"You don't seem to stay out of trouble do you?" I heard the voice of the same medical droid that gave me the cybernetic waist. I opened my eyes and jerked up, hitting my head on the lamp above me. The droid looked at me. "Your cybernetics have been finished. Again." Roo stood up and tightly held my body, tears down my chest.
"You said you'd be careful."
"I know." I sighed. "I'm sorry." I thought of what has happened to me since I first left Zant. I lost my antlers, turned to the Dark Side, killed Chief Tzano, took Rooda as my apprentice, got stabbed, killed a Sith master, joined the Rebellion, fought with Darth Vader and lost my arm and hand. Every choice I made was bad for me, for everyone.
"I really messed up did I?" I stand up and Rooda followed me out. I put the Sith robe over my body and walked out to the hallway. "Where's Rakine?"
"He said he was going out, to clear his mind." Rooda points down a hall to a balcony. I walked down to the balcony and watched Rakine silently stand, staring off at space.
"You're up already."
"Yeah," I stand at the balcony. "What are you doing?"
"Thinking." He stood still and I rest my arms on the balcony and leaned forward.
"Of what?"
"Of you. Everything that happened to you since I took you to Coruscant." He opened his eyes and kept staring ahead. "You lost your antlers, your respect, power, your arm and hand. You lost a great many things and it is all my fault. I only meant to train you in the Force but you have fallen down a dark path."
"I did many bad things." I look at him in my peripheral. "I killed the chief and Sorin. I lost many parts of my body, I turned to the Dark Side, I now stand as Darth Venison. I'm half machine." I sigh and we stand silently. We stare at the peaceful space but know that peace doesn't exist in the Empire.
"It's not your fault. It's mine. If I didn't agree to join you, if I stayed on Zant and continued the cycle. If Rooda and I stayed home, none of this would have happened." I close my eyes and rest my head on my metallic arm. "Who would have thought one small choice would lead to such a big disaster?"
"Boom," Rakine chuckled weakly. "Butterfly Effect."
I stare at space in front of me and I think long about what to do next.
"I think we should return to Yavin 4, give them the information we have, I'll take on the Sith again-"
"No." Rakine looked at me. "You are not strong enough to face ten again. And if you aren't strong enough, neither am I."
"Are you kidding me? You're Rakine Cerivian, the rebel. You walk the Grey Path and are trained in all the Force's aspects. You even shoot lightning." I gently punch his shoulder and chuckle.
"Yeah. Maybe. But what if I can't do it? What if I can't face them?"
"Don't be afraid, Rakine. Fear is the path to the Dark Side."
"I'm not afraid. I'm outmatched."
We continued to look ahead and only think of what we could do.
"We return to Yavin 4 to give them the information, then we go to Coruscant to get your ship back?"
"That's agreeable." He nodded. "But after I get my ship back, what happens to you and Roo?"
"I don't know. We might just live alone and remain hidden from the Empire forever." I looked at my cybernetic arm and hand, and I felt my broken antler-sabers, all eight lightsabers cut off the fan-shaped hunks of metal in my head, permanently scarring my head. I put my black hood over my head and stared at space.
"Maybe back to Zant. Back to Randin, to try and maintain peace and fix what I've done there."
"You could do that." Rakine sighed.
Rooda came out and stood by my side and stared ahead.
"We're going back to Zant? But what if they exile us from there? After all the misfortune brought to Randin."
I nodded.
"If they dishonor us, I am to blame. I caused everything that has brought us this far. I caused all the trouble that we have faced. I deserve dishonor now." I lower my head in shame of my actions and Rooda rests her head at my shoulder.
"But if all this had never happened, I probably would never have fallen for-" she mumbles. "You brought happiness to my life after we left. You freed us from that same dreadful cycle. The one you mentioned before. If it weren't for Rakine landing on Zant or you agreeing for us to join him, we might have never gotten this close together." She smiled and lowered her ears submissively. "Some good came out of this after all." She chuckled. "And I will always stand as your apprentice, no matter what happens now, the Force will always be strong with you. You just have to accept it and remember what had happened."
Rooda and I silently stand at the balcony and Rakine stands straight.
"We should start going. To Coruscant to get my ship. I'll go back to Yavin 4 and you two can start your own adventure. That sound alright to you?"
We nodded and went to the Zant's Nightmare to finish the final step in our journey.
I sat in the pilot seat and headed back to Coruscant, hearing the sails of the ship whir as we sped through the galaxy. I felt the deepest regrets for everything I have caused and Rakine could sense it.
"Try to let go of what happened. Trying to cling to it leads to disaster."
"I know." But I couldn't let go. I am too guilty for my doings.
Zant's Nightmare reached Coruscant and the sails died down into the ship's walls. The ship went down to the Jedi Temple, where we left Rakine's ship parked just outside, on a landing platform. We stopped the ship midair and looked down at the swarm of stormtroopers surrounding Rakine's ship. He opened the door and dropped down on top of the ship. Immediately blaster bolts surround him and he moves so fast, his red blade circles around the ship in a furious whirlwind. several bolts fly off in numerous directions and when he stopped spinning recklessly, every stormtrooper on the platform was sliced into chunks. Dead. He opened the door of the ship and stepped inside, the engine starting. I flew a distance away to let his ship rose up in the air. Both our doors open and he throws a small metal object at Roo. She catches it and activates it, Rakine activates his and a small holographic figure of Rakine emerged on the piece.
"These holograms we will use to communicate if ever we are separated." Rakine saluted to us. "I am going back to Yavin 4 to give them the information they needed. You two can go back to Zant and try to bring peace to your village, Randin."
Rooda nodded.
"We will."
The hologram shrank down and the circle turned off. I flew up out if the atmosphere to the Zant system. Roo watched as Rakine's ship fly in the opposite direction to the Yavin system. I activated the ship's sails and I felt something dark inside. I thought about Darth Vader and what he did to me. The Empire is still standing and I wish I could do something to stop it. But I can't. I'm not that strong.
The ship flew to Zant and I fly it down to the desert, where our former home lay. Randin Village. I flew down through the atmosphere and where Randin should be, I found pillars of smoke. Smoke that flew all the way up to the atmosphere. The Nightmare landed on the outskirts of Randin and Rooda and I both stared in horror as large pillars of smoke and fire emanated from the entire village. Other than the crackles of fire, the desert was silent. Randin was completely obliterated, buried in ashes and destroyed house rubble everywhere. We looked around for survivors. I entered the remains of my hut which I lived as a fawn. My own mother's dead body lay back in a chair with blaster bolt shots fired through her chest and stomach, especially killing an unborn fawn. I look down at my deceased family and felt my fury and my grief spark within me. I walk out, my head lowered in grief and Rooda gazes on at all the dead Zan-Deer bodies scattered around the village ruins. Everyone we knew, all the farmers, all the stags, does, and fawns, all the Zan-Deer of Randin Village were dead.
Rooda sinks to her knees overwhelmed by the massive grief of this loss. She hides her face in her hands and cries to herself. I sit down by her and rub her back.
"Why, Ven? Why did they have to do this?" She looked up and her tears slide down her cheeks.
"The Empire did this. I recognize the blaster shots." I stand up in an unholy mix of rage and hate as I storm to the ship and start it. Rooda runs in after me and wipes her tears away, anger rising in her. Not just anger. A vow of vengeance. Now she hates the Empire as I do. As I start the ship Rooda loses it.
"We are going to take that Empire and kill all of them. For Randin." She started to cry again and started screaming in anger, throwing an arm and sending a metal crate through the air. I immediately turned around as the ship took off the ground.
"Did you just do that?" I look at her as she stares at the crate.
"I- did. But I didn't even touch it." She turns to me.
"The Force." I stood up. "You have built a bond with the Force through your anger." I look at her in amazement and the ship flies out of Zant's atmosphere, activating the sails and heading back to the Naboo system. Roo sat down in a chair and kept looking at me.
The Empire has found Zant and destroyed the one thing I once swore to protect. Chaos has stuck the primitive planet and destroyed what we cared about. Now Roo and I can both agree to avenge the lives lost in Randin.
"I just had to kill the chief and let the village crumble," I aggressively smack the palm of my three-fingered hand to my forehead. "I'm such an idiot."
The Nightmare has continued it's course and Rooda activates the holographic communicator. The hologram of Rakine appears.
"Rakine."
"What news do you have? Why are you not back home on Zant?"
"We don't have a home on Zant," she wiped her eyes. "Randin Village is all gone. Everybody's dead. We just left Zant."
"I-" Rakine stands immobile, puzzled about the situation. "I'm so sorry." He lowers his head in respect. "But what will you do now, if you're home is gone? And who could have done this-" he stops and scratches his head.
"The Empire. They know Zant exists. They knew that was our home. They knew it would affect us. They thought the Zan-Deer were rebels too I think." I glare through the windshield. "But were about to show how much both our home planet Zant and the rebellion against the Empire mean to us."
"You don't mean that, do you? You just escaped the Empire. You fought them already and you're going back?" He shouts. "This is insane!"
"We're not going to the Star Destroyer. We're going back to Yavin 4. We have nowhere else where we belong. We are now loyal to the Reel Alliance. The Empire will pay for everything they've done. Killed most of the Jedi Order. Eliminated innocent Zan-Deer people. Building a Death Star to destroy entire systems. Everything they've done is an act of evil."
Rakine nodded.
"Well they are egotistical twits just trying to dominate the whole galaxy. And we of the Rebel Alliance plan to stop them and bring peace to the galaxy and restore the Old Republic." He turned to his side and looked back at us. "You say you're coming back here to help the Alliance?"
Rooda and I nod.
"We're already here." I deactivate the sails of the ship and flew it down to the jungle moon. When I spot the rebel base, disguised as a pyramid, the doors open and I land the Nightmare in the ship hangar. Rooda and I get up and open the door, to be welcomed back by Mon Mothma herself.
"Lord Venison she respectfully bows and walks us to the council chamber where Rakine has waited for us.
"Well that was fast." Rakine turned to us and leaned against a wall. We all looked at each other and realized something wrong.
"Where's Captain Karus?" Mon Mothma looks at us. "Didn't he go with you to the Death Star?"
"Oh my God," Rakine stood up. "He did come with us, but we got separated."
"We need to go and get him." Roo looked at Mon Mothma.
"If he isn't already captured or killed," she looked at us all in disappointment.
"I'll go get him." I raised my hand. "I fought the Sith Lords myself. I can go find and rescue Karus."
"You lost your hands and an arm." Roo looked at my cybernetic hands and left arm.
"Vader was just lucky to even hit me." I walk back to the door. "Trust me, I'll be fine." I walk out the door and I hear Rakine mumble as I turn the corner.
"Why do I have a weird feeling like I'm not going to see him again?"
Roo steps out to the hall and looks at me.
"Stay here Roo. It's safe here." I continue walking. "I'll be okay."
"That's what you said before Sorin stabbed you." He lowered her head and walked back in the room. I walked back into the hangar to the Zant's Nightmare and I open my hologram, an image of Karus appears. He looks different. He has a swollen eye and is covered in blood and bruises.
"Captain Karus."
"Lord Ven-" he coughs out blood, spilling onto his lower lip and bearded chin.
"Don't worry Karus. I'm coming back there to get you." I think quietly then ask curiously. "How did you manage to get separated from the group in the first place?"
"You took the elevator and I stayed behind to guard the ship. I'm surprised that you didn't see me. Or feel me-" he muttered.
He rubbed his bloody forehead, wiping his brown hair over his ear. "But they found and caught me. Started interrogating me. Beating me. I wouldn't give away the rebel base. They plan to kill me." He wipes blood off his lips and it stains his uniform.
"I know. I'm so sorry that we never found you in there." I run in my ship, start the engine and start to fly the Nightmare out of the hangar. "Just hang on Karus. I'm coming for you."
"You must hurry-" A stormtrooper comes from behind him and clubs him over the head with the back of a gun. Karus falls to the floor dropping the hologram. Two more drag his body away and the hologram dies down. I turn off my hologram and fly the ship out to the atmosphere, starting the sails. I prepare my darksaber in my metallic left hand for the rescue mission.
"I'm coming Captain Karus." The ship flies through the black of space to the Empire's core, in search of the lost rebel captain.