The Story of forgotten Jedi Owen Sun
Chapter 18: Heroine
An arid wind swept across the plains of Thule as Jedi Knight Anna Arress takes refuge inside one of many housed structures sprawled across the stony, ancient city of Kessia. She gazed out at the plethora of storms in the distance waiting for word from her contacts. "How could anything survive here" she thought.
A semi-arid world Thule was known for its rich savannas but was continually bombarded by lightning storms splitting the plains with rocky outcroppings charred black from the constant pressure producing an interesting if not eerie bioluminescent moss that made the rocks glow. Although it wasn't the planets harsh climate Anna was necessarily referring to it was something else. Something she felt within herself, something that seemed to drown in the night air. It didn't feel right but it could only be one thing; the strong presence of the dark side.
Thule's history was mired with boding tales and wild rumors of the ancient now extinct Sith. What was fact and simply fable could never truly be determined; one thing could however, the legacy of that Empire. A legacy that could be found and more ominously fall into the wrong hands. It was the Jedi's greatest fear and like the dark side itself could never truly be defeated.
Anna refocused, remembering who she was. "There is no emotion, there is peace, there is no ignorance, there is knowledge, there is no passion, there is serenity, there is no death, there is only the Force" she meditated.
The chaos of her thoughts and the ill-faded feelings seemed to leave her, for now. The keycard to the door then activated as her eyes snapped back open. "Iacen, its good to see you" greeted Anna.
Iacen was one of her two contacts inside the city. They were her lifeline, without them she would be lost but more importanly exposed. Dooku too had agents of his own and they were everywhere.
He greeted her with a nod of his black hair and green eyes, rough exterior from head to toe. "(Sigh) Good news, bad news I'm afraid Anna" he began. "Your ship is toast, no way I could get that thing back in the air"
"And the good news?" she wondered.
He pulled out his holopad, an image flickering to life. "I think I found what we're looking for"
The flickering blue hue of the holovid showed a ziggurat-like structure. "Its a temple" Anna deduced.
"Yeah been sitting under our noses the entire time hiding in the storms; Jade has the exact coordinates with her. We leave in the morning" he replied referring to their other contact.
Before Anna could even retort the door hissed open. "We've gotta get her outta here now!" Jade ordered.
"What? Whadda mean? The plan was to go in the morning" shot back Iacen.
"I don't have time to explain! I was followed, they know shes here; they're coming!" warned Jade.
"Great" retorted Iacen comically.
Jade unraveled her headwrap shaking the sand from her dirty blond hair and face quickly disguising Anna. "We need to move now. Grab everything you can and lets go!" she demanded.
"Wait, wai-" Anna was interrupted. "Don't worry, just let us do our job" continued Jade finishing the disguise.
Within just a few minutes they were already on the move as Anna's two Republic contacts guided her through back alleys, hidden walkways and even across a few rooftops until they reached the square. "Wait" Jade pulled them both aside. "Over there in the courtyard" she noticed.
A handful of black clothed individuals made their way through the crowd. "There scanning for us" deduced Anna.
"We need a plan" stated Jade.
"Hey wait a parsec just what in space happened to you. Whats goin on?" wondered Iacen.
"Theres no time" she replied quietly. "We need a distraction"
They both looked to Iacen. "Great, of course its gotta be me. Alrite gimme a sec" he quipped.
They watched the spectacle as Iacen made his way to the center of the square disappearing in the sea of people then suddenly a riot broke out! The square turned into a myriad of pulling, pushing, shoving and fighting as they made their way through the crowd with caution guards taking up arms and arresting on sight. After several tedious minutes of getting through the unrestful mass they found their way out but there was no sign of Iacen. "We have to go, c'mon" pulled Jade.
"We can't just leave him!" stated Anna.
"We've got no choice! Now c'mon!" shot back Jade.
As much as it hurt to admit she was right. They had to keep moving or they would surely be found. Getting to their shuttle on the edge of the city they prepared to depart when suddenly a figure emerged from the evenings blue darkness. Iacen simply hopped in the shuttle behind them. "Go" he motioned out of breath.
Jade took their shuttle up into the night sky. "Just what did you do to cause that kind of ruckus?" she asked irritated.
"Lets just say a well-timed joke about an Arkanian, Chiss and Human walking into a cantina could start a war on this planet heh-heh" he yarned.
The two women smiled as Jade uploaded the coordinates into the shuttles computer. "It'll take us the night to get there. Some rough terrain and storms between here and there" she updated.
"Good, give us more than enough time for you to explain to us just what the hell happened back there?" wondered Iacen.
Jade looked to him clearly irritated by his sarcastic demeanor. "Its a long story" she glared with her grey irises.
"Then by all means..." he quipped.
Meanwhile in hyperspace.
Passing the Rishi Maze nearing their destination in their Jedi Starfighters Owen couldn't help but wonder about the irony of the situation. Coming to the aid of Arca's former student seemed like more than happenstance; he had brief but pleasant memories of Anna. Along with Arca she had saved his homeworld from no doubt years of war, slavery and the Force knew what else but he couldn't help thinking something just wasn't right; as it always seemed to be the Force was at work here. "Just a couple of parsecs now Owen. Remember to activate the cloaking device we were outfitted with, we don't need any surprises" Arca interrupted via comm.
"Um yes Master of course" he replied refocusing himself.
"Is there something wrong?" Arca sensed.
"Its nothing" he quickly retorted.
"You wish to ask me a question my Padawan?" sensed the ever-astute Arca via comm.
A quaint pause hung in the air. "Uh" Owen blundered.
"Ha-ha as I've always told you Owen. You would do well to shield such strong thoughts from me" chuckled Arca always the teacher.
Like many Jedi their Master/Apprentice bond was very strong. Such closeness came with the weight of shared thoughts, feelings and even images.
"(Ahem) Y-Yes Master" he began. "Well it just seems a little ironic that we're coming to the aid of one of your former students. Apart from the ambiguity about our mission I have felt a change in you since we were given the assignment" sensed Owen.
Arca chuckled lightly. "The Force does seems to have a sense of humor when it comes to such things; even a Master cannot hide such emotion when it comes to the strong events of our past"
"Forgive me Master but what happened between you two?" he wondered.
He let out a disappointing sigh as he recalled the last time he spoke with his former Padawan. "It came down to a disagreement. Anna wanted to take the trials and become a Jedi Knight. I felt as her teacher she needed more time" he began.
"Really? I was young but I remember watching her in the training hall. She was incredible with the sword, like watching someone dance" Owen recalled.
"Yes, Anna was skilled with the blade. She practiced constantly, studying and mastering all the techniques" he added.
"Well?" he replied.
"(Sigh) It wasn't a question of her ability, the trials aren't something to be rushed. No Anna had trouble controlling her emotions. She hated criticism, wanted to be perfect but above all never stopped trying to impress. I tried to make her understand that no one is perfect, not even a Jedi. Then when she would make mistakes her world would fall apart and be overcome by her feelings" he continued.
"By the end she was filled with fear. I sensed it with her all the time" he added.
"Fear? Fear of what?" asked Owen.
"Failure. She thought if she had no faults she wouldn't be overcome and have to feel such emotion. I wanted to teach her how to deal with her feelings not shut them out. We had one last volatile arguement about it and haven't spoken since" he explained via comm.
"She took her case to the Council, having been a Padawan for awhile they sensed her readiness to join the Order and agreed with her request to take the trials. Anna passed with flying colors and has since served with the highest distinction" he finished.
"Master I'm sorry, I had no idea" apologized Owen.
"Its alright Owen. It is all in the past, if one is to learn to master the present and possibly the future then one must question the past, the knowledge of such things is key" stated the wise Arca.
There was silence over the comm. "Still I..." he broke off.
"What is it Master?" he wondered.
"(Sigh) I guess I've always felt maybe I was the reason why she tried to be perfect. Maybe I gave her too much to live up to, in some way I blame myself for how she turned out" Arca guilted.
"Master you can't do that, its not fair to yourself. You tried to warn her she made her own choice" cautioned Owen.
He chuckled. "So the student becomes the Master" Arca yarned.
"Heh hey I just hope I don't screw up and give you second thoughts on me" he joked back.
He smiled. "No Owen you won't be giving me any more grey hairs then I already have, there is little left to teach you. You are already ready to become a Jedi Knight" endorsed Arca.
Owen was truly stunned to hear that from his Master. "Wow, thank you Master" he replied.
"No, thank you" he replied reminding him of things.
Interrupting their prelude to Thule they had entered Sith space, it didn't take long for the purplish orb to appear before them... "There it is" Owen stated.
Back on Thule they had nearly arrived.
The events of the day and the journey therein had placed Anna fast asleep, she tried to stay awake but like the old saying the harder you try the faster you fall forcing her to face her inner self in her dreams.
She walked down a stony sloped corridor passageways on all sides. "Hello?" she called out.
Her voice echoed through the barren, damp soot filled air. "Anybody there?" she wondered.
In her unknown voyage she had come to a dead end, in her haste she darted into one of the passageways. It simply lead into another corridor with the same face. She ran further down, took a different way but still came to the same conclusion. Her heart raced, she could feel herself being watched. Again she tried going back the way she came trying a different path but everyway she took Anna ended up at the same end point.
A mocking dark cackle then echoed through the corridor sending a chill down her spine. Anna swallowed deep activating her dual pink sabers, something was in here with her. Then it suddenly made sense, every passageway, every corridor was the same. She was simply running back into the same place everytime. There was a symbol on the ground in the middle of it all. She bent down, dusted it off. It looked ancient, unlike anything she had seen before, evil to the touch. Suddenly the dead end of the stone wall parted way revealing a tall mysterious figure stepping towards her. Anna stood her ground falling back into her Jedi fighting stance sabers at the ready. However as the tall, hooded deathlike figure got closer she was overcome by an all too familiar feeling. "No (gulp) no" she clamored.
Amazingly she found herself starting to shrink her robes collapsing around her until nothing was left but the little girl she used to be. Barely able to hold her sabers up she screamed as the figure simply brought down his lightsaber upon her.
Her eyes snapped open suddenly awake, a cold sweat upon her in the adjacent shuttle cockpit chair. "You okay?" asked Jade noticing her awaken.
It took her a few seconds to realize where she was. "I'm fine" she replied.
"So lemme get this straight. You were double-crossed by the most crooked crime boss in this sector, chased outta the club by these weird looking guys we ran into in the square then nearly blew the whole operation by having us made" recapped Iacen.
Jade had been explaining to the irratated Iacen just what happened in Kessia while Anna was asleep. "I didn't say it was easy, don't worry I made sure I put a hole in that slug of a Chiss Prak before I busted out of there" Jade assured.
"Well that's quite the tale; we'll never work in this sector again" mused the sarcastic Iacen.
"You sure your okay? You look like you've seen a ghost" observed Jade.
"I told you I'm fine. Now how far are we from the Temple?" Anna shot back.
"Perfect timing, there it is" she answered.
The ziggurat-like Temple looked like it had seen better days, half buried in sand and crawled upon by the eerie bioluminescent moss of Thule. "Geez, looks more like a ruin" commented Iacen.
"I'll set us down over there" pointed Jade.
The shuttle set down as the three assembled their gear making their way to the Temple. Jade took a scan of the structure. "Looks like theres only one way in, here" she pointed on her datapad.
As they approached the Temple doors Anna could feel the strong, almost overwhelming presence of the dark side, whatever may lay inside she had to face alone. "So we made it, now what exactly are we looking for?" quipped Iacen.
"No both of you are staying here. I'm going on alone" Anna instructed.
"What? You can't be serious?" replied Iacen.
"You need our help, you can't go in there alone" Jade cautioned.
"I must, what lies ahead would drive you mad, the dark side is strong in this place" she simply replied.
Jade and Iacen looked to one another. They knew this is as far as they went.
"Well don't let me stop you" yarned the sarcastic Iacen.
"(Sigh) Be careful" warned Jade.
Anna nodded moving towards the entrance, just as she began to enter however a loud roar of an engine began to descend upon them sending sand and brush scattering around them through their windswept hair and eyes. It was a ship no doubt black plated with red outcropping in the shape of a V. It was Vengeance. Drakus' starship. It didn't take long for the ramp to descend and out stepped the intimidating sight of Darth Drakus. He slowly made his way towards the three. The tall, dark, gaunt Drakus' stopped just a few feet away from them at the entrance. Their hearts stopped, stomachs turned inside out, breathing heavily; it was like something out of a nightmare. "Oook time to go" stated Iacen comically.
"There is no escape" stated Drakus simply in his dark, cold voice.
"W-Who are you?" asked Anna.
Deep down Anna already knew. It was the monster from her dream, come to life. A Sith.
"I am your end" he simply replied.
Suddenly Drakus extended his arm sending Anna flying into the Temple doors knocking her out of action. Iacen went for his blaster but before he could even get a shot off Drakus picked him up with the Force and began strangling him in mid-air. In a vain attempt Anna grabbed her vibroblade but he grabbed her before she could swing with his large gaunt hand and held her above him. "(Cough) L-Let him g-go" she pleaded.
Drakus pulled her in closer. "So frail, so weak" he coldly stated.
Iacen clinged to life futily grabbing at his throat for air, in an instant with the mashing of a fist and the grip of his hand Drakus crushed Iacens throat and snapped Jades neck. He threw them aside like garbage stepping towards a stunned Anna. "H-How could you?" she muttered collecting herself.
"You will join them shortly" he replied.
Anna couldn't believe it, just like that they were dead. This Sith had come to kill her.
The Pau'an then threw back his hood revealing his ghastly features; a deeply lined ashen face atop a massive skull, dark bruting eyes, incisor-like teeth all clearly tainted by the dark side. Anna was in a state of utter shock but she began to piece it together. "Dooku sent you to kill me didn't he?" she perceived.
Drakus simply cracked an insidious half-grin attempting to use the Force again but this time Anna was ready blocking the evil Sith ricocheting it back towards him pushing the large Drakus back a few steps. This farce was over, with a (snap-hiss) he drew his red lightsaber the blade much longer than a normal saber to accommodate his height. Anna followed suit, her pink sabers at the ready, she could feel his hate and hunger for blood through the Force. Drakus was in his element feeding off the dark side strong in this place.
With a mighty overhead strike Drakus bore down his powerful strength but she defiantly blocked him her sabers forming an x, face-to-face sabers intertwined Drakus scowling, Anna determined. Freeing herself she used her Jedi acrobatics back flipping out of the entanglement with a kick to Drakus' face for extra measure. The unsightly Sith shook it off in brisk pursuit as Anna retreated into the Temple. "Running will not save you Jedi" stated Drakus.
Making his way inside the many wall torches of the Temple guided his path as he searched for her, suddenly with a downward stab she struck from the shadows but Drakus simply swatted her away like a mosquito. A sharp lunge greeted the Jedi Knight nearly impaling her but the cunning Arress rolled off his saber and with both hands pushed him back with the Force sending Drakus crumbling through a Temple wall. Furious the frightening Pau'an shot out of the debris striking with powerful precision the two parrying and jousting throughout the old ruined Temple. Fighting their way onto a narrow, long stretching walkway adjoining the two halfs of the Temple they continued their grand duel. Anna rotated her wrists as fast as she could their sabers locked in a twirling entanglement until she spotted her opening; the sudden slash of her left saber was parried however leaving Drakus vunerable to her other blade and with a swift swipe she wounded his thigh. Drakus grinned enjoying the pain sending a cold rush of fear through Anna her momentary triumph tainted. She swallowed her deep-set fear flipping forward her sabers reengaging but it was too late Drakus had sensed her fear feeding off it reaching out with the dark side sending her own fear flowing through her. Anna grabbed her head in agony. "Augh!" she cried.
Her mind racing, thoughts scrambled, emotions ramped suddenly her worst fears were realized, it wasn't a nightmare but a vision coming true. "Aighhh!" she continued falling to one knee.
Unfolding before her like a bad replay she began to feel herself sink inside her Jedi robes until just like her vision nothing was left but the little girl she used to be. The reality was quite different however Anna simply fell to the ground losing herself to her fear. Drakus stood over her grabbing his long lightsaber ready to decapitate the Jedi releasing a sadistic laugh from his ashen exterior; raising his blade Anna suddenly blocked him with one saber. "No!" she shook her head struggling. "I won't allow you" stated Anna defiant.
With what strength she had left the crippled Jedi blasted a ball of Force energy into Drakus' chest sending him flying across the walkway landing terribly into the adjacent Temples lift. Shaking off Drakus' effect Anna got ahold of herself but it didn't take long as the evil Sith launched himself high in the air nearly shattering the walkway upon landing. The two reengaged like nothing had happened sabers thrashing and flailing about; Anna spun herself around cartwheeling over Drakus catching him in the back of the head feet first with the unorthodox move. Attacking her with all his might he fed off his rage backing her into a corner with his heavy strikes, in a bad spot Anna knew she couldn't hold him off forever. She contorted her body flipping over the tall Drakus but he was just waiting for her grazing her stomach as she flew by; Anna held her freshly burnt wound quickly preparing herself for the next onslaught. Instead however she began to spin both her sabers in a menacing if not beautiful pink display but Drakus was no fool, with a strong strike he simply swatted away one of her sabers sending it over the walkway into the unknown foggy depths below.
Meanwhile just above in the atmosphere.
Arca and Owen had finally arrived having traced the shuttle now scanning for her last known location below in their Jedi Starfighters. "Master, look there" spotted Owen.
Small flashes of light could be seen below, bringing their ships in closer they had found Anna putting up quite the fight against some mysterious dark clad warrior their lightsabers telling the story. "We're too late, we've got to get down there. Put your ship down at the coordanites I'm sending you" Arca instructed.
"Yes Master" obeyed Owen.
Back down below Anna grew weaker from the intense duel with Darth Drakus, he was eroding the Jedi Knight down. Catching her off guard he bashed her in the face with the butt of his blade, she fell to the ground shaken rolling out of the way just in time before Drakus could finish her off. He spun his saber slowly. "What's the matter, you tired?" he taunted.
Anna got herself up falling into her saber stance. "I'm not done with you yet Sith" she stated.
He smirked. "Time to die Jedi"
Anna's heart beat frantically summoning what strength she had left. "Your arrogance is your weakness" she spat.
"And your faith in yourself in yours; you will fall" replied Drakus.
Anna's very spirit seemed to shake, the evil Sith had seen right through her. She wouldn't accept that; the skilled Jedi Knight would find a way and defeat this Sith, she had to. Anna attacked him again but this time things were different, Drakus was done playing games. He would do as his Master ordered and remove this Jedi.
Side-by-side Arca and Owen ran through the Temple, they were close.
Back on the walkway Anna slid through the long legs of Drakus trying to throw him off guard attempting to end it right then sliding her blade into his back but he deflected that away in turn aiming to stomp his large boot through her skull but she rolled to relative safety. The stone walkway was now in a perilous state teetering on the brink of completely falling apart from all the action. Fatigued she could barely keep her arms up with no choice but to dodge and manever Drakus' every deadly strike. In the distance the turret-like opening revealed the two Jedi sprinting towards them, with no panic he threw his long blade through the middle of the fragile long walkway breaking it in half. Arca halted just in time as the stony debris fell below, Owen attempted to leap the large gap now between them but Arca stopped his overanxious Padawan; he knew this was as far as they went. "It's too far, you'd fall to your death" observed Arca glaring at the foggy depths below.
"But Master we-" he rationed. "There's nothing we can do Owen" interrupted Arca.
He used his Jedi Master sense to try and figure out some way they could get across but unfortunately for Anna there wasn't, all they could do was helplessly watch the fight in the distance.
Each heavy blow Anna grew weaker and weaker, even with her expert skill with the blade she was in a losing fight; Drakus' long saber accompanied by his reach and power made it almost impossible. "Come on Anna, don't dwell on the negative, use your training, concentrate" sensed Arca observing his former Padawan.
In a desperate feat she threw her saber up high over the head of Drakus. The Pau'an looked stunned at a defenseless Arress but wouldn't waste his chance closing in for the kill suddenly her lightsaber spun back around clipping him on his side. Craddling his side he sneered at the crafty Jedi her saber returning to her, truly furious Drakus was done with this spectacle striking at her with all of his Sith rage. Anna tried desperately to maintain control of her lightsaber but it was just too much as Drakus kept nailing his blows with such furious precision and force, with no other option she leapt over the Sith once more confident she would place the perfect landing and best him but as Arca tried to teach her no Jedi is perfect. It would be her final lesson. Upon landing Drakus swung around cutting her in half; Anna fell to the ground separating into two pieces.
"NOOOOO!" cried Arca.
Drakus simply surveyed the damage and deactivated his long saber, placing his hood back over his large head he stepped into the nearby lift. Instinct and emotion took over Arca leaping with everything he had with the Force landed just inches from his own death on the broken off walkway immediately attending to the fallen Anna. Following suit Owen would attempt the jump however needing a running head start he barely made it catching the edge of the walkway. Pulling himself up he made no hesitation running after the lift; banging at the doors in a vain endeavor all he received through the corroded glass windows of the lift was an evil incisor-like smile from underneath the hood of Darth Drakus as it descended.
He tried to get the lift working but Drakus had destroyed the controls once he reached the bottom. Defeated Owen made his way back over to Arca. "Master he has es-" he stopped in dead sentence to the grizzly sight before him.
Appalled he turned his head away not being able to take what he saw; Anna's torn apart body lay in front of him. Half lying on the walkway, other half in Arca's arms. "Uunhhh Master" muttered Anna.
"Don't speak, I need to get you some help. Owen get to the ships and contact the Council, tell them we need assistance right away!" replied Arca still in shock.
The Padawan simply shook his head. "Master the lift has been disabled and I'm not sure I can make that jump again" he explained.
"Owen!" he shot back clearly distressed.
Suddenly a large explosion was heard in the distance followed by a V shaped craft leaving the skies, Drakus had destroyed their ships and left the planet; his mission a success. They were out of options, even so despite whatever efforts they would make there was nothing to be done, Arca simply couldn't face the truth. Anna gripped his hand blood beginning to drip from her mouth. "I-I d-d-don't want to die" she bawled.
Arca's eyes began to weld as well. "You hang in there I'm not going to let you die" he assured.
It seemed like she was trying to tell him something but could barely muster the words. "M-Master I-" she tried.
"What? What is it?" he wondered.
"M-Master you-you-you were right" muttered Anna shaking her head. "I-I wasn't ready" she admitted.
Arca gritted his teeth, even for a Master his emotions were getting the best of him. "I-I'm so sorry. Y-You were like my father, I love you" she stated.
A solitary tear ran down Arca's cheek. "P-Please M-Master I don't wanna go, I don't wanna die" she pleaded emotions spilling out of her.
Anna's head then went limp but her eyes stayed opened, she was dead.
Arca stared into her stone dead eyes stunned. "I failed you, I'm sorry" thought Arca.
There was a moment of silence as Arca closed Anna's eyelids. Watching the sad sight unfold before him Owen didn't know what to say. He put his hand on Arca's shoulder. "Master, I'm-" he began. "Please Owen...don't" Arca interrupted.
After a moment of interminable silence he spoke. "Help me with her body" Arca instructed.
Owen did just that showing the utmost respect, together the two wrapped Anna up in their Jedi robes getting her to a transport capsule.
From there Arca contacted the Jedi Council explaining everything, although troubled with the news they were relieved the two were alrite but with their ships destroyed they would have to buy passage on a transport disguising themselves as simple travelers. Using Anna and her contacts shuttle they got back to Kessia and did just that. During that time Owen noticed much difference in his Master, it simply wasn't the man he knew; his demeanor, everything about him had changed. He clearly gave him the benefit of the doubt having just gone through what they had, Owen chalked up the behavior to his mourning but indeed there was something very wrong with Arca. For the moment Anna was struck down the great Jedi Master would never be the same again.