Chapter 17

Jedi Temple, Main Council Chambers

Shazi was giving a report on the preliminary findings of the Starfleet investigation when her mental link through the Force with her husband suddenly stopped. Caught completely by surprise, she fell to her knees clutching the sides of her head. "Rrrrryyyyuuuuuuuuuu!" she screamed before she collapsed in a heap on the polished marble floor.

Luke was the first one to her side. Assisting her, Luke helped her sit up, her eyes staring up through Luke's face, at the ceiling, tears suddenly filling her eyes as she said, "He's gone . . . Ryu's gone. I can't sense him in the Force any longer! Oh please, please don't let him be dead! Why can't I feel him? Why? Why?"

General Purpose Training Room, Jedi Temple

Gabrielle Jayks was sparring with her Jedi Master, Mara Jade-Skywalker, lightsaber to lightsaber and barely holding her own when suddenly her awareness of her father ceased. Dropping her lightsaber, the one originally held by her Grandmother and namesake Gabrielle Shase-Jayks, the amethyst purple blade extinguished the moment it left her hand and Gabrielle fell to her knees crying out, "Father! I can't sense by Father in the Force anymore! Where is he? Where?"

Only Mara's finely honed skill with the lightsaber enabled her to stop her blade short of cutting her Padawan in two from crown to ground. Extinguishing her blade, she set it aside, went to her own knees to embrace her student tightly in her arms. Mara knew that the only way a filial bond in the Force could be cut so suddenly was by death but she didn't say it out loud, already determined to suspend judgment until she saw a body or heard a first hand account of Ryu's body disappearing where he fell. She felt Gabrielle's sobs against her shoulder and said, "Shhhh, shhhhh, it's alright. We'll find out for sure what happened. Strange things can happen in this universe of ours. I'm sure it'll be alright and if for any reason and I mean any reason it isn't, we will find whoever is responsible and they will learn what it means to irritate a former Emperor's Hand."

Gabrielle could only cry and mumble, "Daddy . . . where's my daddy?"

Somewhere in Hyperspace

Kenod Jayks was meditating in his cabin when the awareness of his father stopped. The shock of the stoppage snapped Kenod out of his meditation harshly. To himself he thought, 'Why can't I sense my Father's awareness in the Force? What has happened? He can't be dead, can he? I've got to find out . . . I've got to!'

U.S.S. Titan, Main Cargo Bay

Jedi Padawan Michelle Karú was working with Rosim and Moro on a more detailed examination of the wreckage of Admiral Picard's speeder when she suddenly stood up straight from the console she was working at. Rosim and Moro were both startled and jumped at the sudden movement.

She was already half way across the cargo bay on her way to the doors when Rosim called out, "What's wrong Michelle? Where are you going?" She answered, "I feel as though something terrible has happened. I must go."

Rosim looked at Moro and he at him, neither one having any clue what just happened.

Demon's Battle Cave, First Fight

Ryu recovered just as Nirri said, "What is it Ryu? What just happened? You look like you just got slapped by a Wampa or something. What's going on?"

He answered, "You see the creature in that frame just above the platform? That's an Ysalamiri."

She asked, "What's an Ysalamiri? I've never heard of one till now."

Ryu said, "It's a sloth-like creature native to the planet Myrkr. They live in the trees their whole lives, their claws actually growing into the tree to draw nutrients. If you know how, you can remove them and put them on a life support frame like the one over the platform. They have the naturally occurring ability to push back the Force; it's how they survive on Myrkr."

Nirri said, "You mean that you can't feel the Force right now? That you're like a normal person now?"

He answered, "Yes and yes Nirri. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought."

"You mean you're still going to fight? Are you insane?" She asked.

"Yes and no, Nirri." He answered.

While Ryu had been speaking to Nirri, Xoran had continued speaking, "For those of you who may not know what the delightful creature in the frame is, that my friends, is what is known as an Ysalamiri. Indigenous to a rather unremarkable world in the Inner Rim called Myrkr. Unremarkable that is, but for these little creatures. You see friends; just one Ysalamiri can generate a bubble that actually pushes back the Force for up to ten meters. This means that for all intents and purposes, the Force has ceased to exist. Imagine if you will, an entire planet full of these little beauties, and you can imagine why the Emperor himself was afraid to go there; why the very possession of just one of these creatures without more permits than you can shake a Stokhli Spray Stick at is so illegal that your great grand offspring would still be waiting for you to get out of prison. Fortunately here in the Demon's Battle Cave, there are no such limitations. This, my friends is how to bring a Jedi Master down to the level of normal people!"

Ryu didn't believe it possible until he heard it just then, but the crowd got even louder.

Gondo Krel had been performing his own warm-ups while Xoran had been speaking. Walking to the center of the platform, he motioned to Ryu with a hand gesture that was universally known to fighters everywhere. Ryu stepped up to the center as well and took a neutral fighting stance, weight balanced equally on the balls of his feet and waited.

Xoran turned off his amplifier a moment and whispered to Ryu, "As I told you yesterday Master Jedi, I control everything here."

Turning his amplifier on again, Xoran said, "It appears as though our guest fighter will compete after all. That is truly an example of the fighting spirit that everyone knows and loves here in the Demon's Battle Cave; so without further to-do, let the fight begin!"

Mentally, Ryu reviewed everything he knew about Aqualish and knew that without the Force as his ally, he would have to take the fight to his opponent most of the time. As Xoran returned to his box and the box rose on its repulsors, Xoran's called out over the speakers, "FIGHT!"

Ryu led off with a left front jab to the center of Krel's face followed by a right punch to the Aqualish equivalent of a sternum and finished with a left ridge hand to the side of Krel's head. Ryu felt the slight shock discharge from his gloves at each impact. Krel felt each hit and the shock as well and stepped back a pace and then countered with a strong right punch to Ryu's chest that caught him full on and set him back a quarter of a meter. Ryu involuntarily gasped for breath as the shock from Krel's glove forced the air out of him.

Ryu thought to himself, 'That was stupid Ryu. Remember that the Force has left you and you must fight without it. Focus on the physical telltales that a body makes in a fight and flow within the moment!'

Ryu seemed almost to glide across the surface of the platform as he performed two spinning heel kicks in quick succession. The first kick was out of range by only a slim margin, the second was ducked by Krel when Ryu continued to spin as if he would do a third kick but instead of going high, he crouched down on his support leg like a top and caught his opponent with a leg sweep instead. Krel went down to the mat from the impact on his ankles imparted from Ryu's foot. In mid-fall, he turned onto his back and broke his fall by keeping his head up and slapping the platform with both hands and taking the impact of the fall across the entire surface of his back and arms to dissipate the energy. Before he could get back to his feet though, Ryu braced both of his hands on the platform, raised one foot into the air and delivered a heel-drop into Krel's abdomen. After the hit, Ryu did a reverse roll away and recovered to his feet and resumed his fighting stance.

Everywhere in their seats, fans roared their response to the fight so far. The very floor seemed to reverberate with the cheers, jeers and overall energy of the crowd.

Krel got back to his feet and warily moved in towards Ryu. Again deciding to take the fight to Krel once more, Ryu moved in and delivered two short round kicks to Krel's leading leg right on the thigh. The shock numbed the leg and as is started to give, Ryu swung the foot that had made the round kicks into a high outside crescent kick that hit Krel directly in the side of the head. Krel went down, tried to get up but his arms quivered underneath him and he fell face first onto the platform.

Ryu could tell that Gondo Krel was done and stepped away from his prone body. The crowd roared and cheered even louder with the victory than they did at the introduction. Xoran's voice sounded over the crowd noise, "And the winner of the first fight is Ryu Jayks! Truly though, was there much doubt of the outcome? Even without the Force, our guest fighter is still a man to be reckoned with! While the clean-up staff takes care of poor Gondo, feel free to get refreshment compatible with your biochemistry and be sure to visit the betting cages. Our next fight will start in only a few standard timeparts!"

As Ryu stepped off the platform and stripped off his gear, Acks stepped up to him and handed him a comlink. Accepting it, Ryu turned it on and without having to ask, knew who it would be. "What do you want Xoran?"

Xoran's voice said, "Very good Master Jedi. I am impressed even though you clearly have lost your touch somewhat if an Aqualish could lay a finger on you let alone a full strike."

Ryu said, "Come to the point please. As soon as I leave the Ysalamiri's sphere of influence I'll be back to normal and you know it. I will admit that your cunning is well deserved Xoran. To get an Ysalamiri, especially when they're considered high contraband, was a tactic that I had not anticipated."

The smile could practically be heard over the comlink, "High praise indeed from you Master Jedi. But lest you think that it will be so easy, you will not be permitted to leave the Cave until both of your fights are done for today. If this first days' fights continue as I expect them to, you're next bout will be at about 1230 hours or so. Follow Acks to the fighter's rest area and before you plan on going into a Healing Trance, you should know that I have more than one Ysalamiri. There will be one along the corridor to the Rest Area, and another in the Rest Area. Their bubbles will overlap and you will have to go through the day like any other person."

The comlink call ended, and Ryu handed it back to Acks. By this time, Nirri reentered the arena with Ryu's bag in hand and a huge smile on her face. Following along with Ryu and Acks she remained silent until they were in the Fighter's Rest Area and Acks had left. She said in an almost jubilant tone, "That was great Ryu! On that first fight alone I just made back everything I spent to get this outfit I'm wearing, the bath and the wage you paid me yesterday and even a little extra! Whoohoo! This keeps up and I'll be able to leave this fracking sector by the end of this tournament!"

Ryu sat down stiffly on a padded bench that was low to the floor. With sarcasm thick in his voice he said, "I'm so happy that you got your money back Nirri but keep in mind this is my body that's going to take the damage."

As Ryu fished in his bag for an item, Nirri said, "What are you worried about? Even without the Force, you cleaned Gondo's chronometer!"

Finding his first aid kit, he opened it and taking a small round cylinder out of it, adjusted some controls, looked around to make sure no one was watching anything but the monitor that was showing the next fight and ran it over his chest quickly and efficiently. When he was done, he put the cylinder back in the kit and said, "I'd like to say I got lucky Nirri but luck won't be much of a factor for me while I'm here."

Nirri said, "What's that you're doing Ryu? Something wrong?"

Ryu only motioned her to look into his bag at the Medical Tricorder that had been set to silent operation. Whispering to her he said, "Keep your voice down Nirri. You know what this device is?" When she nodded yes, Ryu continued, "As you can see from the display, I didn't get away completely unscathed. According to this, I've got some deep tissue bruising in my chest and a slightly bruised sternum. That was from one hit Nirri. You have to remember, even though I'm a fully trained Jedi, I'm still only human and I have the same general strengths and weaknesses that any other human has. Most nonhumans are, on average, twice as strong as a human. If I could still touch the Force, I could absorb just about anything that can be thrown at me and put myself into a Healing Trance later."

Nirri said, "We've got a couple of hours until your next bout. So put yourself into this trance-thing you mentioned and we'll call it good."

Shaking his head, Ryu said, "Did you forget about the Ysalamiri? When you came back from collecting your winnings, I had just finished a comlink conversation with Xoran. He told me that he has at least three Ysalamiri. Look around Nirri and you'll find it. So long as I'm in the sphere of influence generated by those creatures, I am unable to touch the Force and heal myself."

Doing as she was told, Nirri looked around and found the nutrient support frame attached to the ceiling of the rest area. She said, "That's not fair!"

Ryu chuckled mirthlessly, "Fair Nirri? Fair doesn't enter into the Demon's Battle Cave and stay fair for long. The best I can hope for is some medicated ointment to help break up the blood clotting that makes a bruise appear as it does and take a short nap. When I get back to the hostel later, I'll be far enough away from those Ysalamiri and I can use a Heal Trance overnight. I think that's what Xoran was counting on."

Applying some of the ointment that he spoke of, Ryu said, "Wake me in an hour Nirri and while I'm sleeping make sure that the fights between now and then are recorded so I can review them while I warm back up and get ready for my next fight."

Nodding her head in understanding of her directions, Nirri went to do as she had been told while Ryu stretched out on the bench he had been sitting on after putting away his aid kit, retying his bag and putting it under his head as a pillow.

One hour later exactly, Nirri woke Ryu up. Sitting up, he arched his back gently and stretched his arms and chest. Nirri asked, "How do you feel now?"

Ryu answered, "Like I got caught in a turbolift door as it closed but okay otherwise."

Handing him a protein bar and some water she said, "I got those recordings like you wanted. Of the three fights since yours, none of them lasted much longer than yours although one fellow was taken out on a stretcher with a broken leg and a Devaronian male lost one horn in his fight. There'll probably be two more fights before your next one if they go the same length as yours, and one or two after."

Finishing the bar and the water, Ryu said, "Thanks. Let's look at those recordings. I'll be facing some of the winners sooner or later."

Nirri looked pensive a moment then said in a low voice, "You're still going to fight?"

Ryu said, "I have to Nirri. Over dinner later, I'll tell you why so that you can decide if you want to stay on as you are or cut me loose."

Ryu looked over the recordings of the previous fights, looking for patterns, strengths, weaknesses and any other clues that might help him in his future fights. The winners of the three bouts were a Chiss, a Barabel, the one that had attempted to attack Kenod and a Blood Carver of all things. Ryu reviewed what he knew of the three species. Even after all the time that had passed since the peace treaty between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant, there was still not a lot known about the Chiss. Ryu remembered the one Chiss he had met, Commander Mythril, aboard the Redemption. He remembered the passive Force scan he had performed upon meeting Mythril and catalogued the sense he got of the clarity of thought and the calm, cool analytical abilities that Mythril had demonstrated. The Barabel was the one that had broken his opponent's leg. It was a vicious, but efficient way to end their fight. Ryu remembered back to his own extended studies in the rebuilt Temple and remembered what he had read about an incident in the Barabel's distant past that had been mediated by the Jedi of the time. As a result, the Barabel people in general hold Jedi in great respect which made him wonder even more at just how or why a Barabel would attack a Jedi like this one had in attempting to hurt Ryu's son. The Blood Carver was only slightly less mysterious than the Chiss and Ryu figured he was probably an apprentice assassin who had entered the tournament to gain experience in varied fighting styles. All too soon it seemed, Ryu was back in the arena and stepping up to the platform after putting his fighting gear back on. His opponent this time was a different Devaronian than the one who'd had his horn broken in an earlier fight. This one still had both of his horns. Facing across from his opponent, Ryu waited for the command to fight.

Xoran's voice sounded, "Fresh from his victory just this morning, our guest fighter Ryu Jayks returns to the platform for his final bout of the day. To review, Ryu Jayks defeated Gondo Krel by way of knockout but only after practically eating a punch to his chest. That HAD to hurt as surely as trying to stop a landspeeder by stepping in front of it!"

The crowd laughed and cheered at the comment.

Xoran continued with, "Ryu Jayks's next opponent comes to us from the latest preliminary qualifying rounds for the GFC, where he finished in the top five and will, if he so chooses, be eligible to compete as an alternate fighter. His fighting style is unique among systems in that it can be so deceptive that it is routinely underestimated in its effectiveness. His record, a respectable 12-2-2, please welcome to the Demon's Battle Cave, Velish Cor!"

The Devaronian stepped up onto the platform and waved at the crowd for a few moments before performing a standing back flip and then focusing on Ryu. Xoran's voice sounded again, "FIGHT!"

Ryu went into his fighting stance, weight balanced on the balls of both feet, one hand high, near his face, the other low at his waist, hands loose, not clenched. His opponent bowed and then started to perform a U-shaped step repeatedly, slowly edging towards Ryu on the platform. Ryu said to himself, 'Something familiar about that step he's using . . . something deceptive about it, but what?'

The two fighters circled each other warily, neither one quite ready to commit to an attack at first.

As Ryu watched Velish, waiting for the physical tell that would indicate what might happen next, he thought he saw a flicker of light out of the corner of his eye but didn't know what to make of it. Velish's U-shape step continued for a heartbeat longer then he moved and seemed to slide in across the platform as he delivered a high round kick from down low as his weight shifted from one foot to the other. Ryu thought he saw the flicker of light again before the kick flew at his face. Bringing his right arm up to cover his face, Ryu was almost too late. The kick connected mostly on his arm but the toes on the kicking foot slid into the crook of Ryu's elbow and still impacted, with only slightly less energy, squarely on Ryu's cheekbone. Ryu saw a flash of light and a high pitched whine at the moment of impact from the shock gear on Cor's foot and felt himself corkscrew through the air and land just over a meter from where he had stood. Rolling over on his back, Ryu saw Velish's foot come down towards his face, slightly behind a short ray of multicolored light. Rolling out of the way, he heard Velish's heel connect with the platform where only moments before, Ryu's face had been, and got back to his feet.

At that moment, Ryu understood Velish Cor's fighting style. He said to himself, 'Koola Korsi! I knew that U-shaped step was familiar! One of the first things I did once the Federation database became available was to satisfy my curiosity on some of its fighting styles. One, a form that originated on the Federation homeworld, on one of the continents, was a system called Capoeira. A fighting system hidden in a dance, usually performed to music. Velish is probably getting a subharmonic feed over his horns of the music that Koola Korsi uses to help him maintain his rhythm.'

Ryu resumed his fighting stance and readied himself for the next attack which was not long in coming.

Velish fired off another low kick, this time from the opposite foot of the one that had hit Ryu before. Ryu saw the light track again, 'What is that track of light? It precedes his attack and follows through. Is that his intention? How is that possible? The Force is denied me because of the Ysalamiri, yet somehow, I'm still seeing it.'

The kick followed the track of light and Ryu ducked under it only to be hit by a spinning back knuckle as Velish recovered from his kick. Again, Ryu was only just barely aware of the light track and rolled with the hit and thus lessening its impact considerably. Answering Velish's attack with one of his own, Ryu felt his attack connect and felt the shock transfer from his glove to Velish's face. To his credit, Velish recovered quickly but in his eyes, one could tell that he knew he was in for a fight now. Velish fired a standing round kick to Ryu's face but Ryu saw the light track clearly now, caught the kick at Velish's shin with an open palm before the kick could get up to speed and swept Velish's supporting leg out from under him. Before Ryu could put an ankle lock in place, Velish pushed him away with a front thrust kick to his abdomen. Since Velish was on the ground facing up, the kick lacked any real power to do damage but it did force Ryu to let the leg go and be pushed away.

As Velish did a reverse roll to get back to his feet, Ryu had an epiphany, 'It's the Ki that I'm seeing! How could I possibly have forgotten one of my Father's teachings? It's just like he said all those years ago, 'When the Ki and the Force work synergistically, is when you will be at your strongest in anything you do. The Force is denied me yes, but not the Ki! The tracks of light are his intentions as seen through the Ki!'

Velish started his U-shape step again but Ryu was ready this time. As Velish performed a one-hand stand and did a kick that reminded Ryu of an inverted 'J', he planted a solid front kick to Velish's exposed chest and sent him sliding across the platform slightly, close to the edge of the platform. Ryu closed the distance as Velish got back to his feet and was visibly winded for a moment. Ryu threw three punches to Cor's abdomen and finished the combination with a left hook that caught Velish across his jaw, he knew that Velish was done when he saw the nearly glazed look in his face as their eyes met. With no hesitation, Ryu brought his right hand low and fired it up, "Shoryuken!"

Though Ryu didn't have the Force to augment his rising punch, he still managed to spin completely in the air almost a half of a meter to land from almost the exact spot he leapt from. Velish was hit squarely under his jaw and the power of Ryu's short leap into the air propelled Velish off his feet and over the edge of the platform to land on the padded mats that surrounded the raised platform in case of something like an unconscious body landing on them.

Ryu recovered from his rising punch and walked across the platform back to the side that he had entered from as Xoran's voice came over the speakers, "There you have it! The winner by way of knockout and ringout is Ryu Jayks! Let's hear it for our guest fighter!"

The crowd roared ever louder and kept roaring as Ryu left the arena and went back to the fighter's rest area with Nirri in tow. After sitting on the bench where he had after his first fight, Ryu watched the monitor for the winners of the rest of the fights for day one. Nirri left for a time and came back even happier than after Ryu's first win.

"I won't bore you with the sundry details of how much I've won except to say, thanks Ryu." She said.

He looked at her and said, "Thanks for what? I could've lost that fight you know. Only a half-remembered lesson my father taught me early in my training saved my skin."

Nirri countered with, "Yea you could've lost, but you didn't; and the way you finished Velish Cor off with one of your signature moves even without the Force to power you up, only proves just how good of a fighter you still are! Now, how about you tell me the real reason you came to the Demon's Battle Cave? I already figured out that it's not for the money since you haven't placed any bets on yourself, or anyone else for that matter and you aren't here to 'officially' come out of retirement or anything. If you did, you would've stayed on the platform for a few minutes and worked the crowd."

Ryu smiled and said, "Again, you show spirit and resourcefulness Nirri. Like I said earlier, I'll tell you later over dinner, away from this place. These walls have ears, I'm sure. Xoran knows why I'm here and you will too after we leave."

The last of the day's fights ended soon, and the next day's winners were advanced. The next day's fights would see Ryu, the Chiss, the Blood Carver, the Barabel, a Dressellian, a Gank and two Zabraks move onto the next level. As Ryu and Nirri left the Demon's Battle Cave to go back to the hostel, Ryu was suddenly aware of everything around him again. Like stepping out of a dark room into the light of day, Ryu was very much aware of the universe and his place in it. The Force was with him again. He was also aware of his injuries and of the pain that Shazi was in. Their link had been severed when the Ysalamiri had been put into place.

Looking around quickly, Ryu saw the signs pointing to a public communications hub. He said, "Slight change of plans Nirri. Go back to the hostel I'm staying at and wait for me in the Dining Area. I have a very important call to make right now."

Quickening his pace, he got to the hub and found an empty booth. Closing the privacy screen behind him, Ryu dropped the appropriate denomination of credits into the pay box and entered his home number into the keypad.

Jayks Residence

Shaznia had barely walked in the door with her daughter and her daughter's Master close behind her when the comm. unit sounded. Still distraught over the loss of the link with her husband through the Force had left her more than a little numb so when she answered the comm. it was with a dull monotone, "Jayks Residence," she answered. The picture came up, flickered for a moment and then steadied to show her husband's face.

His voice sounded, "Shazi! Is everything all right? Is Gabrielle with you? I called the moment I felt your distress through our bond."

Shazi's face lit up like a hundred suns, "Ryu! By the Force! I was scared beyond any rational thought when I felt our bond sever! What happened to you? You look like you were slapped by a Wampa or something."

All Ryu said was one word, "Ysalamiri."

By this time, Gabrielle had come over to stand next to her mother and her face too brightened considerably. "Daddy!"

Ryu couldn't help but smile when his daughter spoke, "You haven't called me that since you were ten standard years old. Are you all right Dear Heart?"

Gabrielle said, "Now that I know you're still alive, I'm okay. Did you say Ysalamiri?"

Ryu answered, "I did. Xoran, the master of the Demon's Battle Cave has at least three of them. Naturally, he didn't tell me so I was caught as much by surprise as you and your mother must've been. Have you heard from Kenod?"

Shazi said, "Not yet but now that I'm sure he's felt your presence in the Force again, he might not, but if he does, I'll be sure to tell him that you're okay."

Mara walked into the image field and said, "Ysalamiri? I really don't like those things; and you say that Xoran has at least three of them? I'll be sure to relay that information to Corran. I'm sure it will help us find the data-trail to whoever tried to assault Kenod and kill Picard. It takes serious money and connections to get even one Ysalamiri off of Myrkr, let alone three of the little devils. Watch yourself Ryu."

Ryu said, "I will, thanks Mara."

Turning his attention back to his wife and daughter after Mara left the image field, he said, "I've made it past the first fights and I'm due back tomorrow. That means I'll have to go back into the Ysalamiri's sphere of influence when I do. I'm sorry that you both thought I might've died. I'll call back each day now that I know about the Ysalamiri. I love you both."

Shazi spoke, "And we love you. Please be careful Ryu."

He nodded, "I will. I'll call tomorrow after my fights are done with any new information. Right now, I have a name to go with the group that probably was behind the attack on our son and on Admiral Picard. It's a group that's calling itself H.A.T.E. or Humans Are the Enemy. Whether they directly acted or it was just a fringe group of fanatics acting under the name, I don't know. Even if H.A.T.E. acted directly, I would imagine that they've hidden their tracks by now. I'll be sure to send you anything more I learn as soon as I can. May the Force be with you both."

Gabrielled spoke this time, "And with you daddy."