"-Again.
The Mirialan gets up, determined. The young boy in front of her chuckles.
-You sure Kala ?"
But without adding another word, Kalahna rushes towards Talohn, her wooden training saber held firmly in her hands. She screams, to give herself strength to defeat her opponent after being thrown on the floor five times already. The sabers crush against each other. Faster and faster, the boy with brown hair blocks the quick blows without any real effort, which makes Kalahna nothing but more frustrated. Her panting gets quicker, alongside her strikes.
Her attack is almost without flaws, he thinks, But she lacks in defense.
For an eight year old, Talohn's analytic eye is remarkable. And he uses that to take advantage in the fight.
Her leg, now's the time.
He swiftly gets on his knees, dodging an upright blow, and swings his leg in her ankles, making her trip down. He gets up, victorious for the sixth time in a row.
Kalahna lets out a loud, frustrated sigh.
"-Karabast !
-Hey ! the young boy chuckles, No rude language !"
A distant voice can be heard.
"-Master ?
It's getting… closer ?
-Master Rios ?"
Talohn gets back to reality.
Certainly, looking at this holo-picture of him and Kalahna brought back memories.
"-I thought you would never come back, says D4R9, the protocol droid accompanying the Master to the planet Teth. The Jedi master puts the picture away, and rubs his green eyes with his fingers.
-I'm fine, don't worry. What's the matter ? He straightens in his seat.
-We arrived at our destination Sir."
Talohn looks in front of him. They had just landed on Teth. He's facing a dense forest that his ship couldn't cross.
"-Is this where the Sith has last been seen ?
-Yes Master Rios. The witness said that the monster has been seen there two days ago.
-Two days ? He had the entire time to flee… He gets up, facing D4. Do you really think that intel is still worth it ?
-Absolutely Sir. The Sith has been spotted several times in this forest. As if he established a camp for the time being. The voice and intonation of the protocol droid frustrates the Jedi master. He lets out a long sigh.
-I guess there's only one way to find out."
But before leaving, the man feels a hand on his shoulder.
"-Master, it has been twenty years. I advise you to let go of her."
Talohn steps a foot outside his ship, and immediately regrets it. A storm must have happened some time ago, as the soil is absolutely muddy. His boots are now ruined, but it may be a good thing. With a storm that powerful, the Sith must have gone into hiding, and not leave the area. Good for him, right ?
A slight feeling of doubt crossed his heart. What if he was running to his death ? The Jedi master shakes his head. It's my duty to fight against evil forces Talohn thought, as he shakes his head again to get rid of the morbid ideas getting to his mind.
As he gets himself deeper into the forest, his loneliness grabs him by the arm. His childhood friend's face gets back into his mind, taking all of the place. Her smile haunts him. They grew up together, being raised in the same batch of younglings. The first day they met, they were inevitably drawn to the other. They both knew that the Jedi code forbids attachment, and yet, he couldn't help it. They spent their entire childhood together. He was there when she got her first tattoo, for her to keep on her Mirialan heritage. She was there for him when he got badly hurt by attempting to fight with an older padawan. Their friendship was unlike the others.
What he didn't understand was why she left. They've just been knighted for two months, when she suddenly stopped reporting to the council. And when he entered her quarters, all of her belongings were gone. She definitely left the order without telling him. And that's what hurt him the most.
"-Ah come on pally why would you think of that now ?" Talohn tells himself, walking even deeper into the forest.
He has been walking for what seemed like three hours warily, when he found something interesting.
He's standing in front of an old temple. Probably an abandoned monastery left by B'omarr monks.
Talohn closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Reaching through the Force, he tries to rest a bit from his three hours walk, a gut feeling telling him that the Sith isn't far.
The young master feels something… familiar ?
He opens his eyes. Nothing.
It must be the dark aura of the Sith Lord. He thinks to himself. After all, this isn't the first dark sider he must fight. That's probably why this feels so familiar.
The temple, built with rocks and wood, is covered in vines and plants. One of the columns from the entrance collapsed on the ground, and is covered in moss. This temple must have been abandoned for centuries. The aura comes from the inside. Now Talohn is sure of one thing : The Sith is there.
He takes one last deep breath, and enters the monastery.
The pitch black room is only lit by his humming lightsaber, covering the surrounding walls with a slight yellow veil. The room is empty and yet, it feels so lively. The Force flow is strong around here. Neither Light or Dark, it surrounds every vine, leaf and rock present in the room. Being on Coruscant most of the time made Talohn forget what true, natural Force feels like. It feels so reassuring and yet, so scary. He can't recognize anything surrounding him unless he looks at it. As if he lost a part of his bond to the Force. Is it what it's like to work for the Jedi Order in the end ? Only being used to one place ? Losing the deep connection you have with natural Force in favor of politics ? No, it doesn't feel right.
I'm probably just… scared ? Talohn thought, continuing to walk around the room, not thinking much more of it, trying to find clues that could lead him to the Sith.
As he searches the room, the Jedi master feels more and more frustrated. He lets out a loud growl.
"-Why am I so scared !"
Something in his guts made him anxious, like nothing ever did before. Anxiety that he mistakes for fear, which frustrates him a lot. He stops for a moment, not being able to focus on the search. His mind is elsewhere, but it's going too fast for him to follow his own thoughts. That feeling, coming from nowhere, as if he was about to meet an old friend, takes him to his stomach. And yet, it has no reason to be. Talohn has no reason to feel this way. Meetings with Darksiders were never something that stressed him out, after the first one he took down with his old master as a Jedi Knight. It usually went the same way :
Finding the Sith, Fighting the Sith, Killing the Sith.
And it wouldn't be any different this time.
The Jedi master is determined. He starts his searches again, trusting the Force to bring him where he needs to go. By the light of his saber, he walks in an elongated corridor, at the end of which orange sunlight can be seen. He walks warily, his lightsaber in both hands, to protect himself if needed.
As he gets closer to the light, his anxiety grows bigger again.
He focuses on his breath, watching carefully anywhere he steps foot, as to not fall into a potential trap.
I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me.
He gets into the light.
After being blinded for a second, he opens his eyes. The light guided him to a courtyard. The area is surrounded by walls, each one with an entrance to another long corridor, except for the wall on his left, that has two. There are five doors that, if linked together, can form the shape of a star. As he walks around the fallen rocks and the scattered patches of grass, he can feel himself surrounded by the Dark Side. Every corridor brings a flow, as if it was wind, right to the middle of the star. As he gets closer to it, he's starting to feel sick. The sensation of deep darkness coming from that one single spot is way too much for a Lightsider. There, the ground looks as if it was burned. Not a single life form survived the flood of Dark Force.
Talohn hears steps behind him, but doesn't turn immediately. A rough, yet feminine voice cuts his train of thoughts.
"-So you are the next one they sent to get butchered huh ?" The tone is mockery and full of pride. Talohn turns around, his yellow blade still ignited, ready to attack. As he faces the Sith, he suddenly stops.
"-Talohn Rios, I can't believe it… The Sith scoffs. The Jedi master's shoulders drop.
-Kalahna ? Is it really you ?"
He barely recognizes her. Her eyes, which were a beautiful blue, turned that disgusting red. The red that he fights against since he was born. The thing that disgusts him the most, is now his most beloved childhood friend. Something broke inside of him the second he laid his eyes on the Mirialan. He takes a deep breath.
"-Why did you even leave the order ? His words are calm.
-Because I wanted power, says the Sith, smirking. The order restrained my strength by not allowing me to use my emotions. But now, I'm as powerful as I'll ever be, as you'll never be. Anger and insanity can be felt. and it makes Talohn sick.
-But why didn't you even tell me ? His voice cracks, showing the feelings he desperately tries to hide.
-Because look at you ! You've always been following the order blindly ! If I told you I planned on leaving, you would have reported me to the council. And do you know what happens to deserters ? You do not want to know.
She looks at him in a disgusted way. And it breaks his heart. Yet, he has hope that she can come back.
-Kala…
-It's Darth Kala to you !" Her rage contrasts with his silent sorrow. The Kala he knew is gone.
As his heart aches, the Jedi code recites in his head
There is no emotion, there is peace
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge
There is no passion, there is serenity
There is no chaos, there is harmony
There is no death, there is the Force
Talhon came here with a mission, and his goal is to fulfil it. His face is now blank of all expression, his yellow blade humming in front of him. Calmly, he gets into his battle stance, protecting his chest with the blade. He takes a deep breath, and announces
"-In the name of the galactic senate of the republic, you are under arrest."
The Sith chuckles, and ignites her blade. Seeing her with such a bloody color hurts the Jedi even more, remembering the light blue color that came out of her lightsaber, and how happy they both were the first time they saw it. She hadn't altered the handle, but only its very core. And it was enough. The unstable red blade hums in an unusual way, crackling here and there.
"-Oh, I don't think so."
Kalhana immediately jumps to Talhon, taking him by surprise. Since the last time they sparred, her speed had increased, making him having to move back. He blocks her blows nearly at the last second. Back then, he was the strongest. He was fast enough to deflect and predict her blows. But now, it's over. Her power increased, he was falling behind. And that pleased her. Insane joy could be seen in her eyes, as seeing him struggle to fight back flattered her ego.
"-Witness the power of the Dark Side Talohn ! Look at how powerful it made me ! Look at how powerful it can make you !
-I will never be one of yours !" His voice is harrowing, full of pain. But it isn't physical.
His analytic eyes are still as good as they were when they were little, even better. So he decides to attack from above, thinking that as usual, she won't deflect. But not this time.
She manages to block the blade and to send him flying against a wall, using the Force.
He rises up despite the pain, and gets in a defensive position. As he remembers well, she won't let him the time to attack, rushing directly for him. And at the last moment, he uses the wall to jump over her, quickly attacking when he's behind.
But Kalahna is fast enough to block his blade, not even turning around. She looks at him, and says with a flirtatious smile and belittling tone
"-Try again sweetheart."
Sweetheart… The word hurts Talohn way more than any blade could ever hurt him.
Darth Kala reverses the grip on her lightsaber and turns around, having her blade under his neck. But as she was about to finish what she started, she had to stop.
His blade was under her neck.
The two of them stopped moving. As if time itself was suspended, on a thin line between life and death. The two blades are slightly shaking, and yet are not getting an inch closer to the other's neck. It stands there, for what feels like forever.
Inside of Kalahna's eyes, the Jedi can see hatred and disgust. Towards him. And it is painful. But yet, as his eyes get filled with melancholy, a small ounce of regret can be seen into the red eyes, that almost flickered blue if for a slight second. But anger took over quickly.
No one dares breaking the silence, as tension builds up between the two. Their heavy breathing due to the physical effort are melting together, their eyes can't stop looking at each other, and the two humming blades under their necks, lights their faces with a mix of red and yellow, mixing into orange on some spots. Talohn wants to caress her face, to ask her to come back to the Light, but is unable to move. They both are so silent, that they can hear each other's heartbeat. Their heart are about to burst out their chest, pounding. Kalahna ask herself if it's hatred or something else, but deep down, she knows the answer.
After what seemed like forever, Talohn dares breaking the silence. His entire face looks distorted by pain and regret.
"-I'm sorry."
The Jedi jumps onto the Sith's lips. It's what he wished for for years, but wasn't allowed to do. The kiss feels like a bittersweet heaven. Something you know you can only taste once, because you end it yourself. And using the surprise he created, he slices her throat.
Her lightsaber falls to the ground, followed by her body. The head, still linked to the body, shows an expression of pain and betrayal. As if she could've come back just for one kiss from her childhood crush. But now, it's all over. Yet he knew damn well that it was either him or her, and he chose to honor his duty. Talohn feels something running down his cheek, but doesn't pay attention to it. He turns around. Looking at her body makes him sick. He looks at his hands, only to see those of a murderer. It had never happened before.
And without thinking, he starts walking back to his ship, not looking back to what he had done.
The walk that felt like hours going there felt way shorter going back, as he found himself in front of his ship way sooner than expected. No thoughts had crossed his head during the walk, as he was wandering mindlessly.
The Jedi gets to his ship. It seems like R9D4 said something, but he didn't pay attention. He went to the control panel of the ship, and used the holocom to call the council.
He's answered by master Yoda himself. Talohn speaks bluntly, as neutral as anybody can be.
"-I killed the Sith. He's no longer a menace.
-Good. Come see the council, you will."
He nods, and doesn't let Yoda say anything else, hanging up the call.
He gets into his seat, enters the coordinates for Coruscant, and closes his eyes, trying to get some rest.
But he can't. All he sees when he closes his eyes is her body. The death of his own doing. And the guilt wraps around his throat, suffocating him. Sweat drips from his forehead. He opens his eyes. A nightmare.
He untightens his fingers from his seat, and gets up. Coruscant isn't far.
The meeting with the council was of the most boring. Talohn stood there, as they were praising him for what he had done. He didn't tell them who the Sith was, as it would have made him break down in front of the council members. And the last thing he needed was a lecture on how attachments are forbidden in the order. So he became as detached as possible, even for just a brief moment. But all that was in his head was how they could praise him for that. For the death of his childhood best friend… If she was just that for him. But Force knows she isn't. She was much more than that. But it's something he'll have to keep to himself until the end.
Afterwards, he didn't stay in the temple. He needed to get out. So he took his cape, and decided to take a walk in Coruscant.
After a few minutes roaming around the city, he starts climbing one of the buildings. After jumping high with the help of the Force, he was able to reach the ladder, leading him to the top of a large building.
When he got up there, he could see a big part of the city, and all of the people going back home. He decides to sit down, looking at the sunset.
He used to sneak her often with Kala, when they were merely twelve.
And that though breaks something in his chest. Twenty years ago, she was there, next to him, for the last time. And he could see her vividly. Her wonderful blue eyes, that looked like two wonderful planets, her long, black hair flowing in the wind, her green skin glowing under the sun, and a smile that could brighten anyone's day. He would've never guessed that behind all of this so many things were hidden. How could he not see it ? She was his best friend. Why didn't he ask more if she was really okay ? He trusted her way too much, that he took her words for the truth. He felt guilty. Not just for the murder, but for not having noticed the change in her after they graduated.
It's too much. How can he live with that on his shoulders ? He can't.
In a last momentum of despair, he grabs his lightsaber.
Without a single tear, he puts it against his chest with shaking hands.
He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes
And ignites the blade.
