"Why?" I asked myself as I landed the Zant's Nightmare in the hangar of the Star Destroyer. "Why did I have to cause all this?"
I stood up from the pilot seat and held my darksaber firmly in my metallic hands. I still felt the presence of the Sith Lords overseeing the construction of the Death Star. I left the hangar and started to search the main area for any signs of Karus. Few bloodstains are visible on the floors, a long smear as if he was dragged down the halls. I started following the trail, picking up a strong scent of him the closer I got.
"Halt," three stormtroopers load their weapons and aim to me.
"Hiya, fellas," I simply nod.
I've had enough of the Empire and their armies. I slowly walk to them and they open fire on me. I move only my left hand, holding the darksaber, and start deflecting the shots, watching as singe marks landed in the walls. I Force throw one against the wall and he clumsily falls to the floor. I slice through the other's gun, leaving him defenseless. I stab another through his armored chest, watching him collapse. The third one shoots at me and I jump over both the shot and the stormtrooper, performing a flip in the air and slicing his armored helmet in two with my blade. I landed on the ground behind him and turned to see him just standing still, until he slowly turns and reveals a long lightsaber gash down the front of his face and the top of his head. He tries to raise his gun at me but in a second he falls to the floor dead. The last stormtrooper, whom I threw into the wall, gets up as I walk away and he shoots at me. I swing my black blade over my shoulder and the shot deflects back into his torso. I don't bother to look at their bodies as I proceeded to walk down the halls following the blood trail Karus left. But the blood trail soon stopped. Another stormtrooper comes around a corner and raises his gun, and I Force pull the gun to me and throw it over my shoulder. I pick up the stormtrooper by its head with one hand, possibly breaking his neck with the amount of Force I used. I then use the long, sharp, metallic fingers on my other cybernetic hand to slash through his armor and make two long scratches across the skin on his chest. I throw his corpse against the wall and he hits the floor below. I look at the gashes on his chest and raise my cybernetic hands. I look at my two long, jagged, metallic fingers and thumb, and make small gestures like a fist. I look back up at the hall and smirk. I know at least I have my cybernetic hands as weapons.
I continued to track down Karus down the halls of the Star Destroyer. I reached an elevator and opened the door, feeling Karus' presence. I felt his presence in the Force grow stronger the closer I got to him, but I worried that the Sith Lords could feel both of us. I had returned to them and they don't seem to care. It's like they're letting me take Karus back.
"Karus?" I called as I walked into a room, feeling him inside.
He was floating in a prison cell awaiting interrogation. I walked over to him slowly and held my hand out with the Force to deactivate the shackles on his ankles and wrists. His body falls limp and I catch him before he hit the floor. I got him up on his feet.
"Karus, are you alright?"
He nodded and brushed his long, scraggly brown hair from his face.
"We must hurry. They plan to kill me, and I have found out more of the Empire's plans." He pulled out his hologram and a virtual image of a large gray sphere with a crater in the side.
"Is that-"
"That is the Death Star completed." He points at the crater shape. "This is a large space cannon, where a massive beam can shoot out and destroy an entire planet." He put the hologram away and walked to the exit. "We have no time to waste. The Rebel Alliance will have great interest in this." I followed him out of the prison room and headed to the elevator. I motioned him to follow me as he wipes the dried blood on his whole forehead and lower face. He stepped in and I push the button to the lower floor to the hangar.
"I was lucky to find you still alive," I looked at Karus.
"How did you find me, other than my blood trail?"
"I felt your presence."
I turned to the hall the elevator door opened. I walked Karus down the halls to the hangar but as I turned the corner, we were greeted by multiple stormtroopers.
"I'm sorry, this is a dead end," the stormtrooper in the front says as he lifts his gun. I ignite my darksaber.
"You know I can kill all of you in a matter of seconds, right?"
I give the stormtroopers a cocky grin as Karus hides around the corner, having lost his rebel blaster. A stormtrooper fires at me and I swing my blade, sending the blaster bolt into the wall. The stormtroopers start to open fire and I Force throw the one in the front, knocking a bunch of them down. I run through the hall slashing away at the stormtroopers as I pass them. I motions Karus to follow and he takes two blasters from some dead stormtroopers. I throw my darksaber like a spear through one of the stormtroopers at the far end of the hall and Karus hides backs behind a wall. I run to a wall and start running up the side and jumping off in a midair cartwheel, dodging many of the blaster shots. I land on the floor and Force pull a blaster and my darksaber back to me and start cutting the most of them down. Karus comes out from behind the wall and starts simultaneously running and shooting at any remaining stormtroopers. As I swing my blade through the neck of the last stormtrooper, decapitating him, Karus spins the blasters on his fingers and straps them on his belt, I deactivate my darksaber and continue walking. I walk down the hall to the hangar and I motion Karus to the Zant's Nightmare and I feel the presence of Lord Vader coming our way. I ignite my darksaber.
"He's not going to sever me anymore." I walk back out of the hangar down the opposite side of the hall. A door opened and Vader walked to me igniting his lightsaber.
"You don't know when to stop do you?" He cracked the knuckles of his cybernetic hand and kept walking to me.
I turn to the Nightmare and Karus steps in and sits in the pilot seat.
"I don't have the time for this Vader," I take a step back to the hangar door.
"Very well."
He lifted his arm with the blade, "Then I will make quick use of you." He swings at me and I hold my black blade to deflect his attack. I Force shove him back and I turn to the door, deactivating my darksaber. I immediately stop myself and remember what happened last time. He literally disarmed me the last time I ran. I back away from the door and look back at Lord Vader.
"No," I muttered. "No more running." I
ignited my blade again and Force charged to him. I recklessly swing at him, now managing to control my anger. I roundhouse kick his arm holding his lightsaber to the side and I stick my black blade through his stomach. He groans in pain and sinks to his knees, slowly pulling my darksaber out of his abdomen and throwing it to the side, next to his lightsaber. He stands back up and Force pulls both of them to him.
"Alright," he groans under his helmet, "alright. Let us find out where this goes."
He walks slowly over to me and I back down the hallway. He Force charges to me and I quickly sidestep and perform a somersault under a swinging blade, and I jump up behind him slashing my metal claw-like fingers across his back, shredding his cape and damaging the armor on his back. He turns and steps back each time I slash his armor with my claws. He takes his black cape off and Force throws me down the hall, I catch myself on my feet when I hit the wall and rebound off, Force yanking my darksaber from his grasp and into my own. I walk back to him and twirl the darksaber in one hand, and Force pushing him back with the other. I Force jump over him and kick him in the back, knocking him away. He turns back to me and I slash at his chest armor with my black blade. He starts wheezing and holds his chest, pushing a few buttons and mechanical whizzing sounded in his helmet, and his wheezing slowly subsided. He moaned quietly and recklessly swung his lightsaber at me, I just manage to repel the blade's attacks. Our blades grind and clash against each other, many sparks flying with each hit. I Force jump back as he pulls my darksaber to him and throws it on the floor. With one swing he slices through my darksaber, destroying it, sending shards of metal across the floor. I Force pull the black color Crystal to my hand and hold it between my metal fingers. Vader starts to walk toward me swinging his blade. I can only dodge his swings and jump back, landing on my hands and kicking the Sith Lord in the masked jaw. He groans under his mask as I flip back up and turn to run down the hall. I hear him get ready to throw his lightsaber at me and I stop running, turning to the side and watching the red blade spin just past me as I lean to the side. Vader runs to me and we both hold a hand up, and we both throw each other down the opposite ends of the hall. I stand up in a hurry to grab my weapons and just run back to my ship. I turn down a hall and run down a staircase as I hear his steps growing closer behind me. I keep running down a hall and quickly turn down another hall and I bolt in one room. I look around as I hear him coming down the metal stairs toward me. I run behind a wall to a small chamber, I open its door and I close it behind me. I hide in the small area with my back against the wall, I start to breathe quietly to avoid detection. He walks closer toward me as I don't move a muscle, but he knows I'm here. We're Sith Lords. He senses me already.
"Venison."
Vader opens the door and I lift my darksaber at him only for him to Force throw it against a wall and he grabs me by the sides of my head, tightening his grip with his leathery fingers. He holds his thumbs up above my face and I start to breathe heavily. I'm too caught in fear to react with the Force and his thumbs draw closer. In an instant my vision is obscured by his thumbs and I start to feel him press against my eyes. I start to scream in pain as he slowly starts to gouge my eyes out with his thumbs. I react and use my leg to Force kick him into a wall, sending him flying and releasing his grip on my head. I gasp in relief and I rub my eyes of the pain, Force grabbing my darksaber and running past Vader out of the room. I hit the control panel on my way out I hit a lock button, the door closing behind me and sealing Lord Vader in the small chamber. I bolt out of the room and head back up the stairs to the hangar to catch up with Karus at my ship. I turn back to the hangar entrance and I see all the doors in the halls opening. Wave of stormtroopers come from all the doors and immediately open fire on me.
"I hate my life." I say out loud to myself, an unamused look on my face.
I dodge their blaster shots and deflect a few, slowly walking toward the hangar door. As I pass the doorway, I turn and run to the ship deactivating my darksaber. I wave my hands as I ran closer trying to get Karus' attention.
"Start the ship! Karus!"
The stormtroopers chase after me and continue shooting, their bolts flying past me and I feel a sting in my lower calf.
"Start the ship!"
In seconds the Nightmare starts up and I quickly limp to the door as it slowly closes. Avoiding the stormtroopers' shots, I somersault under the closing metal door and I sigh in relief, starting to rub my right leg where I was shot. I cringe and Karus flies the ship out of the hangar from the Star Destroyer.
"You alright, Lord Venison?" Karus turns to mess I stand up.
"It's nothing. I lost limbs and got metal antler transplants."
Karus nodded.
"You are the toughest deer I have ever met." He chuckled. "And the bravest. Coming straight into the Empire to save me." The ship's sails grow from the walls and the ship speeds up through space.
"You're a Rebel. We have to stick together." I nod as I sit down in the chair next to him.
"I have to hank you Lord. You are a very respectable man, and you may be the strongest asset to the Alliance."
"I'm honored, Captain Karus. But maybe this isn't working for me."
"What do you mean, Ven?"
"I lost limbs to Vader, I got shot. None of my plans against the Empire have ever worked. I can't do this, Karus." I sigh and slouch in the chair. I turned to Karus as he slowly nodded his bearded head, wiping the blood off his hairy chin.
"Maybe, a few things happened. And the effects will be permanent." I nod. "But," Karus turned to me, "are you already planning to avoid detection from the Empire?"
"Avoid detection?"
"Yes. Well the Rebel base on Yavin 4 is already secret to the Galaxy-"
I nodded more and looked at him.
"The Empire doesn't know where the base is? They don't know about this?"
He shook his head.
"You'll be safe with us, Vension. If you plan to hide from the Empire, you should stay at Yavin 4 while the Rebel Alliance gathers more information on the Empire. You and your girl Rooda both-"
I rub my head.
"It would be great to hide out away from the Empire with-" I gulp, knowing how I felt for her and now I want to protect her. "Rooda."
Karus chuckles and pats my shoulder.
"So you and your apprentice, huh? You sly dog."
He chuckled, I rolled my eyes, and the ship flew back into the Yavin system. I thought quietly about staying on Yavin 4 with Rooda and Rakine.
"All right," I sit back up. "I'll stay with the Alliance in the base, Rooda and I will stay where it's safe and avoid capture."
"Good. It may be the best choice for you to stay there, if you intend to remain safe." The Zant's Nightmare flew back down to Yavin 4 and the Rebel Alliance base, the doors open and the ship flies down in the hangar and lands on the ground. The ship's door opens and Karus and I stand up from the chairs and walk out, being welcomed back by Rakine and Mon Mothma.