Chapter 21: Dark Welcome

You need to be mindful now, do NOT underestimate the Sunset Collective. You felt the darkness' call once, they will sense that, and try to push you further down that path. They will tempt. They will promise. They will threaten, but you need to remember why you are there…

…You NEED to stay focused, the place you are going, the dark side will be strong there.

You cannot afford to lose yourself.

Miri's words remained with him, repeating in his head, and for once…she was totally right.

He couldn't afford to lose himself again.

Lives were at stake.

Her warning came back to him, again and again.

He would remember.

He…would NOT fail.

He looked down at the counter in front of him, it finally approached zero. He would be emerging from hyperspace soon.

He was almost there…the place that his crew had been taken after their capture on Taris. The Sunset Collective's main base, or so Temm Yimm had told him.

This move was risky, but he saw little choice. They would recognize his ship, and…hopefully…give him clearance to land.

Yet, he needed to remain vigilant, mindful.

If things went wrong, he would not have much time to react.

He could not afford to be overconfident, not with what had happened in the recent past.

He was walking into the Nexu's den, that was for sure.

Even if he was granted clearance to land, the dark side was waiting for him, temptation was waiting…

He needed to be careful, or he would be devoured by it.

Jas looked out the viewport, into the vast blue swirling void that was hyperspace.

He was about to emerge from hyperspace. Hopefully, just outside the Collective's main base.

It was here that he would face the dark side…again.

He took a deep and cleansing breath.

He prayed to the Force that he was up to the challenge.

He leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath, and did his best to focus.

He tried not to dwell on the risks of this move. If Miri was wrong, and the Collective had no interest in him, they might simply open fire when this ship emerged from hyperspace. Yimm had said that the station was armed, to what degree, she didn't know.

It was possible that word of what happened on Taris had already reached this place, if that was so…?

He frowned.

If that was so, and I'm not wanted here…

Again, the fear tried to rise up, and with it, the darkness, he held it back, this was the only way.

The others were counting on him.

Miri's belief that the Collective wanted him to come to them, it felt…right. If she was wrong, he would be far enough away from the station, he knew a little bit about modern defensives systems, he figured he would have the time to reenter hyperspace…

…in theory.

He tried not to dwell on such dark thoughts, fear was the path to the dark side and he had walked too close to that path to step that close to it again.

He tried to focus on his mission, and…on something else…

Vess.

Her face came to his mind, that warm look in her eyes when they had said good bye, that…and the memory of their night…

Even now, in the face of such danger, the memory made his body warm.

"Be careful out there, find our friends…"

…and then…come back to me."

Those words echoed in his mind, that…and the promise of what they meant.

Their parting had been…strange, she had not embraced or kissed him before he set off, all she had done was be close to him, her chest pressed against his, her head on his shoulder.

It should have been uncomfortable; she was so close; both physically…and emotionally. His Jedi training had always taught him to keep a distance with people. Yet, in that moment, all he had felt was contentment, she…she felt…it was like nothing he had ever experienced before; her caring for him had radiated out through the Force…its…presence…soothing.

Was this what love felt like? Though he desired her physically, this was…more. It…it felt good just being here…being in her presence.

He had sensed the girl's fear, but also her resolve too, she understood that this was likely the only way that they could end this. If this place was as important as Temm Yimm believed, Targo would be there, Val too…most likely.

He had to take the chance, it was the only way, not only free the others, but hopefully, end the threat of the collective.

They had touched foreheads, he and this beautiful girl, this young queen, part of him had wanted to take her into his arms again, kiss her deeply, and promise that all would be well, sadly, he could not make that promise.

He would do his best to do as she asked. He would save the others, and he would TRY to come back to her. He certainly had a good reason to…

He wanted to explore exactly what they might have together…what this was…or what it might become…

…he wanted to see what would happen next.

IOI

He thought of those quiet moments before the dawn. The morning before he left Dantooine.

Vessaria had woken before him, he opened his eyes to find her dressed; a contented smile on her face.

She had leaned down offered to help him up. He had grabbed her and pulled her down, holding her close to him, she squealed happily as he kissed her again and again, part of him hadn't wanted to leave yet, it was almost sun-up, but he had still desired her, and would have liked to have had her again before finally striking out.

It was the girl that resisted, reminding him that Miri was waiting for them.

"We have work to do," she had reminded him, "Work now…play later."

He had nodded, released her, risen and gotten dressed. She was right, of course.

It was just…he had not felt this way in a long time, if ever.

He had come closest to it with Prynne, but now…this was different.

This…feeling…it was wonderful!

Miri had said little when the two of them had returned to the ship. Vess had been practically bouncing, her happiness at his acceptance had sent the young woman into the stratosphere.

Fallenstar had said nothing to her, she had simply smiled, greeted the girl, and let her go on her way. She waited until Vess was out of earshot, on the way to her quarters aboard the Claw.

She turned to Jas; she gave him that sly smile he knew so well.

"So, how was your…meditations?"

"Enlightening," he had replied, he had not blushed or stuttered, what had happened, had happened.

He would make no apologies for it.

"Looks like you have finally made your choice," she said.

Jas nodded.

"The Force, and Vess, helped me make it," he admitted.

He smiled fondly at the memory.

"What happens next…well…we will see."

Her smirk vanished, likely remembering their conversation the night before, how close he had come to turning into something extremely dangerous.

Miri reached out with the Force, trying to probe what was going on in his head, trying to judge his attentions towards Vess. Jas had not resisted. He wanted the bounty hunter to see that what had happened between him and the girl was not some strategy or dark side manipulation, it had simply been a moment between a man and a woman.

He wanted her to understand that.

She must have accepted what she found because he felt her interest withdraw, she simply nodded and shrugged.

"Don't hurt her, okay."

"I've no intention of hurting her," he had replied, "I promise you that."

"Sometimes, intentions are not good enough."

He could have taken offense, but he didn't.

Miri simply cared about Vess. He understood that, he cared about her too, his caring had come to take a different form, but it was no less strong.

"I WON'T hurt her, I promise you."

Miri smile again.

"You have some grass in your hair," she said turning back to the data pad she had been working on. "You should probably go get clean up, several messages arrived for you during the night. You're gonna need to deal with them before we take off."

Jas nodded. He did have a few things to take care of.

The Collective base, if it was a Collective base, would not be an easy nut to crack.

Yet, he had no choice.

"We're going to get them back, Miri. I promise."

"I know, Jas," she had replied, her smile both eager and excited.

"I know…I can feel it too."

Jas had nodded, grateful they were on the same page.

They both knew what they wanted, and now, he had something more to fight for.

We can do this, he knew.

The Force…is with us.

IOI

The console before him chimed, signally the end of his journey.

He hesitated, but only for the briefest of moments.

He nodded.

Time to go to work.

Jas reached out, and pushed back on the hyperspace lever.

The tunnel of blue vanished as the stars stretched and returned to their original places.

The Collective ship exited hyperspace, and before it…

…a large space station.

Jas frowned.

Yimm had not known much about the station, its configuration or design. She had been beyond lying in that moment, but her knowledge of the collective base was limited, as limited as anyone with no true martial experience.

As Jas looked upon it for the first time, he was not surprised.

Yes, he realized…

…this would not be easy.

The space station was of standard Republic design, a large saucer section with four spoke like towers rising from its edges. Jas was familiar with the type; he had seen them many times over the years.

Stations like this were a common sight during the Republic's grand age of Expansion. Mass produced by several shipyard worlds, these stations were designed to be set up quickly, possessing limited hyperspace capabilities, they travelled as part of Republic flotillas. When a planet was offered Republic protection, a small fleet would escort such bases into high orbit, establishing a secure beach head for the galactic government.

The Collective base was such a station, but a bit smaller than what Jas had seen in the past. He suspected it an older model, an early version that had seen service only to be decommissioned as the Republic had improved the design, as the early models were replaced with more modern larger stations.

Not that the place was small, bases such as this one could house two hundred sentient beings, easily.

An early model station, sure, but that hadn't stopped its new tenants from making…improvements.

He spotted two heavy turbo laser batteries, not in any of the original designs, he was sure of that. He also saw no less than twelve missile launchers mounted on each of the towers. The station's original point defense lasers remained, but now were clustered around a large shield generator, the kind that could be found on most heavy warships in the galactic core.

So, secrecy was not the stations only defense.

The collective had taken a place of trade, and turned it into a fortress, a fortress that could be moved if needed.

Impressive.

The weapons might have seemed like overkill, but given what he knew of the collective, they had been gathering strength for years, making enemies. They also seemed to have an almost unlimited supply of ready credits.

From companies like Caetus shipping, and the Force knew who else.

The Sunset Collective were anarchists, committed to disrupting the Republic; weakening it for…who knew who…their mysterious Eternal Night. Whatever that meant…

Regardless of their reasons, they were damn well prepared.

It was no surprise that they would upgrade their home with the latest defenses. If some Republic ship did happen to luck into this system, it would not have the chance to escape, not before it had suffered catastrophic damage.

Jas brought his ship to a stop, just out of weapon's range, he hoped.

He should not have bothered.

Four starfighters buzzed him as he waited, he was unfamiliar with the design, misshapen things, but quick, and likely well-armed. Ships cobbled together from surplus parts by the look of them; uglies, as they were known in smuggler circles.

Heavy weapons, fighters, he thought grimly…

Yes, the collective was well protected.

The comm system beeped as an incoming signal was broadcast from the distant station. Jas answered it, curious about what kind of reception he might receive, threat or welcome?

The transmission was audio only, the voice on the other end; cold and harsh.

"Mother base to Night fire, come in Night fire."

"This is Night fire," Jas replied.

Night fire, he thought, a curious name, something the late Temm Yimm had come up with perhaps?

There was a pause, Jas sensed tension through the Force, by now the collective had to know what had happened on Taris. Even if they recognized the ship, he didn't see how they could view it with anything but suspicion.

Miri had believed that the collective had wished him to come to them, that the only reason they had sent Temm Yimm in the first place to draw him here. If she was right, he would be permitted to land, if she was wrong…

He tried not to think about that, his hands firmly on the control stick, ready to get out of here, if he needed to…

The comm crackled again, another voice, a familiar one this time…

"Night Fire, you are clear to land in bay one; please don't deviate from your set course…Welcome, Brother Jas, we have been expecting you."

Jas' eyes narrowed.

The First Speaker was here, that was HIS voice. It had been years, but he still remembered it, considering what had happened on Kuat, what had happened to Mom.

He could still see the Pantoran's face, that cold smile and almost fanatical gleam in his eye.

It was him; he would know that voice anywhere.

The uglies fell in formation around him, escorting him in. It seemed that Miri had been right.

We have been expecting you.

Those words sent a chill down his spine.

If Temm Yimm had defeated him on Taris, he would have been brought here. In defeat, she had revealed the location of this place to him, ensuring that he would come.

They got what they wanted regardless…or…

…did they?

Jas had to wonder what would have happened if he had not come alone? If more ships would have arrived with him, would the station have been moved before his arrival?

Hard to say.

He reached out with the Force, trying to get an idea of what might be waiting for him. He could sense the darkness of this place, the fanatics of the Collective showed no caution when it came to the dark side, they…

No.

Jas blinked.

No…I…I won't…

The words washed over him filling the Force, and with them…a sense of recognition.

Val.

He…he could sense Val…she was here!

She was no longer in stasis, the connection they shared through the Force reached out to him, and as he drew closer, it seemed to grow even stronger.

Val…Char Valenthyne was here, and…

…She…she was in pain!

Through their connection in the Force; he could feel it, confusion, defiance, and pain above all.

They were hurting her.

They're hurting Val!

He felt his anger surge, the darkness trying to overwhelm him, trying to rise up and take control again, it took all of his Jedi calm not to fire on his escorts, to attack the station and try to free her.

That will not work and you know it, he thought.

There is only one way to reach Val and the others, and this is it.

You have to play their game…for now.

He took a cleansing breath and let it out.

The First Speaker thought him open to the dark side, and the collective's advances, that was the only reason he was being allowed to land.

He needed to maintain that fiction, at least, for now.

Yet, was it a fiction?

He could feel the power of this place, it called to him, begging him to surrender to its power, to embrace his desires.

The call of the dark side was sweet to hear.

He needed to resist, giving in would not only doom him, but Val and the others as well.

He needed to stay focused.

He had a plan.

Now, he needed to stick to it.

He sensed the Force reaching out from the station, what they would sense is what they suspected. They would feel the Force in a state of conflict, the light and the dark wrestling for dominance.

He was still in conflict, the light held sway now, but the stain of the dark remained.

It must have been what they expected because no weapons powered up on the stations, the shields didn't turn on, blocking his path.

Jas Dar Bynn brought his ship, the Night Fire, in for a landing.

Hang on, Val, he thought, sending his message out through the Force, out through their connection.

He hoped that she would hear it.

I'm coming.

IOI

There was a small welcoming party waiting when Jas brought his ship down and into the station's main hangar. Two hooded figures and a tall, slender male that Jas didn't recognize.

He stepped down the boarding ramp, the steam from the hydraulics tickling his nose. He paused and looked around the hangar, the low defused light that the collective favored cast many shadows.

He turned to his hosts, the three had not moved. They had not raised weapons or called for guards, so, he figured he was welcome here.

Jas gave them an acidic smile.

"Greetings," he called out.

"I'm here."

The pale skinned male laughed. He was dressed in a dark business suit, the kind favored by humans in the core worlds. He was handsome, Jas supposed, long black hair pulled back into a pony tail, his skin so pale it looked almost gray in the dim light.

Jas reached out to the man with the Force, and immediately wished he hadn't.

Ugh!

He…he…by the Force!

What was this thing?!

He was not human, that was for sure. He looked like it, but that was it. He appeared young, his face unlined, his posture strong, but what Jas felt in the Force suggested anything, but…

The…creature radiated a sense of malignancy through the Force! He sensed a depravity that went beyond anything he had known before, that and an evil that seemed almost…timeless?

He had never felt anything like it.

"So…you are Brother Jas," the creature said grinning manically, its red eyes flashing with an ageless cruelty.

The voice was soft, but it with not weak, like a velvet glove pulled over a mailed fist.

"It is good to meet you, at last," the creature continued, "I've heard so much about you."

"You have," Jas replied dryly, "I'm flattered."

The stranger smirked menacingly.

Jas resisted the urge to shudder.

What was this thing.

"So, this is him," one of the shorter hooded figures, said, with a sigh.

Its companion nodded, and replied.

"I expected…more."

Jas turned to them.

"And you are?" he asked.

The first one to speak removed its hood, removed her hood.

Jas' eyes widened; the bile rose in his throat.

No!

Impossible!

Temm Yimm, the girl he had tortured to death back on Taris, stood before him, she adjusted her data visor and smiled pleasantly.

"Greetings, brother," she said, "May the blessings of the Eternal night be upon you."

Jas' mind spun.

Was he going mad? What…what was this?!

The tall stranger laughed.

"He seems in shock, Sister Qui, not that I can blame him, considering what your people found on Taris.

Jas heard that, despite the shock and horror he was feeling.

Qui, he realized, he called the girl Qui, not Temm.

Jas' glared at her.

He quickly put one and one together.

"Sisters," he hissed at the collective agent.

"You're Temm Yimm's twin?"

The other agent removed her hood, revealing a second identical face, same hairstyle, and data visor.

"We were triplets, actually," the second girl said, "Until quite recently."

Jas took a deep breath, letting his shock flow out of him.

Not the girl, he realized.

Her sisters.

"I'm Morta Yimm," the girl continued, "And you are the one who dealt with our older sister."

"Older?" Jas asked.

"By about eight minutes," Qui Yimm volunteered.

The sisters smiled at each other.

"One less heartbeat between me, and daddy's fortune," Morta said.

"You mean between me, and Daddy's fortune," Qui added.

They both looked at Jas.

"We are doubly grateful," they said in unison.

He gave them a cold smile.

"No love for your sister?"

"Temm convinced the Speaker that she could handle you alone," Morta informed him.

"She thought to prove herself to Daddy, and to the collective," Qui added.

"Now her failure is complete, and my rise is assured."

"You mean my rise, Qui."

"Whatever you say, Morta."

The man in black cackled.

"Ah, nobles," he said with a shake of his head, "No matter where you go, they never change."

"I wouldn't know," Jas said.

Qui Yimm looked past him.

"Where is the little blond, the girl who was with you?"

"No idea," Jas answered, "You think that I would actually bring her here?"

"We hoped," Morta said.

"Things rarely go as we would like, my dears," the pale man said, "Yet, they do have a way of working out."

Jas turned to him, he was not Force sensitive, but…there was something about him…

…something very dark.

"And you are?"

The creature shrugged dismissively.

"Oh…I have so many names, none of them relevant to my current mission. Know that I'm merely an observer here, Jas Dar Bynn of the Sunset Collective. Impress me, and power beyond your wildest dreams will be yours for the taking."

"So, you are not a member of the collective yourself?"

"Nope."

"Lucky you," Jas said dryly.

Again, the man laughed.

Jas shuddered. It was an ugly sound, and if he was not mistaken, something beneath the man's cheeks twitched when he laughed, it looked like he had something in his mouth, something that pushed against the skin.

Not a member of the collective…then…what was it, and more importantly, why was it here?

Qui Yimm looked at the observer, despite not being a member, they were deferring to him.

"Shall we take his lightsaber?"

"You're welcome to try, girl," the observer said, "Though I don't think it will end well for you."

"He keeps the weapon," A new voice called out, "A sign of good faith from the First Speaker."

Jas' frown deepened, another familiar voice.

A large gray skinned Tunroth entered the hangar, clad in the robes of the Collective. Jas had not seen her since Alderaan.

"Xarcce Tatch," he called out, choosing to use the Hand of the Faith's real name, her Jedi name.

She grunted in greeting standing before him with her large hands behind her back, her cold black eyes evaluating him, and…speaking of hands…

"How are your fingers?" he inquired.

"See for yourself."

The alien raised her left arm.

The hand had been removed mid forearm; it had been replaced with a cybernetic one. A bit of overkill, Jas thought, he had taken only a few fingers during their last encounter, it would not have been necessary to remove a whole hand for that.

"The speaker felt that I needed to learn a lesson for my failure in Aldera," she informed him, likely sensing his question.

The Tunroth gave him a cold toothy grin.

"Worth it, if you ask me, I needed that beating, kept me sharp, and hungry. Besides, you are one of us, now. You've proved yourself worthy, that is for sure."

Jas smiled slyly.

"Are you sure of that? Am I really one of you?"

"Of course, kid," she said laying a meaty hand on his shoulder.

"You just don't realize it, yet."

He looked at the Hand's companions, the Yimm sisters and the so-called observer.

They all seemed so confident that he was now their ally.

He felt a slight tremor of worry.

Had he made a mistake coming here?

Had he underestimated his enemies?

The Lady Hand gently pulled him forward.

"Come on, kid," she said jovially.

"The First Speaker is waiting."

"And what of Targo Sei?" he asked her.

Xarcce Tatch cackled.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Him, too."

Jas followed, the observer at his side, and the Yimm sisters bringing up the rear.

Here we go, he thought to himself.

He tried to center himself to remain strong.

Into the heart of darkness…I go…

He tried to focus on Val and the others.

They were here, somewhere, he had to find them…

…and…he would.