Star Wars:
Dark Legacy

By:

Myst Dragon

Chapter 4

Caitlin sat alone in the crowded cantina filled with a myriad of alien races. She sat down her cup and ran her fingers through her shoulder length, brown hair. She adjusts the folds of her charcoal colored outer robe. Her hazel eyes burn with annoyance as a strange man approached her table. "A girl like you could earn a good life for herself, if you know who to follow." The man carried himself in an arrogant manner and spoke with the accent of someone more used to speaking Huttesse than Galactic Basic.

She looked up at the man, looking slightly annoyed. "And if I decline?"

He gave her a smug grin. "That would be unwise. Once I show the Hutt your image, he'll be even more interested in you than I am."

Caitlin sighed. "Let me put it this way." She waved her hand and spoke a little bit more calmly, "You're not interested in me. You are going to leave and forget you ever saw me."

The man appeared to be in a daze after she spoke. "I'm not interested in you. I'm leaving." As he walked away, the young woman smirked to herself. A few moments later she saw another man approach the table. She grinned mischievously as the black haired man walking towards her adjusted the straps on his holster.

"Hey Jak. Did the slug come through?" She was hopeful as she asked her companion. They were running low on funds as they tried to decipher the information they recovered from

Jak smiled, feeling good for himself. "Moltza paid for the shipment, and I managed to wrangle another job for us."

The young Jedi apprentice groaned. "Oh great; another Hutt job. It's disgusting to think of the kinds of things that they deal in."

The smuggler tried to keep his voice down as he reiterated their situation to her. "Give me a break kid! We need the credits if we're going to cover costs of looking for this library your old master hid."

Caitlin glared defiantly at him. "I'm not a kid!"

Jak shook his head. "You're only sixteen. That and despite your training you still act like a kid."

"We could take some jobs from the Alliance." She decided to suggest a more tasteful way to earn some credits, hoping he might take interest.

Jak couldn't help but chuckle a little to himself. "The Alliance doesn't pay very well, especially now that the emperor is dead."

The mention of the fallen Sith, reminded Caitlin of another who was feared throughout the Galaxy. "And Vader. I don't think anyone could really imagine what it's like growing up thinking that any day could be the day that he comes to get you!"

"Personally, I'd like to go without even hearing about Dark Jedi, since that one you killed last month."

"He had a master. Someone we should be wary of." Caitlin's eyes softened as she remembered the encounter, especially how she'd momentarily lost herself to the Dark Side of the Force.

The older man couldn't help but laugh at how she phrased her statement "'Wary of' I don't hear too many kids say things like that. Of course, for the last month I haven't heard much of anything out of you."

Caitlin gave him a look, which revealed the burden that came with remembering that fight. "I've just had a lot on my mind. Are you ready to leave, I don't really like these city-planets very much." With that she gave him a warm smile as if there wasn't anything wrong with the world.

In a dimly lit room a blonde man, wearing black robes sat in deep meditation. Shortly after he took a deep breath, his lightsaber rose off the stone floor, slowly spinning, as it reached face level. Once it reached its destination, it stopped and its crimson blade ignited! Soon after a spherical machine activated and rose off the floor. As it fired a red energy bolt, the saber moved to deflect it. The small machine continued to fire, with a gradually increasing rate. As this exercise continued, a cloaked man with hood drawn cautiously entered the room. When the man stopped the lightsaber slashed through the small machine, extinguished, and flew into the hands of its owner. He stood, turning to face his visitor, whom promptly knelt before him. The kneeling man spoke in high esteem. "Forgive the intrusion Darth Zerak, but I thought you should know that we managed to track them to Taris."

Zerak adjusted his robes as he spoke to the kneeling man. "This news sounds too good for the concern I sense in you." His brow furrowed in annoyance.

Kazen coughed nervously. "We lost track of them as they left the planet." He suddenly found himself rise off the marble floor and is violently thrown into the stone wall by an invisible force. As he fell to the floor, his hood fell revealing his black hair and chiseled face.

The man known as Darth Zerak yelled at his student. "Imbecile! Raven must be laughing at me from the beyond at the incompetents I have vying to be my apprentice! First Quiyllo fails to bring me the girl, and now you can't even keep track of her! We need her to access the library." His eyes were literally red with anger.

Kazen made his way back to a kneeling position. "Your former master has nothing to find joy in. My poison and your blade did her in with ease. A dying woman's curse is meaningless."

Zerak remembered the smile on her face as his former master fell dying, after yelling her curse. "You would be wise not to mention that again! Do not bring me news like this ever again." Kazen bowed before his lord and left the chamber. As he retreated from the room, he was greeted by the sight of an auburn haired woman, her emerald eyes glimmering with mirth. "I told you should have waited for me to return. Now you've gone and upset the master for nothing. I've found their next destination."

Kazen's eyes began to burn with rage, just like the dark lord he'd just spoke with. "When did you discover this, Lillith?" He asked, scowling at the woman

Lillith placed her right hand to her chin playfully in thought, "Let's see now, it was just before I sat down to have a drink, so it was about an hour ago!" Kazen's anger exploded and he struck at the woman with his red light saber. Lillith effortlessly raised her own golden hued saber in defense. "Your two weaknesses are your lack patience and your temper." She gave him a playful smile. "At least you're not as bad as poor dead Quiyllo. Now he really lost his mind in the end."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" The Dark Jedi yelled his question at the woman, not caring that she was not intimidated.

"What, and let you take the credit? How about I do this to make it up for you?" Lillith asked, toying with him. "I'll just tell you where the kid is going and you can go fetch her yourself. That should impress the master." With that she gave a warm smile, and Kazen lowered his saber, turning it off. "They are going to deliver something to a Black Sun faction on Zaanrak. It's very close to the cave that Lady Raven used to meditate, before Lord Zerak challenged her." The Dark Jedi's voice betrayed her reverence for the former master.

A few days later, Jak had finished his dealings with the Black Sun contact and was on his way back to meet with Caitlin. As he walked, he found himself drawn towards the fairly large pool of an inn. As he walked by the pool he saw an auburn haired woman reach for a small bottle, which fell from its spot on the table as her fingers glanced it. The bottle soon found itself at Jak's feet. The woman stood from her seat as he picked it up. "Thank you. There are so few gentlemen in the galaxy these days." She gave him a playful smile. Lillith was glad that he'd met with his Black Sun contact alone as she'd anticipated. She knew that the girl would have sensed her using the Force to lure him in.

Jak couldn't help but appreciate her in her red bikini as he returned her bottle. "It was my pleasure." He told her, unaware that he'd been drawn into her web.

"Would you mind helping me put some of this on my back?" She made her request in her usual playful tone.

"Sure." With that, the woman laid down, leaving her back exposed to him; and he began applying the lotion to her back.

"You're good. I came here to explore the caves, and I found a terminal hidden away in one. Doesn't that sound strange?" She smiled as his hands stopped. "Is something wrong?" Her question was one more ploy.

"Where did you find this cave?"

"Let me see your datapad." Wordlessly, Jak pulled handed over his datapad and Lillith quickly entered the coordinate data. "Here you go, now if you don't mind finishing?"

Jak took a quick look at the data, and laughed a little. "It would be my pleasure."

Caitlin sat at the galley table, and brushed back some of her brown hair as she poured over her datapad. "I finally deciphered the first half!" She exclaimed to herself as she sat it down on the table. "The Force guided us here, didn't it, Master Van?" She gave a quirky smile as she propped her chin on her hands. "You sure made this difficult." "You sure made this difficult." Her stomach growled as she looked down at her half eaten breakfast, and then to the chronometer to see that it was just past noon. "Jak should be back soon, I'd better get this cleaned up." Once she'd cleaned up her plate, she started working on lunch and thought a little to herself about what she'd been working on. "First we had to unlock the data just to copy it, and now we have to decipher it. Now that I finally deciphered the first half, all I need is the second cipher key to read the rest. Don't worry Master, we'll find the Library and make sure that no one can abuse the knowledge hidden there."

"So, where do you think we should look for it?" Caitlin turned around to see Jak standing behind her. He gave her a slight grin.

"I finally deciphered the first half. It says a little about the library, but it also mentions general coordinates for a cave to find the key to deciphering the rest. You probably won't believe this but it's not far south from here."

Jak pulled out his datapad, pulled up the map, and tossed it to the apprentice Jedi. As she looked at it, her jaw dropped in shock. "That cave is in the coordinate area in Master Van's data! How did you get this?"

The smuggler looked pleased with himself. "I coaxed it out of a woman I met after getting our payment from Black Sun. She said she likes to explore caves and that she found a strange terminal in that cave." He gave a slight chuckle. "Times like this, I actually believe the Force guides us when it wants to."

Caitlin couldn't help but smile. "Sounds like something an old Jedi would say." Her smile faded as she thought about her dreams, or rather her nightmares. "I wonder if I'll ever be a Jedi. I lost to the darkness inside once before and if it wasn't for you I probably would have fallen completely to the Dark Side. What if it happens again and I become completely lost in it?"

Jak placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we all have a dark side. It's just a matter of not acting because of those feelings, right?"

"It's not the same. What I feel deep inside of me isn't just my own fear, anger, or hatred. When I fought Quiyllo, it fed off the Dark Side energy residing in that temple until I couldn't hold it back any longer. When that happened all I wanted was to make him suffer as much as I could before I destroyed him." A tear fell from her eye. "For as long as I can remember; I've always struggled against feelings like this."

He wrapped his arms around her. "Let it all out. You've got a good heart and believe me; that's all that matters. If you had to be a saint to be a Jedi, then there wouldn't ever be more than one or two in a lifetime."

As Kazen sat in his room meditating, Lillith entered wearing her Black and grey robes. With her entrance, he opened his eyes and smiled. "Were you successful?"

"Of course. By this time tomorrow they should arrive at the cave." As she answered, the auburn haired woman used a humble tone. "You will finally secure your place as the master's apprentice and I'm sure you'll remember me."

"You're really counting on them not taking the chance of returning after nightfall, aren't you?" He asked seemingly amused.

"Most successful smugglers aren't known for taking foolish risks. Might I suggest starting the fight by stunning him with a mild injury?" Lillith smiled. "I'd like to kill him myself."

"I'm just glad you've decided to acknowledge my superiority, but remember. When this is over, you'll have my favor, not my trust."

"Of course, Lord Kazen. That is most gracious of you." She bowed to him before turning around and walking out, with a grin on her face.

The next morning Jak and Caitlin took a pair of swoop to the cave. As they approached, the young Jedi apprentice shuddered. "The Dark Side is strong in that place." As they stood before the entrance, she continued. "It feels the same as what I feel trying to claw its way from inside me." She placed her arms around her chest as if she were trying to hold something close. "Something in there is calling out to the darkness within."

Jak put his hand on her shoulder. "We can go back if you want, but if you want to find the library I'll be by your side to remind you that you can still fight it." With that, the young woman nodded, and they started on their way through the cave. Despite her fears, Caitlin followed the darkness in the cave to its source.

As they reached the heart of the cavern, they found themselves in a fairly large cavern. It was obvious that this had been carved into a meditation chamber. When their eyes found the center, they saw a man wearing black robes sitting in the center. Kazen smiled as he stood to greet them. "Welcome home, Caitlin Tallus."

Her lightsabers flew to her hands in an instant. "What are you talking about?"

Kazen smiled. "You were born to join us. Come with me and give us the library and we will teach you how to master the power of the Dark Side."

"I won't lose to the Dark Side! I owe that much to Master Van." She answered with as much conviction as she could while holding the Dark Side at bay.

Kazen sighed. "I suppose this means I'll have to take you back without arms or legs." He began to walk slowly towards them with the air of a fierce deity. "You defeated Quiyllo. I'll give you that, but he was nowhere near my level. I do have to wonder though. Raven Tallus was the strongest among us in her prime, but this child I see before me doesn't even compare." His every step was made with the intent of intimidating her as he approached. When he ignited his red lightsaber, Jak went for his blaster! Before the weapon was free of its holster, Kazen had used the Force to send several rocks at the smuggler. One busted his knee and another smashed against his head, knocking him unconscious.

"Jak!" Caitlin had made the mistake of turning for only a brief moment. By the time her attention returned to her opponent, she'd barely had time to raise her own crimson sabers in defense! For a moment their sabers were locked, until she jumped back and began circling away from her friend. She hoped that the raven haired man would be more interested in fighting her than finishing of a defenseless man. It was becoming more difficult to hold back the darkness. He rushed in again with a thrust to her left shoulder. She winced as the strike grazed her, as she rolled to avoid it. Despite the pain of laser burned flesh, she managed us the roll to counter with a horizontal slash to his mid-section. Before her strike could make contact, he maneuvered his lightsaber to parry hers and managed to give her a light cut across her left thigh as she jumped back.

"Are you beginning to see the difference between myself and Quiyllo? He attacks like a rabid dog, while I prefer to stalk my prey. I will not waste my energy in useless attacks." Kazen grinned at her with a predatory gaze and began stalking towards her once more. Unconsciously her left hand reached out for his throat and she was to try to use the Force to strangle him. She gasped as she realized what she was about to do and pulled her hand back. Kazen used the opportunity to attack with a feinted attack to her right shoulder. As she was about to defend against the attack, she barely noticed his real target in time to move back to keep from losing her right leg! Instead his lightsaber left her with a bad cut on her right thigh. Shifting her weight around had now become painful. As she tried to use the Force to ease her pain, she felt the darkness once again trying to take over. Her opponent once again took advantage of the internal conflict with a thrust to her right shoulder, which would have disabled it if she hadn't used the Force to push him away. Kazen groaned as he struck the far wall of the chamber. "You'll pay for that." He walked towards her once more and released lightning from his left hand. Caitlin quickly locked her sabers together and used them to block the attack, but as she groaned from the complaints of her wounds, she felt herself losing her internal fight!

As Kazen relented in his Force Lightning attack, he rushed forward with another thrust, and was caught off guard as Caitlin's left saber returned to its hiding spot, and lightning shot from the hand that once held it. The Dark Jedi was caught off guard by the unexpected attack and fell to his knee's writhing in pain. When the attack stopped he looked at her and no longer saw the girl he'd come to capture, but the child of the woman, who his poison had helped do in. Her face held a vicious smile which foretold doom to those who crossed her. As he rose to his feet again the young woman reached out to him, he felt an invisible hand lift him from the floor and throw him against the chamber wall, near one of the cavern paths leading to the chamber. He let out a scream as he felt several ribs crack! Before he could regain his footing Caitlin resumed her Force Lightning assault. She looked over to her friend and a tear fell from her eye. "Jak." She spoke his name with barely a whisper, and as she saw the look in his eyes as he looked at her, with blood slipping down the side of his face, she stopped her assault and lowered her hand. "Kazen, why do you covet power that drives you to destroy and hurt others for nothing more than your own gain?"

The Dark Jedi returned to his feet, barely able to stand. "The only way to truly survive in this Galaxy is by having the power to crush your enemies. You were too weak to use the Dark Side to finish me off, and now you'll die!" As he raised his crimson saber, he looked down to see the blade of a golden hued lightsaber thrust through his belly. "W… why?"

"I've been waiting months for this. That woman was like a sister to me, and when she realized the weakness in the Dark Side you poisoned her to help Zerak murder her! Her daughter was not weak in stopping her attack. You were just too blind to see that even a novice could beat you in your current condition." With that Lillith raised her lightsaber, slashing upwards, and allowing Kazen to fall lifelessly to the chamber floor. The auburn haired woman was now wearing dark brown robes. She returned her lightsaber to its place on her belt and walked towards Caitlin, who still had a lightsaber ready in her right hand. "Calm yourself Caitlin; I'm here to help you."

Jak groaned as he stumbled to his feet. "Why should we trust you? You tricked us into coming here."

The woman sighed and turned her head to look Jack in the eyes. "I do apologize but it was necessary and there is a Terminal here. Only I and Lady Raven knew about it. For some reason Master Van trusted that she wouldn't want to go after the library. I never could figure out why though." She turned back to face Caitlin and held a hand out to her. "Please let me help you tame the fire burning inside of you. Use the Force to read my intent, if you have to."

After a moment Caitlin sighed and returned her remaining lightsaber to its hiding spot. "I'll trust you for now."