Star Wars: The Starkiller

= Chapter 22 =

Chion sat beside Galder, radiating grumpiness, in the cockpit of the Raging Reek. The two Force-users were both in horrible moods.

Galder slid his red lightsaber through a hole in his palm that put the bladed weapon into the hidden compartment. “I’m coming for you, Persis...” Galder hissed before starting up the ship.

Shortly before take off, Kuylen paid Galder a visit. Kuylen delivered rendezvous details, for the team would have to meet to make use of the data once it was retrieved. It was the mid-point between your three destinations of Tartarus, Nar Shaddaa, and Belseraphon. But, if anything went wrong, there was an emergency rendezvous waiting: the hidden base on Dordellus.

“Dordellus?!” Galder responded before the words had finished leaving Kuylen’s mouth.

“Yes, Galder, Dordellus,” Kuylen said matter-of-factly. “There is nothing left to lose once we have the Astrolabe, other than our lives.”

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The dusty ball of Tartarus appeared as soon as the Reek dropped out of hyperspace. Kuylen had given him information on the planet on a small disk, so Galder read up on it.

The smuggling operation running out of there is causing great pains to the Republic. Persis' background was from these highly organized smugglers. Kuylen left notes saying that the whole are utterly corrupt and the Republic’s efforts to crush the smugglers spectacularly unsuccessful.

The whole area is currently under Senatorial Investigation as they try and sort the problem out. Apparently this would work to Galder’s advantage because during the investigation, all Republican forces entering the area need permission from the Senate to do so. It could take the Jedi weeks to get such permission.

“This should help you get a good head start one them, though doubtless they will try and expedite procedure, or even ignore it,” Galder thought aloud. “If they ignore it, we can make it work against them.”

There are two areas on Tartarus that were of interest to Galder, one under military jurisdiction the other under civilian. The military one is the easiest to enter, so long as Galder didn‘t let on who he was. The civilian one could only be entered by permitted personnel- that is, registered citizens of Tartarus, or permitted Republican forces.

“Persis had Tartaran citizenship so he will likely hide there,” Galder thought aloud some more, Chion nodding in agreement.

Kuylen left a few other notes saying that Rura had rendezvoused with one of his agents named Jolanta on Malastare and had headed straight for Tartarus to aid Galder in bypassing security.

"Tartarus control to unknown vessel; what business do you have here?" crackled the voice of a military officer over the comm.

Galder quickly thought up a fake name. “This is Kil Banar, requesting permission to land...”

"Tartarus control to unknown vessel; what business do you have here?" he repeated.

"Seeking landing accommodations. Just had a run-in with pirates and need repairs. Can't make it to any other planet."

There was a pause, then traffic control continued. “We need full details of where the pirates attacked, what their ships looked like, why they attacked you, what your cargo is, what your business near here was in the first place, and how you escaped the pirates...”

Thorough, from a list, yet urgent... Galder thought to himself, listening to the man as he rattled off the questions.

"I'm not sure where they attacked me, but probably near the edge of the system. Their ships were painted red, maybe the Red Lance pirates. They probably mistook me for a wanted man, for I have nothing valuable onboard. My cargo is just me and my good friend, Taruk. Like I said, I was on the edge of the system, and was not going to be coming to Tartarus until I was attacked, and Tartarus seemed to be the closest friendly planet on my star charts. My ship is armed, so I got away with fire power and speed. I was hit on the way out and my hyperdrive needs repairs, which I can do myself. I've been flying at sublight speeds for four days."

“What were you doing out of hyperspace on the edge of this system in the first place? Why do you make reference to a pirate attack that none of our sensors picked up? And your ship appears to be undamaged."

The sensors of the Reek beeped. Quickly looking over the sensor display screen, Galder took note of three starfighters tailing him, well within range of his sensors, and even closer for his cannons.

"This area is under military jurisdiction. Stand down and prepare to be boarded."

"This is Kil Banar to military outpost! Look, my hyperdrive is faulty and my ship is a piece of junk and shudders from time to time. It sure felt like I was hit. And I swear I saw ships! Maybe your equipment is faulty as well! Or they were using cloaking devices to evade scanners! I don't want to give you any trouble so just give me permission to land."

This time the outpost did not respond, and there was a loud hiss as the transmission went down. Scanning arrays from the planet’s surface that had been eyeing Galder’s ship went down as well. The ships behind hesitated, obviously not receiving instruction from Tartarus control.

Galder sat in suspense for a moment, then piloted down to the planet’s surface. The fighters did nothing to prevent him. A small pulse signal was beckoning him down to the military zone, pulsating gently on his screens. He set down next to a service hatch, then used a small handheld scanner to follow the signal to the door.

“Well, here we are,” Galder said, perhaps to Chion or maybe no one at all. He reached for the door controls, but the slid open before he even touched the buttons.

“Galder,” Rura said with a nod of recognition. The tall Kaminoan had on extraordinarily fine robes on, all dark blue. They billowed in the dusty wind of Tartarus, making him look larger than his already grand height. His sleek white-shelled rifle slung over his back, and long-handled, oddly designed lightsaber hung at his belt.

“Well, fancy meeting you here, Rura,” Galder said, looking up to his tall friend. “Let’s go find Persis, shall we?” He took a step inside when he heard a female voice. A pale girl with dark, coiled hair and dark civilian clothing emerged from behind the Kaminoan. Explosives were strapped to her as if they were an everyday house-hold item. Despite the bombs, she was particularly attractive.

“Wow, you’re big and ugly,” she said, looking up at Chion from her lowly five feet high. “I mean, I thought this guy was big and ugly," she thumbed briefly at Rura. "But this guy...did they have to chisel you our of your mother or something?"

Chion growled nastily, but Galder stepped up.

“That’s Chion, our muscle man” Galder said, introducing the albino creature. “And I’m Galder Starkiller.” He took her hand and planted a slight kiss upon it. “And who might you be?”

"My name is Jolanta. At least you are good looking, though that's a kinda dumb name,” she responded with a smile. “Kuylen sent you, huh?”

“Yes, he sent us,” Galder replied, slightly miffed at her putting down of his good name. “We’re hunting Persis, but I’m sure Kuylen filled you in. The bastard fled from us at Malastare. I couldn’t catch him because a Jedi Master fought me...” Galder flexed his mechanical arm, comforted by the whirring noise of the technology that would help him survive from now on. “I lost, unfortunately...”

“Neat...was it the same Jedi Master that killed my sister?”

“Huh?”

“Is he coming here? Is he? Hmm?”

“I’m sure he will, if we’re here,” Galder said, slightly confused. “Guy named Marcus, middle-aged, great swordsman...” He paused. “You are a Dark Jedi, right? I mean, you can use the Force and a lightsaber?”

“Newsflash for you, Galder...Duh!” she shouted very close to him. “Of course I can...” She reached around to the back of her tight pants and unhooked a lightsaber. It was a flashy work of art, with tensile wire hooks, diagnostic controls, power level buttons, shock pads, etcetera...

“I haven’t seen a lightsaber that flashy since...” Galder started, but stopped in mid-sentence. He recognized the lightsaber as the very one he was making reference to. It was Krisha’s high-tech job of a lasersword, from the Dark Sider that Quam had killed on Damagran.

"How did you..." Galder studied the lightsaber some more and then figured it out. "Krisha was your sister, wasn't she? She was a traitor, and was killed by no Jedi. The man you seek was one of us. Not me though."

"Ha de ha," said Jolanta. "Kuylen told me how Krisha died, at a Jedi's hands. Kuylen told me you might make some stupid joke about it being one of us too. I'm not impressed.

"Anyway, that spike I put into the system will wear off soon. Your ship is under their radar coverage now but we'll need to get down to the superstructure or their cameras will see us."

“I’m sorry, then...” Galder said, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t tend to tell jokes...”

“Last one there is a slimeball!” she shouted like a playful child, dashing away and around the corner.

Chion watched her go. “I will kill her soon...” he snarled.

"You like killing off our allies, don't you Chion? You said the exact same thing about Takuan. Though, she is Krisha's sister...”

Galder and the others followed her around until she guided them to an inspection hatch that lead into the superstructure.

“The security around here is way weak,” Jolanta said, yanking open the hatch. She and Galder dropped down easily, but there was a lot of angry grunting coming from above, as Chion became stuck in the hatch. With Rura pushing from above and the others pulling from below, they managed to dislodge the enraged giant. He was seething with rage, glaring at everything as the inspection hatch bent and twisted from his movements.

“Easy, Chion,” Galder said half-heartedly, “it’s only an inspection hatch...”

"We'll be safe down here," explained Jolanta, changing subject. "So long as their cameras don't see us when they come on-line. I mean, you don't want those Jedi coming after us, right?"

“They’re probably already here, with my good fortune...” Galder said sarcastically.

“Well, they are already here, actually...” Jolanta replied with a glint in her eye. “They got here awhile back...”

“Great...” Galder sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You didn’t ask...”

“Ah Sith spit, did I have to?” Galder asked, smacking his forehead and wiping his hand down his face.

“Well, why don’t we kill them? Then we can go kill Persis. He’s in the Civilian Area...”

“I wish it was that easy...” Galder looked about the small security link they had slipped into, spying the small computer that Jolanta had been hacking. “Can I see some footage of the Jedi?”

“This is a security link," said Jolanta matter-of-factly, "not a magic box, doofus. I can't get you any camera footage right now; I knocked them out when I took down the security when they detected you! They'll be up again soon."

“Oh...well...will there even be footage?”

“Check out the big brain on Galder...” Jolanta taunted.

“You’ll end up like your sister if you keep talking like that...”

“Aww, did I make poor Galder grumpy?" says Jolanta. She drew up close to him and ran a finger down his chest. "Don't worry. You’ll get a chance to kill something soon, I am sure."

“Yeah...” Galder said, less tensely with a bit of a grin. “How are we going about getting to Persis, by the way?”

“Well, that depends on what you want to do. We've got to get through to the civilian area. We can't land there, we will be shot down. The only convenient transfer point is here; the ironic thing is that the official transfer point is the weakest part of the whole system. But even so, there are a lot of things and people in our way. I can take care of the things; as I understand it, you can take care of the people."

“Yes, I can definitely take care of those...” Galder’s grin widened to a malicious one. “Who might they be?”

“Oh, all sorts of people with guns, I’m sure...and those Jedi...”

“Ah yes...” Galder laid back, using the Force to probe about. “I have a feeling that that Jedi Master is here...”

Jolanta simply nodded, then investigated his cybernetic limb. “You have a cool arm. May I play with it?”

Galder flicked out the knife and wrist blaster experimentally. “Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to play with blasters?”

“I could turn those off you know...” she answered playfully. “So, what’s the plan?”

“How could you turn them off? And I don’t really know how just yet...”

“Electronics are my specialty...which gives me a cool idea as to how we can flush out those Jedi...”

“And how would we go about doing that?”

“We should take out their ship. Talk about embarrassing for them!"

“Destroy their ship, eh?” Galder replied, but suddenly his mind passed from the task at hand as images flashed through his mind.

In one instant, Galder saw Takuan, meditating in what appeared to be his quarters, a combination of modern technology and ancient architecture. The next moment...

Miramar warriors were scattered across a battlefield, seven men in black robes opposite them. Chion stood towering over all, laughing maniacally as a blue light danced, reflected, on his face. A man in black robes uttered something in an unknown language before a large set of doors...

And then Galder was back in the superstructure on Tartarus.

“What were you saying, Galder?” Jolanta ventured, but Galder shook his head.

“Nothing...”

"One minute next to their ship is all I need," continued Jolanta, as if he had been listening all along. "I'm all ready to go!"

She started to rise, but a huge hand clamped down on her shoulder.

“Wait,” Chion said simply, disturbingly.

“Huh? Get off me!” she yelled back, tossing off his hand.

“The base is on alert,” he continued. “Wait for them to calm down.”

God, he’ll be reading books next... Galder thought harshly.

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A few hours later, Galder was still enjoying his happy little group meeting. The base had been on alert before, but as soon as things had calmed down, they started again when a diplomatic cruiser landed. There was a repeat as another cruiser arrived, carrying a protocol droid for the stubby reptilian creature that had arrived on the first.

He had spent the hours working up Jolanta, telling her lies about her sister’s death. He claimed that Jedi Master Marcus and Mah Ar’cor, the Jedi who had arrived, where the ones who had killed her. So far, this had only shut off her usefulness.

Galder was not happy.

= Chapter 23 =

Fifty or so security guards stood in front of the well guarded transfer point. However, they were bored men, and would rather have been doing something else. There were considerably less, perhaps twenty, maybe twenty five, in the hangar.

However, some of them now died where they stood, as a thermal detonator rolled across the floor from a vent up above. The incinerating blast through men down in scorched pieces, leaving the rest to confront the terror that would now strike.

Whump! Rura opened fire first, blowing a man clear across the room. Chion and Jolanta advanced with lightsabers drawn, busting open the vent and dropping in with violent slashes.

Galder, however, kept to the shadows, slinking along until he was at a good position to flank the heavily armed guards defending the Jedi’s ship. Rura gunned down another two as Chion and Jolanta both hacked down one each.

Jolanta spun her yellow blade once or twice before bounding to the top of the Jedi craft. With a speed that surprised Galder, she hurriedly wired something to the top of it, then made for an access panel. Alarms began to blare as she tinkered with it, but she slipped by Galder before heading out of sight, telling him that the transfer point would be open for a full minute once the spike went off.

Two dozen guards now poured through the main entrance of the hangar, heavy blasters armed and ready, the Jedi Marcus and Mah at their head, green and turquoise lightsabers drawn. Rura remained out of sight behind a door, and the Jedi craft barred their view of Jolanta. However, Galder and Chion looked very conspicuous among a pile of mutilated bodies.

Galder had covered himself with weaponry of numerous kinds from his ship’s armory, and now toted a flechette launcher, loading cartridges into the gun, and then four shrapnel grenades. He looked up coldly from his gun into the glowing green eyes of the man who had taken his arm.

“So we meet again, Master Jedi,” Galder opened the conversation. “You like my new arm?” He flexed it, sliding the knife out and spinning the wrist blaster around for fun before taking aim with the launcher.

“This is between us, Galder,” Marcus replied, holding his green blade in front of him. “Leave the guards out of it...”

“Are these the ones?” Jolanta asked, popping out from around the starship, lightsaber ignited.

Galder ignored her. “But why? If we were to begin a duel, they would help you...“ He paced back a little. “But you’re right, this is between you and me...therefore I should mow them all down right now...” He fired all his cartridges in a quick fluid motion as he moved his hand to the trigger to fire all ammunition in flaming bursts of super-heated shrapnel and sharp metals. This left, unfortunately, a little less than twenty men opening fire upon him. He had next to no time to spring-draw his blue lightsaber, dropping the empty Golan Arms weapon to the ground.

Whum-whum-whum... hummed Galder’s blade as he spun it, batting away dozens of bolts in seconds. With a well-timed roll towards Rura, he managed to get to a doorway under Rura’s covering fire. The guards sussed where the fire was coming from, much to both their chagrin. They now needed to move, and fast.

The Jedi had taken a defensive stance, rather than act upon the Dark Jedi’s weakness of being outnumbered severely. The guards fanned out to take better shots, and Marcus began to reflect Rura’s bolts back, blowing off wall paneling near their cover. Galder clicked his wrist blaster into place and began firing himself, but Mah took the initiative to handle that.

Vwum-vwum...vwum... Chion moved in, cutting his way through men without any effort. His windmill whirl continued, but he completed the final step forwards as his blade, at the bottom of the circle, suddenly cut upwards. Galder laughed loudly as Marcus made the mistake of a direct block, the blade nearly knocked clear of his grip. But Marcus quickly reclaimed his dignity by feinting and getting inside Chion’s guard, forcing the giant to stumble back clumsily to avoid losing a leg.

Vwumumumumumumumumumumumumumumum! The momentum of Chion’s spin was now insane, and he angled it down to hack from the front-top of Marcus’ chest to the back-bottom of his rump. Marcus chose an evasive strategy, rolling left. No matter how much Chion twisted his swing, he met nothing but empty air in Marcus-shaped gaps. The next attack was aimed at the gargantuan hilt of Chion’s lightsaber, but the albino changed the angle and instead Marcus’ attack met the blade, and this time his lightsaber was knocked out of his hands. It flew across the room and landed with a fizzle in a panel.

On the other side of the fray, Jolanta had less luck combating Mah. She charged Mah, feinting a blow to the face, but dropping low to sweep his feet out from under him. Mah did not fall for her ill timing and jumping clear, sending in his own riposte in. She snapped back at his riposte, but not fast enough, and she was pressed down under his blow in a solid block. Mah then moved behind her as she was still down low, spinning and stabbing. She blocked and jetted away from him with a burst of speed, tapping into the Force to run up the wall and kick off, landing behind Mah. The Jedi rolled to the left, and the blades clashed and crackled, Jolanta’s momentum giving her an edge. Pulling out of the clinch into a sidestep, Mah threw her off balance, and nearly cut her down if it were not for Rura and Galder concentrating blaster fire on the Jedi.

Suddenly, there was a high-pitched whine as Jolanta’s saboteur skills took effect. Electrical explosions and arcs of energy coursed throughout the room. Electrical equipment covers, door controls, and lighting panels exploded, sparks showering throughout the room and lights shutting off. The burning sparks scathed everyone, but the Force-users ignored the minor pain.

“Retreat!” Galder yelled to his companions, sprinting through the falling sparks, Rura close behind. Jolanta and Chion, side by side, joined him quickly as they dashed to the transfer point, hacking through men and deflecting shots.

“We can kill them!” Jolanta argued, but Chion slapped her hard about the face.

“Go!” he ordered angrily before driving his blade through two men.

The Dark Siders sprinted full speed, Rura and Chion taking long strides, to the transfer point. Galder spotted dozens of security devices and large gun emplacements, such as wall traps, laser walls, and anti-personnel cannons, but his danger sense said nothing. Suddenly, it began to blare again as lasers burst near him.

Ahead, Galder spotted mountings for an energy field. The kind that reflect lasers and disintegrate flesh.

Chion got through in time, bounding through in the lead. Jolanta shot forwards with a powerful leap, running on the wall. Marcus and Mah were close behind Galder, and guards that had followed them were firing with good timing and considerably good accuracy. Mah was toting a powerful pistol.

Suddenly, Galder’s instincts took over. Rura turned to fire at the Jedi, but Galder jumped forwards, tackling him by the waist and forcing him backwards at high speeds as he took a shot. The barely made it through the energy field, which hissed to life and singed off a centimeter of the heel of Galder’s right boot. The shot Rura had taken was reflected by the Jedi, who, thinking they’d send it back to hit the undefended Dark Jedi, where utterly surprised when the bolt hit the field, bounced back to them, and exploded against a panel, sending sparks and shrapnel into their faces. They continued their charge and tried to cut through the energy field.

“Fools,” Galder uttered as he rose. Marcus swung, but stumbled backwards when the force of his swing was rebounded. Mah jabbed the door, and his arms shuddered as the lightsaber slid across the laser wall slowly.

Galder folded his arms and laughed, then spit on the door. It disintegrated upon contact with the energy field, and he laughed again.

“Pathetic fools,” Galder repeated. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a Persis to kill...” Galder spun on his heel and marched away, still laughing. The Jedi watched helplessly, so Galder laughed more maniacally.

= Chapter 24 =

The bars of the civilian sector of Tartarus was dealing with brisk business, with several odd beings inhabiting the dark corners of the place. Casting a steady gaze over the bar, Galder kept his eye out for anything as he approached the bar, Jolanta in tow behind him.

“Excuse me, bartender,” Galder said, snapping his fingers to get the bartender’s attention. “A Corellian ale? Also, could you tell me where to find an informant? I’m looking for someone...”

The bartender turned, cleaning a glass. “When you say ‘informant,’ you mean a snitch, right?”

Galder recalled the fact that the Republic investigation was huge on Tartarus. Could make some questions odd... Galder thought.

“I guess that would be the general idea,” Galder replied, resting his chin on his hand, leaning against the bar.

“Go tell your Republican friends to find you one...”

“Bullshit, I’m not from the Republic,” Galder answered, extending the knife from his wrist and shoving it into the table.

“Yeah, right, like I’m minded to help you and your friends shut this place down...”

Galder scowled with the intention to intimidate, but to no success. The bartender turned his back. Scanning the people around him, Galder picked up waves of suspicion angled at him.

Next to him, however, Jolanta had just had a drink bought for her. She had a seductive smile painted on her face, and then she began to get comfy with the man. Eventually, they headed out the rear entrance of the bar. Galder followed to see what was going on.

Jolanta pushed him back with a wink. “Get lost creep...”

“This guy bothering you?” the man asked, reaching for his pistol. Galder started to flick out his wrist blaster, but Jolanta intervened.

“Nah, he’s just some goon...”

They left out the back. Galder followed at a distance, then peeked out the back door. Jolanta and the man were in a tight embrace, and quickly her need for privacy was revealed as there was unbuttoning of trousers and removal of shirts. He banged his head on the door and turned to a bar full of staring eyes.

“Don’t go out there...” he said, shaking his head.

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About fifteen minutes later, Jolanta came back in.

"Persis is not unknown around here," she informed Galder. "Big business. The smugglers run all their operations from underground, apparently.”

“Did you get a specific entrance?” Galder inquired, folding his arms.

“I didn't get any idea of a specific place. The smugglers have a huge complex underground, Persis could be anywhere inside there. Maybe if we can find his ship? Then I could spike that, too..."

“Sure thing...”

They moved outside and began to hail a taxi when a proximity alert buzzed on his comlink. He checked it, receiving the notice that someone had entered his ship.

“Damn, I forgot to send the thing back into space...” Galder cursed, hitting a button to activate his security systems. They bleeped with a negative response. “Shit...”

“What?”

“It must be the Jedi, they’ve found my ship and shut down the systems...”

“Nice job...”

Galder froze and an icy feeling shot through him. “Oh damn, the hyperdrive!”

“Aww, come on, stop being so grumpy!" said Jolanta, hopping impatiently from foot to foot. "You're like... so negative! Are we gonna find and kill this guy or not?"

Galder looked over at her with a disappointed frown. “You'd be negative too if it was your ship. I've practically spent my life on that ship, and that hyperdrive was a hard buy.” He sighed, putting his hands on his hips. “But...you’re right. We need to find Persis.”

Galder walked into the middle of the street, a speeder roaring by with an angry driver, yelling at him that he should not be walking in the street. Galder shot a bolt into the back of his vehicle before dropping into the sewers.

The sewers were mysteriously unused. Following along the sewer walls with Jolanta behind, he discovered that they were in fact passages into Persis’ smuggling base. Every hundred paces, Galder encountered a door. He finally picked one and asked Jolanta to hotwire it. In under a minute, she popped it open easily.

“Bingo.”

“Good work...” Galder stepped in first, and his ears perked up to a constant beep in the dank darkness. “I probably tripped an alarm...“

His danger sense fizzled to life, but too late. His unfocussed use of the Force did not serve him well as he tossed him self clear a second after the trip trap had incinerated the area around him. The concussion through him backwards in a fiery burst and he hit the wall behind him with incredible force, knocking him senseless.

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“You know, if you weren’t my friend, I would steal your shoes.” Galder sat up, still in the sewers, with Jolanta bandaging his leg, which was scorched and battered, stinging with each pump of his heart. The leg of his pants had been completely shorn off.

“Well...that’s encouraging,” he answered groggily. “Don’t even think about stealing my boots...”

“Clumsy things, bombs,” Jolanta continued, finishing her bandaging. “Still, you were probably right about that alarm. Shall we stay here and kill people?”

“Uh...sure...I guess...” Galder rose to his feet with a cringe, but used the Force to ignore it, lulling himself into a self-induced morphine effect. He took the pouch of Magravian spice from his belt and inhaled some, the burning sensation in his nose and heightening of his senses snapping to him immediately. “Persis is going to be a pain in the ass...”

“Persis sounds like a pain in the ass,” Jolanta added. “Shove your lightsaber up your ass and see how it feels. Can you fight, peg leg?”

“Of course I can fight, I can always fight,” Galder boasted of his fighting skills. “I was riddled with bullets on Damagran and my arm removed on Malastare, and both times I was up again, ready to fight...”

“Oh, cool,” Jolanta replied, brushing his braggart comments aside. “So what’s the plan, Captain?”

“Move into the underground, I suppose...” Galder said, stepping into the badly scorched doorway again, casting his eyes about to check for more trip traps. “We might need to take a hostage to interrogate for Persis’ location...”

“Well, there can't be that many ships down here," Jolanta pointed out. "You can't fit a large star port underneath a small moon like this. I am amazed even those Republican bozos haven't spotted it."

The pair moved into the shadows quickly, then sensed people coming.

“Hide, we don’t want to start a miniature war...” Galder said, jabbing Jolanta in the side. He moved out of view behind the curve of the corridor wall.

“Hide?” she replied, disappointed. She did no such thing.

“Don‘t worry, the miniature war starts after...” he hushed, Jolanta reluctantly hiding behind him. Four men, sporting all over body suits and auto-pistols, entered the room, examining the still burning entrance that Galder had accidentally blown open completely. Wiring and twisted metal sat about in piles, and one of the men nudged a pile with his foot.

“Good evening, gents,” Galder said from the shadows as his grenade clanked to a halt at their feet.

“Hey...ah!” they managed to shout before the blast tore them apart.

Galder looked around, pulling two auto-pistols to him with the Force. The corridor they had entered was smooth and white, with the exception of the marring by the grenade. It went either way, though Galder had no way of knowing what they led to. The men had come from the left, so Galder headed that way, and eventually happened upon an underground monorail system, completely with recently used carriage.

“Well, let’s see where this takes us...” Galder stepped aboard.

“Sure. Gotta go somewhere...” Jolanta stepped on as well.

Galder looked over the controls. “Ok...yeah...” He tried to make sense of it, but all he could find was forwards and backwards. The security coding was a nightmare, and the complicated, not-to-scale map made no sense, marked with numbers and colors.

“Uh...Jolanta? If you please...” He shoved her towards the controls with a grin. “I’m not a computer wiz, mind hacking into this thing?”

"Hmm. This is just a relay. It communicates with security systems as we pass them. These people are pretty paranoid. They must shift their smuggling cargoes with this system. But that means it must lead to their spaceport, somewhere...

"I can try and set the relays to spoof the security sensors, but if it goes wrong we are pretty dead ducks stuck on this thing if they want to kill us."

“Right...” Galder went to fetch some of the body suits off the dead guards and quickly put them on aboard the carriage. He stretched out his body, not enjoying the fact that the clothes were horribly scorched and shredded, but thoroughly enjoying Jolanta changing into her outfit.

It was actually more than some mook uniform. Being quite sophisticated, it was a set of light armor, and must have cost a fortune to mass produce.

“I could get used to wearing this...” Galder said, despite the crappy color of brown. He locked his red lightsaber into place inside his arm, ready to spring it out at the first sign of trouble.

The monorail shot forwards, moving silently on the rail. “I’ll see if I can spoof the security sensor from the relay...” Jolanta began, but a loud alarm rang out. “Oops, too late...”

As the monorail edged closer to the exit, all power was cut. A spotlight shown down the tunnel towards Galder, who dropped from the monorail with Jolanta at his side.

“Drop your weapons and come out with your hands up!” cried a loud voice.

“Hey, we’re friends here!” Galder shouted back in a friendly tone, tossing down his twin pistols, the only weapons in view.

“Identify yourselves!” cried the voice again, as the spotlight moved closer.

Galder said nothing moving into the spotlight, closer to the guards. He heard the cocking of weapons, and loud orders.

“Stand to! Stand to! Put your hands above your head!” Two security guards, one with an auto-pistol, the other with a blaster rifle. Galder sensed three or four more hidden by the spotlight’s glare, maybe more.

As soon as they were close enough, Galder slipped his red lightsaber from the compartment into his hand silently. Snap-hiss! The red sword flashed. Vwum! The two men fell dead, severed in two across the torso. Galder called his other sword to his free hand, spinning through his opponents with ease. One moved forwards to fire an auto-pistol, but Galder leaped into the air and kicked him solidly, sending him flying into the path of blaster fire aimed at Jolanta, who had reacted seconds after Galder had begun the massacre. Seconds later, it was over, a dozen bodies scattered in pieces.

“And the guard post is ours!” Galder declared, marching into a control room. “I bet Persis is scared shitless by now...” Galder walked in, cracking his neck and hiding his lightsabers away. “Use that terminal to find the spaceport...”

"Got the spaceport," reported Jolanta after a few moments of typing and tapping, "though landing pad would be more like it. It's about half a mile to the east of here."

“Good,” Galder responded, gallivanting towards the monorail. “Reactivate the carriage and try to shut off the security...”

“I can only shut off this security system,” Jolanta said, annoyed with the orders but reactivating the power. “They are all independent...”

As soon as the power resumed, the comm unit of the monorail crackled to life. “Unit 4L2, unit 4L2, report on your situation..."

“We've had some slight malfunctions in the security system. Nothing to worry about, we've got it under control,” Galder answered calmly, holding down the talk button.

“Who is this? What is your security authorization?”

“Uh...” Galder rotated his wrist blaster into firing position and a few shots obliterated the communications system. “Lousy conversation anyway...” He turned to Jolanta, keeping his wrist blaster out. “Jolanta, we’re going to have company...”

“Great...” She stepped aboard and the monorail began to move forwards. “I could take this thing full pace but how many are we going to have to fight through?”

Galder thought for a little while and realized that there could be thousands of smugglers ready to take shots at them. "Jolanta, stop the monorail. I have a plan. We'll plant a bomb on the monorail and send it forward. The explosion will be used as a distraction so we can sneak around. What do ya think?"

“I don't like bombs..." Jolanta sighed. But she started to rig it all up.

Galder hopped down from the monorail. I don't care if you don't like bombs," Galder snaps as he hops from the now stopped monorail. He double checked his weaponry idly to make sure he had everything. The two auto-pistols now occupied his holsters, next to the two droid blaster rifles from Damagran. His wrist blaster was oiled and working fine. His lightsabers, clipped to the back of his belt and in his arm compartment, were secure. He carried a heavy repeater on his back, with full automatic fire and concussion blaster and all, replacing his multipurpose rifle until he could purchase or steal a new one.

"Well, have you finished yet?" Galder asked impatiently.

She finished. "There are two security stations and a number of other places between us and the star port," she says. "How do you want me to do things?"

"I don't suppose you could figure out how to use a spike on all of them."

"Like, duh! Of course not!" said Jolanta. "That would ruin the point of it! I have to spoof them one at a time whilst I am there and I doubt that will work because your marvelous acting at the comm unit will have them all out looking for us..."

“Like you could have done better..." Galder argued. "Anyways, what do you think we should do then?"

"I could have done better than that!" hissed Jolanta. "This is some assassination...I dunno, I could try a distraction..."

"Then try it. What do you have in mind?"

"Let me head off down that tunnel and see what I can do..."

“You do that...don't trip any alarms or something. That wouldn't be good."

"Yeah, worry about yourself, trip-bomb boy!" She dashed off down the tunnel, disappearing around a turn.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Galder sat alone, pacing the tunnel with boredom and trying to sense anyone coming to close.

Suddenly, the lights went out. Galder and the monorail carriage were consumed by the darkness. Pitch black.

Galder fumbled on his belt for his magnatorch, which clicked and buzzed a few times before emitting the comfortable orange glow. It did not light the rest of the tunnel, but allowed Galder to see what he was doing. He clipped it to his belt, still on, and leaned against the tunnel wall.

“Jolanta, hurry up!” Galder shouted into his comlink. “I’m dying of boredom!”

He advanced through the tunnel to see if he could find Jolanta, but to no avail. He stopped where he was when he realized he might run into the security point.

“Jolanta?” he called out, but the lights flickered on, and he threw himself sideways off the monorail tracks as they hummed to life with arcs of electricity. He got to his feet, brushing some dust off of his clothes before continuing his trek on the side of the tracks. Unfortunately, his danger sense did not shut off and let him know that the carriage was now barreling down the tunnel towards him.

“One inch clearance,” Galder noted as he spotted the thing, and leaped forwards to match the velocity of the vehicle, pinning himself to the front of it. Air screamed past as the carriage moved faster and faster.

I’m strapped to a mobile bomb! Galder realized with a shock. He turned to cut through the windshield, but growled at seeing that Jolanta had wired the bomb to the front of the vehicle. Cutting through would blow himself up.

Things went by in a blur, and Galder whipped out the auto-pistols as the security checkpoint came up on the left side. Firing the pistols, he threw himself forwards and off of the carriage, blazing away at the control room near the tracks, blowing out the windows and killing men inside. He hit the ground and rolled to his feet, blowing a canister of chemicals to pieces in a large of explosion. He rolled and spun to fire at some security behind him, ducking under the firepower of a manned turret, which slammed into the side of the carriage. He was aware of force and heat and a great white light in the next few seconds, tearing at him and tossing him into the far wall with great impact that cracked it. Galder lost consciousness again as security men thudded into the wall next to him and electricity crackled nearby, and the intense heat surrounding everything...

= Chapter 25 =

When Galder woke up, he thought he was being kissed. He drifted in and out of consciousness for awhile until he realized that what he thought was unconsciousness was just darkness. Jolanta was by him.

"Get blown up a lot, do you?" she asked.

"It seems like it doesn't it?" Galder replied, remaining still. "Where am I hurt, babe?"

“What do I look like, a doctor? Your back looks bad. Tell you what, I could keep poking you until I find somewhere that doesn’t hurt...”

“No, that’s alright...” Galder used the Force to sense his greatest pains. “We should contact Chion and Rura. We’ll need their help...”

"Yeah. I guess we had better tell them to stomp their fat asses down here...” Jolanta unfurled her laptop from a bag at her side, using the comlink built into it to hail Chion.

"Hi guys, this is, like, Jolanta here. Galder and I have found this totally cool hidden underground complex thing next to the sewers where all these smugglers hang out, and we totally reckon that Persis is down here. So see if you can find your way down, 'cause there are, like, hundreds of guards and things and they are being really mean about stuff. Poor Galder blew himself up... twice! Hey, I know what would be cool, you can trace my comm signal and come on down after me...but hurry it up because otherwise Galder will get all grumpy, or something; he's being, like, so totally whatever about things! So yeah, see ya down there for the fun!"

“Cool laptop, what else you have in there?” Galder asked, brushing aside the annoying comments she had made.

“Oh...things...hey, message from Kuylen! Cool!”

“Let me see...” Galder shifted over to see Jolanta’s screen and read the message.

Problem with the hyperdrives. Onto plan B. Rendezvous at Dordellus- repeat, Dordellus! Steal a ship. A large ship. We shall use the fuel store to fill it. We should be able to make the journey to the Mausoleum from there. Kuylen.

“Well, that allays my worries about losing my ship’s hyperdrive...” Galder sighed with relief, “but that still leaves us with Jedi on our trail when we head to Dordellus, unless we finish them off before we leave. And we need to hijack a ship, along with killing Persis...” Galder got to his feet, wincing in pain as several parts of his body screamed in protest. “Where are we?”

“We blew out the checkpoint,“ informed Jolanta. “We are in a service tunnel right now. What the hell happened with the plan anyway?”

“We had a plan?" Galder asked with disdain. "Well, whatever you did, it started up the monorail. I had to jump onto it to avoid becoming bantha fodder...”

"Of course it started up the monorail when the power came back on! I did my distraction, where the hell were you?"

"I was walking out in front. What was I supposed to do?"

"Well, like, you were supposed to do something! You told me to cause a distraction, I did, and all you did was blow up the checkpoint and yourself with it! We could have done that anyway!"

“Oh shut up and get a move on,” Galder ordered, stretching and wincing. “Artifacts and ships don’t steal themselves, you know...”

“Well, the star port is that way..." said Jolanta, pointing down the service tunnel. "Though I guess that there will be about a hundred guys wanting to stop us..."

“Any other paths besides the service tunnel?”

"Like, not from the monorail system, I don't think. I mean, there might be another way to get to the places the smugglers use but we don't know where they are. It would be, like, totally a waste of time to go back and look for them!"

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Two armed men stomped past the innocuous service hatch that Galder and Jolanta emerged from merely seconds later, into the vast star port where two dozen ships were parked. The place was on lock down, and several armed men like the ones that had just past were dashing about, securing entrances and exits and monitoring the area.

Still disguised in their uniforms, though Galder’s was notably battered, they approached one of the security guards.

“Excuse me?” Galder said, getting the man’s attention. “Can you point me to Persis’ ship?”

“What does security want with Persis?” was the response.

“We were sent to guard it,” Galder lied. “Just following orders.”

“What, you on Persis’ payroll now or something?”

“Yeah, of course. I don’t have my papers yet, though, if there are papers. The intruders made things urgent, so I was sent out with my comrade pretty quickly...”

“Well, it’s the Star Hopper at Bay 5. Don’t ask me where he is though...”

Galder and Jolanta took their leave of the guard and began to negotiate a series of walkways. Each walkway led higher or farther out over the crowd or closer to the walls and bays.

This place is built like the inside of a beehive... Galder thought, looking around. Halfway up and still looking around, Galder’s badly tuned senses took over, and he chanced upon seeing the Jedi at the bottom. Marcus and Mah were looking about, the younger Jedi with a pistol out as well as his lightsaber hilt, and were trailed by another Jedi Knight that Galder recognized full well.

His heart skipped a beat. “Yerssot Rancume...” Galder said, letting the name roll across his tongue. “Why is that perfidious bastard here? I thought he had been thrown off the investigation! Little bastard was never a very strong Jedi, Quam broke his will too easily...” Galder continued walking. “No matter...he can be easily dealt with...”

“That’s the one...” he heard Jolanta mutter. She was radiating hatred, easily sensible to the Jedi, Galder was sure. He spun and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her.

“Listen to me,” Galder hissed. “You can kill him later, but not now. We are outnumbered, and we need the others to get here before we start killing anything...” He shook her a few more times. “Try to calm yourself. Those Jedi will find us if you radiate hatred the way you are. Try to clear your mind...think happy thoughts...puppies...dead Jedi...whatever! That or use that hatred to mask your mind...“ Galder released her and continued. “Now let’s go...”

“Damn him...” seethed Jolanta, but she remained quiet and followed.

Persis’ Star Hopper was a small ship, designed to carry about eight people, maybe some cargo. The squat black thing was unmanned, so Galder headed to the entry hatch and attempted to open it. It was locked, and Galder knocked. It echoed slightly, but there was no answer.

“Jolanta, hotwire it...” Galder requested, leaning against the wall of the bay. Something was bugging him about this the entire time, but he could not put his finger on it. Sure, he was injured, but he was confident he could fight Persis anyway. He ruled that out as what was gnawing at his mind, and then stepped inside as the door swung open into darkness.

“Anybody home?” Galder asked with a slight grin, thrusting his magnatorch in ahead of him, his lightsaber at the ready. The cockpit and the section behind it was completely empty, still dank and dark despite the warm glow of the torch, but a blast wall sealed off the rear of the ship.

“Care to hotwire this blast door?”

Jolanta looked the blast door over. “It’s sealed internally.”

Galder rubbed his chin, then requested that she keep guard outside. He ignited his blue saber and drove it into the blast door, chiseling away at the thing for half a minute before knocking the man-sized slab of metal inwards. He shoved the magnatorch into the darkness, taking notice of a large metal box.

“I think we’ve found the Astrolabe...” Galder shouted triumphantly, reaching for the lid. He hoisted it open, and looked upon his doom as his danger sense flared up, just too late. He slammed the lid back on the hot radioactive cell, realizing that the chamber was radioactive-proof, designed to contain the dangerous material. Realizing the dosage was most likely already lethal, jumped from ship, disoriented and dazed.

He could sense his death in the near future. “He’s killed me!” Galder roared. But no...his senses told him that things were still in motion. He might have time to be treated, but it was uncertain. Still, it did not help his current situation.

Jolanta had already fled the scene, and Galder leaned over the guard rail woozily to spot her. She was two floors below, lightsaber and eyes ablaze, heading for Yerssot. Galder went back and kicked the ship angrily before going back to the guard rail. Jolanta was hollering insults at Yerssot, who had ignited a blue lightsaber and was spinning it around defensively, while Marcus and Mah made the ascent to handle Galder.

Galder took the repeater from his back and took aim, unleashing a hail of burning bolts at the two Jedi...but the shots missed, arcing way too high to do anything to his targets. A wave of nausea passed over Galder as he realized he had missed, blinking multiple times and trying to hit again, to no avail.

An alarm blared. “Evacuation alert! Evacuation alert!” droned an automated voice. Security and the Jedi began to retreat through doors, not looking back even once. Among the security guards, pushing the other way with lightsabers at hand, were Chion and Rura, along with some other guy that Galder had seen at Dordellus.

Toolok Rah, the blue-skinned green-striped athletic Dark Jedi, met Galder halfway down to the floor level. By then, Galder had developed a painful headache and the area had become bathed in red warning lights. Rah hacked through a guard with one side of his purple lightstaff, knocking another over the railing of the walkway with an athletic kick. Galder’s first impression, having not seen him in months, was that he was a mad singing bastard who needed to shut up or die.

Galder grabbed Rah by the neck and shook him. “Shut up! I have a headache...”

“So you’re the guy who likes getting blown up!” Rah greeted cheerfully, deactivating his lightsaber. “By the way, you look like shit!”

Galder only growled, and instinctually shot his lightsaber out of its compartment to deflect a shot, though the shot was blocked by Rah instead as his own lightsaber went clattering along the ground. He called it back, and blocked a few shots with jerky slashes before diving forwards with unorthodox attacks that went nowhere. One finally disarmed the guard who had been firing at them with a blaster rifle, but the next blows hit nothing. Galder attempted to do a flashy maneuver, but stumbled over his own feet and fell forwards, driving the lightsaber through the guard’s leg. Both hit the ground, but Galder did not make efforts to rise, instead throwing up on the man’s leg. The man screamed in agony and reached for his spare pistol, placing the muzzle against Galder’s head. Rah pulled the weapon away with his powers and fired until the guard was dead.

Galder, once again, lost consciousness as Rah scooped him up and rushed for a descending bulkhead, hurling on the ground behind the sporty alien a few more times.

= chapter 26 =

“Well, my explosive friend, that’s a nice pattern you’ve made!” Rah commented as Galder hurled again. “We need to get you off this lame excuse of a dust ball if you’re going to live. You must have been standing right next to whatever happened, since you’ve got some pretty bad radiation poisoning...”

Galder wiped his mouth with the tail of Rah’s trench coat. “So...you’re another one of Kuylen’s lackeys, eh?”

Rah suddenly got very serious. “I wouldn’t call myself a lackey, just a follower of his cause...” He gave way to a goofy grin under his strangely black handlebar mustache. “Hence, your rescue!” He sat down across the way from Galder. They were in a small room with sealed bulkheads on either side, keeping out the radiation. Rura sat cleaning his rifle, while Chion and Jolanta both glared at each other moodily.

“I’m sure Kuylen would want us to assist each other in this mission...” Rah continued.

“Well, that’s his way, isn’t it?” Galder replied quietly, still laying on his side. “Do you have a message for me or anything?”

“Yeah, but I gave it to Chion, but he didn’t show it to me. Shall we...erm...see if he’s feeling talkative?”

Galder rolled over to face the giant. “Give me the message,” he ordered half-heartedly.

Chion tossed him a data pad, which was keyed in to react to Galder's DNA. It activated, portraying a hologram of Kuylen in his military uniform.

“This one is called Toolok Rah. I trained him on Dordellus alone, after I sent out the rest. He is an impressive physical specimen but lacks your instinct with a saber; he is not unskilled in the Force but only time will tell if he has any vision- his life thus far has been mostly petty.

“He will help you with Persis. Fill him in on what is going on. Tell him as much as you think is safe too; hook him in by talking of Avalar. If he does well, tell him all the rest."

"Oh goody, my turn to tell the tale..." Galder said sarcastically, putting away the datapad.

Galder gathered Rah's attention and began the oral tradition in Kuylen‘s group of explaining Avalar.

"Have you heard of the planet Avalar, Rah? It is a icy planet that was said to have not existed. In Sith legend, a monastery was set up by the Sith monks, who recorded everything in Sith history, including battles and Force powers. Kuylen had found the place, and we raided it, we being Kuylen, Chion, two other Dark Jedi who are off doing their own thing, Krisha- Jolanta's sister, who is dead- and me. Before we could grab everything, the Jedi stopped us. Kuylen managed to get enough of the Sith maps in the Archives before we escaped."

"What do you think this is?" Galder asked. He brought out one of the tablets that they had nabbed, holding up so that Rah could see. The alien picked it up, looking over the blank thing.

“I don’t recall ever seeing anything like this,” Rah admitted. “What is it?”

“They appear blank, don't they?" Galder asked. "But if you put your hand to the back of it..."

Galder pressed his hand to the back of it and it lit up with the familiar green texts and images. "They are ancient Sith tablets that tell about Sith powers and their history. We plan to use them once we get to our goal here."

"Now, our goal here is that we find a man named Persis," Galder said, showing Rah a hologram of him. "He has something we need called an Astrolabe, which is basically a navigational device to important Sith worlds." Galder showed him a hologram of that as well. "We need that thing very badly. Once we retrieve it, we need to steal the largest ship we can find."

“This is impressive,” Rah said with a touch of reverence, touching his hand to the back of the tablet for himself. He gave it back, then stood up and stretched. “Well, we should get your radiation poisoning sorted first, otherwise you aren’t going to live to see this Persis fellow!”

“There’s nowhere on Tartarus to heal me, I’m sure,” Galder said, trying to get up. Jolanta forced him to down some painkillers, and then he stood, hoping that the drugs would keep the nausea away long enough for them to hunt Persis and eliminate him.

“Malastare is the closest I think...” Rah considered. “That is, if you have a ship...”

“Don’t ask about the ship,” Galder snarled. “And we can’t even go near Malastarian space. We had a run in with the Jedi there just days ago...”

“Ah, well, those could both be problems...” Rah chuckled. “Well, then you’ll have to wait until Dordellus, eh?”

“If we don’t kill Persis, Kuylen won’t have the patience to treat me,” Galder continued to snarl. “We kill him. Now.”

Meanwhile, Jolanta had been prodding and poking Chion with a pole, and the giant was growling.

"You're really freaky," she said to him. "Still, at least you aren’t as dumb as x-ray boy here!” she continued, jabbing her thumb at Galder. "I mean, way to go, genius! Not only are you going to die, you flooded the whole area so we can't get back in...”

“Jolanta,” Galder snapped. “Shut up.”

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Galder unsteadily sliced open a section of a particularly large pipe, some ways under the star port. The cold was soothing to Galder, reminding him of the only home he had truly known. But right now, thinking was not allowed. It made him nauseous.

“What a wonderful smell you’ve discovered!” Rah declared before slipping into the piping before Galder, the latter following through the sludgy darkness. “Come on in, it’s lovely!”

They came to a sharp drop in the piping, where Rah dropped a piece of gumf. It hit the bottom within ten seconds. “Long drop, I estimate...uh...a lot of meters...”

“Blow two holes in the top of the pipe,” Galder suggested. “Wait for it to cool, then use this...” Galder tossed a small object up to him.

“Ah, syntherope dispenser.” There were two sharp cracks as Rah’s blaster pistol rang out in the small area, and a few minutes later they descended. Within a minute of their descent, they reached the cramped, decrepit bowels of the smuggler’s complex, ill-kept and barely enough room to stand.

Suddenly, Persis’ voice filled their surroundings. “I have been waiting for you...” he hissed, then laughed hysterically.

"Ah, hello Persis, you smarmy bastard. Hand over the astrolabe!" Galder demanded. He hooked his magnatorch to the front of his repeater, which he now brought out with a determined grimace. Rah kept by him, blaster pistol still out.

“You will never have the Astrolabe!" cackled Persis. "I see you walked into my trap already...can you feel your cells being eaten away, Galder? You were fools to oppose me!"

Galder tried to sense Persis, but to no avail. The magnatorch revealed that Persis was talking from a beat-up speaker in the corner, what was left of what must have been a comm system.

“I’ll live, Persis, but if I don’t, I’ll be holding your decapitated head when I go...” Galder retorted.

“You’re right, Persis is a smarmy bastard,” Rah whispered, agreeing with him. He paused, then spoke loud enough for Persis to hear. “I didn’t think he was such a coward though!”

Persis laughed long and hard again. "I am no coward! You skulking in numbers though...come and face me, one at a time! If you dare!"

Galder nodded. “I see how it is...Rah, head south, I’ll take north...” Galder began to part from his partner, gun poised ready to fire. “Persis, I’m still deadly enough to kill you, despite the radiation poisoning...” he rasped. “You’ll die before I do, at any rate...”

“I don’t think so,” Persis replied. The speakers were everywhere. “I shall have the secrets of the Mausoleum, and rule a Galaxy where you are just a forgotten corpse...”

Somewhere behind him, Rah ignited his lightsaber and swung, then shouted about something being particularly cold, the sound of leaking coolant hissing loudly behind him. Galder turned to see what had happened, but the blast doors of the room he was in slammed close on both sides. Toxic gas began flowing into the room through pipes and vents, so Galder made his way to the door leading back, slinging his repeater over his back again and whipping out his blue lightsaber immediately. He drove it through the door to begin cutting, but it met something ‘solid,’ and the crackling of lightsaber meeting lightsaber and Persis’ loud laughter echoed.

“You’re a cheating bastard, Persis! Once I get out, I shall take your head as my trophy!”

“No! You will die, and I shall take no trophy, just leave your corpse here to rot...”

Galder tried to cut a sizeable hole by using his other lightsaber, arms outstretched so that Persis could not possibly block both, when suddenly the center of the began to glow red hot. Galder backed off and flicked out his wrist blaster, firing multiple shots into the quickly liquefying metal. Unfortunately, the blue blade of Persis’ saber poked through and reflected a shot directly into Galder’s mechanical hand, blowing off fingers and rendering it useless to hold anything.

“Damn you!” Galder hollered. He felt no pain from the blaster bolt, seeing as it was not his flesh that was damaged, but it would seriously hamper him.

“You are dying, feeble one. Slow and weak!”

Galder said nothing back, holding his breath against the gas, but feeling nausea overtake him quickly. He moved to the door leading onwards, deeper into the complex, and hacked through quickly. He forced it out with the mangled stub of his synthetic arm and rolled through over the burning metal, listening to Persis’ triumphant laughter as the man cut through the other door.

Galder stumbled again and did not move fast enough to avoid Persis. The man caught him not too far from the gas-filled room, spinning his lightsaber. His features, with the exception of his blonde hair and cold blue eyes, where hidden by a filter mask. He lashed out with a strong kick, giving Galder no room to maneuver and nearly cutting him in half with a follow up.

Galder rose and intercepted several fast blows with his blue sword, Persis intending to knock his guard sideways. The interception continued until Galder launched a jab for Persis’ chest, but Galder felt slow and feeble as Persis had said, and the blow was bashed aside and Galder back-handed by a laughing blonde. Galder continued to back away, giving ground as Persis’ onslaught continued, and they came to a four-way section of the complex. Galder turned the corner and jabbed at Persis again, his sword only becoming lodged in the wall as his target dodged. Galder switched sabers to the red one, checking his movement as Persis’ blue blade drove itself into the wall merely an inch in front of his face.

Galder suddenly turned his strength on Persis, smashing into close contact with his enemy. Neither could force the other’s guard down by sheer force, and they snarled eye-to-eye until Persis disengaged. Galder threw his red lightsaber towards Persis and called the stuck blue one to him from the wall, spinning it until Persis moved in again, ducking under the throwing attack.

“Time to end this...” Persis hissed, and shot a lightning fast jab in Galder’s direction, flicking away Galder’s guard and aiming spinning slashes for his sides. Galder slashed downwards to block the jab, and finally engaged Persis in a lock. He tried to skitter his blade down to Persis’ arm, but Persis forced Galder back against a wall, losing his footing and hitting the ground hard. Persis lifted his blade with laughter of superiority and swung down, Galder expecting his life to end there.

Clash! Galder had clenched his eyes closed, but upon opening them again, one side of a purple lightstaff was holding back Persis’ blade.

“Am I interrupting something?” Rah asked comically. With only one side of his blade lit, he lifted his blade to attack, but feinted and dropped low, igniting the other side to take out Persis’ legs. Persis’ fitness allowed him to leap over the blade and backwards, nearly stumbling. Growling angrily, which only made him more unfocused as Rah began to sing in harsh tones, Persis slashed forwards with great strength, his blade crackling against Rah’s. But with a bit of trickery, Rah sprung to the side, then deactivated that side of his blade, Persis falling forwards with his momentum.

“What was that you were saying about finishing, Persis?” Galder asked, rising with a renewed hatred. He intercepted another attack from Persis, then attempted to trip him up. His body did not respond correctly, though, and Persis flung Galder into the wall again with a loud echo of denting metal.

Persis lifted his blade to kill again, but Rah pulled the opponent back with a use of the Force, then swung in. He feinted for the head with one side of his blade, then acted as if he was going to slash up the middle of Persis’ body, the ended up coming down on Persis’ shoulder. Persis managed to block, but was not prepared for Galder sticking his lightsaber out towards his backside. The retaliation of the angry youth ended up sending Rah to the ground as Persis jabbed for the legs and threw himself into Rah.

He spun to face Galder after back-flipping up, preparing to defend or strike.

“You’re a good fighter,” Galder remarked. “But that’s because you’re fighting me after dirty tricks and cowardly attempts to kill me, forcing me out of my prime...”

“This is your prime! A stillborn cripple could defeat you at any time!” Persis shouted defiantly, though Galder made him eat his words with a quick succession of stylish blows, then a hard swing to bash away Persis’ guard and a hard jab to the midsection. Persis struggled to fend this off along with Rah rising with a strong kick and spin of his blades. He moved back with a clash of blades against Rah.

“If a cripple can beat me, why are you retreating?” Galder asked. “Not a cripple? ‘Cause I can fix that...”

Persis did not reply and kicked viciously at Galder as he launched into the air. Rah attempted to slash for Persis’ sword arm, but Persis angled away in mid-air and planted the solid kick, knocking Galder against the wall for the third time.

“Ouch,” Rah remarked, cringing as Galder fell once more. He attacked, slashing hard but deactivating the attacking blade to cause Persis to overbalance, kicking for Persis’ knee and following up with the other blade. Galder threw his blade from the ground and called the other one to him, once again resorting to the red. Distracted by the combinations used upon him, Persis cried out when Rah’s kick connected with his kneecap, but did not fall. Instead, it enraged him, and he unleashed a rain of furiously strong blows, his rage and anger giving him focus.

Rah continued to belt out his harsh tones in a foreign language and twirling his staff at insane speeds to deflect all of Persis’ attacks. Galder moved in from behind and began to deliver solid and fast blows, slashing for the feet at first and then the neck, then the feet again, then the neck again. Persis tried to keep up, but Galder found the opportunity to declare victory.

Vwum! Galder suddenly changed tactic and his blade tore through Persis’ arm, flinging it away with the lightsaber hilt still in his hand. A series of lightning jabs skewered Persis upon Galder’s blade, who then kicked him off and into the wall. Vwum! Persis’ head rolled away, off down the corridor.

Galder fell back against the opposite wall, collapsing with exhaustion and dropping his lightsaber. “I got him...I got him...” he muttered wearily. Rah sat down next to him.

“Well, looks like we found our prize!” Rah announced, opening the door to what must have been Persis’ hideout, then using the Force to pull an old tarpaulin towards him. Underneath was the Astrolabe, in all it’s Sithly excellence.

“Let’s get out of here...” Galder finally muttered, after resting for a long moment. He moved over to Persis’ body, picking up his victim’s head. “I win.” He quickly ransacked Persis’ body of money and his lightsaber and stripped the head of his filter mask, slapping it on for himself.

“Time to leave!” Rah declared as a loud rumbling sound resonated throughout the entire complex, shaking dust loose around them. “Sounds like Chion and the others are having fun...”

= Chapter 27 =

Slung over Rah’s shoulder like he had been earlier, Galder was a complete deadweight. Rah was groaning under the weight of him, covered in his gear and with is synthetic arm, and the Astrolabe.

“Could you think lighter thoughts, maybe, perhaps?” Rah requested, making his way into the lift that Persis must have used to get down further. “Seems that that explosion messed with the systems. Thing has no power.”

“Then find another way...” Galder muttered, half-conscious.

Rah pondered this, then smashed open the top of the lift and observed what was above. He tossed Galder and the Astrolabe up carefully before hopping up himself.

“Hold on!” Rah said, motioning for Galder to grab the massive chord of the maintenance elevator. The alien took a tight grip on the Astrolabe and held on while Galder ignited his lightsaber.

“I like the way you think, Rah!” Galder declared before disuniting the chord of the counter-weight with a quick cut. They were flung upwards at high speeds and the weight went the opposite way. Both men shouted whoops of victory and excitement as the lift shot upwards.

“Galder, how do we stop this thing?!” Rah shouted in question.

“We don’t!” Galder replied, yelling over the rushing air. “We jump off!”

“You’re damned crazy!”

“I know!”

Closing their eyes and concentrating strongly, then sensed their exit coming up. Merely seconds before the lift shattered at the top, they flung themselves through an opening in the shaft, emerging into a world of light and heat and fire.

“Out of the frying pan and into the fire, literally!” Rah exclaimed, igniting his lightsaber as the two of them dashed with the Astrolabe between them, for the large freighter that Chion and Jolanta had seemed to procure. Debris and fire was scattered across half of the massive star port, a massive hole blown in the ceiling to reveal the unpleasant, dusty atmosphere of Tartarus.

“I see you, Jedi!” hollered a figure in a radiation suit. “I’ll see you dead soon, Yerssot!” It was Jolanta, half-way between the ship and the other three suited figures, which must have been the Jedi. The ship behind her was powering up, and Galder could sense Rura panicking in the cockpit.

“I prove to be popular all of the sudden!” chuckled a voice from amongst the Jedi, the suited figure stepping forwards with a blue lightsaber held out in front of him. As the lift exploded behind Galder and Rah, all their heads snapped towards their direction. Yerssot Rancume was indeed the Jedi who had stepped forwards at Jolanta’s comment.

“Greetings, old friend!” Yerssot shouted to Galder. “I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Save it for the Council, Yerssot, you defunct Jedi bastard!” Galder shouted to him.

“If you insist, we’ll get straight to business, then!” Yerssot stepped towards them, motioning with his hand for the Astrolabe to come towards him. Rah clung to the thing and Galder jumped on top of it carefully, and the two of them managed to keep hold of it.

Yerssot released it and spun on the spot to deflect a massive blaster bolt away from him, towards the advancing figure of Chion, Rura some ways behind him firing his rifle from the ship. Chion pulled Jolanta back.

“We outnumber them, Chion!” Galder shouted, collapsing to his knees. “We can kill them now!”

Chion shook his head and pointed in the direction of the Jedi as a few blaster bolts were returned. Security moved in, toting rifles and auto-pistols.

“Fine...” muttered Galder as Rah grabbed him and the Astrolabe. Galder got to his feet and stumbled the last few steps to the bottom of the ramp before collapsing at the foot of it. Rah handed the Astrolabe to Chion as Rura and Jolanta headed to the cockpit, and then lugged Galder up into the ship.

As the ramp folded in and the ship began to rise, Galder made one last comment before losing consciousness once more. “Looks like the day is ours, Jedi!”

Yerssot deactivated his lightsaber as Mah and the security continued to fire up at he ship, bolts exploding near Galder and sparks flying across his battered form. Rah returned fire with Galder’s heavy repeater, lobbing a thermal detonator out the door just before it slammed closed and hissed as it sealed off the ship from the vacuum of space.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

“Hang on, my friend, you’ve been one tough cookie so far...” Rah said, getting Galder comfortable in the co-pilot‘s chair.

“You have no idea,” Galder replied, taking a gulp of water from his flask. “Blowing up has happened before, but the radiation poisoning is something new...”

“Ever thought of a career change?”

Ships began to pull alongside the massive freighter, which shuddered every once and awhile. Taking a glimpse out the viewport, Galder recognized Kuylen’s modified Jedi craft, battered and disguised as ever.

The comm unit of the cockpit crackled to life, and a lizard-like, guttural voice began to speak. “Damned bug, I forgot why I hated Geonosians...” said the voice. “Are we all still in relatively one piece?”

“Basically...” Galder answered, but then remembered that he did not recognize the voice very well. “Who the hell is this? What ship are you flying?”

“Dak Kaliero, on board the Black Dawn of course! Ever heard of Arnians?” A small sleek craft shot ahead of the freighter but kept close enough so that Galder could see Dak tapping on the glass of his cockpit. He smiled a toothy, lizard smile, his tongue flicking out.

“Oh...you...yeah, I have. What’d you say about Geonosians, though?”

“He speared one on Nar Shaddaa,” came the voice of Bion Velcrose, or Wraith, another one of the men from the Dordellus training nearly three years ago, piloting the bulky freighter known as the Empty Wraith on the freighter’s right. “We could have killed him and another if the damned Nar Shaddaa security hadn’t showed up...”

“Excellent,” Galder replied wearily. These guys don’t deserve to go the Mausoleum, they haven’t earned it, like I have...

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

“I want to congratulate the Tartarus team on their success,” Kuylen began, standing at Galder’s bedside on the other side of a protective sheet as Galder received treatment for his radiation poisoning. Already he was beginning to feel better. “Chion, Galder, this erases your bad records from before by far.”

“Thank you, Master,” Galder said, nodding in agreement. “I thought it might...”

“Indeed.” Kuylen turned to Rah, who was with the others, sitting about the hospital room in their base on Dordellus. “You have passed initiation, Toolok Rah, I congratulate you as well.”

“Ah, it was nothing, Master Kuylen,” Rah replied, shaking his head and Kuylen’s hand.

Wraith and Dak stood to one side, and he now addressed them. But Galder was not listening. He was gazing fixedly at the Astrolabe, a wide, maniacal grin stretching across his face before he succumbed to weariness and slept long and hard.

= Chapter 28 =

Snap-hiss! Snap-hiss! Galder stood at one end of the dueling court, igniting his lightsabers in a backhand style with a smug grin. It had only been a few days since their return from Tartarus and their arrival on Dordellus, but Galder had nearly been completely cured of his radiation poisoning.

“Let’s see what you’ve got,” Galder taunted. “I don’t want to go too easy on you...”

Rah stood at the other end of the court, his lightstaff already ignited. “Be gentle, Galder, don’t want to explode any time soon!” he replied, playing with his strange handlebar mustache.

Rah charged, spinning his lightstaff around in crazy ways before separating the hilts into two lightsabers at the last second, slashing high and low in midair as Galder also charged, blades already separate and moving in to block. The blades clashed brilliantly as they collided in the air, landing on their feet with a continuation of the assaults on each other. Without warning, as Galder tried to make Rah concentrate on his mad swinging, he lashed out with a powerful kick, driving the side of his foot into Rah’s shin.

“You’ve seen me fight as a cripple, but you’ll be amazed by my skills now...” Galder hissed, trying to push Rah into fear and anger to help his fighting ability. After all, that was the way of the Dark Side.

“That’s what I’m here for!” Rah said, gulping audibly.

Galder came in for his own attack, jabbing both blades in between Rah’s vertically-held pair, switching his hold on his own lightsabers to the standard. This tactic proved fruitless as Rah twirled his blades away from Galder’s attempted at bashing them out and sidestepped the following kick. Unexpectedly, he used his agility and strength to shove a shoulder into Galder’s chest, pushing him back.

Lightsabers held horizontally at his side, Rah spun around as if to cut Galder in half. Galder moved to block it with only one blade though it was only a feint, and used the other to block the real strike, holding each blade backhand at his sides. With lots of rapid clashing of the blades, Galder tripped up Rah with a foot jab to the back of the kneecap. He moved to knock Rah to the ground, but Rah went with the push and they rolled over each other. Rah tried to counter-attack, but Galder spun to his feet and smashed the attack away.

The sense of frustration tingled on Galder’s sense as he felt Rah’s emotion coming strongly. His comrade came at him with a series of fast attacks, then lunged with one blade and cut low with the other. Awkwardly, Galder blocked the high one, falling for the feint which then became an attack towards his chest, and then had to toss himself sideways, putting his body horizontally in the air to avoid both blades.

Still, Galder was the better fighter. Immediately he recovered from his dodge and swung horizontally, feinting an attack at Rah’s neck by spinning his hilts around to backhand style once more and stabbing downwards, holding one of his blades over his back to defend himself. Rah repeated an earlier attack that Galder had easily defended against, and he pushed his lightsabers to his side to defend blows to his midriff. The kick he delivered was anticipated and Rah nimbly hopped over it, planting his own kick on Galder’s chin.

Vwum-vwum! Vwum! Clack! Vwum! Clack-clack! Galder began swinging strongly to push Rah back. Whum! Clack-ssh... They were engaged in a lock after one strong swing, but Galder stepped forwards with a burst of strong and knocked Rah back. His opponent stumbled and dropped his lightsabers while trying to compensate for his lack of balance, while Galder soon had his to Rah’s throat.

“You still have much to learn, that much I can tell,” Galder said coldly before hesitantly turning off his blade. He extended a hand and helped Rah up. The newcomer had challenged him for a duel of fun and amazement, and now Rah knew that Galder was not simply some bum who had become irradiated and could not harm a fly.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Galder lay awake in his room, which he now shared with Takuan. On Takuan’s side of the room, there was nothing but the bag in which Takuan kept his things and a bed stand on which sat obliterated pieces of his lightsaber, repairable by scorched, and a wallet. On Galder’s side, however, where numerous objects. The wall was smothered with photographs, taken by Galder himself in a tradition his parents had done. The photographs portrayed the aftermath of battlefields and conflicts in the depths of space. Rifles and pistols lay scattered across shelves and racks and the floor, along with gas cartridges and ammunition magazines. A machine gun of old make leaned against the bed.

I wish I could sleep... Galder thought wearily. But I can’t. The Mausoleum... He felt as if something was taunting him in the dark, daring him to set out for the Mausoleum as the thought occurred. But no, he would never manage it, he realized...

Takuan’s bed stand crashed against the wall, the lightsaber and wallet pattering on the ground loudly. The sheets of Takuan’s bed fluttered and hovered above the Force-user, who seemed troubled by something in his sleep. To Galder, maybe that was an exaggeration...

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

“Status check?”

“Everything is normal,” came the reply over the com-unit, obscured slightly by the dialect of the Mon Calamari. “Laser is still operating at 98% efficiency.”

“Any problems I should know of?”

“None.”

“Good. Keep it that way, Quint, or…you’ll answer to me!” Galder turned off the comm unit and lay back in his chair, observing the empty wastes of space beyond.

“I’m so bored…” he said. He flicked the unit to interstellar mode and tries to make a connection. “Come on, Faylar, you bastard, answer me…” The door to the bridge opened, and Takuan came in.

“Having trouble?” asked Takuan. Galder started, almost guilty, and turned to speak.

“Still no word from Jaglon Beta,” he said. “I have no idea what is going on out there.”

“You’ve been looking through the stellar database again,” accused Takuan. “What are you trying to find out about Kuylen’s movements?”

“How the hell do you know that?” asked Galder.

“I…” started Takuan, and then stopped. Something was out of place. “I don’t know. Where the hell am I?”

“Uh… the bridge?” said Galder.

“Bridge? Bridge where? What is this place?“

Galder pointed to the large white planet visible at the base of the port window, the glow of the mining laser slowly burning away at it, the trail from the sun to which the planet is drawing perilously close snaking beautifully around it.

“Same place as always Takuan. Avalar is still out there. Are you feeling ok?”

Takuan blinked. “This is the mining platform Kuylen used to excavate the monastery on Avalar!”

Galder clapped. “Yeah, well done. You amaze me with your astonishing powers of deduction. I know where I am, Takuan! Stop being weird.”

“This is all wrong,” gasped Takuan. “I was never here. We hadn’t even met yet. You even told me how Kuylen left you in charge of this place alone!”

“I guess now you put it like that it does seem a little weird,” realized Galder. “Oh well, what do I know about things? Kuylen never tells me anything, he doesn’t even trust me worth a damn, not until he brings me to Damagran.”

“How do you know that? And besides, he left you in charge of this place, didn’t he?”

“Only because he didn’t have anyone else with him at the time. Actually, yes he did, he had Saar, so what the hell was he up to during all this, that’s what I want to know!”

“This is insane...”

“Oh well, go see Kuylen, he’ll tell you what you need to know. He’s waiting for you on the surface.”

“You just said you couldn’t contact him.”

“Did I? Nonsense, we’re nearly done! Kuylen wouldn’t be away if we were nearly done! We are all here. Quick, go get a shuttle, he’ll get annoyed if you are late.”

“I… uh… yeah…” said Takuan, backing out through the door, which opened behind him.

The scene whisked away to a vast, underground city, and something deep in the mountains that slipped away from the viewer when they tried to study it...someone screamed a terrible scream of pain...there was fighting...there was fighting everywhere...the viewer was surrounded, a dozen lightsabers igniting, their bearers wishing death upon the viewer...Chion laughed insanely, a blue glow reflected on his face...a Sith Lord in black robes stood with arms outstretched, uttering words in a strange language with a bellowing voice, as a massive door shuddered across the room and Jedi sprinted towards him from behind...

“Do you know where the shuttle bay is?” asked Takuan. “You see, I’ve never been here before.”

A woman, with dark hair and a slim figure in a tight black cat suit, jumped guiltily and dropped a hydrospanner. “You scared the hell out of me, you cretin!” she screamed. “What are you doing skulking down here? This is the laser control room! Like, duh, how dumb, are you?”

“You…you wouldn’t be overriding the safeties on those controls so that the laser destroys the entire complex on Avalar, would you?”

“No…” she said, unconvincingly

“That’s insane, why would you destroy Avalar, your only possible path to true power?”

“Oh, poodoo to that!” hissed the woman. “I don’t believe all that mumbo-jumbo, I only cared about the money and Faylar offered me a lot more!”

“But…you are Krisha, aren’t you? I never even met you.”

“Hah! Sucks to be you then!” Krisha said. “Meeting me is a wonderful gift to any man.”

“But you are dead!"

“Oh really? And what about you?”

“I’m not dead!”

“No? Maybe you are on a path to death already. Maybe you should be careful what you do and where you go, little Orphan of the Force, lost and confused…”

That does not sound like Krisha, even to Takuan, who had never met her.

“Uh…” said Takuan. Krisha pointed behind him.

“Docking bay is that way. Now, get out of my face, yah? Scram!”

Takuan backed away again as Krisha got back to work, and the door closed…

Many voices merged together to form a chaotic trickling of varying conversations and arguments...

“We can do that part of the plan now whilst we wait; gather your forces…/his isn’t working, Kuylen! It’s a complete disaster!…If there is one thing we have learned over time it is that you should never trust the word of a Jedi…I have no problem in killing any of you now if you stand in my way…The doors are opening. We’re in…You do not need to tell how much of a threat the Sith are…We are but one step away from ultimate power and all you need to do is keep your damn heads!…My Master Kuylen orders you dead!…Your trial will be this evening. Your execution will follow at dawn…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream portended something terrible.

At the landing platform, Takuan was cold. This planet was freezing, even inside the habitable area. Kuylen was there.

“Kuylen, please tell me what is going on,” begged Takuan.

“You know my style, Takuan, better for you to learn things the hard way,” uttered Kuylen. “Maybe I should have brought you here after all, but I was worried that your unrestrained talent and this place…would not go together well.”

“Then you know what is going on?”

“Of course. We’re moving out. This place is doomed. We must hurry.”

“But this is all wrong!” bemoaned Takuan.

"Work it out then,” said Kuylen. “Now. Go and get the gold! Quickly! We shall need it when we move on, and there is not much time!”

Takuan ran on through the fissure in the ice through to the dark halls of the Monastery on Avalar, the great stairway either side leading upwards...

Sabers clashed as Lance and Galder came tumbling into the room, fighting each other ferociously. Evenly matched, they clash blow after blow after blow after blow.

“You think you’re some hot shot, don’t ya?” Galder asked furiously. “I’ve been plagued by Jedi like you all my life.” He smacked his blade into the Jedi’s a few times dully, then tried to skewer the Jedi. The Jedi retreated from the blow but then struck out to deflect another jab.

“Well, that’s your problem,” the Jedi said.

“Ah, but you do not know what it is like to be constantly hunted for having different beliefs...” Galder said, trying to lull the Jedi into feeling sorry for him. “Jedi on Naadal, Jedi on Hoth, Jedi on...”

Takuan stayed at the sides of the room, making his way gingerly past the fight and onwards.

Takuan came to a blank corridor, blocked at the far end by what looked like a concave black disk, almost like a three-dimension mirror...the Mirror Tests!

“I knew I felt something,” said the girl, walking out from the mirror.

“I saw you before…” said Takuan. “I sensed you on Belseraphon…you are Edna.”

“That’s me,” she said, smiling. “I sensed you there too.”

“But how? That hasn’t happened yet.”

“You’re kind of slow there, Takuan; this isn’t really being done in real time, yeah?”

“But…you can’t have sensed me, sensing that you were there!”

“No…but I sensed that you were going to be there…you aren’t the only one who tried to use the Force to solve that problem. And I knew it was going to become your problem instead of mine so I left.”

“What’s going on? How are any of you talking to me?”

Edna smiled. “None of us are talking to you! The Force is, through thing and people you understand. You are seeing and getting insights on what people thought and did. The Force shows you many things, past and future.”

“But none of it makes sense!

“No, well, you have my problem, you see. You have the Force, but you cannot control it. You cannot understand the Will of the Force. But it is trying to tell you anyway. You seem quite into it, friend. I think the Force is trying to tell you something very important!”

“Then tell me!”

Edna chuckled coldly. “I cannot do that, only you can do that. But I can tell you this…” As the Monastery begins to shake, dust fell about them. “I would get out of here if I were you; it is about to become very dangerous and there is nothing here for you.” She ran down the way Takuan came, towards the figures of Quam and Galder and a very unfortunate Jedi slave. “Goodbye!”

“But…” began Takuan. The mirror was gone, his way on is clear. Takuan stumbled on through the collapsing Monastery as the mining laser starts causing the ice to collapse and crush everything, and Takuan came to the outer sanctum, to one side the false archive, to the other side the glorious map room, where Kuylen and the others gathered the astronomical data to use with the Astrolabe. The gold. Focus! Takuan moves on through another secret door, through to the inner sanctum. The Archive. Takuan stares in wonder at the glory of this place- endless stone bookcases, stretching upwards for hundreds of meters, each stacked with stone tablets containing the secrets of the Sith…just how much was there in this place, compared to how much Kuylen got?

But these tablets do not appear to be stone, they are golden. And as Takuan watched, the chamber began to collapse. The tablet falls to the ground, each one dissolving into nothing as it does so, and Takuan was showered in gold dust which itself disappeared at the ground. Takuan dove around, trying to save the tablets but he cannot, until finally he got one in his hand, and he was left alone in the cold dark room…looking at the tablet, he placed his hand on its back. And letters form on the front side, lighting up green, in Sith. One at a time. And Takuan, able to hear screaming in the background, could read each word as it appeared.

WE

WILL

KILL

YOU

Takuan turned, and there was a tall figure, flashing a red lightsaber towards Takuan, cutting him in two…

A scream…a bright flash, and you are blasted back with the power of the death screams of a billion people...

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Galder, who had just been getting back to sleep, bolted straight up as Takuan fell from his bed, screaming in anguish. Leaping from the bed, Galder rushed over to see what was wrong with him. After a moment, the confused man cradled his legs in his arms on the floor, ending his howl of terror and pain. He clutched his temples, indicating that his head was throbbing.

“I had the most...odd...peculiar...vision...dream...” Takuan mumbled, grabbing at words as if they were worth money.

“Get off the floor,” Galder hissed, slightly annoyed by this disturbance. He attempted to help Takuan up, but was thrown back against his own bed with a sudden surge of the Force. “Takuan Soho, you lunatic...”

Kuylen entered and managed to help Takuan up after a few moments. “Are okay now? Any problems?” he asked, speaking mainly to Takuan.

“I...I just need time to think...” Takuan muttered, pulling himself into a ball again on the edge of his bed. “Those...Sith...tablets...we got from Avalar...how much can you tell that you know what they say?"

"They are just what the Sith called technology- no more than fancy books. That said, maybe you should ease up on reading them for a while- such knowledge can be dangerous."

Takuan nodded in agreement, slowly, then lay back down.

= Chapter 29 =

The control room of their base on Dordellus was piled high with bank after bank of computers and an enormous star chart off to one side. Hung around were various emblems of the Sith, displayed like propaganda posters of the National Socialist parties that Galder had heard about on some far off planet. Sith artifacts lay strewn across the room, ranging from art to weaponry, all accumulated in Kuylen’s career, a miniature version of Ascar’s collection.

"Haven't you got that thing working yet?" asked Jolanta, who was typing one-handed on a keyboard, resting her legs, clad in knee-high boots, on the next computer monitor down.

"It's very complicated..." said Saar, who was making minute adjustments to the Astrolabe. He looked up at the people entering. "Morning.”

“Glad you could figure that out, Saar,” Galder hissed, sitting at the only free space in the room, a card table. Takuan and Dak Kaliero the lizard man joined him.

“You needed me to tell you, imbecile,” Saar replied bitterly, not looking up from his work. Galder and Saar had not been in contact for months, but now were being forced to work together. It disgusted them both.

"Why are we bothering?" asked Jolanta. "We have the co-ordinates!"

“Because it always pays to check personally," said Saar. "We don't rely on others."

"At least Takuan has shut up..." said Jolanta. He woke all of them up when he had screamed.

“Remind me again why we are here...” Dak moaned tiredly.

“Making preparations for the most important journey of our lives,” replied Saar. “It is well enough to be prepared...”

“I am always prepared,” Galder mumbled, tapping on his arm as the blaster and knife slid out. Saar did not bother looking up again, and even denied Galder a snide comment.

"Makes sense to me to be prepared," Wraith remarked as he wandered in. A minor blaster wound on his shoulder was patched up, delivered by the bounty hunter Balek‘s gun. "And checking the Astrolabe is not a bad idea. Ascar duped us on Malastare and nearly got me killed, so how do we know he gave us the right coordinates?"

“Indeed,” Saar agreed, annoyed. "I wish he had given us an instruction manual, though."

"Have you got anything from it at all?"

"I have the basic principle but the Sith were so obscure about things...Avalar's orbit is decaying, it has changed a lot in the last thousand years."

"But we aren't looking for Avalar!" Jolanta exclaimed.

Saar sighed as if talking to a small child, something he often did with Galder. "The Astrolabes were designed to guide you from one Sith location to another. You can't just use it from anywhere. It is only any good to us at all because we know where Avalar is, and we can calibrate it from there to find the Mausoleum! Problem is we are not sure where Avalar was a thousand years ago and these maps are so ridiculously coded that trying to account for that variable, tiny as it is compared to stellar distance, is tricky. It's like they think I am trying to do it from a nearby moon or something."

"So you haven't got anything at all?"

"It's in the same galactic quadrant as Ascar's co-ordinates."

"Great, that's only countless thousands of worlds..."

Kuylen strode in, wearing his familiar uniform. “Anything?” he asked Saar about the Astrolabe.

“Give me a few hours,” was Saar’s reply.

“Where’s Chion?”

“Heading to the caves, last I saw him...”

Kuylen rolled his eyes and moved out.

Galder rose for a moment and returned with a small metallic plate. Upon it he had loaded some of his favorite foods. Dustcrepes and nausages from Tatooine, grilled and greasy, were piled on one side in a puddle of their own oil. An odd fruit and some thick leaves were chopped up together to make a rather tasty mixture, topped with a sauce made with alcoholic Chav. He cut a slice of the grilled breakfast meats and savored the bite.

“What are you eating?” Takuan inquired, sitting gaunt and tired opposite of him.

“Some of my favorite foods, want some?” Galder speared another slice of the nausage and thrust it towards Takuan, but his act of kindness went unnoticed as Takuan stared straight ahead.

Dak sniffed it. “What is it?”

“Dustcrepes and nausages, very good breakfast meats from Tatooine,” Galder explained. Dak sniffed it, and finally whipped it right off the fork with his silvery forked tongue.

“What is the other stuff?” Takuan inquired again, his eyes still unfocussed.

“This is something I created myself. It is made from sweetroot and Kand fruit...”

“What are those?” The monotonous tone again.

“Sweetroot was a plant that both Sith and Jedi ate before great battles...” Galder scooped a mouthful of the sweetroot-Kand salad into his mouth, chewed, then swallowed. “The Kand fruit is from Dorin. Good shit.” Another mouthful, another wonderful taste. “The dressing is made from Chav.”

“I like Chav,” Takuan said, then hid his face in his arms. Galder studied his fatigued friend for a moment before realizing that the Arnian lizard man had stolen all his dustcrepes and nausages.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

"By the end of the day we shall have full confirmation on the Mausoleum's location. We shall be leaving very shortly after. Now- this is important. We shall be taking only the freighter that Chion and Galder stole from Tartarus. We will not be taking any of your own ships! They do not have the fuel capacity to make the journey and the freighter is not designed to haul other craft.

"It also seems not unlikely that the Jedi will raid this base soon. Therefore we shall be abandoning it when we leave and rendering it inoperable. Jolanta will take care of the computer and power systems."

"What about the fuel stocks?" asked Saar. "There was a lot of effort in its accumulation."

"We'll take what we can on our ships and the freighter and destroy the rest. It is no good to us any more. The same as this place. Once we have the Mausoleum we shall no longer need it."

"It is going to be difficult destroying the fuel stocks,” argued Saar.

"I could introduce a chemical catalyst into it," suggested Jolanta. "Render the entire store useless inside thirty minutes."

"Do it," ordered Kuylen. Then, remembering he was talking to Jolanta, added- "After we have fuelled our ships, of course." Jolanta scowled at him.

"I shall destroy the armory. Now. As we are abandoning this base, it is no longer sensible to keep your ships here. As we are not bringing them with us, I suggest you program them to fly elsewhere, to be collected later. I can make no guarantee of their safety, of course. I also suggest that you bring whatever belongings and personal effects you wish to bring with you onto the freighter. Try to bring only what you can carry- when we get to the Mausoleum we may be too busy to keep returning to the ship. Everything else- store safely on your ships, again for future collection. Anything you can do without- get rid off.

“Also, I am deactivating the sonic vibrators around the base...hopefully the Jedi will walk into the trap and the Arthropods will eat them...” At this, the minions of Kuylen began to make quiet cheers, glad that they would be ridding themselves of their opponents in the most painful of ways.

"Any questions?"

Galder raised his hand. “Do you have any objects to me loading my new ship full of the armory? Or me and Chion killing the slaves?”

“Leave the slaves to the Arthropods,” Kuylen answered. “I would rather we focused on important things. And by all means, load up your ships with as many weapons as you think is safe."

“That would be an unreasonably unsafe amount, Kuylen,” Galder grinned.

For the next hour or so, things in the base were hectic and fast. The Dark Jedi packed up their personal belongings and extra gas cartridges if they carried blasters, and aided Kuylen in loading the freighter.

Galder caught a snippet of Takuan gravely explaining his vision to Kuylen while putting sealed containers of the sweetroot-Kand salad in his case, crammed in with gas cartridges for his blasters. He was stopped halfway by their leader’s teachings.

"Random thoughts and views of the past and possible futures," he informed. "You are seeing a million things that could be in different circumstances, which makes things no different as to how they were before you saw all that. If you could focus it would be different but you cannot. Pay attention to your Manifest Destiny, Takuan. That is what I do. And it led me both to Avalar and to here."

“Manifest Destiny?"

Kuylen grinned. “Every being has a destiny, Takuan, that he can chose or reject. Give yourself to the power of the Dark Side, and it will show you how you can achieve power...it is within the grasp of each of us. That is how the Sith made their power, and how we will make ours. I have seen my Manifest Destiny, and its path has taken me through Avalar, and will take me to the Mausoleum and beyond. It is Manifest Destiny that led you all to me. And through it the Force will give us all."

Takuan understood this quite well, and his solemnity seemed to lift, so he went on his way to collect his things. Their mentor watched him go, then turned to Galder.

“What are you planning to take from the armory?” Kuylen asked.

"As much as I can grab. Mainly the spare lightsabers, the large knives, the rocket launchers, the plasmathrowers, the shield guns, and the ballistic weapons. I'll stick them into my ship's cargo hold, take a few with me, and then send my ship to Hoth. Anything else you suggest I take?"

"We're taking the lightsabers with us. Just in case." He thought for a moment, stroking his braided beard. "Come with me.”

Wondering what Kuylen had in mind, Galder followed him from the command room, heading right from the exit, turning left again, the left into the droid training room. The room was about the size of the dueling court next door, but rather than being empty and plain, one end was cluttered with the armory and a few droids to shoot at as target practice.

Looking across the armory, Kuylen asked Galder if he was interested in the ballistics, as he had said earlier.

“Yeah, I suppose, anything that’ll send people running in fear and panic...” Galder answered.

Kuylen activated a humanoid droid and pushed a machine pistol with a folding stock into Galder’s hands. “Shoot it.”

Taking aim casually, he pulled the trigger. “You and I both know that I have excellent aim and that this thing is going to be pumped full of lead...”

Gat-gat-gat! Gat-gat-gat! Gat-gat-gat! The bullets thudded punctured the metal shell of the robot, but only barely. It staggered back from the force, but their was very little physical damage.

“Why would you want a weapon like that for?” Kuylen asked.

“Erm...” Galder lowered the gun. Great, he brought me here to make me feel stupid...

“Well?”

“Less risk of being reflected back?”

Kuylen shook his head and lifted his own Micro UZI. Gat-gat-gat! Gat-gat-gat! Gat-gat-gat! Each bullet struck and exploded with extreme force. The noise was entirely deafening. Fragmented and molten pieces of the droid flew in several directions, and when the obliterated droid fell away, the bullets struck the far wall, which fell in chunks.

“Bastic warheads,” Kuylen said, handing the Micro UZI to Galder, who was awestruck. “Watch the recoil.”

Galder continued staring straight ahead. “Damn...” he finally managed to say.

“The weapons needed to be adapted and there are not many clips, so be careful...”

“Damn!”

“You should be grateful, they are quite rare. I don’t know anywhere outside of Tasker’s Crown that makes them, and there they are only a curiosity.”

"Ah, I wish I was born in Tasker's Crown like you were,” Galder declared, sitting back against the armory racks. “You Charnelian humans are quite the warriors!

“I hate to think of you contributing those skills to the Jedi. You were young, you didn't now any better," Galder chuckled. “So, where exactly and when did you fall to the Dark Side? All I know is that you disappeared on a mission for those infidels and reappeared a Dark Jedi leader."

"My people take war seriously," Kuylen declared, simply. "We still carry swords at home.“ He reached up and took down from the top of the armory an ancient metal fencing epee, which he made a few experimental swishes with. "They say that the skill to use a fencing sword like this is burnt into our genetic coding..." He smiled. "Using a lightsaber is the same principle.

"You should have more respect for the Jedi. They have both strength and power; I was proud to be one, and my family was proud I was one." Kuylen twisted a ring on his finger.

That's right, I remember now... Galder pondered. Kuylen belongs to a family of some importance. That ring holds his crest.

"My final mission was to Hutt Space but I had made up my mind about things before then, when I was training Argentis; he didn't want to come. A shame. He was one of the fastest people I ever saw, and still only a Padawan.” He put the epee at his belt and took a lightsaber from the crate filled with lightsabers, stolen from past students and victimized Jedi. The lightsaber was that of Argentis.

“There was a mission..." Kuylen began, and then stopped. "But there is no time for this now. I need to load the tablets. Take what you want."

Their fearsome leader left the room, dropping the lightsaber into the box with a clank.

= Chapter 30 =

Galder walked by as Saar and Takuan discussed the latter’s vision, the lizard man Dak at his side, when suddenly they all heard the screams of agony.

“What the hell was that?” Saar shouted, as fear and pain flooded their senses. He dashed off.

“Wraith...” Takuan mumbled, falling against the wall. Everyone rushed in the direction of the screams, leaving Takuan behind. Galder and Dak entered the command room, where Wraith lay writhing on the ground.

“You damned traitors!” he hollered, reaching for his lightsabers as he spasmodically twisted on the floor. “Kuylen will have your head! Damn you!"

"Medical room. Third shelf down on the right hand wall- boxes of hypodermic needles. Get a box! Quickly!" ordered Saar, attempting to hold Wraith down. Dak dashed with all due speed to the medical room and returned with a box of hypodermics, handing a needle to Saar.

“What’s wrong with him?” Dak asked, eyeing the human with curiosity.

“He’s overdosed!” Saar grabbed the needle from Dak. “Hold him down!”

Wraith’s orange lightsaber ignited and he attempted to drive it into Saar’s leg, but the Zabrak sidestepped. “Chion, release me! Agh!”

Chion, where? Galder looked around, confused. “Overdosed on what?”

“Wraith, hold still and we can help!” Dak shouted.

“Can’t you see them, Dak?!” he asked hysterically. A kick caught Saar in the chest.

“Hold him down before we have to strike him down! Galder, Dak, get his sabers!”

Dak and Galder brought our their own blades, and Galder managed to get into a lock with Wraith, forcing the orange blade into the ground crackling against the red.

“For the love of...” Saar began, and extended a hand. The Force pinned Wraith to the ground, laying him flat. With the other hand, Saar stabbed the hypodermic into Wraith’s shoulder. Almost immediately, Wraith stopped and lay quietly on the ground, breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

“How many times did you push that button?” Saar questioned firmly, rolling his eyes as a sudden panic entered Wraith upon viewing the Zabrak over him.

“Wha...what?”

“Idiot...” Dak muttered, deactivating his lightsaber and clipping the thin hilt back into his wrist launchers. “He went into the Fear Room and overdosed on that needle!”

“Is that all?” Galder hissed, also putting away his lightsaber. “I expected someone of such high upbringing to be more aware of the damned thing...”

“Shut up, Galder,” Wraith replied, getting to his feet. “At least I had an upbringing...”

Galder began to reach for his blaster, but Saar stopped him, only giving him a sarcastic tsk-tsk.

“I had no idea that was how the Fear Room worked, at any rate,” Wraith admitted, regaining his senses.

“Now you do,” Galder said, not letting up on the harsh tone. “I’ve had to fight off many of my worst fears...” Galder stopped talking and wandered back to his room to retrieve the rest of his gear that he would be taking to the planet that Saar had designated as LV-201 not too long ago.

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“You are both warriors...have you ever been leaders of men?”

“Once,” Galder answered. “Just once. One of my mercenary jobs. I was hired to wipe out rival faction of Napolla the Hutt on Nal Hutta, and she supplied me with fifty men. I led them into combat against the security men of Gargon the Hutt, and we were victorious. I got my 50,000 credits and a choice of dangerous weaponry, and went on my way. Napolla tried to get me to work for her again, but it didn't turn out as planned. Assassination attempt, me running, and the rest is history.”

"I have always worked alone,” Dak answered. “Before now, I have always thought of others as just a liability."

“I see.” Kuylen looked up from his deep thought to Galder. “And do you think you could lead men who are motivated by something other than mercenary money?"

“Perhaps...” Galder sighed. “My father had done something similar decades ago...before I was born...but I am sure I could do it, if he could.”

“Well.” Kuylen went back into thought for a moment before speaking, his eyes closed as if to imagine the happenings of what he said next. “When we invade the Republic, we will need to do so at the head of armies. I will need to decide who else other than me gets to command them, you see."

“I would not suggest myself, Master Kuylen,” Dak snorted. “That is not the sort of job I am suited for...”

“Very well. Galder?”

“I would be delighted, Master Kuylen.” Galder drew himself upright into a proud pose. “I have led before, I can lead again.”

“Good. And what would you do with the Republic, once we owned it?”

“Owning the Republic..." Galder mused. "First off, I would do away with that damned democracy. They are always squabbling over pointless things. A dictatorship would mend those ill ideas...” Galder rubbed his chin in thought. “Hmm...Führer Galder...it has a ring to it...”

“A dictator is an absolute ruler, Galder," said Kuylen. "Is that how you see yourself, ruling over all?"

Suddenly, a warning beacon buzzed in Kuylen’s make-shift office. “We’re nearly there,” Kuylen said, looking over at it.

The Dark Jedi amassed at the cockpit to the enormous freighter, which was more of a bridge that a cockpit, by its size.

“As for me being a dictator, it depends,” Galder continued. “You’d make a better one than I.”

“I was born to it,” Kuylen replied, simply.

For a moment all the Dark Jedi were silent, gazing out into the stars as they streaked by, stretched and distorted by their light-speed travel. Takuan had his eyes closed, and he seemed troubled. Everyone else just stared.

“Be funny if it was the wrong place, wouldn't it?" Saar ventured. No one laughed.

“I find your sense of humor disturbing,” Galder hissed. “I would blame you...”

“Blame the Sith, not me. They built the damned Astrolabe...” There was a beeping sound from the controls, which Saar tapped until they were quiet and the streaking stars slowed to pinpricks in the blackness of space. “Coordinates match. We’re here.”

The star field returned, but it was considerably less speckled with lights than the star field of the Core Worlds. The planet they were approaching was dull and brown, medium-sized and unobtrusive against the black. Seeing as they were coming towards the dark side of the planet, Galder expected lights on the surface. There were none.

“Normal gravity,” Saar informed, reading instruments as he sent sensors out to the planet. "Surface conditions are tolerable. Looks like there is a problem with the atmosphere though. No sign of life; no structures."

"'Problem?'" asked Jolanta. "That sounds vague."

"High winds and a great amount of particulate matter in the air,” explained Saar. Jolanta looked clueless, cueing Saar sighing. "Dust. We'll need filter masks if we don't want to be coughing everywhere after ten minutes. It would start wear away the ship as well, but only after a week or two."

"Not a problem," Kuylen said. "What else?" Saar continued to operate the scanner for a while, then he raised an eyebrow.

"Power signatures," he read. "Large ones." Kuylen smiled. "And...faint hyperspace trails in the atmosphere."

At this Jolanta jumped up, alarmed at the news. “What?"

Saar nodded. “Space travel. Relatively recent."

“Someone has been here already?"

"Several people. A single ship wouldn't form a trail I can see with this equipment. This is regular use. People go back and forth here...every so often."

"It's not a problem," repeated Kuylen.

“Something you want to elaborate on, Master?” Galder asked, crossing his arms.

“Saar said there aren‘t any life forms, people evacuating LV-201?” Wraith ventured. “Hmm?”

“Well, I said no sign of life," interrupted Saar. "These scanners are not particularly acute. But there are no structures, no civilization. Nothing."

"Of course people come here," explained Kuylen, nodding to Galder. "The Sith did, why not others? Except that there is not much to see. A barren rock. It is good we have found these things. Space travel, power signatures. This is not just another barren world amongst countless billions. There is something here.

“Oh... the world is called Zeiton.”

“And you know this how?” Galder inquired. “Did you already know what planet the Mausoleum was on?”

“Well, somewhat the point of getting the co-ordinates was to know it was here, and this fits what I know. You forget, Galder, I am a historian. I worked ten years in the Jedi Archives and my life since finding out what they could not tell me.”

Galder nodded, humbly. “My apologies.” He looked out the window again. “So...shall we set down? I’m ready to see this Mausoleum...”

“Patience, Galder,” Kuylen calmly stated. “There is much work to do.”

"Patience isn't one of my virtues, Kuylen. I see it as we land, we go into the Mausoleum, find out how it works, get the knowledge of the Sith, walk out, conquer people, and own the Republic. Might be some steps in between, but you get the idea."

"We have to find the Mausoleum, Galder. The Sith didn't signpost."

"I knew that, really I did! But it shouldn't be too hard, right? I mean, we could probably sense the Dark Side energy coming from it. And the Force might guide us."

"Something you should all be aware of. The Force will not guide us to the Mausoleum. Not for anyone."

"And you know this because...?"

"Anything who knows anything of the Sith knows that the most lethal defenses of their headquarters was that they could not be sensed in the Force. Why do you think the Jedi never found this place? You think they didn't try?"

Galder silenced himself. He knew when to stop challenging Kuylen’s knowledge.

“Where do we start?” Takuan asked, opening his eyes.

“Something on this planet will tell us where the Mausoleum is. But one thing at a time.”

The freighter set down on the surface. From what Galder could see, it was not very nice weather. The vast, wide valley was extremely...brown. Saar’s warnings of dust did not do it justice. The proper term was ‘mild sandstorm.’ Chunks of brown were whipped around, already scratching the flexiglass of the cockpit window slightly, and there was not much visibility.

“Get everything you need," Kuylen commanded. "As I warned you before, we may not have time to come back here to get something we have forgotten. We are going out there in five minutes."

Galder stared blankly ahead for a few seconds before saying “I’m set” and motioning to his guns. He headed to the exit of the ship and sat in wait of the others. Takuan joined him first, strapping on a thermal detonator belt and clipping his lightsaber onto it before pulling his robes on tight, handing Galder a filter mask before strapping on his own. The others gathered as quick as they could, strapping weapons and lightsabers to themselves and layering up to endure the winds.

The door slid open slowly, grinding up sand in its workings as it did so. The first thing Galder noticed was the pitch of the high wind, howling continuously and lashing at him with waves of grit. It stung his bare flesh, so he pulled a thick black poncho on then strapped his filter mask to his head comfortably. The sky was dark outside, and the temperature was sharply and surprisingly cold.

He lifted his mask for a moment to spit out a mouthful of the sandstorm. Disgusted, he quickly put the filter mask on again before the wind had a chance to repeat the act of filling his mouth with what he now realized was not dust. “This isn’t dust, it’s grit!” he exclaimed. “Grit and earth ground...”

“Nice place for a holiday,” Jolanta spat sarcastically as Kuylen strolled ahead of them.

“Last chance.” Standing upon a small rise of hard earth above them, he pulled a small remote from his full military uniform. For a moment he looked noble, his braids blown in the intense wind, his gray cloak flicking around behind him, almost as if he were a Jedi again. “Does everyone have what they need?”

“Yes, Kuylen...” said Jolanta, wearily.

“This coldness...” muttered Takuan. “Why is it so cold?”

“It's all this," yelled Saar at Takuan- the wind made it hard to hear anyone not yelling. He gestured at the whirling grit around them. "It permeates into the atmosphere as well. It is blocking the sun. It's over the whole planet."

Kuylen nodded as if deciding something, then clicked a button on the remote. An explosion shook them all, and Galder instinctually turned with his blaster flicked out. Barely louder than the wind, the blast began at the back of the ship, fiery and bright despite the grit. It spread forwards a bit at a time, creeping across like a flowing river, tearing the massive freighter to pieces. Soon enough, the fire reached the cockpit, shattering it as well. Debris was thrown amongst them, still hot.

“Now there is no turning back!” Kuylen declared. Galder thought he saw a glint in his eye.

“So it seems,” Takuan said. “What about leaving the planet afterwards?”

“This is not a time to focus on afterwards. To take the power of the Mausoleum will take all of our focus and abilities in the present.

"Now, search! We are looking from some sort of underground entrance. Probably small and well-built."

Galder took a gulp of clean air from his filter before trudging off into the desert. “Where do we begin, Master?”

“Anywhere.”

Seeing this new world through a pair of protective goggles, Galder persistently tried to see through the dirt for anything that could lead downwards. After awhile, he realized that Wraith was following him.

For awhile, they said nothing. Finally, Wraith broke the silence. “So, Galder, how did you meet Kuylen?”

“Back then I was a mercenary, and Kuylen found me and hired me as a bodyguard. He was attacked, and I was forced to bring out the sabers and display my talents.” He pulled the hilt from his belt and twirled it around idly, between his fingers and exchanging hands. “I was nearly cornered, he came to the rescue, killing every single gang member that had come after us. Then I joined him. How'd you join, Wraith?"

"Well, sort of the same thing. Sometimes I wondered if Kuylen was interested more in my money rather than my talents, but I found out the latter was true. I'm independently wealthy, only took up bounty hunting for sport, all of it stolen from my dead father. I'll let you guess who killed him..."

“I only have money from my mercenary years...” Galder tossed his gaze around, he bent to get a good sweep of the ground. “Did you...know your father?”

“I wish I had never met him. He had been married six times before I put an end to him, me being born from the third. I was an accident, if you get the point. All he wanted was money and sex. But, because he now had me to care for, he stuck me into the life of a gladiator. That's where I've learned my survival skills and such, other than Kuylen's teachings."

“Sounds like your father was a dumb bastard, Wraith. Even I’m not like that...

"My father was a Jedi, unfortunately. I still have the pieces of his lightsaber. It was cut in half by one of the Jedi on Damagran, named Lance Windu. I'll have his head eventually...maybe this trip?"

"I'm sure you will...that is, if the Jedi manage to track us down," Wraith chortled. "I doubt they can though, unless Ascar gave them the coordinates as well.

"I'll help you corner him and kill him. Doesn't he have a bounty on his head? Bounty hunting is one of my better skills..."

Galder kept searching, studying the ground. There’s no top soil...it’s just the crust of Zeiton here... he realized. He reached down and touched the ground, tapping it to confirm his findings. It was indeed solid rock.

“Over here!” Rah hollered. Everyone came rushing, Galder coming in with Wraith still behind him. Between Saar and Rah, there was a battered metal trapdoor amongst the rock. Saar found a button and the thing slid open smoothly.

“Most curious...” Wraith said in awe, looking over Galder’s shoulder. Agreeing with the usual nod, Galder elbowed his way to the manhole and lowered himself down on the ladder. It was industrially created, leading downwards to a junctioning room branching off to corridors. Strange script ran the length of the walls.

It’s maintained, not abandoned... Galder realized, narrowing his eyes as he tried to read the script. Kuylen ordered everyone in before dropping in himself, right after Galder.

“Kuylen, is this Sith?” Galder asked, still attempting to decipher the symbols.

“Does this look like Sith architecture to you?" inquired Kuylen. "We're probably looking for a lift now. Either that or a very long ladder, which I doubt. And tell me if you sense anyone."

“I take it Zeiton has inhabitants?”

“About a billion, Galder. Zeiton is a civilized world.”

Galder‘s jaw dropped. “I take it you know this planet well.”

“Zeiton was very famous...once. Everyone has forgotten about it now. Which is deliberate. It is the most dangerous world in the Galaxy. Demnos did not chose his final resting place at random."

“What was it famous for?” Galder asked, hoping Kuylen would let the torrent of questions flow.

“You’ll understand soon enough...” There were several large lifts in the area, with inactivate security scanners. Kuylen double-checked them, and that’s when Galder and Dak, as born warriors, knew what he was thinking.

The lifts went down as soon as everyone had crowded. And it continued down. And down. And down. And down...and if there was a word to make down more dramatic, Galder would have used it.

Galder’s senses tingled. “Kuylen, I’m sensing life forms. Below us.” He studied Kuylen’s features. “You’re expecting a fight, aren’t you?”

"Listen," said Kuylen, looking to Galder. “It is very important that we do not start a war. We cannot fight this whole planet alone.

"We need to cause some trouble- but to take some people alive. As quietly as we can. Before long they will work out visitors have come and worse, what those visitors are, and then things become very difficult."

“Oh goody, taking hostages. I hate taking hostages..." Galder hissed, making it very obvious. "So what if they know we are Dark Jedi?"

"Hopefully they will not be hostages. And when they find out, Galder, they will kill us."

“Even better...” Galder shrugged. “So how do you want us to capture them?”

“Not capture as such. Don't you think it would be polite to get to know these people?"

= Chapter 31 =

The doors to the lift slid open as they completed their descent. They all poured out onto a balcony that seemed to serve as a reception area. Beneath them, spanning for miles and taking their breath away, was a city, keeping with the brown theme of the planet. Takuan became visibly worried, asking Kuylen what their purpose was in the underground city.

There was a desk with a being behind it. It was frog-like, complete with green, moist skin and bulbous yellow eyes. However, it was clad in synthetic clothing, which was very formal.

“The Zeitonians, I presume...” Galder whispered to Rah on his left.

"Cha-si! Tutu-na-tamm,” the frog-thingy said in a helpful tone.

“Hello!” Rah comically greeted, extending a blue-furred hand. The frog-thing took it and shook it slowly.

The creature’s feelings were mainly ones of shock, surprised that someone was down here that was not a frog. “Chai’ta?”

Kuylen produced the hilt of his lightsaber, and the emotions of the Zeitonian became those of soiling it’s underwear. He began to stumble backwards for the desk, more notably a big red button, but Kuylen caught his arm.

“I don’t think so.”

“Hostage? Guy to murder? What the hell is he saying?” Galder began to babble.

“No, we aren’t killing him...” Kuylen reached over and tapped the button three times. “And I don’t know what he’s saying.”

“Are we also supposed to not kill the people this is going to bring?" asked Saar.

"I think it will bring the right person."

"What makes you think that?"

"Instinct."

Saar rolled his eyes. He walked up to the frightened frog being, looking him over.

"Is it really true?" he asked Kuylen. Kuylen nodded. Saar shook his head, as if he does not believe something.

"Talking of traps," began Kuylen, "there will be people coming now. Kill anyone you have to, spare anyone you can, do not kill the leader."

“Is what really true?” Galder butted in.

“You’ll see soon enough,” Saar answered, positioning himself behind the doorway. Kuylen stood impassively in the center of the room, surrounded by his followers.

Whoosh! The door slid open smooth at the other end of the room, and nearly a dozen beings entered. Nine carried sleek, elongated rifles, but their leader only carried a pistol.

SNAP-HISS! Galder grabbed his lightsabers from his belt and spun them in his hands before igniting them, holding them crossed over his head. Rah, next to him, spun his staff around slowly and lazily activated the two ends in a lulling twirl. Takuan drew, holding his horizontal across his body. Chion grabbed his weapon from his back and point it towards the Zeitonians. Saar and Jolanta, opposite one another, slowly twirled their blades at their sides. Dak ejected his thin handles into the air before catching them and turning them on. Finally, Kuylen moved to the front, holding his lightsaber vertical and then lowering it.

Rah and Jolanta lunged forwards, Rah pulling his blaster in one hand and popping off a shot or two before he and Jolanta were hit with gunfire. Rather than lasers, there was a flash then a blur in the air, and both were thrown backwards painfully, sliding across the ground with many curses and shouts. Moving in quickly, Saar managed to hack down the one that had injured Jolanta and dove for cover behind the reception desk. The shots collided with the wall, putting sizeable cracks and dents in it, as if it had been slammed by Chion’s fist.

Whum-whum! Galder hurled both lightsabers, the Zeitonians just narrowly ducking underneath them as he flicked out his arm blaster. Two shots ended the life of one, other shots sizzling into the walls around as Galder strafed.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the leader fired a single shot with his pistol at Saar before holstering it and unsheathing a blue lightsaber of his own. All of the Dark Jedi’s eyes went wide as he thrust at Kuylen, who flicked upwards to block then caught the frog’s sword arm. He turned him about and held the purple blade to his throat.

"Tell them to drop their weapons," he ordered. There was no answer at first. "Tell... them... to... drop... their... weap... ons..."

"Tuta! Cha! Cha!" cried the frog-leader. The guards unhappily relinquished their guns.

"Pick those up," commanded Kuylen to one of the Dark Jedi. Takuan and Galder moved forwards to pluck them away with the Force. The guards edged away with tremendous fear, more so than any normal guard that Galder had fought, as they gathered the weird rifles.

“This is a lot more sophisticated that Republic weaponry,” Galder noted, firing one of them at the ceiling. A shower of dust came down, but unlike his blaster, there were no scorch marks, and, also unlike his blaster, a large dent. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Not a laser rifle, that’s for sure,” Wraith added, observing one of the guns. “There was no visible bolt...” He took off his helmet, revealing his tan, scarred face and short black hair. “I think it is a kinetic energy weapon! It transfers energy from the weapon to the target- so, not unlike being smashed by an iron bar carried by Chion. The force behind this gun can easily maim or kill...but...why bother? They are less damaging than blasters...” Wraith pondered this as Kuylen interrogated.

“So, what are these guys?” Galder asked.

"They’re the natives," said Kuylen. "The Zeitonians. Aren't you?" He focuses on his captive. "Hmm?"

"Zeitonians? They look like giant frogs if you ask me..." Galder hissed, looking their leader straight in the eyes. "And why did this guy have a lightsaber?"

"Well, why do you have a lightsaber?" asked Kuylen. "And you," he said to his captive. “I know you understand me. Talk!"

Now the leader spoke. His accent was odd, but it was unmistakably Basic. “Who...who are you?” he asked.

"You know what we are...”

"Impossible!" shouted the leader. "Where have you come from? Where did you get those weapons?"

“What weapons?” Takuan now spoke, putting away his lightsaber in the usual, fluid motion fashion. To that, the leader indicated as best he could with a lightsaber his throat, towards the weapon that Takuan had just placed at his belt. “These?” Takuan took his out again. “Where’d you get yours for that matter?”

“We built them, you dumb ass. Or stole them," Galder said with a wink. "It is more interesting to us about where you got yours."

Rah got up and shook himself of dust that had fallen on him after smashing into the wall. Galder was sure that there was probably a large bruise on his ribcage. "I guess these folk don't get around Republic space often then, huh!"

"No one can build a lightsaber," he retorted. "It is not possible. And get around what space, was that?"

"I got news for ya, frog boy," Galder groaned. He spun his blue lightsaber to show the Zeitonian. "I built this one." He turned it off and clips it to his belt, along with the red one. "And that space be the Galactic Republic. Bunch of losers who think they own the galaxy with a democracy that doesn't work."

Wraith announced his deduction of the guns. “Anti-Jedi weaponry! These are effective against lightsabers, we can’t deflect ‘em!”

“Excellent! They ought to be good, they knocked me about a bit!” Rah declared with a horrible animal grin, exposing his sharp, yellow fangs.

"I’ve got a feeling these guys got a special education. Things appear to be hidden from them...on purpose, I'd say" guessed Takuan. "But someone higher than him might provide interesting insight. Who's your superior, frog?"

“Galactic Republic, what are you talking about?" inquired the leader, giving an expression of utter confusion as best as his froggy face could. "There is no life in the Galaxy; the radiation belts make it uninhabitable. Every child knows that.

"And it so happens that I am on the Zeitonian ruling Council!" he affirmed, indignantly. "Only the Elder of our Council is superior to me!"

Kuylen smiled.

"Somehow I knew you would get to the heart of the matter, Takuan," he says. "Yes... someone here knows...and even you know, don't you?" He nudged the captive again. "You just won't believe it. But tell me, how do you know Standard?"

"I should ask you that! It is the ancient language of our court..." But Kuylen is just laughing.

"Why fight it?" he says. "You know what is going on. Because you feel it is true." The captive remained silent. "What is your name?"

"Shi'Haia."

"Well then, Shi'Haia. How many others are there like you on your Council?"

"Twenty five," he says.

"And let me guess, that is the same number as there are lightsabers?" Shi'Haia nodded.

"Yes... well then. We will need to speak with this Elder of yours. But," said Kuylen, raising a finger. "Not yet. First I want you to take us to a place of safety, on your authority. If you do not, do not think I will hesitate to kill you or your men, or if I cannot, then I shall yell loudly how you invited the Sith to this world, to all that will hear me."

Kuylen accentuated the word Sith- and the disarmed guards in the room took a step back in panic. Galder felt another wave of fear come over him, and he shuddered. It was too much fear, and now Galder knew why.

"No!" protested Shi'Haia. "I can take you...to the deeper tunnels. No one goes there."

"Good. If you obey me well, I may even let you keep your saber."

"Come with me," said Shi'Haia. They filed out through the doorway a couple at a time- or one Chion at a time. Chion seemed to be following some of the guards a little too closely.

"Leave them alone, Chion," ordered Kuylen.

"I think Kuylen is right about these people," whispered Saar to Takuan.

"Stupid frogs..." cursed Jolanta, massaging her ribs as she walkedout.

Galder followed close behind Shi'Haia and Kuylen. "Care to tell me the history of their planet?"

"Knowledge has to be acquired, it cannot be given," reminded Kuylen. "What do you think happened here, Galder?"

"Well, apparently they have been lied to a great deal. They think they are the only beings in the galaxy. Also, about the Sith...I know they were here, but you said something about them letting them on the planet. Inviting them in?"

"They don't think they are the only beings in the Galaxy," corrected Kuylen. "They know what aliens are. And that was a threat. As you can see, the word frightens them. And that's not the only word."

Wraith, in the meantime, moved up and began speaking with Shi'Haia. “What radiation field do you speak of? I did not see one when we arrived."

"The radiation belts in the inner Galaxy," informed Shi'Haia, in his ignorance. "That make life there impossible. Where do you really come from?”

“Well, I was born on a planet called Tejere. It is in what we call the Outer Rim. It is a nasty planet full of blood and gore and illegal gaming. The lizard man is an Arnian from Arnia, and then the big guy talking to the man with the braids is from Hoth, a frozen planet also in the Outer Rim. You are on the very edge of the Outer Rim, on your planet of Zeiton."

“But only the very edge of the rim is habitable!" he protested. "The rest of the galaxy is a lifeless desert!"

"You're very wrong, Shi'Haia. I know of others. The planet of Coruscant, which is the capitol world of the Galactic Republic, lies in the Core Worlds, very close to the center. It is teeming with life, building upon building..."

Shi'Haia took them, briefly, through some of the back streets of the city. This place was a truly impressive achievement to Galder- it held millions of people, at least, in what is basically a humongous cave. Skyscrapers towered above them, hover cars whisking about them in large amounts, under and over skyways that lead to nightclubs...

But Shi'Haia wanted to keep out of sight, the threat of death extant in his mind. He led the group down through some unused rock passages, and a quarter of an hour later they were in a natural cavern, where the great metal foundations of the city were visible. A constant roar echoed from above, the roar of an active city they now resided under.

"That's ridiculous," Shi'Haia discredited Wraith‘s response. However, upon reading his emotions, Galder decided that Shi'Haia did not truly believe what he had said.

"No," interjected Kuylen. "It's true."

"There is no Republic!" shouted Shi'Haia. "There are no Sith, no Jedi! They are child's tales, myths like the old Gods!"

"Then where did you get that weapon?"

"It was built long ago..."

"Yes, it was, but not here or anywhere near here- you must have worked out a long time ago that the crystals that weapon needs do not occur naturally in any part of space known to you."

“The resources must have been exhausted..."

"They were never here! That is a Jedi's weapon, a Jedi built it!"

Now that I think about it... Galder pondered the fact that the lightsaber did look awfully Jedi-like, as well as beaten and archaic.

"It's not true," retorted Shi'Haia. "Hah! If you are the Sith, where are the Jedi? The Jedi always come first!" He seemed to think he had won the debate by the odd, frog-like grin on his face.

"Times have changed.”

"Ridiculous. You people are aliens we have not seen before who have heard of the great world of Zeiton! You found those weapons abandoned elsewhere and have come to take advantage of us by pretending to be legends of old!"

“Very well, I shall prove it. Pick that rock up," he ordered, gesturing towards a rock on the other side of the cavern. "You know what I mean."
Shi'Haia frowned before reaching his hand forwards, and the rock picked itself up and flew into his hand.

“You cannot steal that power, if that is what you are thinking," he defended. Kuylen nodded knowingly. He then pointed to a huge rock covering a collapsed cave entrance some twenty meters below.

“Now pick that up.“

Shi'Haia glared at him as if he were stupid. "Don't be ridiculous, that cannot be done."

“Why not?"

Shi'Haia made a cross between a croak and a snort. "It is too large, you fool!"

Kuylen chuckled and turned to Takuan. “If you would?”

“Certainly.” Takuan stepped to the head of the ground and extended both hands with a lifting motion. Steadily, the rock began to leave the ground, and Takuan brought up to their level, rotated it a few times for effect, then setting it down gently against one side of the cave. The eyes of the Zeitonians bulged in their heads, none more than Shi'Haia himself.

“How...?” Shi'Haia babbled.

“It is the power of the Dark Side,” Kuylen spoke. “A power that has been denied to you all your life.”

Shi'Haia continued to move his lips, rolling ideas about in his head. “Will you show me how?”

Kuylen’s grin widened. “Well, what do you people think?” he asked, turning to the others.

“I suppose we could show these guys...the ropes...” Galder chortled, before everyone else joined in in a torrent of laughter and agreement.

“Got to spread the darkness to brighten the prospects!” Rah cackled.

= Chapter 32 =

“So...what’s it like being a frog?” Galder asked one of the Zeitonians that had been left in the Dark Jedi‘s care as hostages until Shi'Haia returned. Kuylen had sent him somewhere after talking privately.

“I’m not a frog,” grunted the Zeitonian, in the same tone as Galder would deny being an ape or Dak Kaliero would deny being a Komodo dragon. “I’m a Zeitonian. What are you?”

“A human being,” Galder replied. “I come from Hoth myself, but it is mostly uninhabited by intelligent life. Just a bunch of furry lizards and ice...”

The Zeitonian seemed slightly interested, but the thought of being a hostage must have been active in his thoughts.

About that time, Shi'Haia returned...flanked by half a dozen others, unarmed.

“I told you to come alone,” Kuylen said firmly.

“Forgive me...but...these people wanted to learn as well...”

“He’s been spreading the word!” Galder realized, jolting up from his seat against a smooth rock. “For starters, pick up those rocks with the Force..." He motioned to a rock, which snapped to hand quickly.

“What is the Force?” they inquired, but nonetheless they caught Galder’s drift and did as he had, thought considerably slower.

“Very well then...” Kuylen gave in.

"I wonder...it's too easy,“ Rah said, speaking his thoughts to the others. “I mean, I know the Dark Side is very enticing, but... I cant help feeling there maybe a trap in all of this." He indicated new followers. “Real power is a coveted thing. Most people, when given a chance of having our power would be secretive until they can show it off...”

"It's like filling a vacuum," Kuylen explained. "These people have been empty and unfulfilled for too long. They are desperate for it."

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The next day, after they had all rested, Shi'Haia turned up with another three dozen followers, eager to learn the ways of this Dark Side they had heard of. Two of the Zeitonians brought lightsabers with them, and a few others had the kinetic rifles. Takuan and Galder had been debating what they should tell them.

“You know as well as I that just one Force adept on a planet with a population of several thousand is astounding, but thirty people?” Galder asked, slightly annoyed. “They cannot all have that talent!”

“Have you worked it out yet?” Kuylen interrupted, stepping up with arms folded.

“Is there one of them that can’t use the Force is what I’m wondering,” Takuan said. He turned to Shi'Haia. “Tell me, Shi'Haia. Are there any among you who cannot lift those small stones like you can?”

“Of course not! Everyone can do that!” Galder’s jaw dropped.

"It is all of them," Kuylen said. "Every single being on this planet can use the Force. All of them. It is perhaps the greatest wonder the Force ever produced. And all they need, Takuan, is a leader.

"Think of it. There are a billion people on this planet. Even if we only recruit one in ten thousand, we will have an army ten times the size of the Jedi Order! We will crush them on the first day. And we shall recruit more, far more. The Force is with us- see how they come!

"Little wonder the Jedi long ago took this world off-limits. It was too dangerous for anyone. Even a Jedi. This kind of power would corrupt any one of them. A Jedi who came here would rule the Galaxy. Well. The silence on this world is over. We are here now. The Jedi have failed."

"Every last one of them?" Galder questioned in awe. "But, how? By mere chance?" He shook his head in frustration. "What am I saying, who cares! We're going to have an army of Force-users behind us! We are going to massacre the Republic with one swift blow!"

“I thought we would secure the Mausoleum first, Kuylen," asked Saar.

"Oh, whatever, can't we just get goin’ with things?" moaned Jolanta.

“There is no need," Kuylen said. "I didn't think they would come until after we ha taken the Mausoleum but there are far more desperate than I imagined. They have been uncontaminated for too long."

"Why not stick to the original plan?" asked Saar, rising to his feet.

"Because it involved half of us dying storming the central buildings," said Kuylen harshly. There was a long silence. Galder pictured the army he had been imagining opposite of them, opposing them as evil commandoes. Tens of thousands, taking aim. Unavoidable. "But now there is no need. In any case, all we will do anyway is waste time waiting for the moment to strike. Instead, we can do that part of the plan now whilst we wait; gather your forces."

Takuan shook himself.

“What?” Galder asked.

“Nothing...just a part of my vision coming back to me...Kuylen said something that had been in it...”

“Oh...” Galder stepped away, not knowing what to tell him other that what he already knew, that he was seeing the future and suffering from severe deja vu because of it.

Soon after, Kuylen assembled his men and informed them that this was no longer a commando mission, but the beginnings of a Zeitonian Civil War. “You will each be given fifty men to take under your tutelage, seeing as their numbers have grown.”

“And what of those who disobey?” Galder asked eagerly. This is too good to be true...

“Kill anyone who causes trouble," he ordered. "They must learn how it works. You are dismissed...Captains.”

Galder saluted one of his old military salutes that he had learned in his travels. “Thank you...“ Galder looked up with a malicious grin. “General Kuylen...”

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Within the hour, Galder had gathered all fifty of his men and selected his second-in-command, a young Lieutenant. He drew himself to full height and stood proud on a rock that Takuan had positioned against a wall. He began to address then, the entire time looking them over. They bore kinetic guns and laser pistols, but wore no uniforms; they were clad in the eccentric clothing of the Zeitonian culture.

"All of you will now take orders from me, and me alone. Other than General Larios Kuylen, of course. In case of emergency, the other Captains may take control of you, but ultimately, I am your Captain. I am Captain Galder Rexus Starkiller. I am skilled with many forms of combat, a variety of weaponry, my lightsabers, and the Force...better than any of you, at any rate. But, if you obey my orders and do my bidding, you will improve and receive the power you so badly desire. If you do not do as I require, the penalty is death, and I will be your executioner if need be. It is how I was taught, and it is how you will be taught. The General forbids me to give you lightsabers, so only my Lieutenant and I will be wielding them. In time, you may be taught to wield one, but we shall see. As I said, I can be your leader or I can be your executioner, it is your choice. I am sure we all prefer the first, am I right?"

“Sir, yes sir!” hollered the Zeitonians in unison.

“Excellent! I will be tutoring you on close combat within a few minutes, but first, I must have a word with my Lieutenant. Dismissed!”

“Thank you, sir!”

Galder turned to his Lieutenant, wearing a smug, yet malicious grin. “Lieutenant Gar'Veran!”

“Yes, my Captain?” the Zeitonian answered, raising from his seat to a salute. Gar'Veran had been hand-picked from the saber-wielding Zeitonian noblemen by Galder due to his rough style and his eagerness for combat. He wore a black and gray outfit, and his slimy skin was pale gray.

“Lieutenant Gar'Veran, are you ready for a few lessons in using a lightsaber?" Galder asked, returning the salute. "Not only do you need pointers, I am sure, but it would be entertaining for the soldiers. Do not worry, I will not maim or kill you...much."

“Absolutely, sir," replied Gar'Veran. "And do not think I shall shed a tear for any of them that disobey."

"Shedding tears for the weak is a crime. I am glad you see it my way," Galder says. "May I see your lightsaber for a second?"

He ignited the blade as soon as it was in his hands, basking in the red glow. "This, Gar'Veran, is a genuine Sith lightsaber.” He spun it a few times idly as he spoke, twisting the hilt along the backside of his hand and into his palm again, then switching hands. “The Sith were powerful. That is what we plan to be." He handed Gar'Veran back his lightsaber after turning it off.

"Ready to practice a bit of swordplay, then?" Galder stood perfectly still, handles folded behind his back. “Come, try to strike me with your blade...”

“Yes, sir!“ Gar'Veran came at Galder with an overhead blow, but to Galder he seemed to go in slow motion. He easily sidestepped that blow and the next. The third, however, stuck a little closer, crashing into his blue blade as he quickly activated it. Suddenly Galder reversed the onslaught, aiming a few weak jabs in Gar'Veran’s direction. He swung to block and hopped backwards into a defensive crouch. He pounced on Galder, jabbing again but countered quickly, again retreating to the defensive crouch. Galder, nearly on top of him, effortlessly swung from the side, feinting and suddenly spinning the opposite direction. The clacking of the blades was loud and Gar'Veran nervously dropped his blade.

“How did you learn to fight like that?” Gar'Veran asked as Galder helped him up, handing him his lightsaber again.

“General Kuylen taught me well, didn’t he? He is a powerful duelist, far better than I, but I can hold my ground against the Enemy...” Galder replied, readily receiving the compliment with open arms as he ignited his second saber. He sidestepped again as Gar'Veran made an effort to swing. “Now, how high can you jump? Because if I was to swing for your legs, you might want to jump. Or you can lose a foot and I can find a much more worthy Lieutenant...” Galder dropped low and swung, but Gar'Veran leaped high. High was putting it mildly. The Force doubled his jumping abilities, but it seemed that the Zeitonians could already jump quite high.

"And so once you are better than him you will kill him and take his place, yes?" asked Gar'Veran, reffering to Kuylen.

Galder became stern. “I have much respect for him...but...I...” He paused, thinking to himself for a moment. “No.” Gar'Veran nodded, before jumping back from another attack. "Kuylen still has great skill with the Force as well, but not equal to Takuan, here," Galder continued, motioning to Takuan as he tutored his own Lieutenant. "While Takuan could probably beat Kuylen in a test of powers, Kuylen could easily have him by the throat with a lightsaber in seconds. As would I, if I did not consider Takuan an ally."

“So Takuan appears strong but is actually weak?"

"No, Gar'Veran, Takuan is not a weakling. If he wanted to, he could kill you with mere thoughts. Break your bones, choke you, burst a vein in your brain. And he is still better with a blade than you." Clack-clack! Galder disarmed Gar'Veran again. “We will continue until you can keep that thing in your hand...”

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"The Force...you may not call it that, but that is the appropriate name for it. You can do many things with the Force. Many things. I myself am not strong in using the Force, but it aids me in combat just the same. The Force can do anything, if you will it. You can convince others with weak-minds to do things for you. You can send people flying against walls, knock them down, or pull their weapons from them by taking a hold of the power that you have. Use it in combat and in times when something is not yours to have."

Galder had set up a display with Gar'Veran. Gar'Veran had quick-drawn his pistol, but Galder extended a hand and the weapon came to him. The other hand straightened and Gar'Veran began to gag; Galder released him swiftly.

"Let your emotions take control of you. It is the only true way to get power. Your emotions and the Force combined can be very deadly. I use the power of fear to drive me to do things that I never thought possible. I have survived fights with the Jedi, your hated Enemy, and explosions from bombs and whatnot, all because my fear and anger drove me to defend myself successfully. So meditate! Spar! Do whatever you can to spur your emotions!"

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A cowering Zeitonian shuddered with terror at Galder’s feet, bruised and beaten by Galder for a screw up. But he was not finished.

"I have told you again and again that I will kill you for failure or if you do something inadequate to how I require things to be run. This Zeitonian..." Galder gestured to the shuddering one standing near him. "...nearly shot me in the head during the target practice drill, as you all saw, with one of your kinetic guns. I plan to make an example of him, and hope you all follow what it means."

Galder held the handle of his lightsaber to the side of the Zeitonian's head. He flipped the switch and became stern and cold as the Zeitonian flopped over.

"You see? I have no mercy for you if you are sick or wounded or mess up on accident. It will result in death, either by your enemies, or by me. Death is very real. War is very real. We are nearing both when we choose to use the Force for personal gain. Now go meditate, and think about what this dead creature has done. Think of what might happen to you if you mess up."

Galder turned to Lt. Gar'Veran. "Lieutenant, see to it that this...mess...is cleaned up..." Galder hissed. "And then I would like some more dueling practice with you." Without warning, Galder spun and pulled the archaic pistol from Gar'Veran, letting loose a shot. Gar'Veran, by now, had become better honed with his reflexes, and snapped his blade into position to deflect it. More shots came and went.

“Impressive, Gar'Veran...most impressive...”

The Lieutenant said nothing, still getting over his sudden shock. The soldiers were impressed by Galder’s demonstrations, and began chanting “Fear is power."

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Galder listened in on Rah’s speech, and Takuan’s. Both were trying their best to be compelling leaders, and were succeeding with their easily seduced Zeitonian recruits.

“I am Toolok Rah! You will call me Captain Rah!" Rah announced to his new underlings "Under my supervision you all become great or you will die!" Rah paced at the head of his recruits. "I was lost, drifting aimlessly through the galaxy when my master Kuylen found me and taught me the one true path! Some of you are wondering why, if I am so great why I am not Kuylen's equal. Well I tell you this now, I am great but I am not a patch on Kuylen. If you disbelieve my strength feel free to test me." Rah paused to add a little atmosphere to his speech then continued. " I will teach you, I will terrify you, and I will amaze you, but if you fail me I will kill you!"

Rah went on to drill his Lieutenant, a quiet and thoughtful Zeitonian nobleman named Ter’Minaw, in lightsaber combat and how to use the Force for athleticism. The blue lightsaber was smacked away by Rah’s purple several times, but eventually Lt. Ter’Minaw got a feel for it. Soon enough he was running up walls, though not nearly as effortlessly or as long as Rah did.

Galder had missed Takuan’s demonstrations, seeing as he had ordered his own troops to find the Force within themselves while he trained his Lieutenant, a timid but intelligent Zeitonian named Tik'Peebo. Takuan focused more on honing his Force adeptness, though occasionally they unsheathed their swords for a few short lessons.

Zahn'Tin, Wraith’s cowardly right hand, explained that his saber is a mark of office he received from his predecessor when he was elected, as Wraith had asked him to answer. As far as he knew they had been passed down since time immemorial.

As for the Jedi and the Sith, he said that as far as he knew they were subversive myths about the moral salvation or damnation of the Zeitonian people related to the so-called curse of their powers, back in the equally mythological days when the Zeitonians lived on the surface of their planet.

"The Legend goes that the weak Jedi who tried to subvert us were eliminated by the powerful Sith under a man named Demnos. But the myths are a bit vague about what happened next. I always thought it was nonsense but... it is all true, isn't it?"

"Indeed, they are true,” Wraith taught. “Demnos, or Darth Demnos, as we know him, was a powerful Sith Lord a millennia ago. He built what we call a Mausoleum, or burial tomb where they put his body once he died. We are here to search for that. It is what will bring us our power."

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