"You do realise we're going to have to go to the Jedi temple at some point? We can't hide forever."
I look up as the door to my room slides open and Loyus strolls in. She stands across from me as the door slides shut again with her arms folded, examining the various personal items in my room.
"Oh do come in." I mutter under my breath. She looks me straight in the eye with a less than impressed look and walks over to my desk.
"You really should spruce this place up a bit. You need a nice place to come back to after all the fighting you'll be doing. Oh yes I definitely think we could do something nice here." She says, running her hand across the cold, metallic wall.
"Are you here to talk about the Jedi or to do some interior design?"
"Funny."
"I'm being serious."
"Well you must know we have to go back eventually. We don't even know the name of this Sith lord, never mind where he resides. Maybe they'd be willing to give us some help too. As well as the fact that they'll wonder where both you and the ship are. They're probably already sending search parties out." She sighs, sitting on the chair adjacent from my bed.
"You're right. But what if they refuse to help? And if they confiscate the ship and don't allow us to continue with the mission?" I ask. If she can provide a valid answer to this then I'm all for going back, although I highly doubt she'll be able to.
"Then I demand that they return us to Rattatak, we take the best ship in my fleet and we go out on our own again without their help. That good enough for you?"
"Deal."
I walk into the piloting cabin and stand behind Tarth's chair, staring out into the monstrous abyss known as space. Adriav is talking through her headset to someone from the Jedi temple, requesting permission to land and requesting a suitable docking station for our ship, while Tarth continues to fly.
"Where's Mak?" I ask, noticing the fluffy Ewok is missing from his usual seat.
"MLEE-LO!"
I turn and see him pushing his entire body against a circular window which he seems to fit in perfectly, staring out into space, seemingly fascinated by every star he sees. You can't help but smile at it.
"And Marduk?"
"Urgh." Adriav moans, taking her headset off, "I still can't believe you hired him."
"Down in the armony, he's decided that's where he feels most comfortable." Tarth adds, "Are we allowed to dock, Adriav?"
"Yep, docking station 3B in the lower industrial section. It's all they've got right now for a ship this size." She replies, standing up.
"It'll do." Tarth grins, speeding up towards the Jedi temple to dock.
I take a deep breath as I step out of the ship in to the Jedi temple, follow by Bardo and the rest of the crew.
"What do I tell them?" I whisper to Loyus who has agreed to face the Jedi masters with me. She thinks for a moment and then answers.
"Tell them the truth. You went after the Sith lord that murdered the two Jedi that were training you. And you are requesting permission to continue to build a team of the galaxies' strongest combatants to infiltrate his lair and to kill him. It's all you can say, really."
I give her a firm nod and sigh, hiding behind a wall to delay my meeting with them.
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.
I've never been a particularly good public speaker. Never mind in front of the Jedi council. Especially when they're going to decide whether or not I can continue to be a Jedi, never mind complete my mission.
"Go." Loyus mouths to me, and I inhale deeply and swing myself around and begin to firmly walk towards them, with Loyus by my side. Bardo and the rest of the crew went off somewhere, and I don't doubt Adriav and Marduk went off to find a bar somewhere, although I'm not sure if they will find one in the Jedi temple.
"Ah, Miss Fenn, wonderful to see you again."
This sarcastic remark aimed at me cues several laughs from other members of the council. They talk as if I'm some sort of war criminal.
"The feeling is very mutual." I hiss back, prompting a nudge by Loyus. The Jedi master eyes me and then sits back, folding his arms. I look across at them all, all ten of them. The only ones that really stand out are a Hutt which is a rarity in the Jedi order, a Miralukan man and the woman that made the remark at me, a Togruta.
"We thank you for your presence, Miss Fenn." Says the Miralukan, and I can tell this remark is genuine.
"The pleasure is ours." Loyus says, taking a step ahead. She prepares to speak again but is interrupted by the Hutt.
"Queen Montani of the Rattataki people, what business is this meeting of yours exactly?" He asks in his deep, sluggish voice, and many of the others nod and agree with him.
"Your rules clearly state that any persons put before the High Jedi council may me accompanied by one other of their choice. Miss Fenn's choice was me." It surprises me that even though I've been training in the ways of the Jedi for the past four years, Loyus still knows more about it than I do. I'm pretty sure not even half of the council knew that.
"Very well." The Hutt replies, now silencing himself.
All of the members of the council appear uneasy now. It's almost as if Loyus is my lawyer.
"Miss Fenn, you have violated three of our most followed rules." The Togruta who threw the sarcastic remark my way earlier starts, "Firstly, you stole our ship to go off on your own personal ventures, you did not report the deaths of Swelina Vorskovski and Falo Tanner despite being present when they were murdered, and the one I personally am most concerned about, you murdered around two-hundred innocent people." She snarls, with a look that burns through my skin.
Murdered two hundred innocent people?
"I accept that I did the first two but I have no idea what you're speaking about with the last one! I did no such thing!" I cry, beginning to pace around and thinking back of exactly what I have been doing in the past week.
"Velo-Ten High Security Prison, the Space Station. It was found with over two-hundred of the guards slaughtered and almost all of the inmates."
Shit.
I did have a good reason for killing the guards. They were trying to kill me! But there's no way they'll accept that explanation.
"She never stole your ship. All along we had the intention to return here, we simply made a few stops along the way. We were on our way here to report said deaths, and as for the last one, that was completely the business of me and my people. Miss Fenn had nothing to do with those deaths. Would you like to continue?" Loyus replies, smirking at the Togruta who backs up into her seat.
"Fine." The Togruta adds.
"So Miss Fenn, what exactly is it that you wanted to ask us?" The Miralukan man asks me, shooting me a quick smile. I feel almost uneasy talking to a man with no eyes, although it's not his fault. All Miralukan's are naturally born without eyes.
"Well... I-er," I gulp, readying myself for an astounding no to my request.
"I would like to request permission to continue with the use of mine and my brothers deceased masters ship, to hunt down the Sith lord that murdered them and to take him down. Along the way I will recruit a team of the galaxies best combatants to help me fight. I came before you to also ask for any information at all you may have on this said Sith lord."
The Togruta alone begins to burst into hysterics, and the Hutt seems to look completely confused as to the fact I would even consider asking such a thing. The Miralukan simply smiles and nods though.
"We would have to take a vote on the first part, but as for the second part, would you be able to describe the Sith lord to us?" The Miralukan asks, sitting back in his seat and crossing his legs. I look to Loyus and she nods, and I think deeply back into my mind for the memories I have compressed and constantly try to avoid.
It's as if I'm sucked in to my very own flashback. I relive the entire memory again.
"Night mother!" I shout, smiling at my mother as I walk into my bedroom. Bardo follows and we both get into bed. Neither of us attempt to sleep though, we always lie up and talk about what happened in the day for a bit. Except this time it feels different. There's a coldness in the air, and a sense of darkness lurking around us. Neither of us dare speak as if it would awaken something horrific.
And then it happens.
A crash. A scream. The sound of a lightsaber being switched on.
I get out of bed and run to see what's going on.
There's somebody in our home. A man. Sith pureblood. But there's something different about him. He has black skin with red markings. His face seems to tattoo itself into my brain.
I look down, he has my parents knelt down, both of them with tears running down their eyes. Their lightsabers are on the other side of the room and their hands are tied behind their back so the force is no use. I know I'm able to use the force.
I know it.
I thrust my hand forward and the Sith lord is thrown backwards. I smile but then remember the dire situation.
"Beka what's going on?" Bardo cries, terrified, walking out of our room. I turn to him for a second and then turn back. The Sith lord is up again.
My mother says her final words.
"Run."
And like that, he kills them.
I look at his face again.
"Black face with red markings." I tell the council.
The Sith lord looks back at me, seeming to try and remember my face, I look at his lightsaber.
"A single red lightsaber."
His outfit is part of how haunting he is. A sleeveless cloak down to his ankles with the hood up.
"Sleeveless cloak. Hood always up."
His arms are exposed, which are covered in combinations of black, red and silver metal bangles.
"He covers his arms in metal bangles. Some black, some silver, some red."
And finally I look into his eyes. The eyes that will forever haunt me. Deep red, like swirling pools of blood. I see my own reflection in his eyes. Except it's not the child me, it's me now, standing before the council, looking just as terrified as I did on that night.
"Swirling red pools of blood as eyes."
I scream. And scream for help, I drop to my knees, preparing to use the force on him again, but he is gone. Nobody comes. Nobody knows we exist. I continue to scream and scream and scream, until I feel my brothers hand on my shoulder. I turn to him, but it isn't him. It's Loyus.
"Miss Fenn are you alright!?"
I'm pulled away from my flashback and returned to the room of the Jedi council who all appear concerned. I must have been screaming here too, not just in the flashback.
"I saw him... again. It was like the night he killed my-" I start, but upon realising I can't tell them who my parents are I replace what I was about to say, "The night he killed Swelina and Falo. I'm sorry." I finish, bowing my head in shame. Loyus doesn't move her hand from my shoulder as she looks over at the council.
"Miss Fenn, the Sith lord you described was Darth Asinis." The Hutt starts, looking down at his notes, I am relieved to finally have a name to put on the man who murdered my parents.
"But there's a problem." He adds, looking from his notes to me.
"Darth Asinis has been dead for four years."
All hope I had is torn away with me along with my breath. I struggle to breath and want to break down there and then, but I keep myself composed.
"Show me him." I mutter quietly, and he nods and shows me a picture.
"That's him!" I cry, looking at somebody for something. He isn't dead. He can't be. I saw him murder Swelina and Falo.
"I'm very sorry Miss Fenn, but-" The Togruta woman is silenced by the sounds of alarms racing throughout the temple.
"Oh god, what did Adriav do now." Loyus mutters, pulling out her blaster as the members of the Jedi council stand to their feet and ignite their lightsabers. I do the same, preparing for whatever is about to happen. Suddenly, a voice comes over the intercom.
"Hello my friends. It is I, the great Darth Asinis!" The voice laughs sarcastically, before his tone darkens, "Did you really think I couldn't see you talking about me? I see everything."
I look at the members of the Jedi council who all appear horrified by what's happening. Not only is the Sith lord that they thought was eliminated still alive, he has fought past all of the temple's security and got into their system.
"I hope you enjoy my little present!" He laughs, as his voice switches off. Through the doorway there is a sudden glow of red light as lightsabers are switched on.
Jedi's don't use red lightsabers.
I don't wait for the council to follow me. I run straight out to face the Sith attack. Bardo, Adriav, and Marduk are already fighting, Adriav taking cover behind a marble pillar and coming out every so often to shoot an attacked in the head, while Marduk is fighting with a traditional nightbrother weapon.
Before I have a chance to react a Sith attacker has jumped on me, and pins me on the floor. I try to kick him off but it's to no avail. Instead I wait until he weakens his grip to grab his lightsaber, and throw him to the other side of the huge hall with the force. Loyus finals the kill with a shot to his heart, before she runs over to join Adriav in cover to be the sharpshootes on our side. The Jedi council and many other Jedi and Padawan station at the temple join the fight, and instantly there is chaos. Jedi's fall, Sith fall, the entire temple is torn apart.
I block a lightsaber that is almost brought down on my head, and then twist to hit the attacker in the stomach but she blocks it. She attempts to throw me off guard with the force but I hit her back with my force powers. Her power is no match for mine, however, and she is thrown backwards. I prepare to bring my saber down into her skull but she rolls out of the way and kicks my feet from under me.
"Shit!" I shout as I go down, using a kip-up to return to by feet. We both attempt to hit each other but each time it's blocked by the other one.
"Give me your best shot, bitch!" She laughs, and I follow he instructions by slicing at her arm. She doesn't react quick enough, and while she's off guard I thrust my lightsaber through her stomach. She gasps and drops to the floor, dead.
I look over to Adriav and Loyus to see them both hit a target at the exact same time, and I also notice Mak and Tarth double-teaming an attacker by having Mak jump on their back and wrestle them to the ground, allowing Tarth to stab them. Bardo is using his double-wielding techniques to his advantage, managing to fight two attackers at once and have the upper hand on them, and while I thought it would be no match for a lightsaber Marduk's nightbrother weapon is proving to be formidable.
My attention is brought back to myself as another attacker appears and attempts to slice my head off with his lightsaber, but I duck and kick him in the stomach. I use the force to throw him backwards into two more of his kind, which gives Adriav and Loyus the opportunity to shoot the three of them dead.
Suddenly, I hear a whooshing sound behind me. Loyus cries for me to look out and I turn to see a swirl of red heading towards me. I hold my hand out and create a shield with the force, and the lightsaber drops to the ground, rendering the attacker weaponless. I pull him towards me and hold out my lightsaber, and he flies straight into it.
I turn back the other way and prepare to bring my lightsaber down on another attacker who reacts instantly and blocks it. She throws me backwards using the force but I slow myself down with my own force powers and land on my feet. We charge at each other, and our lightsabers impact with one another. I jump in the air using the force and prepare to bring down my lightsaber on her head, but she blocks it and I hit the ground, hard. She almost slices my head off but I roll out of the way, and kick her when she doesn't expect it. I quickly slice into her chest and she's dead.
I run into the main crowd to try and get closer to Bardo, but there are too many of them. I could fight my way through, but it would take too long and I'd do better fighting from the outside anyway. A sith pureblood sees me and runs for me punching me in the face and sending me sliding across the floor.
"That all you got?!" I scream over to him, getting back to my feet and noticing the steady flow of blood coming from my nose, "Hit me like a man!"
I run for him and we begin to fight. He's a lot stronger than the opponents I faced before him, but I manage to hold my own by using a combination of my lightsaber and the force.
"Hit you like a man?" He grunts, grinning.
"Ha! I'm more of a man than you'll ever be."
My words seem to ignite a fire inside of him, and he knocks my lightsaber from my hand. I try to use the force to retrieve it but he knocks me to the ground.
"Adriav! A little help?!" I shout, and she nods and shoots him in the back.
Nothing.
"I wear armour you silly girl." He laughs, taunting me with his lightsaber as he sits on my chest. I try to move, but he's much heavier than me and so I'm pinned to the ground. I try to throw him off with the force but he traps my hands under his legs. I'm well and truly trapped.
Adriav attempts to run over to aid me but to many of the attackers see her and she becomes occupied with shooting them to save her own life. Loyus is too encased with fighting to even notice I'm down, and Bardo never takes his eyes off of his attacker. Marduk is too far into the crowd to reach me, and Mak and Tarth...
Mak and Tarth are...
"Any last words?" The Sith asks me, lifting the lightsaber above his head.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Suddenly, Mak jumps on to the attackers back while screaming and is punching him in the head. The Sith stands up and drops his lightsaber, and I quickly retrieve mine using the force.
Tarth appears too, just as the Sith drops to the ground, and stabs him in the stomach.
"Thanks." I gasp, trying to catch my breath. They both grin and the three of us look over to see the very few remaining Sith retreating. I breathe a sigh of relief and look over to make sure all of my allies are still alive.
Loyus, check, Adriav, check, Marduk, check, Bardo, check, Tarth, check, Mak, check.
Half of the Jedi council lie slain, including the Togruta woman. The Miralukan walks over to me as the Hutt and the other three remaining members of the council fight off the remainders of the Sith.
"Glad to see you're alive." He says, "I'm Tyrik by the way, Tyrik Ordo."
"And you already know my name." I smile, shaking his hand.
"Look, I wasn't supposed to tell you this but seeing as half the council are dead now," He coughs, trying not to tear up at the loss of his friends, "But you would be given full permission to go ahead with your permission provided you have a Jedi master or a member of the Jedi council on board."
I look at him, unsure of what he's going to say.
"And I would like to offer you my full services. This is clearly now a galactic matter instead of a small grudge, and I believe I would be a great addition to your team."
I grin.
A member of the High Jedi council on board? That's got to be good.
"You're on." I reply, walking over to my other allies and ushering for him to follow.
So hit me like a man and love me like a woman,
Buried and sad, look me in the eyes, I want it,
One will give you hell, one will give you heaven,
Hit me like a man, love me like a woman,
Love me like a woman...
Love is strong, but I am evil,
You are wrong, about me,
Take your time, ah, play with me until,
You can hear the children scream, like their stuck inside a dream,
That you, ah, will!
So hit me like a man, love me like a woman,
Bury me alive, I can see it in your eyes, you want it,
Some will give you pain, some will give you pleasure,
Hit me like a man, love me like a woman,
Love me like a woman!
Don't you run away, run away from me, I will run away from you!
Don't you run away, run away from me, I will run away from you!
Hit me like a man, love me like a woman,
From the devil deep inside, can't you see what I'm wanting?
That song is Hit Me Like a Man by The Pretty Reckless.
The latest addition to Beka & Bardo's team is the Jedi high council member Tyrik Ordo created by Munamana. He's a Miralukan which means he was born without eyes, and therefore wears a bandana where his eyes would be and uses the force to see!
What did you think of the fight scene? I'm not the best with fight scenes but I did my best!
Anyway, for last chapters question I asked you what the distinct appearance features of the Rattataki race were, and the first person to get that right was KingOfStories01 who came up with the idea of a group of pirates waiting for Beka and her crew at the Jedi temple. I may have made the whole thing ten times bigger than his idea was... but yano.
Last chapters just for fun question was If you were in Beka's position trying to break up a huge alien bar fight, how would you do it?
KingOfStories01: As for how to break up a huge alien bar fight? Beat down the aliens myself.
Barrett M107: Showing off some badass saber moves and then grabbing a bottle, breaking it and shouting, "This is the real murder weapon so CALM THE (BLEEP) DOWN!"
Alice the B-Rabbit: If I was in a bar fight fight fight!
Thanks to those of you that reviewed! And to those of you that aren't reviewing either start reviewing or I won't use your character, and if they're already in the story I'll make their part reeeeaaalllllyyy small. ;)
Now for the question; I'm changing it so that the plot twist won't necessarily be in the next chapter so I don't have to wait around for people to review and answer for me to write, but I will work it in somewhere. The question is: Which Jedi form did Luminara Unduli specialise in?
And the just for fun question is: If Beka and Bardo were to recruit you, what kind of weapon would you have?
Thankyou for reading, keep reviewing, PM me for anything!
Until next time, GOODBYEEEEEE. :)