Jaq the Jedi Hunter Chapter 9- Manaan, a star wars fanfic

Chapter 9- Manaan

They are all children, the lot of them. About sixty were incarcerated within their little pods, I, among them. Unlike the burning force cages these were simply lined with bars. Also unlike the force cages, with a simple push of a button one could be sentenced to death by a quadrillion volts of electricity coursing through your veins. Unpleasant. At least the force cage deaths were long and painful and would give one time to get mad enough to open the cage with a Force Rage. This, however, gave no one that privilege time.

They were all crying desperately, longing to be freed. Each criminal of Ahkto City had been locked up longer than myself. These victims were merely ones who ha been sentenced to death after a week of incarceration – each also were forced to go without food. I knew, without doubt, that these convicts would welcome death when it came to them. These convicts were all malnourished and if released would wreak havoc eating any Selkath they got their hands on. The Selkath were the people of Manaan, well, not people, more… fish people. They populated this water planet and built it from scratch. They were part the reason why I did end up imprisoned like this.

It was only yesterday…

The cantina music was reverberating throughout the club. It gave such a soothing feel to the den. I was sad. Khar was right about me changing, I was sadder than usual. This was odd. This was incredibly odd. Since the death of Darth Revan all those weeks ag- no, wait… all those months ago, Darth Malak had taken over as Dark Lord of the Sith. Admiral Saul Karath had become the assassins' new master. To him the targets were merely materials worth sacrificing in Malak's quest for Galactic Dominance. Revan had taught us to respect the targets, they were creatures too, those who had experienced life in ways not dissimilar to us – only they died far younger. I may not have always respected the dead, but I showed them quick and painless deaths. …most of the time. …and mostly painless. …okay, always painful and long, but I got the job done!

My contemplating was interrupted by an irritating groan. A man beside me and awoken from his drunken slumber on the bench top of the bar. He groaned several times but instead of going back to sleep he merely ordered another round and began drooling on himself.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked… loudly.

"Do you know who I am?" He repeated.

But I honestly couldn't say that I did. The man was talking to me, and I hadn't realised I was staring at him.

"No, sir. I have no mother Fynockin' idea who you are. Leave me be, old man."

"Hey you, whippersnapper! I'm not just any old man, I'm the greatest duelist in the entire Galaxy!"

Oh my god. It can't be. Surely not. Could it. No. Was it. No. It really just couldn't be…

"Bendak Starkiller?" I asked almost excitedly (with a drunken slur).

The old man was shocked, he nearly stumbled back on his stool. That wasn't very Mandalorian-like. Starkiller was Mandalorian, dressed himself up in the Yellow Combat Armor.

"No, you damn Tauntaun! Bendak died along with the other on Taris. I'm the Mysterious Stranger!"

…

"… who?"

"The Mysterious Stranger! Greatest arena duelist in the Galaxy!"

I thought Bendak Starkiller was.

"I thought Bendak Starkiller was."

"Well clearly not he's dead, son! Died on Taris! He died when that Karath fella rained the turrets onto the planet and annihilated all living people! I prevailed over that loser and escaped before the Sith could kill me."

He was too old to be the Mysterious Stranger, I'd heard that duelist only battled for one day before facing Starkiller though I hadn't heard the match's results. The only old man still in the league was…

"Liar!" I shouted. "You aren't the Mysterious Stranger, you're Deadeye Duncan!"

He stopped. If he was truly surprised he would have flinched, the loner really was Duncan.

"Stop that! Look, whoever told you that's a liar. Probably one of them Sith or Republic fellas always causing trouble around these parts."

Now I was mad. I stood facing at him. I felt my face turn red hot with anger.

"Never compare the Sith to the Republic! Never!"

There was a silence. Duncan was terrified now. Then he laughed. I faced the bartender, bowed in thanks, and kicked Duncan's chair back. The long downed duelist collapsed under his own weight. As the hermit fell his jaw hit the counter and a loud crack sounded throughout the cantina. When he landed blood poured from his mouth the way it would had I stabbed him in the throat with a Black Sun stun baton. After a short few seconds Duncan realised he was being drained of blood and slipped into an unconscious state.

I simply turned to the exit and walked out with my Dark Blue cape flailing in the wind entering from the exposed doorway. Jaq, badass of the Sith.

I had arrived at the town square by the customs entrance. Fifty percent of the population were Selkath, twelve percent were Sith, twelve percent were Republic and the rest were scum of all different species. I couldn't help but notice how the Selkath believed the ran the world here, but hid behind fears that the Sith could turn around and commit genocide against the walking, talking fish people. You see, on Manaan, both the factions of Empire and Republic, Sith and Jedi were to live at peace and in harmony. Truly sickening.

Just behind me in the Cantina a Selkath was being shoved around by a clan of four Mandalorians and a Twi'lek. Must be a gang. They were literally pushing this Selkath man around until he tripped onto the floor and one of the warriors through a drink on his face. I watched in awe as the Selkath was stabbed in the chest by a newly arriving Mandalorian soldier. They were all most likely exiles. Regardless, the squid man died. Selkath were more like the Mon Calamari. The Mon Calamari at least had the dignity to be protective of their king, these blue fish people just sat and watched.

At least, that was until the authorities came. The eight Selkath officers entered the Cantina and at the first sight of a blaster gunned down the gang. The bodies fell to the floor. Soon more Selkath came, some with hoses, more with body bags. The scene played out like one of those crime show holovids.

Down some hallways and through another door I arrived at a second open area. The view here was beautiful and exposed to the open crystal blue ocean, but I was distracted. Just in front of the now open door a fight was beginning to climax between a group of Sith soldiers and a group of Republic. They waged war with words, yells and battle cries. Soon enough a Republic soldier unsheathed a blaster.

"How dare you shout blasphemous words in front of the Sith Empire!" Shouted the Sith.

"How dare you call us weak little puritans, you Bantha Fodder!" Shouted the Republic.

"Bantha Fodder? Bantha Fodder! You are all a bunch of uniformed Nerf-Herders!"

"At least we don't need to scare the Nerfs to get them to move!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"The leader of the Republic isn't scary. He at least has his bottom jaw!"

"Cybernetics are upgrades!"

Then the arguments were split up with a blaster fire. A Republic soldier who must have been truly mad gunned down the Sith superior officer. Soon another Selkath authority group arrived at the scene and apprehended the Republic group. They showed no signs of rebellion. Two Sith boys pushed a Selkath officer out of the way and shot a Republic soldier and were too apprehended. The rest of the men were let off with a mere warning. If I had had it my way, their actions would have been punishable by death. The Selkath did not deserve the allegiance of the Sith Empire and soon enough they'd realise it.

By the end of the hour I had arrived at the Sith Base. Guarded by two Assault Droids and cameras the base or 'embassy' as the Selkath called it, was virtually impenetrable. The elevator went down one level, though I found it quite peculiar how long the ride down took. The Sith Embassy was massive in scale. The reception was kept by a woman in a red dress.

"Good evening. Master Rand, I presume?"

"No. You are mistaken. My name is Jaq, Admiral Karath is expecting me."

The woman accessed the database in front of her. After a few moments of wasteful searching she gave up.

"I have to file for Jaq, but Karath only has one appointment available."

"That'll be for me. Where is he?"

"The Communications Room, but sir, he won't be-"

"Thank you greatly. Wait, why the comms room?"

"He is not on location, please, sir, you cannot steal someone's appoint-"

"Quiet."

With that I raised a hand to motion her silent. She was silent. She knew her place in relation to I, a high ranking assassin.

"Jaq, I must ask you a question." The Admiral began over the comms. "You have been very effective in your missions, but I must ask, it's protocol you see… you are not a force-user are you?"

"Admiral, we were taught by Lord Revan to use the Force."

"Yes I know. But you merely adapt the Force around you, my question is do you actually use the Force, do you produce it?"

I did.

"Uh, no sir."

"Good. Good. You are a masterful assassin, Jaq. If you do gain the power that the Force can provide, it is your duty as a Sith to inform me immediately."

"I will sir. Oh, Admiral, my mission was a success."

"I heard. I have received a large number of reports that the Lookah village has burned to the ground and the forest around is still burning with it."

"The Wookiees of Kashyyyk won't know what hit them."

"Yes, I did receive a number of distress calls. Four Sith outposts have been lost in the flames. But don't be alarmed, they are acceptable losses."

"Sir, have you requested me only to reflect on my mission?"

"Negative. I have summoned you to brief you on your new mission. Likely the hardest yet. The people of Manaan are a peaceful people. Or so they like to believe. We are at war with the Republic even here where we are forced into an alliance. It is an underground war, you see, we cannot infiltrate the Republic Base though."

"From what it seems outside, this base is too quite impenetrable."

"Yes, and the Republic are too afraid to even approach the sector. There base is open, a tactic that ensures all who enter are seen. Its openness also means that the Selkath are welcome into the area. They can see everything that goes on in the base. Recently we lost a Sith Soldier who was attempting to infiltrate the Republic Embassy. Not long after a Republic Agent managed to sneak into our ranks and completely cut down all the soldiers within the base. The Selkath apprehended him but he successfully represented himself in the trials and was let off with a pardon. Then, under the Republic, he entered a submersible to the underwater labs where we sent Malak's Apprentice-"

"Darth Bandon."

"Yes. But the Agent killed Bandon with great swiftness and ease. This man is deadly and should be avoided at all costs. The only intel that we could gather on him is that he owns a ship. It goes by the name of the Ebon Hawk."

He stopped for a moment. And it didn't take long before I realised there was more to the story than he was letting on.

"You're lying."

"No. There is more information, but it is classified. The rest of the intel is only understood by myself and the Dark Lord Malak. The agent is no mere soldier…he…he is a high level asset that has the capability of killing you. Unlike your target. Since the crusades led by this agent the Republic now have a foothold in this war. I further request that you end the Republic's chances by eliminating the Embassy Commander. She's a Jedi. Not a Master, but a first generation relative to one on the Republic High Council. She is dangerous. The files have assured me that you are a stealth expert and thus I have chosen you. The intel will be forwarded to your ship. Dismissed."

I did not need the intel. I had the Force. I could find her.

When I arrived at the Republic Base my eyes were opened to the simplicity of the base. From plain sight in the civil courtyard outside I could clearly bear witness to the enormity of armaments and munitions piles within. Nothing was concealed, yet the whole base was widely open making it extremely tough to enter. I was a tech specialist and a stealth enthusiast. I could do the job, no worries. Once I entered past the patrolling guards at the entrance checkpoint I would have no problem in sneaking past those patrolling. Infiltration was a clear problem. So I scanned the exterior of the base. I searched for what must have seemed like hours for an entrance. But I had no luck. At the back of the base (or at least as far back in the bunker as I could see) there were three to six soldiers drinking and getting heavily intoxicated. That was my key, I may not be able to sneak past the entrance cameras or thermal detectors, nor even drunk guards – but when the guards exited the base for more drinks I could easily assassinate one and take his place. Perfect infiltration.

This time I did wait, and well into the afternoon. I waited for hours and three shift changes had taken place in that time. Still all the new guards were inebriated, but how? There wasn't a party occurring as far as I could tell from the civilian population's gossip. Confusion consumed me. Confusion was too a weakness. Where were they getting the drinks? And then I realised it. The soldiers weren't getting the drinks from the Cantina, the drinks were being delivered to the base via belts or something. The components were being transported to the outpost for later consumption. This allowed an entrance. Surely if there was a conveying connection from the Cantina to the Republic Embassy there would be another link or something. So I set out for the Cantina.

I found my entrance point with ease. In a back corner behind the bar there was a singular ventilation shaft at the point where the ground met the wall. One singular vent. Most facilities contained several pipeline systems – my best guess was that this shaft led to a massive complex of other systems. So using the Force to persuade the bartender he allowed me entrance into the shafts. I crawled in, hunched over and uncomfortable.

This vent led to another vent, and that vent led to several others. Soon I found myself confused until I came across a grate that led to a small pipeline system in the rooftops where small fluids were being transported in vials across a conveyor belt. The cantina didn't deliver to the Sith, so the only explanation was that this led to the Republic Base. Sensing my way through the correct pathways was the easy part. At one point the Force led me to another grate above the Republic Base. Beside the grate was a large sign, I translated it to Basic. It said 'Caution Trash Compactor! Do not enter!' That was smart. The Republic had clearly labeled their Trash compactors, something the Sith should adapt. It would be quite a terrifying circumstance if someone found themselves in a trash compactor with the walls closing in. I must remind myself to warn Karath of this, surely save some trouble for someone in the future.

The Republic base was easy to find. I found it through a grate when the smell of beauty and integrity overpowered my nostrils. The Light Side was corrupting. Eugh! I kicked the grate down and to prevent unnecessary noise which would inevitably announce my presence to the guards, I used a Force Push to throw the grate into water. This was a part of the base I could not see from outside. There was a large pool located in the centre of a large chamber, a submersible docked within the water.

It was an interesting sight, the architecture of the outpost was similar to the Sith Base. But I could sense her. The Jedi. I felt her as she walked down a corridor fumbling with her lightsaber. She wasn't aware of my presence. Yet she fumbled with fear, she was equipped with a large double bladed, orange crystal lightsaber. It had been modified to handle blaster fire, not other close range weapons. My advantage. Her fear, also my advantage. I could win this, and with ease. I was confident, so much so that I hadn't realised I'd already removed myself from the vents.

I was quiet and landed without a noise. In front of me was the sub and behind me, a patrol of six soldiers behind the female Jedi.

I followed. Through Force Sight I saw a light at the end of a tunnel – there was a room at the end of the hall with only one entrance/exit. That being the one she was about to use. So I ran at her. The door opened for her and she stepped in. Using the powers at my disposal I pulled the door shut behind her and threw her entourage against the walls. Behind me I pulled the doors closed with only my mind. Then I put my hand on the Lightsaber. I had grown accustomed to its superb weight and size, it suited me now if not before. When close enough I opened the door in front of me and drew my right hand back and into a fist. At first sight of her I let go of all my rage and threw my fist at her.

I only needed to clip her. If this were only a mere soldier she would have fallen unconscious with the blow I delivered, but I hit her square in the temple. She collapsed, her reflexes were good and allowed her to stand again quickly. She pulled out her lightsaber, and straight away I drew mine.

"You will never kill me, Sith."

"I won't have to."

What did that mean? Why did I say that?

My lightsaber came down onto hers and knocked her against the wall with the impact as if I had landed onto her with my ship. I was strong. She stuck at me but I deflected it and she overstepped past me. Her blade on the off side came down at me but I simply side stepped, losing balance she fell to the ground. I threw myself on her. And proceeded to strike violently and repeatedly with my weapon until hers burst. My weapon, now a part of me, lodged itself accidentally into her face.

I didn't have to. And now I knew why.

I pushed out my hand and engulfed her in Force Lightning, a feat I had never been able to accomplish in my life.

Then a piercing headache bore it's way into my skull. I saw her face. Her face, she was laughing. Then I laughed, literally. The Enchanci Combat Skills Lord Revan had provided us had allowed me to deflect Jedi Mind Games. I won.

I stopped using the Force on her and cut off her left arm with my weapon before stabbing her once in the left knee and once more in the gut. She was down.

"I won't have to." I taunted her. "Feel the pain. Acknowledge you have lost. You don't want to lose, do you."

"I…will…wi…will not…lose…to the Da…ark Side…" she struggled.

"Now you don't have to. You can beat the Dark Side, by becoming one with it. It doesn't care if you lose, if you die. You are just another casualty, another number. If you accept the Dark Side, your hatred towards me; you may use the Dark Side to become stronger."

"No! No… no… n- no… I will not succumb…"

I punched her, zapped her once more. Soon some color left her eyes and was replaced by a red. The same red I had seen in the flames on Kashyyyk. The flames of success. I had won.

"…teach me." She whispered.

I stood, and used the almighty powers of the Force to heal her just enough so that she could apply some first-aid on herself. She was wounded, and with only a single arm. I had won. And I had turned her dark.

"You will find your way to the Sith Base and say that Jaq has sent you. You are turned, the Dark Jedi will be able to see that, just as much as I can."

"Thank you."

I let her leave. She was of the dark side now, though she may realise it little. I didn't trust her, but if she decided not to seek aid from the Sith her wounds would be infected by the poison of impurity and she would die. But I let my guard down, when she escaped she could only leave through the front door. Soon the soldiers saw her, as she used the Force to render the men inert reinforcements arrived to where she had last reported in. They found me. I could have taken them, but if that agent was around I would be done for. So then, as she did, I succumbed. As the Selkath came I surrendered myself to the law.

The prison cells were cold and some of the men behind me were now crying.

A door opened and I could barely move my head, but I just angled it well enough to recognize two of the fish people. My trial was to run today? So soon? Thank the Sith. But my good mood was interrupted by another familiar face. An old man who had most of his face wrapped in blood soaked Kinrath silk bandages.

"Yes, that's him!"

God damn it, Deadeye Duncan.