Chapter 16: Will of Destiny
Sim quietly sat down on his chair as he began to meditate. He could feel the light side surround him as it became a blanket and covered him, shielding him from the darkness within the universe. Meditation was one of the rare places that he found peace and quiet, in the real world he barely could think straight with a Wookie, two former smugglers, and a princess-turned-Jedi Knight on board the Falcon.
As he meditated, he felt the door open and close. Leia had just entered after talking with Lando about the prison. It was indeed highly secure and they would need a plan to break in, yet Sim had not discussed with them anything about it. It was as if he was ready for it, so she wanted to see what he really knew.
Leia walked up to her Master as she crossed her legs and sat down. She closed her eyes as the light surrounded her and she became one with the Force temporarily. She found her master in this world, still quite,
"Master, what is your plan in breaking into the prison," asked Leia quietly.
"To just walk right in. We'll let the Living Force guide us, Leia," responded Sim as he continued to close his eyes.
Leia pondered what he said and remembered all the times that he had told her to not focus on the Unifying Force but the Living Force in creatures. It was indeed something that she knew he had picked up from Qui-Gon Jinn, Sim's former master. He didn't talk much about Qui-Gon, but when he said anything about him, it was always in praise. He truly held his former master in high-regards.
Deep within his meditation, Sim could feel the light disturb for a second. He instantly sensed something and smiled. Three lone figures appeared before him, in his meditation, and smiled at him. It was Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Yoda.
"It is good to see you, masters," said Sim as he greeted the deceased Jedi Masters.
"It is a pleasure to see you too, my former apprentice," answered Qui-Gon as the other two nodded.
"I see you wish to talk with me about something, Master," replied Sim as he cut to the chase.
"We are here to warn you that the prison you are attacking is full of darkness," said Qui-Gon with a hint of concern in his voice.
"It might be a bad influence on Leia. She might turn like her father and brother to the dark side," interjected Obi-Wan.
"No, she won't. I can feel that her training has strengthened her emotionally and physically against the dark side. She has far more control over her emotions than her father, hence why she has grown in power so fast," replied Sim with little concern.
"Understand that, we do. Risk there is, still. Beware you must, Sim. Underestimate the power of the dark side, you must not, or face the fate of her father, she will," said the wise Jedi Master Yoda. Even after being deceased, he had lost none of his personality or wisdom.
"I understand but I have faith in her training. As long as she remembers the light, she will stay on the light side," replied Sim.
The ghosts merely nodded as they vanished and left the Master to his own meditation.
Darth Inhalator walked through the halls as officers hurried past him, trying to not catch his attention. His anger had already cost two Imperial officers' there life. As Inhalator entered the room, Vader opened his eyes as he saw his apprentice enter his room.
"Master, I have felt a disturbance in the Force. I sense Leia," said Inhalator as he bowed before his master.
"I have felt it too. It seems that she and her master are going to the Pepious System," replied Vader with a stale face.
"To the Imperial prison? They're going to try and free the captive Jedi then, aren't they?" said Inhalator as he narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, son, it seems to be. Send word to the Admiral to steer the ship to that system and begin cloaking the ship from the Force," said Vader. Inhalator nodded as he left the room to deliver the orders.
The Falcon soared through the atmosphere of Pepious. It was the main planet in the Pepious system and was the location of the top secret Imperial prison, or so they thought. Sim watched as the Falcon passed the ground and it whizzed by. They would land the Falcon north of the prison so they wouldn't be detected.
The Falcon gently landed on a clearing in a dense forest as they found that they were only a mile's trek from the prison. Everyone shuffled off as Lando was put on guard duty for the Falcon. Chewie, Han, Leia and Sim would be going in for the prisoners. As they walked out of the Falcon, Sim let in the exotic smells fill his brain. It reminded him of many Outer Rim planets he had fought on during the Clone Wars.
Leia, meanwhile, had begun to walk as he robe flowed behind her. Han was at her side as they motioned for Chewie and Sim to follow. As the group started trekking, Sim began to feel in the Force if anyone that was actually a threat was here. He could sense the Jedi captives but no Sith, unless they were quite well in the ways of detecting. Even a powerful Jedi like Sim could not detect a Sith Lord or an apprentice if they were skilled in concealing their signature. It was sadly an advantage the enemy had right now.
The gang walked through the path as they made there way to the prison without uttering a word. Both Leia and Sim were busy watching out, through the Force, for any apparent danger. Finally, the saw a clearing at the end of the trail as they saw a large building come in front of them. It was made out of concrete and was indeed guarded well. Everyone gasped except Sim when they saw who was guarding it: Dark Troopers.
The Dark Troopers were the elite of the Imperial Forces, far better than Storm troopers. They were heavily armored and had weaponry that could make most people run away scared. Sim gently sent calming waves through the Force to a nervous Leia, reassuring her. He would show them that the Force was their ally. He gently waved his hand as he motioned for them to stay put. He walked out of the clearing as he let his robe follow, not letting it tangle through the bushes. As he made his way to the Dark Troopers, they immediately turned toward him. He stopped and with a glance the Dark Troopers found themselves in the air as they were crushed into thousands of pieces, each one blowing up out of nowhere.
Sim smiled as he motioned for them to follow. There had only been ten guarding on that side and they would have to move quickly before reinforcements came to check on progress. As they made their way through the chambers and halls of the prison, Sim stopped abruptly. The three looked at him as he stopped moving. Sim used the Force to sense where the Jedi were before nodding to them.
"The Jedi are on the third floor, in Chamber A4," said the Jedi Master as Leia used the Force to check if he was right, and sure enough he was.
"He's right," said Leia as Sim cocked a smile at her.
"What, do you not believe my word anymore, my apprentice," said Sim smiling a cocky smile.
"Ah, I do but I like to double check," said Leia as she walked past him and they entered into an elevator. As it climbed, Sim sensed more Dark Troopers. Immediately, Leia put her hand on her lightsaber hilt but Sim shook his head. They would do it like they had done it before.
The elevator door swung open as the two left the elevator and entered into the hallway. Four Dark Troopers, who patrolled the hallway, immediately turned around and put up their guns. But before they could do anything, Sim lifted them in the air and crushed them into thousands of pieces like before. He hadn't even moved a finger; just a mere glance had done the trick. Leia couldn't help but Leia was really starting to accept the idea that Sim did nothing but train in the Force in 20 years of exile on Lamon.
They made their way down the hall as Han and Chewie followed. Their guns were ready if something caught them by surprise, but it was highly unlikely since they had two extremely Force strong people in the company. Finally, after walking for hours and destroying over ten other Dark Troopers, they came to a door at the end of the hall. Sim sensed that this was the place, using the Force he opened it and saw that this was indeed the place. He scanned the room as Leia did the same. They only felt light in the room; it was obvious that any Jedi that succumbed to the dark side was instantly let free from this place.
With a glance to the right, all the doors shot open as Leia opened all the doors to the left. She still wanted something to do in the mission and not let her master have all the fun. Immediately people poured out as they found that a group of 15 Jedi had been trapped in here. One of the Jedi came up to Sim and smiled,
"Well, look who it is. Its old Nam," said the Jedi as Sim shot a smile and embraced the man.
"Good to see that you're alive Master Tosh. I came here to save you guys," said Sim as they all shot a look at him. Sim shrugged as he followed up, "alright! I came here to "help" you escape." Everyone nodded in acceptance as they patted him. They finally turned their attention to Leia.
"Who's this young lady," asked Tosh quizzing.
"This is, Leia Skywalker. The daughter of Anakin Skywalker," said Sim with some sadness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry for you, Leia. It mus..." Tosh was immediately cut off as Leia closed her eyes and turned the other way. They instantly knew that the subject of her father was not one to discuss now. And with that they turned and left the chamber.
As the walked down the hall, no one bothered Leia as they made their escape. Although they had been stuck in the prisons for years, there Force capabilities had not diminished to the point that they couldn't feel the sorrow rolling off Leia.
The group made there way to the door as Sim spoke up, "Something seems wrong. This was far too easy for such a high-level prison."
"I guess destroying over twenty Dark Troopers isn't hard for you," replied Leia with her sarcastic tone.
Just as she finished the doors to the halls swung open and revealed a dark figure. The group stopped as the figure looked at them. Whoever it was, the person had a black hood on that covered their face. Sim immediately tried to see if it was the Sith Lords but realized it wasn't.
The hooded figure raised its head and pulled its hood back, revealing its face. It was a young woman with black, raven hair. She had dark blue eyes and she seemed innocent but Sim knew she was a dark side user. She was quite beautiful with a chiseled cheekbone and smooth cheeks and seemingly warmness, but it was all an illusion.
Sim immediately walked forward between them too.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Jedi Master Sim Nam. You don't look like you've aged since you were 20 years old," said the mysteriously beautiful agent of darkness.
"Thanks, Myrenia. I see that you've joined the dark side," replied Sim with some arrogance. Leia just watched as the two stared at each other.
"Lord Vader told me that you were coming here, so he sent an "old" friend to meet you and take care of you," said Myrenia.
"How nice of him," replied Sim with sarcasm in his voice.
"I see you haven't lost your sarcasm with age. You seem to have lost nothing in 20 years of exile," stated Myrenia as she let her robe fall to the ground revealing her slim form in a black-tight suit.
"And not short enough that exile was," replied Sim as he motioned for the group to go the other way. "You guys go that way. Leia lead them back to the ship, I'll take care of her," said Sim. Leia was about to protest but Sim shot her a look that scared her. Her master was always so nice and humorous but instead he was cold that moment. She didn't hesitate as she led the group the other way down the elevator.
"I see you haven't lost any of your Jedi behavior. It will be your downfall, Sim," replied Myrenia as she pulled a silver hilt from her belt. She pressed a button and immediately it ignited it. A red blade shot out and she got ready for the duel.
Sim stared at her as he pulled his lightsaber from his belt. He didn't let his robe fall to the ground, instead he just hid his hilt in his sleeve as he ignited his lightsaber and a black blade shot out from within his sleeve.
Myrenia smiled as she moved and leaped toward Sim who brought his lightsaber up and blocked her first swipe before engaging the former Jedi in battle. She swiped her blade at his midsection, but he moved his lightsaber in front, causing it to deflect her before moving it up and in a single motion, deflected her other swipe and pushed her back. She could see that he was extremely talented with his lightsaber, even more so then before. Most of the Jedi she had faced had lost much of their lightsaber skill in exile, but he was different. He still had his age, agility, grace, and skill when it came to lightsaber duels.
She swung her blade as she tried to bring it at his shoulder but he turned and blocked it before spinning to block her jab and redirecting them to the side and leaving her midsection revealed. He took the opportunity as he slashed at her, causing her to block it but at the same time be pushed back. He took up the offensive as he pushed her back until she was almost up against the wall. She was trapped.
Myrenia stared at Sim as he paced closer to her. She knew that she couldn't fight him right in that position so he did the best thing she could. She Force-leaped to another level as she freed herself. Sim met her as he Force-leaped to and right before landing ignited his lightsaber ready to continue the lightsaber duel once more. She brought her lightsaber up to her head as she swiped at him but he leaped out of the way and brought his lightsaber in a backwards swipe. She turned and blocked it and did a twirl with her lightsaber as they clashed instantly, as if they were 20 blades at once. The two lightsabers locked together as the two looked into each others eyes. He could see that Myrenia's beautiful blue eyes had red and yellow in them. Myrenia could see that Sim's eyes were still dark black like the last time she had met him. They instantly withdrew from the lock as they paced around each other.
Myrenia smiled as she knew that she could win. Sim was indeed far more powerful than she had ever dreamed. Even Lord Vader was not more powerful than Sim, they were equal to what she cared to say. She still had much to learn and facing the Jedi Master had been foolish. She had to get away. She scanned the place as she realized what she had got. She closed her eyes as she called upon her anger. In a loud scream, she let out a Force-Scream that caused the room to vibrate and fall apart. It had caught Sim off-guard as he used the full power of the Force to keep the room in tact. As he was distracted, Myrenia slipped away back to her ship and she escaped from Sim Nam.
As Sim held up the room he leaped from the top floor as he let the room cave in. He ran down the stairs as he Force-enhanced his run as he shot out of the prison and back to the Falcon. There he found Leia and the other Jedi waiting for them. They shot up their heads as they found him walking up to the ship, changed with not even a scratch on him.
"Master, I'm glad to see that that woman hadn't laid a hand on you," said Leia as she walked up to him.
"Why do you think I would let her? Sure she's hot but I'm not the one to be seduced," said Sim as Leia narrowed her eyes on him in disgust.
"What?" asked Sim innocently but Leia had already walked into the ship.
Tosh and he entered the Falcon along with the other Jedi as Han and Lando piloted the aircraft away from the planet and entered space. Shortly afterwards, the Falcon entered hyperspace.
Sim watched out as the planet became distant. A hand settled on his shoulder as he turned to see Jedi Master Tosh there.
"I'm sorry, Sim. I know you and Myrenia were once very close," said Tosh as he patted him. He was right, the two used to be very good friends and even more, though, they kept that part a secret. He had initially been surprised when he had found out during his exile that she had turned to the dark side but he had accepted it since even if his heart hadn't.
"Alright, you're all coming with us to Icylian. We will stay in the Jedi Temple. We will hopefully stay there in hiding for the time being," said Sim as he got up and observed the crowd. No one said anything but nodded in acceptance.
And that was it.