Dragus threw the saber in his left hand up in the air, grabbed Koon's foot, flipped him over, and threw him back. Dragus jumped back, his airborne double-bladed lightsaber still spinning in the air. The saber was about to fall right onto Obi-Wan's head! "Obi-Wan!" Quinlan screamed. "Look out!" Obi-Wan looked up and noticed the double-bladed saber about to slice his head in two. Obi-Wan raised his saber, and swung it full force at the lightsaber, knocking it out of Obi-Wan's way. Dragus Force Pulled the lightaber back to him. He swung a saber at Quinlan. Quinlan screamed in pain as a huge red gash appeared on his forearm. Clutching his forearm, Quinlan retreated. Accidentally, he ran right into Aurra Sing. Aurra Sing smiled evilly and took her saber. Single-handedly, she swung it. Quinlan just managed to block the blow. The two engaged in a saber lock. Quinlan took his saber and slid it down Sing's lightsaber, chopping her hands off. Sing screamed in pain and she dropped to the ground. Anakin jumped and brought his saber down on Sing's head, chopping it off. Blood went everywhere. Quinlan slipped on the bloodied floor and fell onto a boulder. The boulder was very weak and it started to crack. The boulder suddenly completely smashed and below it was a raging pool of rapids. It was very hard to see in the darkness but you could hear it. "Help!" Quinlan screamed. "MASTER VOS!" Anakin yelled. He scampered over Aurra Sing's lifeless corpse and stuck out his hand for Quinlan. But it was too late. Quinlan had already fallen.
"NOOOOOO!" Anakin screamed. He dove after Quinlan. Wind rushed into his face, and he expected to die. His face smashed against the rapid pool. It felt as if he was just bonked against hardened cement. Gasping for air, Anakin surfaced. "MASTER VOS!" He yelled again. Treading water was nearly impossible, for the rapids were extremely rough. Anakin felt a huge body brush his legs. Anakin took a deep breath and dove underwater. He let the Force be his guide, a guide to finding Quinlan's body. Anakin gripped around an arm, and pulled it up. It was Quinlan. Anakin put his head to Quinlan's chest, listening. He felt his wrist, looking for a pulse. There was one. It was weak, but it was there. Suddenly, the rapids picked up speed…and intensity. As Anakin held Quinlan, the rapids were carrying them towards a gigantic dark tunnel. Anakin braced himself for the worst.
Meanwhile, Koon and Obi-Wan were still struggling against Morjan. Koon raised his lightsaber and brought it down. Dragus counter-attacked and spun his sabers. Koon let the Force control his mind as he deflected madly, spinning around and occasionally attempting to strike Dragus. Dragus blocked everything, too. Obi-Wan rushed in to help Koon. Koon and Obi-Wan advanced, Dragus retreated, and he suddenly slipped on the blood of his counterpart and fell to the ground. His lightsabers flew out of his hand and dropped into the rapid pool Anakin and Quinlan had fallen into. Koon and Obi-Wan pointed their lightsabers at Dragus. "You have lost." Koon said. Dragus smiled evilly. "That maybe so." He said. "But so has your friend." "We know." Obi-Wan said. "We already know that Anakin and Quinlan are dead." Dragus started to laugh. "Of course." He said. "You are right. And so is your little Twi'Lek friend." Suddenly, Dragus's yellow eyes turned blood red. Blood vessels spread through his eyes like a spider web. Koon and Obi-Wan heard a scream coming from deeper inside the cave. A green Twi'Lek body flew into the room, and hovered over the floor by Dragus's Force power. Dragus released Nya and she walked over to Koon and Obi-Wan. "What was that?" She asked. Obi-Wan pointed to Dragus, who's eyes were now their normal yellow color. Dragus smiled and waved his fingers at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan smiled. "Obi-Wan?" Koon asked. He was confused…and scared. "Obi-Wan?" He repeated. Obi-Wan took his saber away from Dragus's face. He faced Nya. "What are you doing, Obi-Wan?" Nya asked. Obi-Wan didn't reply. He spoke through actions. "Koon!" Nya yelled. She was worried. "What's happening?" Koon got a serious look on his face. He knew what was going to happen. Obi-Wan took his saber…and stabbed Nya through the heart.
Nya screamed in pain as she dropped to the ground. Her vibroblade clattered beside her. "YOU MONSTER!" Koon screamed. "YOU'VE BEEN WORKING FOR HIM ALL ALONG!" "Working for who?" Obi-Wan asked. "DARTH DRAGUS!" Koon screamed. "YOU KILLED NYA!" "I—I WHAT!" Obi-Wan yelled. He looked at his feet and saw Nya's body caked with blood. "What happened to me?" Obi-Wan yelled. Tears were in his eyes. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Koon screamed. "YOU'RE NOTHING BUT AN EVIL SPY WORKING FOR DRAGUS!" "I killed Nya?" Obi-Wan asked. He wasn't being sarcastic. Koon softened up. He realized Obi-Wan wasn't evil, or working for Darth Dragus. "YOU!" Obi-Wan yelled, pointing to Dragus. "I can't believe you!" Koon yelled. If his face mask allowed him to cry, he would've. Dragus smiled and laughed. "It's a wonderful thing, being a Sith." Dragus said. "Being able to persuade people to kill their friends." "ARGHHH!" Koon screamed in anger and brought his lightsaber down upon Dragus. Dragus was chopped in half. "Suffer the same exact fate as your father." Obi-Wan grumbled. He snapped off his lightsaber and knelt beside Nya's corpse. Koon did the same. "…I can't believe this." Obi-Wan said. "When I was a Youngling, Master Yoda taught be something." Koon said quietly. "He taught me to celebrate when someone transforms into the Force. Because death is a natural part of life." He sighed. "We mustn't dwell on this, Obi-Wan. Nya was a friend to us. But we should honor her death, and not think much about it." Obi-Wan turned to Koon. "You killed him." Obi-Wan said. "What?" Koon asked. "Morjan." Obi-Wan replied. "You killed Darth Dragus." "I know." Koon said. He sighed. "I shouldn't of. It's not the Jedi way." "You felt it, didn't you?" Obi-Wan asked. "You felt the pain of Nya's death." Koon was silent for a moment. "Yes." He finally said. "Yes, I did."
Anakin kept his wits and held onto Quinlan as he rushed through the tunnel. The rapids pushed him along as Anakin desperately tried to tread water to keep both Quinlan and himself above water. Suddenly, the rapid river emptied into a small quiet pool of water. Anakin was breathing deeply. The pool of water was right next to a path in the cave. He stood up and brought Quinlan over to the path. He lay Quinlan down on the stone as Anakin checked again for a pulse. There was still a pulse, but it was weaker than before. "He's dying!" Anakin said to himself. He thought fast and pulled out an emergency breathing kit from his Jedi robes. He pulled out a mouthpiece, a pump, and a wire. He connected the wire to the pump and the mouthpiece. Anakin then fitted the mouthpiece inside Quinlan's mouth, and started to use the pump to pump air into Quinlan's body. Slowly, Quinlan's eyes opened and he started to cough. He looked at Anakin. "Thank you." He croaked. "No problem." Anakin said, laughing. Anakin removed the mouthpiece, disconnected the wire, and fit the stuff back into the emergency breathing kit and put that back into his Jedi robes. He stood up. "Can you stand?" He asked. "I think so." Quinlan answered. He grabbed Anakin's arm and Anakin helped him up. "Thanks again, Padawan." Quinlan said. "You saved my life." "Don't mention it." "So, where do you think this path goes?" "We'll use the Force to be our guide." Anakin and Quinlan used the Force to find their way around the twisting paths of the cave. The Force served them well, for they ended up where Koon and Obi-Wan were standing. "Quinlan!" Koon yelled. "Anakin!" Obi-Wan said. They rushed over to them. "We thought you guys had died." Koon said. "I almost did." Quinlan replied. "But Anakin here saved me." "Yup, he'll do that." Obi-Wan said with a smile. "Where's Nya?" Anakin asked. Koon and Obi-Wan got grim faces on. "She's dead." Koon said. "WHAT!" Anakin and Quinlan yelled simultaneously. "Darth Dragus possessed Obi-Wan and made him kill Nya." Koon explained. "Her corpse is over there." "You're not still possessed, are you, Master?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan. "No, I'm fine now." Obi-Wan answered. "What happened to Dragus?" Quinlan asked. "I killed him." Koon replied. There was silence. "Now." Koon said loudly. "We have to get to the Amber Crow. We need to get to Cavilma."
On the way out, the four Jedi stopped by Nya's corpse. They said goodbye to her lifeless body. Anakin took some powder out of his Jedi robes and sprinkled it over Nya. It was a reddish brown color. It was Jedi Death Powder. Jedi sprinkled it over a friend when they died. It was just a tradition that was over 25,000 years old. A tradition that likely would never be forgotten.