Happy New Year! Many thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter, I certainly hoped that the somewhat surprise return of a certain Jedi Master was well received. Here's to what is yet to come in 2019, and for the oncoming chapter! Enjoy! ~F
Chapter Sixteen
Secrets of Dathomir
Ist ducked as High Prophet stabbed at her. The Bothan easily recognized her own style of Makashi being wielded against her, and her own yellow saber snapped up in a defensive parry, before retracting and stabbing forward herself. She was trying to drive the powerful Dark Side user away from them, and give Luna more time to finish off the others that had advanced, trying to flank the pair of Jedi.
Despite the clear and present danger, Ist felt none of it, as being with Luna literally felt like being close to the heart of the Force, peace being radiated outward from the Mageborn Jedi Master. And so she pressed onward, spinning, stabbing and slashing as she surged forward.
"You cannot stop me, child, I rule this world, and the Master will know if I am defeated!" the High Prophet cried, even as her own blade deflects and blocked the probing tip of Ist's yellow saber.
Ist did not reply, focusing all her skill toward her goal. Honestly she wasn't even sure if she wanted to kill this being, even though the High Prophet represented a clear and present threat to their survival. Getting away with Luna back to her ship was enough for Ist.
With a cry, the last of the other fighters fell to Luna's violet blade, and the Jedi Master rushed into the duel between Ist and the High Prophet, the full power of Soresu forming a wall of security between the red saber and anyone else.
Luna's robes snapped about her frame as she spun, keeping her saber tight to her body and wasting as little energy as possible in her defense, forcing the Darksider to exert much in her attacks.
Advancing as she blocked, Luna also sought to limit the space that the pair had to duel in, which greatly hindered the strengths of Makashi.
Ist knew that for the ideal situation, Makashi needed space between the opponents to make full use of the entire length of the practitioners weapon, rather than the middle of the blade that Soresu favored.
Therefore, once they backed the Darksider into a corner, the High Prophet's weapon was next to useless in her hands. And thus they were prepared for the expected blast of telekinetic energy as the woman tried to create space between them.
The spinning violet blade struck out, and the offending hand trying to channel the force went flying, separated from the rest of its body.
The High Prophet screamed, clutching the cauterized stump to her body, even as she started to grow more enraged and savage with her blade work. And now that her slashes were wide and sloppy, Luna's form was in its element.
Slapping the crimson blade around as it came in for attack after attack, Luna suddenly spun, ducking low to avoid a hefty cut across where would have been her midsection, before rising with a swift uppercut, slashing through the Darksider's chest and sending her crumpling to the floor.
There was a loud rush of air as something snapped in the Force, sending ripples across the surface of the planet. "That will be alerting every Darksider on the planet of what has transpired. You need to get back to your ship and leave as soon as possible," Luna said, starting for the cave entrance.
"I'm not leaving without you," Ist replied stubbornly. She had come this far, and she wasn't going back without the Jedi Master at her side.
"I have other business to investigate here, I cannot go with you." Luna countered, insistently.
"Then I will help you, and then we'll escape together." Ist offered.
Luna sighed, "I fear what we may find, but I can see that you are indeed your master's Padawan, follow me closely."
Together they turned and dashed away into the undergrowth, heading further into the mountains and away from the settlements on the planet.
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Gor-lak felt something as they entered orbit over Dathomir. He was unaccustomed to sensing the power of the Force, but through the mask he wore and the other objects that granted him some semblance of the power; he felt a strong ripple of energy rushing across the surface of the planet.
"Something has happened," he said aloud to the bridge, "Investigate, I want communications opened with the facility, find me High Prophet Basksyr."
But even as they waited in muted silence for a time, the communications officer growing more and more frustrated, there was no response from the leader of the planet's office.
Gor-lak started to grow more concerned. If she was gone, she might have decided that defending his little secret was no longer worth her time and went to destroy it, or else report it to the Emperor. Realistically, Gor-lak felt that Veneficus would have other things more pressing to worry about than the ork's little experiments, but it was a risk he was not willing to fully take. "Prepare my shuttle; we are going down to the planet, keep trying to get ahold of someone in authority there in my absence. Find out what is wrong."
"Yes, my Lord!" the offices replied, even as Gor-lak turned and left the bridge.
He would let the fools take care of the pleasantries. The only objective that Gor-lak cared about now was securing his facility, and making sure that his pet project was not in the process of being destroyed. Only then would he deal with the flippant High Prophet. None were above his authority, aside from the Emperor himself.
And yet, even as his shuttle took off from the hangar and started toward the planet, following the coordinates to his precise direction, Gor-lak felt that something was decidedly wrong even with his assumption of betrayal.
Just to be certain that nothing would go amiss, he summoned an additional two transports filled with his elite troopers. One could never be too careful when returning to his original form was involved.
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Veneficus, as he was meditating on his throne in the depths of the Imperial Palace, more than felt the surge of Light Side energy from within the core of his Empire. Head snapping up, and eyes opening wide, he snarled at the all too familiar presence in the Force returning full force to him, and a rage like he had never before felt boiled over.
Leaping to his feet, he howled at the Galaxy for tormenting him with her continued existence. "LOVEGOOD!" he roared, the entire room shaking at the resulting blast of the Dark Side.
Seething, he flew from the room, already summoning his pilot to prepare his shuttle for the first time in a while. The Emperor was departing the place of his power. And this time, he would have victory over her at last.
"She will die…" he muttered, the iron-like grasp over his own sanity starting to momentarily slip as he drummed his fingers on any nearby surface as he moved. "She will die… she will die… she will die… die… die!"
Only when he reached the shuttle itself did he regain control of himself. He must not allow his rage to control him this time. Clearly the woman's continued survival was in regard to his inability to control himself and simply eliminate her, more than any skill that she might possess. It he was collected and ready for her this time, then he at last could ensure that Lovegood, and the last real threat to him was gone.
Calmly entering the shuttle, he addressed the pilot, "Take me to Dathomir, do not forewarn anyone, and we will land where I tell you, not at the port."
"Yes, your majesty," the pilot replied instantly, executing the liftoff commands and starting away from the palace.
Settling into the throne that was prepared for him, Veneficus closed his eyes, focusing on locating the exact place that Lovegood was hiding on the planet, while withholding the fact that he was at long last aware of where she was hiding.
This time, he would have his revenge, and it would be exceptionally sweet.
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By the time that Supreme Prophet Feyd arrived on Korriban, he knew that the world was completely under his control. Most of the people who worked and taught and learned on the desert tomb-world wouldn't be aware of the shift of authority, and the few that would be had already been subtly replaced with more favorable individuals.
He was greatly displeased however, that Zhar and his apprentice had escaped, and while it was an event that he had been prepared for, the hope had been that they would perish during the initial attack. Still, he was now preparing his report to the Emperor that would solidify his rule over the planet, and officially remove Zhar from any sort of influence over the monarch of the Galaxy.
That was, until he was met by a high ranking imperial guard, apologizing to him in regard to the Emperor's abrupt disappearance from the Palace, and that no one knew where he had gone to forward any message.
"Well, inform me the moment he returns, as this is indeed and urgent message regarding the state of the empire," Feyd demanded, shutting off the communication abruptly.
His plan had been to implicate the defection of Zhar and his apprentice, pointing them out as traitors to the Empire willing to serve their needs over even the Emperor's. He would then set himself up as governor over Korriban, and master of the academy there, as well as the one on Dromund Kaas.
In the meantime, he would profess to the Emperor to hunt down the traitors, and use the resources from both worlds to eliminate Zhar once and for all, finally securing himself a steady base of operations from which to assume command of the Empire and overthrow Veneficus altogether.
It was perfect, and played into the thoughts and insanity of the Emperor, so that the man would never suspect Feyd until it was too late. But the crucial step of implicating Zhar was paramount for Feyd to proceed. If someone else got to the Emperor before he was able to convince him, all his plans might be ruined.
"I want assassins sent out to find Zhar and his apprentice," he informed one of his close advisors, "They must not get word back to the Emperor of our plot."
"Yes, my Lord," the man replied, turning and hurrying away to fulfill the Supreme Prophet's commands.
Only when the sycophant left and Feyd was alone once more did he give any level of thought to the location of the Emperor. Turning to the large window that overlooked the Valley of the Dark Lords and its surrounding tombs, the Supreme Prophet put a fist on the Transparisteel in frustration.
"Of all the times for the Emperor to just up and disappear…" he seethed, using a titanic amount of effort to reign in his anger, "whatever it was had better have been important, or else…"
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Luna suppressed a shudder as something massive and power passed briefly over the planet. "He has sensed us…" she said, stopping in the midst of her trek with the young Bothan Knight.
"He? He who?" the Younger Jedi asked, clearly having not felt the wisp of darkness that washed over the planet.
"The Darkness has sensed me, and is coming for me…" Luna said, before turning and dashing further along the trail. She had little time left to find what she had come here to find, and escape this place.
"Wait! Master!" the Bothan said, sprinting to try and keep up, but Luna was not in the mood to answer questions. The Emperor has sensed her, just as she had feared he inevitably would, and was coming to destroy all that she had worked for since the war.
Her exile to this world, while initially accidental, had been a small blessing in disguise. While snooping about, unable to use the Force to preserve herself as much as she'd like, Luna had discovered something important, and ominous.
The self styled Grand Inquisitor, who's name she had learned was Gor-lak the Cruel, was conducting experiments with the same magical energy that the Mage-Born wielded. If Luna could get into the secret lab and retrieve some items that she felt strongly would be present, she could fashion a way to tip the scales into their favor.
The Emperor thought he had eliminated all the texts and devices that the Mage-Born had brought with them from their world, but Luna was willing to bet that the man was wrong, and that this creature in the skin of a man had secreted something that even that monster wouldn't want used against him.
Dashing up the trail, Luna took hasty note of the carefully hidden beacons and antennas in this part of the mountains. She had charted much of the planet in her days here, hiding from the assassins that hunted her and she had never once seen such a remote location have such sophisticated equipment, and so well hidden from the casual looker.
She was certain that this was the location that she sought, and had explored it closely many times, scouting for some means of getting in without alerting the guards or triggering some sort of alarm.
Now however, with the Emperor himself coming for them and the High Prophet of the planet dead, there was no more time for subtlety.
Halting just around the last corner before the solid metal door to the underground compound, Luna waited for Ist to catch up, knowing that they would need to work together to get in efficiently and prevent any guards or automated defenses from stopping them.
Soon enough the Bothan reached her, skidding to a halt and trying to demand more answers. "There's no time, a great evil is on its way, and I need to find something in here, before we leave."
That stopped the younger Jedi, clearly satisfying one of the things that she had desired to convince Luna of. There was no choice in the matter now, with Veneficus on his way, she had to leave, or else she was certain that she would not stand up to him once more and escape alive.
"What's the plan?" Ist asked, but Luna was already moving, ducking around the corner and drawing her weapon, deflecting the turret's shots as they came active on sight of her. They were aware that someone might be coming this way, but Luna was not about to give up just because they were prepared for her.
Easily redirecting the shots of the turrets into each other, Luna moved on, the smoldering wrecks of the inferior contraptions lending the smell of burning metal to the air, even as she started to cut away at the control panel for the door. It was a heavy reinforced durasteel, and not something that they could easily cut through with brute force alone.
But once the front panel was off, Luna could see the mess of wires and parts that made up the lock for the door. "I certainly hope you know what you're doing…" Ist said, looking at the convoluted mess in confusion.
Luna said nothing, not wishing to agitate the younger woman as she stabbed indiscriminately with her saber at the wires, cutting through as many as she could reach, hoping that she hit the right number to force the door to open.
Naturally, that sounded an alarm, but it did cut the power to the door, and force it open a tiny crack. That was all that Luna needed. Stowing her saber, she reached out with the Force and put as much pressure at the crack in the doorway that she could, trying to pry them apart and slide the doors across their pathway.
Ist noticed and lent her aid swiftly, and together they were able to slowly pry one of the doors open enough to slip inside. The corridor beyond was dark, likely having lost power to its lights because of Luna's impromptu attempt at hacking, but nevertheless they proceeded onward, Luna's saber lighting their way.
Granted, she could sense the sheer darkness from within the vaulted chambers that there was something vile and unnatural waiting for them farther ahead. It was not going to be an easy thing, but if they were swift, they might escape before too much happened.
"Careful now," Luna said gently, even as they approached another door ahead of them. The sensors above it glowed as they approached, and Luna felt the warning in the Force moments before it slid open, revealing a squad of dark armored guards, blasters raised and spilling to fill the corridor.
Leaping backward, Luna fell into her defensive form, forming a barrier of her singing blade to deflect and knock away the bolts that sought their lives. Once there was a small stutter in the nonstop volley of shots, Ist darted forward, circling Luna and lashing out with her yellow blade, thrusting and snapping off tiny, precise flicks of the weapon. The troopers shouted in confusion as their weapons fell in pieces out of their hands. Luna struck them, throwing the armored beings backward with the Force and smashing them into the far walls.
Striding through, and seeing that the next room was lit, Luna looked around swiftly and suppressed a shudder.
Cages, tubes, all manner of equipment for the inflicting of pain and torment lined the walls, all singing with the agony that they had inflicted over the course of time, and the remains of creatures filled an entire wall of the chamber.
"What monster would do this?" Ist asked, running a hand over the nameplate of a transparisteel tube, labeled with a long string of digits.
"Just that…" Luna answered, "A monster, and one of the foulest things awoken by the Emperor…"
She turned on the spot slowly, trying to see if she could find what she sought, or another path they could take. Two different doors, at the back of the room, beckoned. Luna wasn't too eager to split up in this place. The danger was too great and their time was short.
"We'll go left," she decided, hitting the control for the door, revealing a winding staircase that went down.
"Strange, no lift, just stairs…" Ist commented.
"The thing that made this place wouldn't want it to be found. Too many powered things would just cause a greater draw on the generators," Luna explained, guiding their way into the darkness, "the more power they use, the more likely someone will notice."
"But what are they up to, whoever they are?" Ist asked, clearly sensing that Luna wasn't sharing everything she knew.
"Making something worse…" Luna said, grimacing at the sensation of the dark magic at work here. Surely Ist could sense it as well, but the Jedi was probably confused by the many charms and spells that were there, intent on confusing and bewildering any intruder.
Gor-lak had layered his spell work over this place well, which told Luna that she had picked the correct door. Drawing her wand, the proceeded onward, until an enchanted door was all that blocked them ahead.
"It's a solid wall…" Ist said, but even still the Bothan was blinking her eyes often as she looked directly at the enchantment.
"That's what he wants you to see." Luna replied, waving her wand and carefully peeling back the layers of spells, trying her best not to trigger any of the traps. This beast, Gor-lak, was a paranoid one to say the least, and it was likely that he had prepared all of this in order to prevent the Emperor from finding out.
From the small gasp of surprise from Ist, Luna knew that she had achieved in removing the enchantment hiding the door. It was old fashioned, wood with a metal handle. It reminded Luna strongly of the doors back at Hogwarts, which in other circumstances would have been interesting, but time was far too short for them to linger more than necessary.
"I fear the worst is yet ahead, stay on guard," Luna added, before slowly pushing the heavy door open with a creak of hinges.
The chamber was stone, completely sealed in on all sides apart from the door by which the two Jedi entered. Unwilling to believe that all defenses had been exhausted; Luna kept a firm hold on her weapons, even as she peered about. Braziers flared to life around the corners of the room, lighting what appeared to be a combination of a study and some sort of laboratory.
A massive table dominated the center of the room, filled with many potion implements, as well as spellbooks in stacks, and scattered parchment sheets in a hand that Luna could not read. The walls had more shelves of various dark and imposing objects, and the wide open space was splattered with enough residues to leave nothing to the imagination of what sort of experiments were going on here.
"Is it here, the thing you were looking for?" Ist asked, even as Luna started to examine the grotesque objects.
"I'm looking, try to see if there's some sort of hidden compartment, but don't actually touch anything, for any reason," Luna replied, holding the wand level and slowly waving it over the objects and parchment on the desk.
The Bothan started slowly around the room, and Luna could sense her reaching out with the Force to penetrate the walls, checking for hidden chambers on the other side. "So," she asked as she worked swiftly around half of the room, "What is it you're looking for exactly?"
"Well, that's a difficult question," Luna answered honestly, "I don't know what form it will take, or has been changed into, but I'll know it by the magical signature."
"Oh!" Ist said, and Luna turned, just as one of the many shelves that circled the room pulled away, revealing a hidden passage. It was small, only a tiny vault within the room, but there, glimmering in the center of the raised area hidden from view, was what she sought.
And that was not all, it was a regular treasure trove of things that she recognized, and Luna could not help but step forward and produce a large bag. "So many things here, I had no idea that the monster had stolen this much from the Emperor…" she breathed, uncaring as she started to snatch vials and baubles, placing each into the bag as quickly as she could. With the Emperor on his way, there was no possibility that allowed her to leave any of these for him to reclaim.
Finally, she lifted the tiny stone, about the size of her palm, which shone in a multitude of colors as it moved. "What is that?" Ist asked, clearly feeling the draw of power that came from it.
"A prize that the Emperor himself would wish to reclaim, if he understood its full value…" Luna said, "It is a Seer's Stone, able to gift the Mage-Born who has the skill with the ability to see glimpses of the future."
"Wherever did such a vile creature get one?" Ist asked.
"Yes, dear Jedi… do tell your little friend where did I manage to get one…" a new voice said. Luna gasped, unable to believe that neither of them sensed the approach.
Turning abruptly, they saw the shell of a man, but to Luna's far more trained eyes, she could see the monster lurking within, just waiting to unleash his power and attack them.
"Those all belong to me." Gor-lak said angrily, "I suggest you return them now, and perhaps your deaths will be swift and merciful…"
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Gor-lak had to admit he was surprised by what he had found in his personal laboratory. A pair of Jedi, so willingly trying to attract his attention and all but presenting themselves to his blade was a… welcome alternative to what he had been expecting, but nevertheless, the treasures that they were stealing was not acceptable. If he was to complete his experiment and free himself of the wretched body of a human he needed what the old Jedi had.
When they did not seem to respond to his demand, as he had expected, Gor-lak sighed. In a flash his emerald green balefire blade sprung into his hand, and the fiery tip was aimed at his opponent's heart. "I need those materials," he said softly, "and if you will not surrender them I cannot allow you leave here alive…"
"Just try you monster," the Master said, her pouch disappearing around her back as saber and a wand appeared in her hands.
Gor-lak was only just able to produce a magical shield to intercept the blast of Mage-born spells, but his ancient wards were already functional, recognizing a threat to their master and with a sharp snap of magic throughout the complex, his experiments were released. There would be no escape for the Jedi now, even if they manage to slip past him.
Lunging forward, Gor-lak wasn't about to let them get that far regardless. The flaming sword flashed and sparked as the Jedi's violet weapon made contact with it, showering the floor with the green flames. The little Bothan tried to flank him, but another enchanted blade flamed to life in the ork spirit's other hand, parrying her sharp stabs and snappish cuts with equal precision.
"You cannot defeat me, little Jedi…" Gor-lak sneered, kicking away the younger alien, refocusing both his blades onto Lovegood, "I have hunted and killed your kind for centuries. You have no chance!"
Flourishing sharply, he began an aggressive assault on Lovegood's defenses, alternating between heavy double strikes to her head and torso with light feints to her other limbs in order to throw the defensive master off balance.
Thrice more the little Bothan tried to intervene, but a quick defense and unexpected counterattack was enough to keep her off of the entrapped spirit for the time being.
Finally, he cornered Lovegood, the Emperor's prized prey, locking her saber between each of his weapons. Chanting softly, Gor-lak breathed out, allowing a cloud of poison fumes to escape his lips, lethal to any other who breathed them.
The backlash of their all-powerful Force was expected. Blades vanishing from his hands, in a split second Gor-lak conjured a protective shell of diamond hard magic around himself, even as he impacted the far wall, and shattered through it into his creature den, where specimens all similar in structure to his original form had been kept and experimented on.
Dispelling the protective magic and leaping back to his feet, a single blade flaring back to life in his hand, Gor-lak snapped his fingers. The stairwells leading out of either chamber filled with fire, even as the Bothan was about to mount the ones from his laboratory. She fell back, dodging the flare of fire but now unable to flee.
With his sorcery, Gor-lak made the call for his creatures, many of whom were immune to his magical fire, and laughed as they came howling and biting, more than eager to rend the flesh from the bones of the Jedi.
The pair was easily herded into the new room, lined with open cages of all types, and controls for the final chamber of this place, but Gor-lak was not desirous to have that expressly triggered just yet. Although, the deaths of two powerful enemies might supply him with enough blood to finally merge with his new body, ready and prepared at long last for his spirit to inhabit it, and rise more powerful than he had been before.
Smirking, he stalked closer to them, the emerald fire of his weapon reflecting off the walls. "And now, my dear Jedi," he said softly, "we end this little game."
He charged, just as his beasts leapt from the other side, forcing the Jedi apart, and separating them from each other in both rooms. The one who held his treasures before him, and her companion left in the other room with his beasts.
"You will die here, and your deaths will be the final requirement for my new form to rise at long last." Gor-lak said, stepping forward and raising his blade. The violet saber flashed in answer, and the battle began.
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Ist fell backward, even as the slashing claws of the hideous things tried to find her throat. She couldn't tell what these monsters used to be, but now they were abominations, beings ripped apart and reconstructed into something worse.
But they seemed to be in complete control from Gor-lak, as they obey his commands, and fought like demons to prevent Ist from assisting Master Lovegood in the other chamber. Their hides were also very strong, and they clawed and slapped away her blade as she tried to force them back, only light burns being left in the wake of her saber.
The trio of beasts tried again and again to corner her, and only through use of the Force was Ist able to successfully escape their pack mentality, staying just ahead of gnashing teeth and razor claws. Even her use of telekinesis on the creatures was somewhat resisted, and it was clear that the madman who created these things had every intention of using them to hunt Force users.
Of course, that did not stop her from affecting the objects in the room. Tomes, scrolls, all manner of things flew in every direction, causing distraction and confusion with the three creatures, and Ist tried to launch her own counter attack, stabbing and slashing at the beasts' faces.
The one she attacked howled and reared back, its clawed forearms trying to shield its face from her stinging yellow blade. That was the opening Ist sought. The massive desk swung round at her command with the Force, crashing heavily into the lead beast blocking her path, and knocking it flying.
She charged through to the other room, gasping at what she saw. The sorcerer Gor-lak was dueling fiercely with Luna, blades crashing against each other and other spells flying from hand or wand.
Ist was not knowledgeable in these matters, but she knew she had to help in whatsoever way she could. The other problem was still the beasts. Just because she had slipped past their net didn't mean that they ceased to be a threat. Even now they were started to recover from her storm of the Force, snapping and charging for the hole Ist had passed through.
She could not allow them to enter the room and assist their master any further. Thinking quickly, Ist spotted the cages lining this new room. If they had been used to imprison these creatures before, they had to be strong enough to resist their brute strength. Allowing the Force to flow through her, Ist reached out to the nearest cage. Straining with all her might, she pulled and twisted the massive box of metal, dragging it ever so slowly into position over the hole, blocking the way.
The lead beast slammed into the metal just before it was fully covering the hole, trying to throw its entire body against the blockage and dislodge it. "No!" Ist said, leaping forward and swinging with her saber with both hands. There was a howl of agony, and the beast withdrew, a digit of claw and chunks of its arm falling to the ground as it pulled away from the heavy saber strike.
Quickly, Ist moved the cage into position, knowing that it might hold them for a time from that direction, but the main door to the chamber was still open, and she felt that these things were smart enough to know to go around and corner them once more in the room.
But even as she started to cross the room, she had to dodge a blast of green lightning from Gor-lak. The hideous creature in the shell of a human grinned wickedly at her; the skin stretched far more than normal, and continued his duel with Luna, who seemed to be tiring quickly despite her form of combat. The magical side of the duel must be taking its toll, and Ist knew that she needed to act quickly and rush to the Jedi Master's aid.
The massive door slammed shut at her call through the Force, latching heavily and sealing them inside the room, and not a moment too soon before a heavy body slammed against the other side. Now that the beasts had been delayed for the time being, Ist focused completely on the duel, looking for an opening to lunge in and add her skill to Luna's.
As she was studying the flow of the combat, she noticed a pattern to the sorcerer's movements. As he and the Jedi Master fought, Gor-lak would not turn his back on a particular corner of the room, which possessed a series of controls on a console. Thinking that they might offer a way of escape, Ist knew what she had to do.
Charging forward, her saber raised and in a defensive position, she ducked the retaliatory swing from the flaming blade, and parried the swift spell that came after it, swinging around on her knees as she skidded across the floor and through the main part of the duel, reaching the far side of Gor-lak.
The beast retaliated, thinking that she simply was trying to flank him, and bolts of emerald lightning flared out at Ist while his blade was busy fending off Luna's. Ist sidestepped, catching the bolts on her blade and sending them ricocheting off toward the console, which blew from the sudden blast of power.
Gor-lak howled as he saw what had happened, abandoning his fight with Luna to seek revenge against Ist, "You have no idea what you've done!" he screamed, blade raised and swinging, only to be hastily blocked by Ist, her smaller frame suddenly locked in a struggle of physical strength with a much larger opponent.
"All my work, so many years of planning, and you've ruined it all! You will both die, and you will suffer every moment until your ends!" the beast screamed, his slashes growing wilder with every moment.
Even as her defenses weakened, Ist couldn't tear her eyes away from the platform rising from the center of the room. A massive slab, with a restrained, unconscious beast lay upon it, this was what the monster was planning, some sort of super weapon comprised of a creature to be used to hunt down the Jedi perhaps?
Finally, her strength started to give, and Gor-lak struck, knocking her weapon away. Even as he raised his weapon to strike her down however, the monstrous Inquisitor reared back in agony, a violet blade punching through his torso.
Ist acted swiftly, throwing all her might into the Force to throw the being from her, even as Luna withdrew her saber and dodged. Gor-lak flew backward, striking the massive slab and flipping over the top, landing heavily on the floor as his weapon vanished into nothing.
"Is he, dead?" Ist asked, slowly recovering her saber and reaching out with the Force.
"Nearly…" Luna replied, "But we've got to get out of here before more things arrive to stop us."
But as they turned toward the doorway to start figuring out how to bypass the beasts and escape, a noise sounded behind them. It started softly, but soon rose to be like a shrieking wail. They turned, and saw a ghastly fume pouring from the human body that they had just defeated, forming some sort of apparition of black smoke.
"You…" it wheezed, ethereal and otherworldly, "I will have my revenge, and soon all the power of the Galaxy will be mine!"
"Ist, run!" Luna said, thrusting the satchel of trinkets to her and throwing the door open with the Force.
There was no room for debate, as even when Ist started to protest, she felt the shudder of darkness rushing through the Force. The Emperor had arrived in the system.
"GO!" Luna said, nudging her roughly with the Force toward the door, even as the ghostly entity seeped into the body of beast on the slab, and it started to rouse itself from its strange slumber.
But Ist wasn't about to just up and leave Luna to her fate. Reaching back, she grasped the Jedi Master with the Force and pulled, dragging her along toward the door and out of the chamber. The door sealed itself, but Ist wasn't sure if it would hold the beast. "I'm not leaving without you!" she declared, and took off with Luna back they way they had come through the network of tunnels.
The creatures that served Gor-lak were nowhere in sight, but they had greater threats looming.