I would like to thank Talonah for your review. I'm so glad that another person is reading this fic as well, and not just shanesnest. I thank you for your comments and I'll try and take a note of that more in the next chapter since I got that late for this upcoming chapter. Besides the comments, I'd also like to hear what you did like. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 6: Ancient Ship for a New Voyage
The council chambers are only filled with four masters. Many of the broken, comfortable chairs are empty like it has been for many galactic years. Years which should not have been taken away, but through tragedy, has been. I stand next to my love, and the two of us do not hold hands, but stand close enough to one another to show us as one individual instead of two. The dark and light bodies yearn to merge, but must wait before they can do so.
"I know you have asked to go to the Massassi Temple in order to find out what happened to your apprentice Master Korr, and I am going to grant you that wish." My lips separate and show my pearly white teeth. My eyes open up with new found hope in saving my apprentice and I look into my lover's eyes and bring our lips together. Our bodies merge, doing what we yearn. Once we separate I turn my head towards the leader of the Jedi, and bow down to the blonde headed man.
"Thank you Master Skywalker. Although, I wish for Durii to come with me as well." He looks up at me with a look that is quite astonishing to me. He has granted my wish to go after my old padawan. Maybe this is a stretch for him to allow my love to come with me.
"With all due respect Master Korr, I believe that Master Lonna is best served to stay with the Jedi Masters in leave of your absence."
"I agree Master Skywalker, however, their love may allow both of them to deal with Exar Kun well enough." The orange man with a mask of life refutes back to his colleague. The other Jedi Masters look at the Kel Dor with their brows raised. I know that he does not mean to put Master Skywalker's decisions down, but he does raise good points. He often shows another view point of the situation without hurting either party. I believe this is why Master Skywalker has given him the rank of Jedi Master.
"Your opinion is noted Master Tun."
"Does that mean Durii can come with me?"
"The other Jedi Masters and I will discuss on this. However, if you two do go together, then you will need a craft that has enough space for two people. Unfortunately, Kyle's ship is still at the temple. You will need to acquire one for yourself then Jaden."
"Understood Master Skywalker. I will get my things together for the trip to Yavin IV."
"Very well Master Korr, and Master Lonna, it is best if you leave while we discuss about what we should do with you. We will call you both back when we have reached a decision." We bow and head to the door in our Jedi garments. For once, I begin to feel as though I am back during the times of the Old Republic, when the Jedi flourished. It is something that brings new understanding to me than just reading what the archives informed us about the old Jedi. It makes me feel more intune with the force because of this new understanding.
Meanwhile on the lush moon of Yavin, a grand site stands before a small furry creature. He can barely even see the top due to his small height. It feels like death just standing near it. Not because of how tall and bulky the building is, but because of what it is made for. Who is buried there, who walks the surface now, and who threatens all that is good. The small creature heads up the steps unnoticed by his enemies or allies.
"The force that will allow you to burry Exar Kun's spirit in the place I am in is somewhere inside there. If you can find it, you might have a chance at stopping the dead beat." The small swirl creature gives off a few clicks and sounds in order to confirm what his former master tells him. He continues up the steps, without fear of what is inside. Nothing but death lays there. As he enters the dark tomb, he notices a few stacks of bones lying on top of the hard pushed up ground. A few bones lay to the side of it, watching what the bones of the ancient Sith Lord appear to be holding. A small red pyramidal shape within the grasp of the living man.
"Osimi sana."
"Yes, that Sith Holocron will teach you how to destroy him."
"Tole dito de."
"Yes, I can feel another, strong dark presence near Exar Kun. I don't know who it is though. You might have to confront him, but I would wait for Jaden."
"Oso cham?" The little creature looks up in the air with disbelief. Not from the fact that I am coming, but in the fact that he believes he can make a difference.
"Yes, and he might need all the help he can get."
Meanwhile within the Massassi Temple, the brown Bothan continues hitting rocks and boulders that the blue spirit is hurling towards him. One after the other, he dodges and hits, and kicks all at once. Letting them break into many pieces on their own. Many clumps of dirt and earth ready and begging to be destroyed by this strong man. His power is overwhelming, he feels stronger than he ever was as a Jedi. Letting him believe the dark side is more powerful than the light. The blue spirit looks onto him with just his upper lip raised.
"Good, good. Now again, with more and hatred towards those rocks and boulders." He hits the ground with his air almost completely leaving him, as though it had been told to evacuate. His body is what is bringing him down, and all the air that he needs to stay up is almost gone.
"Master, what about your other students. Why do you not train them as harsh as you do me?" With this, the old Sith looks on at his new apprentice with a new understanding. His new apprentice, unlike Rosh, wanted reasons, not just codes of what his orders were. This is exactly what he needs in his apprentice, truth to battle his way through the Jedi hypocrisies. He can also tell that he needs rest or else his apprentice will die soon, which leaves Kun a small time to humor him in a story.
"Those men, I never train them?" All the air rushed back into his apprentice's body as though it had been called to come back because everything is safe within him now. He looks up at his master without understanding.
"Why would you not train them?"
"To get you ready for what is to come. To get you ready for your attack on the Jedi Temple. Yes, there are those that are strong like your old teacher and Skywalker, but there are those who are weak. I have plenty of them here. You must kill every single one of them." This brings him to a mouth that is completely gaped. Nothing stands alone here, he feels the evil within his master and cannot understand it at all. He cannot truly reason as to why he must kill all of his new servants.
"But, we can use them to our advantage. We can have them serve us to help destroy the Jedi."
"Oh... Darth Hades, did you really think I would just choose you for no reason. I know what you did to your tribe. You killed every single one of them. You didn't even leave their pets alive. You killed the entire tribe. Your family, your friends within the tribe, every single one. You did it because they did not approve of you becoming a Jedi. You did it for your wanting to be a Jedi, and the best part of it all was that you thought by committing that act, you would be a Jedi because of it. Wrong. This started you down the path of the Sith long before you can truly understand it. You killed instead of fleeing, the path of those that are weak is to flee instead of fighting. You are no Jedi, you are Sith. You are not weak, you are strong. You have no compassion, you are death. You are not the light, but everything that is dark. Now, when you kill these men, your training is complete." The new Sith did as he was instructed and moved towards his new saber. The staff next to him and placed his finger on the red button in order to enact a fiery blade of anger and hatred.
"Yes, my master."
"Well, what are you waiting for Darth Hades?" The young Bothan stands there feeling all that encompasses the temple. His red blades at the side of him and within seconds he hears footsteps coming into the room.
"Masters, we have felt the presence of a Jedi here. We are not sure who, but we do know that he is strong within the force, extremely strong. What shall we do." The agent of the Sith just looks at the Dark Jedi with his eyes fixated upon him. The saber's blades show what is just about to spew out of him without any ease. He lunges towards him and turns off one of the blades to his saber. He aims for his head, then wastes no time with the rest of his limbs. He cuts each and every part of him into smaller pieces. Blood spewing all over the floor and the sides of his face. It looks as though the butcher had just finished his latest artwork.
"Leave the Jedi to me Darth Hades."
"And leave Kun to me, Ichi. Remember, when I say now, that is the only way you can truly get rid of Kun."
Meanwhile in the Yavin space, there is a ship that feels as though it is commanding the space around it. It is as though everything in the abyss of the space itself is consumed by it as it passes by all that encompasses the dark realm of what it travels through. Feeding on its fear, and devouring those who dare fight against it. The commander stands at the bridge, waiting for what is to come from its enemy down on the planet below.
"Have you found the insurgent?"
"We know that he came here, but we do not know if he has landed here. It is a desolate world Admiral Roll, there is no one to ask if the insurgent landed on the planet, or if he just left. We are best to look around the planet, just in case there are people on it." The man with a thousand scars looks down at the planet from where he stands. He looks upon it with such malice and hatred as to any of his incompetent comrades. He looks back at the man who made this suggestion and knows that he has the best course of action.
"Fine, but we will not waste haste. Land the Inquisition on the planet's surface. Everyone but a few guards will leave the ship to patrol where the little whelp is. I want our finest men to guard the ship, not just guards that can defend themselves against some of the most feared shots in the galaxy, but Jedi. Is that understood?"
"Yes Admiral Roll." Each of the members of the few remaining Remnants of a long dead government stand with each other to give off a thunderous agreement. They do this either in fear, or in belief of their leader. For this man is one that is an extremist, one that only absolutes can follow, or dread to do anything. Many of those that pilot the Inquisition look for large enough spots to land a ship as big as their own, including what coordinates are even plausible for their current position. To land a ship such as the Inquisition is not at all an easy task.
"I have you now my little escapee, you won't get far at all."
Meanwhile, my love and I are at an old friend's house. I have known my friend since the ending days of the Empire. He and I both had to move away, but we always stayed in touch with one another. The day that I told him I was leaving to become a Jedi, he was overwhelmed with joy. Inside he always wanted to be a Jedi, but with his parents staunchly true to the Imperial belief, he never said such opinions to them. In fact, I don't think he ever said it to them.
"So your friend lives here on Coruscant?"
"Yeah, its been awhile though. Can't seem to remember the last time I contacted him."
"Been to busy with Jedi business, right?"
"I guess you could say that." It wasn't that simple. The last time I had talked with my friend was not the easiest day. That was the day I got my light saber, and that was also the same day his parents died. Their blood was not at all very welcoming to me. They were good people, ignorant, but good people. They did not deserve to die, and I tried to help them, but it never went the way I had hoped. I knock on the grey apartment door in front of me.
"Who is it?" The voice seems a little preoccupied as he says with such a rush.
"It's me, Jaden." The loud thuds stop. I can hear footsteps from more than one person, and they get closer and closer to the door. It opens and a woman with long brown hair walks out from the door in front of us. A man with sky blue eyes and red hair stands in front of the door with his face towards my love and me.
"Jaden, what are you doing here at this time. You know before you left I always got my business done at this time of the day."
"Yeah, but you could have changed."
"Who's she?" He looks at my love who just answered him and gives her a scowl look. I can tell that they are both somewhat uncomfortable, not knowing each other, and not meeting each other at a more suitable time always makes people uneasy at first. Her sparkly blue eyes look red as though she is angry at him for sleeping with a hooker, but women just don't understand men all of the time. When we need something that is close to our primal urges, we go and get, well at least most of us.
"This is my girl friend, Durii. She is also a Jedi."
"What happened to Jedi not having attachments?"
"You know what they say, out with the old, in with the new."
"Right, right. Well, come on inside. Oh, I almost forgot, my name is Trivas Shan." He extends his tan hand to my lover and when he does, the pillow in front of his crotch falls. She begins to look down there, so I cover his crotch with my other hand. She looks back up at me with her head a little cocked out to the left, with a half smile to show her dissatisfaction. This is what I was explaining earlier about men and women.
"Nice to meet you and yourself, Trivas." I begin to let out a few high pitched tones, but I stop myself before it gets out of control. They shake hands and afterwards, he picks up his white pillow and brings it towards his crotch. Once he does so, I move my hand away from it and we enter the apartment. It is nothing special, cracks around the wall, a food and beverage concoctor can be seen not too far ahead, a small table to the side, right next to a view monitor, a room to the side which held a bed, and I can feel next to that there is a bathroom.
"Let me change before we talk about why you're here." Trivas has always been a good friend, even when things got tough. He never really turned me away, although, I was never as good of a friend to him. I couldn't even save his parents.
My love looks around the room with a few tisks at each battered wall. To her, this is not a place that anyone can call "suitable" living. I am not quite sure as to whether or not it is a good place to live in, but it beats nothing. She looks back at me and I look into her eyes and smile at her while I see her new found hope.
"So, how do you know he has a ship?"
"Trivas's ship is a family heirloom, one that has been passed down for generations. Stolen, many times before his family actually kept the ship. It's old, but it gets the job done." I look around the room and chuckle a bit before continuing with my little speech, "He could never sell it, even if he wanted to. It's priceless."
"What ship is it?"
"The Ebon Hawk." The man with his blood hair comes out in his regular outfit I saw him with the day I left. Who knew he'd where the same exact pieces of clothing the day I left to become a Jedi? He kind of reminds me of the famed Han Solo. If that is what he was trying to go for... it kind of works.
"So I heard you guys talking about my ship. Yeah, it gets the job done, and a little more. Look, if you need the Ebon Hawk, me and my crew can get it done for you, but we need a little payment."
"Trivas, I thought we didn't need to pay you because we are friends. Where's the sense of decency?"
"Look, it's not because you're my friend that I'm making you pay. My copilot would shoot off like a bantha if he knew we were helping someone without getting some credits for it. You see what I'm saying Jaden?" I could tell there was nothing untrue about his words. I've known him ever since I was a young kid. Well, at least I think I have. He could have changed since the many years I've seen him, but I highly doubt it. He's a good man, or at least he was from what I remember.
"Durii, do you think I'm trying to deceive you?" She looks up at me, and then looks back at my friends bright eyes. Trying to see if there is anything dark in them, but even she cannot. I can feel it. It is peaceful, it is true, and it is calm. There is nothing wrong with what is there.
"No, he speaks the truth. What's your copilot's name and where can we find him?"
"She's not too far away from here, why?"
I answer in a hurry, "We need to find him now and head to Yavin IV quickly. I can't tell you until we get there."
"She won't fly, unless she knows why." This leaves me with nothing else to do. To even tell him I'm not quite sure what we'll expect when we get there, is something I am not too comfortable saying. To do this to a good friend, to lie to him would just make me less of a man, and a Jedi. I cannot do that, I must live up to my grandfather's name. I must be what many thought of him.
"Look, my old apprentice went to Yavin IV, and I don't think it is anything good. I want to stop whatever is about to happen before it happens. I need a ship that can carry more than just Durii and me, just in case we need a quick jump out. I know you have a ship, and I need you to help me. Will you?"
"Now that you put it that way Jaden, of course buddy." He walks over to me and brings his arms around me and I do the same. We bring our arms onto each other and pat them on each other a few times, signifying our friendship. I'm glad the meeting turned out this well, considering I thought that he would be extremely mad at me, since the last time we met.
My love asks my friend with extreme glee, "So, shall we go to your copilot?"
"Sure thing sweet cheeks."
"Do you mind Trivas, she's my..."
"C'mon Jaden, you know I was just joking." There is complete silence from the room. I would have nodded my head, but this time, it was my girl friend instead of one of our old friends that we would always joke about around each other. When it happens to be your lover, you get a little more defensive with those kinds of words.
"Let's just get going, tight ass." As she exits the room from saying that I start throwing pitches left and right. My dark skinned face looks back up at him, with my coffee eyes staring into him. He gives the same look that I gave him a few seconds ago with the words he used to call my lover. Gathering the air back into my system, I just look up at him.
"You started it." My friend gives a little chuckle and releases a breath. We head out the door where Durii is waiting for the two of us and head down the corridor on our right. It seems we are heading back to the turbolift, from where we came. Each few seconds feels like another woe of not getting to Lisko in time to help him. He stops.
"She lives here."
"Do you know her Jaden?"
"I know just as much as you do honey." The door opens and we can hear a few crunches at the end of the hall. We enter, and the first thing my love does is gasp. She loves how clean it is compared to the pilot's last room. It seems too beautiful looking to be true.
"By the force is she clean." A few seconds later we hear a high voice at the end of the room. The head of a worm like creature pears around the corner. Her fin like ears I bet can sense everything we say. With her nose bent into her face, I could feel that she is not quite happy we just came into her room. Since Trivas is here with us though, then I guess it might be alright.
"Who are these people Trivas?"
"These are my friends, Jaden and Durii. They are Jedi, and they've got quite a mission for us."
"Show us the credits first then, if they've got quite a mission for us."
"Well, we didn't discuss that before."
"WHAT!" I can tell that the Dug is not happy with what Trivas had to say. After all, he said that she is very much into money, but I didn't realize this much. I guess I'll have to save my friend before things turn ugly.
"Trivas, you forgot that we already discussed this. We said we'd pay six thousand credits." She looks at me with a peculiar look. I guess since she has been flying with Trivas for awhile, she may know if I am lying or not. She inspects me, crossing over to me with her arms gaining area from the room she was in a few seconds ago. Almost turning and moving around to get ready to pounce on me for my next mistake.
"Trivas never forgets, my dear Jedi friend. However, since you decided to give me six thousand credits now for such a mission I'll take it if you tell me what it is."
"If I have to tell it again for a cheap departure and return, then fine. My apprentice, Lisko Kon'ro has left the Jedi Academy here on Coruscant. He left to Yavin IV and I don't know why. Durii and I are being sent there to investigate what has happened. Hopefully nothing bad has happened to him."
"Why do you say that, Jedi?"
"Since an old Dark Lord of the Sith has been communicating with him. Trying to manipulate him to embrace the darkside of the force."
"In that case, make it seventy thousand credits and you've got a deal."
My love says to her to protest, "But you just said..."
"I know what I said, Jedi. Now that their's more at stake, then just the four of our lives, this price seems quite fair. You pay, or no ride." I look over to my love and soon we head out the door. Trivas looks down at his headstrong copilot and just shakes his head.
"You know, saving others shouldn't cost a thing. At the most it should cost them their life. That is only if they fail to protect themselves while they die. You ask for much more than they can bargain for, and their friends of mine. Why can't you let go of price and just let them pay the six thousand credits? You and your people are finally represented by the Republic, can't you let go of what most of your people are like, since it was because of how you were treated. Can you do that, please?" She looks at him from her loose and flabby skin. She brings one of her arms up to her flabby skin that runs down her mouth. She looks down the door and heads out, yelling for my love and me to come back.
"Jaden, do you think she'll lower the price?"
"Who knows, let's just see what she has to say."
"Five thousand credits, and you've got a deal." I look at my love and we smile at one another. My friend Trivas must have come through again. He's not one to count out. He's a good person, smart to boot too. Knows what to say at the right time, but is quite the jokester. He can act like a Solo, but still he's a good guy down to the core. I reach my hand towards her hand... I think and we shake our two limbs up and down.
"The name's Jaden, and this is my girl friend Durii. You are?"
"The name's Holass. Whenever you two are ready, we'll get the Ebon Hawk fired up and ready to go." My love and I look at each other and she speaks for the both of us.
"Good, let's saddle up." The Dug, I'm sure is surprised by what we have to say, and she smiles a bit at the two of us. We head back to her apartment building where Trivas is so we can discuss the plan in detail before we head out to the lush moon.