Episode 7 – Trial of the Trees
Mysteries Abound! Jedi Master Kyle Katarn has been tasked by the Jedi Council and Republic Military to lead a special Republic Task Force to investigate the origins of the massive Sith Army acquired by Sith Empress: Darth Akul! Following a lead from allied information broker; Talon Karrde, Master Katarn has learned of a possible Sith Base on the planet of Anzat that is believed to be the location of a secret Sith Weapons Factory! With his trusted friend and companion Jan Ors, Master Katarn heads to Anzat to verify the accuracy of the information!
Anzat system…
The Raven's Claw dropped out of hyperspace over Anzat, the starship heading straight towards the planet. Sitting in the co-pilot's seat sat Kyle Katarn, with Jan sitting in the pilot's seat. Kyle's personal droid WeeGee sat shutdown in the back.
"One of the Padawans? Wow I don't ever remember sending kids into combat during the Rebellion." Jan said as Kyle nodded.
"That's because there weren't any Padawans during the Rebellion…well not younglings at least. Pretty much all of the Rebellion's Jedi were fully grown, like Luke. Still hard to believe the kid's Grand Master, now." Kyle said as Jan chuckled.
"Why didn't General Marek take the position when he joined the Academy staff?" Jan asked.
"Didn't want the responsibility. The guy led the entire Rebellion, from its inception. That's gotta be one of the most stressful jobs ever. Being a simple Jedi Master was probably like a vacation. I imagine being Grand General's probably cake for him compared to leading the Rebellion." Kyle explained.
"Never thought about it like that." Jan replied.
"So about my question which you oh so skillfully avoided yet again." Kyle said as the Raven's Claw entered Anzat's atmosphere. They were headed for an area that was into the planet's early evening period of the day.
"Kyle, no." Jan replied with a sigh.
"Why not? I've been asking you for years." Kyle said as Jan sighed again and rubbed her face.
"I just…I just don't know." She replied.
"That's not an answer." Kyle said, leaning over towards her with a smirk.
"Shouldn't you be scanning for that base Karrde told you about?" Jan asked as Kyle straightened back up and turned to the controls, still smirking.
"Just a simple ceremony, that's all I'm asking." Kyle said as Jan groaned.
"Enough, Kyle. I'm not ready for marriage." Jan argued.
"Okay sheesh, I'll shut up now…but would you mind if-." "KYLE!" "…if I asked you to boost the power on the scanners?" Kyle asked as Jan scowled and boosted the power without looking at the controls.
"Thanks." Kyle said, looking at the sensor readings as the Raven's Claw flew over the forests of Anzat.
"Hmm, not picking up anything on the scanners." Kyle said as Jan looked out the viewports.
"Visual scanning's clear too and our coordinates match the ones Karrde gave us." Jan said as the Raven's Claw flew between two large mountains. There was plenty of space between the mountains so Jan didn't even have to adjust course. When they flew past the mountains however, they saw a wide black structure on the forest floor beneath them.
"Oh, there it is." Kyle said with a shrug.
"I'm not picking up many life signs Kyle. Maybe it's deserted." Jan said as Kyle scratched his bearded chin.
"Or perhaps its automated. Like a droid factory." Kyle replied but Jan wasn't convinced.
"I dunno. I'm not picking up many droid signals either." Jan replied as Kyle closed his eyes in light meditation.
"The force is unusually strong here but I can't get a good read on it though." Kyle said as Jan circled the Raven's Claw around.
"I spotted a clearing a few klicks from the structure. Want me to set down there?" Jan asked as Kyle nodded and got out of his seat.
"Yeah. There's something suspicious about this place and not because it has a Sith Empire Insignia on one of the doors." Kyle said as the Raven's Claw came down low enough for Kyle to jump safely from the airlock and land on the ground below. When he landed he looked up and shot Jan an "okay" hand signal, before the Raven's Claw took off again. Kyle then began to walk towards the factory. Even as he approached the factory, he could feel a strange presence in the Force itself. He wasn't sure what this presence was or whether it was Light or Dark, just that it was a single large presence, like it was all around him at once. As he approached the factory gates he found a couple of dead Sith Troopers lying on the ground outside, their bodies covered in vines as if someone had strangled the troops to death with them. He also noticed one guard had been hung by the neck from one of the trees. The gates were standing wide open so he was able to walk right into the facility grounds without difficulty. His comlink then crackled to life.
"Kyle, anything of interest down there?" Jan asked.
"The troops here appear to be dead. As if someone strangled them to death with the vines on these trees. Strange." Kyle said.
"Dead? All of them?" Jan asked as Kyle spotted a walker that had been pulled onto the ground by a number of discarded vines. There were massive scorch marks on the ground outside the main structure, indicative of a fire.
"Most of them at least. It looks like the Sith might've tried using their walkers against their attackers. I see burn patterns that match the flamethrowers on these walkers, but no bodies except for Sith. I don't even smell burnt flesh." Kyle said.
"This is getting cre~epy." Jan said as Kyle noticed something odd about one of the dead officers nearby. One of the vines around his throat was partially buried into the ground.
"You can say that again. Hang on a second." Kyle said as he knelt down and started to try and fish some of the vine out from the ground but as he pulled, parts of the vine got pulled up along the ground, leading all the way towards the main gate, running beneath it, and into the woods.
"Now that's interesting." Kyle said as he let go of the vine.
"What did you find?" Jan asked.
"I'm not sure. Why would someone partly bury a vine that they used to kill someone with? And how did they bury it so seamlessly too? It was like it had been there for years." Kyle said as he looked towards the factory, the doors standing partially open.
"Like I said, cre~epy." Jan said as Kyle started walking towards the building.
"I'm going to check out the building. If at the very least, I might be able to access their databanks and get some information on the Sith's military compositions. You know, vehicle schematics, weapon models, fun stuff." Kyle said.
"And maybe security footage to see what happened to the Sith here? I mean I'm not saying they didn't deserve it but-…" she said as Kyle smirked slightly.
"No we're completely on the same page with this one Jan. I want to know what happened to these Sith too." Kyle said as he stepped into the factory building. What he saw inside startled him.
"Whoa, that looks really nasty." Kyle said.
"Oh please tell me it's not a Rancor or something big that will eat you." Jan asked nervously.
"No-no. Nothing like that. I think I just found the Sith's version of the Empire's old AT-AT is all." Kyle said as he looked at a large four legged walker that resembled a large metal turtle with a tall semi-conical shell. There was a large metal ramp on the front that could be raised and lowered to allow troops to board and disembark. The cockpit was situated just above this boarding ramp and was merely a narrow slit with a pair of small repeating blaster turrets mounted beneath it. The walker's big guns were mounted near the top of the cone, and were two large laser cannons mounted on pivots. Worse was that the walkers appeared to have some form of small cannons dotting the sides that looked like heavy blaster cannon turrets, giving the walker a full 360 degree arc of protection. The top of the walker's cone was flat but it was fairly obvious that the top could be used for modular attachments that could be swapped out depending on the mission parameters.
"Let me guess, not vulnerable to harpoons and tow cables?" Jan asked.
"We'd need some pretty big guns to take this thing down." Kyle replied as he started to climb a ramp up to one of the inspection catwalks. As he climbed however, he saw another sight which startled him.
"More bodies. This time it's power cables doing the strangling and lynching." Kyle said as he saw a Sith Officer slumped against the wall with a thick bundle of wires wrapped around his neck. The wires were still mostly attached to the circuit panel above his body. Two more were hanging from the catwalks by a single large hose wrapped around their necks.
"Who do you think is doing this Kyle? The Anzati aren't known for this kind of brutality." Jan said as Kyle stepped over bodies.
"And they usually prefer their victims alive. They'd be more likely to knock you out and then drag you off somewhere private before sucking the life right out of you, literally. But these men died before anything like that could happen." Kyle said as he stepped into a control room. He then saw an astromech roll by, acting as if nothing were wrong.
"Well, good news, we've got droids…and we've also got a working terminal." Kyle said as he approached a nearby terminal and started slicing into the systems. He attempted to slice into the vehicle schematics but encountered resistance and was unable to access the files. He gave up on the schematics and instead switched to the security systems. He was able to slice the security in a matter of seconds.
"Let's start with security footage for the past day." Kyle said as he pulled up the security logs but it only showed footage of the dead personnel, after they had died.
"They've been dead for over a day at least. Let's try the day before that." Kyle said before pulling up a recording that was nothing but static and grain. The audio however worked but was nothing but undiscernible shouting and screaming with the occasional blaster fire.
"Okay, got audio but no video. Where's a decryption specialist when you need one? So we know they died two days ago. Let's see what happened three days ago." Kyle said as he pulled up the logs and saw a video of the personnel, alive and well, performing their duties. He then noticed two Sith troopers on the catwalk, the security camera apparently was close enough to record their conversation.
"So did you hear? They found more bodies today." One of the troopers commented.
"What? Where?"
"The mess hall. Poor lummoxes were supposed to have been fixing a broken vaporator for the water purifiers. Cleaner droids found them this morning. Just like all the rest, strangled to death."
"Who keeps doing this?! If I didn't know any better, I'd say there's a cloaked spy around here."
"It wouldn't surprise me, but here's the odd thing. Some of the men on the night shifts have reported seeing a woman both in and outside the base at night."
"What are those idiots thinking? They get caught with a woman while on duty, they'll be cleaning the refresher's for weeks if they're lucky. And if it's a native woman…(shudder)."
"No you idiot, not seeing a woman in that way, I mean seeing her, as in with their eyes. They say she has this wild hair and a weird face."
"Does she say or do anything?"
"No, just stares at them. When they try to get closer, she just vanishes before their eyes."
"This place keeps getting weirder and weirder. I'm putting in for a transfer first thing tomorrow."
"That's if you live long enough to put the request in."
At this the troops walked off in different directions. Kyle was immediately intrigued.
"So, there's been a string of deaths leading up to this. I wonder if I can find a record of their casualties. They might shed some light on the subject." Kyle said.
"Place to look would probably be the CO's office." Jan said as Kyle started walking through the facility again, keeping his lightsaber on hand just in case. Everywhere he went, every room he passed by, had more Sith personnel lying dead, each of them strangled to death by some form of cable or wiring. He soon reached what appeared to be the factory's command center. As he stepped into the room he sensed a presence in the force nearby. He played it cool, waiting until he was certain the presence was behind him. He suddenly spun around with his lightsaber active, only for a towering figure with thick white fur to let out a screech and recoil in fear. It was a Talz male, one of his four eyes had been gouged out and he had broken binders on his wrists and legs. There was even a collar around his neck but it had been broken.
"I've got a survivor here. A Talz. Looks like the Sith were using him as slave labor." Kyle said as he deactivated his lightsaber, clipping it to his belt as he approached the cowering Talz.
"It's alright, I'm not here to hurt you. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Kyle asked as he knelt down near the Talz, trying to convince him he was a friend. The Talz looked at him nervously with one of his eyes. It then said something in its unique language.
"No, I'm not one of the Sith. I'm a Jedi with the Republic. I'm just here to find out what happened to these men. Can you tell me what happened?" Kyle asked as the Talz slowly stopped shaking and started to turn towards Kyle. It then said something else.
"Lady? What lady? You mean my friend on the comlink?" Kyle asked, motioning to his comlink but the Talz shook his head and made another statement.
"The tree lady? Who's she?" Kyle asked as the Talz stood up to full height and motioned to the dead Sith Personnel around them while saying something in his unique language.
"She did all this?" Kyle asked as the Talz responded.
"How? How did she do all of this? What was her motive? I'm not defending the Sith but I just want to know her reasoning." Kyle said as the Talz started talking and shrugging helplessly.
"You don't know. Fantastic, first person I find and he has no idea how it happened or why." Kyle said while rubbing his forehead. He then looked back up at the Talz.
"Is there anyone else alive?" Kyle asked as the Talz nodded excitedly, saying something again.
"Others? Can you take me to them?" Kyle asked, the Talz nodding and motioning for him to follow. As Kyle and the Talz left the command center, one of the consoles started beeping, a display showing a Sith Shuttlecraft and another display highlighting a blip on its sensors approaching the facility. On the Raven's Claw, Jan was more-or-less joy riding in the ship, keeping it mobile and performing stunts to make it seem like someone was just taking their ship out for a spin. She did this partly for camouflage and partly for her own personal enjoyment. As she finished a barrel roll, she noticed one of the sensors started to beep rapidly. She leveled the ship and turned to the console. One look at the display and she spun back to the comms.
"Kyle just a heads up. We've got a ship in-bound. Scanners ID it as a Sith Shuttlecraft. ETA thirty minutes." Jan said through Kyle's comlink.
"Thanks for the warning. I'll be careful." Kyle said as the Talz led him into a building that was primarily used for the storage of raw materials and spare parts. There were several worker droids waiting in line with large containers in hand, waiting for a conveyor belt to start moving so they could put their payloads onto the belt and move on to grab the next one, but the belt had stopped moving, with its human operator dead at the switch. Most of the droids had shut down to conserve power but a couple was still online and stared up at Kyle as he and the Talz passed by on a catwalk overhead.
"How long have you been here?" Kyle asked the Talz who replied.
"Less than a year?" Kyle asked back. The Talz again responded.
"You helped them build the factory. Not that you wanted to." Kyle said as the Talz led him into a large building connected to the others via an enclosed bridge. As they entered this new building, Kyle quickly figured out it was the living quarters for the Sith and their slaves. He noticed that there were several other Talz and other people of mixed races huddled together, trying to survive by scavenging through the food pantries in the commissary. The Talz immediately got their attention, yelling something in its language. The others started cheering as Kyle and the Talz started to descend down a spiraling staircase into the commissary level. Once at the bottom floor, Kyle immediately found himself hoisted onto the shoulders of two other Talz while the others cheered.
"Uh! Thank you! Put me down please!" Kyle called, the joyful people obliging and putting him down.
"Thank you, so uh, this is just a stab in the dark but I take it that you all are freed slaves." Kyle said, noticing that each of the people around him had either broken binders or broken slave collars on.
"Yes, human, we have been here for months, toiling in this wretched place." A Twi'lek man said in basic as he approached.
"Can you tell me what happened to your captors?" Kyle asked.
"I wish I could tell you human but we do not know. It happened after we were taken back to our cells for the night. We could not see, only hear as the Sith screamed in pain, then all was silent. After a while our cell doors suddenly opened and our binders broke and our collars deactivated. That's when we found the Sith in the state they are now." The Twi'lek explained.
"It is the work of the great mother." An Ithorian said as he approached.
"Great mother?" Kyle asked.
"The great mother spoke to us all in our dreams, saying that unless we were set free, our captors would be punished for their brutality. She spoke to the guards the same way but they refused. One by one, the guards were killed by the great mother to try and convince them to release us but they refused. Finally she unleashed her power on them, killing them all and releasing us from captivity." The Ithorian explained.
"You're not going to like what I have to tell you then. I have a friend in my ship that's flying overhead right now. She says another Sith Transport is on its way here, probably to investigate why this facility has gone quiet all of a sudden." Kyle said but the slaves didn't seem worried.
"The great mother will protect us. We are not afraid. Even if we were to die, we would still live on, as the great mother teaches. There is no death, only the Force." The Ithorian said, startling Kyle.
"That last part, that's part of the Jedi Code. How do you know that?" Kyle asked.
"The great mother taught it to us. Every night when we sleep, she comes before us and promises that one day, someone would come to bring us out of captivity." The Twi'lek said.
"Describe her to me." Kyle said, curious to try and identify this Great Mother.
"She comes to us as a Twi'lek woman standing before a tree and-." "Twi'lek? No she is Ithorian." "Rodian!" Suddenly the slaves started arguing amongst each other as to the Great Mother's race.
"Hold it! HOLD IT!" Kyle exclaimed, silencing the bickering slaves.
"It doesn't matter really what race she is right now! First, let's focus on getting each of you out of here! There's Sith on the way and they're not going to be too pleased by the fact that you're all running free and their men are all dead! Now, is there a transport or shuttle we can use to escape?" Kyle asked but the slaves looked at one another. The Talz then said something that made Kyle rub his forehead.
"Okay, we need a new plan. My ship, the Raven's Claw can't hold all of you at once, but I know of one ship that might be able to. The Sith are on their way here right now so what we need to do is take their vessel the moment they arrive!" Kyle said as the slaves looked concerned and nervous by the plan.
"But how? We have no weapons." The Twi'lek said as Kyle looked at him blankly.
"You're standing in a weapon's factory." He replied. The Twi'lek muttered a curse to himself in Huttese at the realization.
"Quick question though, who here has ever held a blaster before?" Kyle asked but none of the slaves came forward.
"Alright that's actually a bit comforting. That means we'll need a place that can keep you all safe. Something that would be nigh on impossible to crack by simple firearms like a tank or a…oh of course!" Kyle exclaimed as he ran for the stairs.
"Come with me! I've got a plan!" Kyle exclaimed as the slaves started following after him.
…
On the Raven's Claw, Jan had hidden the vessel in a clearing on the mountainside, all systems but life support, sensors, and communications had been shut down and the Sith Vessel was getting closer on her sensors.
"Come on, Kyle get out of there." She mumbled. She was then startled when the ship suddenly vanished from sensors.
"This can't be good." Jan said worriedly. Back in the facility, Kyle showed the freed slaves the giant Sith Walker.
"Here, you should be safe inside this thing." Kyle said as the slaves began to pile into the walker.
"We thank you for your help, Master Jedi. The great mother said someone would come. I only hope that your plan is successful." The Twi'lek said as Kyle made a quick inspection of the walker's systems. To his mixed relief and disappointment, the walker's weapons and leg servos were shut down or not fully operational.
"That makes two of us." Kyle said as his comlink crackled to life.
"Kyle, we've got a problem. The Sith Vessel just disappeared off sensors." Jan said as Kyle paused.
"Oh please tell me you didn't just say that." Kyle groaned.
"I've scanned three times. I'm taking off and breaking for orbit." Jan said as Kyle sighed heavily and nodded.
"Right, get out of there Jan. I'll take care of things down here. Thanks for the warning." Kyle said before pocketing the comlink.
"What is the problem?" the Twi'lek asked worriedly.
"Yeah, it looks like that Sith transport was Sith Special Operations, meaning they've likely got Commandos on their way right now. All of you stay here, lock yourselves inside the walker. I'll take care of everything." Kyle said as the slaves nodded understandingly.
"We will." The Twi'lek replied as Kyle stepped out of the walker, using the force to throw the switch on the boarding ramp, causing it to close shut behind him. Kyle then turned and started to run out of the facility, running into the jungles of Anzat. As he ran, he could sense the seemingly omnipresent presence in the force reacting somehow to the arrival of the Sith forces on the planet. He also couldn't shake a thought from his mind. The vine that had strangled one of the Sith troopers outside, the one that had been buried so skillfully, was gnawing at him. Something about it just didn't make sense to him. He then came to a clearing up against the side of a massive tree. The tree was noticeably taller and larger than any of the others around in the forest. He suddenly heard a twig snap from nearby, causing him to freeze in place. He quietly took hold of his lightsaber, unclipping it from his belt, as he scanned the trees around him. He then heard a mechanical sound mere seconds before he quickly activated his lightsaber in time to deflect a powerful blaster cannon shot. Kyle quickly found himself deflecting more blaster cannon bolts as a towering black metal monstrosity emerged from the jungle, firing at him. As he deflected the blasts, his eyes widened at the sight of his attacker.
"Sith Spit!" Kyle exclaimed. It was a Phase III Dark Trooper. Kyle finally managed to deflect a shot towards the Dark Trooper, causing the bolt to impact the ground in front of it, sending up a cloud of dust and smoke. Kyle quickly ceased the opportunity to turn and run into the forests. It wasn't long before he heard heavy metal footsteps moving rapidly up towards him from behind, quickly overtaking him. He leapt up and into a tree before leaping backwards, passing over the Dark Trooper which quickly slid to a halt and turned towards him, its massive blaster cannon rifle raised and ready to fire. Kyle quickly sliced a tree down at the base with his lightsaber before using the force to throw the tree towards the Dark Trooper but to his dismay the Dark Trooper fired a single shot at the tree, blasting it into a shower of splinters. Luckily the tree served its purpose and gave him another chance to slip away, leaping up into the trees. The Dark Trooper started looking around for its quarry, it's head swiveling around. Finally it started to walk forward, continuing to search for the elusive Jedi Master, unaware that Kyle was hiding on a limb overhead in one of the trees. As the Dark Trooper passed beneath him, he flipped his inactive lightsaber around in his hand so the blade was facing backwards before he suddenly leapt down from the tree, landing on the Dark Trooper's back. The Dark Trooper suddenly started flailing about, attempting to dislodge Katarn. Kyle had just activated his lightsaber when the droid grabbed him by the leg and threw him onto the ground. Kyle landed hard, dazing him slightly but it was enough. The Dark Trooper raised its blaster cannon towards the Jedi Master and fired but Kyle deflected just in time, the bolt bouncing off his lightsaber and striking the Dark Trooper in the head, shattering it into a thousand tiny pieces of metal. The headless torso of the Dark Trooper proceeded to drop onto its knees, the sound of its systems powering down as it then fell forward onto its chest. Kyle took a moment to breathe and catch his breath…at least that's what he wanted to do before he heard a mechanical whirring sound coming from within the droid's headless torso, a beeping sound that increased in speed. Kyle quickly leapt to his feet and ran past and away from the droid, just getting far enough away before it exploded, sending him flying towards the massive tree where he tumbled down into a crack between the tree's roots, falling into a darkened area beneath the tree. Kyle took a deep breath and attempted to climb to his feet, only to feel a shooting pain in his leg at the ankle.
"AUGH! Fantastic!" Kyle grumbled as he rested his leg on a root nearby, catching his breath. As he caught his breath, he felt his fight against the Dark Trooper catching up with him, his energy expended. He found himself slipping into unconsciousness. He tried to stay awake but he was unable to and fell into a deep slumber.
…
Outside the tree, two Sith Commandos approached the smoldering wreckage of the Dark Trooper, along with a third figure clad in the familiar battle armor worn by the Dark Jedi of the Sith Empire.
"Sir, the Dark Trooper…it-…" one of the Commandos said to the Dark Jedi.
"Yes, it appears we are not alone here. I sensed the presence of a Jedi here a moment ago, but it disappeared the moment we heard the droid explode. It would seem that our Jedi problem has been dealt with. Now let us resume towards the facility. Let us find out what the Jedi was doing here." The Dark Jedi said as the Commandos fell in step and they started heading into the jungle again.
…
Kyle opened his eyes with a gasp as he sat up. He then realized that the scenery around him had changed. Instead of the darkened area beneath the tree, he was laying on a bed of grass beneath a star filled sky. Surrounding his bed of grass was a strange fog that only came up to his knees. Before him in the distance stood the same massive tree he had fallen beneath but there were no other trees.
"There is no emotion, there is peace." A woman's voice said from nowhere. Kyle suddenly saw a human woman appear before him, emerging from the fog in front of the tree. She was beautiful with long flowing hair, wearing a simple brown dress and no shoes. She smiled down at Kyle before kneeling down and looking at his booted leg.
"You wouldn't happen to be this great mother that I've heard about are you?" Kyle asked as the woman smiled at him.
"You have injured your leg in the fall." She said as Kyle felt his leg twinging painfully, causing him to grimace.
"Yeah, no kidding." Kyle grunted. The woman quietly placed her hands on his ankle, causing it to glow with a strange green and blue aura, the pain in his ankle slowly disappearing.
"You are not like the others that came here and roused me from my slumber. I could feel the pain and suffering of their slaves and it caused me to awaken." The woman said as Kyle put a hand to his bearded chin in thought.
"Let me ask you something, was it you that killed the Sith in the base?" Kyle asked, the woman's eyes narrowing in response.
"So my fears were true. They were indeed Sith. As I suspected. Yes I am responsible for their destruction and the safety of their slaves. Even now I sense the arrival of more Sith. I will not allow them to give the Dark Side a firm hold on this planet." The woman said as Kyle pondered, looking at the tree and at the woman in thought.
"You referenced the Jedi Code a while ago and the slaves claimed that you've been teaching them the code as well. So let me ask you this. Are you a Jedi?" Kyle asked as the woman looked at him in minor surprise.
"Jedi. That is a word I have not heard in a while, but I have lost all track of time since I last walked amongst the galaxy. I was a Jedi once, but then I was betrayed by the very Republic I and my fellow Jedi were sworn to protect. We were slaughtered, shot in the backs by the soldiers we led into combat. Tell me, what has happened since that time?" the woman asked.
"You'd have to be more specific, I'm afraid. If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say you were referencing the Clone Wars." Kyle said as the woman nodded.
"Yes, I was a Jedi during the Clone Wars. The last piece of news I heard in relation to the Republic was that it had been transformed into an Empire ruled by a Sith Lord." The woman said as Kyle felt his ankle, feeling no pain whatsoever in it as if it had been completely healed.
"Well that Empire has since fallen. A New Republic has risen within the past twenty plus years since the Empire's defeat. The Jedi Order is rebuilding itself and steadily growing. I myself am a member of the New Jedi Council. I'm Jedi Master Kyle Katarn." Kyle introduced as the woman's eyes sparkled in soft spoken joy and almost tearful relief.
"Then the Jedi prevailed after all. Tell me this, Master Katarn. Are there other Jedi from the Clone Wars?" she asked as Kyle nodded.
"A few. Master K'Kruhk was a Jedi Knight back then and Master Brood was a Padawan during the wars. Then there's Master Skywalker. We just recently lost-." "Wait, Skywalker?" the woman interrupted.
"You know the name?" Kyle asked as the woman scowled slightly.
"Skywalker, the name brings about thoughts of betrayal and murder. Is the Skywalker you speak of, Anakin Skywalker?" the woman asked as Kyle nodded.
"Yes, and before you start condemning him, you should know that he spent over twenty years as a servant to the Dark Side before finally being redeemed by his son. He has since become a wise leader of the Jedi Order. But he is still haunted and burdened by the years he spent as a slave of the Dark Side. Every life he ever took weighs upon his heart and he is a changed man." Kyle said as the woman pondered for a moment.
"I see…then perhaps he is a testament to the concept of redemption. So where do these new Sith come from?" the woman asked.
"That's what we're trying to find out. They're led by a new Sith Lord, Darth Akul, who is also one of Skywalker's former apprentices from back when he was a Jedi. We're trying to find out how she was able to amass such an army and come against the Jedi and the Republic. The Republic is currently in a state of open warfare with the Sith." Kyle said as the woman seemed saddened by the news.
"And how are the Jedi participating in the war?" she asked.
"This isn't like the Clone Wars. Jedi can help serve in the war if they so choose but the majority of the Order is staying away from it. There are a few of us who are helping to lead the war effort though. It's a precaution to help avoid instances like Order 66 and the purge." Kyle said as the woman seemed placated by his answers.
"So the Jedi have returned to their roots as keepers of the peace and not soldiers. This is welcome news indeed. But I cannot leave knowing that the Sith could still harm the innocent lives here. Will you help me accomplish this task?" the woman asked as Kyle nodded.
"Forgive my skepticism, but how can you help? I'm still trying to figure out who and what you are." Kyle said as the woman smiled. Instantly, Kyle's eyes opened. He was back beneath the tree. He looked down at his ankle and saw several vines sliding away from his leg as if they were alive. He climbed to his feet and looked around curiously. He suddenly heard the sound of groaning wood and bark. He saw a light appearing in the center beneath the tree as a hole opened up in the dead center of the ceiling as a thick twisted mass of long rope-like plants descended from above, touching the ground before it began convulsing and twisting around as a humanoid form appeared amidst the plants until finally he could make out the form of a beautiful humanoid woman with long "hair" shaped like thick roots with a smooth face, lacking any semblance of a nose or nasal cavity. Kyle grinned as he quickly figured out what she was.
"A Neti. I had only heard legends and rumors about your kind." Kyle said as the Neti woman smiled and nodded.
"You are correct, friend. I am Jedi Master T'ra Saa." She said as Kyle looked around at the tree above them.
"So you took root here at the end of the Clone Wars." Kyle deduced as Master Saa nodded.
"Yes. I took root here on the site of a funeral pyre of a very dear friend of mine. A fellow Jedi named Tholme. Using the force, I manipulated the trees surrounding his pyre site, to grow around me into one large tree, allowing me to shield Tholme's funeral site from those seeking to destroy me or defile his resting place." Master Saa said as she approached Kyle, holding two lightsabers in hand, one hers and the other the lightsaber belonging to Tholme.
"I'm sure he was a great Jedi." Kyle said as Saa nodded.
"He was. Now let us not waist anymore time. We must stop these Sith from harming the innocents here." Saa said as the hole leading into the cave opened up more, allowing the two Jedi to escape into the woods.
…
Near the facility, the Commandos and Dark Jedi neared the fences surrounding the facility, the two commandos noting the dead bodies.
"Sir, we can't find anyone still alive. Whatever happened here, it left no one alive." One of the commandos reported.
"There were no experimental weapons being developed here. It was an ordinary factory. There should've been nothing capable of killing everyone inside." The Dark Jedi said, unclipping its lightsaber from its belt.
"Orders sir?" One of the commandos asked.
"I sense someone is still alive. Follow me." The Dark Jedi said as it led the Commandos into the facility, leading them towards the large hangar where the attack walker was stored.
"Here. Someone is here somewhere. Check that walker. They might be hiding in there." The Dark Jedi ordered, the Commandos approaching the walker and knocking on the large door.
"Open up! Open this door now! Come out with your hands up!" the Commandos ordered. The Dark Jedi then quietly approached, activating its lightsaber and plunging the blade into the door, causing the door to glow red, part of it beginning to melt from the center. Inside the walker the ex-slaves knew their captors had returned and were cowering near the back of the walker in fear. The Dark Jedi could sense the fear within the slaves, spurring it on as it continued cutting through the doors. Suddenly one of the Commandos started gasping for air as it was pulled to the ground by a vine wrapped around its throat. The Dark Jedi and other Commando stared for a second before the other Commando quickly moved to assist but a blaster shot rang out, a blaster bolt flying in and hitting the commando in the back, causing him to fall dead. The Dark Jedi spun around towards the origin of the blaster shot and saw Kyle standing with his Bryar Pistol drawn along with Master Saa, her lightsaber active.
"Two Jedi? Excellent." The Dark Jedi said before pulling its lightsaber free and turning towards the two Jedi Masters.
"You're outnumbered! You can't win!" Kyle declared.
"Am I?" the Dark Jedi asked as it pressed a button on its wrist before charging at the two Jedi, attacking them in a fury. Kyle and T'ra held their ground against the Dark Jedi, repelling its attacks. After a moment it became clear that the Dark Jedi was merely stalling and it soon became obvious why. The Sith Transport came flying low over the facility, pausing overhead for a moment and dropping two large pods onto the ground outside before flying off to the clearing where Kyle had been dropped off earlier. The pods suddenly burst open, revealing a pair of Dark Troopers.
"Augh! Master Saa, you deal with him, I'll deal with these tin cans!" Kyle exclaimed as he broke off to deal with the Dark Troopers. The two massive battle droids both raised their rifles at Kyle and opened fire but the Jedi Master deflected their shots as he ran towards them. He then turned and ran towards the crashed combat walker nearby, the two Dark Troopers following after him. Meanwhile, Saa continued battling the Dark Jedi.
"You are an interesting Jedi. I sensed your presence in the force but did not realize until now that it was you I sensed." The Dark Jedi said as Saa scowled at him.
"You and your kind have harmed innocents, enslaved them for your own nefarious purposes! I will not let you bring them more harm!" T'ra declared as she and the Dark Jedi exchanged blows, the Neti Jedi Master proving surprisingly nimble for having been in hibernation for nearly forty years. She then raised her arm towards the Dark Jedi using the Force to throw it backwards against a solid metal wall where a mass of vines burst out of the ground, ensnaring its arms, legs, and throat before slamming it down onto the ground. The Dark Jedi proceeded to slice through the vines with its lightsaber before unleashing bolts of force lightning towards the Neti Jedi Master who quickly blocked with her lightsaber. Meanwhile, Kyle had ducked behind the wrecked walker, the Dark Troopers continuing to fire at him. Kyle proceeded to deactivate his lightsaber and holster his pistol before reaching out with the force to lift the crashed walker off the ground and then throw it towards the Dark Troopers, the walker slamming into one of them and pinning it to the ground, still functional, while leaving the second continuing to fire at Kyle. Kyle reactivated his lightsaber, using it to deflect the blaster cannon shots back at the towering machine. He then reached behind him and pulled a thermal detonator and threw it at the Dark Trooper, the detonator exploding at its feet, disorienting its vision. When it finally cleared, it was too late to stop Kyle from leaping up and beheading the droid with his lightsaber. He landed behind it and shoved it forward with the force, putting some clear distance between him and the self-destructing droid. As he watched the droid explode into a twisted heap of smoldering metal, he heard a metallic banging and rattling behind him. He spun around to see the other Dark Trooper climbing free of the crashed walker, part of its armor dented and crushed, its entire left arm non-responsive but it's right arm and blaster was still functional. Kyle quickly began deflecting more of the Droid's blaster fire while Master Saa continued to duel the Dark Jedi.
"You will not survive this, Jedi! Those slaves will pay for outliving their masters! They should've died with them!" the Dark Jedi hissed as T'ra glanced out of the corner of her eye as Kyle deflected blaster shots from the Dark Trooper.
"No, they WON'T!" She yelled before throwing the Dark Jedi back through the force, slamming him into a wall. She quickly turned and summoned a mass of vines to burst up through the ground, ensnaring the Dark Trooper and pulling it to the ground long enough for Kyle to slice through the Droid's rifle then stab his lightsaber through its chest. They then heard the Dark Jedi let out a battle cry as it came charging towards the two. T'ra Saa quickly turned back and sent the vines ensnaring the Dark Trooper to launch forward and grab the Dark Jedi by the legs, yanking him towards the massive hulk, slamming hard against it as the Dark Trooper's self-destruct timer counted down quickly.
"NO!" the Dark Jedi screamed as Kyle and T'ra Saa ran from the droid and Dark Jedi, taking cover behind a pile of crates. The Dark Jedi had just managed to get free of the vines when the droid exploded in a single ball of fire. The two Jedi peered out from behind the crates in time to see the burning remains of the Dark Jedi's mask hit the ground in front of them. They could feel through the force that the Dark Jedi had been eliminated. The two Jedi stared at the burning mess for a moment before they heard a faint cheering sound. They quickly rushed over towards the walker where they heard the slaves inside cheering. They had been watching the fight through the hole the Dark Jedi had made in the wall.
"It's alright now, you can come out!" Kyle called into the walker. Soon the boarding ramp started lowering, the freed slaves emerging from inside.
"You have saved us Master Jedi. You have saved us all." The Twi'lek said as the Talz picked Kyle up in a powerful hug.
"Ahh! Thanks. But you really should be thanking Master T'ra Saa. She's the one who slew your captors." Kyle said as the Neti Jedi Master bowed to the slaves.
"Great Mother, we thank you from the bottoms of our hearts." The Ithorian said.
"The knowledge that you will all live and die free will be thanks enough. Now we must get each of you off planet as soon as possible." T'ra Saa said as Kyle turned towards the jungle path leading towards the clearing where the Sith Transport was landed.
"Well it just so happens that the Sith brought our ride to us. Come on, let's go." Kyle said as he and T'ra Saa led the escaped slaves towards the clearing.
Later in the Umbara System…
The Raven's Claw and the stolen Sith Shuttle had docked with a Republic Fleet to offload the rescued slaves. The two Jedi and Jan stood on the hangar deck of the Mon Calamari cruiser that acted as the flagship of the fleet where they watched the Republic troops tending to the slaves.
"It's always good to have endings like this." Kyle said as T'ra Saa turned towards him.
"Indeed. I wonder, Master Katarn, would the new Jedi Order have room for an old plant like me?" T'ra asked as Kyle laughed.
"I imagine so. Luke will be thrilled to have another Jedi Master in the order. We'll take you to Ossus as soon as we're done here." Kyle said as T'ra Saa smiled and bowed appreciatively.
"I look forward to meeting the rest of the Order. I've been apart from the galaxy for too long. It's time I rejoined it." T'ra Saa said as WeeGee hovered up, beeping in his unique version of droidspeak.
"All set, Weeg? Okay then, let's go." Kyle said as he, Jan, and T'ra Saa started for the Raven's Claw.
"By the way, Master Katarn, do you know a Jedi by the name of Vos?" T'ra Saa asked.
"Can't say that I do. Why?" Kyle asked back as the Neti Jedi Master pondered.
"Then perhaps there is a possibility of finding another Jedi that survived the Clone Wars. After Order 66 was issued, Master Tholme and I assisted in rescuing one of our fellow Jedi, a Jedi Master named Quinlan Vos. He and his family moved to Nar Shaddaa to hide from the Sith before we too went into hiding. I do not know if he is alive or not but perhaps we can find him." T'ra said as Jan climbed onto the Raven's Claw.
"We'll consult what records we have and see if we can't find him." Kyle said as T'ra Saa smiled at him.
"Thank you Master Katarn." She replied as they both climbed onto the Raven's Claw, the ship taking off and flying into space before jumping to lightspeed shortly thereafter.
End Episode 8.
Hey check it out, I have a reminder set to keep the episodes premiering on schedule!
I really don't own any of the major characters in this episode save for the freed slaves and the Dark Jedi Kyle and T'ra faced. The return of the Dark Troopers will be explained in a later episode as well as the hunt for Quinlan Vos.