Location: The far edge of the Great Grass Plains, on the planet Naboo
As Malgus stormed toward the small group of incoming Jedi, he gestured to a unit of nearby Biots and commandos and shouted: "Over here!" They immediately started running in the same direction he was.
With little effort he could gauge the varying abilities of his oncoming targets. He could sense... A master... 2 knights... a learner... and... It was her! "How curious!" He thought.
The sixth individual of the group had no force sensitivity to speak of. She was, interestingly enough, a biot (he could sense the altered biological signature inherent to all biots, including himself. What was more, she was the one who had sparked such a great reaction in the "Almighty Luke Skywalker". She was the tool to his undoing.
He had no illusions as to the power that Luke possessed. If he had indeed taken the place of the "Father", killing him would only be possible through some kind of great distraction: Like the death of someone dear to him.
When he got within 20 meters of Dena, He leapt forward and ignited his crimson blade. He flew through the air ready to strike the helpless woman, when... When his blade was intercepted by the light blue blade of Master Tekli.
The diminutive Chadra-Fan, was more a healer than a fighter. But, a Jedi Master she was, and everyone on the battlefield would bear witness to her deservedness of that title.
At the same time, the 4 Sith had closed in on Luke. At their side had gathered a number of Mandalorian and Biot soldiers.
Sith were famous for their arrogance and underestimating their opponents. These were particularly Sith were true to form. All attacked without the slightest fear of failure. As powerful as the Great Luke Skywalker had become, surely he was no match for such a force! They were wrong!
For Luke it was not a matter of survival. He knew that his role of Master of the balance, had made him immune to any attack. Oh, he was still mortal! That hadn't changed... Yet!
But his invincibility came directly from the force's guidance. The force had chosen him, and the force would protect that choice. It would guide his actions and adapt his powers to deal with any situation.
That was never in doubt. What confounded Luke was the question of whether or not he could kill these soldiers. Malgus had become neither light or dark. He was "The Conflict"! "His Nemesis"! The enemy of the Force itself!
He had no doubt it was his duty, if not his destiny, to destroy him. But these warriors... did they share Malgus's fate, or were they part of the mundane struggle between light and dark?
It was vital that he figure out the answer. On that pirate station month's earlier, he had wielded the force as an offensive weapon, killing several raiders. His choice nearly cost him his life, as the force failed him because of his misguided actions.
He decided to merely hold their attack at bay... For now anyway. At least until the Nogri and Jedi could take on this mob.
All this crossed his mind in a heartbeat. By the time the first blade of crimson Plasma was slicing the air towards him, he had already resolved his inward hesitation.
In a flash, his entire body became translucent and enveloped by blue flame. He reached out with just his bare hands and deflect the blades in an almost blinding flash of sparks and smoke.
He could feel confusion and doubt, ripple through the crowd gathered against him. But, he knew they would not stop. They couldn't stop.
They set upon him, like beasts enraptured by a feeding frenzy. Lightsaber blades came at him from all angles but he deflected them all. In the case of one sith, who made a stabbing thrust at Luke chest, he reacted by catching the tip of the blade with his palm. As the Sith tried to push the sabre through his hand, the red energy blade began to warp at the end. Luke in turn pushed back, warping the energy stream right back into the hilt, causing the hilt to overload and explode.
The Sith just looked down at his hand, now a mess of burnt flesh, wires, and exposed laminanium phalanges.
At the same time, a mandalorian activated his flamethrower, aiming for Luke's back. Without looking, Luke reached out his other hand behind himself, catching the incoming stream of flame, and completely absorbing.
Not just absorbing it... Devouring it. It was if the flame was being drawn out and consumed. A moment later, the flamethrower had exhausted its fuel supply. Luke, on the other hand, seemed to have been only strengthened by the attack. In fact, he began to glow even more brightly.
He was in the middle of turning his full attention back to the four Sith when he could hear Dena cry out for help. Not a physical cry, but an internal one. She was in immediate danger he had to go to her! Now! He would go to her, now!
Closing his eyes, he used the power of the force to transport himself to Dena's location. That is to say, he tried to transport himself to Dena's location. Nothing happened! Opening his eyes, he quickly spotted the reason for his impediment.
The Sith that were attacking him, now had their hands stretched out in front of themselves and where using their combined force powers to erect a force bubble around Luke.
The bubble of invisible force energy made teleportation impossible. He was stuck here! And Dena was stuck there!
Meanwhile, Malgus and Tekli fought. He was an opponent like no other she had previously faced. He possessed the speed of a Yavinian stone viper, yet the size and brute strength of a Wookiee. That was ok. She had her own Wookiee. The two friends had over 2 decades of experience of fighting side by side.
After taking out an attacking Yuuzhan Vong warrior, Lowbawcca had joined her. They moved in complete harmony, and with a single minded focus. The one, offset the other's weakness, making them a single unified force to be reckoned with.
That said, all their strength and coordination could do, was keep the ancient menace at bay. He was not of the dark side of the force. The force itself was his enemy. She could literally feel every midichlorian inside of her, recoil at his presence.
That left Yaqeel and Josat, to fight off the rest of the mixed mob. Although they didn't share that same fluid coordination of Tekli and Lowbacca, the two younger Jedi found their own rhythm.
Yaqeel would leap from one opponent to the next, quickly an efficiently making the kill, before moving on to the next. In recognition of his more limited skill with the lightsaber, Josat took on a more defensive role, remaining stationary and warding off any attacks to himself and Dena.
This went on for several minutes and then... everything went straight to hell.
Malgus seemed to collapse in pain, as Tekli dragged her blade across his upper torso.
His lightsaber hilt, hit the ground with a soft thud, and the crimson blade deactivated with its familiar snap-hiss.
The two Jedi cautiously approached the fallen Sith Lord as he lay prone on the ground, writhing in pain, and grasping at empty air with outstretched arms.
The odour of brunt flesh seemed to solidify the idea that he had been struck with a fatal blow. Cautiously, they approached closer in an attempt to confirm his neutralized state. As Lowbacca reached down to examine the fallen man, a sharp burst of warning from the force, erupted in his mind.
Him and Tekli both, received the warning, but it came too late for a sufficient response. Instinctively, the two put up a force shield around themselves. They no sooner had raised their defences, when they were struck from behind, by a massive metallic object.
It was the ramp from one the Mandalorian transports.
It hit the Jedi with lethal force. Their lives were spared, however, by the force shield they had raised, just in the knick of time.
The force barrier was sufficient enough to keep them alive, but not sufficient enough to keep them conscious.
Malgus retrieved his lightsaber and rose to his feet. The wound inflicted upon him, by the deceptively powerful Chadra-Fan, had caused him pain, but nothing he couldn't handle. The Kortosis armour he had warn, had taken the brunt of the slash.
At no point had he been in any danger. The whole episode had been choreographed for the sole purpose of drawing closer to his goal: Her! The one for whom Luke had shown such a deep and profound concern for.
All Yaqeel could sense in the force, was that Tekli and Lowbacca were indeed, out of the fight. Their opponent, was another matter. The waves of disruptive force energy pouring off him, gave her no doubt as to his identity: Malgus.
Just the slightest brush of his presence, called to something that lurked deep within Yaqeel: a buried well of anger and frustration. Every second of every day was a fight against her inner darkness. Barv's simple optimism and loyal courage had proved to be her bulwark against the encroaching blackness. But she had lost Barv. He wasn't there for her now. It was just her.
No! Not just her! She had the force! She knew the force would be with her, always. What she didn't know was this: When it was all said and done, would she be standing in the force's light, or would she be bathing in its darkness?
Off to Yaqeel's side, Dena's lungs were producing barely enough oxygen, to offset the demand placed on them by the great task of staying alive in a battle zone.
She had picked up a fallen Mandalorian's assault blaster, and had been laying down suppression fire. The barrel was starting to glow at the end and she knew that in a matter of seconds the gun would either trip into cool down mode or run out of tibanna gas. Her suppression fire gave Jossat just the edge he needed to hold the line, so Yaqeel could slowly but surely, thin the herd.
At the other end of the the battlefield, Mirta caught sight of a dead body clad in familiar armour.
"No" she said under her breath. Then she screamed it: "NO!" She ran over to his fallen form, and kneeled over him
Goran Bevine! Husband! Father! Grandfather! Mandalore! Dead!
Goran was their greatest warrior. If he was dead, then... Mirta shook the thought from her mind. It didn't matter! None of it mattered! Years of pent up anger and resentment had led her to this moment, and she could think of nothing more fitting then to go out fighting in a fit of rage.
"Mirta!" She looked up at the sound of someone calling to her. Jaina... Jaina!
Groan's killer? She didn't know and didn't care. She once viewed the woman as a sister, until she, like everyone else in her life, abandoned her. Looking at her she saw the face of all those who had left her behind, foremost among them being Boba Fett. At the same time she also saw the face of her mother's murder: Jacen! Jaina's brother.
Mirta picked up the Beskad Goran had dropped when he died, and slowly rose to her feet. Jaina was standing not 10 meters away, lightsaber lit and ready. Between the two pregnant women, warriors from both side fought each other. There they stood, carrying the next generation of Jedi and Mandalorian, respectively.
For the briefest of moments, both women gave the other a look borne of pure mutual maternal understanding. But that look was buried by cold determination as both had deduced the sad truth:
Only one mother and one child would walk away from this confrontation!
Meanwhile, Yaqeel, Josat, and Dena had done it! They had fought off every single Mandalorian and Yuuzhan Soldier that had come against them. Taking a moment to feel out her surroundings, Yaqeel was heartened to feel the weak and blurred presences of Master Tekli and Lowbawcca. They were unconscious but still alive!
"Wait!" She suddenly realized. "Where is Malg..."
the thought was cut off as her throat was clenched shut by the iron grip of the force.
Her legs began to kick and flail as she realized that she was also being raised up into the air.
She was not alone! On either side of her, kicking and flailing, was Josat and Dena. She had never felt more weak and useless. All those years of training and force mastery and she just hung there, like an insect plucked up by an inquisitive child.
In front of her, Malgus strode up to her in all his invincible glory. With a knowing smile, he spoke... to her.
"Well done Jedi..." he paused for a moment while he plucked her name from her mind, then continued. "Yaqeel! I felt your anger! It was ... beautiful."
Reaching up to her, hey gently stroked her furry chin, as a Bathan father would do to his own youngling and continued: "When you're finally tired of loosing; when you're finally tired of pain, I would be pleased if you joined me by my side. You have such great potential, but you hold yourself back. You don't have to hold anything back with me. You could be your true self, with no shame or guilt. Join me or..."
He glanced over at Josat.
"Or be prepared to be crushed by might!"
With that he let loose force lightening more bright and more powerful than anything she had ever witnessed. Josat cried out in pain, as snakes of energy travelled up and down the full length of his body. Several seconds in to the brutal assault, Josat dropped to ground in a heap.
He was not dead, but he would be in the next few minutes.
Every major organ in his body had been fatally compromised or simply burned away by Malgus's awesome power.
The anger began to well up inside Yaqeel, and this time, she had no intention of burying it back down. She was able to force out a growl at him: "YOU MONSTER! I HATE YOU!"
He let out the most arrogant of chuckles and then said softly: "You have no Idea!"
With a motion of his hand several blasters lifted up off the ground from the bodies of fallen commandos. The blasters hung in the air and oriented their arm to a single target. In a burst of light and noise, every single blaster discharged their lethal bolts at the same target:
Dena!
When her eyes cleared away the blinding flash of the mass discharge, her eyes were haunted by the image of Dena Yus, hanging in the air, with a terrified expression on her face and...
And a large smoking hole in her chest, where her heart had been.
With a sickening silence, he let the mortally wounded woman, fall to ground.