TATOOINE
A massive storm of energy overtook the five Sith Lords before they could kill their three targets, sending a large burst of air that sent them flying.
Five speeders full of Jedi quickly arrived on the scene, led by Tionne, and the Knights rushed to fight off the Sith.
"Master!" Tahiri gasped as she struggled to get up.
The powerful blast had knocked all five Sith to the ground, but they were quick to recover their footing.
"Are you all right, apprentice?" Tionne asked as she pulled her former Padawan to her feet.
"I'll manage," Tahiri whispered as she braved herself for the fight.
Twenty Jedi stood ready for combat, an array of colored blades lighting up the Tusken camp.
Additional Sith joined Tenebrous, Millennial, Ness, Erebor, and Archin, creating a sea of red and crimson glows in the midst of the multi-colored Jedi sabers.
"Stand down now, and we do not have to fight," Tionne said in acknowledgement to the army of Sith, "You were brought back to this realm and to this battle against your will. You do not have to die here.
"We don't intend to," Darth Zannah replied, "You and your brethren will instead."
As Zannah gave the signal for the revived army of Sith to attack, Tahiri instinctively grabbed Sam by the shirt collar and pulled him away, then charged at the attacking Sith.
For the first time in more than a thousand years, a large number of Sith and Jedi were engaged in battle- lightsabers clashing and the sound of plasma bars humming and zapping against one another filling the air.
"You're in no condition to fight," Tionne whispered to Tahiri, "Take Sam and General Praxium to Bestine, we have liberated it from the Coalition."
Tahiri hesitated, not wanting to abandon her Master and fellow Jedi at this dangerous crossroads, but knew that Tionne was right.
"Take my speeder," Tionne said, getting in between Tahiri, Sam, and Genera Praxium and the charging Darth Millennial, pushing the three-eyed Sith with her lightsaber.
Tahiri let go of her attachment to Tionne and the others, realizing and accepting what needed to be done.
"Let's go, now!" she hissed to Sam.
"Come on," Sam said to his father, who had been staring in disbelief at the entire scene.
The three of them hurried through the line of defending Jedi towards the parked speeder that Tionne had arrived in. The Jedi who had come to their aid formed a protective perimeter around the defenseless trio as they ran.
As Tionne continued to repel Darth Millennial's attacks, the resurrected Sith broke off from the duel and started after Tahiri, Sam and Praxium as they reached the speeder.
With a yell and a flick of the hand, the former Dark Lord tossed his lightsaber in a spiral directly at Tahiri.
Tahiri swatted it aside with her own weapon as she climbed into Tionne's speeder.
She used the Force to pull Sam and Hoff in with her, before collapsing in the driver's seat with a burst of exhaustion.
"Let me get us out of here ," Sam insisted, moving Tahiri into the passenger's seat beside him before climbing behind the controls himself.
All the while, the Jedi pushed the Sith back with their defensive combat strategy, maintaining protective barrier that kept the Sith away from the trio.
Weakly, Tahiri looked back at the sight of Tionne, Sebatyne, Hamner, leading the young Jedi as they clashed against the Sith invaders. She had a terrible feeling that she should not leave them all behind, but she knew that Tionne was right- she was too injured to hold her own, and others needed her.
Sam quickly pulled the lever to activate the landspeeder's engine and propelled them fast away from the Tusken camp that was now a battleground between the forces of dark and light.
WELLSPRING OF LIFE
A Firespray-class ship appeared in orbit of the Force planet as Kira Solo approached the Golden World.
She had never felt such a strong beacon from the Force before, with light and dark both calling to her so strongly.
The feelings of anger and hate that had boiled in her on Tatooine and Chandrilia remained strongly in her, and the aura surrounding the planet was urging her to tap into them even more.
However, these were mixed with the warmth she had felt when she'd reunited with her parents and friends, after two years of isolation and lonesome wandering of the galaxy. Kira wanted to serve others, not herself or her own interests. But she could not let go of her familial attachments, or the passion she felt associated with them.
She wondered if her mother, Ben and Uncle Luke had been able to let go of their attachments, to one another and to her. Had they struggled to remain detached as they fought against dark forces? Had they always kept their emotions in check while doing so?
The Force beacon was only blaring louder in Kira's mind as she steered Slave II into the atmosphere of the small, golden world.
The presence of Darth Ultor, her most hated enemy and the killer of so many whom she cared for, drew nearer, as did that of Hego Damask, her false mentor.
She sensed intense darkness and greed in both of their presences, and they were inviting her to share their lust for power.
As Kira's stolen ship sailed into the clouds towards the surface of the Force planet, she imagined the unique, unprecedented power calling to her on this very world. Power that would give her the ability to vanquish her enemies and all others who threatened peace and the people she loved.
She continued to pilot Slave II towards a towering temple that stood amidst a tundra of gold and silver-colored sleet on the ground, along with multicolored vegetation.
Hundreds of millions of voices were silently shouting to Kira as she took in the atmosphere of this planet, some microscopic organism and others long-dead spirits of powerful beings.
The Force surrounded this planet like no other- it was the nesting ground of the midichlorians and the center of the Force's activity.
The temple that Kira's ship approached was smaller than the Jedi Academy on Ossus, but Kira could tell that it had far more contained inside. It consisted of two spires pointing out of the main tower, with an upside-down dome on top.
Kira didn't see any sort of landing platform attached, so she pointed the steering lever towards a safe patch of ground.
The vibration of the Firespray's engine felt stronger than ever as it touched down on the surface of the Force planet.
Kira's vision, hearing, and sense of touch were heightened as she climbed out of the cockpit, running a hand over the lightsaber clipped to her belt.
Instead of pressing the button on the control panel to open the ramp to Ailyn Fett's ship, Kira raised her hand to open it with the Force.
Inside the Force-cave, Hego Damask continued to wrestle with the power flowing inside his veins, with the crystal walls presenting two scenes at once to him.
On one side, he was unconsciously commanding the Sith Lords battling an army of Jedi within the abandoned Tusken Raider village.
Inside the other cave wall, another legion of undead Sith was marching towards the village of Bestine, led by Darth Bane.
"I could stop them, I have the power," he grumbled, "but I can't."
Serenity had disappeared and was replaced by another figure, who emerged from the darkness of the cave with the ignition of a red-bladed lightsaber.
"The abilities granted by the dark side of the Force ensure its permanence in the souls of those who unlock them," the hauntingly familiar voice said.
Damask at first saw a face that looked like Ultor's, but this was not the Dark Master, despite the familial resemblance. This was a face that had invaded his nightmares and visions for decades, though it had aged and been deformed beyond the youthful features sneering at the old Muun.
"You are not above the teachings of the Sith," taunted the young Darth Sidious, "Even if you think you are."
In his youth, Emperor Palpatine greatly resembled his descendant, although he was a bit shorter and had darker hair and a slimmer build.
Damask glowered at the illusion, activating his yellow-bladed lightsaber. Even though this was not the real Sidious, Plagueis felt the need to assert his dominance over his former apprentice.
"Where are you now?" Darth Plagueis hissed, "Dead and reduced to atoms. I alone unlocked the secrets that you craved, that countless generations of Sith sought after. I won in the end, Darth Sidious, and you were just another victim of Bane's Rule of Two!"
Embracing the dark side within him, Plagueis lunged to cut down the image of his former Sith pupil.
Sidious fought back, parrying with his red blade as Plagueis struck.
Plagueis glowered at the young human, his sunken eyes flashing with hate behind the fiery glare created by their clashing lightsabers.
Sidious gave his trademark cackle as Plagueis let out a low bellow, finally cutting through Sidious's lightsaber defenses and striking the young man in the chest.
The youthful Sidious was still cackling as he fell to the floor of the cave, his lightsaber combusting and flickering out at once. With an explosion of the short, metallic hilt, the illusion of young Palpatine evaporated.
Plagueis then returned his focus to the cave wall's projections, where his armies of Sith were continuing to advance.
Bane's unit of Sith was currently engaged in a battle against Republic Interceptors firing on them from above, returning fire with their lightsabers.
A few shots were returned to the ships that had fired them, causing the Republic fighters to erupt into flames and gas.
The cockpits crashed brutally onto the sandy beds, the pilots consumed by the smoke and fire.
"This is my army, my Sith Order!" Damask hissed, "All my brethren fight at my command!"
"Then why are you still lost?" another visage behind Plagueis asked. This voice was much deeper than Sidious's and more imposing.
Plagueis turned to confront the illusion of Tenebrous, his old Master, who was now fighting against the Jedi unit in the Tusken Raider village.
"You are not really here, Master," Plagueis said, although he felt more fear than he had when facing his old apprentice. He could not keep the quiver out of his voice.
"Even when you joined the Sith, you had a weakness that held you back. The weakness of compassion and mercy. The same weaknesses that blind the Jedi."
"I am not like the Jedi," Plagueis hissed, "I have transcended the limits of the Jedi's philosophy and the ignorance of my Sith predecessors. You could never have taught me the secrets I learned from the midichlorians on this very world."
Tenebrous raised his long, spidery fingers as if he was about to hurl Force lightning at Damask, who was ready. The towering Muun lunged and cut the scalp off of Tenebrous's large, bulb-shaped head.
The Bith toppled to the ground and immediately vanished just as Sidious had.
Damask looked at the spot where the illusion had disappeared, then back at the scene of Bane's Sith approaching the city of Bestine, where the Rebel forces were still desperately trying to repair the Millennium Falcon. Whatever he had said to Tenebrous, his soul was still locked in a battle with itself that would determine the Force's course of action.
TATOOINE
Leia Solo led the Tatooinian refugees through the canyons, searching for a cave to take cover in to avoid the line of sight of Coalition ships.
She sensed the danger of the Sith, although she and her charges were not in the immediate line of sight of them.
They were targeting Han and the others, Han who had raced to defend the innocents of Bestine from Omas's cannons and warpath.
Han had made it out of that battle okay, Leia sensed, but not even Lando and his Republic forces would be able to fight off the Sith army, not when they were still reckoning with the Coalition's fleet and ground forces.
Han, she thought to herself, Hurry. There's trouble coming. Leave the Falcon behind and save yourself.
Of course, Han wouldn't pick up on her message, he wasn't Force sensitive and only believed in the power of the Force slightly more than he had when they'd met.
One of the guerrilla leaders, a man named Brody Orant, said, "Looks like we're going to have trouble."
"Children, take cover," a fearful father urged.
"Hide!" an anxious woman said.
Leia snapped out of her Force-meditation, cursing herself for not sending the danger that was immediate to her situation and that of the refugees she had been entrusted to protect.
A single-file row of banthas was advancing up the rocky slope, predictably mounted by Tusken Raiders. Unusually, it was not only the warriors and raiders that were present, but entire families of men, women and children of all ages. Leia had not seen the Tusken Raiders enough to recognize these distinctions, but residents who had long had to reckon with the Tuskens were familiar with the male and females.
"They have their women and children with them," another armed guerrilla whispered, "They never bring children."
The lead bantha stopped near the cave entrance where the refugees had taken cover, and Leia approached.
She didn't unclip her lightsaber or show any sign of defensiveness, but she braced herself for a fight nonetheless.
One of the Tuskens riding the lead bantha shifted in the saddle so that he was facing Leia.
"Jedi warrior, I am Chief Rothlan of the South Ridge Tusken clan," the Tusken said in a rough, gravelly voice. Leia would never have known he was the chief if he hadn't said so given his humble attire. "We have met with one of your own, the daughter of two of ours."
"Tahiri!" Leia exclaimed, "Where is she?" She tried not to sound accusatory, but Leia would have been surprised if the Tuskens had made a peaceful resolution with Tahiri, or any outsider.
"We were able to reach a mutual understanding with Jedi Veila," Rothlan replied, "The Tuskens are willing to cooperate with you outsiders for the purposes of fighting off our mutual enemies."
"Mutual enemies?" exclaimed Orant, "You expect us to fight with you after...after everything you do to our farms, and our people?"
Rothlan picked up a long rifle laying in the saddle, while Leia unsheathed her lightsaber without igniting it.
"You are in no position to attack the Tuskens now," Rothlan growled, "Not when we outarm you and not when moisture farmers have long ago taken our land and forced us to scatter!"
A woman named Emera Banai spoke up, joining Orant.
"We have done nothing to provoke you Tuskens, nothing to deserve the years of ruthless attacks."
"But you come in peace today," Leia prompted, trying to diffuse the tension between the two groups, "You seek to work with the other residents of Tatooine."
"It would appear that we stand the most to gain by working together, rather than divided," Rothlan replied, "Your Jedi and her Republic companion were rather effective in their persuasion. But we will not pretend that the moisture farmers did not start hostilities with the Tuskens, when they arrived on our territory."
"Whatever happened was centuries ago!" Emura protested, "and it has nothing to do with what we've suffered all these years. The fear that we have lived in."
Leia closed her eyes and re-entered a meditative state. It came down to her to resolve this conflict, even if on the short term.
"We all know that each of us has the most to fear from the Coalition, and the Sith," she said, addressing both the Tuskens and the non-Tusken Tatooinians, "along with Omas's military faction. With so many attacks from different sides, we would do better to work together, no matter our differences."
She realized that Tahiri Veila must have done wonders to even get the Tusken chief to have a peaceful discussion with outsiders, and a flash of pride in the younger Jedi surged in Leia.
"The Tuskens are ready to do our part," Rothlan said, "Provided you do the same."
"Even if we did work together, we are severely outgunned," Orant pointed out, "We have no weapon supply."
"Our clans have an abundance of weapons and ammunition," Rothlan replied, "We are willing to supply you."
"If we are able to get weapons, then we need to move quickly if we are going to win this fight," Leia declared, "We all need to work together. Everything else will have to wait."
Inside his established headquarters in Mos Espa, Gorga the Hutt spoke to the hologram of a Twi'lek pilot.
"The Republic drone that we intercepted has detected the Tusken Raiders joining up with the Tatooine fighters and their Jedi protector."
"We must strike at them now, before they can become another nuisance," Gorga said in Huttese, "Deploy the second Syck unit and take them out."
A Nikto aide rushed into the comm center.
"Your excellency, there is a fleet of Republic ships headed towards Mos Espa. They have their drone bombers with them!"
"And now we must call on Black Sun to deploy their fighters," Gorga grumbled, "We are facing threats from too many directions."
WELLSPRING OF LIFE
Darth Ultor stormed furiously towards the cave into which Hego Damask had fled.
His lightsaber treaded against the ground behind him, emitting a trail of sparks and embers in his path.
That old man refused to die, Ultor realized, but he had a weakness: Plagueis knew that he was losing his advantage as the midichlorians sought to serve a new master if it meant getting rid of him. So Plagueis was not willing to stand his ground and fight a losing battle.
Ultor's eyes flashed yellow and black as he entered the mouth of the cave, which obscured anything inside it.
As soon as he entered, Ultor thought he was in an entirely different dimension- he saw a stream of molten running along either side the walkway, one stream was crimson red while the other burned bright green.
The ground was made of black stone and the cavern walls were lit up with isolated fires burning atop small ledges, along with crystals that shined dark red.
Ultor marched along the pathway, avoiding the edges that led into the multicolored lava. The cave's interior reminded him of his fortress on Had Abaddon, Ultor briefly noted.
He reached out with the Force, directing his hatred towards his only remaining dark side rival. He knew that Damask was here somewhere, but he seemed to be nowhere nearby now that Ultor had entered the cave.
"Where are you?" the Dark Master growled.
"You will not find what you seek in here," a voice as familiar as Ultor's own said from behind him.
Ultor turned furiously to face the illusion of Luke Skywalker, appearing as alive as he had when Ultor had faced him down on Tatooine.
"You're nothing but a phantom, an empty shell," Ultor hissed, baring his teeth as he waved his blade towards the Grand Master.
"Your insight serves you well," Luke commended, "But what are you, embarking on this isolated quest while the armies that you commanded have deserted you, and the apprentices you trained have fallen?"
"I have no need for any of them," Ultor replied, feeling both his voice and his body tremble as he spoke, and wishing he could stop it. "Here, I have access to greater power than any Jedi or Sith has dreamed of. I will be unstoppable once the midichlorians fully answer to me."
"What happens when you do achieve that power?" Luke asked, "When you have beaten Plagueis, and Kira Solo, and the Jedi? What will you do next?"
The late Jedi Master stood calmly, not even registering the fact that he had a red-bladed lightsaber shining in his face.
"I will complete the legacy of my great-grandfather, Emperor Palpatine, and all the Sith before him," Ultor snapped back, "There will be nobody to stand in my way to seize ultimate power and rule the galaxy for all eternity."
"And once you have achieved immortality, and conquered the galaxy for yourself, what then?" Luke asked, "what will you have to fight for, and who will you have with you?"
"Haven't I proven that I don't need anybody?" Ultor snarled, "I didn't need you, or the Jedi, or Palpatine! When I loved, it held me back. Now I have no desire to love or be loved. You are useless to me."
With that, he gripped his lightsaber hilt with both hands and swung at Luke.
Before he could make contact with his blade, the Grand Master vanished into thin air, leaving Ultor's lightsaber to swipe thin air with a red blur of light.
Before Ultor could rage and scream, another voice spoke up from the other direction, this one female and young.
"You had no need for me, either?" asked Corla Kreshi, also known as Darth Talon.
Upon the sight of his most trusted lieutenant, Ultor deactivated his lightsaber blade and crumbled.
"You were different," he said with a gasp, "You were special to me. We were going to rule side by side over the others."
"I wasn't just a tool to you and your schemes, just like Judicar and Wyyrlok and the others?" Talon asked, "You really loved me?"
"Yes," Ultor replied, feeling tears in his eyes now, which had returned to their natural blue. "No! You were my biggest weakness, and the reason why I could not unlock my full potential until now! You held me back!"
"But you felt something other than hate and greed," Talon reasoned, "just like you did when Luke Skywalker tried to appeal to you. You nearly crumbled, just as you did when I was cut down."
Igniting his lightsaber blade and slashing it against the obsidian cave wall, "I no longer have a use for you, or anyone! I don't need to see any light, not when the darkness has gotten me this far."
Ultor stabbed his lightsaber through Talon's chest, causing her to crumple to the floor and vanish in a flash.
His eyes burned yellow once again, with his black pupils ready to drill through anything that they looked upon.
Ultor marched along through the shadows, with his only source of light being the fire above him and the molten below.
Kira Solo climbed the steps of the temple she had entered, slowly making her way to the top floor.
As soon as she reached the chamber that made up the domed structure on top of the temple, Kira instinctively drew her lightsaber, her finger twitching against the switch to activate its blade.
"Who's there?" Kira demanded, "I know you summoned me. What is this place?"
A tall, pale-skinned being shimmered down into physical form from the rooftop, black eyes staring down at Kira. This mysterious alien was dressed in a long black robe and had glowing eyes that complemented a unchangingly emotionless facial expression.
"I am Serenity, one of the Force priestesses that inhabit the Wellspring of Life," the godlike being said, "You have reached the home of the midichlorians."
"Did you summon me here?" Kira asked, "Why did you call me to this temple? I need to find Darth Ultor and destroy him."
"I can only interpret the will of the Force, not influence it," Serenity replied, "But the midichlorians have served the same master for too long, and seek to be rid of him. Even if it means serving a new master."
"Then I must destroy them both, and take control over the midichlorians for myself," Kira resolved, "If I don't, then the Sith will be all-powerful."
A new, unfamiliar voice spoke to Kira from the shadows of the temple.
"The midichlorians were not meant to serve a master," said the voice of a Jedi spirit.
Kira turned to face a strange Force ghost dressed in what she recognized as Jedi robes. This man who had addressed her had a short beard and a long streak of hair running down his back .
The strange Jedi spirit continued.
"They only seek to be liberated from the man who controls them now- but their relationship with living beings is symbiotic in nature, not based on control."
"Who are you?" Kira asked suspiciously, "Are you a Jedi spirit like my grandfather? Were you a Jedi of the old Republic?"
"Yes, I was a Jedi of the bygone era," the spirit said, "I am Master Qui-Gon Jinn. I was the first Jedi to discover the Wellspring of Life, where I learned the power over life and death. On this world, I am able to appear in spirit form to you."
"You learned how to control the midichlorians like Hego Damask?" Kira asked skeptically, wondering how the man had died if he'd had such an ability.
"No, as I said, the midichlorians are meant to be free, not to serve a living master," Qui-Gon Jinn replied, "I discovered the ability to preserve my spirit in the physical world after my death, to guide future generations of Jedi, and preserve our sacred knowledge. That same ability has been granted to your grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. It is why he has been able to communicate with you all these years."
"But the ability to stop death itself, like Damask can do, that has to be a stronger power!" Kira replied, "If Skyler learns that secret, then it won't make a difference if any Jedi can come back as spirits! That's why I need to beat him to the secret and get the midichlorians to listen to me!"
Qui-Gon Jinn bowed his ghostly head in sorrow.
"Unfortunately, young Jedi, when Darth Plagueis unlocked the secret to physical immortality, he violated the laws that bind living beings to the energy of the Force, and unlocked a power that the Force never intended to be discovered. This power over life and death has corrupted his soul, as the promise of it has corrupted Ultor. And if you are not careful, the same power may corrupt yours."
"I've already used the power!" Kira protested, "Damask taught me how to speak to the midichlorians, and I haven't been corrupted. I brought back a dead man to life after I shut down his midichlorians."
The Force priestess Serenity spoke up now.
"The more you exercise the power of life and death over the midichlorians, the more it will consume you, even when you try to turn away from darkness. If you want to truly clean your soul of corruption, you must surrender the knowledge of the midichlorians back to them."
Kira shook her head determinedly. "I can't do that, not when the alternative is letting Ultor and the Sith win."
Qui-Gon replied, "The Sith must be stopped, but you cannot lose yourself along the way."
Then, the shimmering blue Force spirit faded into the cold air, leaving Kira and the priestess Serenity.
"Can you sense the secrets of the midichlorians?" Serenity asked Kira, "Can you feel the powers that they wield?"
Kira nodded breathlessly, unclipping her lightsaber without thinking about why she was doing it, except knowing that she needed to find an outlet for her internal aggression, her yearning to exercise the power and energy boiling up inside her.
"Take care not to abuse them," Serenity warned, but Kira was already on her way out, rushing down the stairs towards the Force presence of her most hated enemy.
As Kira reached the bottom of the stone staircase, a new thought dawned on her, one that chilled her to the bone. Even now, without the guidance of a light or dark master, she was a pawn in a larger game. The two sides of the Force were once again at war, and she was an instrument of one side. Kira was on the side of good, she knew for certain, but her own agency seemed far less consequential than whatever she did in service of the light or dark side of the Force.
She would make her own destiny, Kira decided, based on what she stood for. Kira was motivated by both fatigue and vengeance. She was tired of her life and the lives of those around her being forced into a state of war by the Coalition and Skyler- no- Ultor. The Skyler that she remembered from her childhood didn't matter, he might as well have never existed. Ultor had reduced the Jedi to fugitives, had killed Ben, had killed Luke, was the reason why Kira had set out to learn the secrets of the midichlorians to begin with.
This time, Kira would be the one in control. She would return to Tatooine a hero, with the power to destroy the all of the revived Sith and the Coalition's bosses and guerrilla squads. The larger political stage had no more bearing on Kira than the two sides of the Force, she decided.
Kira continued to scan for Ultor's presence on the planet, then with a jolt realized he was literally under her feet.
Kira crept into the lobby of the temple where she had found the staircase, looking around. She saw endless passageways that led in various directions, towards staircases going up and down, and twisted passageways leading elsewhere.
Kira followed her instincts, rushing towards a round entrance in the floor that led into another staircase passageway, leading down towards a dark abyss- a hole that led into pure blackness. Kira closed her eyes, hesitating.
"Can I trust my instincts?" she asked, "Am I going anywhere, or am I losing my way even more?"
She was not talking to herself or the thin air, but to a spirit who she knew was watching.
"This temple is a place of communication between the midichlorians and living beings," Anakin said as he came into view, brightening the dark passageway with his shimmering aura, "The midichlorians are telling you where to go."
"Because they want me to find Skyler, and beat him," Kira replied, "They want me to take their secrets for myself, so that the Sith can't use them anymore."
"The midichlorians don't always speak directly, nor does the will of the Force," Anakin explained, "We must sometimes interpret it."
"I'm supposed to fight, I just know it," Kira replied, "I need to win and destroy the Sith."
Anakin nodded in acknowledgement. "The Sith by nature bring the Force out of balance, by seeking to expand their influence and control over the galaxy. Sidious used the Empire to do this just as Ultor is using the Coalition. It is the job of the Jedi to keep the balance and prevent the dark side from spreading its power. But we must not lose our way and give in to anger and hate. That was my most deadly mistake."
Kira looked at the youthful face of her ghostly grandfather and recognized that he was not merely retelling his own history. He was sending her a warning.
"I won't turn to the dark side," Kira said, "I am bringing peace and justice to the galaxy." As Kira spoke, she heard her declaration turn into a promise, knowing that if anyone knew what was best for her, it was Anakin.
Kira's last sentence seemed to trigger a reaction in Anakin, although it was only a brief frown.
"Remember your Jedi teachings," he replied, "Remember that power for its own sake is not the Jedi way."
Kira nodded solemnly and said, "I will, Anakin. Stay with me, please." She felt like a little girl again, needing a more powerful protector to be with her as she walked into the unknown.
Kira took a deep breath and plunged into the black gateway.
Immediately, she found herself in what looked like a brightly-lit library, full of manuscripts and datapads on shelves, along with a row of Holocrons, mixed with Jedi and dark-side teachings.
Anakin's ghost, to Kira's disappointment, had vanished. Yet she barely had time to think about it, nor did she register the spectacle that this chamber made up. Instead, she turned towards a figure who sat in meditation, activating her blue blade and advancing.
Hego Damask arose from his state of meditation, regarding Kira Solo as she approached.
"Young Jedi, I knew you would find me sooner or later here," he said, "It is most fortunate that you arrived before the Coalition Master."
Kira dipped her lightsaber downwards slightly, keeping the blade pointed up as she circled around the taller being.
"You're commanding the army of Sith," she said in a wavery tone, "The Sith that are attacking my friends on Tatooine."
"That is precisely why the Force has brought you here," Damask said, holding up both his pale hands in surrender, "I am unable to surrender the use of my power of manipulation, no matter how much I try. The midichlorians must turn against me at the command of another."
"And I'm supposed to do it," Kira concluded, "Take your powers as my own, rather than try and imitate your control over the midichlorians."
Damask hesitated before responding, looking anxiously around the vast library that resembled both the Jedi Archives on Coruscant and the collection on Moraband where Ultor had discovered the Sith Holocrons as well as the empty tombs from which Darth Plagueis had taken Sith remains to experiment with.
"There is but one problem," Damask said, "You are not ready for the task. Not ready to bear the burden of midichlorian control."
"What do you mean?" Kira demanded, "I trained under you! I brought back a man from the dead after shutting his body down! I can do it!"
"You do not have the training that I do," Damask reiterated, "It takes far greater power to control the life force of several dozen beings strong with the dark side than one man with a low midichlorian count. If you try it, you may very well die, and if not, then your spirit will arrive on the brink of no return."
Kira paused as she listened to Damask, still circling around the old, towering Muun with her lightsaber ignited. For a moment, the only audible sound was the hum of her plasma blade.
Then Kira replied, "I'll take my chances. What do I have to do?"
"Listen to me, Kira," Damask said, "You have seen my life, what I have become. Even when I try to turn away from the dark side, I cannot escape its influence. That is why we fought on Tatooine, and why I briefly sided with Ultor. That is why I continued my experiments on the fallen Sith Lords even after I swore off their ways when my apprentice betrayed me. There will be no escape for you, as there is none for me."
"I'm losing my patience with this talk!" Kira snapped at him, feeling the Force feeding on her built-up aggression, "Are you going to give me your secrets, or am I going to have to take them by force?"
With that Plagueis ignited his own yellow-bladed lightsaber, prompting Kira to charge. Plagueis blocked and parried Kira's strikes, before Force-pushing her away.
"No, this is not how it is supposed to go," Damask said, catching himself and deactivating his weapon, "If my death is the only way to stop further catastrophe, then so be it. Kill me if you must, Kira Solo, and good luck to you."
Kira hesitated, realizing that the former Sith Master was giving her permission to cut him down. To confirm his stance, Plagueis re-sheathed his lightsaber into his robes and sat down on the floor of the library.
Kira slowly approached him, her arm shaking as it gripped her lightsaber hilt. This was a cold-blood kill, but Damask was making it so easy...
"When I die, my knowledge will die with me," Damask said, "This time, I will not come back. I will order the midichlorians to transfer their authority onto you instead. I am yours for the taking."
"I can't," Kira said meekly, "I can't do it. It's not right. I don't know what I was thinking, but I'm sorry. There has to be another way."
"There is another way," said a low, dull voice as the sound of a lightsaber hum filled the walkway between archive shelves. Kira pivoted her feet in the opposite direction, now firmly gripping her lightsaber with both hands. The red glow of a lightsaber blade appeared behind the shelf, casting its glare over the shine of the Force-sensitive artifacts filling the rows. Finally, Darth Ultor revealed himself, his lightsaber in position to duel. He pierced both Kira and Damask with his yellow Sith eyes, reflecting the blackness of his soul.
"This is where our battle finally ends," Ultor declared, "There will be no escape for either of you, or for the Jedi Order and its allies. Prepare to meet your destiny."