Chapter: 29 The Dark Acolyte
"A trial by fire sparks heroism in the youngest of hearts."
Victory and glory! Through her determination and resilience, Padawan Anna Dellian has won the Corellian Cup. With the competition over and another Jedi Trial under her belt, Anna seeks to mend her relationship with longtime rival Tori VIca. But this peacetime comes at an eerie price. Away from Coronet Arena, Jedi Knight Hans Westgard has uncovered a sinister plot against the Jedi. While fending off the aftereffects of a potent drug, Hans races to warn those at the tournament. The grim reality he seeks to prevent is further symbolized through a mysterious card Elsa has discovered on Felucia...
Elsa was in both shock and denial aboard the Jedi corvette. She stared blankly into the void of hyperspace while Masters Cordova and Yelena examined BD-1's find. "So let me get this straight," Yelena inquired. "That conjurer claimed to look into the past, present, and future?" Elsa nodded and her master scoffed. "I'm not buying it."
"But his readings spoke of my life," Elsa intoned.
"If they're what you described, his answers were rather generic." Yelena noticed Elsa's widening eyes and rose to defend herself. "I don't mean to disrespect or deride, Padawan. I'm only trying to be reasonable. Much of what he said to you about 'struggling to mend a broken galaxy' and 'feeling lost' could apply to almost anyone, especially a Jedi. And any being with eyes could've identified you as one with what you're wearing."
Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "With all due respect, master. This is less about what he said and more about what I saw. Sure, I understand Facilier deducing my status as a Jedi and maybe even sensing my power. But his first card depicted me at as a youngling!"
"Was it specifically you?" Yelena queried. "Or was it a generic child who you thought looked like you?"
"Why do I even bother?" Elsa groaned and grew impatient. "If you're going to fight me every step of the way instead of supporting me-"
"Do not mistake me challenging your thinking for a lack of support," Yelena asserted. "I am asking the bigger questions that you should be too. The man was a master of illusion and was able to conjure a...a-"
"Shadow rancor," Cordova muttered.
"Shadow rancor!" Yelena blurted before taking her voice down. "No matter what he called it, he was tapping into the Dark Side of the Force. It's a pathway to many...unnatural abilities. Through it, users corrupt and bend the truth to suit their own needs. You need to consider if these cards were nothing more than a scare tactic for a greater plan of his."
Elsa took in all of her master's words and shook her head. "Master Cordova," she beckoned. "What do you make of this card?"
The Jedi scholar had spent the debate silently observing BD-1's captured image. With a resigned sigh, he finally answered her. "The future is and always will be a mystery. There are those in our Order who are gifted with visions from the Force, but they aren't always accurate. Sometimes they're more symbolic or they manifest in a completely different way."
"Or they're real enough to lead us on an expedition," Elsa retorted and gestured to herself.
"You're right, Padawan." Cordova assured. "But the point is, no one is ever certain of what's to come."
Unbelievable, Elsa told herself. I would've thought the man we found wearing a mythosaur mask and trying to channel ancient Mandalorians would've been all over deciphering this card. "So let me get this right," Elsa said and motioned BD-1 to her. She let the card's ominous projection hover beside her as she stood to meet it. She pointed at a kneeling, sobbing figure in turquoise robes and asked, "Can we agree that this person bears a resemblance to me?" While Cordova humored Elsa with a nod, Yelena's analytical pause made her impatient. The Padawan's finger swayed across the image to a magenta-clad redhead. "And this looks like Anna."
"I could see it," Yelena admitted.
"What does Anna look like?" Cordova asked innocently as Elsa's eye twitched stressfully.
"Just like this!" Elsa urged and frantically pointed at the image. "So forgive me if I'm concerned about a prediction showing a skeletal figure whisking my sister into the shadows while I'm shown weeping!" Elsa immediately regretted her outburst and sighed. "I'm sorry. I respect your different views on the matter, but this frightens me."
"Well then let us try and decrypt this," Cordova proposed. "Like any glyph or ancient icon, perhaps this card is open to interpretation. Many cultures depict skeletons as symbols and reapers of death. This card could be informing you of Anna's passing."
Elsa started hyperventilating while staring at the bony figure gripping her sister. Yelena gave Cordova an irritated shove and muttered, "You're not helping."
"Or maybe it's a symbol of rebirth." Cordova placated. "Perhaps those are tears of joy you are shedding while the...skeleton...of...change...reinvigorates your sister?"
"Just...stop," Yelena scolded and sat beside Elsa. "Padawan, there's no easy way around this so I'll just say it. Fear is a path to the Dark Side of the Force. If you give in to your emotions over an image conjured by a charlatan, what does that say about your fortitude? You are a Jedi, Elsa. While keeping an open mind to the galaxy is wise, you cannot bend to everyone's beliefs. You can't let everything get in your head!"
"If you saw the future-" Elsa said. "-what would either of you do?"
Yelena paused and reclined with a hum. "I'd be unsure if it was real," she answered.
"Even if what you glimpsed included those you cared about?"
Yelena glowered and admitted, "I'm not sure. A Jedi mustn't be driven by emotion. There's also a difference between our Force visions and whatever this Facilier created."
"I don't know where we draw the line," Cordova confessed. "I know there are other forces at work, all of which are beyond any of us. In uncertain moments like this, I think it's important for a Jedi to place themselves in another's perspective. Elsa, if I were in your boots, I would want someone to believe me. I would hope that if I ever received a vision of the future, those closest to me would keep an open mind. Can we agree?"
Yelena nodded to him as they leaned closer to Elsa. "If you're concerned about Anna, why don't you give her a call?" she suggested as Elsa's eyes lit up.
Anna's holocomm started blipping from her belt. She reached to answer the incoming call when a Corellian reporter shouted to her. "Padawan Dellian! One more over here!" Anna didn't even get the chance to pose before he snapped several photos of her. Other reporters took advantage of her stationary position and closed in from all sides. The camera flashes were practically blinding as Anna stumbled about. She used the chromium trophy cradled in her arms to block cameras on her way to the Ethereal. In turn, Anna just gave the press more photo opportunities. She suddenly felt a hand grip her free arm and she noticed Mattias.
"Just keep walking," her master ordered. "Otherwise these vultures will never let up! Don't even answer another question."
"Master Mattias!" an exuberant reporter called from one of the ropes. "How does it feel to have mentored the Corellian Cup Champion?"
Anna facepalmed as her master couldn't resist responding. "I am beyond honored and overjoyed to call her my Padawan! Why, young Anna here is no stranger to competition," he confessed. "I recall the first time I saw her duel as an Initiate. Such fire...such determination! I said to myself, 'Mattias, this youngling's gonna be legendary.' And now-"
"Okay, master." Anna chuckled and pulled him away from the press. "As much as I love hearing about how proud you are, these camera flashes are killing me. The duo made their way down a cerulean carpet while fans screamed from both sides.
"Buh-bye now!" Cosma Dezir cheered from a balcony overlooking the landing pad. "Safe travels!" She buried her face in a datapad and swiped through a graph. "By the stars, ratings are gonna explode after today."
"It was never about us, was it?" Master Tapal inquired.
Cosma's toothy grin faltered as the Lasat loomed over her. "W-what do you mean?" she giggled nervously. "You Jedi were the main attraction. Of course it was about you."
Tapal's pointy ears drooped as his theory came to fruition. "Attraction," he growled in disgust. "Is that all those Padawans were to you people? To your followers?"
Cosma scoffed as her energetic demeanor collapsed entirely. "Master Tapal," she said. "Your Order agreed to the formation of this tournament."
"For educational purposes," Tapal refuted. "Much like the temple tournaments we host for our Initiates."
"Well I hate to break it to you, but you'll find that the rest of the galaxy is not as stoic as you Jedi are." She gestured to her multi-colored, glittery, extravagant outfit. "We can't all cross our arms, glare at something, and mutter 'Very good.' for three hours. That's not fun." Cosma noticed the master's troubled stare and sighed. "I'm sorry if our ways come off as...disrespectful to your Order. For what it's worth, I learned all about saber techniques and Force abilities through you. And ifI did, I'm sure other viewers were learning out there as well." Cosma gestured to the departing Jedi and sighed. "A lot of us envy Jedi, you know? I'll never wield a lightsaber nor lift objects with my mind." Cosma's smile returned as she eagerly snapped a finger. "But you inspire us to be greater than what we are. You never know if a child watching the tournament thought 'I want to be like a Jedi,' then went ahead and stood up to a local bully. Or maybe a single parent just needed that extra ounce of Jedi strength to make it through the day. You're helping people, myself included, whether you see it or not. So you better bet I'm gonna own the spotlights and play to every camera I see. You keep protecting this galaxy and I'll keep hyping you up."
As Tapal embraced Cosma's perspective, a faint smile emerged across his purple lips. "You're alright, Cosma."
"Oh I know," she answered with undying confidence. "You're not so bad yourself, Master Tapal. Whatever Padawan you end up taking will be lucky to have you."
"I'll take some time to process all that's happened," Tapal said. "Though this tournament's been eye-opening, it's also been quiet hectic. It'll be nice to meditate now that things have quieted down."
In a district shrouded by nightly smog, a Corellian couple gawked at a stumbling Jedi Knight. Hans Westgard collapsed against a trash bin and clutched his pounding head. The world around him seemed to spin while sweat drenched his face. "Anna," he uttered.
"Looks like the competitors had an afterparty," a woman joked.
Hans lunged at her in a panic and shouted, "They're all in danger!" The louder he spoke, the more his head ached. As he winced from his pains, the woman's boyfriend leapt from his bike and shoved Hans to the floor.
"Get away from her, you freak!" the man barked. Hans staggered back and rubbed his listing eyes. The couple before him appeared as a swaying blur.
"The Corellian...Cup," Hans coughed.
"Think he's got that Rodian disease?" the woman jeered as Hans hastily shook his head.
"I need to get to the Corellian Cup," Hans said and hobbled forward.
"Looks like the Bug Flu to me," her boyfriend snorted. "Sick weirdo." The Corellian's cackling ceased when Hans ignited his lightsaber. Passersby screamed and he threw his hands up as the saber dipped to his chest. "Woah," he whispered nervously. "Easy now, buddy. Nobody needs to die."
"People are going to die if you don't help me," Hans threatened. His furious glare softened as part of his vision returned. He noticed coverage of the Corellian Cup on a store's datascreen. Seeing the competitors boarding the Ethereal and bidding farewell made his heart plummet. "No," he gasped. His hostage flinched when Hans twitched his lightsaber. "I need your bike," Hans growled.
The boyfriend swallowed hard. "Take it, man. Just please don't kill me."
Hans hobbled towards the speeder bike while his saber dragged against the duracrete. He sluggishly deactivated it and slouched atop the bike. His tired eyes found the proper controls as he sped off across one of Coronet's vast bridges. "I'm coming, Anna." Hans affirmed from the controls.
The boyfriend he'd stolen from hurriedly dialed a frequency on his communicator. "Coronet Police," a stern voice responded. "What is your emergency?"
As Anna boarded the Ethereal, she was immediately met with a series of applause. Mattias had gotten a majority of the masters to clap for her and some Padawan hands went up in the back aisle. Even the group's two temple guards were offering subtle nods of approval. Anna mouthed the words "Thank you" until Mattias took things a step further. He stormed up to his Padawan and raised the massive trophy alongside her. The gesture garnered more cheers as Anna's tiredness caught up with her.
"Get some rest, Padawan." Mattias said. "I'm sure those bacta supplements they gave the competitors only did so much."
Anna rubbed her still tender muscles. "I'll probably sleep for this entire trip," she assured.
Before she departed for her seat, Mattias tapped her shoulder and whispered, "If anyone gives you trouble, you come to me."
They exchanged nods and Anna made her way to the back aisle. "Well done, lass." Master Chaki said in passing.
"You've got some heart," Master Savil added.
Seeing Master Chuza so grouchy reminded Anna of where she'd be sitting. As she neared the other Padawans, she found herself among mostly supportive peers. Velti offered sincere applause and Anna was surprised to see Dokin cheering. The Bith seemed to be over what'd happened in the competition and the sight gave Anna peace of mind. Knox waved while Nelani smiled nervously. The Duros braced herself when Anna paused beside her. "Hey," Anna said. "I know I'm not Elsa, but I'm okay with that. I hope you can be too."
The Duros sighed. "What's done is done, right?" she proposed.
"So...no hard feelings?" Anna asked.
"N-none at all," Nelani happily replied yet nodded cautiously. Anna could sense the anxiety radiating off of her, leading her to wonder if anything had actually been resolved. Does she truly mean we're okay? Anna thought. Or is she just trying to appease me out of fear? Maybe I can make it up to her when we get back to Coruscant. She, Elsa and I can have a get-together. Just minus the whole droid invasion and kidnapping situation. Maybe I can get her into holodramas. She seems emotional enough. Gav was as bitter as could be. With ruffled feathers and a grinding beak, the Avinarian wouldn't even humor Anna with a glance. He crossed his wings and snorted like a caged beast as she neared him. There's no way in this galaxy that I'm sitting next to him, Anna told herself. She made for the cargo hold, just as she'd done for their trip to Corellia. On her way over, she found it peculiar that the seat beside Surk was also empty. Where was Tori?
Anna entered the hold and immediately overheard someone pleading. "Tori?" she whispered upon recognizing the Padawan's voice. Anna crept behind a series of crates and found the Pantoran standing at attention. Her stern, hateful demeanor was shattered as her master ripped into her. The towering Besalisk ominously paced around her as she flinched at his scoldings.
"No amount of training could fix your failure," Krell said.
"Master," Tori replied and cleared her throat. "I followed all of your teachings. I did my best."
"Clearly not," her master answered so certainly. "If you had done either of those easy feats, you would've won. But you couldn't even manage to get that right. You should be ashamed of yourself." Tori hung her head, shut her eyes and frowned as Krell leaned in. "Your defeat disgraces me, it disgraces your people, and as for you...I don't think there's anything left to ruin of yourself."
Holy kriff, Anna thought.
Tori had done her best to remain strong. She'd told herself that enduring such a verbal barrage was a sign of courage. But she couldn't take it anymore. The idea of bringing shame to the Pantoran people...to the Vica family name...it crushed her spirits. She imagined countless Pantorans watching her defeat onscreen and shaking their heads in disapproval. She felt unworthy to bear the yellow markings across her face and sniffled.
"Are you going to cry now?" Krell growled. Tori's eyes widened with her heightened emotions. When Anna had asked that same question, she'd answered with a furious shove. Now, all she felt was severe anguish. Tori hated proving him right, but the tears relentlessly streamed down her cheeks. "Pathetic," Krell said and Tori further broke down.
The Pantoran's despair turned to desperate rage as she jabbed a trembling finger at him. "I did everything you said! I only ever wanted to please you, master!" Tori's voice cracked and her throat went raw with each shout. Tears continued to flee her reddened eyes as she crazily tugged at her purple locks. "You've fought me every step of the way. You even destroyed the very lightsaber I built as a child. And for what? So I could be better? I didn't ruin myself...you ruined me!"
Krell was as cold as he'd been from the start. The most Tori's outburst did was garner an eye roll from the Besalisk. "You know, there was a time I thought you were a promising student," he admitted. "It's why I picked you for apprenticeship. But any student...any person who blames their own failure on someone else...is a coward. And I will not be undermined by such a weak and inferior link. We're finished here."
"What?" Tori gasped.
"You are no longer my Padawan nor am I your master," Krell intoned. "How much clearer do I need to be for you?"
He turned his back on her as Tori seized one of his hands. "You can't do this!" she shouted.
Anna gasped as Krell flung Tori back with a thrust of his arm. She crashed to the floor while he trudged onward. The master locked eyes with Anna for a moment before scoffing at her. Abandoned and aching, Tori buried her face in her hands. She heard a series of footsteps and peered up with hopeful eyes. "Master?" she inquired.
"Just me," Anna whispered.
Tori glowered at her and used the Force to build a wall with nearby crates. "Leave me alone," Tori murmured behind her makeshift fortress.
"I feel like you shouldn't really be alone right now," Anna insisted and sat beside the crates. "Even if I'm just right here."
"Why? So you can gloat?"
"Of course not," Anna defended.
"Then what are you looking for, Anna?" Tori asked. "More praise? Want me to shout 'hooray' just like your thousands of fans? Just like your master? And-"
"Tori," Anna said. "This...isn't about me. I'm sorry about your master."
"Didn't you hear? He's not my master anymore. And it's not your fault," Tori huffed. "That's all on me."
"You can't seriously believe that," Anna retorted.
"Cowards blame others, Anna. I spent long enough blaming you...then I blamed Mast-...Krell. I was pathetic."
"So what then?" Anna asked. "Everything's just your fault now? That's not fair either. I was a Jedi jerk to you, Tori. That was on me." When she didn't get a response, Anna dared to peek between the crates. She spotted Tori balled up in a corner and rigorously rubbing her temples. "I'm not asking you to forgive me, but I can't let you blame yourself for my wrongdoings."
"Just go away," Tori uttered.
Anna pouted and started climbing over the crates. "I can't let you beat yourself up about this."
"Go away, Anna!" Tori demanded and Force-pushed the crates so she'd fall.
Anna tumbled back and struck the dusty floor with a thud. She rubbed her sore bottom and sighed, "Okay bye."
"Come on come on!" Hans urged his speeder bike to further accelerate. The gauge shifted to maximum as a series of strobes reflected off its surface. Several police speeders converged on Hans' bike as he raced down the highway.
"CPD!" a voice brayed from one of the vehicles. "Pull over, immediately!"
Blue-ringed stun blasts zipped over Hans' head as he sped past Coronet Arena. His frantic eyes darted across the dispersing crowds below until he spotted the Ethereal. "There!" he exclaimed and banked leftward. One of the police officers switched to laser rounds and started firing on Hans' bike. Hans' jaw dropped as the Ethereal's engines primed for takeoff. "No!" he shouted as if someone could hear him. He waved towards the pursuing officers and frantically pointed forward. "We have to stop that ship!"
The officers didn't care about what Hans had to say. All they had to hear was 'rogue Jedi threatens civilian and steals vehicle.' Realizing he was on his own, Hans continued to accelerate towards the landing pad. If I can just make it up the ramp, he thought.
His bike roared and whirred across the landing pad. The sounds sent bystanders screaming for safety while the police kept up their pursuit. "Almost there," Hans muttered while the wind blasted his face. "Hey!" he haplessly yelled at the Ethereal, hoping its droid pilot would see the commotion. The ship's ramp started to rise as it took off. Realizing he'd have to make a jump for it, Hans firmly gripped the bike's handlebars. He frantically shook his head in the hopes of quelling his post-drug dizziness. You can do this, he told himself. He maximized the throttle and prepared to launch off the landing pad's edge. Before he could execute the stunt, a police officer shot out his repulsorlift engine. "Kriff!" Hans cursed as the bike spiraled out of control. He lost all momentum and careened off the edge. The Ethereal sealed its ramp and flew on without him as he plummeted to the lower city.
Hans could barely keep his eyes open as the wind returned in full force. His robes puffed up with captured air as he clung to the smoking bike. As its engines caught fire, he contemplated how long he had until the entire bike exploded. He noticed a bustling shipyard in his peripherals and sprung from the bike. Acting quickly, Hans withdrew a grappling spike from his belt. He launched it towards a set of neon signage and swung over. Gravity had its cruel way with him as his weight snapped part of the sign off. Neon tubing smashed as his grappling wire swiveled through the air. The brief swing broke his fall as he tumbled into the shipyard. All seemed quiet until his speeder bike exploded in the distance.
The blast served as an ideal distraction for those working on spacecraft. Mechanics either fled the scene or rushed over to extinguish the flames. Hans scrambled to his feet as shattered, neon fragments rained from above. He shoved past several workers but kept his head to the skies, for he was determined not to lose sight of the Ethereal.
"What the hell was that?" A burly mechanic wondered.
"The boss will give us a lot worse if we don't fix this booster's power links," his partner mumbled and raised a fist. He was about to toss a wrench over when he noticed Hans dashing up one of the abandoned ship's ladders. "Hey!" he shouted.
"Jedi business, go back to your links." Hans asserted and leapt into the cockpit. The mechanics exchanged bewildered glances while Hans scoured over the controls. He hurriedly primed the engines as the approaching police cruisers emerged in his viewport.
"He's in there!" one of the mechanics warned.
By then, Hans was already rocketing out of the shipyard. One of his ship's wings skimmed the Corellian Engineering Corporationsign during liftoff. The police couldn't scramble any airborne vehicles in time as Hans glided through the clouds. "This thing can move," Hans mumbled while struggling to level out. He wasn't a Jedi Ace, but his master had taught him the basics about piloting. He pressed his face against the already-confined, single-seater's viewport and observed the skies. "Where are you?" he whispered. Having lost sight of them amidst the clouds, he opted to make an open-frequency transmission through the ship's comlink. "This Jedi Knight Hans Westgard calling from..." Hans looked over his ship's designation. "Corellian light utility craft, designation RP-8391 calling to Ethereal. Ethereal please respond!" Hans slammed on his dashboard as all went silent. He tried soaring out of Corellia's atmosphere in the hopes that the Jedi were also there. "I repeat! Utility craft RP-8391 to Ethereal, please respond!"
His heart leapt when he heard a droid pilot reply, "This is Ethereal. Go ahead."
Hans was close enough to kiss the comlink as he blurted, "There isn't a moment to waste. This Knight Westgard of the Order. Your ship's been compromised and-"
"This is Ethereal," the droid reiterated. "Is anyone there? Utility craft, do you read?"
Hans' eyes shot open when he realized the pilot hadn't heard a word he'd said after the initial hailing. He desperately tried to boost his signal, but there was nothing he could do. Without understanding Hans' intentions, the police at the shipyard had followed their own shipjacking procedures. They'd jammed all communications from Hans' craft, rendering him a flustered mess. "No...no!" Hans furiously slammed on the controls as fear took hold of him. He hopelessly screamed into the comlink as if anyone could hear him. "You're all going to die!"
As Anna left Tori to wallow in her grief, the sudden ringing of her holocomm caught her off guard. She answered and found a relieved hologram of her sister looking to her. "Hey Elsa," she answered with raised brows. "Are you alright?"
"Anna," her sister sighed in relief. "Thank the Force. Yes, I'm much better now. I just needed to know you were alright."
"Of course I am," Anna quipped. "This is me we're talking about."
Elsa thought about the odd omen and fought to dismiss it. She focused on her sister's smile and nodded to her. "You're right, sis." Elsa answered. "And congratulations on your victory! Looks like we're even on Jedi Trials now."
"Enjoy the balance while you can, because I'm just getting warmed up!" Anna teased. "How goes the expedition?"
For as much as Elsa wanted to bring up the craziness on Felucia and their next destination, all of it brought her back to Facilier's card. No matter how hard she battled to forget the image, it remained seared within her mind. "It's...going," Elsa admitted.
Anna squinted at her. "Elsa," she intoned. "What's going on? I can see right through you, and not just because you're a hologram."
Elsa took a deep breath. "I was just very worried about you, Anna. I-" She thought about how much she valued the truth in others and sought to be an example. "I experienced a foretelling of a possible future," she said.
"Were we rich?" Anna joked as Elsa frowned.
"This is serious, sis." Elsa explained as Anna felt her ship's engines rumble. She sat atop one of the cargo crates as the Ethereal prepped for a jump to lightspeed. "This...prediction led me to believe that you were in danger."
"When am I not?" Anna jested.
"While that is true-" Elsa replied. "I just had a bad feeling about it."
"I think it's understandable," Anna said. "You're more connected to the Force. I'm just moving ropes and such and I think that's amazing. Although...I do think I encountered something, or rather someone that we'll have to discuss. Still, I can't imagine what kind of experiences you're enduring. Any predictions you feel or see have got to seriously affect you."
Elsa winced at Anna's remark. "Well it's not that I necessarily experienced this one. You see...I encountered a-"
Anna's holocomm short-circuited.
Normally, there was a distinct pull when a ship jumped to lightspeed. It would lurch back for a moment before rocketing forward. Instead, all went dark within seconds as a deafening blast shook the entire vessel. Anna was thrown forward as crates toppled over her. Grinding, whirring, and clanging rang out across the cargo hold. A few shouts filled the passenger aisle as backup generators failed. Automated, overhead compartments released and suitcases spewed at alarming speeds. One of the bags struck Gav across the temple and Krell endured a barrage to his arms. The nearby serving droid shut down and crashed into Mattias. He unbuckled from his seat and slid into Chaki, who was already pressed against a viewport. Unseen forces rammed against the ship's hull. Computer terminals imploded and loose wiring crackled. Wall panels blasted off their hinges while pressurized piping loosened from the vents. Despite the chaotic cacophony, an eerie silence followed within mere moments.
Elsa's brows furrowed as a flickering (CONNECTION LOST) alert replaced Anna's face on her holocomm. "Anna?" she called and checked her device's signal. "Can you hear me?" Her heart raced as she leaned into the gadget. Her franticness was met by Yelena's hand on her shoulder and she turned with a gasp. "Master, I lost her!"
"But you were just talking a moment ago, yes?" Yelena inquired.
"Well, yes but-"
"And are we not flying through a planetary blizzard?"
Elsa glanced at the icy winds battering the corvette's viewport. "I suppose," the Padawan concurred. "But-"
"Then trust yourself and trust in the Force," Yelena said. "This predicament is a product of our circumstance."
Elsa shook her head and pondered, You mean you want me to just trust you. You just want me to forget about that card because it makes you feel uncomfortable.
"It's time to forget about that Dark-Sider's card so you can ground yourself in the moment," Yelena lectured.
There it is, Elsa solidified the thoughts on her master. Blueblossoms stick together...but for who?
It didn't matter how smooth Cordova's piloting skills were. Rhen Var's blizzard produced a profuse amount of turbulence that had Elsa clutching her seat. She focused on a fixed location, just like Frost had instructed her. Still, nausea snuck in and she swallowed hard to quell it. At least the frigidness of it all helped her stay cool under physical and mental stress.
"I'm going to set us down near those structures on the horizon," Cordova said. "It'll give the ship a break from all this wind and the buildings will help keep us safe. Elsa and Yelena lurched forward as Cordova landed them in a snow-covered square. Proud gusts howled outside the cockpit while the engines simmered. Cordova tapped on his flickering navicomputer, but there was too much interference to get a proper reading. "We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way," he declared while BD-1 hopped about. Cordova reached for two sets of heavy jackets to layer himself in and offered the rest to the ladies. He was astonished when they only bundled up in a single set of robes and equipped goggles. "Pardon me," he said. "But what planets are you from?"
"We're both from Aren," Yelena answered.
"Though my master is Northuldran," Elsa added.
"There's no difference," Yelena scoffed. "The point is, those from Aren have a stronger resistance to cold temperatures."
"Quite right," Cordova agreed though he sensed tension between the ladies. He snapped on a pair of goggles, gathered his surveillance equipment, and made for the ramp. "Shall we?"
Elsa was perplexed by her master's stern stare as they exited the ship. Though the cool air was refreshing, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd somehow said something wrong. "What is this place?" Yelena asked.
"One of countless abandoned towns!" Cordova shouted over the winds. "They were built by the ancient Rhen Varites thousands of years ago!" He tossed each of his companions a set of prong-tipped rods. "We need high points! Place those mapping beacons in that cathedral and I'll get the other side of town!"
Elsa and Yelena stumbled into the icy basilica. The wind became a distant howl as they delved deeper into the architectural marvel. Yet despite how fascinating the sight was, Elsa was hung up on her master. She waited until Yelena placed a beacon and then asked, "Is there something wrong with being Northuldran?"
Yelena's grip on the beacon tightened as she twisted it into the ground. "Whatever gave you that idea?" she mumbled.
"You just didn't seem too fond of me referring to you as such."
"No, Padawan." Yelena elaborated. "I wasn't too fond of you separating Aren into classes. The planet has enough division as it is."
"Well, who put it there?" Elsa asked earnestly.
Yelena loosed a resigned sigh and paced across the cathedral. She peered up at the artwork from a forgotten era, as if searching the time-ravaged pieces for an answer to Elsa's question. "Hubris," she responded. "That's what divided Aren into chunks and it's been bloodying its snowy soil ever since. That's why I don't want you thinking with that divisive, classist mindset."
"Okay," Elsa mumbled while setting a beacon by the window. "But with all due respect, that symbolic answer can be applied to a hundred different scenarios. There had to be a catalyst, master. Feuds like that don't just start. The same is true for a widespread pandemic on Rodia or-" Elsa took a moment to think on her experiences. She recalled how the activist Ledai had once served on Governor Stada's council. Considering how their different perspectives led to chaos shed new light on the situation. "Was there a change in leadership?" Elsa asked as Yelena ascended a winding staircase. "Did the Aren and Northuldra clash on political ideologies?"
"Yes!" Yelena snapped from the balcony. "We-..." She bit her lip as if repressing something. "They couldn't agree on anything. You and I should be able to say we're from Aren and that should be it. I wish Master Krell had never dragged my Northuldran past into your life."
"Forgive me, master." Elsa said. "But if there's anyone I'd want to hear your life from, it'd be you. I just don't understand why you wouldn't tell me. You don't want to be identified as Northuldran, yet you wear a sash reminiscent of them. You remember their proverbs and clearly care about them. What pain are you holding back? I can sense it."
"Elsa," Yelena intoned.
"Master," Elsa raised her voice. "We need to help each other. We're a pair of blueblossoms, right?"
Yelena sighed and relented. "Right. Attachments are forbidden, but I can't forget who I am or where I come from. Aren wasn't always divided, and I once dreamed of a time where it could be like that again."
"Once?" Elsa queried.
Yelena angrily jabbed her last mapping beacon into the upper floor. "You can't aid a people who don't want to be helped, let alone a group that wants nothing to do with you."
Elsa pursed her lips and boldly approached her master. "What if you weren't alone the next time you went to Aren? I know they don't consider you a true Northuldran, but you only fail when you stop trying. And I know I'm not Northuldran, but as Aren I believe we could get through to them together. One step could lead to another and reunite the planet. So maybe one day, we could all just call each other Aren again. Isn't that pursuit of unity what being Jedi is all about?"
Yelena offered her Padawan a dwindling smile. "Your hopeful view of the future is...promising," she answered. "But in our reality, I fear that hope is so easily snuffed out."
Elsa grimaced at her and threw her previous 'lecture' back at her. "Careful, master." she grumbled. "Fear is a path to the Dark Side, remember?"
Before Yelena could answer, Elsa scaled the cathedral's tower with the final beacon in hand. I don't understand, she thought. I'm trying to help her. What is on Aren that she's so afraid of? Elsa paused during her climb as a grim realization took hold. Or what about Aren is she hiding from me? She shook off such venomous suspicions and proceeded to the apex. Once at the top, she activated the final beacon and received a call from Cordova.
"Well done, my friends!" he rejoiced. "With my final adjustment, I'm receiving readouts of the town and surrounding areas now. I'll transfer these schematics into BD-1's system for our travels."
As Elsa observed the heavy snowfall around the ice-choked town, an epiphany struck her. "This is just how it was in my dream," she called on her comlink.
Cordova's heavy footsteps echoed from the lower level. "Come take a look at our newly-forged holomap!" Elsa slid down the decrepit ladder and brushed past a cold-faced Yelena. She leapt down to BD-1, who was busy scanning every inch of the cathedral. The droid chimed embarrassingly when he noticed all three Jedi were waiting on him. He scurried to the center of the room and projected a vast set of holographic terrain. Cordova rubbed his hands together for warmth and took a seat on a frosted bench. "See anything that looks familiar, young Dellian?" he asked.
Elsa hummed in thought and scoured the rotating hologram. "There was a tremendous tower in my dream," Elsa said. "One with steep, silver-stoned stairs leading to the top. Everything in this town seems much too level to be that tower."
Cordova thought back to their findings on Felucia. "Let's piece together what we know," he suggested. "Wind the clocks back thousands of years to a very different era. At the time, Rhen Var is anything but an icy wasteland, and is instead a fertile paradise. Vegetation and wildlife flourishes much like it does on Felucia, which is only a star-hop away. Then, a solar disturbance or monumental asteroid sets the entire Thanium sector into disarray. There are collisions across space and moons are disheveled. This lunar imbalance shifts entire planetary tides on the surrounding worlds, specifically Felucia and Rhen Var. While Felucia didn't have any oceans, Rhen Var did!" Cordova was like an enthusiastic professor teaching students back at the temple. Only he could make an interstellar cataclysm sound fun. "Imagine entire seas surging across the land! Forests leveled beneath waves and cities..." Cordova huffed at the thought. "The poor Rhen Varites would be forced to seek-"
"Higher ground," Elsa deduced.
"Yes?" Cordova urged and rotated his hands, excited for her to deduce more. "Go on, young Dellian!"
Towers would be the Rhen Varites' only salvation from the cataclysm. And mountains!" Elsa looked to the holomap, of which had a partially graphed out mountain range. "By the Force, I bet you the tower we're looking for resides up in these dark spots."
"I think you may be on to something!" Cordova lauded. "Let's get back to the ship and make for the summit." He gave her master a pat on the back. "You've got a real scholar for a Padawan, Yelena. I can't wait to see what kind of knight she becomes."
"Yeah," Yelena sighed and locked eyes with Elsa. Their frigid stares kept them as frozen in the moment as the structure around them. "Me neither."
Anna slowly opened her eyes amidst the pitch blackness. The intermittent clamor of external crashes had the ship swaying around her. The constant hum of the Ethereal's engines was no more and left Anna to deduce that they were adrift in space. A cracked crate's packaged contents poured over her as she shifted about. "What happened?" she groaned and crawled through the darkness. "Tori!" she beckoned. "You still back here?" Several crates shifted in the shadows and a guard shoto ignited. The Pantoran's face emerged beside her blue beam as she looked down. Anna extended a hand for help, but Tori kept surveying the scene. "Oh that's fine," Anna snarked. "I can pull myself out." With an aching grunt, Anna hauled herself free of the crates and activated her saber. She held her blade towards the short-circuited light fixtures and whistled. "Looks like all the power's out."
"Anna Dellian," Tori muttered. "Corellian Cup Champion and proclaimer of the obvious."
Anna sneered at her until someone forced open a set of doors. Tori ignited her second blade and swayed both towards the entryway. A double-bladed, yellow lightsaber activated across the way. Anna and Tori glimpsed the ivory, gold-accented mask of a temple guard. Everyone lowered their weapons upon recognizing each other and the guardswoman spoke up. "You kids hurt?" Both were too prideful to admit to any bruising. "I've got two more here in the hold!" she hollered back to the passenger aisle. She motioned for Tori and Anna to follow her as they weaved through crates. The trio found a ruined aisle illuminated by a variety of lightsabers.
"Anna," Mattias called and dropped his green blade. "Thank the Force. I won't lie, I thought you had something to do with this...You didn't, right?"
"Not this time," Anna whispered and assessed the damage. The second temple guard was wiping blood from Gav's feathered forehead while his master watched with concern.
"Looks like we're in the middle of an asteroid field," Master Savil said after peering from a viewport. "Think we hit one of them?"
"I've been in my share of collisions," Master Halsey confessed. "But asteroids that size don't cause blackouts to starships this huge."
"What if it was an EMP?" Master Chaki proposed.
"If it was an EMP," Gav cawed. "Why do our lightsabers still work?"
Master Chuza smacked his Padawan upside his already aching head. "You're embarrassing me, boy! Lightsabers are immune to electromagnetic pulses. Everyone knows that!"
Seeking to equip a student with knowledge instead of a scolding, Mattias added, "Our weapons are protected and energized by a Diatum power cell. It has a strong enough shielding around the hilt's circuits to prevent effects from EMPs." Gav reluctantly nodded to Mattias for the lesson and glared at his own master.
"That being said," Chaki deduced. "I'm standing by the belief that we were hit by one. I mean, even the server droids shut down. They're not linked to the Ethereal accept to charge."
"And the pilots are droids too," Master Beetra recalled. "So that explains the loss of control."
"But that still raises more questions," Mattias said. "Did we even make the jump to lightspeed? If so, where are we? And if an EMP was in fact triggered, who set it off?"
Krell reclined in the shadows and shut his eyes. His four, leathery arms clenched at the seats around him as he mumbled to himself. The others looked to him as he uttered, "We're not alone."
"Beg your pardon?" Chaki inquired.
The Besalisk softly opened his yellow eyes as they shone in the darkness. "You can all sense it, can't you?" The other Jedi, both young and old reached out with the Force as Krell continued. "You can feel that cold, sickening vibration skulking about. I've felt it ever since things quieted down. It's crafty. It's...evil." Nelani started hyperventilating until Chaki had to hold her hand.
"The Dark Side?" Master Kalia questioned. "Here? But how?"
"Stop fighting your own ignorance and denial, Ithorian." Krell murmured. "The Dark Side is everywhere. Only this time, we've let our guards down enough that it's advanced on us."
"Okay that's enough, Master Krell." Chaki warned while Nelani death-gripped his shoulders.
"You're only denying what's right in front of you," Krell scoffed. "What good will codling your student do in a situation like this? If that whimpering Duros is the future of the Jedi Order-"
"Stow it!" Savil brayed. "If we turn on each other, the 'Dark Side' this bumbling Besalisk is preaching about will be right before us. We need to deal with the situation at hand."
"That is all I have been trying to do," Krell insisted.
"Then work with us instead of provoking hysteria," Savil countered.
Krell's scowl was daunting as he rose from his seat. "If only we could convert that ignorance of yours into energy. We'd have the Ethereal powered up again." Savil was about to lunge at him but Mattias held her back. "How'd you put it? Deal with the situation at hand? Alright then...Let's figure out where the hell we are." His tone got most of the Padawans in line while the masters and knights remained unfazed. "Guardsman," Krell bellowed and pointed. "Go to the engine room and investigate our hyperdrive. Guardswoman, I want a status report on the command bridge. See if you can get communications back online." Both masked Sentinels nodded and saw to their duties. "The rest of us are going to split up and scour the ship for clues and a possible intruder. Teams of two should do fine. Now hurry. We've got a lot of ground to cover on this massive starship and not a second to waste!" Krell's voice boomed across the darkened aisle.
"Each Padawan should go with their master," Beetra suggested.
Tori still held out hope that Krell would change his mind about her. She looked to him until he angrily rejected the idea. "No," he growled. "The Padawans will only slow their masters down." He was sure to glare at Tori when he said so. "Keep them where they can't impede anything. They can look after each other here in the aisle." Krell gritted his sharp teeth as the Padawans griped over his plan. "We'll do a sweep of the ship and report back here with our findings."
"If anyone feels like they've been gone too long, come back." Mattias added. "No one takes any chances."
"I'll go with Kalia," Beetra said. The Aqualish and Ithorian stood side by side. "We can check the lower decks."
"Halsey and I can take the upper levels," Savil spoke.
Mattias was about to suggest teaming up with Chaki, but the Selkath had other plans. "I'll stay with the Padawans," he said. "I'm sure the lads and lasses wouldn't mind a master watching over them." One look at Chaki's eyes and Mattias knew he was mostly staying for Nelani. After what he'd seen during the Corellian Cup, he didn't want anyone leaving his Padawan behind again.
"Oh in the name of Taris' destruction!" Master Chuza squawked. "There's no way I'm leaving the one master without a lightsaber to look after our students. Whether he refused to get his replaced or not, it's simply unacceptable! I'll stay too." Chuza perched on one of the seats flanking the back exit.
Mattias suddenly realized who he was left to partner with. He slowly turned as the Besalisk stared him down. "You've raised a promising Padawan, Master Matiias." Krell admitted. "Your skills should match up. You and I will check the cargo hold. If there is a threat, we will most likely engage it." Mattias found Krell's ego to be insufferable as the teams split up.
"Anna," Mattias said. "Listen to Masters Chaki and Chuza. They're here to protect you." Thought she found that concept laughable, Anna nodded in agreement and sat amongst her peers.
"Is the Dark Side really onboard, master?" Nelani whimpered.
"No, lass." Chaki assured. "Krell's just taking extra precautions. That's all."
Tori shook her head at the sight. "He can't protect her from reality," the Pantoran whispered.
Gav agreed while Velti chose to refute her claim. "Maybe this was all just an accident," the Twi'lek said.
Tori glared at her. "Reach out with the Force...all of you. My m-...Krell's right. There's something evil on this ship and we're sitting nunas just waiting here."
"But you heard Master Krell," Dokin warned. "We'd only slow him and the others down."
"You don't honestly believe that, do you?" Tori snapped.
Anna was glad to see her getting her fire back. "We're stronger than they give us credit for," she added. "Look at all we did on Corellia."
"You mean all you did," Gav groaned while rubbing his head.
"Don't sell yourself short," Anna insisted.
"Tori and Anna are right," Surk said. "If there's something on this ship, we can't just wait here to find out."
"Hush," Chuza cawed. "It's very hard to protect you all when you're chatting."
The Padawans exchanged irritated glares while Gav facepalmed at his master.
The temple guardsman traversed the frigid, empty corridors on his way to the engine room. With nothing more than the Force and his yellow blade to guide him, he still felt uneasy. There was indeed a disturbance in the energy around him. While it was easy to sense the imbalance, its source felt clouded. His breathing intensified and warmed the inside of his mask. His hazel eyes swayed across its narrow slits as he checked around corners. He found the engine room's doors partially opened and slipped between them. "Backup generators never stood a chance," he whispered and examined the fried wall panel. As the guardsman turned, he found a cubical device which he easily identified as the hyperdrive generator. He approached the flat, metallic surface and transferred his weapon to one hand. As he knelt to investigate the propulsion systems, he made a peculiar discovery. "It looks like the droid pilot attempted a jump to lightspeed, but the system failed almost instantly. The generators are offline, but it's only temporary. If we can reboot the power, we can at least get the hyperdrive working." The guardsman chuckled to himself. "Even if it means flying this thing by saberlight."
A sudden clang forced the guardsman to his feet. He firmly gripped his saber and swept both ends through the shadows. "Who's there?" he asked in an authoritative tone. Something caught his eye as he realized the path he'd taken had disappeared. The random clamor he'd heard had been the doors slamming shut behind him. The guardsman swallowed hard and overanalyzed his surroundings. Those bulkhead doors were locked in place when the power shut down. Only something or someone of great strength could've closed them. The guardsman's breaths hastened as his own fears were realized. The sudden patter of footsteps sounded above him and he swayed his saber to look. His heart sank at the sight of emptiness, but the dreadful truth remained. Whatever was aboard the ship was sealed in the engine room with him. With communications down, the guardsman had to choose between standing his ground or making for the door. He contemplated how quickly he could slice it open. Durasteel wasn't so hastily severed and time was running out. He reached out with the Force, but his senses had been corrupted. An ominous, sinking feeling plagued his chest. He felt intense chills across his skin despite wearing such bulky robes. Between these sensations and his own nerves making him sweat, the guardsman appeared feverish. A set of pipes rolled beside him and he spun at the ready.
"Show yourself!" he roared. With racing breaths and a thundering heart, he slowly started to make for the doors. With his back to the bulkhead, the guardsman stabbed the doors with one end of his saber while keeping the other ready. He cautiously began to carve a circle across the metal, all while remaining vigilant across the shadows. The sound of footsteps seemed to be coming from everywhere. The guardsman didn't know if he was hearing whispers...or breaths...or if his mind was playing tricks on him. "Come on," he grunted while driving his weapon downward. "Come on!" The sound of plasma scorching through metal was obscuring his hearing. In his rush, the guardsman didn't realize he'd cut as far as he could without having to switch positions. "Blast," he cursed and hurriedly shifted his arms.
That was all the intruder was waiting for. The guardsman had averted his eyes for only a moment, and a moment was all it took. There was a distinct hiss in the shadows, one which loudened as a figure approached him. The guardsman looked up as a fiery light met his face. He barely got half a scream out before the impact. His voice silenced as his lightsaber deactivated from the door. He dropped to his knees and the last thing his yellow blade illuminated was his head rolling off his shoulders.
The temple guardswoman remained alert as she crept into the command bridge. One of her boots thumped against a body and she used her blade to highlight the floor. "Hello there," she whispered to the downed pilot droid. "The crew deactivated almost instantly. Must've been a powerful EMP." The collision of asteroids against the bridge's viewport caught the guardswoman's attention. She leaned over and noticed the blue sphere of Corellia in the distorted distance. "So our hyperspace jump was interrupted and we never left the system," she figured. The guardswoman made a futile attempt to reboot the bridge's communication system. Without any power, all of her efforts seemed pointless as the ship drifted through space.
Masters Beetra and Kalia descended further into the Ethereal's lower decks. Every subtle creak or grind had them twitching with their sabers at the ready. Kalia's eyestalks narrowed on a series of hatches. "Beetra," she beckoned. "Over here." When the Ithorian spoke, the yellow wavelengths on her translating vocoder served as extra light.
"It's the escape pods," Beetra realized. The Aqualish's facial tusks quivered with intrigue as she ran her hand across the terminals. "They're all destroyed," she said.
"Another product of the blackout?" Kalia queried.
Beetra shook her head. "Unlike the other electrical devices, the escape pod panels have been methodically tampered with. This is sabotage. Someone doesn't want us leaving."
Savil swayed her blue lightsaber across the upper levels. Halsey's green blade trailed behind her as the duo went back to back. They constantly alternated spots like an efficient, vigilant team. Savil brought her weapon towards a set of rotund canisters. "Halsey," she said. "Check it out."
"It's the backup generators," the Roonan identified. "You know we're in a predicament when they're offline."
"Hold this," Savil said and passed him her lightsaber. He steadied both blades above the canisters as Savil crawled beneath them. She only got several feet under before flinching back.
"What is it?" Halsey asked and tightly gripped the sabers.
Savil emerged with a chrome-colored liquid dampening her sleeves. "There's our problem," she said. "The backup generators run on fuel. Rhydonium to be specific. Their containers must've dislodged during the EMP. All we need to do is transfer more fuel and we can get the power back on." She recovered her lightsaber and highlighted the ship's directory. "Engine room is this way." When Savil turned to Hasley, she caught a glimpse of a sleek figure darting through the darkness. She jabbed her lightsaber towards the sight, but found only a spacious corridor.
"What is it?" Halsey asked.
"I'm...not sure," Savil murmured.
Krell used only one of his double-bladed lightsabers to light his path. Mattias crept beside him and pointed his saber towards a toppled crate. "Do you feel that?" he asked the Besalisk. "I sense that someone's in pain."
"Or was in pain," Krell corrected.
"By the Force," Mattias muttered and brought his weapon closer. "It's been a while. We should reconvene with the others."
"I'm sure they're fine," Krell insisted. "Plus, whatever is out there will likely come for us next. I can feel it."
"Can you?" Mattias asked. "Or is it more of a personal wish?" Krell sneered at him under the saberlight. Mattias scoffed at his silence and said, "The Padawans are probably scared out of their minds."
"If you want to go play babysitter with the other weaklings, be my guest. I thought better of you, Mattias."
"I just thought you'd care more for your apprentice," Mattias remarked.
"She is no longer my Padawan and that choice is none of your concern."
Mattias' eyes widened as he marched up to Krell. "You're abandoning her? Over a competition? That's harsh, even for you."
"What a surprise," Krell muttered. "The human is up on his pedestal, preaching to the 'aliens'as you call us on how to live our lives. Free of judgement, free of consequence, mighty is he...the human Jedi." Krell towered over Mattias in the darkness and almost looked like he was raising his weapon to him. "Who are you to tell me who I should and shouldn't teach? I determine inferiority when I see it, and you're lucky your Padawan has scraped by with promise. The rest of these masters should be ashamed of the apprentices they've created. They're farces of the Jedi Order that wouldn't last a moment in a real emergency. You saw most of them cracking back there." Krell remained composed as he stepped away from Mattias. "The future of our Republic will need stronger Jedi. Those who aren't afraid to exemplify that on the frontlines."
"So you'll just throw Tori into a warzone?" Mattias queried.
Krell snarled. "I'll see to the battlefields myself. That pathetic Pantoran is no longer my burden to bear."
General Krell, Mattias fathomed the concept. Woe to the clones who serve under him.
In that instant, the Besalisk sensed a disturbance. "Wait," he said and ignited his second weapon. His double-bladed, blue and green sabers spun from his sides as he scanned his surroundings. "It's in the hold with us."
Anna sulked and groaned from her seat. She tried to block out Nelani's incessant whimpering and recitations of the the Jedi Code. "Who's gonna tell her that 'There is no chaos, there is harmony.' doesn't restore an ounce of power to this ship?" Gav groused.
As Anna shook her head at him, she noticed something flashing across the viewport window. She had to scrub her eyes to make sure they weren't deceiving her as something streaked by again. "Ship," she uttered until others looked. "Ship!" Anna threw herself towards the viewport and wished she could Force-push every asteroid out of her way.
"Great," Gav mumbled. "Now two Padawans are going delusional."
"Shut up!" Anna snapped. "I know what I saw."
Surk's eyes shot open as he too leaned closer. "There it goes!" he blurted. "It looks like it's trying to navigate the asteroid field. Do you think it knows where we are?"
"Only one way to find out," Anna assured. "We need to get to the command bridge and try to signal it."
"Absolutely not!" Chuza squawked. "We all need to stay here where it's safe. There's already a guardswoman there."
"And what if she needs help?" Anna retorted. "We've got ten Jedi sitting idle in here."
"Hey," Gav cawed. "I hit my head."
"Well then you can stay, you feathered baby." Tori jeered. "By the Force, I might not know what's out there...but it has to be better than listening to all this complaining."
"Anna, lass." Master Chaki intoned. "We must stay together. Other ship or not, the masters will come back thinking we're here. If we aren't, well...we could cause problems that need not exist."
Anna huffed at the Selkath. "With all due respect, Master Chaki...With that mindset, Elsa and I never would've rescued you and Nelani on Manaan. There's a ship out there and we are missing a valuable opportunity to make contact."
"And what if that ship is the very perpetrator who triggered the EMP?" Chuza chirped. "Hmm?"
As a debate broke out, Anna frantically looked out her viewport in search of the mysterious ship.
Savil recovered a coiled pipe from a pile of discarded equipment. "Take this end and run it back to the generators," she told Halsey.
"Brilliant," he admired.
"When I was a Padawan, my late master and I oversaw the production of countless starships in a Kuat shipyard. You don't forget that stuff, and I'm just glad to put the knowledge to good use." While Halsey took one end of the piping, Savil carried the other towards a set of bulkhead doors. She felt uneasy approaching them and was taken aback by a scorch mark lining the metal. As she cautiously approached the grim sight, she endured another's fear. She felt a sharp pain in her neck and heard echoes of a forgotten scream. The doors themselves were partially opened and Savil squeezed between them. She entered the engine room and found a flat, cubical hyperdrive in its center. As she examined its posterior section, she uncovered a separate device attached to its core. "What have we here?" she whispered and plucked the cylinder free. There's the EMP, she deduced. Set to trigger as soon as we made the jump to lightspeed. Had to be manually armed. Possibly before we took off. Anyone could've been onboard while we were in the arena. By the Force...
Savil raised a brow when her knee nicked something. She called the object to her with the Force and was surprised to find a lightsaber. Instantly, she heard someone stomp in from the doorway behind her. Savil ignited the discovered weapon and turned with both blades ready, only to find an uneasy Halsey.
"It's just me," the Roonan assured. "The pipe's connected." His bulbous, blue eyes honed in on the yellow saber. "Is that the guardsman's?"
"I'm afraid so," Savil sighed. She deactivated the weapon and linked the pipe to a nearby fuel tank. "That should get the backup generators running again."
Halsey wandered about until a gruesome sight stopped him in his tracks. "Master Savil," he lamented. "I found the guardsman...or what's left of him anyway."
Savil knelt beside him as they examined the corpse. "Such a clean cut," she commented. "No blood either." She and Halsey exchanged a grievous glance before they looked at their lightsabers.
Mattias remained on guard as he searched through his clouded senses. The area around him became cold and nauseating. Still, he and Krell advanced deeper into the hold. "Steady," Mattias whispered.
"There," Krell asserted and stomped towards a corner.
"How can you be so sure?" Mattias questioned.
"I don't make a call unless I'm right, Mattias." Krell replied sternly. "Blind, questioning types like yourselves have been trying to hold me back for years. But it's the always the same. You never shut your mouths until you see...results!" Krell bisected a crate with one of his sabers. Mattias sighed at the Besalisk's own, blatant arrogance until a distinct beeping sounded. Krell had indeed found a target of sorts. A vast array of strobing, scarlet orbs flashed from within the opened crate.
"Bombs!" Mattias warned and Force-pushed the crate as it exploded. The blast was still too powerful and sent both Jedi sailing across the hold. The Ethereal rocked and rumbled on all levels from the explosion. While those in the passenger section braced, Kalia and Beetra came running towards the source.
On the upper deck, Savil and Halsey nearly lost their balance. "Now what?" the Roonan gasped.
"Sounds like it came from the hold," Savil said. "Leave the fuel pumping. Let's move!" She and Halsey dashed across the dark corridors and slid down a set of ladders.
They landed in the passenger aisle and were immediately met with a storm of questions. "What's happening?" Chuza hooted over everyone's shouts.
"Don't know!" Savil shouted back while running to the hold with Halsey. "Keep the Padawans safe. Stay here!"
While Chuza and Chaki tried to keep everyone calm, Anna addressed who she could. "Okay," she asserted. "That was a kriffing explosion. We can't just wait here for another one and need to make for the command bridge. Who's with me?"
"I'm in," Surk answered without hesitation. Velti and Knox nodded in agreement while Gav looked away.
"We have to do something," Tori concurred and swayed Dokin to oblige.
Meanwhile, Savil and Halsey leapt into the cargo hold and found it in flames. "Master Mattias?" she called out. "Master Krell!"
Beetra and Kalia entered from an adjacent hall. "Any sign of them?" the Aqualish hollered. They overturned crates until another explosion went off beside them.
Savil dove for cover and was relieved to hear Mattias coughing. "The hold's rigged with traps," he wheezed. "Thermal detonators..."
"No kidding," Savil quipped and crawled to him. "I found Mattias! He's pinned under debris. Someone give me a hand!" Together, she and the other masters used the Force to liberate him. Savil and Kalia were helping him up when they noticed a Besalisk's limp hand in the smoke.
Suddenly, another rumble shook the ship, only this one brought a smile to Savil's face. With enough fuel, the backup generators rebooted and the Ethereal's power returned. What lights hadn't exploded flickered back on while the engines restarted. Anna saw the reigniting light overhead as a sign and bolted upright. "It's now or never!" she shouted. "Come on!" She and the majority of Padawans sprinted for the command bridge.
"Get back here!" Chuza squawked uselessly. "Gav! Don't you go with them!" Though the young Avinarian felt torn, he pressed the rag to his head wound and followed his peers. "Apprentice, you get back here this instant!" Feeling responsible for both his own Padawan and everyone else's, Chaki chased after Anna's group. While Nelani was terrified, he held the Duros' hand and pulled her onward. Realizing he was the only one left in the passenger aisle, Chuza screeched frustratedly.
The other masters cleared through the smoke with the Force and found Krell in a daze. "Let's get him up," Mattias said. Beetra, Kalia, Savil, and Halsey each grabbed an arm as he came to.
"Get off of me!" Krell growled and shoved at the others. "What happened?"
"What didn't happen?" Mattias jested as the ship's remaining, functional extinguishers saw to the flames. "At least the power's back on."
"All of you!" Chuza beckoned from the doorway. "It's the Padawans! They've gone for the bridge! I tried to stop them but no one would listen!"
Mattias sighed. Who does listen to you? He thought. "We're on our way," he assured.
"Wait," Savil said and squinted her eyes. "Chuza, who's that behind you?"
The elder Avinarian turned to take a pair of boots to the face. His wings flapped wildly as he crashed into the cargo hold with the other masters. Before anyone could realize what happened, the swift assailant sealed the doors behind him. To make matters worse, the intruder then jettisoned the cargo hold from the Ethereal in its entirety.
"No!" Mattias yelled as he rushed past his companions. He slammed a fist against the viewport and watched the Ethereal disappear behind an asteroid cluster. He and the masters were back where they started: drifting in space.
"Look!" Halsey exclaimed. The Roonan pointed towards a light Corellian utility craft.
"This is a horrible idea," Hans said out loud. "Horrible...horrible...HORRIBLE!" He braced, diverted all power to shields, and crashed his ship into the Ethereal's ventral section. The cockpit pierced into the hull as Hans' head struck the dashboard. He awoke within moments as emergency sirens blared around him. Blood trickled from a cut on his temple as he rose with a hiss. The airlock resealed and he desperately kicked out the cockpit's screen to climb out. "I...can't believe that worked," he panted. "Gotta find Anna."
Anna led her group up a set of stairs to the command bridge as Surk jogged alongside her. "Do you think the masters are alright?" he asked.
"I'm sure they're fine," she replied. "We can return to the cargo hold after we hail that ship. That pilot could be our way out of here." As they rounded the corner, Anna suddenly bumped into Hans.
"Anna!" he rejoiced.
Acting on impulse, she grabbed him by the tabards and punched him square in the face. As the knight collapsed, Anna instantly realized who she'd struck. "Hans?" she gasped while Chaki helped him up. "What the kriff are you doing here?"
"You punched me," Hans groaned. You punched me!"
"I didn't know it was you and you snuck up on me!" Anna defended.
"I feel like you broke my face," Hans exaggerated. "I came here to help...Damn, you hit hard! I crash a ship to get to you and this is how you-"
"Wait," Anna stopped him. "Hans...Please tell me you're not referring to the ship we were all just about to try and contact."
Hans shrugged as they continued towards the bridge. "It was a single-seater anyway," he scoffed. Anna growled and he raised his hands. "What? Do you have any idea what I've been through to try and find you?"
"Well congratulations!" Anna snapped. "You found me! Now what, genius? You want to help, go to the masters in the cargo hold."
"There is no cargo hold!" Hans shouted and the group went wide-eyed. "It's been severed from the ship."
"By who?" Anna asked.
When she did, a shrill cackle echoed from down the hall. The laugh was chilling to the ears as all faced the darkness from which it spewed. A flickering, overhead bulb faintly highlighted a slender figure. The image vanished as the light fixture died and all were left standing in the shadows. Yet despite the rising darkness, the laugh persisted. The continuous cackle had the Padawans' hearts racing and breaths shortening. The steam from loose pipes and sparks from snapped wires made the approaching being appear supernatural. Hans' greatest fear was realized as a pair of scarlet lightsabers activated across the way. Its wielder swiped them across the floor before shutting them off. The intruder then advanced with another, intermittent rotation of the blades. Each time the fiery sabers ignited, the wicked woman was several feet closer. Her bald, bone white head came into view as Hans met her icy stare. He felt as though his back was being slashed all over again, just as it had on that fateful night.
"Anna," he uttered with bated breath. "It's her." She noticed him clutching his back and knew exactly who he meant.
Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku's Sith assassin, stared down her quivering assortment of prey. Master Chaki shuffled through the group and placed himself in front of the students. "I don't care how much training any of you have," he intoned and threw up his hands. "Get to the command bridge now!"
"What a noble old Selkath," Ventress hissed. "Brave of you to stand alone against me."
"Think again, witch!" The guardswoman roared as she frontflipped over the Padawans. She sparked up her double-bladed lightsaber and lunged at Ventress. Anna and the others made for the command bridge as the duel ensued.
"Master!" Nelani panicked and reached for her lightsaber.
"No!" Chaki asserted. "Just go!" He Force-pushed Ventress against a wall while the guardswoman went in for a strike. When Nelani wouldn't budge, Chaki feared she'd be caught in the conflict.
"Get her out of here!" the guardswoman ordered. "Protect the Padawans!" Chaki hauled Nelani to the bridge while the guardswoman dueled Ventress. Red sparks clashed against yellow as the Sith cackled. The masked Jedi elbowed Ventress in the chest and swung at her head. Dooku's assassin proved to be extremely agile as she weaved under the strike. Determined to keep her away from the door, the temple guard performed wide, sweeping swings with her saber. Ventress deflected both sides and remained on the defensive, biding her time.
Chaki and the others sealed the door to the bridge and barricaded it with the disabled droid pilots. "That's not gonna hold," Gav said.
"But it'll buy time," Hans replied.
"We need to get a distress signal out!" Surk urged.
"No," Tori refuted. "We need to set a trap. We can take her together."
"Are you out of your mind?" Hans blurted as his own trauma overwhelmed him. "This isn't some training exercise. She's a kriffing Sith Acolyte!"
Velti took matters into her own hands and activated the ship's communicator. "This is the Jedi Ethereal calling for help on all frequencies!" the Twi'lek shouted. "Our vessel is under attack and we need help!"
All of the arguing and shouting mixed together with Nelani's ceaseless crying made Anna snap. "Everyone shut up!" she yelled. "Velti, keep trying to call for help. Everyone else, sabers ready. If she comes through that door-" She activated her blade. "-we face her together."
The guardswoman swayed her saber across the hall and severed multiple pipes. Ventress rolled between the collapsing debris and locked blades with her opponent. With a furious, demonic screech, she kneed the guardswoman and slashed her blades upward. The Jedi collapsed with a grunt and Ventress advanced towards the door.
Anna's stomach dropped when the Sith's blades pierced through their barricade. They slowly rotated as Ventress began to cut a hole to the bridge. "She's coming!" Knox warned and steadied his saber.
Dokin was trembling while Velti gave up making calls to prepare herself. Gav shook off his injury and forced himself to focus. Tori set her guard shotos to spin and stood at Surk's side. Master Chaki levitated piloting seats to use as projectiles while Nelani nervously readied her weapon. Hans stormed up to Anna and said, "You know help isn't coming soon enough and we can't win this, right?"
"Do you have a better idea?" Anna scoffed while watching Ventress' sabers. "Cause I'm all ears!"
"Literally anything's better than fighting her!" he urged. "I came to here to try and prevent this."
"Good job," Anna snarked.
"We're all gonna die," Hans affirmed.
His words started to seep into Anna's mind as she considered what would unfold. She imagined the ensuing slaughter once Ventress broke through. Anna loathed how Hans' stress had sowed doubts within her own mind. As she glanced over at her peers, she could see how unprepared they were. She couldn't permit a massacre, but had to think of an alternative solution. Once she noted the Ethereal's rebooted power she lunged for the controls.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Hans asked.
"You said anything's better than fighting, right?" Anna quipped. "I'm getting us out of here."
"Where?"
"Working on it!" Anna intoned as she scoured over the navicomputer.
"But the hyperdrive may not be properly restarted!" Gav warned. "You could blow us all up!"
"Wishful thinking please!" Anna exclaimed as a grid with a plethora of numbers emerged.
"Do you even know any hyperspace coordinates?" Hans muttered until the doors crashed behind him.
"She's through!" Knox warned.
"Whatever you punch, punch it quick!" Hans yelled. "Hurry, Anna!"
Ventress Force-pushed the severed door at the Padawans closest to her. She stepped onto the bridge only to feel someone grab her ankle. She glanced over her shoulder to see the guardswoman was still alive. With a saber wound across her chest and another lining her face, the guardswoman used her last ounce of strength to pull Ventress back. Her agonizing grimace trembled beneath her partially shattered mask. "Save yourselves!" the guardswoman yelled before Ventress plunged a saber into her back.
As time slowed around her, Anna's thoughts raced and the only coordinates she could think of came from Mattias' annoying song. "S-15!" she screamed and punched it in. The coordinates had been ingrained into her mind ever since he taught them to her. Without wasting a moment, Anna powered the turbines as the Ethereal shook. Because the hyperdrive was restarting and struggling with backup generators, the result was a turbulent launch. Everyone was flung from the floor and thrown about the bridge as the Ethereal launched into hyperspace. People were hurled down corridors while debris clamored into adjacent chambers. Engines worked overtime as if they'd explode at any moment. Anna tumbled out of the bridge, across the hall, into a ladder, and crashed into the passenger aisle. The ship spiraled out of control in the vortex of lightspeed. Anna could barely keep her eyes open as she hauled herself into a seat to buckle in. All she could do...was brace for impact.
Author's note: Thank you so much for tuning into today's pulse-pounding installment! Here we go, my friends: (*Duel of the Fates plays*) You've accompanied Anna and Elsa on their Jedi journey for twenty-nine chapters. But on Friday, August 21st, their lives will never be the same. Who will rise? Who shall fall? Sabers will clash and fates will be decided. Will submit to your feelings...or cast them aside? What will you do...what will you become to survive? See you next Frozen Force Friday for the epic Season 1 finale of the The Frozen Force!
Long Live Imagination and May the Force be with You!
~ Michael