Last time: Sasha told Viran about their child and that he needs to fix everything as it isn't supposed to be this way.
Now: Viran searches for a way to fix it all.
Chapter 2- The Jedi Temple
Twelve years after the events on Vestora….
It had been two years since the Battle of Concord Dawn under the Dracul Dominion. After Viran was rescued by Kitsu and Illara from the battle, having barely survived off of what remained of his ship's oxygen and life support. He had been in the mines of Concord Dawn where their base was hidden, in a comatose state for two full weeks. After he had awoken, he did everything in his power to get back to full health and search for his missing wife. About a month or two after the battle, they had declared her Missing in Action and sent the bulletin out to all other factions of their rag tag rebellion to keep an eye out for her. And in the two years since, no one had reported her found. Or reported the sighting of an eighteen month old with Force powers. By this point, they were both presumed to be dead.
Viran did nothing but work for the next two years on rebuilding Concord Dawn, but also trying to figure out how to fix everything. He had promised Sasha that he would find a way to fix it, and he knew that Dracul was the key. It was just what were they looking for exactly to fix this cursed, wretched time was beyond him. Kyr, Kitsu, and Illara joined him in his search for the answer to Sasha's riddle about fixing everything. Their search caused them to sneak into enemy territory numerous times and pull some special ops missions to get any decent intel on Dracul. Missions that made Viran do things he was sure neither Oppie nor Sasha would be proud of him for, but neither of them were around to scold him. Not anymore at least.
Viran just completed his patrol of the ship belt for any sign of Dominion spies or droids watching their every move. The ship belt was where the remains and debris from the battle resided in the upper orbit of the planet. High enough up that it wasn't being pulled down by the gravity of the planet, but low enough that a mando in a jetpack could rocket up there and search around the debris. He had been doing this daily since he was relieved from the medical bay in the mines below. He did it as a way of searching for Sasha, but also to keep his eyes peeled for any enemy activity. And just like every day before, he found nothing. And he did it dressed in his own made Mandalorian armor with a jetpack to match the green and black armor he wore. Kyr had insisted that he get his own armor made of beskar to help him during these battles. And since he and Sasha had kind of been adopted into the family years ago, having his own armor now made sense.
Heading back down towards the mines below, Viran noticed Kitsu and Illara's ship sitting with others. His heart skipped a beat as he realized they must be back from their mission. Which meant that today might bring some good news after all. He landed just in front of the opening to the mine, his jetpack cushioning his landing. Once he touched down, Viran removed the bucket from his head revealing his short auburn hair that was buzzed on the sides and his tired worn face. Despite only being thirty-seven, Viran still looked fairly young. However, the grey that was starting to appear on the side of his head, said otherwise. Viran walked into the mine and towards the command center. Standing at the console were Kitsu, Kyr, and Illara. They were looking over a hologram of Dracul's palace on Coruscant. Actually it was the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, just with some new flags blowing in the wind out front and new statues that replaced the old ones. Statues of Dracul that is.
"How did the scouting go?" Illara asked, noticing him approach.
The others turned to greet him as he stopped at the table, placing his bucket on it.
"Same as always," Viran said plainly. "How did your mission go?"
"Do you want the good news, the really good news, or the bad news?" Kitsu asked, a smile to her voice from under her bucket.
"Uh, I guess the bad news first," Viran said with a shrug.
"The bad news is that the old Jedi Temple is Dracul's new home and it is more fortified than the 500 Republica was when Palpatine was killed," Kyr pointed out.
"And the good news?" Viran asked, unsure of what the good news was going to be.
"The good news is that Dracul is alone right now at the temple. His acolytes are not there," Illara said.
"How do you know that?" Viran asked skeptically.
"Because we surveyed the Temple for a couple of days and watched as they all left on missions," Kitsu explained. "Even though the place is still crawling with Sith troopers, Dracul is alone."
"Okay then what is the great news?" Viran asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"Not only did we find a way in using some old archived blue prints from the old Senate building," Kyr continued. "But we also found out how Dracul did it."
"Did what?' Viran asked, confused.
"Took over the galaxy," Kyr finished.
Viran felt his heart stop for a moment. "Are you serious? How did you manage that?"
"While we were running around Coruscant, trying to gather intel, we stumbled across a series of recordings from the 500 Republica," Kitsu explained as she pulled up a series of recordings that showed Palpatine clear as day asleep in his bed. It was weird to think that Viran actually missed seeing that ugly mug of his everywhere. "These recordings show Dracul using a portal of some sort and just appearing in Palpatine's bedroom in the middle of the night. He killed the Emperor and then disappeared through the portal again."
Viran watched as the recordings played just as Kitsu described. Dracul appeared from a portal in the wall, killed Palpatine in one swift stroke, and then disappeared again through the same opening. Then the portal disappeared.
"How did you find this recording? I thought that all security systems at the 500 were destroyed?" Viran questioned as he looked from the recordings to the others.
"Tac," Kyr said simply, a smirk to his voice. "Never underestimate that droid."
Viran nodded. "So why is Dracul's teleportation power a good thing?" he asked after a moment of staring at the hologram footage again.
Illara produced a data pad. "I found this information in Palpatine's room. Apparently he took a lot from the Jedi Temple. But this," They shook the data pad. "Has information regarding a place known as the world between worlds. A world that allows anyone to travel to any point in time and space." They slid the datapad across the table toward Viran. "If we can get to Dracul, maybe we can force him to open one of these portals. Then we kill him, use the portal and fix everything. Ending his reign of terror once and for all."
Viran picked it up and scrolled through it. With each sentence he read, he found more and more information that made him hopeful for the first time in a long time. As soon as he was finished reading, he came to understand why the former Emperor took this from the Temple. This place, this world between worlds was exactly what they had been looking for. However, how they were planning to get there was the issue. He looked up to the others.
"This is insane," Viran pointed out rather bluntly. "Dracul isn't just going to open up one of these portals and let us waltz in like we own the place. He will kill us right then and there. The only way we can win is if we kill him." Viran sighed. "As much as I would like to believe we can use this void to fix the past, we can't do it without a portal. It would be a fool's errand if we tried. I would rather risk my own life and end Dracul's rule than attempt to negotiate with that monster into letting us into the world between worlds. So unless you have a plan to murder that monster, I'm done here." He turned and started walking away.
Kitsu rushed over and stopped him by standing before him. "We know it won't work. We just thought you deserved to have this glimmer of hope of fixing everything. But you are right, we need to kill Dracul first. And we do have just the plan for that." She smirked at him.
With a sigh, he looked back to the others. "So how do we plan to break into the Jedi Temple?" Viran asked.
"I'm happy you asked," Kitsu said with a smile to her voice as she returned over to the table.
For the next hour they planned their break in of the Jedi Temple and once they were done, the four of them all shared a glance.
"This isn't going to be easy," Illara pointed out. "We will most likely not come out of this alive."
"But Dracul needs to be stopped once and for all," Kitsu added. "And I'm ready to die to do just that."
"Are you ready to avenge everyone we have lost, Sport?" Kyr asked, placing a hand on Viran's shoulder. "Cause we have got to stop that monster from winning again. No matter what it takes."
Viran nodded. "Yeah I am ready. And thank you all for doing this with me. I know we can succeed together."
They all shared a collective hug before pulling apart. Viran pulled his bucket on and punched his hand into his fist.
"Let's go," Viran said with a fire burning in his belly now.
Sneaking through Dracul's blockade? Easy. Sneaking through the very empty streets of Coruscant? Spooky, but still easy. Sneaking into the Jedi Temple using the ventilation system? A bit more difficult. Viran, Kyr, Kitsu, and Illara had managed to break into the Jedi Temple through the ventilation system on the upper level of the main building, at the base of the spires. It was strange to see the old temple again after all of these years. A part of Viran felt like he was returning to his childhood home, which the temple was very much like that for him. But seeing the temple made him wish that Oppie and Sasha were there to see it with him.
Pushing those thoughts away, he focused on the here and now. He adjusted his tunic as this was the first time in years that he donned his old Jedi attire. He felt it would be fitting for him to wear it as he returned to the Temple. Sasha had actually made him this attire for their wedding, but even though he didn't carry a lightsaber, it still made him look like an official Jedi. He was just thankful it had survived after all of these years. And speaking of things that made him an official Jedi. The entire trip to Coruscant Viran spent in the back of the Shadow meditating and reaching out to the Force. For the first time in almost twelve years, Viran felt the Force return to him. It was strange to feel it again, but it felt right. It felt like a warm hug from an old friend that you haven't seen in many, many years. However, his connection to it was weaker since he hadn't used it in so long. But now, he felt powerful. He felt ready. If only he had a lightsaber then maybe he would feel like a whole Jedi. But just having the Force was a nice start.
Following behind Kyr, who had taken the lead, Viran and the others made their way through the vents until they reached a tunnel that led to a sealed door. Looking it over, Kyr approached it and tapped the door.
"I could blast it, but we are trying to be sneaky," he mused out loud before pressing two fingers to the side of his bucket. "Tac, unlock door 0904," Kyr voiced over the comms to Tac, who had managed to sneak into the temple before them as a maintenance droid, and was supposedly located in one of the many communication chambers of the old Jedi Temple that was currently unoccupied.
Tac responded with a confirming beep before the door then opened.
"You know, I could have opened that for us right?" Viran questioned.
Kyr chuckled. "Right, sorry. Not used to you having your Jetii powers back. You can get the next one."
The door then opened in a spiral until it disappeared into the door frame. Inside was a well lit room that was lit with bright blue light. Viran stepped forward and immediately recognized what this room was supposed to be as he ran his fingers over one of the openings in the walls.
"This is the inside of the Jedi Temple? I expected something… different," Illara pondered out loud.
"This isn't the whole temple," Viran explained. "I heard about this room from the old librarian of the archives. This is the holocron vault. Only Jedi Masters were ever allowed inside."
Kyr ran his fingers over another opening. 'So where are the holocrons?"
"Probably destroyed. Either by Palpatine or Dracul," Viran guessed with a frown. "But there should be a way out into the archives this way." He then pointed to the other side of the small vault where another door sat closed.
"Wait, it looks like there is still one here," Illara called from one corner of the vault. "It's stuck though." Viran turned to look at them to see that they were struggling to dislodge the holocron from the port in the wall.
"Here, let me do it," Viran offered as he walked over to them.
Illara released the holocron and stepped aside. Viran reached out to the holocron, his fingers brushing up against the device. The holocron reacted to his touch as it shimmered a bright blue for a moment. Viran raised his eyebrows at that as he felt the Force flow through his veins from the holocron. It felt refreshing to feel that much power again. Wrapping his fingers around the device, Viran started to pull at it, but it didn't budge for him either. Frowning slightly, Viran released the holocron and stared at it. Suddenly, as if a voice was reaching out to him, he could hear distantly in his mind the phrase "Use the Force". Closing his eyes, Viran concentrated on nothing but the holocron. He stood there struggling for just a moment before he heard the clicking sound of the device leaving its spot in the wall. Opening his eyes, he watched as it landed in his hand. He smiled at what he just did.
"Man… I never thought I'd do something like that again," Viran said, proudly. "It felt good."
A second later, the holocron sparked to life and a hologram appeared before them. Viran didn't recognize who it was as the man that stood before him was around his age, but looked like he might have been a Jedi before his time at the temple. The man cleared his throat and began to speak.
"If you are watching this, then it means that the Jedi Council did not delete this recording," The man spoke. "My name is Dooku. I am a Jedi Knight here at the Temple. And I discovered something quite remarkable. While in my studies of prophecies in the archives, I came across several writings about a Master Stynrose and these strange temples that were scattered across the galaxy. According to the texts, it is said that these temples provided a gateway into a realm known as the World Between Worlds. In further investigating, I discovered that underneath this very temple exists a chamber that was built in one of the temples that this Jedi temple was built upon. I was unable to open said chamber myself as I was caught by the Council. But I believe that this chamber holds a gateway or perhaps simply answers into how to enter the world between worlds. I hope that someday I can explore it for myself." And then the hologram fizzled out.
Viran stood in shock as he couldn't believe he just watched a pre recorded hologram of Count Dooku when he was still a young man and member of the Jedi Order. To Viran, Dooku was and had always been the leader of the Separatist army. So this was quite a sight to behold. He looked to the others in the vault with him.
"Well you heard the man," Kyr said. "We need to get you to the basement of this place so you can get to the world between worlds."
"Wait, what about our mission?" Viran asked. "What about killing Dracul?"
"You leave him to us," Kitsu added. "You need to go to this chamber and do as Sasha asked. Fix everything. This may be your only chance."
Viran looked at each of them with a frown. Slowly, he nodded as he knew that they were right. "Okay, then let's go." He said as he placed the holocron back into its slot in the wall.
With that, the four of them approached the door. Kyr once again brought his fingers to his helmet. Viran gave him a glare as he knew that he could do it himself, but Kyr was already placing the call. These control pads, by the way, were built for Jedi or other Force users.
"Tac, open door HV-005," Kyr said as he examined the control pad.
Just like the other door, this one slid open, but this time to reveal the large interior of the Jedi archives. However, they all gasped as they saw it laying in ruin. Viran frowned as he stared at the old library as it lay a shambled mess before them. Feeling a comforting hand on his shoulder, Viran glanced over to see Kitsu. She nodded at him as if to say that they need to keep moving. Viran sighed and nodded. He pulled up the hood on the cloak he wore to cover his face from the cameras. And as one they moved into the Jedi Temple.
As they journeyed along through the Temple, they thankfully did not run into many Sith Troopers. However at one point, they reached a junction that caused Viran to stop in his tracks. He looked to the three Mandalorians.
"You guys keep going to the Dracul's throne room," Viran said. "I believe he would have claimed the Council Chambers as his own. The lift is that way."
"What about you?" Illara asked.
"I need to go this way," he said, gesturing in the opposite direction. "That is where access to the lower levels are. That is where I will find the chamber."
"Understood," Kyr ordered. "We've got that shabuir. Go do what you have to do. And Viran, reclaim the future."
Viran nodded. Producing his own blaster from his hip holster, Viran turned and headed in the opposite direction of his friends as they made their way to Dracul's throne room. As he went along, he could hear the sounds of blaster fire in the distance signaling that they most likely ran into more troopers. But Viran didn't stop moving. He needed to get to that chamber. Following the corridors and either avoiding troopers or killing them along the way, Viran eventually came to the door that led down to the lower levels of the temple. It was the memorial chamber as it would connect to basement level where the bodies of the dead Jedi were properly burned.
Using the Force to guide him, Viran descended down into the basement of the Jedi temple. When he reached the basement, he searched for any sign of another way down into the depths of the temple. The search took him several minutes, but he found a heavily locked door that was used more recently than any of the other doors on this floor. He used his blaster and shot the locks off. Peeling open the door, he shuddered as he sensed the dark side emanating from far below the staircase that stretched out before him.
The journey down took him a good ten minutes or so before he finally reached the level he was looking for as the Force was practically calling out to him from this floor. Stepping into the dimly lit corridor, Viran noticed the old durasteel walls of a former temple still standing and stretching out before him. At the end of said hall was a large boulder that seemed to block entry into somewhere. The chamber he needed, he guessed. And standing before it was two Sith troopers guarding the entrance.
Taking a deep breath, Viran leveled his blaster and in two quick pulls of the trigger, he downed both troopers before either had a chance to fire at him. With the guards dead, Viran rushed forward toward the large boulder. Once in front of it, he looked for a way to open it up, but there was no hand hold or lever or handle to pull it open. It was just a giant rock in his way. A rock that could only be moved with the Force. Closing his eyes, Viran stretched out his hand and called upon the Force. He focused solely on the door to the chamber. After a moment, he heard the door start to budge and slid away. He didn't stop until he was sure that the boulder blocking his path was out of his way. Another few minutes later and the chamber was open before him.
It was a small circular cavern that was lit by two small torch lights on the walls. In the center of the dias was another holocron. Stepping into the chamber, Viran approached the artifact. Picking it up, Viran examined the holocron. But just like the one in the vault, this one also activated and produced a hologram. This time it was a woman.
"My name is Stynrose," the woman said. "And I am the keeper of this holocron and the knowledge to fold space. If you are listening to this, then you have been approved to learn this technique. Now listen very carefully as I show how to fold space and enter the void."
Viran set the holocron down and readied himself to learn from the device. After about thirty or so minutes of concentrating on the Force and moving through it, Viran actually managed to open a portal of his very own.
"I see you found my holocron," a deep voice boomed through the small space from behind him. Viran was caught off guard by the sudden arrival of another person. Turning on his heel, Viran paled when he spotted Dracul looming in the entrance of the chamber. "You must be Viran. I see you have learned the technique."
How did this Sith know his name? It took a second to recover, but Viran scowled at the Sith Lord before him. "And you must be Dracul. How the hell do you know who I am?" Viran asked, anger burning in his voice.
"I know all about you, Viran Zeb," Dracul started. "From Corellia. Raised as a Jedi in this temple so long ago. A survivor of Order 66. Leader of the Hellcat Squadron of Concord Dawn. And loving husband to former Jedi Sasha Monroe." He finished in a mocking tone filled with icey death.
Viran felt his breathing stop for a second as Dracul spouted off his life story like it was public knowledge. He did, however, snarl when Dracul mentioned his wife's name. "Where is she?" Viran asked.
"Is that why you are here? To find your lost wife and child?" Dracul teased in a cruel way. "I thought you were here to stop me? To end my life? Or were you just here for my holocron?" Stunned to silence, Viran stood there, staring at the Sith in shock and horror. Dracul continued. "As for your wife, I can honestly say I have no idea. She may be dead… or alive. But it won't matter anyway; you will not live to see her again."
The Sith summoned his lightsaber from his belt and activated it. The red blade glowed throughout the chamber. Slowly, Dracul moved toward Viran, his saber out to the side ready for action. Rolling his hands into fists, Viran silently wished he had his own saber to use right now, but his blaster would do. Removing his blaster from his holster, Viran pointed it at the Sith Lord. Dracul laughed, maliciously.
"You think that will stop me? You are truly a fool," Dracul said.
"I don't need to stop you. I just need to distract you," Viran said evenly, not letting his gaze or his stance falter under the Sith Lord's gaze.
"I would like to see you try," Dracul said with a malicious laugh. "I have seen how this story ends for myself. You can't win. Even if you find a way to survive the world between worlds, you will not be able to stop what is always destined to happen."
With that, Viran shot at Dracul, who used his free hand to easily knock the blasts away into the chamber walls or in Viran's direction. His saber remained at his side as he did that. A few of the blasts connected with Viran's body, but none of them brought him to his knees. He was not going to fall here. He couldn't. He promised Sasha that he would fix everything. If he died here, then he would fail the galaxy, the rebellion, his friends, and his family. So he gritted his teeth and ignored the pain from the blaster wounds.
Viran growled as he continued to fire at him as he slowly backed up towards the portal he had created. Once he was within inches of the opening, Viran then used what power he could summon to Force push Dracul back. It hardly did anything to the Dark Lord. Cursing under his breath, he turned his blaster towards the ceiling and started to unleash a series of blasts. The chamber started to fall apart from above them. Even the holocron got destroyed as a piece of falling debris crushed it.
"NO!" Dracul yelled out as the chamber continued to fall apart.
The ceiling debris had created a barrier between him and Dracul. Seizing the opportunity, Viran turned and staggered into the portal. Once on the other side, he collapsed to his knees, blood dripping from each of his open wounds. Falling down onto the starry catwalk on his back, he looked up and towards where he had come from, but the portal was gone. He had succeeded in making into the world between worlds, but at what cost to the galaxy. Dracul was still alive and who knew if the others were still alive, fighting for their lives. As he lay there thinking about all of them, he slowly felt himself lose consciousness, a bloody mess on the floor.
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