Dark Ruminations

"What do you mean that I'm your descendant?" Dante asked disdainfully. His fists clenched tightly and his stomach twisted as the thought of being connected to the Sith Lord by blood continued to roll around in his mind.

Tulak just stood there, his face contemplative, watching Dante's expression screw into outrage.

"Well?" Dante asked after a few more moments. His hands went to his hips, searching for his lightsaber for the first time. The thought hadn't occurred to him before and when he touched the belt at his hips, he felt no familiar cylindrical object.

And then he remembered. He lost it in the duel against that Sith that prevented him from getting Rena.

Rena! His mind raced with thoughts of what was happening to her. Then it dawned on him. He didn't know where he really was. He looked at Tulak. "Am I dead this time?"

Tulak shook his head slowly. "No, you're unconscious and still drifting between the rifts of the Force."

Dante's eyes shifted to the pitch-black ground. There was nothing there save for swirls of complete darkness. "Am I your descendant?"

Tulak took a breath. "You're one of them—the others are already dead or lost somewhere," he cleared his throat and continued, " dead either by the hands of the Sith or yours."

The young Jedi bit his lip. "Couldn't there be some mistake?"

Tulak scoffed, "don't be foolish, Dante. I know what I am talking about—I've had quite a few millennia to wander about and see what my line is up to."

"So how did I end up—,"

"It has been several millennia, Dante. You have your differences from me, of course." The former Dark Lord chuckled. "Besides, the others are spread down other lines. You'd be surprised, of course, but," he said with a casual wave of his hand, "you're the only one I've managed to keep track of over the years."

The younger Jedi couldn't help but shudder, which gave Tulak cause to laugh some more.

"You are truly something else, Dante, truly something else."

Dante looked at the older man. "What is it you want to impart on me?"

The old man's countenance grew serious, replacing the warmth in his eyes with the same coldness that made Dante shudder. "Follow me, there is something I must show you first."

The pair continued to tread further into the pitch-black caverns.

Suddenly, Tulak paused, causing the younger Jedi to pause as well. They had entered a large space within the tunnels. It branched out into a large chamber, revealing a dusty sarcophagus that lay at the center of the room with a pair of obelisks at either side. Oddly enough, it had more light than the tunnel to arrive there in the first place.

"Your grave site is where you will impart knowledge?" Dante asked flatly, his brow rose in skepticism.

The old man turned to face Dante, his expression chiding. "Come, boy, you must heed my words." He looked around and focused on something else, almost as if he was listening for something.

Dante exhaled deeply. "What is it?"

Tulak shook his head, "nothing to concern yourself with."

Dante furrowed his brow. "What is it?"

The former Sith Lord shook his head. "You must focus on what I say now—you must go to Korriban, there you will--,"

"Korriban?" Dante asked incredulously.

Tulak nodded, "yes, you must go to Korriban." He brought a hand up, to prevent the Knight from asking another question. "Heed what I have to say before you choose to do anything else."

Dante stood silently, scowling slightly at the old man.

"Go to Korriban—look for the tombs near what you would call Dreshdae and go to my own tomb. There you will find something out of place—not part of the tomb at all. It will guide you to another planet—somewhere you've been before. You need to find that holocron, Dante; it will guide you to a new level of the Force. It contains hidden secrets and the fighting style I created."

"I won't go to the Dark Side," Dante began, only to have Tulak raise his hand again for silence.

"No, this isn't about you going to the Dark Side. This is to help you hone your abilities and sharpen your senses for the coming trials ahead. You are strong enough to abandon the Jedi tenets of holding back your emotions. To survive, you will need more than your wits and skills; you will need your emotions, Dante." The old man eyed Dante, whose eyes had now shifted to the ground. "Make no mistake, I will continue to guide you along your path. It is different and unique—I've even glimpsed what the Force has in store for you, but you are not ready yet to take the burden."

The Jedi felt his heart skip a beat as he was listening to the old man. "What do you mean? What's going to happen, Tulak?"

Tulak smiled, it was the first time he heard Dante refer to him by his name, aside from pointing the finger. "I am not at liberty to say, but you must know this: the trials ahead will require you to abandon your Jedi training. You must listen to the currents of the Force. Find the holocron, hone your skills and you will find Rena."

The young man bristled when he heard this. "Rena? What do you have in mind for her?" His ire began to rise, his fists clenching. "I won't let you take--,"

"Oh come, Dante, I will not bring her to harm. I am teaching you how to find her." He chuckled. "As if I would do something to someone who means so much to you. I may be evil, boy, but I know how to protect that which matters most to me. Go to Korriban, go to Dreshdae and you will find the first key to returning to that planet where Rin died."

Rin… Dante clenched his jaw, and steeled himself to stay standing. His knees felt as if they were going to buckle under the mere sound of her name. I won't lose her like I lost you! Dante's mien darkened. "How will your tomb hold the key to returning to that planet?"

The old man returned a toothy grin. "That is where I will be waiting for you. That is where my power will help guide your memories to that planet."

For some strange reason the chambers began to shudder.

Dante looked about in surprise, feeling the entire chamber shudder all the more.

"I must go now—your body is moving to another plain." The old man bowed. "Remember, you must trust in the Force to guide you—you must destroy these Sith! They will bring the Galaxy to ruin."

In an instant, the Jedi found himself thrust far away, as the chamber dissipated and a white light bathed over his body.


He stood aboard the interior of a carbon scored hallway. It contained white walls and silver floor panels with few terminals that beeped and had switches.

Great, where am I now? Dante thought as he walked along the empty corridor. Nothing was alive—or present for that matter.

He continued to tread along the hallway, his thoughts falling towards the old man's words. Should I go to Korriban? What if he is lying?

He didn't lie before, the young Jedi reasoned inside his head. He remembered that the former Sith Lord's spectre had warned him against Phaete and what the Iktotchi Jedi really represented.

Yet what about Rena? Do I leave her to suffer for much longer? Dante's eyes wandered about the scored hallway. For that matter, how do I leave this place? The Jedi sighed, heaving his shoulders as he walked cautiously about.

Do I abandon my training in favour of the Dark Lord's training? He has no intent of turning me to the Dark Side…

That's a lie, he almost brought about my death and tried to usurp my body. He furrowed his brow. So what do I do?

Almost as if to answer him, several sparks explode from a console in the empty hallway. Maybe I can heed the old man's advice. I'll be cautious—if it means finding Rena, then I will do it. He walked past the burnt-out console. Maybe I stand to gain a better understanding of the Force—and end another war that is poised to come. He rounded a bend and saw a smattering of bodies that lay strewn across a junction.

They were all clad in black.

Dante raced towards them, hoping they were alive only to pause as he gained a better look on them.

They were all black-clad Sith assassins.

He balled his hands into fists. Sith had arrived aboard a Republic ship. The Republic wasn't faring well.

The Jedi Knight heard crackling and sizzling energy, followed by hisses as several low-hums of energy clashed against each other. He faced one of the junctions where he thought he heard the fight take place.

It's not too late! I can go and save them! Forgetting that his presence was only bathed in the Force and not actually tangible, he raced towards the sound of thrumming blades that crackled wildly.

He rounded another bend and stopped dead in his tracks.

Visas was battling for her life against the Revanite assassins he had dueled earlier on Corellia.

Not good. The young Jedi looked about for some sort of clue how to aid.

Visas ducked from an overhead slash and rolled away, bringing her lightsaber up, twirling into a blur of lacerating silver energy.

The Revanite evaded the blows and whirled his blade, attempting to guide the silver shafts of energy away from the grasp of the skilled Miraluka.

Dante watched on in horror and felt a wave of the Force wash over him, sending him spiraling away from the vision as he saw Visas fly back from a Force-push.

Dante screamed out, "Visas!"

It was all he could do.


Rising from the medical cot he was lying on, Dante groaned, bringing a hand to his eyes, rubbing them. "Where am I?"

Nothing answered.

He dropped his hand and looked up, opening his eyes completely as he realized he was inside Visas' freighter's medbay.

"Oh no," he muttered.

It all came flooding back to him—the search for Rena, the duel with Lotus and the duel with the two elite Sith Assassins.

Dorman Rais.

The Force-Lightning and the burns he ensued.

Dante looked at his hands, running one hand across his chest.

The stinging sensations were gone.

Visas and Atton had applied kolto patches and a medical packet on him while he was unconscious.

He lowered his head, I'm sorry Rena. He felt the pit of his stomach turn cold. His hands grew cold and he felt everything close in on him. I'm coming for you—but I need you to hold on. I have to finish this first. He felt her presence through their bond and he could feel it withering away. Dante sent waves of reassurance and compassion into the bond, hoping she would receive it and know that he wouldn't leave her to that fate.

Visas. Dante clenched his fists, in their tattered and torn gloves, determinedly. I am coming for you—I won't let you die like the others. He rose from the cot and found he could walk properly. He moved towards a mirror and looked himself over, removing the coat and the gloves—as well as the bracers—that revealed his light brown skin. Breathing in deeply, Dante held his breath for several moments before he exhaled. He looked to his left thigh to see if his blaster was still placed there.

It was.

He pulled it out, feeling the familiar worn handle of the heavy pistol. He removed the power cartridge, checking to see if it was full. Satisfied that it was, he slammed it back into place and holstered the pistol.

He walked out the main hold and down the ramp towards the battered Jedi Temple.

A few moments later, a small, sleek and exceptionally fast Jedi courier took off from the Temple, heading towards a smattering of yellow balls of light high in the sky.

Dante was going towards the battle.