Star Wars: The Heart of Darkness

[White Haven]

Then it's up to you to write a fanfic, Tev.

...

...

Aaah crap, I'd better start running.

[LadyTevar]

Then it's up to you to write a fanfic, Tev.

...

...

Aaah crap, I'd better start running.

I'll let Devonie do the writing, she's better at sex scenes

[Imperial Overlord]

Rath Sengar drove the lightsaber almost to the hilt into the blast door and pulled it up and then across. Molten metal glowed gold as the blade cut through the tough alloy and throwing off enough heat to char the adept's hands to the bone if he had not been drawing upon the Force to handle the heat. He pulled the blood red blade down the other side and then connected the cuts across the bottom. A Force augmented kick sent the center section into the hall.

Rath ducked his head and stepped through. The corridor on the other side was empty. He hurried through, heading towards the docking bays. Once he got to the Shark that would only leave running the gauntlet of Sith ships and not getting blown out of space. But first things first. He had to get their first.

The sound of boots coming toward him caused Rath to pause. The bloodshine blade in his hand would probably cause any Republic troops to think he was Sith, but it probably wouldn't buy him safe passage from the Sith. He killed the blade and hugged the wall. There were alternatives to fighting.

Five Sith troopers wearing their distinctive silver plates over black body armour headed towards him. They were armed with short framed assault blaster rifles. Rath ignited the lightsaber and called upon the Force. "Don't shoot!" he ordered. "I'm on your side!"

"Don't shoot!" said the second trooper from the left. "He's on our side." The Sith hesitated.

Rath rapidly stepped forward. "I'm here to help you," he continued.

"He's here to . . help us?" the Sith replied. They were clearly resisting the idea. Too late. Rath stepped forward and swung, taking the head of the lead Sith trooper clean off and following up to decapitate the Sith on his left. His outstretched hand and the power of the Force slammed the remaining trooper hard into the wall as he impaled the trooper on his right. The dying Sith gave him cover from the remaining trooper for long enough for Rath to free his blade, block a blaster bolt, and cut the blaster rifle in half. A downward slash cut the Sith from his left shoulder to the center of his chest.

Rath pulled his blade free and stepped towards the stunned Sith. "Wake up," he said. "Time to die." He rammed the blade through the front of the Sith's helmet and out the back. Five more Sith down, but there was a still a galaxy full of them left. He would never be able to kill enough of them to sate his lust for their deaths.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blaster bolts deflected off Janna's saber as the Jedi advanced on the Sith troopers. Two troopers fell, struck by ricochets as the Padawan advanced through the hail of fire. The Sith troopers had nerves of steel, holding their positions and continuing to pour fire at the advancing Jedi, completely focused on saturating her defence. They kept up even when she was within reach of the lead trooper and hacked him down. She half spun, parrying a pair of blaster bolts as she did so, and cut down another. Then she was among them and it was over in seconds.

She stood panting over the bodies of the Sith. "You can come out now," she said. There was no response. "Galt! We don't have forever."

"You have less time than that Jedi," said a voice from ahead. The lighting strips down that part of the corridor had been damaged by the fighting. It was hard to distinguish the features of the two dark clad figures, but both seemed to be males. One was Human, the other was a Zabrack. A bloodshine blade ignited in the Zabrak's hands. "In fact, you just ran out," continued Zandist Moll. His own lightsaber ignited.

"That remains to be seen," said Janna calmly. Her heart was beating like a jackhammer. She slowed her breathing and consciously stilled her breathing. She gathered her thoughts.

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.


Her pulse slowed and steadied. She lunged, calling upon the Force to send her speeding toward the Sith and ending in a Ataru leaping strike. Suror parried and fell back. Janna slid low and sliced at his lower legs. Suror parried and gave more ground. Zandist Moll extended his left hand and unleashed the hell of Sith lightning. Janna caught the violets bolts on the blade of her golden lightsaber blade and and shifted to her left, putting Suror between her and the other Sith.

Zandist cut off the lightning rather than fry his underling/rival who was currently acting as a shield against a surprisingly skilled Jedi Padawan. Janna lunged at Bardu's chest and the Sith parried. Ataru was an aggressive, acrobatic style, not well suited for dueling in a confined space like this. She was quite adept at Ataru, but it was not her best technique. She feinted high. Her best technique was Makashi.

Bardu took the bait and parried high, bringing his saber up in a two handed grip. Janna's saber was already in motion, but not the motion the Sith had anticipated. Bardu Suror screamed as her blade sheared off both of his hands at the wrist. Her foot connected with an armour plate as she kicked him in the stomach, sending him sprawling at the feet of Zandist Moll.

"Weakling," Moll spat at the maimed Sith as he stepped over Suror's whimpering body. "You should have died on his blade Jedi. It would have been a lot kinder than what I'm about to do to you."

"You're very confident for someone who spends most of his time hiding behind others."

"Common trash isn't worth my time, but you Jedi, you I will show the power of the Dark Side and then you will die."

[haard]

Woo!
IO, I don't know what has inspired the recent surge of creativity in multiple fics, but whatever it is - please dont' stop

[Crazedwraith]

While the action is well written. Such a multitude of fight scenes is getting onerous. I feel that the key to a good fight scene is a decent amount of build up: You need to know, who they are and why they're fighting. Right know its just a bunch of names doing things.

[Kartr_Kana]

ah but the list of names is getting shorter and soon we will find out about those who proved themselves worthy enough to survive

Keep it coming IO!!

[Imperial Overlord]

Zandist extended his hands towards Janna and unleashed his anger and fury in a brutal surge of the Force. The blast sped down the corridor and smashed into the young Jedi. An unprotected human would have had her organs pulped and her dying body thrown back to be bounced off the walls in bone breaking impacts before finally coming to rest. Janna was merely thrown back a half dozen meters before she rolled back onto her feet. The attack had been easily weathered, but Zandist had only begun.

Sith Lightning arced from his hands toward the young Jedi. Janna dived into a corridor intersection and out of the Sith's line of sight. Lightning scarred the walls and the floors as Zandist screamed in frustration. "You can run Jedi, but you cannot hide!"

"Come and get me then," said Janna calmly, keeping the wall between her and the Sith acolyte. She had to either close the distance or evade him. His command of the Force was too strong for her and she had to, absolutely had to, get Galt away from here while she still could. The Sith could not be allowed to get their hands on the man.

Zandist carefully advanced towards Janna's position. The Jedi was good with a lightsaber, too good in fact for him to have any desire to cross blades with her. Her mastery of the Force, on the other hand, was clearly not equal to his own. He had the upper hand and as long as he didn't do anything foolish he would win. The Jedi on the other hand, the Jedi would know that as well. And in knowing that, fear would leak into her heart.

"It is almost over Jedi," he hissed. "You will fall before the power of the Dark Side. You will have failed and I will return to my master with the prize and your body will blown to atoms."

Don't rise to the bait, Janna thought to herself. She reached out with the Force to Galt. Pero, head back to the previous junction and take the left corridor. I'll be with you shortly.

I'll take my chances with the Sith! was the reply that rolled through Galt's head.

Don't be stupid. What do you think will happen when they're done with you?

Right. You had better be there!

Janna stabbed her lightsaber into the floor and cut a hasty circle through the deck. There was a loud clang as the metal hit the deck below. Janna turned and ran with all the speed the Force could give her, darting around the corridor and out of sight.

Cautiously, Zandist Moll turned the corridor, his ignited lightsaber at the ready. The corridor was empty, but four meters away there was a hole in the deck with edges that were glowing a dull yellow. She had dropped to another deck to evade him. Well, that would buy her time but it would enable him to capture the prize. He backed away and hurried down the corridor.

He heard Galt's steps as reached the junction, but the pirate was not in his line of sight. The Sith seized the Force and raced down the hallway towards the sounds of Galt's fleeing steps. He found him running down another corridor branch, toward the Jedi Padawan. She had tricked him, running around to meet Galt instead of fleeing to another deck. She would pay for that.

Janna extended her hand and a blast door slammed down behind Galt. Zandist Moll roared and gestured with his hand toward the door controls. Nothing happened. The Jedi must have shorted them out. He would lose precious time, time he couldn't spare, going around or cutting through the blast door. He wailed in rage and fury. Every circuit within twenty meters overloaded and exploded, leaving the Sith to rage in darkness.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

SSlanna settled into the cockpit of the Shark and began the preflight checks, switching on main power and activating the engines. The deflector shields and guns showed blue lights as they began to charge up. Come on, come on, she didn't have all day.

A red light flared on the deck in front of her. She peered forward. It swung around in a circle, leaving a cutting line of molten metal behind it. A lightsaber. SSlanna tapped several controls. The disc of metal that had been cut free by the lightsaber flew up and bounced on the deck. Shark's chin turret swung around to cover the hole. The indicator light on the double blaster cannons turned green. A holographic targeting array painted itself on the cockpit window with cross hairs centered on the hole.

Rath Sengar flew up from the hole and landed on the landing deck like a cat. SSlanna hit the com. "Next time you doo ssomething like that, wharn me. I almosst blew you to atomss."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said as he jogged towards Shark's boarding ramp.

"Nice lightssaber."

"The Sith were kind enough to bring it to me," he said as his feet touched the ramp. "Now lets get out of here before they decide to take it back."

[LadyTevar]

And here I thought the young padawan would catch up to the ex-Sith.

[Kartr_Kana]

A non-aligned force user, why am I not surprised that he's more bad ass then the the sith and the jedi combined!

[Imperial Overlord]

Rath dropped down in the copilot's chair and buckled himself in. "Bringing reactor to full power," hissed SSlanna.

Rath flipped a series of switches. "Main engines on line. Retracting boarding ramp, preparing for flight. Shields double front."

"Company," said SSlanna. Two humans ran into the docking bay. The leader was wearing Jedi robes and bearing a golden lightsaber. The figure behind the Jedi caught SSlanna's attention. "Galt," she hissed.

"A Jedi," Rath said sourly.

"Paid twissse for sssame cargo," SSlanna hissed. This was the holy grail of bounty hunters everywhere: being paid multiple times for the same catch. Nothing short of a gun to the head would dissuade SSlanna and even that might not be enough. "Lowering boarding ramp and opening air lock."

"I'll get them settled," said Rath, unbuckling and heading back into the ship's interior. Janna killed her lightsaber as she lead Pero Galt through the airlock.

"Thank you," said the Jedi.

"Talk later," said Rath. "Do you know how to fly a ship?"

"I've been trained by the Jedi Order in the operation-"

"Head up front. I'll secure the cargo."

"Cargo?"

"He means me," said Galt. "Bounty hunter trash." He spat on the Rath's boots. The former Sith acolyte did not react.

"He's my prisoner," said Janna.

"Get up front," said Rath. "We'll argue about who owns him later. Move pirate."

Janna headed up to the cockpit and Rath pushed the whining prisoner into one of the cells in the Shark's belly before racing up front. He slid back into the copilot's seat and strapped in. "Hit it!"

Shark's thrusters flared and sent the ship flying out of the docking bay and towards the massive bulk of the Malice. SSlanna depressed the Shark's nose as the Malice's guns began to track the modified courier. The sound of a pair of blaster bolts hammering the forward shields rang through the cockpit. The Shark dipped down below the gun's field of fire. "Transssfer deflectorsss double rear," SSlanna ordered as the Shark zoomed off passed the Sith ship and into the darkness of space.

"The Sith ship is rolling," said Janna, "bringing port guns to bear."

"Evading," hissed SSlanna.

Blaster bolts flew passed the cockpit window as SSlanna brought the sublight engines to full power. The cockpit rang with another hit. "The shield upgrades are certainly paying for themselves," said Rath as he rebalanced the ship's energy flow into the shields."

"Sith frigates only carry light guns," said Janna. "They rely on their missiles to destroy other capital ships. If they had heavier guns-"

"-they wouldn't use them," said Rath. "They want the cargo. They're shooting to cripple, not blow us to atoms."

"They've launched fighters," said Janna. "Four Sith interceptors inbound."

"They'll strip our shields and shoot out our engines, leaving us for momma," said Rath. "How long until hyperjump?"

"Two minutesss," hissed SSlanna.

"They'll catch us," said Janna. "I hope this crate can fight back."

"Taking control of the dorsal turret," said Rath. The small turret near the rear of the Shark's hull rotated toward the rear. Two over and under pairs of short barreled blaster cannons pointed in the general direction of the oncoming interceptors. Rath's fingers danced over the gunnery console's controls as yellow wire diagram silhouettes of the fighters were displayed on the targeting screen.

The turret spat out a flurry of scarlet bolts. The knife blade winged Sith interceptors broke formation, two going to either side, to avoid the fire. Rath swung the turret to port. Blaster bolts bracketed and then struck on of the interceptors, blowing it into shards of white hot metal. "Scratch one." The other interceptor broke away and dived to avoid his fire.

On the starboard side the other two angled in for an attack run. "Incoming!" said Janna.

"I see them," said Rath, one eye on the tactical display which showed the incoming fighters. "Make yourself useful and handle deflector control." The computer could rebalance the shields just fine, but it was reactive, not anticipatory. A Jedi who had the Force as her ally could angle the shields for maximum effectiveness before the fire started coming in.

The ship shook as several blaster bolts struck it. Rath opened up the the turret, forcing the Sith to abort their attack run. They dived below the Shark and then joined up with the third interceptor for another attack run. "SSlanna, now would be a good time."

"Almosssst."

"Here they come!" said Janna.

The Sith fighters dived, cannons flashing. The ship rang with multiple hits. "Shields collapsing!" yelled Janna. Rath scythed the turret through their formation, blowing the wing off the leftmost interceptor and scattering the other two. The Sith fighters swept around to begin another attack run.

"Here they come again," said Janna.

"Now," said SSlanna. The stars became endless lines of light and the Shark leaped into hyperspace.

[Stuart Mackey]

I like how this is going, is good.

[LadyTevar]

And that was a great fight scene

[Imperial Overlord]

Rath unbuckled his seat. "I'm going aft to check on the shield generators and engines."

"Take your time," his SSlanna. "We'll be in hypersspace for a while."

"Where are we going?" Rath asked.

"Eassiesst coursse to chart," said SSlanna, "from our possition. Barakesst."

"Barakest?" asked Rath. "Great, just great." He exited the cockpit.

"What's so bad about Barakest?" asked Janna.

"Huttss and Exchange," SSlanna hissed. "He likesss neither."

As Janna accessed the Shark's computer to find information on Barakest, Rath approached the engineering section, just above Shark's holding cells. The main engines and hyperdrive appeared undamaged. He triggered diagnostic routines and moved over to the primary shield generator. There were green lights but a heavy ozone stench in the air. He touched the main panel. Nothing.

He pulled a tool kit out of a nearby locker and removed the outer manifold. Everything looked fine, except for the main panel. He would have to rewire or replace that. Not a big job. He checked the relays.

What he found was a mess. Both the primary and secondary relays to the outer hull generators were a fried mess. That meant shield capacity was about one third normal, with almost no ability to balance shield load and strength.

Janna was reading through the file on Barakest when the comm beeped. The planet was just outside of Hutt space and used as neutral ground by those who wanted to deal with the Hutts or the Exchange. The government was an Oligarchy consisting of members of the what were called the Seven Families and they were content to let all sorts of business occur as long as they got their cut. It sounded just like the place bounty hunter scum would gravitate to.

SSlanna answered the com. "Yess?"

"The man and secondary couplings are blown on the shield generators."

"Jussst replassssce them."

"Yeah, I'm going to do that, but that's not the big problem. They blew out because they couldn't handle the load. Which means if I replace them its going to happen again. The shield generators are fine, but the connectors and grid fail when the stress is on. We need to rip out the connectors and rewire them with higher grade materials."

"Cossst."

"Yeah, I don't like it either. Better than being vaped."

"Jusst get ssysstem working again. Barakesst will have what we want."

"I know, but that means staying there."

"Ssuck it up."

There was a moment of silence. "I'll be repairing the shields," said Sengar. Then the com went dead.

Rath was kneeling down by the shield generator and trying to insert a new power cable into the primary power coupling. "Damn it," he swore softly. He reached over for the cutter next to him. It was pressed into his hand.

"Here," said Janna. "I thought I would come back and help."

"Thanks," Rath said curtly as he trimmed a little insulation off the side of the cable and managed to insert it into the generator. "Hydrospanner."

She put it in his hand. He started tightening up the join. "You don't like Jedi much. Why?"

"That's my business."

"You're strong in the Force, you're carrying a lightsaber, but you're not Sith and you don't like Jedi."

"The Sith I took it from didn't need it anymore," he replied. "The Republic better come up with credits for this little transport job."

"You'll be compensated for your efforts," she said coldly. "If it's only money you care about."

Rath got up and glared at her. "Money is the only thing I want from the Jedi and the Republic. What I care about is none, none of your business!"

She backed away. "I can sense you carry great pain, but anger will not take that pain away."

"You know nothing about who I am or what I feel." He walked into the Shark's main room, located just aft of the cockpit. The subspace com dominated the center of the room. There were couches on either side and doors to the fresher cubicle and sleep chambers. He dropped the lightsaber on to the work bench on one side.

"You're wrong," she said. "Your emotions emanate from you in waves. Anyone with any sensitivity to the Force can pick them up."

He looked at her for a moment, but said nothing. He took out a cutting tool and sliced the rubberized grip off the lightsaber. He wrapped the chrome cylinder in a new black sleeve and then gripped it, his hand forming impressions in the soft substance. An electrical shock triggered a chemical reaction that hardened it. He swung it around, tossed it up into the air, and caught it. "Much better," he said. "Balance isn't quite right though." He put the lightsaber back down on the workbench.

"Hatred and weapons will not bring you any peace," she said.

"I haven't had peace since I was thirteen years old," he replied. "I'll settle for dead Sith."

[Kartr_Kana]

first post! Curtly isn't supposed to have an "o" in it other then that great chapter if short I'm looking forward to finding out what the sith did to rath at age 13 and who they run into on barakest

[Crazedwraith]

Yay, plot! Characterisations! This is what I was hoping for.

[Imperial Overlord]

Shark burst out of hyperspace above a blue-green world banded with white clouds. SSlanna's heavy fingers touched the controls, directing the ship toward Barakest. Shark's engines flared and then dimmed as it reached the world's upper atmosphere. The Trandoshan's hands were steady on the controls as the ship pierced the clouds and emerged over the city sprawl.

Unlike Coruscant or Nar Shaddaa, the city scape was low and close to the ground, full of great domes and squat complexes. Only the great slab of the Yengar Seat, the government house of Barakest, rose far into the sky. A variety of skimmers and a network of tramlines wove the sprawling city together. SSlanna growled answers to traffic control and steered Shark towards a cluster of docking bays.

The ship descended into a circular blast pit of hardened earth and settled with a noticeable bump. "We're here," SSlanna hissed over the com.

"I'll stay on board, make sure the cargo stays safe," replied Rath. He was lying down on the couch in the main compartment. Janna looked up from where she was reading data files on the screen by the workbench.

SSlanna was expecting that answer. "And the Jedi?"

"Why don't you take her with you?" said Rath. "Give you back up and keep her out of my hair?"

"Sshe could be usseful," agreed SSlanna. "And lesss jumpy than you."

"And what if I don't want to go?" said Janna.

"We can always throw you out sister," said Rath.

She nodded. "As you wish. You will that you can get more from people with less anger and hostility. It is a poison of the Dark Side and it will bring only pain and suffering into your life."

"Stow the speeches," said Rath. "If I could stand them, I wouldn't be insisting you go with SSlanna."

"Careful with the Jedi," said SSlanna as she entered the room. "Sshe'ss valuable cargo. Worth hard creditss on Curussscant or Dantooine."

"Then take her with you and I won't be around to damage her."

"Yessss," said SSlanna as she opened a locker and took out her rifle and an ammunition bandolier. She slung on a blast vest over her armourcloth weave flightsuit and secured the vibroblade and pistol on her utility belt. "Grenadesss?" she asked Rath.

"Yes. If you don't need them, you don't need them. If you do . . ."

"Good point," she replied and retrieved a pouch from the locker and hooked it to her belt.

Janna watched the proceedings with wide eyes. "Are you two serious?"

"Deadly," said SSlanna. "City can be rough. Esspescially after lasst time. Let'ss go."

The Jedi reluctantly got up and followed the bounty hunter out down the ramp. "Hide lightsssaber," hissed SSlanna. "Ssome might not have heard Exchange bounty iss over." Janna unhooked her lightsaber and placed it in a pocket on the inside of her robes.

"Is there anything else?"

"Sstay closse. Don't want to losse cargo until after paid."

Rath watched them go and turned to the workbench. He skinned the grip off his new lightsaber and opened up the casing. "So this is what you look like when you're working," he said softly. He picked up an imaging scanner and down the length of the saber. The screen showed the results. The data bank hummed and matched names to components, displaying cross sections and internal configurations. Only one part remained blank.

Rath reached in and removed the bloodshine crystal. "So you are the mystery at the heart of this, the part that no simple part can replace," he whispered. Jedi were taught how to make their own sabers, but his Sith masters had kept that knowledge for themselves. He hadn't stayed on Korriban long enough to learn that art. The art of making synthetic crystals was beyond him.

"The Jedi," he whispered. She would know. If he could persuade or trick her into sharing that knowledge he would have the means to make his own lightsaber when this was damaged or failed. And he only needed one part of her knowledge, that of the crystals. If he could coax her into sharing just this part of her secrets, then he would have the last piece that he needed. He had kept his skills sharp and honed new ones. He had an arsenal of weapons, a part share in the Shark, and an account full of credits. "At last," he whispered, "true vengeance is within my grasp."

He squeezed his fist. The Force surged through him and the imager pen crumpled and exploded in his hand. The smile on his face properly belonged on a deep ocean predator.

[Kartr_Kana]

Who is this guy IO? Is he the guy on Korriban that you can persuade to leave if you go lightside? Looking forward to the next chapter with great anticipation!

[Raj Ahten]

A very nice story so far. I'm liking the fact that we have an alien as a main character. You rarely get to see a big tough trandoshan as an (anti ?) hero.

Also, how is Janna feeling about the loss of her master? So far she hasn't had any time to think on the matter but I imagine it would hit her at some point, Jedi training or no Jedi training.

[Kartr_Kana]

Dammit! I thought this was a new chapter. My dreams have been crushed!

[Imperial Overlord]

"You failed me!" raged Kanarr Hest. The bloody light falling on the Sith warrior made him like a blood splattered torturer from a primitive tyrant's palace. "Four of you! Four! And a Padawan is too much for you!"

The meditation room was buried in Malice's guts. Weapons and instruments of torture and death lined the walls of the rectangular room. At the far end was a huge statue of the eight armed nightmare god Zarmuzi, whose cult had been eradicated by the Jedi a thousand years ago. Kanarr Hest had made a fortress and a refuge out of death and suffering and an idol of the ruthless acquisition of power. He was an excellent Sith.

Zandist Moll knelt before his master. "My lord it was not the Padawan."

"She escaped you and took that fool Suror's hands!"

"She was only able to escape us because of Rath Sengar," said Suror. "If we had not spent so much of our strength fighting him first-"

"Is that an excuse, apprentice?"

"It is the truth, my lord. The Padawan was merely Jedi. Sengar was Sith."

"Tell me why this Sengar should excuse your failure."

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The lightsaber did little to illuminate the caverns. It painted the nearby walls with bloody light and reflected off the pools of water, but only feebly warred against the darkness in front of him. Darkness always defeated the light. He licked his dried lips and raised his canteen to his lips, taking a shallow drink. He had used his connection to the Force to slow down his metabolism, allowing his small supply of rations to last for weeks instead of days as he hid in the darkness. The caves were strong in the Dark Side and they hid many secrets. Rath had known that they were his way out ever since he learned that through the Force he could be another one of those secrets.

Rath checked his compass. He should be close to the exits into the canyons that would take him to the space port. Stowing away in a smuggler or Czerka ship would be easy. He had been down here long enough for the teachers to assume he was dead. To say the local fauna was lethal was to engage in understatement.

He heard water splash and killed his lightsaber. More footsteps splashed in the water. And there were voices too. "Why are we bothering?" one asked. "He's got to be dead by now. The terentateks or the shyraks got him and ate the body. Somewhere there's a great big dungpile with his lightsaber in the center of it." Clearly they hadn't given up.

"Or maybe not," said a woman's voice.

"Yes," said the first voice. "Maybe he encountered a Sith spirit and found out that high explosives don't work so well on them."

"They worked well enough on Krytak," said the woman. "He isn't stupid. He placed those charges to kill as many of as possible, ran here so he could hide under the shroud of the Dark Side, and stole survival equipment."

"And mines," said a third voice sourly.

"I mentioned Krytak," said the woman acidly, "and by extension the mines. Fool. Why do you think none of the masters are down here risking their precious necks? They don't want to trigger a frag charge or get eaten by a Tu'kata hound anymore than we do."

"Quiet," said a third voice. Rath recognized the speaker. It was Zandist Moll. "I sense something."

Rath heard the snap-hiss of igniting lightsabers and quietly edged away. Moll was the best seer among the students at the academy, a ruthless visionary who married glimpses of the future with his own cunning and ruthlessness to step over the bodies of failed students and ascend. If he was here, then the masters hadn't given up.

The Sith advanced cautiously, their headlamps and ignited sabers throwing shadows over the cavern walls and their footsteps echoing everywhere. To Rath's ears they were impossibly loud, almost as loud as his own heart hammering in his chest. They were so close.

Kromma came around the bend. He was human with twenty centimeters and thirty kilos on Rath and a fury so terrible that no other student could hope to equal it. He had just enough time to see Rath where he stood pressed against the cavern wall. Then the blade in the former student's hand ignited and ten centimeters of bloodshine blade projected out of the back of his skull.

Rath continued around the corner, slashing with his lightsaber. Petroska parried with his own blade. The Sith apprentice was slight, pale, and fast. Rath kicked him in the stomach, the power of the Dark Side flowing with the blow. The smaller man flew back.

The bloody glow of the ignited sabers revealed the other two Sith. One was Zandist and the other was Sanesa, a tall willowy woman almost Rath's height. She held a lightsaber in each hand and was without a doubt the best duelist in the Academy. Zandist took a step back. He had no desire to cross blades with the fearsome Rath Sengar, especially in quarters so close it would be difficult to gang up on him.

Sanesa took advantage of the gap to leap forward in a Force accelerated blur of motion, but Rath was already striking at her. Fear and hate fed brought the Dark Side to him in an irresistible tide. He was strong in the Force and at the height of his powers. He flung out his arm and Sanesa flew sideways, smacking into to wall and then striking the ground.

Zandist thrust out his hand and a wave of the Force knocked Rath off his feet and into the wall behind him with an impact that was hard enough to daze him. Petroska rolled to his feet and lunged forward. Rath slid down half a meter and landed on his feet. He barely parried Petroska's whip-like strike and then dodged left to avoid another. Petroska's blade sent a shower of half molten stone chips flying from the blazing yellow gash he cut in the wall.

Petroska advanced, strking swiftly from seemingly random angles in the distinctive and deadly Juyo form. Rath gave ground and Petroska came on, striking furiously, his face contorted into a mask of rage. Sengar used the moment that giving ground had given him to lunge at the smaller man with his greater reach. Petroska nimbly jumped back and then launched another flury of attacks. They never landed.

Rath reached out with the Force and through a fistful of sand from from the cavern floor at Petroska's eyes. The Sith recoiled and Rath struck. Petroska parried, but he lacked Rath's physical strength or his murderous command of the Dark Side. Rath forced Petroska's blade to the side and then whipped his own lightsaber through Petroska's arm and half way through the Sith's chest. Smoking meat hit the cavern floor.

Sanesa came around the bend and right behind her followed Zandist Moll. Rath telekinetically picked up Petroska's blade, ignited it, and sent it spinning towards the two Sith. Both of them instinctively reached out with the Force to stop and stop it they did, but the attack was just a feint. Rath's left hand formed a clutching claw. Sanesa staggered and fell to her knees, blood bubbling on her lips, as Rath Sengar tore at her insides with the Dark Side. Sengar twisted his hand and bounced the dying Sith off the wall. He charged Zandist with inhuman speed, brushing the now immobile lightsaber out of his way with a wave of the Force.

Zandist raised his blade and parried. The shock of the impact vibrated through his bones. Rath struck again and again, mercilessly hammering the other Sith. "It's over!" Rath shouted. "You're going to die like all the rest!"

"No!" shouted Zandist and his hate and fury smashed Rath back a step and opened cracks in the cavern ceiling. "No!" He brought his saber down on the half dazed Sengar. Sengar's blade lashed out and caught not the blade of Moll's lighsaber, but the emitter just above his hands. Moll's bloodshine blade died in a hail of sparks and tiny globs of motlen metal. Moll stood looking at his damaged lightsaber for a moment. Rath's blade whipped back and there was only searing pain and darkness.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Zandist screamed and in that scream there was pain and hate and fury and the terrible power of the Dark Side. Rath Sengar was sent tumbling back, his lightsaber falling from his hands. He hit the wall behind him and saw stars. He called upon the Force to protect him, but it was a feeble gesture. He blinked and tried to clear his vision.

"You're coming with me," a lisping voice half-whispered. He looked around and saw Sanesa. "You're coming with me to hell." In her hand was a thermal detonator and her eyes held only hate.

The Force responded his his will, to his panic and his desperation. The walls of the cave rushed around him and then heat and pressure struck him in the back, carrying him face first into the cave wall.

[Kartr_Kana]

what!? Noooooo it can't end there!! Imperial Overlord you are a sadistic bastard and that was a great chapter!!

[Imperial Overlord]

"But he did not die," said Kanarr Hest.

"No, my lord. We thought he was caught in the blast, but it was a thermal detonator and their was subsequent collapse from the damage to the cave. He must have emerged when we stopped looking for him and stowed away on a visiting ship."

"And then Sengar shows up after all these years and aids the Jedi."

"Yes lord."

"And you fail to kill him."

Zandist bowed his head. "Yes lord."

"I must consult with my master. The next time you fail me will be the last."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You are not like mosst humanss. You are cold," hissed SSlanna as she and Janna walked through the busy streets of Manpri.

"What do you mean?" asked the Jedi.

"Your teacher isss dead and you do not grieve."

"Grief is an attachment," Janna replied. "Jedi are not supposed to have attachments."

"Ssso you feel nothing for your teacher."

"No," Janna said. "It's not like that. We feel. Compassion, friendship, even love are permitted we just, we," she paused and took in a ragged breath before continuing. "We have to accept that things pass. Houses burn, friends move away, loved ones die. That's the nature of the universe. Our lives and our duties continue until it is our turn to be one with the Force."

"Ahh," hissed SSlanna. "Acceptance of loss. Yess, makess sense." She studied the human for a moment. "Jedi do not revenge."

"Yes," said Janna uncomfortably, "that's right."

"That iss no Rath'ss way."

"I can tell. His passions are strong and he lies under the shadow of the Dark Side."

"Sso," said the Trandoshan, "you have accepted your teacher'ss passing?"

"No," said Janna. "I'm still working on that." That was the truth, but not all of it. There was a hole in her life, in her heart, where Tulok Dren had once been. She should accept that he had become one with the Force, rejoice for his freedom from the bonds of matter, treasure the memories she had of him, and move on with her life. But she couldn't. Her teacher was dead, murdered by the Sith. She could move forward but she couldn't let go.

SSlanna lead her through a busy traffic intersection that consisted mostly of dewbacks and speeders. They entered a big, cylindrical building through the front gates. Inside it was cooler and two repulsor lift equiped droids that resembled small, legless humanoids floated near their heads. "How may we be of service?" asked the one of the right.

The droid on the left chipped in. "We have the largest and highest quality assortment of starship parts and stocks on this planet or any world with one hundred light years."

"Where iss the bosss?" asked SSlanna.

"Our esteemed master, the formidable Lankist, is in his office. There is no need to disturb him. We can assist you with all your repair and resupply needs."

"Get him now or I blow you to atomsss," hissed SSlanna.

"We do not respond to threats."

SSlanna pulled out an ugly, short barrel pistol from her belt. "Do you know what thiss iss?"

The droid's photoreceptor's flared. "It's a MintarCasz Class III Disruptor Pistol and illegal within Republic Space."

"And what will happen if I sshoot you with it?"

Two walls panels slid up, revealing niches occupied by war droids. They were two meters tall, roughly humanoid, and armoured with thick, slab-like plates. Each of their arms ended in a triple blaster cluster. SSlanna fired.

The cobalt disruptor bolt took the droid in the upper chest chest and vaporized a head sized hole in its chest. Smoke poured from the crater in its chassis and it toppled. The other droid turned towards the Trandoshan, but hesitated as SSlanna had grabbed the floating droid and was holding it front of her as a shield. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" the little droid squealed.

SSlanna fired and the other war droid fell to the floor. She let go of the droid, but pointed the disruptor at it. "Lankisst. Now."

"Is this the way you always do business?" Janna asked.

"Only with sscum who sssell overprissced and defective componentsss."

"Oh."

"I regret to inform you that my master, the most honourable Lankist, has sealed the door to his office and chooses not to speak with you."

"Tough door," said SSlanna as she drew closer to the door in question. It was a slab of armour plate just shy of being classified as a blast door. She unclipped a short cylinder from her belt. "Recognize this?"

"A M-90 Thermal Detonator Demolition Charge."

"What will it do to the door and the offisce?"

"Oh my," said the droid. "Transmitting. Awaiting response. Receiving response. My master will see you now."

The door slid open, to reveal a massive whale of human in a repulsor chair. He had to weight in excess of two hundred and fifty kilos. His flew was pale and doughy, his hair was dark, and his wax-like skin was covered in sweat. He wore a tent-like violet robe. "SSlanna, 'lana, it was all a misunderstanding," said Lankist.

"You sssold usss bad partss that could have gotten uss killed and you tipped off Brexor'ss gang to have us killed."

"No, no, of course not. If the parts were bad, then I was cheated too. And I would never turn on a client. If Brexor attacked you, he didn't learn about you from me. Honest."

"You're a lying ssack of Bantha gutss," hissed the Trandoshan. "But I may not sssubject you to the burning if you make it up to me."

"What do you want?" quivered Lankist.

"Parts and credits. And your fat asss sstayss with me until we leave planet."

"Do all your business transactions go this way?" asked Janna.

"You mean ssuccessfully?" asked SSlanna. "Mosst of them."