Chapter 9

Shiro looked up into the sky, watching the Shuttle fade from sight. Then he looked down and whimpered sadly. "What have I done?"

Marik went toward Shiro. "Shiro…" But Shiro ran past him, over to Mulann's body.

Shiro put his arms around the unresponsive Mulann. "No! This feather moves! Dead as earth! NO!" In a flash, the dreaded memories came to Shiro again. He was assaulted with vivid scenes of Jedi deaths, projected into his mind by Crow, accusing him of foolishness and failure.

Twirling about in anguish, he cried out, "Make them stop! They're everywhere! They're all inside me! I can hear them and they're saying... NOTHING! GET OUT! Please, get them out! Please, make me a stone." He kneeled before Mulann, filled with feelings he could not fully express. He felt cursed, cursed to lose all those closest to him.

Marik closed his eyes briefly as he felt Mulann's death echo through the Force. He came up and placed one hand on Shiro's shoulder. "Shiro… She died saving Amelie. She died trying to help save you and all of us. Her death is an honorable one." Shiro was silent with grief.

Frell shook Alanna, who awoke groggily and looked over at the spectacle of Shiro, Marik and the dead Mulann. She put her hand over her mouth in dismay. She went over to Marik and hugged him. "Oh, Marik, I'm so sorry!"

Amelie walked in through the hole in the wall. Frell looked over at her in concern. "Amelie, you okay?"

Amelie's eyes stared far ahead. She betrayed no emotion. Her face was stone cold. "It's over. Menace is dead." She looked at Frell. "Where's Tremayne?"

"He and Melkior got away. They fled like cowards. I'm sorry, Ame." He went over to hug her.

Amelie stopped him. "Don't. Please. I just need a moment." She looked over at Shiro and the fallen Mulann. She walked over to Shiro. "Shiro…," she murmured.

Shiro rose up and grabbed Amelie's hand. "Put a blaster to me! Shoot me! Laser in the brain pan, pow!"

Amelie's eyes suddenly welled up in tears. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Shiro, I can't."

Marik cut in, "Shiro, you can't give up. She would want you to live."

Shiro turned angrily toward the entire group. "WHAT IS THE POINT? Eventually they win! I knew this would happen! No one's safe around me! No one!"

Amelie tried to speak but she understood Shiro's rage too well. She and Shiro had both been very close to Mulann. They knew they had been her dearest friends. Now that that was over, she knew neither of them was ready yet to face to the hard tasks ahead of them.

Alanna took a step toward Shiro. "We can still fight, Shiro. I will fight. I will help you fight."

Shiro screamed, "They will pay! I swear they will pay! The Empire will pay for this!

Amelie spoke up with effort. She felt Shiro's pain. "I know they will, Shiro. I lost my best friend."

Shiro pulled out his lightsaber, ignited it and plunged it into the floor in a cry of anguish. He began to weep. The rest of the group was struck speechless. The freed Jedi police officers came forward. One of the officers stepped in front of the rest and came up to Shiro.

"I am Bors. You saved us, Shiro. You fought bravely. The sacrifices of you and your friends were not in vain. We are all in your debt." The Jedi kneeled before Shiro. Shiro looked at them but he couldn't reply. He was still so lost in his grief.

Bors went over to Marik. "Marik, thank you for risking your life for all of us. Now what shall we do to avoid reprisals from the Empire?"

After a moment, Marik spoke. "We have to leave Wayland. It is no longer safe here. We will go to Bothawui. I hear it is safe there. The Bothan Spynet has sheltered many Jedi fugitives by employing them as stealth information agents. Some of you can go with us aboard the Star Searcher and the Levana. Senator Osma will supply transportation for the rest. I shall see you there, brethren."

Amelie overheard. "Daargo's on Bothawui. It will be good to see a friend." She turned to Marik. "Marik, can you carry out a Jedi Funeral Pyre?"

Marik looked at her with deep sympathy. "Yes, of course."

"Please, I think she'd want that." She turned to Shiro. "Shiro, help me pick up Mulann's body."

Shiro looked up sorrowfully at Amelie. "Okay," he sniffed.

Alanna, Amelie, Bors and Shiro carefully picked up Mulann's body and carried it outside into the ship as the rest of the group followed. They set Mulann down in one of the containment cells. Shiro walked into the Game Room, looking for Marik. Marik was discussing preparations for resettlement with Bors and the other Jedi.

Shiro came up to Marik and spoke furiously and accusingly, "Now you see. Why couldn't we save her? This is all my fault! And your Light Side did nothing to stop it!"

Marik raised an eyebrow. He turned to Bors and the Jedi. "I need some privacy for a moment, okay?" The Jedi nodded and calmly exited.

Marik turned to Shiro and spoke definitively. "Shiro, we couldn't save her. It happened too quickly for us to respond. She sacrificed herself to save Amelie. Light Side or Dark Side, some things cannot be stopped. I am sorry."

"But she came here to save me! I dragged her into all this!"

Marik put his hand on Shiro's shoulder. "She chose her path. She knew what it might mean, and she still chose to help you. As we all have."

Shiro bowed his head and closed his eyes. "I should kill myself."

"Shiro, that won't bring her back. She wouldn't want you to give up…"

"All this trouble. All this pain. Over me. Can't I do anything good?"

"All this is not your fault. It is the Sith who are responsible. If they didn't choose to pursue you, none of this would have happened."

Shiro only responded with tears. Marik embraced him. "It's okay, Shiro. You did nothing wrong." He held him close, not knowing what else to do.

Later, Shiro was in his quarters. He remembered what Tremayne had said about Senator Osma and the disc. He decided to check it out. He inserted the disc and pulled up the files on his comp. Then he gasped at what he saw. He couldn't believe it. But now he knew what he had to do. It was the only thing to do.

He grabbed his lightsaber and opened his door. He looked down the corridor. The others were recovering from the battle and making preparations for the funeral and to leave the planet. Shiro quietly slipped out. Not completely quiet though. Marik heard him as he exited the ship. He sensed something awry in Shiro's mind. Silently, he followed Shiro at some distance. It was not easy to keep up with him though.

Shiro headed past the Police Station to the Capitol building. He went in and, one by one, he used the Force to knock out the guards down the halls. He opened a door and saw a man with blue officious clothes sitting at a desk.

"Senator Evander Osma?" he said.

The man replied, "Yes?"

Shiro flipped in the air and landed on Osma's desk. He pulled out his lightsaber, ignited it and held it towards Osma's throat. He spoke to him with ferocity. "REMEMBER ME? I am a messenger from your past! The Ghost of Life-Day Past!"

The Senator was instantly struck with fear. He tried to remain calm though. "Who are you? What do you want?"

Marik came into the office at that moment. He saw Shiro's lightsaber pointed at the Senator. He wasn't sure what to do. Shiro was much faster than him. If he moved to grab Shiro, he probably wouldn't be quick enough and Shiro would take the Senator down. He decided to speak calmly and coax Shiro away from doing anything rash. "Shiro, this is my benefactor," he said. "What are you doing?"

Shiro ignored Marik and responded to the senator. "I am Shiro! And I want justice!"

Osma's eyes suddenly flashed with amazement and great fear. "Shiro? No! It can't be! Shiro? You escaped! How did you survive?"

"Shiro, calm down!" Marik said. "Senator, what is going on? How do you know Shiro?"

"Yes, tell him, Senator!" Shiro shouted. "Tell him about your work as an Imperial scientist. On the Youngling Project! Tell him what you did to me and my friends!"

Marik looked back at the senator. "Senator, what is he talking about?"

Osma's expression fell. He looked over at Marik with remorseful eyes. Then he took a deep breath. "It's true, Marik. A year before I became a senator, I was a scientist working for Palpatine. We were specializing in psychic and Force sensitivity research. We never thought..."

Marik's eyes went wide and he shook his head in disbelief. "How... how could you? The Younglings..."

The senator continued, "Palpatine brought in the Younglings a few days after he took power. He forced us with his power to instill the programming he concocted for them and to perform the experiments according to his specifications. We were supervised by a team of heartless people. They threatened us and our families if we did not obey them. We had no choice."

Marik looked more than slightly ill.

"I was just a lowly scientist at the time. What could I do? I regretted it but I had to comply. When I was appointed senator as fee, I made sure I could save as many Jedi as possible on my planet and elsewhere in the galaxy. I'm ashamed for what I did."

Marik was without words in his horror.

Shiro sang a grim tune, "No, lovely ladies, he's bound for Hades! Shame! Shame! Shame!"

Marik closed his eyes and mumbled, "The evil that men do lives after them…"

Shiro swung his lightsaber back at an angle and prepared to slice the senator's throat. "Swift as an arrow through a Tartar's bow!"

Marik put his hand out. "Shiro, wait! His death won't change anything! What's done is done."

Shiro stopped and thought for a moment. He looked over his shoulder and nodded. "No. You're right, Marik." He turned and directed a grim, penetrating look at Senator Osma. "First, he will tell the last piece of the puzzle."

Osma began to shake under Shiro's gaze. "What do you wish to know?"

Shiro spoke with a mad fury. "How do we turn all the programming off? There must be a way!"

"I know that Marik is a Mind Healer, and so he may be able to subdue the Crow Program. But that may not be enough. The best solution may be found on Byss. It will be very dangerous but it's the only true way to completely destroy the Empire's programming and give the Younglings the chance to fight back and escape from the Empire's custody. The operation was performed on Byss. Only there can the Crow program truly be eliminated. A Force Crystal must be inserted into the heart of the reactor in the laboratory there."

"A crystal?" Marik said. "We must go to the planet Ilum then. It is the only place where natural Force Crystals form. However, going to Byss will be incredibly dangerous indeed. The Dark Side is powerful there."

"NOW HE DIES!" Shiro shouted.

"No, wait!" Marik cried.

"Have to strike now! Can't be weak!"

"Don't you see this is what the Empire wants? Tremayne wants Senator Osma eliminated for aiding Jedi. That's why he told you of Osma's role in your experimentation; so that you would do the job for him and assassinate him. If you kill him, you'll just be playing the Empire's pawn again."

"I don't care!"

"It is wrong, Shiro!" Marik looked at the senator's face and read his soul. "He is unarmed. He is repentant. He is not a threat to you or your friends anymore!"

Shiro turned to Marik with a hurt look in his eyes. "But he deserves…"

"Shiro, if you kill him you will follow hate and go down the path of the Dark Side. Resist it; forgive him. If not for him, I would have died on that asteroid with Master Garen. Weigh the good and the bad, which is stronger? Show mercy and love. That is the true power of the Light. Forgive, Shiro, and come to the Light."

Shiro looked down and shook his head. "Too many voices! Too many voices! Must silence the voices forever!" He shook all over. "To kill or not to kill. That is the question."

Marik walked slowly up to Shiro. "Forgive… before you become that which you despise most."

Osma tensely closed his eyes and prepared for the blow. He submitted himself to this fate. Shiro looked back at the senator. He gritted his teeth in indecision. He was torn. He had vowed to seek full recompense for the wrongs against him and the other Younglings. Here was the man responsible for performing the experiments that imprisoned the minds of the Younglings and had led to his insanity. He deserved punishment for his crime. But when Shiro looked at him, he saw an innocent man, truly sorry for what he had done. Shiro began to breathe heavily with frustration and outrage. And then he made his decision.

Shiro cried out, "NOOOO!" and threw his lightsaber to the floor. "I will not be a puppet of the Dark!"

Marik breathed a deep sigh of relief. Shiro was finally on his way to being completely free of the Dark Side's hold on him. Marik walked over and slowly picked up the discarded lightsaber and deactivated it. He went over to Shiro and laid his hand on his shoulder. "You have chosen wisely."

Shiro turned to Marik. "It has to end, Marik! Prove to me that you can stop this! Show the power of the Light! Help me!"

Marik looked straight into Shiro's eyes. "Shiro, I will do everything within my power to help you. You have my word. I won't abandon you again."

"I trust you." Shiro meant it. They embraced one another.

Senator Osma rose back up in his chair. He faced Shiro seriously. "I'm sorry, Shiro. I hope you succeed. Good luck, and may the Force be with you."

Shiro nodded.

Marik ushered Shiro toward the door. "Come, brother, we must go to see Mulann off into the Force now."

Shiro and Marik walked toward the door. Marik gave Osma a last reflective look and walked out. Shiro turned back around and looked at the senator solemnly. "I forgive you."

As Shiro and Marik came back towards the ship, Alanna ran up to greet them. She had a worried expression on her face.

She came up to Marik and asked, "What happened?"

"I will tell you later. For now, suffice it to say that Shiro has won a great victory."

Alanna looked from Marik to Shiro, who looked up at her with eyes filled with a new strength. Alanna smiled at Shiro. She knelt down to him with teary eyes and put her arm around him. "I'm sure Mulann would be proud of you."

Marik spoke up. "Come, Alanna. We must go to the jungle near my house. Before we leave this planet, we must perform a funeral for a noble Jedi."

Together, they headed back to the ship.

In a clearing in the jungle, the Jedi officers lit torches and stuck them on long poles into the ground. The sky was a clear blue, illuminated by many twinkling stars and a full moon. The jungle was strangely silent. No animal calls were to be heard. It was as if the jungle itself was in reverence of the memory of Mulann and the proceedings which were now to take place.

The Levana rested in the center of the glen. Outside it, there stood a makeshift funeral pyre stand where the body was to be placed. Marik came out of the ship and called Bors over to him. "Bors, is it safe outside?"

"Yes, Marik." Bors went in.

Marik, Alanna, Bors and Frell came out of the ship, carrying Mulann's body on all four sides. Looking very shaky and pale, Amelie came out, being led by Shiro, Kyra and Alexia. After he had helped the others set the body down, Frell came over to Amelie with a canteen of water and gave it to Amelie to drink.

Amelie took the canteen and looked into Frell's eyes. "I love you," she said. Then she took a drink.

The group gathered around the stand. Kyra and Alexia went up and laid flowers on Mulann's body, then covered it with a blanket. Bors came up to Marik and handed him a torch. Marik looked around slowly at the group. Some were sad with grief; others were joyful in memory of Mulann and her transformation into the Force. Marik closed his eyes and sensed the Force around him. After a moment of thought, he opened up his eyes and summoned up a friendly grin. "Strange," he said. "It feels like there is a new energy here."

Marik spoke loudly to all gathered there. "Mulann was a wise, graceful and powerful student of the Force. She was one with the Force in life; she also shall be in death. The Force was strong with her. Thank the Force for allowing her to achieve her destiny and for giving her such a full life. She has moved on with her journey."

He turned and bowed toward Mulann's body. "May the Force be with us always, as it was with you, teacher and friend." He looked over at the others. "If you would like to say something, now would be the time."

Alanna stepped forward first. She went up to Mulann's body and softly said, "Mulann, I knew you not long but I know that you were a good soul and will be much missed. Safe journey to you." She bowed before the body and stepped back.

Next Shiro stepped forward. "You first saved me from the Dark. I will never forget what you taught me. I won't fail."

The group turned to look at Amelie. Frell led Amelie forward. Amelie placed her hand on Mulann's body. Amelie spoke with a shaky voice and teary eyes. Frell held her hand. "You were the best friend I ever had. You were a great fighter and you had a great heart. You were my comrade and you helped me accept the Jedi as comrades. I shall never forget you. I am thankful for the time we had together." She took off her headband and placed it on the body. "Goodbye, my friend. And good journey." She stepped back falteringly.

Marik watched her step back. He took one last look at Mulann's body. He owed this woman so much for taking care of Shiro for years and keeping him in the path of the Light, despite the damage wrought on him by the Empire. It was the least he could do to give her the best funeral that he could give. He noticed how she still looked so young and beautiful, even in death.

Marik turned and looked back at Amelie. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Amelie nodded.

Marik walked over and touched the lit torch to the pyre. "Good journey," he said. The pyre quickly caught. Marik and all the Jedi bowed their heads as the pyre burned. The flames licked Mulann's body and danced about, encompassing the body in beautiful light. At the sight, Amelie fainted. Frell caught her. The fire burned hot and quickly and soon Mulann's body was consumed. Before long, the pyre began to burn out and nothing was left but moldering ashes.

Marik spoke to all gathered. "It is finished. Now we must make preparations to leave. There is nothing left here. Let us go back inside."

One by one, the Jedi snuffed out the torches and headed into the jungle toward Marik's house. The rest of the company turned toward the ship and began to enter it. Frell carried Amelie in.

Marik came up to Shiro. "Come, Shiro, it is time to leave."

"Each has their journeys," Shiro said. "Tell Alanna of the journey we must make."

"Yes," Marik nodded. He turned to Alanna. "Alanna, Shiro and I must get to Bothawui, to help the Jedi that are being moved there. After that we must go to Ilum. We have begun the journey that will lead to the freedom of Shiro's friends. Will you take us there?"

"Of course," Alanna replied. "I'm sticking with you guys through thick and thin. However, we are running low on Hyperdrive. We'll need to go somewhere to refuel before we head for Bothawui."

"Very well. We will stop at Aquaris. The Freeholders there are friendly to our cause."

"I'll set a course as soon as we're ready."

Marik and Alanna walked into the ship. Shiro stopped and looked up at the stars, reflecting. "Never was, always to be," he said. "No one ever saw, nor will ever see." He faintly smiled. Then after a moment, he joined the others inside.

End of Book I