The Conclave
Fhost System, Kemp Sector, Wild Space, 214 ABY
Fhost was a lonely world on the edge of the map. With a population ranging less than ten thousand, the majority of whom had built their lives around the ruin of some unknown crashed warship, its surface was still rugged and wild, its mountainous terrain, arid climes, and distance from the major hyperlanes rendering the harvest of its resources not worth the effort. Instead, the planet continued to be a simple detail at the edge of known space, dismissed, if not forgotten.
Fhost's main attraction had once laid in its position: for centuries, it had been a celestial harbor for those spacers who wished to venture into the sea of dangers and wonders that the Unknown Regions had once been, a jumping-off point for the curious and those who didn't wish to be found.
Now, the factors that kept Fhost isolated from the galaxy would provide salvation for the small number of travelers who had arrived on the world, following a call made by a galactic hero legally declared dead. On this lonely planet, they had found a safe place to regroup and plan, to make sense of the chaos that had enveloped their order and the galaxy.
A shadow, a ripple in the stars above. A large vessel: swift, narrow, and deadly, began to circle the frontier world. From its loading bay descended sleek, narrow fighters that shot into the atmosphere, escorting large, trailing gunships to deploy troops. All of these craft converged on their target, who had camped in a valley located in the heart of a spiky, treacherous mountain range.
They had thought they were safe. They were wrong. The Shadows always found their quarry.
Gathered within the valley were three Jedi Padawans, two Knights, and one Master. All of them––including Master Sab'io and her padawan Mar'ik––had been summoned to Fhost by the legendary––and presumed dead––Council Master in front of them.
"Aaaaahnr wuuh huurh…" Master Lowbacca concluded his story solemnly. He was covered in bacta bandages, pained by his movements.
"I can't believe it," Sab'io declared, placing her palm on her lowered forehead, her azure fingers brushing against her black-yellow montrals.
It had been bad enough feeling the calamity in the Force, even parsecs away. Talking to her friends who had been there when the Temple had been bombarded and invaded. Knowing that K'Kruhk, Zhann Yuniah, all of the other council masters were dead, supposedly murdered by other Jedi. Hearing Tau Skywalker's speech as he seized the mantle of Grand Master, his defaming of Grand Master K'Kruhk, and his veiled threat to all Jedi still loyal to the light, who didn't embrace his new philosophy of balance. There have been rumors that the high council was operating against the wishes of the Triumvirate, Tau's speech echoed in Sab'io's memory, that one of them was trying to destroy those of us who did not accept his dogma.
"Master Yuniah was my teacher," a Gran Knight reflected, "We owe it to her memory, and to Master K'Kruhk's, to stop the Omnists."
There is no death, there is the Force, Sab'io thought to herself. Taking a deep breath, she rose to her feet.
"What is our plan, Master?"
As Lowbacca began to discuss the next course of action, Sab'io suddenly sensed something...odd. The Force felt...muddled.
It wasn't a Ysalamir: she wasn't cut off from the Force, she could still sense the Jedi around her. Rather, the area around them felt...blocked, as if someone was actively impeding them.
Alarmed, she looked towards her padawan – a dark-skinned human teenager with vivid grey eyes and a gold bangle in her hair – named Jenna Mar'ik.
"I feel it too," Mar'ik declared, grabbing her weapon. Sab'io began moving her hand towards her lightsaber…
"Rggh!" Lowbacca warned. Sab'io felt a familiar spike of danger.
"Incoming!" Sab'io declared, igniting her lightsaber.
Around her, two knights fell to the ground, incapacitated. Another Jedi, attempting to deflect what he believed were blaster bolts, fell to their silent projectiles. Whatever weapons their attackers were wielding, they weren't blasters.
The rest of the Jedi scattered, attempting to assess their situation.
Looking up towards the edge of the valley, Sab'io could make out the outlines of their attackers, aiming their rifles downward. She counted twelve.
Lowbacca raised his arms, unleashing a blast of energy that shook the hillside, raining dirt and disorienting their assailants.
"We're going after them!" Sab'io declared, "Protect Lowbacca!"
With Mar'ik by her side, she began to sprint up the hill, charging towards the assassins, leaping and weaving through their field of fire as they turned their attention towards the master-apprentice duo.
As they neared the crown of the hill, Sab'io reached out towards the closest sniper and pulled them towards her weapon.
Clutched by an invisible fist, the warrior was dragged through the air towards Sab'io's golden blade. As his body approached, the Togruta master swung her saber, intending to catch him as he passed her.
To her shock, the blade didn't cut through him, but instead glanced off his armor as he flew past her, the reverberations knocking Sab'io back.
The assassin engaged a jetpack and flew into the air, firing small projectiles from his wrist in an attempt to catch Sab'io in her moment of weakness. She evaded his projectiles––save for a scratch on her bicep––and realized the threat she was facing.
"Mandalorians!" Sab'io yelled as she telekinetically grabbed the armored warrior and threw him against the ground with the force of a comet.
"Which faction?" Mar'ik asked.
"I don't know!" Sab'io responded as she turned to the next commando. Like their comrade, this one shared the same patchwork armor and tattered cloak as the others. As they turned their rifle away from the other Jedi and towards Sab'io, she could see that this one featured a vulnerable neck.
Sab'io threw her saber like a boomerang. The Mandalorian engaged their jetpack, narrowly avoiding the spinning blade and firing their weapon. Sab'io felt a prick of danger, and lept to evade the projectile, but she was too late. The togruta master suppressed a scream of pain as her left bicep fractured, pain shooting up her arm as it was rendered useless.
Gritting her teeth, Sab'io called upon the light, using the Force to keep herself rooted in the moment.
The Mandalorian ducked as they narrowly avoided Sab'io's returning saber. As the weapon flew back into Sab'io's hand, she sensed a new presence approaching, and heard the rockets of a descending jetpack.
"Gekyrdi padawan," a new voice––that of a humanoid female––ordered, "Ni'ven hiibir ibic ada'sol."
Landing in front of Sab'io, the new Mandalorian was dressed in a brown robe complemented by white-green armor plates engraved with smooth, flowing glyphs. She moved with a familiar grace, taking up a battle stance. A prominent metal armor plate was mounted on her gloved hand, jutting out past her knuckles. Glancing further, Sab'io noticed a strange device built into her vambrace.
Sab'io raised her lightsaber, tucking her wounded limb towards her chest.
"Please stand down," the Mandalorian requested in Basic. The shape of her blue T-visor was different—smoother and curved—evoking imagery that Sab'io knew she recognized from somewhere.
"Leave us in peace," Sab'io responded, shunting her curiosity aside.
"So be it," the Mandalorian replied, shaking her head.
She fired a tightrope from her other vambrace, ensnaring Sab'io's working wrist. Sab'io quickly cut the rope with her saber, but the Mandalorian had only used this move as a distraction, charging towards Sab'io, the device on her blade activating.
Sab'io pushed back with the Force, blasting the Mandalorian through the air. Using her jetpack to slow her speed, she landed gracefully on her feet a few meters away.
Protruding from the device on her wrist was a black lightsaber blade.
Concealing her surprise and shock, Sab'io knew she couldn't underestimate this opponent. Clearly this Mandalorian admired the Jedi to some extent, imitating them in both her dress and fighting style.
"That's an impressive weapon," Sab'io declared. As she spoke, she probed the Jedi Acolyte's aura, detecting no sign that she was force-sensitive. Sab'io was slightly relieved.
The Jedi-Mando rushed in, ignoring Sab'io's facade. She was agile and fast, striking slashes and jabs with her saber whilst either evading Sab'io's blade or deflecting it with her beskar-ladden wrists. Almost every one of her strikes left at least a scratch on Sab'io, who gritted her teeth as the saber seared and burned her skin again and again and again. It was a deadly dance between the aged master and the mysterious warrior.
Sab'io ducked to avoid a swing from the Jedi-Mando's wristsaber, only to be kicked in the ribs by her armored boot, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying.
Sab'io collapsed to the ground. Her back aching, the Jedi Master wheezed as she attempted to fill her empty lungs, calling upon the Force to clear her mind.
Curiously, the Jedi-Mando did not seize upon her advantage. Instead, she kept herself in a guard stance, deactivating her saber.
"Stand down, Master Sab'io," she ordered.
As she recovered, Sab'io began to assess the situation tactically, taking into account her opponent's reluctance to end her life. She started to see a way to win.
Revitalized, Sab'io swung her saber in a wide arc, forcing the Mandalorian to move back. Moving to her feet, Sab'io jabbed and swung, probing her opponent's defenses. The Mandalorian blocked Sab'io's lightsaber with her vambraces, protecting herself from the Jedi Master's blows. Sab'io reversed her weapon's grip and struck from a different angle. The Jedi-Mando fell back, and Sab'io took advantage of her opening.
She used the Force to grab the Mandalorian and slam her into the ground. Using the Force to hold her opponent in place, she raised her saber to an unprojected chink in the woman's armor between her chestplate and belt.
"By the authority of the Jedi Order," Sab'io declared, "You will stand dow…" The rest of the words suddenly stuck in her throat as a white-hot blade burned through her body, paralyzing the Jedi Master with shock and pain.
Sab'io's eyes widened as she looked down to see an emerald lightsaber blade protruding from her chest.
The sabers deactivated and Sab'io fell to the floor, a cold numbness spreading through her body, her vision beginning to narrow…
No. She drew on the Force, attempting to hold on for as long as possible. She had to know who had killed her.
Through her vision, she saw the Mandalorian woman move to her feet as she was approached by a hooded figure dressed in Jedi robes.
As Sab'io watched with horror, the Mandalorian declared, "I wanted to bring them in alive."
"All Masters are to be eliminated," the Jedi––a woman with a stern, commanding voice that Sab'io found familiar––responded, "Save for him. He will lead others to us."
"Our goal is to convert them, Master Illa," the Mandalorian protested, "Make them understand…"
"The Masters are beyond saving, Mand'alor…"
Sab'io ceased to hear their words as her vision darkened. She tried to reach out to her padawan one last time, but a strange void dampened her connection to any of her companions in the valley. She was alone.