Saber Forum

I was twelve at the time…sitting around the fire on the eastern ranges, Karintha, Taran my grandfather sat on one side, while I sat with the other three trainees opposite.

Taran was telling one of the many legends of our past,

“She stood upon the top of Red Scar mountain,” he pointed over our heads to the north, though it was much too dark a night to make out the high peak,

“The legions of Sithari Demons came from the sky, scorching the ground all around the Valley.  But Aertemisaea was strong, and Aephrodaea compassionate.  She shielded the Valley where her children hid though the Sithari turned the rest into the Deadlands beyond the mountains we know today." 

"Yet Aethenaea was wise, she turned the power of Aertemisaea upon the Sithari and slew them all, their black chariots burnt from the sky.  As Aephrodaea then she told her children they were now safe, and set the Guardians over them while she rested...until the day when her people would need her to return.” 

He looked over the four of us.

“What can we learn from this story, what legacy does it leave us?”

Jarys to left of me spoke up first,

“That no matter what enemy…or even difficulty…like problem…we face, if we are wise, compassionate and strong…we can beat it,”

Taran nodded, Karintha replied, “There is truth to what you say Jarys, but you only focus on the first half of the story,”

I could feel his slight annoyance with himself, it was always about the battle for him.

“Perhaps the story reminds us how we have to protect each other, to use all our wisdom and strength like Jarys said to do that,”  Yorna replied to my right as she stroked Kiraea’s head, Kiraea was only 8 and had dozed off earlier on her sisters lap.

“That is true also Yorna,” Taran replied, but I could tell he was looking for more…and grandfather hadn’t said anything yet…that wasn’t unusual though…their eyes turned to me to respond.

I thought about the story and Jarys and Yorna’s answers…there was something in both of them…

“Maybe…” I began, “Maybe it’s that…it’s how precarious life is…I mean she killed the Sithari…but the rest of the planet is now all dead lands…she overcame them…she fought for her people…but…”  I tried to work out how to put my concept into words…

“but even still, so much was lost, our people survive…but only just…she gave all she could to keep our ancestors alive…her legacy teaches us to do whatever we have to survive no matter the cost,”

Now my grandfather spoke,

“Indeed, survival is all that matters, for generation to follow generation, there is nothing more than this…no gods, no fate, no glories, there is life,” 

He gestured down toward the valley, the river in its middle running like a black ribbon in the dark that provided the life blood of our people.

He gestured up the mountains indicating he dead lands beyond

“And Death.”

The winds blew through her brown red hair as she sat on the edge of a balcony overlooking the Chandrillan plains.  There was so much life here, not just sentients, but insects, plants, animals, Chandrillan society very deliberately tried to keep in balance with its eco system even going so far as to restrict population growth.  The force flowed smoothly here, it had a liquid feel to it, Soryu would like it.

Milaea breathed in the air, far cleaner than Coruscant, the green reminded her of the dreams she had of another world, one she couldn’t remember ever being to, yet she felt in those dreams such a call to it. 

She was there with her master Sofa Neirai to continue peace talks between the two species of the Hymmdra system, the squat brown agrarian Hymmdra from a gravity dense planet toward the centre of the system and the tall Kykamma of a moon in the outer system.  The Kykamma were traders and space farers selling food grown by the Hymmdra, the problems had begun when off world traders contacted the Hymmdra directly and they discovered the Kykaama had been making extreme profits off them, in addition to forcing many Hymmdra into growing cash crops leading to food shortages. 

She and her master had visited both worlds arranging for peace talks on Chandrilla, with the meetings scheduled for tomorrow.  It would be up to her to keep an eye on things while Sofa mediated the talks…she just hoped she did it well…Sofa and Soryu had both indicated she was close to being ready for the trials, if she did well it might give her a chance…yet she was ambivalent about it…a part of her that told her this was not for her…but then Soryu had said all Jedi faced such doubts, even he did as a master sometimes…it was only natural to worry about such a big change.

She stood up and ran her hands through her long hair then stretched out. The wind picked up as the sun set over the green hills, she closed her eyes and felt it against her face.  She took her lightsabre and ignited it, moving gracefully to practice her Circle of Shelter in Soresu, before rapidly shifting to the Sabre stance of Ataru, the force flowed so easily here, she could feel the crystal in her violet sabre an extension of her-self. 

Here she could easily mesh the forms while her mind was clear and unhurried.  Soryu had often given her private lessons at the Temple when she was young, sometimes with Knight Valens.  Soryu had always been fond of her, and as one of the best swordsman of the order it had given her a huge edge in her training.  But sometimes when she was really annoyed or tired she seemed to lose her normal forms and revert to some kind of strange style all of her own, it was savage and unpredictable, but very effective.  Soryu had told her to remain centred in training, it was just her annoyance taking hold.  Somehow it felt like more than that.

“Think fast,” Sofa’s voice came from behind her, Milaea spun sabre in mid guard and angled it to cut into whatever she suddenly sensed coming at her, a bright red fruit turned to ash and vapour as it hit her blade.  She shifted back a step into something squishy, only then did she see the second fruit behind her.

“You need to tighten up your stance, I could’ve thrown anything between those legs,” Sofa jibed playfully

“Like what,” Milaea pushed her for an embarrassing answer to the double entendre she had set up

“Like a grenade, a disc mine, a smoke canister….”

Milaea scrunched her face and poked her tongue out, Sofa replied in kind,

“It’s your legs Mili, get them blown off if you like,”  She picked up another fruit, “come on in, dinners ready,”

********************************************************************************************************
He was lying on the cold altar, she was on top of him…but there wasn’t the same enjoyment…he couldn’t keep up anymore…he needed to be remade…

He was on it again, she was beside him, red lines flowing from her fingers as he liquefied. 

The two scenes flickered, one moment she was enrapt in pleasure on the altar, the next she was melting the same man into a bloody slurry.  Red was everywhere…the blood, the lines, the fire around her….

He was stuck, a child…a baby…she tried to push him to grow back up, she wanted the pleasure again….he stayed the same…

Screaming…”They’ve found us…they’ve founds us…” an unseen force pulled at her stomach, lurching her away into a blazing yellow and orange conflagration sprinkled with metal, ferrocrete, and blackened bodies…
“You’ll die for this,” she screamed with a voice, a will not her own
…
Awake, she panted, a thin sweat covered her…she calmed herself by breathing very slowly, deeply and deliberately, she had had the dream a hundred times, but it still left her shaken.  Soryu had once joked they weren’t dreams but memories of a past life, Milaea hoped not, some of them were terrifying…the worst of them…she had never told anyone about what happened in them, not Soryu, not Yoda, not even Sofa…

Not that they were all bad, some were…enjoyable….she’d find herself with one, two sometimes three other women, or that man…it left her…’stimulated’ was the euphemism Sofa used…Those dreams she had tried to hide as well, but on Dathomir she had an especially vivid one while sharing a tent with Sofa.  Sofa - much more like an older sister than a master -had told her it was natural for girls of her age to have that kind of dream and laughed it off…still it left an odd feeing…it was like the women in those dreams were being somehow controlled by her. 

She sat up and turned to the small table, drinking from the glass she had left, trying to shake the thoughts out of her head.  Tomorrow was a big day, she needed the rest.  Pulling her red hair back out of her face she lay back.  It was so peaceful on Chandrilla she thought as she drifted back to sleep.
********************************************************************************************************
The room was laid out with three curved tables, one in the centre facing the main door with a window behind it, one on either side facing each other.  Sofa and two Chandrillan negotiators sat in the centre, the Hymmdr to her left, the Kykamma to her right, each with three negotiators of various odd formal titles.  Milaea stood in the far left corner from Sofa watching proceeding, the only security there in fact, Chandrillans were not known for their guards, and no violence was expected.

Sofa opened the talks, “Welcome all we are here to discuss a permanent solution to end the suffering on both sides of this conflict, I recognised both parties have suffered losses….”

Milaea tuned out of the words and focused on the force surrounding each of the participants.  Sofa and the mediators were calm and controlled, of the Kykamma one was open and willing, another slightly indifferent, the last openly disdainful, leeching disgust at the situation.   The Hymmdr, two were fairly calm, but intent on their purpose, they wanted a solution…but not at any cost, it needed to be fair…she could feel the anger of generations of exploitation, an undercurrent they tried to suppress in the hopes of a better future…the third however was oddly anxious, a jagged edge in the force like a pivot point.

She followed his bulbous anxious eyes to the corner opposite her behind the Kykamma…there she saw it - a firm moving shadow behind a pillar…she sensed the murderous intent…but what was she supposed to do…whoever was behind that pillar had done nothing wrong as yet…there were no restrictions on who could be here, an intent was not an action…a Jedi used their powers for defence never for attack.  Her heart pumped faster as the shadow moved towards the Kykamma in sleek precise motions.

A glint of light against a blade, the assassin was fast, but Milaea was faster, as it flew toward the Kykamma she deflected it with the force into the table, the Kykamma jumped in fright, the assassin plunged out and charged two daggers in hand,

She could finally see the attacker, a noghri.  Milaea had seen them in school holovids, but never one in person…although the same could be said of a thousand different species across the galaxy.

She leapt forward, sped by the force her blade flicking to her hand.  Before the Nogrhi could reach its targets she slammed her fist holding her blade into its shoulder, knocking it off course.  It turned and slashed but she dodged avoiding the lethal blades.  Behind him Sofa was up and her sabre glowing blue, she could sense the Noghri’s reluctance to go on, this was more trouble than it was worth and he knew it.

He pivoted back and with a rapid flick of his arm detached a small metal object from his belt before fleeing to the window.  Milaea reached for the grenade in the force but its timer was near instant, the explosions ripped out.  With every ounce of concentration she held it back creating a field of telekinetic energy around the explosion the size of a large ball, her legs following the nogrhi automatically as he crashed through the window.

The contained explosion died out as she leapt out of the window. As she fell down after the nogrhi she sensed terror and amazement in the people she had left behind. It was not the first time…sometimes she did things like that with the force, things she didn’t’ even know she knew how to do until after doing it.

She landed knees bent from the two storey drop to see the Nogrhi 10 metres ahead, he was fast.  She gave chase, his physiology would give him too much of an advantage over distances, she need to get him soon and alive.  As strollers jumped to the side to avoid his headlong charge she picked out the trees along the side of the foot path and with a thought uprooted them into his path.  He leapt and ducked to avoid them with unusual grace, but it gave her the time she need to make the distance up, as he leapt over the last tree he didn’t touch the ground again.

Suspended in mid-air he started to panic, she leapt the distance between them and planted a heavy pommel strike on the back of his head.
********************************************************************************************************
“They were embarrassed enough that they decided to agree to the compact largely unchanged,”  Sofa said as they walked along the tree lined promenade, after the incident they had quickly come to an agreement, but Milaea had been near enough to feel their emotions of both parties as they left.

“They’ll never accept it though…neither side…the Hymmdr still feel exploited, the Kykamma still feel entitled…no signed accord will change that…” Milaea noted sadly

“You don’t think a political solution will work?”

“No…the problem wasn’t political, it was economic, social, racial…soon enough things will be back where we are now unless they majorly change their opinions and ways of doing business…their very culture,”

Sofa smiled sadly, “That’s true Mili…unfortunately…but we have to hope each little step moves us toward that end…that why the Jedi have been around so long…those changes take time,”

Milaea looked to the empty skies, “Sometimes I don’t think they really change at all…”

********************************************************************************************************

I remember when Phantom Menace came out and thinking "Trade negotiations? How can this be interesting?"  Well LSG, your newest chapter proves that you can have trade negotiations as an interesting setting in the SW universe.  THIS is what Lucas should have done.

Milaea is an excellent character: despite being raised a Jedi, even she knows that she is...more.  But...she's ALSO more than Aethan.  She has a set of morals much different than her people.  Wonderful dichotomy!

Great seeing Sofa again; I would not have expected her to be Milaea's Jedi master.  I like it  :). Fantastic writing LSG!

Until next installment friends  :)

Aggressive negotiations:  Negotiations with a lightsaber.  LOL

I have to echo Dutchman.  Milaea is very different than the other Aethans.  Loved the nod to Soryu and it was great to see Sofa again.  :-)  also got a glimpse of Valens there....   I have to wonder, how much of the Jedi teachings will rub off on Valens?  He was a fully trained Guardian before he became a Jedi, and he's basically "under cover" with the Jedi, but you can't be exposed to any moral standard for a long time without there being some effect.  Especially not with people like Soryu and Yoda around, people who would serve as very compelling role models, even for someone who doesn't fundamentally agree with them.

The last little part of this feels like a statement of the coming conflict of the story as well.  Just what is the Legacy of the Aethans?  What is Valens' plan?  Is Valen a Mibari or not...  Oh, wait, no, that's a different Valen...

;-)

Sorry, had to inject a little humor.  LOL  Just noticed the similarity of the name to B5 and wondered if it was intentional.  These things slip out of me... 

ANYWAY...  Yes, great chapter.  Also, again, feels a little lighter than the first offerings, but that's probably a good thing I think. :-)

Karm

Feels lighter! I'll have to do something about that....
Yes she's quite different, with Valens, Jarys and Kiraea already another one like them would be too similar...plus such a difference drives the story.....

“Unchained this is Vorynx, going silent, copy,”

“Copy Vorynx, good hunting, over and out,”

The comm died with a click, the lights in the cockpit followed.   He arced over the crest of one of the innumerable craters that dotted the moon, the ashen grey dirt barely a hundred metres below, the thin atmosphere a pale blue against the stars.  

The pallid yellow of the instruments tracked the progress to the target.  At the 20 klik mark he signalled his team with a thought in the aether. Near.  

Behind him he heard armour lock and magazines clip.  With a thought his own helmet locked in place as he rose.  He continued piloting the ship using the aether as he headed to the ramp and picked up his rifle.

He checked its battery, 94% charge.  He felt the presence of his two companions behind him as he mentally lowered the ship down in the centre of a smaller crater near the target.  

Gases hissed out as the ramp lowered and he stepped foot on the soft sand.  Gravity was lower than usual here, but the bulk of his armour kept his fairly grounded, and where that didn’t work there was always the aether.  The moved up the sides of the crater to the lip, the male on his right stepped ahead and crouched with his macro binoculars to take a look.

His armour was only a few shades darker than the dirt here, but on the shoulder was a dirty worn yellow with a sigil of a Vorynx breaking from its cage.

“No signs of alert, approach looks clear,”  Maeson said with scratchy tones.  Jarys had met Maeson on Chorvi VI, the main base of the Sons of Kessel, three years after joining, he’d been liberated from slavery in red marble mines whose dust had left him with a scratchy voice.  He was the first other Aethan Jarys had found alive, recognising him from the gathering so long ago Maeson had immediately obeyed Jarys as all Aethans must do before a Guardian.  He had been a farmer when the slavers came, father to two children, they along with his wife had been taken on a separate ship and he had not seen them in the 20 years since.  Now he served as the anvil of their team, Jarys the hammer.

“Selaena, take position there,” he directed with the aether to the third member of the team, and the only other Aethan he had found.  They had found Selaena literally chained to a bed in a brothel on Toydaria, sedated out of her mind for likely the whole five years since she had been enslaved.  It had taken nearly a year for her to recover physically…but mentally…she barely spoke to anyone, even Jarys.  She served as the sniper and infiltration expert in their team, always at a distance watching their backs…given the mutilations she inflicted on any slavers she got within reach of….it was probably better that way.

The three of them made up Vorynx squad, though the smallest it was still the most deadly unit the Sons of Kessel had, three aethans, one a Guardian, all capable of unleashing aetheric attacks and co-ordinating in a battle meld, “better than Jedi,” Keison called them.  

The Sons of Kessel were dedicated to freeing slaves across the galaxy, and ending slavers, they had accepted Jarys and helped him find two of his people.  With every mission they undertook they hoped to find another…but in a galaxy this big, and twenty years after the fact they all knew it was all but impossible…but apart from each other…that thin hope was all they had.

********************************************************************************************
War…war had been his constant companion since he had been torn from Aethas.

Across the moonscape lay a mining facility, twenty or so slum like prefabs, a main processing building and landing zone marked out by red lights nearby.  There were no ships today.  He could sense the numbers even from here, their pain and despair made them strong in the currents of the aether.  200 odd slaves, 30 guards, a small operation mining yellow sapphires, small but every slave was one too many.  

The slaves were mainly underground, but some wandered about the camp, the atmosphere was barely breathable, keeping them weak whilst the guards all had breathers suited to their race.

This was todays battlefield…this was the next theatre in which the war he had fought for twenty years would play out.

Jarys gave the order with his mind. Move.
 
Crouched he and Maeson circled around the camp on opposite sides, Selaena took position as instructed.  

He lay prone and crawled forward using the aether to keep he dust around him settled as he approached the main building.  He could sense the dull bored guards nearby, a few scattered in the middle, most underground, and some in the armour/command post near the landing zone on Maesons side.

Slowly carefully he came beside two of them.  With practised swiftness he leapt up, his blade slicing into one throat then the next, the grey dirt soaking up the battles first blood, the aether to sheathed his blade as he pulled the flopping forms to the ground, aether suppressed dust or noise.  

On the other side he could sense Maeson working his way through with the detached brutality of a soldier who knew nothing but war.

One by one he brought down four more and headed to the main building.  Slowly up the metal grate stairs, the door at the top opened, a well armoured Rodian exited turning to look right into the silenced blaster bolt Jarys sent between his eyes.  He dragged the corpse into the control room, scanned the equipment for the announcement system.  Fortunately the muster control was pre-recorded, he didn’t need to synth a voice.  He hit it then readied his rifle and positioned himself behind the door.

As the alarm blared as the guards and slaves came out of the mine.  He sensed the guards go from bored to alert as they felt something amiss, as they felt the tremors of silen war.  He settled his mind into the over consciousness of an aetheric battle meld.  It would guide and organise their actions, drawing upon all their senses, memories and abilities in a mind greater than the sum of its parts.

As the last of the guards and slaves came into place he gently opened the door.  War ended and butchery began.

His eye needlessly on his rifles scope a precise ballet of 16 shots began, Jarys, Maeson and Selaena blasted the heads off all the remaining guards in a matter of seconds, their aim, speed and targets all determined by their battle meld.  This was what made Vorynx squad the undisputed best.

The slaves scattered, Jarys left the meld and commed in the support ships.

Today’s battle was over.
*********************************************************************************************
The Sons of Kessel were not simply a military outfit, three large transports full of medics and other support workers arrived to ferry the slaves to temporary accommodation in the republic.   They were funded by donations from individuals and companies in the Republic, channelled through intermediaries to avoid reprisals - they couldn’t openly support such a violent organisation, indeed many abolitionists in the republic considered them as bad as the slavers they slaughtered.   But Jarys cared little for the politics of it.

Jarys looked out over the lines of people wandering up the ramps still in shock, trying to sense anything more than despair…the thin hope that one day he might find Cilina kept him going…but after so many years…any aethan would be welcome.

He gazed at the long line, his eyes were drawn to a stumbling woman, long greasy matted hair, streaked with grey.  Something about her was familiar…he reached out…normally every slave was as dead to the aether as other people, but this one suddenly stopped, turned and stared at him with dead eyes.  

Selaena and Maseon sensed it too, they rushed toward her and pulled her out of line.  Jarys arrived as they had seated her on a crate and give her a bottle to drink from.  He looked at the beaten, half healed face…and the scarred ruined eyes…

He thought back to his younger years…what he had done in the arena a lifetime ago…the irony that this aethan had lost her sight was not lost on him….he looked carefully as she reached to him in the aether…he recognised her…

“Mother…,”

“Jarys…” her hands reached out to him finding his face with the aether as he knelt before her…it was Kassyndra, his mother in law, Cilinas mother…

“I thought…I’d hoped,”

“Hush now mother there will be time…”

“No…” she yelled startling them all “there has been too much time….”

Her head bowed as she cried,

“Forgive me Guardian, I failed…I should’ve killed them…but I…I wanted so much to see my daughters again…I lived in hope instead of killing what abominations I could…”  

He rose before her and placed his hands on her shoulders, it had been sometime since he had to do the duty of a Guardian,

“You’re forgiven mother…” he took a serious tone as his eyes watered with grief at what she had endured, and pride that she still kept her traditions after all this time, “Do you know of any others?”

“Korrys from the coast worked with me on a farm on a world called Nal Shursha, but that was years ago, he died during our escape attempt…that was when…” she motioned to her eyes…

“We reached a city and he killed dozens of the filth that day…but it was not enough,”

“I understand….”

“and Jarys,” she opened her arms and he sat beside her, placing his arm around her,

“Soon after we were taken I sensed things…even across who knows how far…something happened to Shilea…something terrible…I was screaming all night…and Cilina…I sensed pain then joy from her echoed across he aether for a time…it was similar to when a woman bears a child,”

That was the last straw, Jarys wept openly, Maeson did too, Selaena sat on the other side of Kassyndra and held her.  

After a time, Kassyndra spoke again, “Guardian I have lived too long like this, by the aether and the eyes of the Lady herself, please finish what I cannot…I feel my time is come now, I feel it in the winds…having told you this I am reconciled to my earlier failure….”

He nodded gravely, she had observed all the formalities.  The line-up had all but passed, no one would see them…none of them would understand.  As he held her in one arm, he place his other hand on her chest, she clasped it in hers.  

“do not let my death go unavenged,” she whispered

“It will not…,”  he replied,

“It will not,” Maeson added,

Selaena nodded gravely

Just a little jolt from Jarys and Kassynrda was enough, the electricity surged through her overloading and destroying each nerve in her body in an instant, the smell of charred flesh soon became apparent. The three Aethans bowed their heads in mourning.  
********************************************************************************************

It was even quieter than usual on the Vorynx…after Kassyndra had died he had cremated her with aetheric fire…he wished to take her back to Aethas...but that was the great pain.

He had a ship, skill to pilot it…but he didn’t know where it was.  It was on no star chart he had searched, when he was taken he knew nothing of astrography, it could be one of a million stars perhaps DC_10004563, or DC_10004564…he could find no record, it was one of millions explored in the deep core…then forgotten or lost amongst the ever changing hyperspace corridors as fluctuations in gravity opened and closed. A thousand lifetimes and he would still never find it.

He flicked through his galaxy map idly, Cilina could be on any of them…anywhere…if she was alive…he knew most would be dead by now…perhaps she would’ve stayed alive to have a child…but would she tolerate living in slavery…Jarys doubted it…he had to be realistic…as much as he would love to find her…even if he did what state would she be in…what state would any child raised a slave be in….a child corrupted by the violence of slavery…he would have to fulfil his role as a Guardian and kill it out of mercy.

He gazed out the viewport into the tunnel of hyperspace, the blues and whites of stars distorted into a curious tube….there was nothing for him out there…there was nothing for him in here…they were as empty as each other…No world, no children, no way to rebuild…

He sighed heavily and ran his hand over his face, as if trying to wipe off the despair…he would just go on as he had…looking for was scraps he could find...helping them die as a Guardian should….a grim task lit by a distant star of false hope…all he had.

Exactly!  I can see her butting heads with Valens and espeically with Kiraea over methods.  :-)

And we see Jarys again!  Nicely done.  I can relate to his new "job" better than some of the others.  Its good to see him returning to his role as Guardian as well.  I feared he was lost in the beast...

I imagine that at some point Valens and Jarys may bump into each other again...  Do the Jedi ever aid the Sons of Kessel?  Hmm...

One editorial note: There is a section of the post that repeats itself.  Just a simple "typesetting" error.  But it may be worth fixing, it was a bit distracting.  :-)

Fixed thanks for picking it up.
As to whether the Jedi aid to Sons of Kessel...that will be looked at further...but the Interlude The Orthodox gives Kimars opinion at least...

I have to say that this was one of my favorite chapters.  Truly heart-wrenching what the Aethans have gone through.  Even now as they attempt to save ALL slaves, the occasional Aethan finds themselves STILL manacled.  Much like Jarys: he may not necessarily be the Beast of yesteryear but he is no longer the Guardian he once was.

And I, too, was wondering what will become of Valens and Jarys when next they meet.  Is Jarys a...legacy being such as Valens?  Just a thought...

I like the expanded role of the Son of Kessel.  What we did (briefly) see of them in CotA, is certainly more fleshed out with this chapter.  And I like the addition of Maeson and Selaena.  Keep it up LSG, this is a fantastic narrative you're taking us on  ;D

Until next installment friends  :)

The electric blue light of proton warheads erupting flashed to his left, red from the fighters cannons streaked right…the ghostly purple light gave the void outside more content than the aching emptiness within.

A hard downward pull sent the Andis up brining the freighters blue engines into view, levelling off he fired, his face as expressionless as his mind was empty. Pulsing green bolts shrieked forward leaving orange and blackened steel wounds in the disabled engine.  Not even a shred of accomplishment…not amount of destruction could fill that void. 

The plasma ruptured forth like blood from a wounded beast, its energies confusing the fighter targeting… the aether told him the fighter’s position and their confidence slowly resurging.  He had struck the freighter with an aether guided torpedo while the Andis floated dead amongst this sector ubiquitous debris.  Their response sent four triangular fighters against his customised Mandolorian Assault ship. 

He could just stop their hearts, cut their thoughts, send them to sleep, or decimate them with aether guided missiles.  But Andis…his grandfather had always taught him never to use the aether when you didn’t have to. 

Pulling hard left, one ahead, two above, the fourth kept its distance to the right.  He lined up the one as its red bolts surged toward him…bold.  They deflected off his shields with purple splashes as returned green bolts from the wings, the fighter swerved too late, its right wing spinning it into the void.  Pivoting up the two above split in opposite directions, tight left to pursue, punctuating the blackness with more shots, the pilot pivoted and wove but he kept pace, a hit on the engine followed by a brief bloom of destruction.

The third was on his tail, hard to the right and toward the fourth, the tactical console beeping for the missile locking on.  Straight into it as third locked his tail and fired, his shields held the three hits as he juked and jinked, the missile launched.  In the brief seconds before it hit he cut the back engines put full reverse thrust and pushed the stick up sending him plunging down, counter measures released a cloud of small energized baubles behind him.

Targeting confused the missile hit a baubles, third unable to slow was caught in the detonation.  More canny fourth had moved above him to lock again…he wouldn’t give it the chance, a hard right to skim under the freighter, weaving past the turret fire, as fourth waited above the freighter for him to emerge.  He trailed along the freighters length, pulled right emerging just past the bridge then up.   Fourth pulled to the left but Valens overshot him, placing fourth between him and the freighters hull, another green volley, spattering the freighters top and demolishing the remaining fighter as vainly accelerated.

Four dead fighters filled the void outside, that within remained untouched.
*********************************************************************************************
The Andis was on the port side of the Freighter, its breach docking arm cutting its way into the metal.  The crew of Trandoshans was lined up ready to intercept. 

Valens was slicing a starboard airlock.  Encased in his usual vacuum capable beskar armour, dark grey and armed to the teeth with mini rockets, flame throwers, gas, tranquilizer darts and other nasty surprises.  His standard weapons were twin Mandolorian Disruptors, technically illegal in the Republic, one beskar and one kortosis knife, TerrorX Assault rifle with scope modifications. Almost as an afterthought, his lightsabre.

The slice was easy, and the door hissed open.  He could sense all fourteen fourteen Trandoshans, violently tempered spice smugglers.  Normally this kind of thing was reserved for planetary security, but when your smuggling operation was undercutting the usual Hutt smuggler in the sector, and hence the kickbacks paid to the local senator…then it became a Jedi issue.

The ships internal atmosphere was suited to the Trandoshans biology, lower gravity, noxious gases.  He stalked the sooty halls lined with pitted metal  crouching behind a corner as he came to the bridge, only three, the captain he guessed by the abundance of wookie pelts, and two officers.  They were focused on directing their defence and calling for help if he understood them correctly.

He spun out of the corner pistols in hand, his first two shots plunged into the officers backs, through their chest and deep into their consoles.  Mandolorian weapons were highly effective.  The stunned captain turned to meet a bolt to the face.  He holstered and took out his knives before hitting the bridge alarm. 

He felt the other Trandoshans rushing back, pressed himself against the wall beside the door as they roared past, stepping out silently as they looked over the bodies. 
He plunged his knives into the crouched form of one of them, pulled, rose then dug them into the guts of another before he realised what was happening.  He rolled across the deck as blaster bolts flew, slashing off limbs as he came around, rolling over the back of a legless Trandoshan and landing with his knives firmly in the next ones chest.  It was forty seconds of furious blood-letting before all that remained alive was the second in command hobbling on stumps.

He kicked the survivor onto his back and stared at the alien eyes…as if he could find something…just something of interest there, but his dying mind was filled with the usual rubbish.  He glanced over at the mutilated bodies void of life…no amount of blood could fill the void within him either.

“errgh…what are you…assassin…Mercenary…” the survivor called

“Isn’t it obvious,” Valens said mirthlessly, “I’m a Jedi,”
With a flick of his mind he imploded the Trandoshans skull.
*********************************************************************************************
“And they would not surrender?  Under any circumstances,” Kimar pressed

“They did not let up Master, even after I disabled them, I did manage to intercept some transmissions and documents that, with further analysis may prove useful,” Valens replied before the council, Kimar, the Ikotchi Grand Master was always trying to sense something from him in the force…yet all he found was a hollow shell.

Kimar had been reluctant to let Yoda train him, reluctant to allow him to undergo the trials, despairing when he passed them. 

But Kimar was pragmatic enough to know a good resource when he had one, Valens dealt with things quickly and with finality, an unspoken arrangement had grown between them – Kimar sent him on missions prompted by his ‘friends’ in the Senate where a peaceful resolution, despite being the Jedi’s first goal, was not really wanted.  Valens in turn was given freedom to pursue his studies of other force cultures and just kept quiet about what actually happened in the field.

“Very well, have it analysed…return here tomorrow for your next assignment,”

“Yes Master,” he bowed

“Before you go,” Soryu called out, an older human master with light brown skin and thin eyes, bald but with a short stubbly beard, Valens greatest ally on the council and amongst the Jedi, even more than Yoda.  Soryu had a fascination with the concept of the living force, he saw species that used the force naturally as enjoying some kind of ideal state of living – ‘more in tune with all life’.   

Soryu made the typical Jedi error, he deluded himself into believing the force had some moral direction, some transcendent right and wrong, and that only by keeping to this arbitrary code could one connect more fully with it…and worse that those naturally more connected to the force would act more in tune with this moral imperative…utterly, utterly delusional.

“Master I thought we might consider again if Knight Valens should be elevated to Master…once again he has shown tremendous ability in the face of adversity, it is essential such knowledge is passed on.” Soryu went on for the hundredth time, Kimar rolled his eyes, Valens cringed inwardly, no amount of praise could fill the void within him…no promotion or recognition would satiate that emptiness.

“Knight Valens has shown remarkable ability, and is always very helpful when at the Temple advising the padawans…” the old Cerean Ha’Siri’Kum added, he did help students in the library or archives amongst his own studies, or in combat training…. to assess future potential enemies.

“Unfortunately there are very few padawans in need of a Master, the last allocation was three months ago,”  Kimar kept Valens away during that time avoiding the look of shunning a highly regarded knight.  On this Valens and Kimar were of one mind, he didn’t want an apprentice any more than Kimar wanted to give him one.  But the feel of the rest of the room was increasingly against them.

Kimar relented a little, “I will arrange for a list of potential candidates to be ready upon Knight Valens return.
*********************************************************************************************
Free Me

It was half demand half request, he looked at Milaea.  She was the last child of the Aethans…their survival rested upon her…she was so small and vulnerable…in this galaxy…he alone could not protect her…

“We have an agreement,” he replied, the ghostly red figure nodded slowly, the spirits of the Aethans glowed in grim agreement.

Red lightning crackled from his fingertips.

Once again before this altar…He made his choice.

He poured energy into the altar and the infant, grasping trying to drag Aethena from her imprisonment whilst perfecting the child’s physiology…but she had been there too long…she was too deep for him to draw out…

Yoda was close by…he needed to hurry….but he didn’t have the strength along…

The phantoms of the Aethans coalesced into one form…his Grandfather…the ghostly blue figure strode over to him…he had no choice….he let the shade merge with him…the power over a thousand dead souls flooded him…he had it now…he pulled the remnants of Aethena into the fragile body and its very DNA was streamlined, perfected…yet he left a legacy of Cilina and Jarys.

Their power was used…what legacy would the dead leave him with….
*********************************************************************************************
His eyes opened.

Sofa slept soundly beside him, he felt the warmth her body radiate against his, the rise and fall of her breast with each breath…She was a beautiful woman, compassionate and determined, a good role model for Milaea…yet no amount of her affection, her love, her body could fill the aching void in his heart.

He didn’t fool himself it was just because she was Milaea’s master…that was a factor, he had manipulated Sofas mind to prompt her into teaching Milaea certain things for years…but he had wanted Sofas body, her affections, her gentleness as well…

No not hers, he wanted Shilea…he wanted his wife…but he only had Sofa.  He had thought perhaps she could fill just a little of the gnawing emptiness…yet no amount of sex could fill the void. 

That void… The Goddess had been raised...the power of a thousand dead souls…their rage, their fear…spent in one moment the legacy an emptiness he had to keep locked down with the aether…he had tried to fill it…with revenge, destruction, knowledge, power, pleasure, pain….nothing could substitute for the returned life it hungered for…a life he hadn’t the power to give.

He slid out of the bed and into the bathroom, splashing some cool water on his face he looked at his reflection.   The same average, perhaps slightly handsome features, short light brown hair, greyish eyes…yes the same…they hadn’t changed at all in years…he didn’t age after 29 or 30…soon people would start to notice. 

He was running out of time too fast
She was the only one who could bring the life they…and he…needed…

There it was though…

'Could'…

Only possibly…no guarantee…if she couldn’t bring Shilea and the others back…

He shuddered to think of the thing he might become…it had been manageable at the start but now…a quarter of his power was needed every moment to keep it from consuming him…dead eyes stared back at him.

And if Shilea was resurrected what would she see when she looked upon him?
The blood of thousands dead upon his hands?
Hear a voice that was a stranger to the truth come from his mouth?
Smell the perfume and sweat of his hours with Sofa on his skin?
Could she forgive him, would she even care?

What had he become…what had his crusade to bring her, his people, back made him…the ghostly visage of his
Grandfather briefly flickered, a projection upon his own features…it mouthed one word…

Life…

A shell of a man seeking to resurrect a woman whose love he secretly feared would still not be enough to fill the void she had left. 

Sofa stirred in the other room, she would not ask about his tears…the stress of being a Jedi was well known to her, and served as his excuse too…the water rippled, his fists clenched, the basin trembled, the aetheric emanations of desire unfulfilled. 

The emptiness gnawed at the edges of his mind…he thought about Sofa, just lying there, soft, warm, compassionate…perhaps this time it might be fulfilling he lied to himself.

*********************************************************************************************

Valens is one of your best characters IMO.  Is this emptiness that he feels innate because he's not fulfilling his genetic imperative or is it because of loss (and not just for his wife but for his people, planet, way of life)?  Aethans may not have a humans sense of social mores but they do have emotions...

I am glad that you've made Kimar more than just a Straw anti-villian.  But I think that's indicative of your superb writing.  I am so glad that you continued your story of the Aethans  :)

Until next installment friends  :)

Wow, this one delved deep.  That emptiness and loss...

this goddess, Aethenia (sp) is ... interesting.  From the interludes this drive for some kind of genetic perfection has been the goal all along.  These guys have some kind of genetic/cultural imperative to follow it.  Valen's emptiness is indicative of it, the need and actions of others also. Everything is driven by the goddess.

I hope we learn more about her soon.  :-)

Yeah it's all of that plus living a lie for 20 years waiting for Milaea to grow up, and having to let the force ghosts basically merge with him to get the power he needed...so emotional and spiritual, plus the pressure of being the only one really in charge of his people (the 4 that he even knows of...Melron, Mirada and the girls)...all that costs you something...

Costs a lot, from the sound of it.  Good to know these guys are 'human' after all.  :-)

“Mili!”, he placed his hands on her shoulders, he had taught almost all the Padawans in the temple and some point, and cared for them all, but he had always had a special affection for her, not only because of how he had found her and her natural connection to the force, but her bright and determined personality…even though Jedi were not meant to form such bonds, he sometime felt she was the daughter he would never have. 

“How are you, I heard about what happened on Chandrilla,”

“I’m fine master, just little scuffle,” she replied,

“Sofa says you did very well, come on let’s get something to eat to celebrate! I have a trick to show you”

They went by the main mess hall picking up some blue milk pops, Milaea’s favourite then up to one of the newly completed corner towers of the temple.  They still hadn’t really moved anyone in here yet so it was empty of even furniture.

“So,” she started as they sat watching the traffic, “What’s the trick,”

“Ah now this one,” he put his pop down and stretched out both his hands, in one was a Jawa Baby Lolly, “is one Valens showed me, from a people called the Aing-Tii in the Kathol rift,” 

Soryu’s eyes closed and his face tightened in concentration, he channelled the force as much as he could, trying to replicate artificially how naturally Valens had done it…then suddenly, a pop as the Jawa Baby vanished from his right hand and air filled the vacuum it left, then tremor in his left hand and a blow of air as it appeared there.

Her mouth was wide open as Soryu opened his eyes, sweat on his brow, it had strained him more than he thought it would.

“Whoa…did you just!,”  she exclaimed

“Teleportation…the way it works is seeing all objects as concentrations of the force…you’re just shifting one blob of the force to another place in the vast ocean of it…it’s very hard though…I don’t think it could ever have a practical use,” he loved the concept, but he had found the application near impossible, it seemed to require more energy the larger the object you moved, given what it took for him to move a small lolly he doubted anyone could do much with it.

“hmm…let me try,” 

He passed her the Jawa Baby, she tossed it into her mouth,

“There, made it vanish! Need to work on reappearing though,”

Soryu chuckled, “might take a while”

She smiled and picked up her pop, she’d only eaten half, it filled her palm easily, she stared at it intently, brows furrowed, Soryu could feel the force build up around her.  It flowed so rapidly, like with Valens, that it always took him by surprise.  Their races natural connection was enviable.  She eyed the pop then suddenly…

…poof, puff…it vanished into a vacuum and reappeared in her other hand

His eyes went almost as wide as his mouth.  She flashed him a mischievous grin,

“Think of the pranks I could play with that trick,” she licked her teleported pop.
*********************************************************************************************************************
He sat in the caverns beneath the temple, feeling the flow of the force amongst the winds in the cavern…he had always liked it here...away from everyone else. 

There was a flow, a life…yet so many threads…so much history…he opened himself to it all, suppressing his instinct to block out the dark and focus on the light…not a dichotomy he thought recalling Valens words about the Aing-Tii…how they saw the force as a Rainbow.  The force ebbed and flowed…the lights seemed to shade into different streams, blues, greens and whites, the dark into orange, reds and browns…yes a rainbow…

His chronometer beeped…2 hours already…he would have to spend more time on this later.  He got up and hurried to the maintenance turbo lift.  He was more pressed for time these days, he had taken up most of Yoda’s classes after he had left. 

Yoda as well as six other Jedi were on a six year mission into the Unknown regions seeking to find the capital world of the Rakata Empire, lost to history.  They had been gone for three years now, the last signal had come through 6 months ago…

Soryu pressed the control to take him to the eastern tower for meditation classes with teenagers…Soryu was less worried for Yoda out in the wilds of space than he was for the Jedi left behind.  Kimar’s influence had become ever more pervasive without Yoda there to keep him in check…more and more Jedi were being sent on missions that had less to do with peace and justice and more to do with helping smooth the way for large companies or ambitious Senators…ending disputes with unions, dealing with piracy against corporate transit companies, cutting down new smuggling operations yet ignoring old ones…

The doors hissed open and he half sprinted to the room, trying to clear his head with the flow of the force as he moved.  A master with a cluttered mind teaching mediation would not be a good look!
*********************************************************************************************************************
With Yoda gone, Soryu had taken over the majority of the younglings training, it was a lot of work, but very fulfilling, to be able to see each of these unique children develop, learn, grow, and yes at times fail.  Fortunately there was never a shortage of volunteers to help him, today he had both Sofa and Milaea assisting. 

As he watched a pair of 8 year olds slowly plod through shii-cho forms he let himself feel the flow of the force form the pair…compassionate, patient, warm…Milaea had picked up many of Sofa’s best qualities…she gently held a young togruta’s arms guiding her through a low parry…he could remember her at this age…actually he could remember them both…Sofa had been plucky and confident, Milaea worried…

By agreement with Yoda they hadn’t told her anything much about her ancestry, she was just another Jedi as far as she knew, of course she had to be told about some biological differences, but that wasn’t so uncommon.  It had been an odd discussion they had had just after Valens had been knighted, Soryu wanted her to know a little about her  parents, but Yoda had insisted it wasn’t necessary,

“If told she is her parents, enslaved then murdered were….a dark pall across her young mind it may cast,” Yoda had said. 
He couldn’t really argue with that, and Valens showed no indication he wished to tell Milaea much about her ancestry.  Valens was gone more often than not, though when they were both there he did look in on her and Sofa…he glanced over at Sofa demonstrating a double flourish....He knew his former apprentice all too well, she couldn’t hide her relationship with Valens from him…he sighed…as happy as it made her…if Kimar ever found out…

A brief flicker in the force, bright and glowing as Milaea showed a combination slash then force push….that had…no still was…her greatest battle…her ancestry, like Valens gave her enormous powers, when young he had to train her himself after she unintentionally hurt other padawans…that had cast a dark pall across her…but looking at her beaming face as the togruta copied the move perfectly he almost forgot it.

She was strong, but restrained, compassionate but wise…she was everything a Jedi should be he thought.  Kimar would not agree…but Soryu hoped, maybe just maybe, Milaea could be the one to turn the tide of the culture amongst the Jedi…lead them to realise their potential as a force for good in the galaxy…if only she didn’t hold herself back…
********************************************************************************************************************
The staffs cracked against each other below his waist, he turned his wrist to try and lock his opponent, but she quickly flicked out and stepped back,

“After this one…I think…no reason to delay,” Sofa said slightly puffed as she circled Soryu keeping her staff in a defensive spin.  He pivoted on the spot to remain facing her,

“You don’t think another year?” she rolled forward unexpectedly coming into a high sweep as she rose, he leaned back and parried to the left

“Ugh…why wait, she has the skills, the knowledge,”  Sofa spun to come around at him from the right, he met the attack with the centre of his staff, using the point of contact as the fulcrum he tried to sweep the ends of the staff at her, but she pushed against him to keep the distance, a good strategy to compensate for her smaller frame…it forced Soryu to use his energy coming to her over and over.

“no doubt,” he arced into a downward slash, it was true he had no doubts about Milaea’s knowledge, and her connection to the force put them all to shame

“I just don’t want you to push too hard…if you do Kimar might push her back years,”

Sofa spun, Soryus slash cut only air as she twirled to his side, he followed through his momentum from the slash into a spin to meet her face to face just in time.

“After the last mission,”  she moved back defensively, he stepped forward an launched a few probing jabs,

“…if I give her the lead on this one…”  she knocked his jabs but retreated, Soryu angled her to the wall of the sparring room,

“…and it all goes well, I don’t think they can object surely,” He made an left to right upper cut with the left end of the staff turning it quickly into a horizontal slash toward her neck, the first she dodged the second she blocked with her staffs centre,

“ha, you don’t know Kimar!” he replied, he wanted Milaea to undergo the trials just as much as Sofa, though she seemed to be in more of a hurry for some reason…Soryu just didn’t want to risk Milaea’s chances.  They kept locked, Soryu using his greater strength to try and pin her, Sofa trying to pivot out. 

“I’m sure you can put in a good word,” she dropped to her knees, his push without an opposite force caused him to unbalance and she stabbed low, half falling he lurched back to knock her jab aside just in time, then come round to tap her on the head.

“Just,” Sofa smiled rubbing where he had hit theatrically

“Tell me about it…” he agreed.
********************************************************************************************************************

This should be canon as to the reason(s) that the Jedi become so intransigent and dogmatic later on.  Kimar is the perfect character to inaugurate this fundamental shift.  And now, with Yoda dealing with the Rakata (I had to look them up; your knowledge of the SW universe is encyclopaedic LSG  ;)), it helps to further Kimer's agendas.  This is awesome!

I am so glad to see more of Soryu and Sofa, again.  I am really invested in these characters and the legacy of the Aethans (no pun intended). 

And I had to smile at the "blue milk" reference  :D

Until next installment friends  :)

Nice installment.  Soryu's recognition of the natural connection that Mili has to the force is actually kinda cute, but teaching her something like teleportation?  He seems almost recklessly niave sometimes.  As Valens analyzed it, he equates a strong connection to the Force on a natural level with a connection to the good and light.  Rather like the "noble savage" concept of our own culture.  With just as much error and danger.

I also loved the way you included the Rakata Empire and the six-year mission to find them.  Nice.  And you can certainly see the seeds of the eventual downfall of the Jedi in Kimar's "practical" application of his Order's power.  Ir reminds me a bit of the Templars evolution from protectors of pilgrims to bankers and power-brokers.

Hmm.  Inspiration? LOL  :-)

Nicely done!  Its great to see these guys again, especially Soryu.  I really like him a lot!

Spot on re Soryu, he's a great Master, peerless student of the force...but a terrible strategist...then again he has no reason to see Milaea as anything other than a prodigy of a Padawan given he has basically raised her. I guess Kimar and Soryu are two visions of what they Jedi can be in tension, between then and within themselves, the Warrior Knights, or the Mystic Monks. Anyway chapter 5 will be the last 'getting up to speed' 20 years after CotA chapter before the action starts...

The room was very white and very clean…too white and clean for his liking.  It was almost a reflection of how legitimate his business dealings were…well mostly legitimate. 

“That is an interesting request…but I think we can accommodate it, there is only the matter of price to consider…for this many…we will have to analyse the samples first to determine the cost,”  Tian Wey said, blinking his large black eyes.  His low desk made the Kaminoans height and long neck even more prominent, typical tactic Lyr thought, he had seen it a hundred times negotiating for the Hutts.

“I’m sure you can provide a Razor Ball Park figure of the cost per item,” Lyr replied, he could tell when someone was trying to avoid giving a price by referring to some ‘expert’ or need to ‘investigate further’, he’d done it himself countless times.

“Well it’s difficult, the preservation method is…interesting to say the least,”

Lyr was getting annoyed, “Just give me a figure on the worst possible option,”

“Well if we had to do a full species sequencing to fill in gaps in individual members, I would say around 12 million per item.”

That was expensive…12 billion credits for all 1000…. Lyr nodded thoughtfully,

“And a mid-range estimate?”

“Around 8 million,”  8 billion far more manageable but still

“You understand this is a far smaller order, and with only 100 unique items, each replicated 10 times…well that’s not what we usually do, typically there is one or two templates and thousands of clones, we can’t achieve the economies that keep costs down…,”

Lyr understood, but his orders were specific, after all there was only so much they could manage at once. 

“We can work within that higher range, now let’s get down to details,”
*********************************************************************************************
“Is it done” he asked through the holonet

“It’s done,” Lyr replied

“And the cost?”

“We’ve contracted to a maximum of 15 billion, deposit of 2 billion has been transferred already, instalments due after they are born, and again on maturity, final one five years after delivery, although we have arranged for replacements of faulty items,”

His employer nodded slightly, “and the intellectual property,”

“I’ve been assured of their confidentiality and that their records will be deleted after the process, but I don’t believe them,”

“Very well, I may have to pay them a visit afterwards,” 

Lyr shuddered at what that visit might entail…his employer was obsessed with keeping the overall scheme of his project, and the delivery location as secret as possible…The last time his employer had paid a contractor Lyr suspected of cheating them a ‘visit’…they had been running stories across the holo-news networks about the massacre and the dismemberment for weeks….How the police or Jedi hadn’t caught on yet he had no idea.

“Any other updates?” his employer inquired,

“Maynard confirms the Chiss have begun work on the second phase, proceeding at 70,000 Kilometres square per day overall.”  918 million square kilometre, ¼ done in phase one

His employer looked up for a moment doing some brief calculations ,

“less what was already done in phase one…that’s 26 years, the projections for phase three were almost double that weren’t they?”

Lyr shuffled some notes, “Yes…about 120,000 slightly under double…but its variable and could be improved if we can get the Duran Mark 3 Processors,”

“Very well…well done Lyr, give Nxi and Churi my regards,”

Lyr smiled and switched off.

He blew out a large breath…the employer was not hard to deal with, in fact they were the best employer Lyr had ever had…never violent or threatening toward Lyr…apart from the fact his nose would bleed and head would ache every time he even thought about disobeying an order…..
*********************************************************************************************
The Deft Player was a beautiful ship, a luxury liner with a few enhancements, plenty of room, and best of all free.  It had belonged to a Falleen slaver who had run afoul of someone in the Republic so much they had sent a Jedi to bring him in. 

And his employer had dutifully brought the Falleen in…in pieces, the ship reported destroyed to the Jedi and given it to Lyr, all Lyr had to do was swap the atmosphere processes and replace all the furnishings…they were a horrible colour to begin with such that the blood stains left from the fight...well more like butchery…had actually improved things…his employer had a penchant for dismemberment.

He waltzed down the corridors to the main kitchen where Churi was feeding Nxi, who in turn was feeding her stuffed wampa Blibli.  Lyr was well aware that having him marry Churi was part of ‘domesticating’ him, and his daughter Nxi was an obvious hostage.  They needn’t worry, Lyr had never had it so good all things considered, nice ship, family, all the credits he could spend…the job was difficult at times, but lots of travel and no Hutts or Mandolorians…just a paranoid psychopath masquerading as a Jedi.

“Finished for the day?,” Churi asked, she was the bright and bubbly type, pale red skin and graceful lekku, and so energetic she wore him out sometimes.  She had been a slave that like the ship, had been handed to Lyr by Valens, he had asked about her rescue once early on, but she shook so violently and looked so terrified he didn’t dare press for details. 

“All done, that smells...interesting” he sniffed at the air and glanced at the boiling pot,

“Oh its Vyja…Vyga…some type of Kaminoan fish…they didn’t have much else…will we be stopping at a trade hub soon…we’re running low…oh and Nxi needs new boots”

“Nuuu Booz,” Nxi added

Churi patted Nxi and stroked her lekku, “Newww Boootttss, tttss”

“ttsssss” Nxi tried to emulate

“We can manage till we reach Denon I think…don’t especially want to stop off at Ryloth…”  They were headed back across the outer rim to the Corellian Run, then up to Corellia to arrange some automated shield generator manufacturing facilities, then down the Corellian Trade Spine to Duro for the gas processors.  After that back to…that place…her shuddered at the thought…to report in person.

“hmm alright…” she sounded resigned and served up the fish, didn’t actually taste that bad…Churi had many wonderful qualities…cooking wasn’t one of them.

As his family ate he reflected on the scene before him…he would never have guessed this was where he would end up when he was working for Myzm…or the psychotic Sevra…every moment back then his life was at risk…he had made the most of every minute, with slaves, spice…now he was almost respectable…he had been well and truly whipped…but he was…happy?

He wondered, was he happy, or was that just something he was made to feel to keep him in line…would he even be able to doubt his happiness if he were fully under his employers control…

“Paaabaaa”  Nxi interrupted his train of thought pointing at him with her spoon

“Alright,” he shifted over and took it from her, “open up the hangar bay doors here comes the Spaceship!”  perhaps all that mattered was it felt real.
*********************************************************************************************
Lyr certainly did not have force…or aether as they called it…but even as he approached the vast space stations that surrounded Duro he could sense her…why did it have to be her.

He pulled into Pellezara station with Nxi on his lap as he sent through his credentials to access the port he had booked near the main corporate areas of the 40 kilometre space city.

Most Duros lived on the spaces stations around the long since over polluted planet…as a result of the need to keep them supplied the Duros used huge gas processes on their world’s surface and ferried up breathable gases to the stations.  It was these processors he had come for.

He gave Nxi to Churi before he lowered the boarding ramp, he could taste her on the air…the unrestrained hate blew like a burning wind from a wild fire.

“You all right,” Churi asked

“Oh fine…maybe just stay on the ship for now…” Churi frowned, she hated missing any opportunity to go shopping, “Just till the business side of things is finished,” he gave her and Nxi a peck on the cheek, then glanced at the lowering ramp, “It won’t take long,” he said with grim certainty.

She was standing right in front of the ramp, immaculate long dark brown hair, piercing blue eyes, a professional and no doubt expensive white and black business dress…and a smile that chilled him to the bones.

There she was…the insane pyromaniac…she was beautiful and crazy in equal measure…how his employer kept her on a leash he had no idea.

“Miss me?” she asked sweetly,

“My Lady” he bowed, “…I didn’t expect to see you here,” 

“Really, did you think we would allow you to arrange something so important on your own?” even after all these years he still didn’t really understand the ‘we’…he couldn’t work out how their little club of force powered whackos worked, her, his employer and the old man seemed to have some strange equal rank…they would argue then hug…but his main employer…Valens the ‘Jedi’ always seemed to get his own way…probably for the best, as paranoid and emotionally unstable as he was Valens was a logistical and strategic mastermind who had planned out every detail of the plan Lyr helped him implement. 

“You did on Kamino…” he replied trying not to shake

“Don’t be an idiot, I’ve been on you every step of the way…you only feel me when I want you too,” she stepped right into his personal space,

“and when we’re done with you…you are going to be feeling it very very viscerally,” 

He swallowed hard…she remembered the day he had sold her to some pervert from Commenor…and that he had organised attack on her people…and he knew one day…when he was no longer of use to them his employer would let her have at him…but any time he even contemplated running…his head suddenly pounded….

At any rate…there was no running from Them.

“Perhaps we can do the whole veiled threats thing after the negotiations….” He suggested feeling very hot all of a sudden…

“Let’s go,” just like that every bit of discomfort vanished from him as she turned to lead the way.
*********************************************************************************************
Even before his current role he had been adept at negotiations, now 15 years of hard haggling had made him a master.  He could get anything for at least 25% less than the asking price…but none of that compared to a force user with no regard for other people’s sentience.

The Duros head was swaying as he signed the triplicate copy of the contract. It should’ve cost 800 million…or more…it had cost 500 million with her suggestions.  There were twenty people in the room, the three main Duro negotiators, fifteen various aides, experts and lawyers…and only he and the Lady were close to being fully conscious.

As he finished the scrawl she beamed across the table with a smile he could feel in his own heart…just more manipulation…as she no doubt relaxed her grip on their minds.

“An excellent agreement that benefits both parties, I know everything will go perfectly,” 

Of course she knew, Lyr thought, she had just hypnotised them into agreeing to eat their own legs, or other limbs for the non-bipedal species on the room, if they dared try and cheat on quality or delivery in any way shape or form. 

He suddenly imagined what a Hutt would do with powers like hers…he shuddered…

“Cold?” the pyromaniac harpy asked at his shudder as the awoken Duros and hangers on popped bottles of various intoxicants to celebrate the deal, “shall I get you something to warm you up,”

“Oh void no…” he replied to the horrific smile of Kiraea, “I’m just fine….”
*********************************************************************************************

Yes, be very afraid of Kiraea.  VERY afraid...

LSG, I love the way you've brought these threads together!  That's some very intricate and masterful plotting!  Lyr working for Valens is just ... karmic somehow.  And he knows that Kiraea is waiting for him.  So he works VERY hard to be valuable...

Clones.  Now THAT makes sense.  They need a viable population, that would provide it.  Beginning to see the path here...  interesting that in the end, though, they seem to be going back to the roots of the whole Aetherian "origin" with the clones.  Perhaps that goddess of yours had something to do with that?

I'm still wondering if the goddess isn't really some kind of master-computer...  LOL

Well begun!  bring on the action!  :-)

Yes!  Lyr's back!  My favorite scum  ;). I kind of like that he's aware of his deliberate situation and the ramifications of it.  To paraphrase, pretend to be happy and he might have some fun by accident... Of course, I like that Kiraea is there to remind him that not all sins are so easily forgotten...or forgiven...

It's neat to be able to appreciate many of the crossover characters that you've introduced us to; especially since we're vested in them to such a degree  ;). Karm's right: awesome storytelling and first-class planning!

Interesting development with the Kaminoan Cloners...but it's brilliant!  But is their technology up to the task?  And why the expansive land development of the Chose?  Damn these are good mysteries  ;).

Oh: I like Karm's idea concerning the Goddess...

Until next installment friends  :)

“Anything interesting,” Sofa asked her apprentice beside her in the small Hapan jet.

“Nothing so far…a few anomalies…doesn’t look systemic” she had Milaea looking into the accounts and inventories that Cygrat Arms Manufacturing provided to the Republic as part of their oversight.  Their mission was to investigate rumours of the company smuggling of weapons outside of the Republic.

She piloted them gently through the orbital traffic to Cygrat, dead in the middle of the inner rim, it was a non-descript planet, a few large oceans, long brown plains of farm land, and dotted with cities that were home to mediocre manufacturing concerns that serviced the needs of nearby systems and little else.

She brushed a stray lock of black out of her eyes as she angled toward the large spaceport, it wasn’t exactly welcoming…like the planet it was mediocre, plain…like the mission…like her whole life it seemed….

“hmm…maybe…”Milaea mumbled to herself, she was a good student, not that Sofa had any to compare her against, very smart, and her connection to the force…sometimes Sofa almost found it terrifying.  Many times she had had to ask master Soryu for help in how to teach Milaea to channel the raw energy she possessed, in that Sofa had learned just as much as Milaea…but they had grown together over the last 10 years forming a strong bond. 

“Here, I was looking at completed products shipments, the issues isn’t there, it’s the parts, here 150,000 barrels, 150,000 stocks, 150,000 pulse converter chambers, 150,000 of every part produced each year….but…”

She glanced over as she entered the vast hangar,

“Don’t keep me in suspense….” She jibed trying to make the task more interesting

“They only officially shipped 130,000 blasters out last year….20,000 barrels and power cells just vanish….they must be sending the components somewhere else to be assembled,”

“that’s  a lot of blasters…”

“Not just blasters either…grenades, fixed emplacements…if this has been happening every year they’d be able to supply a fairly reasonable army….”

The ship landed in the much too large hangar, obviously designed for industrial freighters, with soft thud.

“Sounds like a start then, check over this ship will you” She said as she got up and stretched out and headed to the refresher. 

She washed off her hands and tied her hair back into a tight pony tail, looked more professional and didn’t get in the way if things got rough.  She looked in the mirror and checked the small amount of makeup she used, just a brush here and there…there was no explicit rule in the Jedi ordinances about it, but it was frowned upon…could lead to pride…but as she got older she used more and more. 

She sighed at the prospect of another boring mission…It just seemed so pointless, look into this, arrange a treaty here, shut down a smuggler or pirate…yet for everyone one the Jedi addressed she knew ten more took its place…they were trying to impose law and morals on a galaxy that could care less.  Milaea was just about ready for the trials…once that was done….then what…

She thought back to her last tryst with Valens as she wriggled out of her clothes, checking herself in the mirror, the training kept her toned and strong, a little lean.  She was long since over the guilt of disobeying the Jedi ordinances, she just didn’t care anymore, being with Valens satisfied her physically and emotionally and provided a welcome distraction to the monotony of pointless missions of ‘peace’.
 
She caressed her hand over her breast to her stomach…sometimes…more frequently these last few times…she would secretly hope she would find out she was pregnant…she felt so stuck amongst the Jedi, so bored…she loved Milaea like a sister, but she wanted her own family…to stop pretending to toe the line…to be open about what she wanted for herself, stuff all that “dangers of attachment” nonsense Kimar and the masters went on about.

She smiled wickedly…imagining how she could make it public…perhaps she and Valens could make love on Kimars desk…his face when he would walk in….

Perhaps, she thought, that was why for all their missions the Jedi achieved no lasting change…not because they were so few in number as they said, but because so few of the ones they had actually gave a damn about obeying their rules after the passion of new Knighthood, and the dreams of making a real difference had woken to the harsh reality of an indifferent galaxy.

She was stuck…she couldn’t leave the Jedi, it was all she knew, she couldn’t jeopardise Milaea’s future by having a rogue master.  And yet she also wouldn’t…couldn’t…give up her relationship with Valens…Once Milaea was knighted…perhaps she should ‘forget’ her contraception one day…they could go and live in Hapes….

 “Are you done yet?” Milaea called,

“Just a minute,” she replied pulling on her robe, saddened to be leaving her imagination for the dull sights of Cygrat.
*********************************************************************************************

“Defects are an unfortunate reality in manufacturing Master Neirai” the unhelpful pudgy Director of Cygrat arms informed her when confronted with Milaea’s statistics

Sofa crossed her arms incredulous as Milaea pressed on “Really, 20,000 defaults…every year…like clockwork…for the last five years,” he raised his hand in a helpless gesture

“Well we round the figures to the nearest thousand…” he replied as if that made sense,  Sofa could sense Milaea was just as disbelieving as she was…in an automated factory like this there was no excuse not to have completely precise figures on items produced, and their regulatory conditions required it.

“What do you do with the defective items,” Milaea asked, over the last few years as she neared the time for her trials Sofa had encouraged her to take the lead in such situations, she still had her to fall back on, but Milaea was getting more confident in her interactions.

“Well we recycle them of course,” 

“I see,” Milaea said then quickly tapped on her datapad….

“Says here you were paid 30,000 credits last year by you’re only contracted recycler…boy that’s not much is it…let’s see 20,000 times 40 product lines….that’s 0.0375 credits per item in scrap…,”  she stared at the Director, Sofa could feel the force building in Milaea,

“You’re getting ripped off, market price for scrap is at least 10 times that, Director,” 

The pudgy man was sweating now, the office was only small over the factories conveyer belts, he had an oily stink to him and Milaea had him well stuck and sliding…Sofa would have to take a very long shower afterwards she thought absently happy to leave her apprentice to deal with this.

“Well I…” he suddenly found some kind of bravery, Sofa could feel the rise in his presence even before he spoke,
“Listen here girl, who are you to come in here and tell us how to run our business” he stood, his knuckles on the desk leering over at her
“you Jedi just waltz in here all high and mighty making all kinds of accusations, sticking your nose where it’s not wanted, now unless you have something more interesting than random facts to talk about, girl, I think we’re done here!”

His dismissive use of the word ‘girl’ annoyed Sofa more than a little, to her credit Milaea seemed unfazed.

“We’re done,” her Padawan said turning to leave, “for now”.
*********************************************************************************************
It was obvious there was something going on here, they just had to be patient.  Patience was not one of Sofas many virtues. 

With only a little help Milaea had managed to hack into the companies system and find a manifest that showed there were 200 components in excess of finished rifles and plasma mines, just sitting in a stock room.  Cross referenced with transport manifests they had found it was bound to be shipped out tonight, a week and a half after they had landed on Cygrat.  They were perched on the roof of a nearby three storey building, and Milaea had arranged with the local authorities for a sting operation. 

Again Milaea was showing when put to the task she could easily handle the daily demands a Jedi would face in the field, as soon as they got back Sofa would recommend her for the trials.  Soon she wouldn’t need Sofa…it saddened her a little, but it would free them both, and she couldn’t be prouder of her apprentice.

Three large cargo haulers slowly approached, the lights from their warning lights softly blinking against the night shrouded buildings as they approached.  Workmen got out, exchanged datapads and forms with the factory workers then started loading the crates of goods.  Sofa tensed and relaxed her muscles keeping herself prepared physically if bored mentally. 

She and Milaea had changed out of their robes in to more practical one piece suits, their hair tied back.  The intent was to follow the hover craft to their destination, arrest the recipients and hopefully get some information about the extent of their network from them. 

The cargo haulers left one by one in a line, she overheard the chatter on the comm from the police

“Targets moving, following at 500, air-wing circling,”

They approached the building they were perched upon, Milaea looked to Sofa for the signal, Sofa nodded and Milaea leapt off and landed soundlessly on the top of the first hauler.  Sofa paused then leapt onto the back of the third.  The landing was smooth and silent, the rumble of the hauler noticeable but not dangerous at this slow speed.  She kept her self-prone but doubted anyone was watching with any enthusiasm.

Her mind stayed focused on sensing the current in the force for any danger…she hoped this would lead only to the middlemen transporters and not actual soldiers

Suddenly the first hauler took a left, the second straight on, and the third carried her to the right…pretty poor attempt at deception on the ground, but shipping out on different ships would make sense. She was confident Milaea could deal with anything she encountered.

The hauler approached the far end of the space port,

“Location confirmed, Strike team moving to scout, comm silence” clicked off the police for the moment. 

She sensed it as soon as the hauler crossed into the space port, a presence alert, precise, deadly.  She couldn’t pin its location as they moved to the hangar…it was everywhere and nowhere at once….like nothing she had ever sensed before…overwhelmingly powerful, yet not like any Jedi master…ruthless yet not dark or angry…focused like a laser, yet not concentrating on any one thing.

As the hauler came to a halt a voice boomed across the hangar, made intentionally louder by the force. 

“You might as well get off now, we have you in the cross hairs,” 

Sofa concentrated…it was difficult to sense anything other than just the sheer presence of this…person…a faint trickle of danger on her back, she looked up and saw a sniper on the catwalks above.  This was not going as planned.  She tried to sense the police force but the presence was too strong to push through.  She had no choice.

She leapt down in front of the hauler.  In front of her was the loading ramp of amid sized freighter, at the top of it a man in grey chipped armour, a strange animal breaking out of a cage in yellow on the shoulder.

She swallowed hard and spoke,

“I am Master Neirai of the Jedi Order, you are surrounded and under arrest for breaches of the Republic Firearms Statutes section 4.4 through 4.9,”  she glanced around the room, she could see the dark figure of the sniper above, to the far side on a platform was another armoured male with a large repeater.  “Put down your weapons,” she adopted a conciliating tone, “we don’t need to fight,”

“You’re right Jedi, we don’t, and trust me you don’t want to…” he sighed, for all his focus and power it was as if he was bored…no resigned, “Turn around and leave, this is your only chance,” 

She was stuck…she couldn’t just walk away…but she didn’t want to risk a fight with whoever this was…she had never sensed anything like him before.  The comm crackled,

“CP, Lone sight 3, three armed targets, confirm green to move,”

No, no, no she thought, she really didn’t need this, she really, really didn’t want this

“Jedi Neirai confirm status,”
 
The man stared at her, his eyes like stone beneath dark hair. 

“CP, Lone sight 3, Jedi is compromised, eyes on target confirm green to engage,”

“No don’t” she yelled too late, as the blaster bolt sailed past she flicked her sabre to her hand and ignited it in defeat.
*********************************************************************************************

More great entries LSG. Cool to see Lyr again. I was just thinking that we hadn't seen anything from Jarys recently, and then I read the Sofa chapter. Seems like we might have gotten a bit of him as well.

Well..   Sofa was bored.  I'm thinking she isn't anymore.  :-)
Well written and tight!  Another great entry!  I have a feeling this is about to get VERY interesting!

Looks like Sofa has stumbled upon the Sons of Kessel and our wayward Jarys  ;). I wonder what he'll make of Milaea  ;D

I like Sofa's ruminations; I wonder what that would look like: Sofa (maybe with Valens but probably not) pregnant, goes to Hapes to hide...  ;)

Again, this is the way to present galactic policy AND make it enjoyable!  CanNOT wait for the next chapter!

Until next installment friends  :)

The plan had been simple, on the way back from a quick raid on a slave plantation they would pick up some weapons on Cygrat and take them back to Home Base.  But war…war never left him in peace for long.

With the speed of the aether he pivoted to the right, the bolt passing harmlessly past him plugging a searing dent in the ships inner door. 

More would’ve followed but Selaena’s deadly aim picked off the sniper outside the hangar.  This was inconvenient…it was meant to be a simple pick up, fly out…he fooled himself, every moment of his life since he had left Aethas had been war.  As the officers fell the Jedi raced toward him a blue sabre alight.

This was the second time he had seen a Jedi in the flesh…he was no more impressed now than before.  Another had briefly joined the Sons of Kessel years ago but was killed soon after, rumour was killed by another Jedi.  Jarys had only met zher once and considering the awe with which people spoke of them was disappointed…compared to an Aethan they were not especially strong in the aether…perhaps just above average. 

The danger came from their training.

Maeson surged forward as a strike team moved in behind the hauler…he left Maeson and Selaena to deal with them, he would not underestimate the Jedi.  Before she could close the distance he had his blaster pistol out and fired, the blue blade swept swiftly to deflect each back at him, just as swiftly he pivoted to avoid them.

Impressive.

She closed the distance quickly as he unsheathed his tremor sword.  Stray bolts from the police flicked past as they came upon each other, she began with an upward slash and he met it in a crackling collision with a downward cut. 

She was a competent warrior, he was a head taller and much heavier in his armour, but she kept herself fluid and balanced to avoid that becoming a disadvantage.  She moved swiftly, accurately, trying to hit at his legs or lower abdomen.  He kept the pressure on hammering at her with heavy blows, he wanted her to think he was just a talented brute. 

Then he struck, he pushed forward with an aetherhic blast that caught her off guard, she spun off to the left nearly falling off the ramp but kept her composure, stretching out her hand she delivered a blast in return. 

Bizarre, he thought, why would you signal an attack with a hand gesture, must be a trap.  The energy bounced off his aetheric reflex shielding and he dove forward into a roll, she leapt up to flip over him.  As he came up twirled in a reverse swipe to catch her landing behind him, but she quickly leapt again, forward into a kick at his head that he easily dodged. 

She was tenacious, time to step it up. He struck back with swift slashes interspersed with aetheric blasts, she countered and dodged as she pushed forward, then turned on the third level of combat, mental attacks.  He pushed into her mind, he reached a little way in before she realised the danger and closed off suddenly, the abruptness of the clamp down set him back a little, but he had gleaned enough to realise she was growing quickly fatigued…keeping up with his superior reflexes was forcing her to pull on the aether more than she was used to. 

The blasts around them were dying down, Maeson and Selaena had taken care of most of the police, Sel was watching out for any re-enforcements and finishing off the last few in cover while Maeson loaded the crates and prepped to launch….he took what he could - after this they wouldn’t be able to smuggle goods out of here anymore.

Jarys was winning all three levels of battle, his rampant blows were wearing her out physically, his aetheric blasts from all side had her defensive, and his mental attacks had forced her to lock down…odd that she didn’t seem to know how to fight back in that field.

He didn’t especially want to kill the Jedi, it was simply she was in the way…He had to find his people, they were all enslaved, the Sons of Kessel freed slaves and were helping him track his peoples possible locations, the Sons of Kessel needed weapons, he had come to pick them up, the Jedi stood in his way.  It was just the way it was. Simple.

A sudden surge of energy somewhere outside the hangar caught his attention, the Jedi used the distraction to push forward, a strike high toward his neck, he leapt and pivoted slightly so it grazed into his shoulder pad, the energy sabre cutting through the metal but not reaching flesh before his fist pounded the woman’s exposed stomach.  She retched and staggered backwards, he followed his pivot through with a back hand to her face, before she could hit the metal he kept his momentum going to spin into a kick to her chest, bones crushing as his armoured, aetherically powered shin armour smashed into her lightly clothed ribs. 

She crashed hard into the metal ramp, her shoulders and head dangling off the edge. 

“Get the ship moving,” he called out, he had no desire to stay around any longer than needed.  He pulled the Jedi’s sabre to his free hand as he stepped his heavy right boot onto her breast, squeezing down to crush her lungs and heart. He raised his tremor sword to decapitate her.

A whooshing sound and air sped across his face as he accelerated rapidly.  Crunching pain shot through from his spine and the back of his head, his vision blacked out briefly…as he opened his eyes he saw he was on the far end of the hangar sliding down the ferrocrete wall he had just been slammed into by a massive aetheric blast he hadn’t even sensed coming.

On the cat walk Selaena fired as a figure dressed like the other Jedi flipped along the railings a glowing amethyst blade in hand, batting the bolts back at Sel.  He saw two deflected shots hit Sel, the Jedi reached her, slashed the rifle in half then landed a spinning kick to her face sending Sel off her nest and into the floor with shattering force.

Maeson charged out the ship firing his repeater up, the Jedi leapt, Maeson tracked her descent, but every red bolt was sent straight back at him, one hitting his thigh another his shoulder.  As the Jedi closed Maeson attacked with an aetheric blast but it seemed to simply slide past the female figure as she landed a heavy punch to Maesons sternum, flattening him on the deck. 

All this…both his team mates knocked out before he had slid the 3 metres to the floor…This had to be the Master Jedi, he must’ve only beaten the apprentice.  He shook of the pain and charged forward, tremor sword primed.

The Jedi sensed him coming and surged to meet him.  He jumped onto the top of his ship , but she followed suit.  As they moved toward each other they fired aetheric blasts, he skidded, she flipped to avoid their mutual blows.  He clamped down mentally, he didn’t want to risk being effected by a Jedi Mind trick.  She landed blade arcing down at him as he rose with a high guard, strengthened by the aether.  Their blades clashed with sparkling fury sending shockwaves through the air. 

Closer now he noticed this Jedi was far younger than the first, an attractive, near perfect white feminine face, green eyes, golden red hair tied back in a tight pony tail.  The power streamed off of her as their blades locked and pushed…it had been a long time since he had sensed anyone this strong.  He would not toy with this Jedi.

He pivoted out of the lock and rolled, she slashed and grazed his back armour as he stood and came round with a mid-cut for his sword, a low strike with the aether.  She parried the first and mentally rebuffed the second.  Now she came at him, right-low cut, mid blast, left parry, high blast…and on it went, it took him a few blocks to realise he had no advantage in strength on her, the aether made her just as strong.

Ever dodge and feint he tried she anticipated, every clash of their blades or missed aetheric blast sent another shockwave through the hangar, the catwalks above them were swaying and creaking, heavy bolts on support beams were unscrewing of their own accord.  He drew more and more power out of him and into him, he pulled crates and police corpses to throw at her, in return she sent a cargo lifter and shipping container at him.  Yet neither of them could land a hit.  They were evenly matched…for now.

He had to end the stalemate, as she came through with a twirling high slash, he sidestepped back and raised his left hand, channelling his rage, his hate at what the filth of this galaxy had done to his people, it fuelled the lightning from his fingers effortlessly.  Taken aback she caught the energy on her blade, as she held the torrent back he ripped light fixings off with his mind and sent them at her back as she moved toward her side. 

Somehow knowing his intent she held her sabre in place, it acted like the hub of a wheel as her body spun around it to kick the fixtures away then repositioning.  She broke off the block and came at him as lighting scourged past, he cut off the flow and met her blade with a parry, then tried to blast her feet with lighting, she flipped up and over him, he spun streaming electric fire but she hand landed too far back, she seemed to be staring at the lightning stream, then suddenly emboldened charged. 

He aimed the torrent of death straight at her, the blue lines arced and surged…but then folded around her limbs, crackling around her and burning of strips of her clothing but none scorching into her skin.  She brought her blade down and he met it, his own lightning arced up her sabres length and cracked back along his arms!

The sparks started to burn into his own skin and boil the paint on his armour.  He tried to strengthen himself with the aether, to send a blast behind her, but every blast he sent she countered, every newton of force he put behind his arms she matched.  They were locked the blue lighting surrounding them.  The entire hangar was staring to come apart, the walls were cracking and leaning in, the floor split and debris lifted off the ground. 

He hadn’t seen this kind of intensity since his Grandfathers death two decades ago.  He had to work out a way to break the deadlock…she had already undermined his lightning…she would kill him.

Jedi…noble, strong, dedicated, just…he recalled the ridiculous things they cared about…compassionate he recalled.  He turned his lighting hand away to the ground, aimed straight at the other Jedi whose life force was an ever diluting drop in the ocean of the aether. 

The girl reacted immediately trying to slice off his hand with a desperate blow, it gave him his chance, pulling his hand out of the way as the tip of the amethyst sabre cut a furrow in his gauntlet, he drove a heavy knee into her chest, she flew back off the ships roof.  Suddenly it began to move, he reopened himself a little to sense Maeson below him in the cockpit, Sel a dull but stable stream of life below. 

The ramp began to rise with the ship and the older Jedi began to slide over the edge.  The younger rapidly moved to save her as she fell off.  Jarys steadied himself at the end of the ship and fired more lighting at the older one, the younger moved with unbelievable speed, the air booming as it was displaced, to shield the older with her body, the lighting arcing around them. 

“Get us out of here!” he yelled to Maeson, if he couldn’t’ hear him he could at least sense him.  Maeson hit full reverse out of the hangar as Jarys clung to the ships top, keeping up his barrage on the huddled figures of the female Jedi.  By the time they were out of the hangar and out of range he was utterly spent.

Now THAT is how you show a titanic clash between two incredibly powerful Aethans!  Great to see Jarys again!  What a shock (for him) to meet his literal match.  This is what the movies are missing IMO: Force battles that focus on the potency of Force-users.  The only fight from the movies that comes close is Vader's curb-stomping the Rebels at the end of Rogue One.  Disney really should hire you LSG (...and Karm...and TR...hell, ALL of us  ;D) since we write better stories  :D

Once again, great job!

Until next installment friends  :)

Yes, everything that TD said. Such a great battle. I could envision every single strike, dodge and parry. Very very well written battle. And to finally see Jarys again, and going at it all out against someone else who is just as powerful, that was amazing to read. Can't wait for more.


I really wish we had more of the community reading and responding to our stories. I want to get some constructive criticism from other members with different views of the SW universe from our own. Someone like Logos who has documented well his dislike for the new canon, and can actually back it up.

I would love to see more members post their criticism/comments/original stories.  Clearly we all love SW and sharing that excitement is part of it.  But if only you, LSG, and Karm are those posting, then I'm in good company  :)

But think of it this way: someone besides us is reading; otherwise the post counts would remain the same  ;)

LSG, that was amazing!  I've wondered how the Jedi training would meld with the Aethen's native talent.  For Milea to stand up to Jarys like that is quite impressive.  I especially liked the descriptions of the third level of battle - the mental aspect.  It gives me some ideas, actually...   :-)

And that action sequence was AMAZING!  Nicely written, with all the right elements hit to keep us in the action without bogging down or getting to descriptive!  Well done!  I find myself looking forward to the eventual meeting of Jarys and Valens...

Which may come sooner.  Jarys just took down Valens' lover.  The story is going to get back to him.  Which may send him off looking for these Sons of Kessel...

Nicely done sir!  :-)

Dutchman: I agree.  There are folks reading these, but few ever comment.  I hope more do.  I am wondering if it would be inappropriate to post a little "advertisement" over in other forums...  LOL

I've considered doing this myself once or twice. :D

She was on her knees.  Her master’s body was still and silent as the cavernous hangar around them. 

She was shaking, uncontrollably…a part of her mind told her it was just stress hormones pumping through her, told her to enter a calming trance…only then could she help her master….but her heart told her she needed that strength.

Her skin was tingling.  The lightning had burnt off much of her clothes, they were tattered and still smoking…her skin was unblemished but there were small flickers of purple lightning arcing off it…a part of her mind told her it was the residue of the attack, that is was a manifestation of the dark side….but her heart told her that energy was coming from within her.

Her master was all but dead, burning tears slid across her sweat stained cheeks…Sofa’s chest was crushed, her face shattered…a part of her mind told her now was the time to comfort her in the force, to let her slip back away, to rejoice as she re-joined the source of all life…but her heart knew this wasn’t what she wanted to happen

It told her she could stop this.

She stared at the body before her…she could see the broken lines, twisted and jagged through the shatter-point, where they were cut her masters life energy, her very soul, was leaking out into the force.  A part of her mind told her to let it go…let nature its course…

Her heart didn’t care.

She touched the force gently, lightly, her sorrow, her hope, her fear all taking up different strands of the force like threads of a tattered cloth.   So different from how she had just pulled the force to her whilst fighting, she poured the energy back into the frayed lines of her master’s body, she righted the crooked and cracked lines, filling them, mending them.  The out flow stopped, the internal flows resumed, skin healed, muscles re-knit, bones set as she delicately yet forcefully rebuilt the intricate pattern of lines that made up a living being.

They were set back the way they were meant to be…a part of her mind told her stop, she had already gone too far in what she had done…but her heart told her to go on, to fix natures errors and imprecisions, to correct, to perfect. 

She started changing the lines, smoothing the corners into elegant curves, streamlining the disparate veins of life force into simpler, stronger and more efficient patterns. 

A part of her mind told her this was wrong, unnatural, an abomination….her heart didn’t care anymore.

Sofa gasped, her breast heaving upwards as she came back to life.

Milaea lay down holding her master as she fell into sleep.
********************************************************************************************************
Sofa floated gently in the bacta tank opposite her.  The hum of the hyperdrive and occasional metallic clank the only sound.

Leaving Cygrat had been a blur, she had simply gone through the motions of debriefing the local authorities and arranging the transport back.  She could barely remember arranging for the bacta tank and leaving the planet.

She wished she could say the same about the fight.  The memories were all too vivid…every step, every movement replayed in her mind…

She had done things…things she didn’t even know she could do till her body had done them,

She had known things she hadn’t known she knew till she thought them

She had power, power she didn’t even know she had till she used it.

It scared her.

She didn’t know who her enemy even was…she had sensed her master in trouble after arresting the group she had tailed and raced to the scene.  The opponent she had faced was stronger than anyone …stronger than Sofa, than Soryu, Master Kimar…possibly even Yoda…

Yet she had matched him at every turn…it was like…a feedback loop, as much as he pulled on the force she could pull on more…she worried about just how much further it would’ve gone had he not threatened Sofa. 

Then there was Sofa.  Floating…unconscious still…oblivious to the world…would she know what Milaea had done to her…did Milaea even know what she had done to her?

She caught her reflection in the bacta tanks glass, not a scar, not a cut…someone had poured sith lightning all over her multiple times and the worst she had experienced was some burnt off clothes. 

In her dreams she fought like that…no not like that…even more powerfully…it wasn’t just what she had just done that scared her…it was what she might be capable of doing….
********************************************************************************************************
By the time she reached Coruscant she had calmed down, Soryu and Kougal the chief doctor were waiting in the hangar to take Sofa to the infirmary.  She had debriefed the Masters on the events on Cygrat, the arrests she had made before rescuing Sofa had yielded valuable information, they were working through a group called the Sons of Kessel, violent abolitionists operating in Hutt Space.

“Sith Lightning”  Kimar asked incredulous, “You are certain,”

“Completely,” she said confidently

“This is very troubling” the Gado Master Gurrlum noted looking across to Kimar, “But not inconsistent with other reports we have had about this group…”

“Possibly a Dathomiri” proposed the Cerean Master Ha’Siri’Kum

“Or worse,” noted the only other human master apart from Soryu, Keishar Yoren.

“I doubt that a Sith would be running guns for anti-slavers,” Kimar noted, “Well done Padawan Milaea…”  She could never tell if Kimar was sincere or not, but then she didn’t often speak before the council.

“For now you may remain here to recover, you are relieved from this mission,” Soryu coughed and glanced at him, Kimar rolled his eyes a little,

“with this development, and your master injured, the council feels this needs to be escalated and dealt with immediately, Master Gurrlum and Soryu will take over the investigation into this ‘Sith of Cygrat’.” He said with a tone that left no doubts as to the finality of the meeting

“Congratulations Padawan, you are well on your way to being ready for the Trials “ Soryu added to affirmative gestures from all the other masters but Kimar.

“Thank you masters,” she bowed and left.
********************************************************************************************************
Soryu placed his hand on her shoulder, “Rest up try to meditate a bit, reflection can bring clarity,” 

“Thank you Soryu,” She said, he smiled warmly and left her as she entered her room. 

She locked the door and went about her normal rituals, undressing, showering, brushing her hair…it helped restore the normalcy after such a disruption…still she could feel the emptiness of the next room where Sofa would usually be….where in years past she would run in when she had a nightmare…where they would play games, and Sofa would sneak her treats….

She sat on the floor by her bed and cleared her mind by focusing on the clean sparse walls around her, she felt the flow of the force in the tower, the echoes of a hundred Jedi thoughts melding into the ocean of the force…

She let her mind just drift along the currents, back and forth like she was floating on in an anti-gravity spa, one of the luxuries Sofa snuck her out to enjoy now and then. 

Time flowed back as she remembered those times, then flowed forward again as it followed he anxiousness at what would happen to her master…a strong tide of force swept her mind, her vision forward…and forward and forward…

Was it getting darker in here…the flow was becoming black and murky…figures came and went, drifting in and out of life…a room, a large chair solidified in her mind’s eye…

On the chair…a throne, was an old, gnarled man a yellow green tinge to his skin standing in stark contrast to his black robe….he reeked of decay and hatred….she disliked it but didn’t feel repelled by it as she thought she should’ve….

Beside him loomed a huge figure in grim black…a hissing sound for his breath…hatred…hatred of self…burned in this one…more machine now than man…twisted and evil...he waited on the man on the throne…

And in front of them a teenager, kneeling, her hair, long, red much like her own…tight black clothing, fear in hear heart, fear of the man before her…grief that she had no other choice.

The figures became clearer and clearer, she could feel their presence more and more…her heart started to pound in her chest.  Their voices became audible, the crackling of the old man, the resonance and hiss of the machine-man, the affected accents of the girl….yet she couldn’t make out their words.

The darkness became ever more real it dripped from them….it closed at the edges of her vision…she could see the threads that bound them….the blood…the legacy that stretched through the generations…just a shred, a sequence or two of their gene’s…but it was there…a thread that bound them all to her…

In the old man a legacy of black hatred, burning spite at those beneath him frustrating his designs,

In the Machine man the frustration, the red anger, a legacy of being enslaved to another’s will, the pain of trashing against chains that bound your neck

The girl the fear, the dark green nauseating feel of serving another’s desires, of selling your body and soul to survive…the legacy of being orphaned, beaten down, without a parent or guide, without a choice….

Their lines mingled and stretched back across the centuries to her, the black, the red, the green…mingling, twisting in the darkness of time...her breathing became short and rapid, her heart pounding, she burnt and froze all at once….

The old man stopped speaking, his eyes moved about the room…the machine man’s followed, the girl turned….

Their eyes fixed on her.

She screamed
********************************************************************************************************

Wonderful LSG!  So are we to assume that the Skywalker line has an Aethan descendant in their genealogical tree?  I LOVE that conceit!  SO much better than "midichlorians" or "plot device."  Or is what Milaea is seeing is just a possible future (the red hair girl as a proxy to Luke)?  And great "Twighlight Zone" ending  ;)

Milaea's self doubt despite her actions are perfect: given that she's been indoctrinated (however good their intentions) by the Jedi, her conflict with Jarys proves she's so much more... I am reminded of Paul Atreides n "Dune:" The Sleeper has awakened!

Until next installment friends  :)

Love the scene with Palpatine, Vader and ... Mara Jade?  ;-)  Sounds like Mara.  She sold herself to the Emperor, became his Hand, and eventually became Luke Skywalker's student and finally his wife.

(SO much better than the new Canon timeline for Skywalker...  sigh)

There is certainly a hint that the Skywalker power is at least peripherally Aethan in origin.  That's an interesting twist.  :-)  It also hints that these guys just didn't have a clue of how powerful they REALLY were...  Which is scary...

But the most intriguing part for me was the healing sequence.  Milaea first restoring Sofa by rebuilding the force lines, then going further and "improving" them...  It sounds a lot like what Karmack accomplished with Ken and to a lesser extent with Zearic on Geonosis.  Granted, Karmack was helped along by a crystal, but still...

Interesting.  Very interesting... 

I am seeing a lot of potential connections here. Yes, maybe Shmi is somehow a descendant of the Aethans, and that is why Anakin was such a powerful Jedi, but also maybe somehow Karmack is a descendant of the Aethans as well. Like Karm said, very similar to what happened to Karm and Ken. But could it also be that that is why Valens could see the vision of Karm and Arnor below the temple in (I think) CotA? Lots of interesting paths you could pursue if you wished.  For now, I guess we will just have to wait and see.

But seeing Vader was great.

Milaea sat on the side of his bed her head in her hands, Soryu sat beside her an arm around her shoulders trying to comfort her.   

Her scream had woken nearly the entire temple…Her room a mess, glass pitcher of water shattered, the walls crumpled inward, ceiling cracked, glow bulbs exploded, taps in the bathroom had flown off the handles….he had the maintenance men looking into repairing the damage, in the meantime he whisked Milaea swiftly back to his room to avoid anyone snooping over her.

“It was just a dream Mili…it happens, you fall asleep while meditating sometimes”, he tried to lighten the mood, “Huh, I do it at least half the time nowadays…”

She was sobbing, “It was so real…so visceral…”

“You’ve had a shock, what happened to Sofa was terrible…and you’ve always be prone to strange dreams…it’s only natural that this would happen,” he soothed

“There’s something wrong with me,” she said quietly

That broke his heart to hear, he wanted to hold her, like a father would a daughter, but as it was he knew certain Masters considered him too attached to her…yet how could he not feel like a father to the baby he had all but raised, the child who had lit up his days, the woman who now brightened the future for all.

“There is nothing wrong with you, you had an upsetting experience, and using the force so much can leave residues…echoes over days or weeks…sometimes it just comes out like that….the fact you’ve come to me for help shows you’re on top of it though…No Jedi can stand alone, and you know this….” He patted her back hoping she would believe him.
**************************************************************************
 “Ah Sofa,” he sat and took her limp hand.

“I remember the last time we were like this…that disease…” he thought back, twenty years before Sofa and six others had been struck with some kind of illness that put them into a deep coma…with meditation and focus he had brought Sofa out of it…but none of the others, some were still alive in long term care facilities, others at the request of families had been allowed to die…to this day it was unknown what had caused it.

“So long ago…and now back here again…” he wept a few tears to see things repeat so horribly…to be back in the ward sitting beside her, unconscious again…Milaea had tried to heal her as he understood it, but the damage had been done by…whoever that had been.

“you and Mili…if ever I had children…it would be you two…no father could be prouder of their children than I am of you…”  He stared up at the ceiling

“I just wish the others could see…see what I can in the life of the force…see what we could become if only we listened…” his tears he realised were not just for Sofa…but for the order…he had seen it become more and more rigid under Kimar…exiling their problems rather than facing them…Odjina he recalled his great friend sadly…andit had only grown worse in these last years with Yoda absent…

He looked at Sofa’s closed eyes,

“I’ll make sure Milaea takes us forward, she’s the future the Jedi need…”  he squeezed her hand in promise…once he had thought Valens would be the one to do what he couldn’t, to lead a reformation of the Jedi...but Valens history and experiences since had…hollowed him…Soryu shouldn’t…but he blamed Kimar for that, his antipathy for Yoda had spread to Valens, assigning him only the most violent and difficult missions…

Soryu had made a hard choice at that time, he had used his influence on the council to protect Sofa and Milaea rather than Valens from Kimar’s rule… he had to live with that…he hated the fact he had to make the choice and play politics at all…

“It’s going to be alright Sofa,” he said more to convince himself than anyone else.
**************************************************************************
“She would’ve recommended her for the trials I have no doubt,” he leaned forward toward Kimar who was reclining back in his office chair.

“Be that as it may…she is not able to do so,” Kimar replied only half interested

“Then I personally recommend her…” 

“You know only their own master can do that Soryu,” Kimar cut him off, “why the hurry?”

“Iivs…” he used Kimars first name hoping to appeal to him more directly, “I feel…and have felt for some time…that Milaea, represents a great opportunity for all of us as Jedi…I can see something great in her…something that could, I don’t know reinvigorate the Jedi, keep us from becoming…static,” 

Kimar lifted a brow, Soryu hoped he hadn’t offended him, he knew Kimar was dedicated to the Jedi, but too often he came down on the side of preserving things as they were, holding to the Light and obeying the desires of the Republic without question.

“hmmm…I must admit, of all the padawans out there she stands out…I wish to be certain that she is truly firm in the Light you understand…such power can be…”

He left the sentence for Soryu to fill in with any number of possible responses, dangerous the most obvious, but threatening, corrupting and destructive were close behind.

Kimar blew out…”Alright…I can arrange for her to temporarily be placed under another Knight or Master...an independent assessment of her abilities and knowledge in the field…if they concur with your assessment, and if Master Neirai is not better by then, then I will allow her to undertake the Trials,”

Soryu nodded, it was a very fair offer. He didn’t want to push his luck but something told him this was the time to say it,

“Might I suggest Knight Valens?  He has no apprentice, and is an excellent judge of character and highly respected.”

Kimar pursed his lips, Soryu felt on edge worrying he had gone too far

“Yes…I had a special mission planned for Knight Valens…if Padawan Milaea was to accompany…it would be an excellent test for her dedication and understanding of the Light and to the Code…So much so I might count it toward her Trials in fact, depending on how she performs,”

Soryus felt his heart rise, “That sounds excellent Iives, thank you,”

“Don’t thank me yet Soryu,” he cautioned, “It will not be easy,”

“I sincerely hope not” Soryu agreed.
*************************************************************************

The archives project had seen twelve Jedi killed by an insane woman under the influence of a Sith claw artefact…whilst Valens had destroyed the claw it had shown up the Jedi’s overconfidence.  Now when there were any reports of Jedi deaths or force users that were not Jedi, Kimar had directed at least one member of the Council must be dispatched with a task force of no less than four Jedi Knights.

Soryu stood in the Temples Southern Hangar as the team assembled, himself, Gurrlum, Master Hk’Tn his Padawan Feori, Knights Beldan, Corana and Hissana Cree.  Two Jedi council Masters, one other master, three knights and a Padwan was a strong show of force…it was necessary, they could not risk a repeat of what had happened twenty years ago where pairs of Jedi had been picked off.

Gurrlum had been appointed to lead the mission, the nubile Gado stood apart from Soryu to address the group,

“We are heading first to Cygrat to investigate the site of the battle, I want no one under any illusions about the danger here, the being we are searching for defeated a Jedi Master, and was still capable of then matching a highly skilled Padawan…this is a highly trained and experienced individual that we cannot underestimate – no one is to become separated from the group unless under my direct orders,”

Soryu noticed some concern on some of the face,

“This may seem strict but the Council has determined in these situations we must not take risks…any questions before we depart,”

The torguta Hissana spoke up

“Are we dealing with Sith, Master Gurrlum?”

“Possibly,” he replied honestly “this is why we are investigating in force”,

Beldan now entered the conversation “We’re not seriously going to start a fight with the Sons of Kessel over this are we?”

There was much sympathy for the Sons of Kessel among the Jedi, in Hutt Space and the outer rim they fought against the cruelty of slavery where the Republic…and by extension Jedi...did not, at least one Jedi had joined them years ago…there remained amongst the ranks of Knights a nasty rumour Kimar had sent another Jedi to bring them in…with fatal consequences.  A ripple of concern spread out like waves from a rock thrown in a lake amongst the others.

Soryu looked down, he knew the truth behind these rumours, Kimar had sent Valens to bring in Eonie Corusa, an Asarin, a mono-gender species from the Kroonacht Cluster, zhe had joined the Sons of Kessel for only a few months…Valens had caught up with zher on a dusty planet somewhere on the edge of Hutt space…he couldn’t convince zher to abandon the mission zhe was on so followed, unfortunately zhe had been killed soon after…the timing of Valens arrival made the death suspicious but Soryu knew Valens would never kill another Jedi in cold blood, and he could not believe Kimar would use a Jedi to assassinate someone, no matter their opposition to the council.

“The connection of this individual to the Sons of Kessel is only speculative…they could simply be a smuggler, middleman between the Cygrat factory and the Sons…as such I hope it will not come to that,” Gurrlum said seriously, “However we cannot allow such a dangerous individual free reign…even beyond the boundaries of the Republic,”

Soryu couldn’t suppress the concern showing on his face at the thought of Jedi being used to hunt down ‘dangerous individuals’…

By your actions you're truth was known - was this what it meant to be a Jedi now? 

**************************************************************************

I really liked this chapter. Not just because it is Soryu, but because he knows how much the Jedi order is failing, but he also knows he can't do anything about it. Definitely one of my favorite characters. I also liked seeing a more relatable Kimar. This chapter changes my view of him a bit. I still don't like him, but he seems more real. All he really wants is what is best for the Jedi order, he just doesn't know what that is. I think he also maybe feels a bit of guilt from expelling the Mak'Tor, even if it isn't stated.

Anyways, great chapter.

LSG, excellent entry!  As Teagin stated, I really appreciated the interplay between Soryu and Kimar.  He does come across as very real, and I also get the impression that he wants what is best for the Jedi Order.  However, he has obviously tied that "best" to being the Republic's enforcers - especially for the special interests that have caught his attention or loyalty. 

I really liked this thought on Soryu's part: 


Soryu couldn’t suppress the concern showing on his face at the thought of Jedi being used to hunt down ‘dangerous individuals’…

By your actions you're truth was known - was this what it meant to be a Jedi now?

He's obviously VERY concerned for the Jedi as a whole.  I think he's going to be crushed when he realizes that Valens has been playing them all from the beginning (20 years!  WOW) and Kimar really DID send a Jedi to assassinate another Jedi - because zhe had become a 'dangerous individual'...

Excellent entry!

He gazed at Sofa, lying there…it was not like when she was asleep beside him…she seemed…emptier…as though the emptiness that ate at him had spread to her.  He felt conflicted about this so called ‘Sith of Cygrat’, he had almost killed Sofa…but in so doing had pushed Milaea to start to unleash her true powers…perhaps if he had seen the original state Sofa was in he would be angrier…

He noticed the changes Milaea had wrought upon her…changes only someone who had seen her as close as a lover would notice…her face was younger, the thin lines of age around her eyes vanished completely, her breathing stronger…

Milaea had done a very good job healing and improving her….but she hadn’t finished properly…she hadn’t consciously known how….Valens did.

In some ways it would be easier to leave Sofa like this…one less complication as the denouement dawned…yet for all the love she had shown Milaea…all the support…and all she had been to him…all she had given him, more than she really knew…he owed her something in return.

He looked around to be sure no one was watching and took Sofa’s hand in his, it was only lukewarm…

After he had been knighted he had spent his first three years travelling the Galaxy with Yoda…he had learned so much…but the tension between them had grown.  Milaea meanwhile had been looked after with the other infants the Jedi abducted…Soryu and Sofa had given her the family, the father and sister.  While he was off on soujourns to other force culutres, missions and implementing his strategy to revive his people, they had cared for Milaea as he never could.

Sofa seemed to shift slightly, raising him from his reveries, but it was merely stray muscle twitches.

Even now as Sofa lay there he could sense Milaea’s touch upon her, not just the healing, but on the thin blue sewn band around Sofa’s left wrist, Milaea had made it for her when she was 6.

While Milaea grew, and he was off on missions and sojourns, Soryu had made sure Sofa was appointed as Milaea’s master, keeping them together.  By that time he and Sofa had long since begun their affair…her memories he had stolen, their love for Milaea, Sofas need for affection, and his drive for a substitute for Shilea made it inevitable in a way.

He looked along the length of Sofas still body…a body he had seen and enjoyed dozens of times before…a substitute for his wife…yet he had been with her hundreds of times more and knew her more intimately than he had ever known Shilea…there was something sad and…confusing about that…he shouldn’t be thinking about Sofa that way…he shouldn’t betray Shilea just because she was dead…for the moment…

Yet the thought of coming so close to losing Sofa hurt him…but in the end she wasn’t an Aethan…Shilea dead as she may be was…more’s the pity he thought with a stab of guilt.

He sighed heavily and again checked his surroundings, visually and in the force.  If not an Aethan by blood or culture, perhaps she was one by proxy due to her relationship with him and Milaea.  He gazed deeply into her face seeing the lines of life through which the life of the aether flowed…Deeping his vision into her brain he saw the broken paths and gently used the aether to realign them, strengthen them, improve them. 

The monitor beside Sofa showed a spike of brain activity as he finished…it would still take a little time for her to wake…he gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand…things were coming to a close, Milaea was on the verge of accessing her true power…he had no time to look into this Sith of Cyrgrat.

He leant forward and brushed his lips against Sofa’s, wishing she would suddenly kiss him back.

She didn't.

He stood slowly and aced away....by the time she woke he would be gone.
***************************************************************************************************************

The council chamber was dark, the orange glow of the setting sun cut in ribbons by the shadow of the skyscrapers.

Kimar sat, fingers pressed together in his chair.

Valens walked to the centre of the room and waited for him to speak,

“I have an assignment that requires your valued discretion and your…skills” he said,

Valens nodded in reply,

“here,” Kimar used the force to float a datapad to him, Valens kept his hands behind his back, glancing to look at the screen.  He was in his full armour, blasters and grenades holstered and primed…from the outside looking in he looked more the part of a mercenary or assassin and Kimar a scheming crime lord.

The read out showed a cold planet, and details of what Kimar thought was there. 

“I want you to either confirm they are there, or if not track where they are now.  Once you have the location you will report back to me,”  he leaned forward eyes hardened, “and only me, then we will determine a course of action,”

Valens nodded, he used the aether to take the datapad and turned to leave.

“One more thing,” Kimar caught him,

“you are to take the Padawan Milaea with you…test her abilities, her loyalty, her discretion,”

He turned his eyes in thought,
“If she does well…I will count it toward her Trials on her return, do we understand each other,”

Valens bowed,

“It will be done Master,”

As Valens left he could feel Kimar smiling.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
***************************************************************************************************************
[/b]
A spike in the Song…a shift in tempo…a sudden surge in volume…no words could accurately describe what he had just felt…something old…dead scratching for life…and yet terrifyingly new…reborn…renewed…the conflicting sensations threw him out of his meditation…

His eyes opened to his room, the dark grey stone of the walls flecked with light permafrost crystals, small compared to the larger clusters in the main chamber, but still enough to resonant with the force, amplify his song and his meditations. 

He rose slowly…something was moving in the force…

The room was large but sparse, desk a bed, some small personal effects…though they had been there for nearly 15 years…though the permafrost crystals were welcoming and now long since tuned to them…there had always been an undercurrent of pain...loss.…he could never determine why though.

He looked at the small collection of holo-picts on his desk…there had been much joy here on Vyth, in prize of place was a pict of himself with Ho-Li-Mack, her new born daughter, Ha-Ona’Mack, and her brother Jo’Set’Mack…both had come of age here…

But there had been pain…Holly’s husband Jy’Re’Cam had died when his ship was destroyed trying to navigate out of the deep core after repairing a faulty listening post….

He had once wondered if the pain and loss he felt haunting this place had been a carryover from their exile from the Temple…or further still the echoes of his poverty as a child on Ryloth before the Mak’tor had taken him in, a generosity and acceptance he could never repay.

Or perhaps his guilt at sending Jay on that mission…he had felt such a strong call in the force when the post went silent…that was why he sent a Koawan…

Perhaps it was simply his inability to truly let go of his frustration that he sensed…no one else seemed to sense the pain and loss he did…only the happiness and success of the colony.

No…it was growing stronger by the day…yes something…had changed…he glanced at his comm link… it had been years since he had spoken to Soryu…he missed his friend deeply, a greater ally amongst the Jedi the Mak’Tor had never known – to be so callously rent asunder…

He breathed deeply to calm himself…

Trust the Singer….he reminded himself…Something was coming…he needed to be prepared and to see through the competing Songs to the true Singers voice beneath… 

Settling back into a lotus he reconnected the opening bars of his song the crystals taking up the tune…he needed to find the thread again...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Some Further Background after reading Chapter 11 Please see Interlude "The Father" which occur approxmiately 8 years before Legacy of the Aether.
***************************************************************************************************************

Wow...  More details of Odjina and the Mak'Tor colony on Vyth...  I'm thinking that whatever Valens is planning has something to do with the death of the Mak'Tor.

Or maybe not.  Might be something else...  Whatever is coming, though, this is well written.  I love Valens' attachment to Sofa.  It humanizes him and makes him relatable.  Its good to know that he cares ... but he won't let that stop him in his overall plan.

And Kimar has no clue what he's unleashing...  Or who his henchman is... 

Every time I read more about Kimar I end up disliking him more.  :-)

These three chapters are perfect examples of how to write multiple, disparate character situations while keeping the overall narrative progressing.  I am completely invested in these people...but I feel that there are some things on the horizon that are going to be very, very bad...

I love the interweaving of the history of the Mak'Tor within the story of the Aethans  :)

I can't wait to see where this is heading  ;)

“A present?” Her eyes lit up with surprise,

“That’s right just for you,”  they were in the cramped living quarters of the Andis, most of the ships original open space was taken up with engine, weapon, shield and stealth modifications.  He lifted the heavy trunk and placed it beside her on the overly clean bed.

Milaea flipped the locks and gasped as she opened it, they had a good relationship, he would often train with her and Soryu when they were on Coruscant at the same time, he’d show her force tricks he had picked up.  They’d occasionally meet up on other worlds – when he and Sofa could arrange a rendezvous.  Milaea knew about the affair, but she would never turn on Sofa, and whatever made Sofa happy made Milaea happy…her caring nature hadn’t been trampled by brutal reality…not yet.

“What…oh,”  she lifted one of the upper arm pieces,
“Gee its heavy,” she turned it around, “Very heavy…what’s it made of?”

Valens smiled, “It’s called Blood Stone…a very rare ultra-dense mineral from the deep core,” 

“Wow…I’ve never heard of it,”

He chuckled...not in this lifetime she hadn’t…

“Few people have Milaea, few people have,”

“Will it even fit?”  She asked taking out the main torso piece, running her hand along the panelled blood red gloss.

“It should, Sofa gave me your measurements,”

“hah, and I thought she was sniffing my underwear and stealing my clothes,” she joked

Something seemed to strike her,

“But why would I need armour?” 

“Why would you go into battle without it?”

She shifted in her seat, “I guess it’s just not the typical Jedi thing to wear….”

He leaned back and crossed his arms,

“And how many Jedi lose limbs, muscle or take hits from stray bolts that would’ve been at least reduced by armour as a result?”

She nodded, “That’s true…make sense,” she flicked a glance to Valens own armour on its stand in the corner,

“You’re not going to give me a blaster too are you,” she probed him gently in the force, 

“Ha you are!...wait don’t tell me…”  her mind on his was light and cool…gentle…for a moment…just a moment he felt almost…almost whole…being with her…he felt perhaps all his planning…all his fighting might yet succeed....he just had to keep going…keep the despair and ravenous hollowness at bay just  little longer

“A combat rifle and blasters!”  she pointed to another crate opposite, “Where’d you get the credits for all this!”

He closed off his mind from her probing, as her fullness left his emptiness returned,

“That…is my little secret.”
***************************************************************************************************************
Death was all around them…the very air was full of it…it felt oddly comfortable as the persistently haunting phantom of his grandfather found kindred spirits in the dead…and what the Jedi would call darkness too…that was why he had brought her here…yes Kimar he would test her…but not in the Jedi way. 

He levitated in a sitting position beneath a shattered entrance to a tomb, sending a barrage of rocks and debris from all around at Milaea.  She kept herself airborne dodging or batting them aside with a heavy training sword, sweating in her new armour beneath the Korriban sun.

“364 to the power of three,” he said finishing the barrage of questions on maths, physics, history and geology he had bombarded her with just as much as the rocks…so far she had not faulted, physically or mentally, another hour and the sun would set…three hours…impressive.

“48 million…228 thousand,” she barely ducked a larger rock, “five hundred and forty four” 
Good now for the twists…
“This planet what is it called and why”  he had not told her on the way.

“Eh…based on the red sand, the tombs, the death and darkness in the force…Korriban I guess,”

“Know or know not, there is no guess,” he made use of one of Yoda’s turns of phrase

“Then I Know I Guess!”  she chided

“Why am I watching you train,” 

“huh…”  that stumped her

“Perhaps you didn’t hear, why am I watching you train?” he sent a long collapsed column of stone at her, but not as a projectile, as a barrier, he kept it following her face to block her vision as she moved.

She seemed lost in thought for a while….

“To test me,” close he thought

“Try again,” he could feel her disappointment in the aether

“to learn…learn my movements?”, closer

“why” he asked

“So you can work out how I can improve?”

“Try again,” that really struck her, more as odd than anything else,
“to see how long I can last,”  sloppy he thought and he let his feeling echo in the aether,

“No…so I can see how you fight, so I know how to kill you,”

She paused too long shocked by his statement, his hands still in his lap he raised his blasters with his mind and fired at her.

She moved rapidly in response, cutting the column in front of her in half with an aetherically charged blow, falling back onto the ground and leaping behind column for cover.  He kept up rocks from behind her as he moved the blasters above her. 

She dodged and rolled across the red sands, slowed by the still unfamiliar weight of her armour, hours of training, and her unwillingness to use the aether fully on a world where it stunk of decay. 

Nonetheless she remained un-hit, she sent her own rock flying smashing one of the blasters, she was starting to panic, she didn’t understand what was happening.  green shots rained down upon her, she dug into the aether to use the column to shield herself overhead.  But as she did he came face to face with her, his lightsabre ignited, a pale white rather than green in the red sun.   

Shocked she fell back, he pursued, she was under fire from all directions…she had no choice…just as he wanted.  She blasted him with aetheric energy, but he swiftly reduced himself in the aether, it glided past as he kept advancing

She fired reams of rocks from behind and to the side of, everyone he mirrored back at her.  She moved to crush the blasters with the aether, he teleported them aetherically to his side.  He kept advancing. 

She flung the column at him, tried to attack his mind, as she retreated…he kept advancing. 

She looked around the barren waste, she had no weapon but herself left, she finally gave in to her powers…Just what he wanted. 

A torrent of dirt exploded as she pulled the very bed rock up several metres over his head to collapse down on him.  Quickly he moved to the side, only to be met by a heavy aetheric blast that knocked him off his feet into a backward roll.  As he recovered he noticed he had lost touch with one of his blasters…it had vanished….good he thought she needed to lose all limitations to her creativity.  Dust all around obscured his vision…then a shadow…then she came.  Her training sword battered down on him with a heavy blow, but fell to pieces against his sabre, he pivoted round then stopped dead.

“Well done Milaea…” he couldn’t avoid seeing the blaster millimetres from his left eye, his sabre at her neck…today they were evenly matched…

Today…

The dust slowly settled around them, her anger, her confusion came like heat waves.  He decided now was not the best time to play the “master knows apprentice needs to guess” game the Jedi liked so much.

“Learn this…you are never safe…everything you do someone is watching and working out how to use that to kill you…never show anyone your whole self, you’re full capabilities, the day you do is the day you lose any chance of surviving.”

She stood there for a long time taking it in as her breath returned to normal.  Finally she lowered the blaster, he deactivated his sabre.

Pain!

His head snapped back and he tasted blood for the first time in years…she had just kicked him in the face…

“It is unwise to lower your defence” she said with all too much glee.
**************************************************************************************************************

Valens is the ultimate combat pragmatist.  And if Milaea is close to his potential now I wonder what's going to happen when she...er, "manifests" the goddess...

“It is unwise to lower your defence” she said with all too much glee."

LSG, I am again thrilled to read your story.  I think Millea is indeed even Valen's match.  She certainly learned the lesson well, and anyone willing to give her mentor a kick to the face...  Ouch.
I think she might be a little ... upset at his unorthodox training method as well.  ;-)

I am with Dutchman - when she manifests the Goddess (if that is indeed her destiny) then they all may be in for more of a ride than they are expecting... 

On another note...  Bloodstone.  Love it.  :-)

“Another gift?” she asked as Valens placed the box in front of her, it was black and ornate

“Equipment,”  She lifted the lid to reveal a black velvet with numerous what looked like glass daggers…24 in all…all ornately wrought in a dark to pale green. 

Korriban had been an…interesting… experience.  She still didn’t fully understand why he had to take her there specifically…the force there was so…morbid…it had felt strange using it…yet stranger still was that after a while she had become used to it...almost enjoyed the different 'taste' of the force there. 

And then there was Valens training methods…they were far more…brutal…than Soryu, Yoda or Sofa would ever use…but there was a logic to them.

“What…” she asked stunned at the intricacy of the craftsmanship

“they’re Shikkars…specialised glass dagger…you can only use them once each, you stab them and then break off the hilt…but to wield them…”  he used the force to lift two and spin them dangerously close to her…she primed herself for another fight
“you use only the force,” 

It struck her as odd, the armour, the fatal weapons…now this…but then a lightsabre wasn’t exactly peaceful…

“Where did they come from,”

“A…lost…planet called Kesh,”

“Can’t be lost if you found it Valens!” she jibed,

“Well…we’ll see…” there was something ominous about that statement she didn’t quite understand…that was the thing about Valens…there was something…off about him...something hidden…something empty….sometimes she felt she could grasp it…but it just slipped through her fingers.

“well you have to tell me where it is so I can get more…”

“Buy a girl a shikkar she’ll kill for a day,”  he closed the case, “teach a girl to make a shikkar, she’ll kill for a life time,”

She had to smile wryly at his dark sense of humour…so dead pan as if he meant it!.
*********************************************************************************************************
Vyth…was cold…somewhere between Korriban and the corporate sector, the planet was distant from the blue sun, but water made it viable for a small number of cities, none more than a few hundred thousand people. 

The valley was filled with snow and odd blue trees, along one side, gouged by the glacier that now stood at the far end, was a bare wall of dark blue and grey rock some 600 metres high and hundreds of kilometres long. But this vista wasn’t what they were here for. 

They sat on the opposite side of the valley looking across at it. 

She shivered a little…for all the training in armour now they were just wearing robes…

“You can sense it can’t you,”  Valens said out of nowhere…”how many?”

She squinted into the cool wind, but then checked herself, her eyes had no influence on her forced sense,

“Seventeen…some of them…very strong,”

“a comparison,” he requested,

“hmm…that one,” she guided his attention in the force…it flowed so naturally between them…as if he had been her master as long as Sofa.

“As strong as Soryu…maybe more…the next group…somewhere between Sofa and Soryu…after that…about an average knight, so your level I guess, a few at my level, padawan equivalent,”

He gave her an amused look, she wasn’t sure what she had said that was funny.

“Let’s go meet them shall we,”
*********************************************************************************************************
They had tracked down the valley to the rock wall as casually as anything, she enjoyed it, once she had warmed from movement the crisp clean air felt invigorating, the small furred animals were cute as they frolicked and hid as they approached, the small bushes bristling with red fruits.

On the way Valens had explained the mission, given by Kimar himself…they were to assess this group and determine if they posed a threat to the Republic…if they did they were to end it, advising the Grandmaster if additional support was required. 

It unsettled her…lying to them…building trust with someone you knew you might one day end up killing….She knew Valens got some dirty jobs…but this….she hoped it wouldn’t end in violence.

“There’s no door”, she said staring at the blank rock wall after walking its length for a while. Valens glanced at her,

“Unless…” she stretched out in the force…and there she found a mechanism to open a small portion of the wall, buried deep in the rock, only someone with the force could ever access it short of knowing exactly where to drill and brining a mining laser.

“Well go on,” Valens prompted,

She pressed the lever and the door opened to a black passage way.

It didn’t take long for the sabres within to ignite casting a yellow and white glow, a woman, around thirty and a man of a similar age approached,

“We’ve been expecting you,” the woman said.
*********************************************************************************************************
The twi’lek Kage reclined, “There were, disagreements,”

“Yes…Master Kimar,” at the sound of that name the Kage’s eyes steeled “was unhappy with our training…and that of many others who follow my own Master Soryu’s ideas,” Valens replied

After entering they had been taken deep into the cliff through twisting tunnels of deep blue and grey to a mid-sized room where the Kage as they called the leader of this group of Jedi like people sat waiting for them.  He had sensed their coming

“I knew Master Soryu well,” the Kage interrupted, “A good man, a great Jedi, always first to embrace new ideas and sought to bring our orders closer together…until Kimar ordered the end to all collaboration,”

“I had no idea…” Valens looked genuinely shocked, glancing from the Kage, to Maenowan Ho’Li’Mack, the woman with the yellow sabre they had met at the entrance, she was beautiful Milaea mused, red hair, green eyes…not unlike herself she thought

“…I had never heard of any formal relationship with the Gray,” Valens went on

The Kages face flickered with anger ever so briefly,

“It seems Kimar has been thorough in ‘purifying’ the Jedi as he termed it all those years ago,”  He stood and stretched out a hand, “You are most welcome here Master Valens, and Padawan Milaea,”  Valens took it and shook with great affection and relief flowing from him into the force

“You have our thanks Master…apologies, Kage is the term you use i believe...Odjina”
*********************************************************************************************************

Oh awesome!  So many good things about the chapter: Vyth, the Gray, shikkars (THAT is badass!), Kesh (again LSG, your knowledge of SW is encyclopaedic!)

But that's the thing with Valens... I am reminded of a Japanese parable: "the Eightfold Fence."  The more you trust someone, the further you let them into your confidences, closer to knowing the "real you."  Except the most inner part, the last "fence," that IS the real you, no one ever sees that.  Well, Valens is very, VERY good at not showing his true self (...in more ways than one, ironically  ;)) even to Milaea.  Be afraid...

I love these easter eggs and this particular one has been incorporated seamlessly.  Here's to hoping that we get to see even more of them  :)

LSG, I love this chapter!  The integration of the Mak'Tor colony on Vyth is complete.  :-) 

And now I know where it is, too!  BONUS!  LOL 

And the connections build.  Nice little egg, and the daggers are really cool!  Millea's thought process when she is given them is also interesting.  Makes me think that Sofa hasn't been steeping her padawan in the Jedi cool-aid the way Kimar would like her to, but as she's carrying on an affair with Valens on the side and was one of Soryu's students this doesn't surprise me all that much.  And it is very nicely written.
I have to wonder how hard it must have been for Valens to be so nice to people he has to see as invaders on his homeworld though.  And is he really on Kimar's mission, or his own?

I am as always very absorbed by your stories!  The writing is tight and excellent, and the plots are intriguing!  And pulling planets like Kesh and Korriban (the Sith Empire "homeworld" for those who haven't checked it out on Wookipedia yet...) out and using them shows a very deep knowledge of the SW universe - and a good amount of research.  Excellent!

*scribbles notes about the daggers from Kesh into writing notebook for later*

Her breath rose and fell in gentle waves in time with the Song…she had settled easily into the Rhythm of life on Vyth over the last week…helped immensely by her unofficial master Ho’Li’Mack…and was now really getting into learning their techniques.

She kept a gentle pace as she held the threads of her gentle harmonies together…it was difficult she found to keep her song from spiralling into a cacophony of…it was hard to describe…Holly had called it ‘Red confusion’…but she was managing for the moment.  Whilst Holly couldn’t use the Song herself, Koawan Ty’Re’Cam could and had been her main guide to the practical aspects of it…

“Good, keep it steady…and gently let it go…” he said “I think that’s enough for the day,” 

She opened her eyes as the young Koawan rose before her…apparently the skill to hear the song was common, but to sing was rare…oddly enough both she and Valens had taken to it quickly. It was so easy once you got the hang of it. 
For a reason she couldn’t quite discern in herself she felt it was a somewhat…quaint, almost childish way of using the force.

“Beautiful, subtle but distinct…” Holly said with a brief clap, her daughter, Ha'Ona'Mack, was sitting on her lap.  That had been the most obvious point of difference so far, these Gray Jedi had no rules against relationships between them, no hiding and secret apartments like Sofa and Valens did. 

“It’s amazing how quickly you’ve picked it up,” Ty added as he stood, “Took me years to get to that level, you’re really something Milaea,”  he was trying to flirt with her she knew…she let him for now…of course between the fact she was here to spy on them and that she liked girls he really didn’t have much hope.

“Thanks, its different…interesting though,” 

“We’ll have to get you in a Singers circle sometime, I think you’d pick up a lot from hearing the Kage,” Holly added.
*********************************************************************************************************
The combat training was different again, whilst many techniques were similar, they did have points of difference, they were experimenting with distinct warrior forms, Ice, Fire, Water, Air…it worried her in a way the willingness of the Fire form classes to encourage using emotions like fear and anger…still was this really enough for Kimar to have branded them heretics.

She had been quickly invited by Ho’Li’Mak to join the other padawan equivalents - Teidowans and some Koawans in their daily training regime and classes.  Valens had encouraged her to learn all she could, whilst he spent much time studying with the Kage. 

She was sparring with Ty, who had shown an unusual interest in helping the Teidowans ever since Milaea had joined their morning sessions.  It was kind of sad she thought.  His style was largely Makashi, a little Ataru.  As she ducked a high slash she saw another opportunity to knock him over…but she didn’t…she remembered Korriban…never show anyone you’re full range Valens had said. 

She had spent hours sparring privately with Soryu, she knew all the standard moves, all the advanced one…how to counter them, and how to counter the counters.  Ty pivoted into a low slash, again she let it off with a simple parry, she kept in mind one day they might be fighting for real.

“Come on” Ty goaded, “you’re holding back, hit me with your best shot,” he lowered his guard briefly,

That had the opposite effect to the playful banter he wanted, she recalled the fight on Cygrat…the pulsing feel or limitless power that had flowed through her –

“I’m not sure you could handle my best shot,” she replied more deadpan than she had wanted to

“Oh I don’t know, I’m a big guy,” he made a heavy forward push with the training blade against hers…again he was off the mark in his flirtations…he was physically a head taller and muscular…but she preferred more lithe women - to be honest she had a little crush on Holly who was watching the eight pairs spar offering advice here and there….

“Alright then, let’s see how you handle me,” she inwardly cringed at having said that, but started to take the fight much more seriously.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Valens was a strange one…his presence in the force was…subtle…almost invisible at times. 

Nonetheless he was obviously extremely competent.  He had spent the last fortnight training with himself and Holly, it became clear very soon that he could call upon the force very easily, and master almost any technique rapidly.  Including the song he was creating now…it had a sad undertone that resonated softly against the determined self-assured peaks…

His apprentice Milaea had by Holly’s report also progressed rapidly.  He had put in a request with the M’Tzigon for details on the two of them…their connections with the Temple were now broken to the point they relied on basically spying…little had come back though, there were greater issues still being worked out between the civilian government of M’Tzigon and the Mak’Tor than establishing an intelligence service.

The two key fact they did have were first that Valens had been apprenticed to Master Yoda - based on his abilities and considering the very careful way he spoke Odjina wasn’t surprised…

Second that Milaea was allocated to a Master Sofa Neirai – Odjina recalled Soryu’s last apprentice being named Sofa…whilst this was inconsistent with their story the data they had was at least four years old…it was possible Master Neirai had become ill or passed away in the interim.

The Valens song slowly echoed as Odjina sat before him, adding his own guiding rhythm to the pattern being built in the force.  He could feel the more rapid tempo of the Tediowans combat training in an adjoining cavern, the music of battle, but controlled and paced in training.

“You’re doing well Master Valens,”  he noted continuing the connection between their streams,

“Thank you Kage…it is an intriguing of using the force….unique…”  he replied his eyes still closed.  It was unusual for anyone to be capable of actually Singing in the force, let alone a Coruscant Temple master and apprentice to take to it so quickly…Yet Odjina could tell Valens saw it as nothing more than a another technique to add to an extensive repertoire, he seemed to lack any sense of mystery or wonder…perhaps that was Yoda’s stern influence.   

Odjina thought to try his luck now with this connection to act as lie detector.

“A question if I may Valens,” the permafrost in the wall quietly resonated with their joint song, he felt the permission in the force, a subtle levelling in the crests of the song.

“You’re apprentice have you been with her long?”

“A little while, her previous master was severely injured during a smuggling sting gone awry…but we had often trained together with Soryu at the Temple, it was a natural fit,”

There was no deception in his word or presence…yet the truth felt…flat, banal…almost trying to be boring. The strength of the Teidowan battle songs strengthened, Holly must be putting them through their paces.

“You both felt you had to leave…why now might I ask…Kimar has been in power for some time?” 

“Since Yoda left things have become…intolerable to be…”

His own song spiked with surprise, but Valens managed to guide it back…he was a prodigy….

“Yoda left?” Odjina asked cutting Valens off

“On a six year mission to the Unknown regions investigating the remnant of the Rakata…I fear it was more about leaving frustrations behind that seeking knowledge out.”  Again there was truth…a plain truth though…

“Go on…”  the pounding of the sparring Teidowans was pushing past what he would normally suggest was appropriate…yet it felt concentrated…

“With Yoda gone, things deteriorated…rules tightened to the point of constriction…” there was something being left unsaid here, he prompted the song toward an opening flow,

“Speak freely Valens,”

“There have been rumours…a number of Jedi who left before us, or were seen to be in conflict with the council…have had fatal accidents befall them, one particular Knight was involved in each case…”

This was troubling…yet not surprising…Odjina checked his own bias against Kimar…even so he wouldn’t put it past him to use an enforcer…again Valens truth was there but so…bland…Again the Teidowans battle pounded even harder, concentrated. It was between just two people…he would have to ask Holly what was happening.

“That is troub…” An explosion of the force, the beating of the battle song ripped into a sudden pulse of pure energy that shook the cavern itself. 

Dusting off rocks that had just been lossened, he leapt up and ran out.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[/b]
She hadn’t meant to do it….well she had…but not that hard…his flirting, the way he was looking at her…the sick feeling of leading him on, the anxiety of lying to Holly…it had all combined into a tension that had released when she used a simple force push…

The Kage and Valens rushed in, Holly was already using her healing abilities to stabilise and keep the woozy Ty conscious.  He was flopped against the back wall of the training cavern, fortunately a rack of practice shields had been between him and the sheer rock…but she could tell just by a quick shatter point glance he had broken a number of bones….

“What happened,” the Kage asked his tone calm, “Ty are you alright?”

The Koawan looked up with groggy eyes…”a little sore…” he turned to Milaea,

“Guess I can’t handle your best shots after all,” he added, a thin trail of blood from his mouth as two Teidowans lifted him with the force to take him to the medical cavern. 

She could feel the Kage’s eyes burning into her…not in malice…but…concern, confusion?

Beside him Valens, an almost imperceptible smirk flicked across his face as she briefly met his steely grey eyes,

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly as Holly passed her behind Ty, her glance was one of…both disappointment and amazement. 

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned to face the Kage, his face unreadable,

“Why don’t we head off and talk Milaea,” he said quietly,
*********************************************************************************************************
She breathed deeply trying to calm herself…she needed to stay calm or she could give away the true reason they were here without consciously knowing it,

The Kage’s chambers were spacious but bare, only the essentials.

He sat on the floor in the large space between the desk and bed, he gestured for her to sit as he gave her an all over look, she could feel the force moving, enhanced by the resonance of the Permafrost crystals, over her.

“This…isn’t the first time something like this has happened is it?”  he began,

She pursed her lips uncertain how to reply,

“You’ve been…unable to control the force, or let out more than you intended to before?”

She nodded…he was right…she though back not just to her vision in the Temple…but Cygrat, Sofa’s healing…and before that numerous times training in the temple she had broken things, injured people unintentionally - It was why Soryu had trained with her so much…they were afraid she would hurt the other padawans. 

He smiled softly,

“I understand…I know what’s it like to have something in you…a part of you…you don’t understand…to be afraid of it,”

His posture loosened and he exuded compassion into the force,

“When I was young, on Ryloth…I could hear things…do things other children in the warrens couldn’t…I thought I was mad, it scared me, I tried to supress it…but it only made things worse…when I became emotional…and I got emotional a lot back then, we were very poor…it would come out like shriek,” 

He looked down sadly recalling something painful,

“People were hurt, I clamped down even more…and it burst out stronger because of it…but one day…one day it attracted someone, a Gray of the Mak’Tor, Ha’Ona’Mack…Holly’s grandmother - she explained to me what it was I was hearing was the song of the force”

His face showed a great reverence, a lightness,

“They took me in and taught me how to use that power…to control it rather than having it explode about me, and accepted me even though I wasn’t born of the Mak’tor, they accepted me no matter how different I was…no matter how unruly…”

He looked straight at her,

“And yes there were times I hurt others because I couldn’t control my power…and sometimes…” his eyes dipped in shame,

“Sometimes intentionally I would lash out in my anger…even at Ha’Ona…but she stuck with me, she told me that acceptance and patience was my lesson to her…and I believe in reciprocating that lesson,” he leaned forward.

“I know what it’s like to feel apart from others, and I understand that…the Jedi, your masters…though they teach many useful techniques…they can’t always properly deal with oddballs like us. Sometimes it takes and oddball to teach an oddball,” 

He leaned forward extending his hand,

“What do you think?”

This hadn’t gone the way she thought it would…she could learn a lot about their operation is she befriended the Kage…he was so sincere…if they could just see this side of them - perhaps she could prove to Grand Master Kimar the Council the Mak’Tor were not a threat.

“Thank you Kage,” she took his hand tightly in hers.
*********************************************************************************************************

Now this is an fantastic development!  I really love the integration of the Mak'Tor colony with Milaea's journey.  It'll be interesting to see if her nurture from Soryu, Sofa, and now Odjina can supersede her nature... But already we see hints of her past come to the forefront (attracted to women for instance).  Subtle LSG  ;)

Odjina is an excellent analogue of the Mak'Tor IMO: powerful, astute, and compassionate.  Your handling of the "ancient" Mak'Tor makes me want to write up a thorough history of the Vhal'Dan (again, so awesome Karm; forgive me if I steal another one of your ideas  ;D) and see where you take them  :D

Keep it up LSG!

I am fascinated by these scenes, LSG!  I love the exposition and seeing Valens and Millea working with the Mak'Tor is amazing.  Odjina hit it on the head - Valens is adding another technique to his repertoire.  This reminds me of a show on Food Network, Chef Bobby Flay would do what he called "Throw Downs" with some specialty chef.  It as part to highlight the local talent, but Flay was in it to add techniques to his own skill set.  Valens is doing the same.  And he's darned good at it.  :-)

Odjina training Millea...  That could be interesting.  I am curious what the fallout from that might be...  But I already see another aspect of her heritage coming out as well: She's hoping to save them, but she's not morally against wiping them out if that becomes necessary. 

Not yet, anyway.

Meanwhile, I keep remembering the Tragedy of Odjina...  And so as they train together, the tension is building.  I wonder when the Mak'Tor (and Aethans, for that matter) will really start to hear it in the song....  ;-)

Great entry!  I love these "historicals".  You're adding so much depth.   Ironic that 600 years later the Mak'Tor are still intertwined with the Aethans and their plans! 

As icy as the wind was it was a welcome relief as her cheeks kept flushing with embarrassment.  As she followed Ho’Li up the trail to the valley peaks she couldn’t seem to keep her eyes from the curve of her legs and the tightness of her pants….She really shouldn’t be perving on her…yet somehow her eyes just kept getting drawn there….

“Nearly there,” the older woman called, they crested a blue-grey rocky outcrop, the view of the valley below was superb, the white of the snow speckled with green and red trees, lumbering shaggy animals in a herd at one end taking turns at a frozen pond. 

“Wow…” she said,

“Quite something isn’t it, I didn’t like the cold at first…but the views, the life here makes up for it,” Ho’Li went on, “Every world has its beauty touched by the Maker” she mused,

“The Maker?” Milaea asked,

“Oh…” Ho’Li smiled, “Just…our belief system, that the universe…everything was made by the Maker…but also is the Maker…a power, an…intention that guides us to life and beauty and goodness,”

“Like a god?” Milaea probed becoming increasingly concerned,

“Well yes broadly, but more all-encompassing, with us all the time, not distant…I’m not an expert at explaining it, actually Ty is really good with this kind of thing,” as Ho’Li stretched out, Milaea couldn’t help but stare at her neck line,

“I don’t get it, how can you still believe in gods?  Do all the Mak’Tor believe in it” Milaea asked shaking off her more carnal thoughts for now.

Holly shifted uncomfortably onto an outcrop, “Yes…we all dedicate ourselves to listening to the Maker through the force as part of our vows…we let his teachings guide our actions, help us find our path in life.”

Milaea did everything she could to hide her disappointment, she knew many people still held religious views and beliefs in divine entities, but it always seemed to her something for lower classes and the uneducated…to hear that Holly and the others all believed in such things…

“I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable…” Holly said,

“It’s ok…just different I guess…I didn’t think someone so…smart would believe in that kind of stuff,” She could instant feel Holly take offence to Milaea implying her belief’s were for idiots

“Not everything in the galaxy can be explained just with science, when I see the beauty of this valley, hear the magic of the Song…feel the life of the force in my daughter…I see something that is so beautiful and I’m so thankful for, I can’t help but feel it is more than just purely physical…more than even the Force itself”  Holly explained keeping herself friendly and warm in the force despite Milaea’s fumbling,

“Sorry if I offended you…” Milaea replied plaintively,
 
“It’s alright, I knew you’d find it strange, most Temple Jedi do.  Now come on, there’s a spot just up ahead I know, you’ll love how the valley lights up at sunset!”
***********************************************************************************
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It had been nearly a month since Milaea and Valens had arrived.  Both had progressed with startling…almost troubling speed…mastering virtually every technique, every concept they had to teach. 

He sat in one of the many large caverns, few fully mapped, beneath the main living areas of the caves as Milaea’s voice echoes off the walls and into – and out of –the Permafrost crystals that dotted the columns of rock. 

Her voice… her song was…gentle and feminie …he could feel the undercurrent of her love for her former master Sofa, her generous nature in helping Soryu’s padawan classes, yet tempered by her worry at her dreams, at the things she could do and might yet do...and a worry...an undercurrent of uncertainty…confusion…that distorted the harmonies every few beats

“Well Done, I think that is enough for one day,” he said stretching out his neck and Lekku,
“Was there something you wished to ask me,” he probed gently knowing the answer would be yes, he’d seen the kind of questioning discomfort on the face of a dozen Teidowans over the years.

Milaea looked about briefly,

“I guess I was just wondering…I know you send people out on missions…and train in combat…I just don’t understand how you work out what missions to go on…I mean the Jedi serve the Republic, the preservation of peace and democracy guides us, I don’t get what guides you, how you justify it?”

He had expected this question to come, and was prepared to answer in a way that she would understand,

“Well we have vows similar to the Jedi…our Knights swears to protect the innocent from harm, promote freedom and oppose tyranny, much like the Jedi. We also swear support the Order itself,”  he paused trying to get a feel of her emotions before adding the next vow, Holly had reported their conversation and Milaea’s concern about their belief’s

“And we swear to maintain a relationship with the Maker and do Right as revealed by the Maker in his Way.  By following these, by striving to promote freedom for all peoples in conscience and action, we naturally find lots to do, that is what guides our missions”

Her brows furrowed as she thought, he appreciated that she was clearly taking this very seriously and was thinking before she spoke again.   

“So…you choose where to travel…who to support…who to fight based on you view of right and wrong…and your religious beliefs,”

He nodded, “Broadly yes,” there was something going on in her thinking he couldn’t pinpoint, a swirl of emotions of…

Cut…just like that they were cut from his view…just like Valens, an empty shell – she had learned well from him how to conceal her feeling….perhaps too well,

“I’ve heard the stories…” she said carefully, “But I want to hear your side, why were you expelled from the Temple,”

He knew either she or Valens would ask this eventually, but the situation in which she was asking it unnerved him…nonetheless it was his duty to answer truthfully.

“There was no one reason…no trigger incident…no dramatic disagreement, indeed we…I was very close to many Jedi…but soon after Kimar was made Grand Master the Council began to reduce our co-operative projects, and limited co-teaching exercises, and those that weren’t cancelled were restricted in what we could teach.  Eventually, over a year or so, it came to the point we were asked to leave…Exactly what discussions occurred within the Jedi council I don’t know…” he sighed

“I can only assume the Council decided they no longer found our collaboration beneficial to their order.” He finished having done nothing to stem the discomfort that had just been born between them. 
***********************************************************************************
He gazed at the charts on the screen as Holly stood behind him, he was no expert in human physiology…but this didn’t look right. Holly had spent many years compiling data to scientifically analyse combat potential and measure the physiological effects of force usage on stamina and strength as part of a way to better individualise training regimes.

“Four-Tens scan results of Milaea, you can see the heart rate is…smoothed it’s not as jagged like a normal human , the V02 maximum estimates…are a third of a normal human, thermal activity a half, actual glycolysis estimates are a quarter…”

He began to understand as Holly summarised,

“Basically…her metabolism is almost three times more efficient than a normal human…she needs less oxygen and glucose release less often to sustain the same amount of physical exertion…and then there are the reflexes and muscle strength estimates…”

He looked at the estimates for response time the astromech Four-Ten had compiled from recording numerous sessions for estimates of hand-eye reflex and Upper arm maximum lift capacity, there were three bars, the blue, base line humanoid average had slowest reflexes, lowest strength, yellow averages of Koawans using the force to enhance both were twice as good as base line…the red bars….

“I see it…in her reflexes are nearly three times faster…her strength three times greater than a Koawan using the force…the only reason we can even keep up with her is the force…” he thought for a moment about how Milaea held herself back so much…

“If she used the force to enhance her natural reflexes and strength…” he mused,

“She could drop us all…we could keep up with the force for a while, 1 maybe 2 minutes…but the strain would exhaust even you very quickly” Holly added as they settled into an uncomfortable silence considering the sheer power Milaea could potentially wield…and that was just physically. 

“She’s a nice girl...but full of…” Holly broke the hush

“Self-Doubt,” he finished for her
“I think she struggles to find her place…being too free is troubling for her, she’s afraid she might not be able to stop herself so holds back…” he looked across the room, through the wall, the halls and caverns to where Milaea’s aura shone through even at this distance from the hangar,

“With the right guidance…Soryu or Yoda…she could be so much…but with the wrong role model…” he left it hanging, Holly nodded

“Yes Valens….have you gotten any more information from M’Tzigon?”

“Unfortunately not….apart from this”, he brought up a mission report on the screen filed by Yoda himself.

“The first mention of Valens is during the Archives project,” Holly look concerned, fractured as relations were even they had heard of the project. Shortly after their Exile Kimar had sent hundreds of Jedi to obtain and deliver force artefacts to the newly finished Temple, it had run into a snag when a powerful deadly woman, Sevra, had appeared out of nowhere and killed over a dozen Jedi.

“Apparently Valens fought this Sevra, basically defeated her, Kimar only finished her off,” He sighed…”I may need to reach out to Soryu…there are things going on I need to confirm,” 

She crossed her arms frowning, “More than this?!”

“Some kind of purge potentially, Kimar actually using an enforcer to kill errant Jedi,”

He was sure her eyes were about to explode out of her head,

“Even he wouldn’t go that far surely,”

“I would hope not, but I have confirmed Yoda has been gone for three years…and the archives project…the deaths against the Sevra creature apparently galvanised many behind Kimar’s strict control.”

He felt a strong breeze of concern from Holly,

“If he’s willing to kill his own…how long before he comes for us,”

Odjina nodded, that was his exact worry as well,

“I need to talk to Soryu…if half of this is true…we may need to intervene…”  He looked past her to the crystals that sparkled in the rock walls, something odd about them like a haze suddenly seemed to cover them.

“Intervene?” she asked concerned,

“We can’t allow a mad man to control the Jedi…I know I have personal issues with Kimar…but this goes beyond that…a civil war amongst the Jedi would be devastating”

“Are you sure you can trust what this Valens is telling you, there is something about him I don’t like,”

He knew what she meant…he didn’t trust someone he couldn’t sense in the force…it may be just caution…but with this data on the physiology of him and Milaea…yet Valens had only told the truth and treated the Mak'Tor with respect ...Valens had done nothing that Odjina could justifiably be suspicious about.

He looked at the crystals again, there it was again a strange haze, he blinked, perhaps just a fluid build-up in his eyes.

“No…but M’Tzigon has confirmed the Jedi he mentioned were killed in unusual circumstances, even Milaea has confirmed a few pieces but she’s not as involved in the politics, her I trust…everything he has said has been the truth so far”

He looked back at the bio-records they had compiled on Milaea…it was no crime to be a meta-human, there were numerous different human lineages born of  adapting to many different environments across the galaxy…but this seemed…excessive…like someone designed her to be a Goddess among women.

“And I trust the song…"  he finally said, "I’ve been sensing things Holly, stronger more recently…something has shifted…something complex…old yet new…a war amongst the Jedi would create such a conflicted song were it to come to pass”

She placed a hand on his shoulder supportively,

“I don’t undertake this decision lightly…there are no good choice…but if this is true …we may have to move our forces against Kimar in support of Soryu or Gurrlum to avoid a larger war.”

Holly glanced to the holo pict of herself, her brother Jo’Set and her child on his desk and gravely nodded. 

Jedi killing Jedi, a shadow in the force, and two super humans….there had to be a connecting thread…he just couldn’t see it…that blurry patch on the wall again – almost a physical manifestation of his own inability to see with clarity a picture he desperately needed to.

************************************************************************************************

And there it is: Odjina is just verbalizing what we've been worrying about  :)

I like learning more about this Mak'Tor colony on Vyth, even though...well, the "Tragedy of Odjina."  And I wonder if Milaea's feelings for Holly will help with her humanity or push her towards her genetic imperative.

I have no idea where the is going... I love it!  Keep it up LSG!

Until next installment friends  :)

Oh, I think we kinda know where we're headed - but the details!  The details!

LSG, another great chapter.  The by-play between Holly and Millea is interesting.  I am thinking there may be an overture ... and a rejection ... at some point.  As Dutchman said, that could trigger something ... bad. 

I was very interested in the crystals.  The way the permafrost crystals ... frosted.  Reacted.  Hard to describe it exactly.  :-)

The 'religious' discussion was interesting as well.  It highlights the primary reason the Mak'Tor are not true Jedi - they believe in the Maker.  That belief pre-dates their involvement with the force by millenia.  I felt an echo here of discussions I've had with non-believers in RL, right down to the "religion?  How childish!" kind of attitude.  :-)  The way you captured it, though, was spot on for the ebb and flow such discussions often follow.  Holly's explanation of the actual theology...  Well, she's a doctor, not a theologian!  LOL

Which brings me to the medical information.  Wow.  Meta-humans these folks are...  No wonder Sevra was such a scourge...  But Millea is just scary...  I really hope this goddess is benevolent!  LOL

These last two chapters were both incredible. And I agree, Milaea is scary. She reminds me of when Kylo says "She's untrained, but stronger than she knows", except she is trained, and she does know how strong she is. That is the scary part. I am starting to wonder if Valens and Milaea have something to do with the death of Odjina and stuff, but I really have no idea where this is headed right now. Great chapters.

They returned to the cockpit of the Andis, rapidly shaking off the disorientation from their force surveillance in Odjinas chambers. Whilst what she had heard was not openly threatening, it was distributing. 

Valens spoke first.

“You need to decide how to proceed Milaea…Kimars orders were clear, we were to investigate Vyth, determine if a heretical sect was present, then if they are a danger either eliminate them, or seek reinforcements…clearly the first part is done…it’s up to you to choose what we do next.”

She looked at him with pleading eyes
“Isn’t this your mission though…” she didn’t want to have to make that choice,

“It is…but Kimar sent you here as a preliminary step to your trials…so I’m letting you decide,” she knew he could feel her distress

“Milaea…over the coming years you’re going to be faced with decisions like this everyday if you become a knight…there is no good time to take on these decisions, no magic time when you’re suddenly ‘responsible’ or ‘wise’ enough,”  he paused there was a sadness to his voice,

“You’ll be given no warning…forced to make choices you know you can never undo…knowing that either way you choose it will be wrong”  she felt a strong pang of sorrow in the force…the sorrow of having to live with those impossible choices…yet there was a sympathy that she would one day have to endure the same.

She nodded in understanding, too many times she had felt Sofa’s sadness at having to live with one of two horrible choices…in that moment she understood more fully than she had before why Valens and Sofa clung to each other every chance they got…to have someone to understand and share that burden…she envied them for it.

“There has to be a way to end this peacefully…I mean, they are not bad people…”

She put her head in her hands, her red gold hair flowing gracefully over her fingers,
He looked at her gravely as she stared up uncertain.

“Maybe we could talk to them…try and…bring them into the fold again…” she was grasping for a way out

His face didn’t betray any emotion or indication of what she should do…he was going to force her to make this decision alone…in a way she despised him for it…in another way she knew this was a lesson she needed.

She was staring blankly at the wall…the crystals in side slightly vibrating with her anguish…she went through all she had learned of them…

They were warm, welcoming…despite being expelled by the Jedi years before…yet she knew it was largely because they had said they were opposed to the current leadership they were accepted, had they come as emissaries of Grand Master Kimar she doubted they would’ve gotten such an open hearing. 

They were powerful and well trained, dedicated to learning and improvement, to exploring the mysteries of the force…yet they openly courted the dark side with their lack of restriction and willingness to make use of any emotion.

They were dedicated to doing what was right and good, improving the galaxy…and yet they did so with no oversight, only their religiously inspired moral code to direct them…a code that was in essence the interpretation of an ancient text…a different interpretation could turn them from largely good works she agreed with today to hideous crimes in an instant….

“They are just going on their own path…using powers without restraint, without oversight…they think they know what’s best for everyone because…of some…some book about a mythical being…I mean the Jedi…at least the Jedi serve a democratically elected Republic not some figment of a long dead poets imagination”  she was shocked by the spite in her own words…and something about the fact she was referring to the Jedi in the third person, as though she were not one of them struck her as odd…yet natural.

“I mean the Republic is not perfect…” she thought out oud, “There is corruption, they do use the Jedi for bad reasons…but…” she sighed, “At least it tries to reflect democracy…the Mak’Tor are all about their Maker, their Song…stuff no one else cares about or would agree with….”

Valens remained impassive, waiting for her to actually make the choice rather than just talking through the situation.

 “They won’t accept being restricted, put on probation…they’d run or fight” she said sadly, to that he nodded, they would never give up their beliefs.

There were few options, she could contact Kimar and call in force to arrest them, or…she thought about Odjina, Holly, how accepting they had been…how similar they were to the Jedi…yet so much more free, more honest…she could…could she? Join them? No doubt Odjina and Holly would accept her…but she could never accept their beliefs…

“It’s your decision Milaea…” he suddenly said as if reading her thoughts,

“Whatever you decide…No matter what,” he leant forward to emphasize, “I’ll stand by you…”

Her heart was being torn apart…she knew the Mak’Tor would not come peacefully or abandon their ways just because the Jedi asked them to…

It felt horrible…and dirty…this was the filthy and ugly reality of the Jedi…having to put down a group who were doing good work…the nominal reason, that they were dangerous religious zealots, organised into an armed force and acting like vigilantes without Republic or Jedi oversight was logically sound – No matter their good intentions or knightly vows…it couldn’t be permitted.

Logically sound….emotionally hollow.

She blinked back a single tear, it was all she would spend on this situation she promised herself, a promise she knew she would break.

“We’d need an army of Jedi…powerful Jedi…the losses would be huge…the Kage alone…” she whispered, her choice made and spoken…

With those few words a sense of relief flooded her, as though making a decision, even if it was the wrong one…had lifted a great burden from her shoulder…there would be time for regret later.

“No not an army” Valens went on breaking her out of her thoughts

She nodded…they would be able to sense the attack coming if they moved in force…no way to smuggle in a Sentinel Squad…even informing Kimar would be dangerous, who knew what kind of listening equipment they had…but surely they couldn’t do it themselves…

“Then what…”she cut her own question off…thinking back to all she had learned in the last month…and on Korriban…

It was a strange thing, the doubt that had wracked her internally a moment ago melted into focus upon an external enemy.

“If we could disrupt their Song…take them by surprise…hit very hard and very fast…force them into single combat”

Valens nodded,

She could do this, end this threat before it got out of hand…it was dirty work…but sometimes even Jedi had to kill.

For the Republic, and for the Light.
********************************************************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He wasn’t sure if he should be amazed or terrified.  He watched on as Holly and Milaea sparred hand to hand.  Holly was drawing heavily on the force to keep up four minutes in, Milaea hadn’t even touched it yet. 

Another sweeping low kick banged against Holly’s training pads with a dull thump.  It was confirming everything they had suspected about her physical abilities.  Admittedly Holly’s abilities were more skewed towards healing and cybernetics, but she was still a capable warrior…even so a padawan, not using the force at all….

As Milaea blocked a high punch and twisted to the side he could clearly see Soryu’s training in her movements…

He turned to Valens sparring nearby with another Maenowan, it was obvious to Odjina that Valens was holding back, studying his opponent…no not just his opponent, everyone else in the room…Holly’s analysis had indicated that it wasn’t just their physical abilities off the chart, but mental as well, Valens could divide his attention between all six fights effortlessly. 

Odjina really needed to speak to Soryu, but his latest intelligence indicated he was on a mission to Santooine in pursuit of what was potentially a Sith.

The bell sounded, five minutes were up, and he rose to join the next round.  The disaster of the Archives project left a long dark legacy he mused as he bowed to Milaea…according to his contacts both Soryu and Gurrlum along with four other Jedi were tracking this potential Sith…he could see the lingering fear in such extreme caution.

The bell sounded and Milaea began, a head shorter she oddly went high and heavy in her blows, he blocked and aimed kicks at her core, as they inconclusively moved back and forth he asked her,

“Feeling more in control I see,” 

She nodded briefly as she ducked a punch,

“Yeah, a bit…,” she seemed a little reticent recently, he noticed her eyes glance toward Holly,

“Holly’s been helping out,” his elbow rising into an uppercut she stepped back to avoid,

“Yeah…but I don’t know…” he sensed some conflicting emotions…she felt…guilt…guilt for something she hadn’t done yet?

As he leapt his low kick she spared a glance at Ty who was beaming with confidence beating Valens…he was very subtle, Ty didn’t eve n realise he was being played…another reason he didn’t trust the master.

That made him think,

“You’re attracted to Holly?” he asked quietly when her knee to his torso pad brought them close, “and feeling guilty about it?”

She blushed, he shouldn’t be able to tell that…she should have been too hot and red from training…her physiology typically avoided such signs of exertion….

“mmm…yeah that’s why I feel guilty…” she replied, she wasn’t quite telling the whole truth…but he expected that, she was a virile young woman repressed for years by Jedi rules.  Perhaps it was a combination of physical attraction and need to find a new female role model he thought. 

“It’s nothing be ashamed of…” he added quickly, “…but I don’t think Holly likes women…”

“I know,” she said rapidly twirling out of attempt to throw her, “it’s all just…” she was a conflict of emotions, some he couldn’t quite understand…young human women were complex he supposed…it was an odd mirror to the closed off Valens.

The bell rang again, no obvious winner or loser between them,

“I understand, it’s all very new to you,” he reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder,

“But you’ll…” her eyes met his, his vision went black, then suddenly bright…it was so sudden like a rush of energy…he felt the ancient crystal in his sabre vibrate…he saw two figures both within and beside her at once…one the purest White…the other a bloody Red…both her and yet…not her…what she might become.

Strong, lustful Red and Controlled focused White ebbed and flowed forward and back, neither taking hold…a path had not yet been chosen.

The vision slipped away as quickly as it had appeared

She looked concerned, “Kage are you OK,”

“Fine,” he replied as the vision faded, “As I said you’ll soon become more comfortable…no one is going to judge you or tell you not to express you’re feelings, or worse hide them here,” 

“In fact” he added as they began their warm down stretches, “You should probably open up to them more,”
********************************************************************************************************

Well now, THAT was an interesting vision.  Somehow I'm not surprised they surveilled the Kage's meeting with Holly. 

I find myself hoping that the White version wins out...  But I fear that the opposite will happen... 

*sigh*  Poor Odjina!  If only he could have cross-referenced with Soryu or Yoda... 

The end is near ... a time when a great man will die ... and a legend will be born...

I literally chose the perfect time to read this chapter. My sister is playing a sort of sad song on the piano. The song is beautiful, yet solemn. It really brings out the decisions Milaea is having to make. It is so strange how hearing a song can set the stage for the story. That is just part of why I love music.

Like Karm, I hope the white version wins out, but I don't think it will. It is cool that you are making Milaea chose, and not Valens. I think Valens already knows what he would do, and I though I don't know what he would chose, I sincerely hope he would let them live, though I don't think so.

Anyways, great chapter. I wish we had more time to see Odjina. But like Karm said, "The end is near ... a time when a great man will die ... and a legend will be born..."

THIS is how foreshadowing should be written!  Too often in the original EU Books, the writing was so heavy handed the only thing "subtle" about them was that the Straw antagonist didn't outright roll their mustache in between their fingers.  Here, there are SO many conflicts yet my heart does go out to Milaea (as well as the Vyth Mak'Tor), more so because of the "Tragedy of Odjina.". And wonderful characterization with the Kage; he's wise, patient, tolerant, and insightful. Way to develop " doomed" characters  :D

Once again, great collaboration between you and Karm, LSG. CanNOT wait for the next chapter!

TR...that is PERFECT!  I wish I could have heard that piano piece in person but after reading your post, I went back, reread CH.16 and, sure enough, had a memory of my wife playing "Moonlight Sonata" as a backdrop while I read.  Really underscored (no pun intended) the solemnity of the scene.  Again: props to LSG's writing!

I re-read it, and I find myself wishing that Odjina's tolerance and the actual actions of the Mak'Tor had weighed a little heavier on Millea's decision making.  The irony I am finding is that the actual guide to her decision making is the rigid legalism of the Kimar-led Jedi.  She's doing what she thinks is right based on the teachings of the Jedi.  Which are leading her to commit mass murder.

How's that for irony.  Awesome touch, LSG.  :-)

Thanks guys, it will be a tragedy, but for everyone involved...glad I got the sadness and the mess of the decision across!

That is spot on...I imagine Milaea is caught between the unstoppable force and the immoveable object, trying to keep them apart for as long as she can...but she's only Aethan...I think looking back I probably should've played a bit more on her choice being influenced by the simple fact Sofa and Soryu are temple Jedi so she can't 'betray' them by turning on the temple...hence she feels she has to toe Kimars line. So her solution is in the end fall back on her Grand masters wisdom...for a young Jedi I don't think she can be blamed much for that...but yeah a difficult thing to write precisely.

Yeah, I wouldn't be able to blame her either.  She's really just taking Kimar's policy to its logical conclusion.  Especially since Kimar is already using his "enforcer" Jedi to do this in other situations.  Or so the rumor mill goes at any rate.

And don't worry about the choice being to subtle.  It was there and the interplay between Milaea and Valens, the factors involved and her struggle to find a workable solution within the framework of their mission is well done.  A part of this is her feeling that she's not really a part of the Jedi Order, either.  It both makes her decision harder - she identifies with the Mak'Tor in a way - and easier, as it shields her from the cognitive dissonance of doing an essentially evil act "for the good of the many".  :-)

Though you dealt with her justification of the choice as well.  "Sometimes even Jedi had to kill." 

But yeah, she's really in between a rock and a hard place.  And a well-crafted point of decision.  Well done, my friend.   :-)

Corpses littered the ground, she stood atop a wrecked ship of some kind slicing apart red sabred shadows that approached…the sky was an orange and yellow inferno…she killed and killed and killed…still more came…they were at her, dead hands clawed at her feet…dragging her down, the shadow in front of her would not die…but fire - blue fire erupted from her hand, incinerating it…she burnt more and more, she turned her hand to the sky…ships…dreadnoughts rained hell upon her planet, she met fire with fire…the screaming fracturing black hulls hurtled down toward her….

Today

Her eyes opened to the cool dark blue stone wall of her room on Vyth.  She sensed it..Knew it...again

Today

As the dream faded her sense of the real world coalesced…there were more Gray Jedi here…some must’ve arrived from their ‘missions’ doing who know what with no guidance or control from the Republic…another reason they had to be stopped.

She spun out of bed, she would eat, shower just like usual…it was just another day. Then she would visit the Andis which Valens had set down in the Mak'tor hangar to get what she needed, and then…then it was just following her duty as a padawan.
**********************************************************************************************
By the time she reached the training rooms, a large circular cavern well-lit with a white padded floor, all six Teidowans were already in groups sparring, Holly was there even Ty back on his feet.  Eight…half their numbers…but only a third of their strength…

Holly looked over at her, eyes widened in surprise,

“Cute outfit Milaea!” Ty said jovially whilst absently parrying a Teidowan’s Soresu strikes, his injuries hadn’t been great, he seemed more wounded she had taken him by surprise.

Milaea smiled, she was wearing her new armour. It put a physical barrier between her and the others as much as she had built a mental one to detach herself from her feelings as she executed her…was It really hers…judgement.

“ha, thought I would train wearing it today, Master Valens says it helps you learn new ways to move, as you’re forced to adapt to the weight,”

Holly nodded, “Master Valens is full of unique ideas…I like it, please join in, Ly’Al partner up,” the odd Teidowan stood to spar with her.  Milaea came up before and they bowed.  Like mirrors they went into shii-cho defensive stances, like mirrors they drew on the force, and like mirrors they tuned into a battle song.

As she spun, slashed and parried in graceful arcs with the Teidowan she let her mind expand to take in the battle songs of all around her…all in harmony, ebbing and flowing into each other…though opposing they melded through their similarity nature…perhaps it might even be a thing of beauty to some…

She recalled the fight on Korriban…Valens had watched her to learn her weakness…she had done the same for the last two weeks since her decision was made…the taste of betrayal when Valens had attacked her…the stench of death in the force amongst the rotting Sith corpses…the cloying decayed feel dragging you down…all this she added to the rhythm of her song. 

Ly’Al stumbled, Milaea took advantage, with a force charged strike she slammed her practice sword into the side of her face, crushing her skull in.  Blood spurted out into a hideous stain on the girls white raining robe, it blended seamlessly on Milaea’s Bloodstone armour.   

She released practice sword and pivoted her sabre rising into her hand as the other Mak’Tor stumbled, she let her song of death explode into the battle rhythm like a dam bursting, the younger ones clasped their ears in vain to keep it out. 

Her shikkars flew from their sheaths, Holly was moving toward her with a face of utter confusion and strain, the first shikkar stuck her neck blood trickling beside the glass daggers end as the hilt snapped off. 

Before the pair beside her could even disengage from their own combat she had decapitated them both with a wide slash of her amethyst blade. 

“What are you…urcck…” Ty choked out his last word as another shikkar flew into his throat.  She felt a disturbing satisfaction at killing her failed suitor…The glass was forged with a shadowy echo of the force…near impossible to sense unless you had experience with them…no Mak’Tor did. 

Ty’s opponent leapt forward, but seemed to have forgotten he only had a training sword, she cut thought his blade and into his chest, the smell of burnt meant rose from the charred canyon. 

The next pair had regained their senses, dropping their training sword they scrambled to summon their sabres as she approached, one diving toward his gear beside the training mats she sent flying into the wall with bone crunching strength. 

The other managed to ignite their blade, Mialea struck fast and pulled the Teidowan off their feet, ten centimetres in the air…the frantic legs movements were quite funny a detached part of her observed, she threw her sabre, the Teidowan deflected it, but his distraction let her try out a technique Odjina had mentioned, she tore at his spine.

She must’ve over compensated, his chest and stomach erupted in viscera as jagged bone stuck out from his blood and vitae soaked training robe.   Her sabre boomeranged back to her hand and she let him drop and eased off her force dirge. 
In the currents of the force she could hear another…a clawing empty song…Valens had followed her lead. He had left it up to her when to move against the Mak’Tor, she had delayed it only long enough to be sure she knew enough of their techniques that there was nothing more to be gained.

A part of her told her she had gone too far, what she was doing was not the Jedi way…it was wrong…these were her friends…she had trained, ate, talked, laughed with them….but they were fanatics, using violence to serve a false god…weren’t their good works tainted by their lack of oversight and religious delusions…exiled once already for being a threat and still training for war in this very room?

A threat

She pivoted into a tight flurry from a golden blade…Holly was alive…the shikkar hadn’t hit the artery and her healing abilities compensated for the rest. 

Holly kept at her, partially recovered and determined, she parried and spun out, firing her hip blasters with her mind, but Holly was too experienced for such a trick and countered easily. 

They trampled over the bodies, sending training staffs and swords flying at each other, Holly even igniting and sending lightsabres at her, she managed to deflect those and even turn some on her using the force momentum Holly had provided and just giving it a new vector with a light touch. 

She could sense the pain reeling off of Hol’Li’Mack…the disappointment, the fear, the sense of betrayal…she felt it in herself too…she wanted to stop…but the battle was upon her now and she knew she had to see this through.  Holly tried to speak, but it only came out as gargled blood and spittle, Milaea couldn’t bear to hear her anyway…

Holly was slowly failing, the Shikkar in her neck wasn’t fatal but incredibly painful…as Holly attempted to pull at her throat Milaea stuck on an idea…she concentrated on the shard of glass…Holly pressed closer…then she did it…she teleported the glass out of her neck and into the air nearby…blood seeped out and Holly stiffened and shook at the strange sensation, it was all the opening Milaea needed. 

She grasped her in the force and pulled her straight into her sabre.  Their faces pressed against each other and Milaea brushed her lips against the beautiful red haired woman’s…

A part of her was revolted at that - to kiss a woman she had just killed…another part regretted not having thought to keep her alive to serve her own pleasure.

Pushing the thoughts aside she twirled to the left and swung through her friends back.

The force was awash with the death she had unleashed…a part of her told her she shouldn’t enjoy it…and she didn’t really…she looked at the bodies lying about her, especially at Holly…

The Jedi were the Guardians of Peace and Justice…could this truly be the price of that peace…was killing you’re friends the path to justice…she sighed deeply, Jedi were taught to trust in the wisdom of the council and the masters…she felt that trust ebbing out of her as with Holly’s blood as it matted her lovely red hair.
**********************************************************************************************

The Koawan raced down the dark blue stone corridor toward her, white sabre lit, he fired off blasts of force energy and tried to grasp at her spine, but the force concealment techniques Valens had taught her gave him no target…the force simply flowed straight through her as it did the air.

Undeterred he raced on, five metres apart she used the force to pull her blasters beside her head and fire, as he deflected the bolts, she dropped into a kick slide, keeping the blasters at his head level and firing, she slid toward him, sabre out, he quickly moved to block her attack but it only grazed her shoulder armour as she sliced through his left knee. 

She immediately turned into a defensive stance in time to meet his counter attack.  He used the force to balance himself, but struggled with the pain and stress of fending off her light slashes and the blaster bolts.  He went for the kill and unleashed a force blast straight toward her, she staggered back, he used the pause to crush one of the blasters with the force. 

The distance had given her room to move, repositioned on his leg-less left side she hammered at his left shoulder, using the force to tear at his right shoulder, her blows were quick and numerous, her force grasps constant.
Overwhelmed with threats he let slip his balance just for a moment. She instantly reacted, pivoting into a low kick that connected with his stump, he arced in pain and she rose into a slash that severed his left arm at the shoulder. 
The cringing form fell back against the wall, she finished him with a heavy blast of the force…it was stronger than she had intended, the man smashed into and cracked the rock wall, bone, muscle and blood trickled out from the wreckage of his body.

She ran toward the fulcrum of force energy in the main chamber keeping her presence in the force small.  Valens distraction in the Song had died down, the Maenowans and Kage had reasserted control over the force after the surprise attack.  She could sense them straining in the force against the echo like presence of Valens.

She came to an intersection just as a Silver ran past her – the energies of the Kage and Maenowans were so vast she hadn’t sensed Milaea. 

She rapidly struck out and planted her amethyst blade between the Silvers shoulders, still moving forward she stumbled over into the ground, rapidly turning and igniting her orange sabre in spite of the pain, Milaea came down on her, to her credit she kept fighting, but it was inevitable, after three blocks her movements became sloppy…the Silver fired off force blasts into Milaea’s solid repulsive field. 

Milaea retreated a little, but only to stamp down on her thigh, the muscle resisted and the bone fractured beneath her boot, the Silver arced up and thrust her sabre forward in one hand, a crushing grip that caught Milaea’s chest in the other…she felt the armour tighten around her cutting off her breath…the pain arced into a reflex of energy she barely had time to consciously direct into the Silvers direction.

Once again the strength of her blast surprised her, the Silvers head suddenly seemed to vanish and it flung back with a wet crack, bone tight against the stretched skin of her neck. 

She paused for a moment shocked at the brutality of her own actions…she had killed six Teidowans, two Koawans, a Silver and a Maenowan….she was only a Padawan…she shouldn’t be able to do that. 

It was the same terror at herself she had felt after Cygrat….after her vision of the three dark figures….

She had to push on - this was life and death hear and now…she could fear herself later.
**********************************************************************************************
By the chambers doors was the corpse of the other Silver, his right arms severed by a lightsabre, an imperfectly cauterized blaster hole in his abdomen slowly leaking a red black fluid, his face…smashed in as though struck by an industrial mining hammer…a mess of bone, teeth and muscle. 

She pushed open opened the doors to the main chamber, a vast natural hollow with a meeting area built into the centre, a large light grey circle of three steps into a central area with a large circular holo-projector. Natural blue Permafrost crystal formations dotted the columns of rock around the chamber issuing their own light and resonating with the combat song of the Mak’Tor, the echoes of their Dirge lost to Odjina’s harmonies. 

Along the rim of the circle were blacked, mauled corpses, burnt by…some kind of blue flame, flickers remained in the eye sockets of one.  .

At the far end of the circle Valens was holding off the Kage and two Maenowan’s.  Yellow, green, blue and white sabres twirled in a kaleidoscope of colour, the force was pushed and pulled between them, confused thoughts of mental attacks bounced off the walls. 

An odd thought entered her mind…the Gray’s powers was amplified by the Crystals…to heights she had never seen…yet somehow Valens was, though hard pressed to be sure…managing to survive and even land some blows.  Something about that wasn’t…natural.

She had to intervene…she reached out and grasped at the Kage, in a similar way she had done on Cygrat…but the Kage turned and glared at her, her attack petered out against a shockwave of defensive energy, she fired her blasters beside her.  The Kage disengaged from the fight and came at her, batting the red bolts aside before reaching out with his free hand to crush them. 

She surged forward to meet him, she could feel the force building in her just like it had on Cygrat…she sent her last two shikkars at him in long arcs around to either side, he sliced them apart with his sabre almost dismissively.

Momentum behind her, she struck, her sabre bearing down onto his blue, brightening his face with a pale purple, they did not stay locked for long, with a mastery that would put Soryu to shame he pivoted out and the fight truly began. 

Compared to the brutal power of the Sith of Cygrat Odjina was an elegant fighter, he kept moving, used subtle force attacks, patterned on his battle song that guided and strengthened him.  Milaea pulled all the power she could to her just to keep up, high left, then low right, she was on the defensive, his song flowed into his force attacks, precise and in rhythm with his sabre…the force grasped at her throat, her spine, her eyes as his blade targeted her legs, breast, hands…she was hard pressed to deflect anything let alone retaliate with her own. 

For all this she could feel a reluctance in him…he didn’t want to be doing this…had she made a terrible mistake?

His strength and speed pushed her down the steps into the circle, she back flipped away, she did not want him having the high ground, unleashing a blast as she landed, he waved it away and replied two fold.   

What was she thinking…how could anyone defeat a Kage empowered by a mass of crystals that Sang power into his every cell….but the way he looked at her…sadness, confusion…resolve…and concern?

He closed the gap easily, leaping down at her, she twirled aside and parried the rain of blows, she was losing, she was pulling all she could from the force but it wouldn’t flow…the song….the crystals…all the force energies in the room seemed to flow to the Mak’Tor…She could see it…luminous lines pulsing out of the crystals in harmony with the tune Odjina had created….

She fell back further, now solely on the defensive…she tried to copy him...harness her own song…of strength of determination…but he countered…almost wave for wave, melody for melody he negated it….she couldn’t draw anymore force into her…

Within!

The thought suddenly crossed her mind…from Valens…another slice, she rolled to avoid, she couldn’t dare look in his direction…

She pushed back against another force blast…perhaps that was her problem, she was drawing the force from without…perhaps she should unleash the force from within herself…

That quiet part of her told her not to, but it was becoming ever smaller, she unleashed.  She didn’t just parry, she pushed, she went mid, left, high, high, low, putting the stunned Odjina on the defensive.  Her attacks came thick and fast, it was not any one style but an amalgam of all of them and some moves she didn’t even know she had learnt.

She could swear her arms had purple flecks of energy coming off them for a moment.

No…this was wrong…she saw the strain start to appear on the Kage’s face and instantly her own doubt started to slow her…

Odjina..why was she fighting Odjina…because he didn’t follow the life sucking Jedi dogmatism of Kimar – a dogmatism that her own master flaunted with her sexual relationship with Valens and vanity?

Was it worth killing Holly because she refused the oversight of a corrupt Republic…as the flush of battle faded it just didn’t make sense anymore…he kept a strong defence, and a steady draw on the force…she was being slowed by her own uncertainty and he knew it. 

She was doubting…he started launching probing attacks as her energy dwindled…the Permafrost strengthened his Song as her doubts overwhelmed her….
Was this what it was to be a Jedi, to obey the council to the point of fighting a man who had accepted her, comforted her, trained with her?

She was flagging, he increased the pressure, she was failing, he pushed her down toward the centre of the circle…

She was exhausted, tired of the war in her own mind, she only just deflected as he twisted into a downward slash, but it scored a dark line into her chest armour...

She was done, his sabre attack had been one handed, she hadn’t noticed, his body rounded with the other fist straight into the side of her head.
**********************************************************************************************

And that's why you don't mess with the Kage!  8)

Ahem, sorry.  That was intense!  Tight, incredible action, pangs of regret, drama, and conviction... Just...wow  :o

Well, Milaea has finally gone over that moral event horizon, at least as we see it.  I know that one of the tenets that Aethans share is an insular concern that doesn't translate to human mores... BUT, Mlaea was raised with such a moral compass; but the Goddess was not.  THIS is the dichotomy that makes her such an intriguing character...and frightening.  Regardless of genetic imperative, her's was a choice.  Made all the more terrible considering the fact that the Mak'Tor were acquaintances if not friends, friends who had taken them in.

Superb writing LSG.  And haunting.

Haha, exactly what I was thinking. There is a reason why Odjina is the highest person of authority in the Mak'Tor. But this is seriously great writing. Your battles are intense, and have a very "mystical" almost feel to them, but at the same time, they are completely realistic (for the SW universe anyways). Can't wait to see what comes next.

LSG, that was intense.  Wow... 

As I was reading it, though, the main emotion that it evoked in me was sorrow.  This is a truly tragic scene.  Milaea has certainly turned a corner, but I don't agree that she's crossed an event horizon.  This wasn't like someone selling out to one side or the other.  It was a girl choosing and only after she's launched into her chosen course of action, once the consequences are unavoidable, does she realize that she didn't have all the information and she doubts her choice.  Regrets it even.

Powerful writing.  So much sorrow.  Milaea.  Odjina.  Valens.  Holly.

And its not over.  We see Milaea go down with a non-leathal blow to the head.  Even in this, Odjina is merciful.  But...

Valens.

The fight isn't over.

LSG, this is great narrative.  I find myself wishing you'd written the story for the fall of Anakin Skywalker.  This kind of struggle, this kind of sorrow and pathos - this is what was missing in Ep 2 and 3.

And... One 'structural' note...   Hol'Li'Mack was the holder of the Ancient One.  Just a note everyone, in case it comes up later.  Seems the crystal has a thing for Clan Mack.  :-)

While I agree that you are right with almost everything else, I respectfully disagree about her "moral event horizon."  It was her decisions that led to those actions, even with her doubts filling her.  True, she does regret it but that doesn't stop her from continuing.  Just my opinion  :)
Again: SO TRUE

OMG Yes!  THIS is the kind of pathos that Anakin SHOULD have felt/experienced.

Yeah, I can't WAIT to see what you (Karm) do with the Ancient One and Mellichae!

So much speculation guys! I'm glad I succeeded in making the situation, the motivations, the emotions so ambiguous! What I always loved in Star Wars was Obi-Wans talk about 'a certain point of view' that changes how you see a particular event, and by extension interpret its meaning, this is how i want Milaea and the Aethans to appear, both the bad guys, the good and the all too fallible guys, going too far or not far enough depending on your point of view!

Her body flew back and crumpled against the holo projector in the centre of the circle.  The poor confused girls head drooped into unconsciousness, more from emotional fatigue than his blow.

Odjina could feel the fight behind him…the hideousness of the betrayal still echoed in painful rhythms in his song…but worse…much worse was to come…he opened himself to the Permafrost crystals, allowing their resonating rhymes to fill his body to the brim.
********************************************************************************
He had struck Milaea….

HE HAD STRUCK MILAEA

He had to die.

Valens held no antipathy toward Odjina until now, he was just another Jedi on Kimars hit list, had Milaea chosen otherwise he’d have happily assisted the Mak’Tor by killing Kimar.

But the audacity to strike Milaea could not be forgiven...whilst he knew intellectually this was not the first, nor the last time someone would harm her…the fact he saw it meant he could NOT allow it to go unpunished.

His mouth twitched with rage, his free hand clenched into a fist causing the Maenowon he was fighting to suddenly crumple inwardly, blood spurting from every orifice. It hadn’t even been conscious attack on his part…the suddenness of the rage filled attack taking her off guard.   

Now there was just the Kage and himself…the other Maeonwan having gone on an accelerated trip into the sudden stop of a rocky pillar half a minute earlier.

He would not allow him to touch her again.  All restraint was lost…He poured lighting straight at the Kage.
********************************************************************************
As he caught the arcs of pure blue energy on his blade Odjina finally realised.

He could see him now…see him for what he truly was….the crystals let him see through the force…Valens bled black light… And behind him the shadowy spectre ancient evil…the song…the crystals, the very force itself provided a name for what this wretch represented…

Sith

 “Sith Demon!,” he screamed through the crackling air as though the words themselves were a curse.

What else could he term this…abomination but a Demon… the product of hideous science and sorcery that used flesh as material, the force as mere ingredient to twist the Makers creation in defiance of all natural laws intent on breaching a Divine one. 

Their blade spun in a furious dance as the storm of Valens lightning and the blue glow of the Permafrost lit the cavern around them.  Not a single blow or parry was anything less than perfect, precise and utterly deadly, a millimetre off and the humming sabre would kill the other.

“I can see you” Odjina seethed, the hate, the power…the manipulation, the shocking, utter psychotic lack of empathy for anyone but his own people…

Valens represented the most egregious mirror Odjina could imagine to the Mak’Tor, who had accepted him, embraced him a bedraggled orphan of Ryloth…had taught him how to express the truth his heart always knew, that there was a power that combined all the seemingly random strains in the Universe, that cared and guided all…the Maker.   

Valens seemed to ignore his words, maintaining the fatal conflagrations of green blade and blue lighting whilst also dragging stray rocks, crates - and in intentional acts of defilement - the bodies of the Mak’Tor he had slain at him.

No respect for the dead…for anything ...Whilst they strived to understand and serve the Maker, these Sith sought to make themselves Gods through horrendous, unrestrained dark technology and sadistic arts.

Valens cut off his stream of lightning pressed forward - their blades clashing and flickering white in a lock. 

The force surged between them, each pushing at the other, rocks and crystal shards tore from the wall.  Valens tried to teleport out the Odjina’s saber from his hand, the song saturated energy that flowed through him rippled and repelled the attack. 

They spun out of the lock with reverse blows, their blades kissed in the air.
********************************************************************************
The fool believed he was a Sith lord and Milaea his apprentice...he could hardly blame him, they had just killed his entire order in the space of ten minutes. 

The Song…the damn song and the crystals were granting the Kage unnatural strength and a steady flow of high level force energy…it negated the advantage he and Milaea would normally have in wearing their enemies down by forcing them to use the force in an extreme, physically damaging way…the song gave the Kage strength and preserved his body from buckling under the exertion of such power.

He kept his defence up, moving gradually backwards as he gave into his annoyance and rage to set lighting coursing over his body, a shield that flickered to burn the Kage when he got too close…it was of no use the song shifted - a rise in tempo ate the arcs before they could hit. 
********************************************************************************
He kept the pressure on the creature…a true Demon.

Everything Valens had said was true…Kimar was killing Jedi…but Valens was the assassin…he felt pity for Kimar, something he never imagined he could feel…Kimar, Grand Master of the Jedi, the Orthodox, the Inflexible, was himself a pawn of this atrocity.

He backtracked from the arcs of energy, they change their wavelength to score small burns on him, he adjusted the song to neutralise them in turn, the permafrost crystals and the living force performing the slight calculations his conscious mind had no time for.

And worse…far worse was this things plans…he could see it all…  Not content with his own detestable existence he sought to pervert Milaea into a bloody abomination of unceasing lust and violence – a Goddess created in the image of a Xenophobic, paranoid and unashamedly carnal race.

He had to destroy this creature.  Whatever losses suffered by the Mak’Tor…his grief was turned to resolves as he saw how even Holly’s death paled into insignificance compared to what this vile lich would do if he could control the raw power of Milaea.
********************************************************************************
In every fight…every war between evenly matched opponents there is a point…a pivotal moment when any one can win and the ending just depends on who will go further in that moment…who will take the greatest risk.

This was that moment.

The room was a swirling hurricane of energy, debris, bodies, the very stone buckling under the strength they were unleashing against each other.

Odjina stood infused with the Song…a song of battle, of hope, of fear, despair, betrayal, resolve…a hundred emotions as his every cell beat in time with the permafrost that fuelled him, an indelible trace of this moment etched into the fabric of the crystal lattice and even the dead stone that held it. 

Valens burning with the despair and gnawing drive to survive, the phantoms of his dead people screaming into his ear, a relic of a civilization long dead trying to hold itself together, empowered by generations of horrific uninhibited self-experimentation.

Milaea…alone…unconscious, the pivot upon which the fate of the galaxy rested.

********************************************************************************

Valens divided his attention…it was risky…but Aethan reflexes were superior enough to let him keep Odjina’s blade at bay…for a few seconds…

He lowered the shields within him to divery some energy to create a small aetheric void just infront of him, it was small, but the dead patch was just enough to distract Odjina and take he edge of his power by negating the Song.

He focused on his targets saw the lines…the faults, the fractures…

He let the rocks and rubble bruise and slam into his body, the Kage sliced a cold burning line in his left side. He repointed his aetheric energies

He fired.

A howl of pain erupted in the song as his aetheric lances pierced and shattered half a dozen crystal formations, he quickly used the lapse in the Kage concentration to shatter four more...but Odjina recovered in time to block another two.

The Kage began to reassert his song…but its volume could not reach the same peak as before.  Incensed the Twi’lek battered down even harder, he took the risk to parry one handed and shot an arc of blue lighting into another cluster…it was a bold move and the Kage immediately pivoted round and managed to glance his blade through several layers of skin before he could bring his arm back….

It had worked, the lighting cracked the cluster and chained into three...four…five more before dissipating…all the crystals were channelling energy into the Kage with such a precise balance driven by the perfection of his song that the unnatural energies forced into their lattice caused them to overload.
********************************************************************************

Now the tide turned…bereft of half the crystals power Odjina was on the defensive, Valens reignited his lighting shield and pressed forward.  Even without the ocean of power to lift him Odjina kept his blade in firm defence, his blows consistent. 

But even as he kept Valens at bay, the abomination got off more shots, shattering more clusters in the rock…each one a searing psychical pain, the crystals were now as much a part of his body as his own cells, their pain was his…his song, his connection to the crystals was both strength and weakness.

He drew forth the sabres of the dead and added them to the swirled of rocks and detritus that flew about them, he was running low on strength and concentration…he recalled Holly’s analysis of Valens and Milaea…they would only last 2 or 3 minutes before they were exhausted against the super humans.  With the Permafrost power cut in half, and Valens drawing on energies Odjina could not consciously comprehend, he had perhaps another thirty seconds. 

He diverted all the conscious effort he could into the extra sabres, his song flowing into his fallen friends crystals, heeding his call to fight, the air around Valens was filled with half a dozen blades, blue, yellow, green, white a veritable kaleidoscope all trying to break through…only his super human reflexes kept him from being overwhelmed. 

He pushed hard at the Sith, he could see the strain on Valens face, a mirror of his own exhaustion…each second using this much power without the crystals healing him was ripping him apart…

He was in an impossible situation…he needed the crystals power to both keep the attack up and keep him energized…whilst he had the full power of the crystals he had half powering his blows, half keeping his body from rending itself asunder under the sheer weight of energy pouring through it…now it was all dedicated to matching the Sith while his body slowly decayed, to divert any energy to healing would leave him at a slight disadvantage that Valens would undoubtedly punish.

He grasped and clutched in the force, trying to find fatal purchase…but he just couldn’t…he threw blast after blast but Valens burned through them, his body an electric fire…an ancient God of Thunder and Storm come to life - and sworn to destroy him.

********************************************************************************

He pushed a mid-blow back hard to open space, the Kage could not long sustain this kind of power raw without the healing power, Odjina started dropping the flying sabres one by one.

Valens immediately grasped at them, sending them back, Odjina deflected, shattered and deactivated them, only to be struck in the chest with Valens next lighting blast before he could catch it. 

He flew back but rolled into a low guard as Valens closed, they clashed and spun, but his strength was waning…the death song had begun…he caught the fraying thread of the music -he could never have done this at the height of Odjina’s song - and started adding his own song - the dirge of his peoples suffering …its hollow depths soaked up and morphed the empowering highs of the battle song into a dying rhythm of pain and loss, his peoples and the Mak’Tor’s…

********************************************************************************

This was the Song of Vyth, an overture of warmth and welcome, that turned increasingly sour and sharp as Milaea realised she could not bridge the gap between the Jedi and the Mak’Tor – a deep and sorrowful resolution followed by a sudden sharp note of betrayal.

A crescendo into a clashing battle, a dip as Milaea’s theme fell from the song, replaced by the peaks of the battle between the two force vergences of the force over the chance to be the one there to comfort her when she awoke.

The denouement - the dour tones of the fallen Mak’Tor, an ironic echo of the devastation of the Aethans, flowed into the requiem Odjina’s defiant end.

********************************************************************************

The largest of the crystals were shattered, the song drowning…the Kage cut a noble figure fighting against Valens superior strength,

Determination still in his eyes as Valens pierced through Odjina’s thigh with the tip of his green blade

Defiance in his scowl as Valens severed his left hand

Pride and honour beat out in the song, even on the ground as his sabre was ripped from his hand by the aether - Odjina tried to fight back with his bare fists, laid low by a kick to the face, his legs cut off at the knee then his other arm at the elbow. 

A final stream of lightning crashed him into the holo projector, leaving a heavy dent that propped the Kage up in a sitting position.

He was just beside Milaea, her quiet breath a song all of its own. 

Valens stared into the Kage’s eye as he brought his blade to his throat. He could feel Odjina with his last ebbs of life trying to sense him, to find a way to fight back.

The betrayal - “You…are no Jedi” Odjina rasped

The aimlessness of killing those who posed no threat and whose deaths offered no gain - “No Sith…”

The deathly echoes of Valens song subsided – “no…balance…no grace…no respect…” he stammered on whilst trying to right himself in defiance.

Deactivating his lightsabre he gripped the Kage’s face in his hand and closed almost nose to nose.

“There is nothing to respect, no balance, no Maker, no right and no wrong - there is death,” he spat in his face, then pointed to the corpses around them,

“And there is life,” he pointed to Milaea, her chest slowly rising and falling with each breath, “Nothing more,”

The Kage coughed blood as he sputtered…”only death you see…only death you’ll find,” his bloodied eyes looked around the cavern, “my song…the M..Maahhk’Tor…live…”

Valens gave him a spiteful smile as he plunged into his defenceless mind with less precision than he usually would, ripping out what knowledge he could brutally, crushing cherished memories, leaving only the pain of seeing his friends and students massacred.

“Now you can truly see,” Valens taunted.  Odjina looked at him with tear filled eyes. As Valens crushed his skull between his bare hands the Twi’leks body dissipated into the force, leaving his hands empty yet still smeared with blood…

He stared at his dripping fingers…

Was this all he was.
********************************************************************************

...Wow.

Just...wow.

This was your best yet LSG.  Odjina reminds me of the ancient samurai lord that defends his family, lands, and self from a powerful ronin and--despite his death--is the victor.  Unfortunately, the Kage's end is not so...poetic.  

Is Milaea--and by extension, Valens--objects of scorn or pity?  I doubt any of us would completely agree.  But, as you said, that's the beauty of interpretation: "point of view."  

Regardless, now having "seen" the Tragedy of Odjina, this was truly an incredible piece of artistry.  Which is why I believe that our collaborations are truly wonderful; I KNOW that my own writing benefits from all of us working together like we have been  ;)  And seeing the Vyth Mak'Tor succumbing to Valens' and Milaea's assault... Again: wow.

Superlative writing  :D

Yes, like TD said, this was your best chapter yet. Seeing the strength of a Master of Song such as Odjina, is incredible, but the fact that his strength is also a weakness, that was beautifully done. Valens is scary. I know we have talked about this in other stories, but his utter disregard for the life of anyone but the Aethans, that is what makes him so dangerous. Milaea at least was raised with the morals of the Jedi code, and even with its many flaws, it still upholds what is right. Valens doesn't have that. He was raised as to be a Guardian. Someone who would do whatever it took to survive, and protect their loved ones. And we still see him doing this. I am interested to see how you end this one, because I don't think it is something that Milaea will ever recover from. Anyways, great job. I only hope my story can be 1/4 of as good as yours.

I have to run, I'll have more later... 

That as amazing. 

I wonder when Valens will realize that in the ways that matter ... Odjina won?  ;-)

LSG, I wanted to add...  Your descriptions of the song, especially as Odjina faided, the death song, and then adding his own, the Song of Vyth.  That was epic.  Thank you for that excellent treatment, my friend. 

*bows*

But the most intriguing thing, on reading it again, was Odjina's final statement. 

And if Karmack ever meets one of these guys, I SOOOO have to work in the phrase: "I find your lack of faith ... disturbing."  ;-)

Thanks guys glad it lived up to the 'Tragedy of Odjina' you sprinkled in your own stories on my behalf that has given it a true 'legacy' in the minds of the Mak'Tor (even if by Karmack's time it has been mythologized a bit) and other Gray Jedi.  But its not quite over yet....

Yeah.  I am looking forward to the ending.  :-) 

It's true: this is a wonderful story!  Can't wait to read more!

Ending....might be a while...My first draft has 50 chapters....currently this is the end of the Vyth Arc...still have to see what Jarys and Soryu have been up to....and then more on Milaea.

PS Forgot to mention, this particular Arc owes a lot to You Guys for including Odjina in your tales, notably Karmacks Interlude Dawn of a Knight -

"Master Singers bore an additional carved ring of Onyx around the gem, highlighting the bright stone with a black ring, a tradition dating back to the Masters of Song mourning the loss of Kage Odjina centuries earlier. "

Really pushed me to try and make sure he was worthy of that kind of commemoration, not just as a Leader post Exile, and a Warrior (holding his own against two Aethans is probably a record of some kind) but also just a compassionate welcoming person. 

The Caverns of Vyth should have been silent.

He had piled the bodies in the main chamber, 17 in all scattered about – he had been surprised at the brutality with which Milaea had dispatched some of the Mak’Tor - he had destroyed the various droids and security footage, he would leave nothing but corpses for anyone to find. Milaea he placed in the Andis Med-bay.

There shouldn’t be a sound apart from his own breath and footsteps…

But the Song…the Song of what had happened here was imprinted in the walls, into the permafrost still deep in the rock – or so Odjina would’ve described it.  He knew how the Aether could imprint a person, a place, an object all too well.  One could not release such energies without some trace, but permanence like this was unusual.

He returned to collect the lightsabres, the Kage’s bloodied robe, discarded as his body vanished a fitting container.  Already filled with Permafrost crystals…all of them imprinted with the song of Vyth he glanced across the row of sabres he had left…

One was missing.

The snap-hiss of a sabre ignited behind him, the girl, Ha'Ona'Mack, all of seven holding her mother Ho’Li’Macks lightsabre against him, beside her the last Astromech, Four-Ten…he hadn’t paid much attention to the girl until now, she favoured her mother’s looks…he reached out with the aether - she shuddered but remained defiant. 

The Song…the song had imprinted on her as well…what legacy could that leave upon a child he wondered.  Perhaps that was what Odjina had meant…yes his song, and that of all who had died here lived on in this girl.

He knelt before her close enough to feel the energy of the blade on his face,

“Are you going to fight me Ha’Ona’Mack?”

“You’re a Sith, you’re evil,” She trembled through tear stained eyes,

Sith…just as Odjina had labelled him - even the Gray reverted to simple terms to try and classify what they could not understand it seemed …

“Yes, yes I am” it was a useful enough fiction. He ought to just kill her and smash the droid…but as he looked back to the corpses behind him…piled just as he had piled his own peoples corpses twenty years before…

He turned to the Astromech, they were trustworthy droids.

“Take this Child of the Song back to your people’s home droid…tell them what becomes of those who we set our gaze against,” 

Ha’Ona’Mack looked confused, but kept her blade up, she was smart enough not to attack him…he hoped her people would follow that same path…

He paused briefly to observe the glowing energies from the sabre she kept at his face…he had heard Ho’Li refer to her sabres crystal as the Ancient One…perhaps he should take it for future study.

The girl remained staunch in her stance as he tried to get a sense of the crystal within…but it was blank to him…a safeguard…a…ah…he understood its function now…

The crystal was of no value to him, it would destroy itself before yielding its knowledge…and…the girl had lost enough already....as much as Milaea if not more he thought with a touch of guilt.

He stood and left Ha’Ona to the droids care, sweeping the other sabres into the tattered robe with a thought.
********************************************************************
Milaea slept soundly in the Andis only bed as he piloted out of the system.

Odjina had never wanted to harm her…he had believed this was all Valens doing… He could not have understood…Valens had no desire to manipulate Milaea, teach her yes, but her choices must be her own.  Odjina’s only folly may have been distrusting him and overlooking the reality that a girl as lovely as Milaea could still plot his destruction….

Aethena had been like that too, she could make you love her, put all your hopes in her…then laugh as she used them to shatter you…whether Milaea was the same….

As he punched in the hyperspace co-ordinates he considered the next move…he had hoped Milaea would’ve embraced her power by now…but even faced with the Kage in a life and death struggle she had held back.

Aethena would not have…she would’ve walked straight into those caves and without preamble slain most, stripped the Kage of his knowledge then added the prettiest women to her harem. 

Milaea was different…and hopefully would continue to be so…yet time was not on their side, he needed her to come to herself soon.

Trying to find her place, today she had chosen to side with the Jedi…and paid the price for doing so – she would never fully side with them again.  She had rejected the Mak’Tor and, if she hadn’t already, she would soon reject the Jedi. 

Then she would look for belonging in the only place it could be truly be found.

With her people, her family.
********************************************************************
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Is it done” he gazed at the image through his steeped fingers,

“It’s done,” Valens replied

Kimar allowed a line of contempt and victory to curl at his mouth.

“I was surprised Odjina is…was…still around to be honest…old fool…were there many others, I imagine only four or five,”

Valens hologram flickered, “Not enough to pose a threat to us at any rate…,”

The original plan had been for Valens to infiltrate and provide details for a full strike, but given there had only been apparently five odd Gray Jedi, one an old Twi’lek fool, he had obviously taken the initiative to wipe them out himself…good Kimar thought, the less people who knew about such operations the better.

“And the Padawan?”

“Performed exceptionally well, she saw through the Gray lies quickly and was instrumental in bringing them down, her willingness to put aside her doubts to serve the order of the Council is commendable, along with her abilities.”

Kimar smiled,

“Excellent…I will arrange for her Trials to begin as soon as she arrives…given her performance I will count this mission toward them….oh and Master Neirai is awake and recovering, I’m sure her padawan will want to hear that.”

A strange expression flashed across the hologram…or perhaps it was just signal interference.

“I will inform her immediately master, Andis out,” short and to the point…he may be slightly unorthodox with his armour and blasters…but he was discrete, efficient and deadly. 

Whilst Valens did not represent what he ultimately wanted or the Jedi…he was what was needed in the interim.  This Padawan however might prove a true bastion of the Code…he would have to take a deeper personal interest in her.
********************************************************************
Chancellor Orvith had only been in power for two years, but already was proving more of a nuisance than all his predecessors.  He was deeply enmeshed with a number of corporations that utilised slave labour outside the Republic for numerous goods, textiles, vehicles, furniture…with low costs they could undercut more advanced automated manufacturing within the Republic. 

Orvith had been especially keen therefore to deal with the increasing insurgency of the Sons of Kessel, who had the temerity to free slaves.  Kimar had some sympathy for them…but also saw the danger, if their funding could be traced back to Republic citizens tensions with the Hutts would increase…the Hutts in turn would give tacit approval for pirates, arms dealers and other lowlifes to target Republic space and make policing the Republic even harder.

“How is the mission going,” Orvith asked in his dry tones, it was just the two of them in his office, the skyline of Coruscant behind the chancellor framed in blue curtains a shade darker than the Duros skin.

“Master Gurrlum is investigating leads amongst Republic aid organisations,” it had been Orvith who prompted the investigation to Cygrat that had then revealed the potential Sith warrior Master Neirai and Padawan Milaea had fought.

The Duros eyes squinted in disapproval,

“I do not like Jedi meddling within the Republic like this,” suppressing his annoyance Kimar sought to allay his fears

“They are merely picking up the trail, there will be no more active operations in Republic space,” Kimar wanted to keep any fighting outside the Republic just as much as Orvith did, but investigations within the Republic were what the Jedi existed for, Orvith and his ilk simply hated anyone looking in on their affairs.

His goal was clear, to keep things within the Republic as controlled and lawful as possible, outside of their borders he didn’t care.  The Jedi would serve as the shining wall to keep these two places apart as much as possible.

“Very well, now there is the matter of the labour strikes on Antar IV….” the Duros went on but Kimar tuned out, another task that needed Jedi attention…he believed in the Republic and democracy, that the Jedi needed to serve them with little question…yes the Senators and Chancellor may be corrupt…but they were the elected government, the oversight the Jedi needed…overtime things would change with his subtle guidance. 

After all, whilst Chancellors would come and go, one thing would stay the same…and that was him.
********************************************************************
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She sat on the bed of the Andis, observing Valens neatly stacked possessions, lock cases for blasters, grenades, explosives. 

This was the true face of the Jedi, Guardians of a violently imposed peace, if not explicit then always implied by their carrying sabres…the ultimate coercive force of the Republic. And  a Justice that saw each Knight act as judge, jury and executioner on every mission. 

This was not the Order that Soryu and Sofa had trained her for, not the Order of the Masters of Old Yoda had told her stories about when he would visit Soryu while she was there after her private lessons.  Were those tales, those teachings just that – ideals never to be realised?

Or had the Jedi simply lost their way somewhere…but lost it in such a way that…they couldn’t see how lost they really were.  Maybe they needed someone like Soryu or Gurrlum to go above, separate them from the politics, refocus and renew…

She could see the bodies piled there…she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, they had left the planet while she was still unconcious…yet she could still see it somehow as her eyes filled with tears.

Sofa had taught her better than to brood on what was done…but still…She couldn’t change what happened on Vyth…but maybe…maybe she could take a lesson from it…become part of a change in the Order that would mean something like Vyth would never happen again.

Thanks.  I figured from the beginning when Odjina first appeared that he would have been something special, one of those "legendary" heroes who might grow larger than they really were but who are closer to the legend than most would think.  He's become that.  Thank you.  :-)

And another great entry!  Wow.  There's pathos there aplenty.  And a lot of regret.

I like the scene of Milaea pondering the choice, pondering her lost innocence - and able to see that the Jedi under Kimar are indeed lost.  And they don't even realize it.

Valens' reasoning is utterly consistent with his character.  He's been working toward that restoration of his own people from day one, and he's still on target.  Whether he admits it or not I perceive that he placed Milaea where he did to manipulate her into making the choice she did, to separate her from all but "her own".   Ironically, the very inclusiveness of the Mak'Tor - they see all who come as children of the Maker, and therefore anyone can be 'one of them' as it were - was the core threat to Valens' plan.  Though as a warrior Odjina was more powerful in the cave with the aid of the permafrost than he had anticipated...

Reminds me of Karmack creating his own 'chorus' of crystals to deploy in combat when needed.  Hmm....

I still feel like Milaea hasn't reached the true decision point yet.  Will she go the way of the goddess - the temptation is there - or will she be different? 

Time will tell.  There's much left to learn here.  :-)

Wow, so you are writing an Epic. Sweet! Before they were just novels or short stories, but now you've gone into full blown EPIC MODE! Can't wait to see what is coming.

As the the chapter, I am almost more scared of Kimar than I am of Valens and Milaea. He wan't the Jedi to survive, and thrive, but he also wants more than that. He wants them to rule the Galaxy, and that is what scares me. The fact that someone within the Jedi order (and in such a high position of authority) is willing, and even wants the Jedi to be more is truly terrifying. This promises to be an interesting story. And I love the fact that you are doing different Arcs. That is a good way to tie everything together by making a whole story, but also have many different decisions being made.

Oh yeah, and I loved that little tidbit with Ha'Ona'Mack. The fact that he let her live, and the fact that she is of Clan Mack, makes me think that Karm might have some more knowledge than the others do. Maybe. And the fact that Valens understood what the crystal was, yet knew he couldn't access it, that was great. Even he knows not everything can be solved by strength. Wonderfully written chapter and continuation of the story.

Magnificent!  TR hit on something that I wish to echo: you really are writing a SW Epic.  Hmm...Valens<->Odysseus  ;)

On a more serious note, it seems that Valens isn't quite as emotionally cauterized as he presents if Ha'Ona'Mack can evoke a feeling of guilt, however small and ephemeral. Still, Aethans have a much different moral barometer than humans and Valens' assertion that Ha'Ona'Mack (and Odjina) see him as Sith is limiting and ultimately incorrect. But I doubt most humans would perceive such Olympian views after the wholesale slaughter of their families.

I have said it before and I reiterate now: this is GOOD writing.  I can only hope that Milaea's humanity has taken root before the Goddess within asserts control...

But that's another chapter  ;)

Thanks again guys appreciate it! One of the thing I wanted to do was to keep the story without obvious good or bad guys but instead vey fallible people dealing with very difficult situations that their own responses tend to make worse rather than better.  

Credit to Karmack for letting me integrate the Mack Clan, helps both our stories, as Dutchman often says gives them all more depth with such connections, I think this particular one especially provides a really strong link.

Taegin spot on re Kimar, really he is the only one who got what he wanted from the Vyth Arc, it was a Tragedy for everyone else involved in some way (especially Odjina!) none of them wanted any of that to happen but couldn’t find a way out.  

Dutchamn hit on another concept I wanted to slide in, in a lot of myths you need to know a Demons True Name to destroy it…the Mak’Tor label Valens a Sith and Kimar labels Jarys Sith of Cygrat because they have no other word for what they are seeing, and as such their responses are [as you will see] are...misguided.

But you are all right ultimately it’s all about Milaea and her final choice, against the backdrop of Kimars time as grand Master.

Now for the last two chapters I managed to finish on my last day before I go back to work!

I didn't even think about this, but that totally makes sense. It will be interesting to see how you deal with this.

It was a nice office, clean white lines, touches of red here and there, Gurrlum sat directly before the Director, Soryu to the side.  

“You understand that we take confidentiality very seriously,” the Director said earnestly,

“I do…and I do not want to create a problem for you, but you must understand this is a very serious situation”  Gurrlum replied,

The Director of Logistics and Resources for the Corellian Benevolent Society sighed heavily....Soryu could sense his conflicting emotions, he didn’t want to imperil the work his organisation did in providing support for former slaves….namely providing the ships and emergency aid the Sons of Kessel called in once that had liberated a factory, mine or brothel.  But he also did not want to hinder a Jedi investigation.

Gurrlum could sense it too and offered an out.

“We don’t want to interfere with your work,” he exuded calm and compassion in the force, “if you could perhaps just give us an idea of where the next pick-ups might be…we promise we will not interfere in the operation, simply hang back and speak to the…other organisation members…thereafter. “

The Director still looked a little uncertain, “I don’t want the…other organisation…to be held up…but if this individual is as dangerous as you say…perhaps they would be better off without him…”  he sighed again and pressed a few keys on his computer…

“I’ll send you the transponder codes of our quick response unit…if anyone is going to have a chance of running into the actual soldiers it’s them.”

Gurrlum nodded appreciatively,

“You’ve helped a lot of people today Director…” he stood, Soryu following suit,

“Thank you for this, and all your good work,” Soryu added
***************************************************************************************
Arjuca was another dead end…it had been weeks of following leads from various aid agencies about where their target might be…

Target…Soryu checked himself…was it so easy to slip into calling another sentient being a target…de-humanising it to a thing to be pursued…

The slaves were ushered out of the workshops, they were well fed and clean for slaves…but then they had to be to produce the ‘hand-made’ fabrics and clothing that fetched such a high price in the core worlds, without getting them grimy.  

The streets around the factory were littered with the sullen signs of battle, the Sons of Kessel moving through gradually picking up the corpses.  The Jedi had not participated, as per Kimar orders this was not their fight, this was not the Republic…so Soryu had to keep reminding himself as he felt the living force cry out for justice, for safety, for hope, with each slave that plodded past him

The leader of the Sons, Keison was just behind talking to Gurrlum, this was the fourth raid they had observed following their leads, Keison wanted to know what was going on.  In the force Soryu could feel he did not like the answer.  Soryu stood up trying to shake off the ill feeling he should be fighting with them, not just watching them, and headed over to join his fellow master.

“You want me to turnover one of my men?”  the bald, scarred commander stood arms folded, presence strong and defiant…the strength of a man with a just cause, the defiance of a man who would never again be force to submit…the scar where a slave brand had been cut from his forehead spoke to both these qualities.

“You must understand, this individual is likely just as much a danger to you and your movement as anyone else,” Gurrlum tried to reason with him, he was an excellent leader and manager, something Soryu had never excelled at.

“So you claim…but here is my position,” he leaned forward, “a bunch of Jedi hang around my operations, don’t lift a finger…same thing they’ve been doing for decades…fine whatever, but then they ask me to turn over a Squad that’s been on the front lines for the better part of the last 15 years, saved thousands of slaves, and for what, cause he got into a fight with a couple of your guys?”  

He leaned back and sighed, “I got nothing against you Jedi, but I got no reason to help you either, look around, you guarding ‘peace and justice’ on this world, or any of the others?”  

Soryu could not say they were.  “Move it up,” came the call from a loud speaker, it was only a matter of time before the Slavers retaliated, they had little time.

Gurrlum too remained silent,

“That’s what I thought,” Keison went on, “Now why would I help you and not my brothers in arms?”  

This all felt wrong, Soryu knew Gurrlum could feel it too…the over caution that had followed the disaster of the archives project…the control Kimar had been asserting in Yoda’s absence…it all felt wrong…

“Your brother or not…we are tasked with finding him…” Gurrlum said firmly, refusing to answer Keison’s question, “If you will not assist us…we will not compel you…however we will not cease out investigation either… I’m sorry it’s come to this…”  

Jedi arguing with the leader of a group who freed slaves from Hutts outside of the Republic was emblematic of the incomprehensible position the Jedi had found themselves in…serving the Republic and the Light to the exclusion of what seemed True and Just.
***************************************************************************************

A shot clipped his pauldron, searing off a chunk of metal….He was too distracted to take this battle seriously.  He slammed into cover behind a dusty orange rock that flaked with the impact.  

Ever since the fight on Cygrat he couldn’t get the Jedi girl out of his head…the way she fought, the way she moved, the way she looked…the way she felt in the aether…in the heat of fight he hadn’t the time to critically reflect on these things…but now….

The rock thudded with the impact of more blaster bolts on the other side, it was just sedimentary, forged of compacted sand in the desert and wouldn’t hold up to much more.  He peeked over and fired a few shots then crouched into a run to the next cover point.  The mine was located at the base of a huge cliff made of sandstone that seemed to extend forever. Dotted around the base were the holes into the crust, watch towers and various prefabricated buildings in assorted states of disrepair.  

He clicked on his helmets am link brining up Selaena’s view of the battle field on his visor.   She was perched near the top of the cliff in a small alcove picking off the guards while Jarys and Meason hit them from the front.  In the link view he could see himself from above and the enemy guards as they move forward brining out what looked like missile launchers.

But it wasn’t just the Jedi girl…it was what Kassyndra had said...that he might have a child out there, somewhere…that Cilina or Shilea might be alive…He sensed the danger building…guided by the battle meld with Selaena, and the vision from her vantage point he put his rifle over the top of the rock and fired, hitting the crouching missile armed guard dead in the face.  Bolts from Maesons repeated littered the air to the left and the guard fled for cover, only to be picked off by shots from Selaena.

As they retreated he leapt the rock and ran forward, kicking up orange dust…could Cilina have somehow joined the Jedi…he threw a mental blast of aetheric energy forward to break apart a barricade of crates…from what he understood the Jedi sought ‘force’ sensitive children to enslave and brainwash…he pivoted aiming to the left as he ran to the right and fired precise grouped shots at the now exposed guards…but how then could he rescue his daughter, indeed was she still his daughter if she were not an Aethan culturally…

He absently lobbed  grenade guiding with the aether around the side of the watch tower then in behind the occupants…should he try and find her again….he skidded behind a prefab wall as the watch towers nest exploded with yellow heat…could he live with himself if he didn’t find out for sure….

A guard leapt down from the prefab, he sidestepped and caught him, flipped and used his momentum against him, slamming the guard into a cloud of orange dust which mingled with fresh blood as Jarys brought his knife down into the guard’s throat….

Kassyndra, but for her revelation he wouldn’t even suspect it…he strode around the prefab, noticing a few guard in the prefab office in front of him, he used the aether to bring the ceiling crumpling down upon them….if he had a daughter, if there was a young aethan woman out there perhaps they had a future…he strode toward the mine entrance indifferent to the bodies flopping dead from Selaenas green bolts around him…he had to find out, he had to know…a heavily armoured Ikotchi charged out at him…

Jarys broke free from his thoughts and ducked, shouldering the Ikotchi in the chest and sending him flying over his head with his own momentum, Jarys spun around and with a precise sweep planted his knife straight into the Ikotchis forehead….

He expanded his senses…hmm...it was over already.
**************************************************************************************
He sat in the shade of the cliff as the slaves wandered past, caked in the orange dirt of Santooine, their hands raw and bleeding from prying opals from the bedrock.  Most were weequay, a few twi’leks, no humans let alone Aethans it seemed.

They all trudged past toward the support ships to be ferried to the refugee centres….There were two large haulers, the medical teams going to and fro handing out nutrient pastes and water canisters.  All so predictable…he was eager to get out of here, get to Coruscant and see if he could find the Jedi girl.

After the fight with her he had learned what he could about the Jedi…their history, their code…their methods…it struck him how like the slavers they were…they took children away from their families, raised them to believe their utterly absurd doctrines, had them obey ridiculous rules - and for what, to prop up the very Republic that had enslaved and brainwashed them.  

It sickened him to think his own child might’ve been brainwashed like that…if it came down to it he wondered if he would have to kill a child raised in such an alien culture…such an affront to Aethan culture could not be permitted to live…yet based on how strong the Jedi girl he had faced was he wasn’t sure he could kill one.

As the last of the support ships was firing up engines to leave three smaller ships began to descend just outside the main camp.  He immediately sensed something was amiss.

He turned to Selaena who was absently checking over her rifle “Sel…get to your nest,”, he put on his helmet and flicked the comm

“Maes, bring the Vorynx in full speed,”  he sensed their acknowledgement in the aether immediately, Sel leaping with aeterhic speed to her snipers nest up the cliff.
**************************************************************************************

And here is the obverse position: Jedi--proclaming that they stand for "truth, justice, and peace"--taking, absconding, enslaving(?) children WITHOUT choice because they claim a moral imperative to do so...
This is exactly why the Jedi failed IMO.  And I think that LSG's writing regarding it SHOULD be canon!  Not only does it set the Galactic stage ensuring the dogmatic views of the Order, the rise of the Empire, and the Jedi Purge but it does so in a fashion that is organic and believeable!  And best/worst part is: Kimar believes in what he's doing, although I would not consider him a " well-intentioned extremist" either. 

Well LSG, you seem to have a knack for morally ambiguous characters... WELL written!

I wonder how Jayrys will feel about Milaea... This should be an EPIC and momentous occasion  ;)

And I think one of the reasons why we like Soryu so much: he's close to what the Jedi could have been...

Don't give up on the Jedi quite yet.  We know Yoda ended up as Grand Master of the Order, and he was likely steering them back toward the Soryu ideal.  However, I have to admit that the concept of an order - ANY order - taking force-sensitive children by force and compelling them to be a part of that order is at its base evil.  So ... sithy of you, Jedi...  :-)

Actually reminds me of the PsiCorp from Babylon 5...  Inspiration?  ;-)  If not, you need to check that show out.  LSG, you would like it.  Its sooooo  not Star Trek or Star Wars, but still very awesome.  :-)

Jarys may soon meet Milaea.  I have this bad feeling that he's going to kill Soryu first, though...  Another tragic mistake.  As you said, LSG, these are flawed characters that make imperfect choices.  Very real indeed.  As a writer its to easy to imbue the 'hero' with insight or wisdom or even just blind luck that lets them make the right choice.  Its harder to write this kind of complex plot where EVERYONE is messing up.  I am very impressed and deeply honored that you've melded the Mak'Tor so deeply into it. 

Who knows?  Maybe in 600 years we can heal some of this hurt? 

Or not...  :-)

They had sensed it from orbit over Santooine, the unrestrained…almost primal use of the force to kill.  They had followed the Sons support ships in, picking up their comms chatter, the slavers were dead, “Vorynx Squad” was on site….Vorynx…the word sounded familiar, something Valens had mentioned once perhaps.

They landed just outside the main camp, Gurrlum, the Cathar Master Hk’Tn and his Arkanian Padwan Feori and human Knight Beldan descended the ramp into the orange dust their ship had kicked up.  The Selonian Corana stayed in the faster of the three ships hovering above to provide air support he hoped wouldn’t be needed, the Bothan Hissana stayed in the second ship as back up for the ground force.

The last of the slave support ships had just left, he could sense three presences at the slave mine camp…agitated, tense…gone?  Gone?  It was as if they had vanished…he reached out again, Gurrlum grumbled, a sign of angst in his species.

“Master,” Feori said, “something feels…..” - Splurck

Soryu didn’t even have time to react in horror, he turned to look at Hk’Tn while drawing his sabre, he saw Hk’Tn;s face obscured by bone, blood and brain that had sprayed from the jagged stump that was once Feori’s head.  They all ignited their sabres…they hadn’t even sensed the danger, heard the shot, seen the blast…

Beldan suddenly moved, his sabres flashing and cracking as it caught something millimetres from his head, but the force of it was such that it pushed his sabre back into his face, searing his skin,

“Sniper,” yelled Gurrlum, they all went low and defensive, he opened himself…deep, deep into the currents…he could sense them now…the three weren’t in the camp together, one was still there, another up on the cliff, the third far away, but coming in rapidly, Corana sped toward the cliff in her ship to dislodge the sniper, he sensed Gurrlum begin a battle meditation.  Hk’Tn was slow to react, utterly in shock at the death of his apprentice right beside him. 

This was not going well.  And it was getting worse. 

Orange dust and deep red brown dirt beneath exploded up beside their ship, another other bolt struck it full in the side, unleashing a smell of burning metal and fried circuits. Coming in toward them was a ship unleashing blaster bolts.  Corana veered to intercept.  More rounds were fired by the Sniper, Soryu caught one of his blade aimed at his feet, it was a heavy blast…not just energy, these were some kind of energy coated projectile rounds.   

“Hissana, the sniper,” Gurrlum took control of the situation with his voice and his force presence  “Beldan, Hk’Tn go left to the cliffs to flank it, Soryu, you and I will tackle it head on,” 

Soryu didn’t know what ‘it’ was, till he turned and saw, it, a trail of blooms of orange dust speeding up toward them mid-way between their position and the camp where the remains of a rock pillar had long since collapsed in the desert winds.  From the rock stump came regular blaster fire, an armoured silhouette, and a presence in the force that felt beast like, unrestrained and lusting for blood.  He had never sensed anything like it before…his instincts, the very primal heart of him told him to run…it took an enormous amount of sheer will, even for a Jedi Master like Gurrlum and himself to charge toward it.

They poured out strength and support in the force to firm the others as they wavered against the visceral energy that repelled them. As the others flanked, stray bolts from the aerial combat above them slammed into the ground around them, spraying them rocks and dust. 

They fused their motions in a battle meld to deflect the bolts and sniper rounds as they approached.  Grenades came at them, but as soon as they tried to divert it the sender detonated them rather than risk them coming back at him, the explosions threw up ever more dust.   It seemed like a sand storm…but the explosions alone couldn’t account for this much dust…as he approached he sensed the swirling force, the armoured man was using the force to create a sand storm!

The sniper kept firing as if they were in clear view, not targeting with sight but the force. 

“Stay together,” Gurrlum called bringing them tighter into the battle meld, Soryu did what he could to add to the stability. 

They reached the rocky outcrop, he could sense the warrior…all around him…his presence in the force was like a lake he was in the middle of, it surrounded him, he couldn’t point to one part of it and say, here it is, he was subsumed.  He could see Gurrlum’s head swinging searching for the warrior as well

He could sense Beldan and Hk’Tn nearby, their flanking would not work if they couldn’t pin where he was…orange dust sprayed across their faces, he used the force to keep his vision as clear as possible.  He slipped deeper into the living force trying to pick up the core of where the warrior’s presence was coming from.  Beldan came into view, a heavy clash as he blocked another sniper round, then out of nowhere a gray armoured monster leapt onto his back from the storm, two blades plunging into then out of Beldan’s chest a trail of blood jetting out in response. 

He rushed forward launching a force grasp to try and catch or at least slow the warrior, Gurrlum’s long limbs surged forward in pursuit, but suddenly skidded to block another heavy shot from the sniper and the figure was lost to them.  Above them he could hear the thump-thump-thump of cannon fire as the ships fought. 

Finally he found a thread in the force…it was large yet…subtle…it was so much a part of the force as to be almost invisible…like trying to see a current under the ocean, everything just looked like water…it was a connection to the force that was deeply seated - like Valens and Milaea. 

He could trace the current in his mind…from the sniper, from the enemy pilot above…it was near…

“Hk’Tn” he yelled with his voice and his battle meld, the Cathar was 20 metres away just visible, he turned, his silver blade catching the dust as the armoured shadow flew at him from the side, he pivoted just in time to block the sword.  The fight between them was intense, they had already traded a dozen blows by the time he was half the distance, a Jedi Master matched blow for blow by…what was this warrior.  Soryu was metres away, he flipped up into the air to close the gap….

The wind was knocked out of him, his skin burnt as lightning struck him full on in the chest, he flopped downward managing to fall into a controlled roll landing. Gurrlum was closing fast as Soryu recovered, Hk’Tn….Hk’Tn was on his knees pushing against the warriors sword, his body crackling with lighting, Soryu launched a barrage of rocks at the Warrior as he rose, but they either bounced off his armour or were knocked aside by indifferent force defences. 

Soryu let the living force calm his frazzled neurons and speed his steps forward as the warrior suddenly pivoted and met Gurrlums blade before it could impale him from behind.  Hk’Tn sagged to the ground, a smoking charred ruin of a body covered by dying flickers of blue lightning.

***************************************************************************************************


War….war had been all he knew since being abducted from Aethas twenty years ago…the fight was all he knew…

More dust flicked into his face as he ducked out of the Jedi’s cut,

His first war was of survival in the Arena…he had become a beast to survive, and butchered his way out

He rose into a heavy punch to the Jedi’s thin frame, a wet cracking sounded from the Gado’s core as he used the pause to roll out of reach of his sabre.

The second war, the unending battles for the Sons…fighting the slavers who might have taken his people…across a hundred worlds, for years and years he had searched to find just three of them…one he had shown the final mercy to already.

The Jedi was not delayed, he could sense a healing aetheric energy already, he shot out mentally to disrupt it as he pulled his hold-out blaster and fired, it was pointless against a Jedi but bought him time and some knowledge of how the Jedi moved.

Now this third war…against the Jedi…he didn’t understand why they wanted him…was one person who used their ‘force’ and fought for someone else such a threat…he knew what he wanted from them though…he had to find the girl…

The second Jedi was gaining on him, he fired a surge of lighting in his direction, but he wouldn’t be fooled twice and caught it in his palm and on his blade, sending back a concentrated ball toward him.  He dived to avoid it and came up in a defensive stance..

He had lived in a constant state of war for so long…perhaps it was all he would ever know…to be facing two Jedi at once almost seemed a perfectly logical way to die…Every warrior dies alone he mused…perhaps this was the forgotten battlefield he would fall on…Selaena was distracted fending off the Jedi that had finally found her nest, Maeson wasn’t as good a pilot as a Jedi, but the Vorynx’s better shields and weapons made it an even fight…Jarys was truly alone. 

He countered and dodged the aetheric blasts sent at him as the masters came from both sides…he cut off his flow of aetheric power to the sand storm he had created, it was useless now they could track him.  The Gado worried him more than the human, they were thin, flexible and good gymnasts…but their organs situated across their limbs was a weakness.  He reached out to try and grasp at what organs he could, but this Gado was strong enough to block him…just.

He sprang at the Gado and launched a barrage of lighting at the human, to hold him back, the human could deal with it, but was clearly not used to it.  Their blades met in a furious storm of motion, the Gado using his flexibility to try and get around him, but Jarys was faster and more flexible than he anticipated – he was not a human like the Gado expected – he was an Aethan – stronger, faster, smarter. 

He could sense Selaena approaching, injured but victorious against the other Jedi.  Maeson above was getting the edge against the Jedi’s ship. 

The flurry continued, but the human had broken loose, he had to move fast, he dropped low as the Gado arced high and left, releasing his sword he put his hand to the ground and blanketed it with Aetherc fire, his sword he caught in his mind and hurled up to the Gado’s face, his flexibility let him parry it, but the fire he hadn’t anticipated and his feet were set ablaze, he could sense the humans shock behind him. 

The human was surging forward, Jarys pivoted to the side, raising his left hand that was streaming fire toward the human who caught it on his blade, the Gado was fumbling on injured feet to deflect Jarys’ mind controlled sword, he swapped his right hands flames for a crushing grip – the Gado used the force to defend himself from it…but he wasn’t aiming at the Gado…he imploded the churned the air behind the Gado, creating a high pressure zone that then puffed back out suddenly unbalancing the Gado further, Jarys flicked his tremor-knife to his hand and swiped rapidly into the Gado’s arm as he tumbled, the vibrational blade slicing cleanly though yielding a spray of gristle from the Gado’s elongated organs and cartridge-heavy, largely boneless body.

The human drew back out of the flames and rounded on him, the Gado started convulsing, trying to keep himself from falling, he brought his silver blade down toward Jarys, it seared through his right gauntlets armour and into his forearm before he could pull it away. 

His pain exploded into a shock wave that finally bowled the Gado over and pushed the human back in surprise, he retook his floating sword with his left hand and slashed it across both the Gado’s legs before he hit the ground, more gristle and fluids escaped as its elongated organs finally gave up from the trauma.

He rolled away from the dying creature, lest it try a last minute attack, only to come face to face with the human, his green sabre casting an eerie light against the orange dirt. 

He hit fast and hard, a merciless rampage of blows that Jarys struggled to counter, he used the aether as his second hand on his sword whilst firing off shots of lighting with his injured right…but this human was superior to his fellows, a slight delay in a parry saw him land a glancing blow on his left shoulder, through the armour and scorching the flesh, not disabling but painful. 

In the aether he was strong too…not as strong as the Jedi girl, but with Jarys already worn down, strong enough to match him…the human had him in physical combat…Jarys was just holding his own aetherically, and mentally this man was walking fortress that wasn’t worth probing.  He had little choice but to go all in.

As Selaena struggled to get in range to help, the dogfight came over head, the Vorynx looked to be smoking from one engine, the Jedi ship looked worse.  He drew out all the power he could, his skin flickered with energy, the Jedi was battering him down, a low cut he barely parried in time, his lighting was ineffective as the Jedi deflected it with his mind expertly.  He channelled his power not at the Jedi, but at the Jedi Ship…he felt Selaena and Maeson respond in their battle link, they all pulled at the hulking and machine and slammed it toward the ground. 

The Jedi sped up his attack with high blows as the ship came crashing down behind him.  Jarys braced in the aether as a tsumani of dirt came up behind the Jedi, who rolled out and into a defensive crouch, the tide broke around the Jedi’s invisible barrier as Jarys used every ounce of aetheric power he could muster to leap above it.  As he landed Maeson came in low overhead, the back draft scattering the burning metal shards of the Jedi ship toward him, he cruised over Sealena who leapt into the open boarding ramp.   

The Jedi rose from the hail of dirt and metal as Maeson pivoted around and opened fire on him, guided by the battle meld.  The Jedi dodged and wove with startling speed to avoid the rapid cannon fire that threw up ever more dirt and rock.  Jarys surged to take him from behind but as he came into range to start firing lightning the Jedi turned and battered him back with an aether push, he recovered with a roll and rose to see the Jedi slashing down at him, he pivoted out but the blow ripped into his back through his armour…the third time it had saved him today…he kicked out and hit the Jedi’s shin the bone audibly snapping, then rose into an upper cut faster than the Jedi could dodge smashing into the Jedi’s sternum, in response Jarys was hit with another aetheric blast knocked the wind from his chest. 

He stumbled back as Maeson approached…he had sensed this before…the Jedi was burning in the aether…his skin was starting to flicker into incandescent white…if he pushed this Jedi any further he might enter a fusion state, turning his body into pure energy…as his grandfather had done in the war that had started this all… it would kill the Jedi for certain, but it would likely be too much even for him to survive…he had to get out of here, he surged what he could into a tempest of lightning as Maeson came over head, cutting off only to leap up to the ramp, but the Jedi was behind him on the ramp!

He thought that was it till Selaena crouched ahead fired a stream of lighting one handed forcing the Jedi on the defensive as sparks flew off into the wind as the ship sped away from the battleground.

Jarys added his own lighting and moved in to attack, the Jedi was hard pressed against the two, but such was his skill he managed to perform swift turn into a crouching sweep kick causing Jarys to stumble letting the Jedi land a pommel blow on his head. 

His world going red and black he righted himself and just flung both his fists forward…it was clumsy, almost purely a reflex, but so unexpected that combined with Selaena’s stream it caught the Jedi off guard and slammed into his ribs, an audible crack resonated in Jarys blood beating ears as the Jedi toppled off the ramp and into the orange dunes below. 
***************************************************************************************************

Wow...

Hmm.  I wonder if Kimar will send Valens and Milaea after these guys next.  Hmm....

But Soryu...  He is stronger than I thought he'd be.  Holding his own against three Aethans.  Well, sort of.  :-)  Still, nicely written.  And Jarys' exposition on War...  A great look into his mind.  Nicely done.

I LOVE seeing Soryu kicking rear and taking names!  But...the rest of the Jedi; poor souls...

Jarys is another great example of an ambiguous character: he's not a villain but neither is he a hero.  Still, after 20 years of looking for his fellow Aethans...I can see why he'd be despondent.

Oh, best line of the chapter: “Master,” Feori said, “something feels…..” - Splurck

One thing I love about these stories is how they show that the life of a Jedi was anything but idyllic.  These guys might look like they have it easy but they don't often die of old age...

Thanks guys!
Yeah there are no heroes in any of this...Even Soryu still obeyed the Order against his better judgement to hunt down a 'dangerous individual'....

He was thirsty.

He was hungry.

He was broken.

Dragging himself in what he hope was the direction of his ship, he could be hundred of kliks away given the speed the escaping ship had been travelling..  His shin and at least three ribs were broken, probably his sternum cracked as well, his skin dry and cracked from the lighting.

The fight had taken more out of him than he realised.  In the midst of it the force had soothed all his pains, given him the strength and speed to match…but it had taken a terrible toll in return.

This must be what it was like for a death-stick addict coming off a massive high, euphoria, a feeling of unbridled strength and control, followed by a shattering crash, every scratch and bruise pounding in your mind.   

He grasped at another rock, only to find it splintered into sandy shards under his weight….he had to keep going.

The amount of power he had to draw on just to keep pace with the Sith….he felt as if it had aged him twenty years.  Many Jedi had seen examples of this, excessive force usage could deteriorate cells to the point of destruction – an infinite amount of power pushed into a tiny sack of flesh…now he had firsthand experience…any further and he would have ripped himself apart – in that sense this Sith had saved him by running.. 

Sith…Sith was what they had termed them so far…he doubted that was correct but he had no better word. 

More of the Orange dust Santooine was famous for blew straight into his face, the vast orange deserts that tourists flocked to see the purple sunsets over and take stunning holo-picts was a hell up close like this.

He clenched his jaw and pushed on.  He stank of sweat and dried blood, but he had to get back…warn the Jedi…formulate a new plan…cremate the dead…

As the sun began to set he heard a rumble…a black shape in the hazy air…his gut immediately clenched....if the Sith had come back he was dead….neither he nor Gurrlum had landed any major blows like the Sith had, he wouldn’t take more than two or three days to recover…for Soryu it would take months.

But a flicker in the force…light, pensive…a Jedi….of course, they would’ve failed to check in by now…He beamed out his presence…today was not his day…

But tomorrow…
*************************************************************************************

Wonderful!

Poor Soryu though... Yet, it was a cost that I believe he would gladly pay...

Yes, it's in these "down time" chapters that we can glean a rare glance of these amazing characters.

Thank you LSG!

Wow...   I'm not the only author who punishes his Jedi characters.  :-)

Excellent "afterwards" for Soryu.  He will survive and return...  And I suspect that now Valens will learn of Jayrs survival.  
I find myself extremely interested in their reunion...

I am also saddened by Joryu's continued use of "Sith" to describe his opponents.  Even as he knows its not accurate, he uses it because he doesn't have a better word.  

One thing that is both interesting and honestly a little off-putting about this story is the lack of a 'good guy'.  While I am enjoying the story itself immensely I honestly don't know who to root for!  Its kind of like going to a football game when you don't know anything about the sport or the rules or the teams.  Its exciting, but I don't know who to root for or when someone is doing well or not.  

But that may be my own limitation.  I'm one of those Zealots, after all...  ;-)

Keep it up!  I am very much looking forward to the saga and seeing how it comes out!  

I'm insulted!  I guess I'll have to beat Zearic up THAT much more!  ;)

So glad Soryus alive (at least right now). He is easily one of my favorite characters from your stories so far. I actually really like the idea of a short chapter like this. Very cool.

Yeah, but Soryu didn't have a Mak'Tor Singer/Healer handy...  ;-)

Well said, I concede  ;)

Point!

Soryu is probably regretting the Mak'tor expulsion even more now....


Thanks TR one thing I picked up from the feedback on the interludes I did to bridge to this series was how effective short chapters with a focus on one topic (here Soryu struggling) can be.


Great, then its working, as I've mentioned I love the concept of 'A certain point of view' who is good depends VERY greatly on your own point of view here...but I try to make sure there are so any different points of view to make even that difficult and let messy reality show. 

But Let me assist with a character everybody loves - or else....

The data drive slid gently out of the mainframe slot, angling gracefully upward toward the ceiling past the various blinking lights of advanced processing units that ran millions of simulations.  It was essential that any ship they designed was capable in operating within at least 70% of known cosmological environments or it simply wouldn’t sell.

So while she guided the data drive toward the heat out take systems, the processors went on simulating how the latest ships Sienar was designing would fare in nebulae, asteroid fields, neutrino fields all over the galaxy.

She pulled it up and over the disabled laser girds, through the maintenance ways and up…ah the alarm how quaint.  The Mainframe room went into purge mode, lethal radiation spewed out, killing anything organic and EMP pulses wove through the conduits disabling droids control circuits but preserving hard data for further investigation.

It was a good trap for a thief…a shame for Sienar she wasn’t even in the building.  She was in the next towers air ducts perched close to the data vault using the aether to do the work for her.

She continued pulling and tugging the data drive through the path she had prepared for it.  Ever so softly, ever so precise as Maynard had taught her.
**************************************************************************************

She walked in slow measured paces along the golden sands of Spira.  The safe and popular tourist world for anyone who earned above the average Core world income, all types could be found her.

Today her eyes were on one particular, portly, sweaty man a head shorter than her who was bustling about trying to control his errant children while his rotund wife zoned out with ear buds blaring music. 

She leaned up against one of the cabanas that dotted the beach as a breeze picked up…she let the aether follow it to his mind and drew his attention toward her.  Distracted from his brood he looked through the crowds toward her.  She wore a plain white two piece bathing suit and had just come out of the water which left it terribly transparent. 

She could see him swallow hard from here and gave him a wink just before he returned his attention to two of his feuding spawn.  She kept a constant weight on his mind keeping him thinking back to her as she wandered over to the bar, slowly drying off as she sipped her blue milk.

“Buy you a drink?” a plucky Chagrian male offered beside her as she finished,

“Go drown yourself,” she said absently with a spear in the aether, he stiffened and started walking to the water.

Finally the portly man came toward the bar, she dipped into his thoughts and ordered for him.

“Hey honey, how about a drink?”  she held out the Sith’s Head cocktail,

“Why…thank you…miss…” his face was red and flushed from the heat outside and now the heat within.

“Tery…Miss Tery…for now,” it didn’t take much effort on her part to convince him with her next sentence,

“Say I’ve got a cabana over there, why don’t you join my sisters and I,”

“oh…really well my wife….”

She stepped forward, he was short enough that her breasts were right in his face,
“if you don’t want to come…I’ll have to come alone.…”
He looked back to his bloated wife, then to Kiraea, downed the Sith’s head in one gulp,
“let’s go”
--
As soon as he was in she pushed him onto a cushioned longue, his excitement peaked as she pressed his hands over his head…

CLICK

Lyaea clipped the cuffs on his wirsts,

“oooh you naughty girls,” he said

Lyaea giggled, as Kiraea lifted the next pair to cuff his ankles then rose off him,

“Your turn Ada,”  she said, now he started to look confused as Adaea stepped forward the black sphere in her hands and placed it onto his chest.

“Wait wha….” Lyaea absently put a bubble in the aether around his head cutting off the sound waves,

“Sort first then transfer, or transfer then sort?” Adaea asked looking intently at his head as he frantically tried to move and scream. 

“Sort first,” Kiraea said, Adaea got much less practice at this, she felt her sister pull away the man’s conscious thoughts then delve into his memories just as Valens had taught them…he was chief engineer at Kuat Drive Yards, 40 years’ experience, his memories would serve them well Kiraea smiled as Adaea transferred them into the Blackstone for later use by all of them.

It didn’t take long, twenty minutes…she could sense his wife outside charging around looking for him, ruddy faced children in tow.  As they undid the cuffs to leave she thought in the event that he ever woke, he might need a good story…

“If you’re wife asks,” she pushed into his unconscious mind, “you had the best sex ever with three twi’lek dancing girls and now you want your wife to get lekku surgically grafted ‘cause it’s the only thing that jumps your hyperdrive.”

Lyaea burst out laughing “Good one!”

“You’re a bad girl Kiri,” Adaea giving her a smack on the butt as they strolled out toward the hotel – their work done now it was time to play with some toys…well human women…she had hired as a treat.
**************************************************************************************

As much as she disliked….no hated…all aliens…she had to admit the Chiss were efficient. 

She gazed out from the Command Orbital upon her home world, automated shuttles scurrying to and fro carrying components of the Duros Processor being assembled on the southern continent.  It was one of nearly two dozen vast machines now in operation as the terraforming plodded along. 

Some were altering the air, some the water, others, huge mining like machines, the blasted soils. 

“Quite a site isn’t it,”  Maynard said behind her.  She had found him nearly twenty years ago trying to steal her ship…well not that she hadn’t stolen it first…she had used the aether to dominate his mind, train her as a thief and look after her and her adopted sisters in the strange galaxy until Valens had found her. 

Now he served as a liaison with the various groups they had to deal with to get their system rebuilt. 

“Not yet it isn’t,” she replied, “But it will be….anything to report,” 

“Just the usual, the Chiss say they’re making good progress in all sectors, though they’ve been delayed in sector 16 with an archaeological dig.”

As part of the terraforming of the Deadlands they had also been able to recover much of their battered history, Melron worked with a Chiss Archaeological team to unearth any finds.  While he was down there, she was in charge up here.

“That’s fine I suppose…has that green scumbag reported in,” the Twi’lek, Lyr…she would never forget he had lead the raid on their village…enslaved their people…only because she loved and respected Valens like a brother did she let him keep his pet…and he had promised Lyr to her one day.

“Nothing exceptional, a few over and under budgets that balance each other out…”  Valens had Lyr travelling the galaxy buying what they needed to complete the project…Kiraea would attend where they needed a lower price or assured confidentially.

The scale of Valens ambition was vast…the secrecy and logistics labyrinthine with no one contractor knowing too much about who they were selling to or where it was going…half a dozen deep space cargo facilities and automated cargo ships ferried their goods from the Republic to Aethas through a complex series of hyperspace jumps to avoid pirates and ward off followers…moving through nebulae and neutrino fields that meant certain death to organics. .

The exception, she noted as Narawan entered, was the Chiss.  Narawan, whose full name she wouldn’t lower herself to pronounce was their leader, a member of their Expeditionary Defence force, the CEDF.  The Chiss had no love for the Republic and no desire to get involved in the Deep core, combined with technical genius and an isolationist streak of their own they made a perfect match. 

“Lady Kiraea,” the blue skin of the Chiss freaked her out, let alone the red eyes…they were always so stiff as well,

“Ah there you are”  she turned on the blue faced thing, “Here it is as promised,”  she flung the data drive at him with the aether.  It unnerved the Chiss to see anyone use the aether as virtually none of them had it…it made sure they had a decent amount of fear for their employers. 

He plugged the device into his datapad – like most Chiss technology it was compatible with but distinct from republic models, this technological difference was one the Aethans would themselves exploit.

“Very good,”  he said glancing at the readouts for the new G-a1c solar ionization reactor being developed by Sienar Fleet Systems.

The deal had the Chiss provide their labour, raw materials and technical expertise in return for vast sums of credits, millions a day, advanced technology stolen from republic corporations, and intelligence from the Jedi’s networks.  Valens provided the intelligence and credits, Kiraea used her skills to provide the technology, of course she kept copies for their own advancement.

“Glad you like it,” she beamed, brought together by mutual fear and paranoia it was an odd relationship, both had what the other needed, but both knew the danger of relying on the other too much…it kept both sides honest…the Aethans would not risk damaging their planet, the Chiss would not risk, and could not refuse, such startling amounts of credits to buy influence in the Republic.

The Chiss curtly bowed and left, they were all business, she could respect that in a way. 

“Not big talkers are they,” Maynard noted,

She shrugged, “They don’t need to be,”
**************************************************************************************
“Are you sure that will work?”  Lyaea asked,

“of course it will,” Adaea replied

“But the surge when it shuts off….”

“That’s when the capacitor takes the excess and reroutes it into the tertiary batteries…here,” she pointed at the double line of circuits on the blue prints.

Kiraea wasn’t the expert on starship design Adaea was, but she got the general gist.  Adaea was always the quiet studious one, her role in Valens master plan was designing their new ships and weapons…she had studied engineering on Commenor…and with memory Siphoning she only got smarter, around her desk were four black spheres each containing the knowledge of various ship designers from Corellia, Kuat, Mon Cal, all of which she would draw on at once to gain insights and innovative connections none of them could gain without working together for decades. 

“Oh…” Lyaea said understanding, her work was more with the geology and terraforming as well as facility design and logistics, all of them were well versed in every science imaginable, but without constant use it didn’t integrate as well so Kiraea’s understanding was largely theoretical, while the girls who used it every day became experts. 

“I’ll have to build in another surge gate to avoid over charging it when its docked,” Lyaea went on…her main role - now the terraforming was underway - was designing the ship yard-come-orbital base what would ring Aertemisaeas Eye, the purple and blue gas giant, the eighth planet in the Aethas system. Prior to that she’d designed the mines and factories for the first three worlds with Adaea and the Chiss. 

Today they were working on the Aertemis Class Destroyer…a fusion of Mandolorian, Corellian, Chiss, Kuati, Mon Cal and ancient Aethan and Sith technology.  Largely they kept the Chiss away from seeing the full design by contracting Republic firms for a third of the parts, and ensuring they never got to see the precise assembly stages.

She looked at the power relay system they were discussing, it was past anything in the Republic she had seen by a parsec…like their biology, their connection to the aether…their weapons would be superior.  They had no way to fight the slavers who had visited the Desolation upon them – no idea people still even travelled the stars - and they had almost been obliterated as a result…

None of them would allow that to happen again.
**************************************************************************************
She slipped out of the towel, the cool recycled air caressed her bare skin…the Chiss always liked things cold. She wondered if that was why they were blue…according to Valens Csilla was all ice and caverns…

Adaea was already in bed, Lyaea finishing up her evening stretches.  In many ways even after having re-joined Valens it was still just the three of them…Valens was always off with the Jedi, using an aetheric apparition to issue instructions and get updates every now and then…and Melron oversaw the archaeology work.  So they still shared a room, it made them feel safer and connected.

As she poked around one of her drawers, deciding which toy she would play with tonight she felt the familiar summoning call in the aether.  Rolling her eyes at being disrupted she sent a brief, somewhat resigned acceptance thought.

Valens shade appeared behind her as she turned around.

“Don’t you ever wear clothes?” he asked

“Why would I at home?” she replied with a shrug, “How’s our little sister?”

“Milaea will be fine…a little more jaded for her experiences…but fine…did you get the schematics,”

She raised an eyebrow with a frown and crossed her arms,

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t doubt you Kiri…I’ll buy you a new toy” he apologised,

“And…” she didn’t really mind, but might as well milk the gormin while it was giving.

“And make sure you have something warm, feminine and eager waiting for you in the next hotel you visit”

She gave a brief nod and wicked grin to accept

“Anyway things are coming to a head, I think Milaea will be ready soon, so make sure you and the girls are ready to come to Coruscant…” he went on

Kiraea nodded, leaving the Jedi would be difficult for Milaea, they needed to be there to welcome and support their new sister as soon as possible.

“Did you sense something familiar about a day and a half ago?” Kiraea asked, returning to her prior task, finally choosing the pink one.

“It was a little…saturated where I was,” he replied as she hopped onto her bed.

“It felt familiar, like one of us fighting someone… it didn’t last long enough for me to pinpoint it.” She went on checking the settings on tonight’s entertainment.

“hmm…The Jedi are hunting this so called Sith of Cygrat…perhaps…” he didn’t want to hope she could tell, too many times they had followed false leads looking for other survivors…it was a fool’s errand in such a huge galaxy…but they kept trying.

“I could look into it some more,” Kiraea offered shuffling along into a more comfortable position,

“If you like…but I think I’ll need you in the next week or so, anything on your end?”

“Not really,”

“Good, take care girls, Love you.” He finished as he faded.

“I wanted the pink one” Lyaea huffed across the room,

“Buy your own!” Kiraea rebutted

“I did, it was yellow! You borrowed it once and broke it!”
**************************************************************************************
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THANKS EVERYONE FOR REACHING THE HALFWAY POINT!
- Your comments and support have been a great help in giving me new ideas and inspiring me to really push my characters and ideas to the edge. -

Half-way???  Yikes!

So, the terraforming (rehabilitating?) of Aethas is underway.  I am more and more impressed by how deeply Valens has planned for his people's survival.  He makes me think of Adama or Moses.  An amazing guy... 

And the orbs, explained.  I've seen one of those before.  *shudder*  Those also remind me of something...   Maybe...  Babylon 5?  Soul Hunters?  Hmm...

Solid chapter.  Great character exposition.  The poor guy from Kuat.  So easily he went to the slaughter.  *sigh*

Yes, great chapter indeed. Interesting to see things coming along on the Aethas side of things.


I don't know. I was thinking the Palantir stones from LOTR, but even that isn't quite right.

Kiraea IS one of my favorites; how can she not be?  Knky, too  ;)

On a more serious note, seeing the restoration (or at least the beginning of) Aethas is both wonderful...and slightly disheartening.  With superior tech, biology, AND Force abilities all possessed by the same people, I wonder what this could portend for the future... By I'm going to LOVE finding out  ;D

BTW, fantastic job in your interpretation of the Chiss.  Even before any other iteration, when I'd read "Heir to the Empire" I'd envisioned Thrawn to be very stoic, highly intelligent, concise and laser-focused. 

And, yeah, I kind of feel sorry for the Kuati engineer  ;)

BEST NEWS: you're only at the HALFWAY point!  Good; this story is just TOO awesome to end prematurely!!

I am loving this story.  I am with Dutchman, I loved the Chiss and the way it meshes with my impression of Thrawn from the novels.  But I can't say I love Kiraea.  She does one thing for me, though...

I no longer have any doubt about who the "Bad Guys" are...  ;-)

IN all seriousness, coming at it from the POV of the Mak'Tor - moral ambiguity, or as we see with the Aethans, morality based internally on your own wants and needs, your own "point of view" as a famous Jedi put it, is just another form of Evil.

Which is why Obi Wan, for all his greatness, is a microcosm of what was ultimately wrong with the Jedi.  Its not about your own point of view.  It can't be, or you will always end up being the Sith... 

Thanks guys it's been a blast to write so far. Kiraea is divisive, basically represents  them with absolutely zero filter or sense of restraint (except when absolutely necessary) and a deep love for her people (but no one else)  it's what makes her fun to write about nothing is too outrageous. A counter to Valens dour strategic thinking

She stared into the mirror analysing her face…but this time it wasn’t to see where she needed some makeup…it was to confirm that she still didn’t need it anymore. 

It had been four weeks since she’d woken from her coma, Milaea was due to arrive back from assignment with Valens soon, and Soryu off with a task force hunting the man who had almost killed her on Cygrat…the wound to her pride was the only remaining pain from that fight…

In fact none of her injuries had hurt at all…and as she looked into the mirror her face was still…younger…she couldn’t believe it, she checked every morning…and the mirror never lied…her body felt lighter, stronger, her skin firmer, muscles stronger...everything felt younger and toned…uh Vanity Soryu would’ve chided her!

Kougal hadn’t been able to explain her recovery…she didn’t care though, she brushed a little pink onto her lips and tied back her straight jet black hair…even that felt stronger and thicker – and not a split end in sight! –

“Sofa it is not becoming of a Jedi Master to be so concerned about your appearance” she mimicked Soryu with a giggle, as well as his only apprentice she had the dubious distinction of being the only one who could get on the sympathetic and good natured Soryu's nerves. 

She checked her chronometer, Milaea should be arriving soon.  She chucked on her robe and tightened it…it was a size too big now…she must’ve lost weight when she was in the coma…

It seemed to be a terrible habit of hers getting into comas. 

As she did up her boots she reflected…she couldn’t remember much but had a vague sense the three people she was closest too had all visited her…and someone had arranged for fresh flowers and get well cards to be delivered to her bedside twice a day for the whole time, they were still coming in fact...whoever had ordered them hadn’t told them to stop yet…it could only be Valens, he often bought her gifts like that…she still had no idea where got the credits though.

She picked up her lightsabre and clipped it to her belt, it had taken a dent in her fight…battle scars she mused…
************************************************************************************************************

Sofa raced down the halls to the hangar, she could sense her apprentice was near…and feeling troubled.  She hoped it didn’t affect her progress, as soon as she had woken up she had written to Kimar to formally request she undergo the trials… to little surprise Kimar replied that Soryu had already suggested as much, hence why he had sent her with Valens.

As she turned into the East hangar she saw the Andis lowering its ramp whilst still hovering, Milaea dropped off the end carrying a heavy crate with a concerned expression that matched her aura.  The ship gently landed.

“Mili,” she ran over and hugged her apprentice, dropping her crate with an unusually heavy clang Milaea hugged her back.

“So glad you’re ok,” Milaea said as they parted.  Valens stalked out the shadows of the ship behind them, a queer expression on his face…like always he was completely unreadable…a ghost in the force. 

“Didn’t get up to too much trouble did you?” she asked optimistically,

They didn’t look at each other but something strange passed in the force between Milaea and Valens, Sofa decided to ask them separately,

“Mili why don’t you head to the kitchens, get something to eat, I need to talk to Valens,” 

She nodded, picked up her crate and headed off,

Sofa strode up to Valens with deliberate firm steps, hands on her hips,

“What happened,” she instantly realised she sounded like a frumpy housewife berating him for coming home late.

“There were some…deaths…,” he replied quietly

“Some?” she leaned forward…ever more like an angry housewife she thought…

“Dozens…” he glanced behind Sofa to Milaea, “She was fine before and when it was happening…she took a hit, knocked out for a little bit…when she came to and started to really process it….she felt…feels...guilty about what happened,” 

She softened her stance and stepped forward…but he leaned back and cast a quick glance toward a group working on a fighter across the bay, ‘not here’ was the clear message.

She could see from his expression he wasn’t happy about whatever had happened either…but he was right…this was not the place to comfort him, and Milaea needed her more.

“Later then,” she replied to a sentence he hadn’t spoken flashing him a coy smile,

“You look better Sofa, I hope you liked the flowers…” he said shyly…he had such a dichotomy…at one moment serious and mysterious…and then sometimes so fragile and uncertain.

“I did…I’ll thank you later,”

She mouthed ‘I love you’ then headed off.
************************************************************************************************************
They sat on Sofa’s bed as they had a million times before, Milaea’s new armour strewn across the floor, as she told her all that had happened.

“When I woke up we were gone but somehow…I could see…I knew…he’d piled all the bodies up…there were…so many…just…flopping there…dripping…” she looked down at her hands…”It was horrible…but worse to know I had done it,”

Sofa didn’t have much to say to that…but she was the master.

“Sometimes…” she was making this up as she went along, “You just have do what you have to do…there are some people who just can’t see reason, who won’t back down from their beliefs…and are just too dangerous…part of a Jedi’s role is sometimes removing those people for the good of everyone else…its hard and painful thing…” 

So hard and painful she was amazed Milaea had been able to go through with it, Sofa did not envy her that choice.

“But that…that’s the sacrifice we make…we have to follow the council and the light, no matter if it conflicts with what seems easy and good in the moment,”  She could hardly believe what she was saying, she hoped Milaea couldn’t sense her confusion in the force,

“But we do it anyway, cause that is what we are trained to do…do what no one else can, and no one else would want to…and you still did it Mili,”

She didn’t sense much change in her but she stayed quiet for a while,

Perhaps some good news would lift her spirits,

“Master Kimar agreed you’re ready for the trials you know, once you’ve rested a few days I can have them start,”

Milaea kept looking down, her presence…distant…seems she had learnt a lot from Valens. 

“I’m not sure that’s good idea,” she said sadly, that shocked her,

“What…why not?”

“there’s something…I don’t understand it…but I can…do things…I see things…” she looked around the room like a child searching for monsters,

“Things I shouldn’t be able to…things no one should be able to…when you were hurt…I did something…I healed you…but I’d never used shatter point before…when I fought the Sith on Cygrat I used moves I’d never learned from anyone, let the lightning flow over me so naturally…something I’d never even seen before I could control…”  she was trembling, Sofa put her hand on her arms and felt the shaking.

“I saw things…in my room after that…people…the future…horrible things…when I woke up the entire room was wrecked.”  She was trembling almost violently now, Sofa tried to pour calm into the force, but it seemed to make no difference,

“My dreams are getting more and more real…it’s like memories,”  Sofa looked around the room…she began to realise it wasn’t Milaea shaking, it was the rest of the room,

“when I fought Valens and the Kage…I felt so much energy…no matter how hard they fought I fought back…I shouldn’t be able to do that…a Padawan shouldn’t be able to fight like that,” 

Milaea’s armour started clattering on the ground, Sofa’s small collection of perfume bottles clinked, a red pulse was pressing into her head,

“Mili…calm….”

“Something is happening to me, it’s not…it’s not right…part of me tells me to stop…but I can’t stop it…and I’m afraid…I’m afraid because I don’t want to…”

The vase with her flowers shattered, pieces of armour were floating off the floor.

“Mili…Mili stop!” she shrieked.

They both crashed down on the bed…she hadn’t even noticed they were floating above it till they landed.

Milaea looked like she was on the verge of crying,

“I told you…I told you…it’s…I don’t know…,”

Sofa sprang over to hug her, “It’s okay Mili, it’s okay…you’ve had a bad run that’s all…” she could feel Milaea’s tears seep through her tunic,

“You’ve had bad run…not even…not even Soryu has fought a Sith, then you’re sent straight to fight an entire cult…and not just fight them…infiltrate them, befriend them first,”  It was only now that it struck Sofa how unusual that was…had Kimar really ordered that? It seemed almost like…murder, betrayal…assassination

“The fact you’ve survived, and done all this…you’re more qualified than anyone to be a Jedi,” she took her head in her hands to look at her,

“You’re ready for this, you stopped an assassination on Chandrilla, fought a Sith, destroyed a dangerous cult…and how many other great things, these are some of the hardest things any Jedi I know of has ever had to do, and you’re not a knight today…but tomorrow you should be!”  she tried to be upbeat

“You think so,” Milaea asked quietly,

“I know so,” she said confidently, drawing the younger woman in with a kiss on the forehead.
************************************************************************************************************

I like Sofa's comforting of Milaea; despite what the young padawan had done and Sofa's own uncertainty, she first and foremost does what she can to assuage her apprentice (and surrogate daughter).  The fact that both of the women have doubts does nothing to diminish their concern for one another.  And could Valens be developing feelings for Sofa?  After all, when you "pretend" at something for so long you might even accidentally start having "true" feelings...

Nice one LSG!  Keeps pulling on my feelings for Mili  ;)

I love how you made the Mak'Tor out to be a cult in this one. Something that needed to be destroyed. Something, that even though it didn't follow the Dark Side per se, it was still evil. I mean, I know from Karm's stories that that isn't true, but seeing it from a Jedi's point of view, that was cool. And yes, lots of interesting developments. Both happening, and going to happen. Like TD, my hopes for Mili are still high.

I agree, and I think that's part of the point.  From Kimar's POV the Mak'Tor ARE evil.  They're a very dangerous cult of force-users who don't necessarily agree with his view on how things should be done.  And that's Kimar's ultimate definition of "evil".  :-)

I echo the others, LSG.  I love Sofa's concern for Millaea.  Though I am waiting for the "wait...what?  You healed me?  What's 'shatterpoint'..."  :-)

The swirl of energies beneath the temple never sat right with her.  Soryu had often brought her and Sofa down here, to teach them how the living force could flow in different ways to what they might typically expect.  Still it felt unnerving…but perhaps that was actual nerves given this was her final trial.

There were five trials, skill, courage, spirit, flesh and insight.   On Sofas advice, her battle on Cygrat had been permitted to count for her test of skill, on Valens the events on Vyth had counted for her test of courage and flesh, the Grand Master had personally congratulated her on being an “example of firmness and commitment to the Code for all Jedi to aspire to” - because, in his words she was “ridding the galaxy of a dangerous and malign cult”.

She wasn’t sure she liked that, in spite of Valens and Sofa’s effort she still felt that what had happened on Vyth had been…not very Jedi like…but if it was Jedi like...she wasn’t sure she wanted anything more to do with them. She would wonder about that another time.

Here beneath the temple she was to face her test of Insight and Spirit, the first tested her ability to evaluate the truth of a situation through the deceptions of your own bias and point of view, the second tested you against the darkness within yourself, to look into the mirror of your own spirit.

The second part scared her…her dreams were becoming more and more real, like memories, her panic at the things she could do without even thinking about it, at the power she could wield…was growing.  Twice she had almost torn a room apart without conscious effort….

She feared what she would find in too precise a mirror.

She put those thoughts aside as she crawled through a narrow rocky opening deeper into the caverns, she had to step up to being a Jedi.  She followed the threads of the shatter point deep into the caverns, past ancient shrines, covered in old runes and hieroglyphs...

It seemed an endless collection of the dust of ages…manifestations of an endless cycles of construction and destruction….

“For what” asked herself as she past a mummified corpse surrounded by archaic symbols…no one now remembered who this was, why they had died, what they had believed….what had it all achieved?

After what seemed like days…perhaps it was…she found a line…the thinnest of shatter point threads leading her to the small altar, upon it a partially fractured glowing red pyramid the size of her hand. A Sith holocron.
***********************************************************************************************************

She could feel the dark power seething off of it, she felt like she was walking straight into a plasma leak.  This had to be it.  As she stepped beside it she gazed down and caught her reflection on two sides of the red pyramid.

Her face worried, apprehensive, began to shift…she touched her face to see if it was really happening - the mirror image of her hand didn’t appear on the holocron, on the right reflection her face became more confident, determined….sensual… on the left more grave, serious, older…wise.

“Quite a sight isn’t it,”  the voice startled her, she flicked on her lightsabre and entered into a defensive stance without even thinking, searching for the speaker. 

“That won’t do you much good,” a red glow suffused above the holocron showing the aged face of a long dead Sith Lord, pale red skin, face tendrils typical of the sith species itself.,
“Not much use at all Little Jedi,”

“Who are you,” she asked as she switched off the amethyst blade.

The holocron phantom chuckled…

“A shade, a memory of a man long dead…nothing more than this… Lord Yncrara…in the Service of the Sith Emperor…Vitiate you’d know him as if you need a name” 

Now she knew this was her test…to be tempted by this Sith, to confront the desires of her spirit, to see through the lies of the Sith.

“So…” she relaxed a little now she knew what this was all about, “Are you going to try and tempt me with more visions of power and dark glory?”

“I didn’t create that vision…but you’re right that is the typical thing to do isn’t it,”  he said somehow sensing her thoughts, she didn’t fully understand how holocrons worked, but knew they were more than just a virtual interface, they were a living part of their creator, imbued with consciousness and powers.

“offer you some kind of dark power, we chat a little, you see through my lies, face your desires and so forth…and go back a good well tested Little Jedi” he sighed,

“I’ve done it a hundred times…and I’m tired of it…all the Jedi they send down here the same…except for that man…he was something else…”  his dead transparent eyes looked her over,

“He was like you…or you’re like him perhaps…interesting…but he didn’t pretend to be a Jedi…you seem to believe you are one…”

“You won’t make me doubt myself,” she replied,

“No…you do enough of that yourself,”

She felt a sudden stab of fear, that hit too close to the mark for her liking

He smiled at her sensing her emotion…but it wasn’t a manipulative smile…it was wise and sympathetic, like a grandparent might smile as they encouraged a child before a speech or exam.

“Are you going to be afraid of yourself your whole life Little Jedi?” he asked

“I’m not afraid,” she replied

“No…then why do you hold yourself back?” 

“I…” she struggled to answer, then it struck her, “I refuse to use my powers to dominate and control others like the Sith do,” she replied

“That wasn’t what I asked and you know it….”

“You’re not a typical Sith are you,” she tried to change the subject

“What is a typical Sith…ah Little Jedi all you know of Sith is what the Jedi have taught you…more’s the pity you might all learn something…but back to the topic, do you intend to live afraid of your own potential?”

“You want me to use my power for selfishness, power,”

“No Little Jedi I never asked what to use your power toward, I only ask why you fear your own potential,”

Her face wrinkled with annoyance and confusion…what was the right answer to this…

“It’s your life Little Jedi, you tell me the answer…” again he could read her thoughts as easily as a datapad…”I can sense the surface, but not what lies below it…” he added to her thoughts…

“I guess…” she began, “because it frightens me, the things I can do…the dreams…its…not what I’m meant to be…and I’m afraid…I’m afraid I’ll go too far…hurt someone I care about…do something terrible…”

He smiled at her again

“And you think you’re less likely to do these things by ignoring it, by letting it come out unbidden when you’re emotional rather than learning the source, the truth of your power and how to control it,”

“ha, sounds pretty silly doesn’t it,” she laughed, it was just what Soryu had told her, what Odjina had told her, what Sofa had told her…all the advice she had never followed…but none of them…none of them had truly understood the depth of her power like she did.

“It does…but you’re…well the current you….is young…don’t be afraid of yourself Little Jedi…explore what you can do…and then…then choose how you want to use that power…”

“You’re not going to tell me to use it to conquer the universe?”

“No Little Jedi, I’ve…I’ve had a long time to think…to reflect on many things…glory, conquest, charity, self-sacrifice, justice…they don’t mean much when you’re dead…they just take from you when you’re alive…life…life is all we have…” he looked down at the fractures along his holocron
“even if it’s just a shadow…”

She had almost forgotten she was talking to a Sith Lord for a moment…

“Then why do you want to die?” she picked up on some of his thoughts this time

“I died a long time ago in truth…the last flickering ember of what was a blazing inferno of life…it’s my time, the other one like you, he knew…but he saw I’d be needed once more…now I can see that too,”

She knew what the holocron would ask of her,

“I…I can’t…I don’t want to…” she couldn’t kill…even this shade…she had made enough mistakes on Vyth…mistakes that could never be taken back…she didn’t need any more on her consciousness.

“You made the wrong choice Little Jedi…”

She nodded and sat cross legged in front of the shrine.

“I knew it was wrong…but I couldn’t see any way out…I thought I was doing the right thing by the Jedi…but then…both sides were wrong…I shouldn’t have chosen…I should’ve just…” she felt selfish, treasonous saying this…yet it was true,

“I should’ve just left them all to their own…space the Jedi…space the Mak’Tor…” her eyes began to tremble with tears,

“I don’t want a part of any of it…they’re both as bad as each other, both trying to fix a galaxy that couldn’t care less…both killing and fighting to realise…some Greater Good no one can agree on…”

The Sith spectre smiled, “It took my fleshy self-dying and several hundred years for me to realise that same thing…just swap Sith For Jedi and Power for Greater Good…Take comfort in the fact you are still young enough to do something with this knowledge…to be free of the cycle before it consumes you.”

She remained seated beneath the holocron for a little while considering what he had just said.  All her life she had been raised to fight for others, for Peace and Justice…but once you knew that Peace and Justice were a matter of opinion, concepts that existed only in the minds of the sentients who wanted them to be real…what was left for her to do…

When ideologies are not worth living or dying for, philosophies a waste of time against brute reality, Religion a series of numbing lies…what did someone trained to fight battle for?  Perhaps all that was left was simple biology…the true goal of Life, to survive to reproduce…

“I think you’ve seen what you needed to Little Jedi…you can go back now…become a knight…but please two things I ask of you,”

She felt compassion for the old Sith, trapped down here, he wasn’t a bad person…or ghost…she nodded,

“First…let an old man rest at last…” if a holocron could cry he would be now,

“Must it always end in death?” she asked sadly thinking on what had happened with the Mak’Tor.

He smiled, the smile of a man facing his end and contended with it,
“Death is always the end Little Jedi…some few of us at least get to choose when, don’t deny anyone that when they ask….”

She nodded, “the second thing,”

He closed his hollow eyes, “Let the last thing I see…feel…be you, finally free of your doubts…your true self…not a Little Jedi…just a woman who is now her own.” 

She let herself see the flaws of the holocron, every line and thread…already on the verge of cracking…that part of her that told her this was wrong briefly flickered, but she left it go by like an errant petal upon the breeze. 

She reach to the force, without and within, not worrying about whether it was dark or deathly from the echoes of the secrets buried here, just letting it all infuse her.  She opened her eyes, the old man’s face was tired but contented, her own reflection in the holocron was clearer, confident, strong…no longer a ‘Little Jedi’, no longer ‘Mili’…but Milaea.

The holocron shattered.
************************************************************************************************************
She was halfway back to the temple proper when she felt it…a dark, hate filled energy…but it wasn’t here…no it wasn’t NOW….it was somewhere else…somewhere in the future….

Before she might’ve been afraid of plunging into the future for what she might see, for the power it might unleash within her…no more…if she had held back the Sith on Cygrat would’ve killed her, if she had held back Sofa would be dead, if she had held back on Vyth….now she should’ve held back then…been truer to herself.

She stepped forward confidently as the world shimmered and shifted into the future around her, walls and tunnels built and collapsed, men and women came and went, builders, thieves, Jedi, till she finally reached the place that had called her. 

The room was different, much had been removed to create a large empty space with queer symbols similar to those she had seen on Korriban.  In the centre of the room the old rotten man she had seen before…his black robe’s hood was down and she saw the fullness of his deformity…power without beauty what use was that…

“Beauty without power, what use is that my dear,” The old man was staring up at the ceiling, arms outreached in some kind of meditative trance….

“I had not anticipated to find one so young…but age is no arbiter of power,” he cackled

She looked directly at him and stepped forward, he was a cauldron of pure hate and disdain, his voice as sickening as his features.

“Where are your friends?”  she asked,

“Friends?” 

“The machine man and the red headed girl,” 

He lowered his gaze but kept in the same odd position…he was obviously thinking…he seemed to need to maintain the ritual to keep the connection to the past…her now…that alone told her he was weaker than her.

“The machine man as you call it, is not here…the red headed girl I do not know of any…but I will be expecting her now….”  His arms twitched with the strain of keeping them stretched.

“But I did not call you here for that…You Sith of the past, here and now I have the galaxy in my hands, the Jedi are all but gone…show me the location of the Balance Crystal”

She laughed at his presumption!

“What makes you think I’m a Sith?” 

“Can one who wields such power across time be anything but…certainly no Jedi would perform such an unnatural rite?”

She narrowed her eyes at him…she didn’t know what this Balance Crystal was…and she wouldn’t be used by the likes of him…so why come here…

He looked at her demandingly, his sloughed skin drooping horribly over his neck, eyes blazing yellow,

“I’m not afraid of myself anymore,” she said,

He looked confused, his presence was annoyed, this was a man unaccustomed to being refused anything,

“And what do I care about that,” he spat angrily,

She regarded him coolly,

“You care because you’re a weak old man afraid of death,” she replied in measured tones,

“And I’m a strong young woman with everything to live for,”

His majesty…yes there was something Imperial about his bearing…looked less than amused.

“You want advice from the past, that’s all you’re getting, that there is someone out there that’s not afraid of her own power, and not afraid of you,” 
************************************************************************************************************

LOL

So Palpatine was looking for the Crystal of Balance!  Awesome...

And I love Millaea's response to him.  Nicely written.  :-)

I think Millaea is finally decided.  She's no Jedi.  She's an Aethan...

Buckle up, folks.  Its going to be a bumpy ride!

Yes!  Here I was worried about the "goddess" showing up...boy was I wrong.

There is Milaea.  Let the heavens tremble...

LOVE the scene with Palpatine!  Ohh, the Crystal of Balance... This is going to be good...

I've said it before LSG: your knowledge of SW is encyclopaedic!  I had to look up Vitiate (awesome back story!)  More amazing: how you can incorporate all of it within the "Aethans" narrative. 

Really looking forward to read what Milaea does next  :)

[/b]
[/b]
The holo-lit up with Keisons face…for a long while they didn’t speak…these two veterans already knew what needed to be said. 

Jarys had to leave the Sons, he couldn’t endanger them any more with Jedi interference…he had to go to Coruscant and end this thing with the Jedi once and for all…find the girl, maybe…get killed, most likely…

“Sad to see you go brother,” Keison broke the silence

“And I…”

“You, Sel, Maes…you’ve done more for our cause than I could ever have dreamed, thousands owe their freedom to you,”

He nodded, “And you Kesion…you helped me…helped me learn…gave me a chance to find my people…no one else would’ve…there is little I can offer by way of thanks but…”

“none is necessary, as I said when we met, you were a slave, you kills slavers and free slaves, you are my brother,”

“Still…my people have a rule…if you ever meet one of my people again…tell them, “The eyes of the Goddess burn upon me,” and they will help you…or at least not kill you outright…”

Keison laughed, “I’ll remember…I hope you find your family brother,”
That meant a lot coming from a man who had seen the children he had been forced to father to increase 'stock' whipped to death by his ‘master’ to punish him. 

“Freedom keep you Keison,”

“And you and yours Jarys,”  Keison signed off…

Jarys dipped his head…another home, another brother lost…even if a temporary one it still hurt.  He looked out at the tunnel of hyperspace…a familiar and sad sight…was his brother out there…had he somehow escaped the crashing ships of the slavers that dreadful night…at least his body would be home…

His own wife…most likely dead on some foreign world…he had seen hundreds of ‘pleasure’ slaves’…every time…as much as he didn’t want to…he couldn’t help but imagine Cilina being abused like that…like Selaena had been…it sickened him…but he couldn’t ignore he reality of how this galaxy treated its own people…

Even as he had tried to find them with the Sons…more often than not…in his heart he hoped Cilina and all the other women were long since dead rather than suffering.

He checked the navi-computer, still on track to reach Coruscant…he got up to stretch his legs heading to the spartan living quarters of the Vorynx.

*************************************************************************************

Maeson was sleeping soundly, Selaena looked up as he came in.  She had broken an arm fighting the Jedi, but with  Jarys healing abilities it was already all but mended, and the lightsabre scar on her cheek rapidly fading…he had noticed they healed much faster than regular humans even without a healing aether flow…or perhaps it was the humans who healed slowly.

“Better,” he asked his mute companion,

She flexed her arm in response then imitated holding her rifle…she’d only spoken twice, once to acknowledge him as Guardian, and once to acknowledge Maeson as ‘brother’.  He could always feel the pain, the humiliation she felt at having been enslaved and raped so long just beneath the surface…he had told her she was not responsible and bore no shame…but still.

“I’m sorry about this…the Jedi…at first they just wanted me…now we’re all targets…” he sighed, “We’ve run from them twice…and nearly been killed twice…I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do to face them directly…but…that girl..”

Sel’s presence expressed confidence and she squeezed his arm in support…she would always obey him he knew that…all Aethans would follow a Guardian without question after all…she gave a slight encouraging smile, in the aether he got a sense of her own longing for her lost husband and children.

“I wish we had found more…there is no guarantee this girl is one of us…”  Sel exuded confidence, she coursed meaning in the aether of a connection between the fight with the girl on Cygrat and the Jedi hunting them on Santooine.

“You think she is and they want to keep me away from her?”

She nodded rapidly

“We may be killed before we ever find out…” he warned, to himself mostly,

She shook her head, then shrugged in indifference, her aura exuded a sense of it not mattering.

“If not killed there it would be somewhere else is that it?” 
She nodded sadly, again thinking of her children, her desire to find them…so strong…an image of worlds burning for that chance…then she reflected it back to him.

“I have to take this chance…follow the thin tread of hope wherever it might lead…” he agreed. 

“Though I’m probably going to be the only man in the galaxy who would be upset if his daughter became a Jedi…” he mused

*************************************************************************************

so...  Jarys is headed to Coruscant...   i feel like we should be listening to the sound trac from "the Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"...

nice development.  I love the sorrow of Jarys parting with his adopted brother.  of all the Aethans I actually like Jarys the most.  Despite his horrible and bloody history he is the most honest.

Agreed. Jarys seems the most sincere. Valens is cool, but he just isn't Jarys.

I know.  the more I've read of the Aethans the more I am drawn to Jarys.  The race as a whole can gain a LOT from his transparency and honesty about who he is.  While I understand the motivations of other characters, I can't bring myself to really agree with them or "side" with them as a reader.  But Jarys I can side with.

As a whole, btw, I want to say that the Jedi as they exist in this time/place (specifically, the Order under Kimar) I do not like either.  IF the Jedi operated this way (and I don't say they didn't, it seems very canonical) I wouldn't like the Jedi much, either.   I can understand how Palpatine could sell the idea that the Jedi were trying to take over...

LOL  Anyway, the fact that we're analyzing these guys so deeply just shows how invested we've all become, which is a sign of a good writing and storytelling!  Kudos to LSG!  :-)

Precisely!  I couldn't agree with this assessment more!  Jarys' motives seem more motivated by PERSONAL experience and feelings than, say, Valens which is more of a...logistics problem to be solved.  Reminds me of the short story, "The Cold Equation"  Valens would have had NO problems, I assure you  ;)

And--again, nicely put Karm--the Jedi are not paragons either.  Point of fact, their insistence of "non-attachment" is part of the Order's problems as a whole.  One of the reasons that I like the iteration of Gray Jedi (Mak'Tor and Vhal'Dan) is that they encourage such attachments and emotions.  Almost all humans (and in SW, most species) have/exhibit/feel emotion.  To deny or suppress that to the degree that the Jedi had was endemic of their problem(s).  And I think that LSG's "reason" that the Order became that way is an absolutely outstanding bit of writing  :D 

Heh, which is what Karm said  ;D

Just read through all this... and WOW!!!!  Amazing.  SO engaging.  Powerful.  Can't wait for more.

I have to say, I am struck by how alike Jarys and Valens are to Kahn from Star Trek (especially the new movies); a superior being ready to do, and doing, whatever it takes to protect and restore their people.  Not enough that it feels like a rip, but that depth of devotion, that perspective of absolute right by the standards of a people mistreated.  I can't help as well seeing how Kimar is utilizing Valens much like The Agent from Firefly/Serenity...

Thanks Illyiss! Those are some great comparisons, and very apt, I hadn't thought of! Glad you're enjoying it and will do my best to keep it engaging! I know it's a lot of reading between children and legacy so thanks for giving it a go!

I had not considered such comparisons to Khan or the Agent...but now that you bring it up that's a spectacular (and inspired  ;)) correlation between them! 

Excellent insights Illyiss!

Point!

Thank you.  It kept coming to me, enough that I sometimes heard the dialog of those two in Cumberbatch's voice. 

LOL Now I know when LSG posts the next chapter with either Jarys and Valens, I'm going to hear Cumberbatch's voice and intonation as Khan:

"Now, shall we begin?"  ;D

Too good, Illyiss  ;)

It was too good not to share the headcannon...

“You’re worried!” Sofa said in faux exasperation, “I’m her master, I’m the one who’s going to get it if anything goes wrong,”

She paused briefly to look at the red metallic low heel shoes in a shop window pulling Valens to a stop, her arm through his as they strolled along the promenade – such a normal thing to do just go window shopping as a couple.  She sighed even if she got the heels when would she ever have the chance to wear them. 

“You can’t blame me for worrying…after what happened in your room…”  Milaea had been sent on her trial soon after that…incident…while she was scurrying around the catacombs he had taken Sofa out, nominally to take her mind off it but now it seemed as though it was more for his benefit that for hers.

“She’s a strong gir…woman now, she can handle herself,” Sofa went on as she paused again he never seemed to mind no matter how many times she stopped to look at things,

“She was still distressed after what happened with the Mak’Tor…she’s always had nightmares…she’ll do fine…I just wish…”  she paused again as shoppers far busier than her turned sneers at her sudden cessation interrupting the foot traffic.

“I just wish she didn’t have to make the kind of decisions…do the kinds of thing we’ve had to do…I wish she could be spared that.”

Valens nodded and squeezed her arm, “So do I…but the galaxy is not so forgiving.”   

“HA,” she laughed, “Despite four thousand years of Jedi efforts to make it so…” if she didn’t laugh at that she might fall into despair.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The lights to their secret apartment blinked on as they entered, she headed to the small kitchen to find something to put the bouquet Valens had bought her in…she had just gone to the refresher for a moment by the shopping malls indoor gardens, when she came back he had a full bunch of Naboo Red and Yellow Blossoms waiting for her.

She set it on the small dressing table beside the bed, unlike the one at her Temple quarters, this one was unashamedly full of perfumes, creams and various beauty products…it was a small thing, but symbolic of the fact that here she could be more herself.

Valens tossed off his jacket – they always wore civilian clothes out together, and neatly folded it with the force while it was still in the air…sometimes the casual indifference with which he used the force worried her…yet at other times the way he almost cut himself off from it completely worried her even more.

She slid out of her jacket and blouse, then flopped back on the bed to pull off her boots and synth leather pants. In just her underwear she sat at the head of the bed,

“Come over here,” she beckoned as he stared into space…roughly in the direction of where the temple was from here 

“She’ll do fine…” Sofa emphasised, “Do I have to drag you over here?”

He slowly turned,
“Are you sure you’re ready…” he asked referring to her recent coma,

“I’m fine, I’ve finished the rehab…I was only out three weeks this time…now get over here I’ve been waiting for this for a month!”

Casting aside his shirt he plopped beside her,

She leaned into him and brushed her lips against his cheek, normally clean shaven there was a few days of stubble…he seemed distracted since returning from Vyth…and unresponsive as she started to caress him. 

“What have I become…” he asked to seemingly no one in particular.

She pulled back a little…she needed to take his mind off things,

“Just a kind man who gets the dirtiest jobs and does his best,” she comforted, now might not be the best time…but then…when was there ever a perfect time for anything,

“Anyway…there was something I wanted to talk to you about…once Milaea is knighted…she’ll be off on her own…and I’ll be off on my own again…I was thinking we could take a holiday together…to Hapes maybe,” 

His fingers light along her lower back just how she liked it, she knew he could feel her trepidation…there was something else she wanted, but was too afraid to ask…

“We can’t just vanish Sofa,” he said

“No, but we can take some leave…just say we’re going to Dantooine or Ossus to ‘meditate’, ‘reconnect with the force’ and all that junk,” 

“We’ll see…after Vyth, I suspect master Kimar will want me to pursue this task to its end,”

“Surely he’s asked enough of you already,” she bent down and kissed his forehead.  It deeply troubled her what was happening, she had known some of the Mak’tor, Jo Set, Ho’Li…she found it hard to believe they had become such dangerous zealots…she always knew they had their belief in the Maker…but the way Kimar told it they’d become uncontrollable raging fanatics….
When Soryu was back she needed to talk to him about it…but right now Jedi politics were the last thing she wanted to think about.
This time, this place was all about them, frell the rest of the galaxy.

“You’re only human…you can’t keep this kind of thing up forever…he must know that,” 

“Kimar knows, but I doubt Kimar cares…”

“I care…”  she flipped over on top of him, her face up close hair falling to create a screen around them, all he could see was her…she leaned into kiss him in their private little world…finally he seemed to relax and melded his lips into hers softly at first, slowly pulling her in deeper just how she loved it.

“We need to leave my love…” she breathed out after a moment, “before we can’t escape,”

**************************************************************************************************

It was the scent that confirmed it.

It was their first time together since Milaea had gone well beyond healing Sofa.  At first he had noticed the minor lines on her face completely gone, she looked nineteen again, the small pink birthmarks that once trailed along her left rib and lightly freckled upper back both replaced with pure white skin that was smooth and supple. 

Her legs that wrapped around him, and her hands that grasped at his shoulders and back were stronger.  These small things only a lover would notice were all changed…enhanced...perfected.

But it was her scent that confirmed it beyond all doubt. 

The last time he had smelt anything like this was in the brief hours he had with Shilea so long ago…This was not the usual subtle scent of Sofa’s intimate arousal, these were Aethan female pheromones. 

Designed by their genetic engineers in the Eighth Gene Generation and released before, during and especially after sex, the pheromones when locked onto male olfactory receptors specifically designed to receive them caused a massive release of oxytocin in the male brain, a chemical and emotional binding to the woman.  The Oxytocin in the blood would then alter the male receptors to ‘lock’ onto that females scent configuration by changing how receptors were produced, essentially it made it impossible for any other woman to arouse him.  Without regular re-enforcement the effect slowly faded, but when maintained invariably achieved the aim decreed by the Technocracy of eliminating male infidelity, ensuring male support of a single woman and her children and asserting female supremacy in line with a religion that focused solely on the Divine Feminine.

Sofa’s scent had a musk base as deep and rich as her black hair, layered with a sweetened cream as smooth and white as her skin, brought together with sweet slightly sharp accents just as her blue eyes and blood flushed cheeks gave colour and balance to the black and white contrast of her hair and skin. 

It was painfully delicious.  Yet even as his emotional and chemical bond to her strengthened the logical part of his mind sadly remembered Shilea and the deeply impactful power her scent had once had after only one night together.   

Milaea had not just healed and enhanced Sofa…she unconsciously all but made her a genetic Aethan…The implications of this…forgotten in the moment as her warmth her him in ever deeper.

His comm beeped and chimed beside them.

“UHHHH!”  Sofas subtle moans of pleasure instantly spun into loud moans of frustration

“Don’t Answer it…don’t answer it…don’t answer it,” she said in time to their rhythm. 

“It’s Kimar…” he replied his hand leaving her hip to summon the comm.

“He can frell himself, I come first,” she said sternly her hand moving with beyond human reflexes to catch his wrist, he shook loose to another disappointed grown as she slowed down on top of him.

“Master,” 

“Knight Valens, You are to go immediately to the Ginii Spaceport, a ship matching that belonging to the Sith of Cygrat has been spotted descending there, a team of Sentinels will meet you.”

He really didn’t need this right now….

“Straight away Master,” he puffed out as Sofa’s expression soured beyond what he ever thought possible

“Is something wrong?” Kimar asked picking up on his slightly ragged voice,

“In the middle of a training session master,” he replied, Sofa pushed him in the shoulder to have her presence so denied – but he could hardly answer honestly, they were lucky enough Kimar didn’t typically tend to use holovid calls
“Should be there in 10 minutes,”

“Good – the Sentinels will – in accordance with the Code - try and arrest this Sith peacefully…” the word peace seemed more spat than spoken

“but after Soryu’s failure I want you there to personally ensure that this threat is ended for good,” 

In other words cut his head off…The fact this Sith had defeated three Jedi Masters – no one could count Soryu escaping broken and battered as a win - indicated this was not an enemy to be trifled with…He flicked his glance up to Sofa remembering this was also the man who had almost killed her…for Her honour he would break this Sith into a thousand pieces.

“It will be done Master,” he ended cutting the call off and shifting from under Sofa - her annoyance could not be measured, there was nothing in the universe big enough to compare it to.

“Someone’s going to kill that Ikotchi tralk one day,” she said bitterly, she had been looking forward to tonight ever since he got back from Vyth
“If he ever interrupts like that again I’ll do it myself,” she went on

“I’ll hold him down for you,” he agreed throwing on his underclothes, no time for a shower Sofa’s scent would linger on him, a reminder of what he almost lost to this Sith…

A sudden pang of guilt stabbed at him…he was worried about almost losing Sofa…when he had just spoken to the man who had put a lightsabre through Shilea’s heart….

One day Kimar…as soon as Milaea no longer needed the Jedi order...he would avenge Shilea…and if Milaea truly embraced her power…One day Shilea would live again to join him desecrating Kimars corpse and shattering the Order he had strived to build…

But that created its own guilt when he looked back to Sofa, still naked pouting on the sheets her flush of excitement now a rash of anger turning her white skin red.  He had known…loved…Sofa far longer than Shilea…but Shilea was an Aethan Sofa was…

What was Sofa?

He didn’t have time now, he threw on his jacket and quickly stepped over to her,

“I’m sorry…” he apologised for everything he was yet to do

“It’s fine…go on…” she forgave him for what was happening now, she glanced at the flowers he had bought her earlier,

“It was still a nice night overall…we can do it again another time” she said,
“Go kill whoever Kimar’s got his eye on,” her hands sliding along her inner thighs,

“I can finish up on my own.”

He squeezed her knee and gave her a chaste kiss, anymore and he would be drawn into her scent once more. 

As he reached the apartment door he could already hear her soft moans returning, resenting he wasn’t with her. 
**************************************************************************************************

Interesting; while I had already assumed that an Aethans genetic imperative came from gene manipulation, I neglected to think beyond that.  Of course the Technocracy would use biology to further their goals.  Still: excellent details.

Milaea's power must be...off the scales being able to (at least partially) rewrite Sofa's genetic code from a Shatterpoint.  Interesting to say the least.

And now we're set up for the Valens-Jarys reunion... THIS WILL BE EPIC!!

This was like a rich meal, in several courses, enjoyed slowly, and with intent at each step...  Amazing job.

Illyiss, I LOVE your comments!  They're almost as good as the stories themselves!  :-)

LSG, I have to agree totally with Illyiss.  This was like a well-planned and executed meal, with smooth transition from course to course.  Even the end is delicious, with a promise of more to come.  :-)  So, I am now thinking that an assumption I had made a while back about who the two Watchers were who surveyed the battle scene on Geonosis were might have been correct after all.  But I could still be wrong about the female component.  :-)  But if Millaea has in fact turned Sofa into an Aethan... 

That's going to really put Valens over a pickle barrel.  Especially since he's about to find himself in a position of reuniting with Jarys ... in front of a squad of Sentinels.  Which is going to be awkward...

I am thinking there are multiple decision points coming soon.  But you've surprised me before so I'm not going to speculate to much but just say that I am REALLY looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.

Thank you.  I do try to be expressive.

And yeah, I agree, there are some serious shatter points approaching at hyperspace speeds...

As soon as he entered the hangar he sensed something was off…instantly regretting coming to Coruscant.  The heart of the Jedi who were hunting him, but the only place he could ever find answers or closure – the Vorynx den he mused…he was a stray male looking to prey on this packs red-haired female…that could only in in death…most likely his own.

He settled the Vorynx down on the pad, almost as soon as he had the hangars blast door closed behind him.  He regretted leaving Sel and Maeson on the orbital platform above the City planet…but he couldn’t’ risk all of their lives, no matter their protestations…if the Jedi finally succeeded in killing him as they had tried to twice…they were to wreak as much destruction upon them as possible.

Something in the aether whispered to him that this was a momentous time, the threads of connection between lives were converging.  What that meant…who could say.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He reached the Spaceport in 14 minutes, stopping off at the temple on the way to throw on his armour, he would not underestimate this foe. 

Mop Lim, turned to regard him as he approached the hangar bay’s locked down doors.  The Ryn Sentinel was flanked by two Coruscant Security Force officers, no doubt the reason there were so many regular CSF goons posted about the space port.  Five other Sentinels in Jedi Assault Armour were dotted around the corridor in defensive stances.

“Knight Valens,” Lim genuflected, “the Grand Master informed us you would be joining us,”  there was no love lost between him and the Sentinels,  they knew how Kimar used him for ‘special missions’, in a sense they were jealous, as Valens star rose in Kimar’s eyes theirs had fallen.

“Commander Tsi has secured and evacuated civilians in the surrounding levels, we have the hangar bay locked down and ion cannons ready to disable any ship that tries to leave or enter.”

“Have you made contact with whoever is in there yet?”

Lim’s beak like nose wrinkled,

“The Grand master advised us to await for your arrival before proceeding” his voice dripped annoyance.

“Then I won’t delay you any further, you may proceed as you see fit Sentinel Lim,” he allowed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He could feel them out there…tense…anxious…expecting of a fight. 

And here in the ship Jarys could feel himself becoming angry…annoyed…trapped.  Clearly the attempt to clean the ships ident-code hadn’t worked, or they had another method of tracking him…it didn’t matter he supposed, it was done.

It was better this way, he had run from the Jedi twice – no more, face to face he would sort this out once and for all.  He suited up, if they wanted a fight, he was more than happy to give it to them. 

They couldn’t kill him, he was already dead.  He had died with his people, when Cilina was torn away by the slavers, his brother crushed by a collapsing building, his grandfather destroying himself in a failed attempt to stop the genocide. 

Whatever shadow of life he had with the Sons was over.  To fight, to live as one already dead was the essence of a thousand warrior codes he had heard of, its commonality across species and cultures spoke to its truth. 

It was already decided that he had died, the only thing left unknown was the where and at whose hand.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He had to survive this, to that end he would have the Sentinels do the work, wear the Sith down, then come in take his memories and finish him off. 

Once Milaea finished her trial it would be time to tell her the truth, to summon Kiraea and the others to meet her, to reunite the tattered remains of their people into a family once more…

Family…he wondered if Jarys was still alive…years ago he had found a holovid of a warrior called the Beast of the Arena, a gladiator who had massacred the arenas audience with aetheric lighting, the face was unmistakably that of his brother…

Unfortunately it was 10 years after the event that he first saw the video, all traces of him vanished long since, and Valens focus had to be on what he did have, Kiraea and the girls at home, and Milaea here on Coruscant.

They shuffled through the maintenance corridors into the hangar, he was between an equine Thakwaash and flap faced Sullustan Sentinel while Lim had point. 

Finally exiting out of the gritty metal side door into the main hangar, a Mandolorian Assault transport not unlike the Andis sat amongst the thin fogs from the gas exchangers.

As the Sentinels fanned out he kept behind them, and noted on the side of the ship a painting…a vorynx breaking its chains...

Not a Vornskr of Myrkyr…but an actual Vorynx, the product of generations of Aethan scientific enhancement of the base vornskr species.

Only an Aethan would know this animal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He paused at the ramp and listened as the Jedi formed a defensive arc around the front of the hangar,

“Exit with your hands or equivalent appendages upon your cranium, leaving any weapons on your ship,” One of them called out to him using humanoid anatomically neutral terminology.

“What do you want with Me!” he yelled back genuinely interested in why they had attacked him, first on Cygrat, then on Santooine.

There was a pause, the aether was tense and brittle, liable to snap at any moment.

“You are wanted in connection with an investigation into the assault of a Jedi Master Neirai and Padawan Milaea on Cygrat, and the murder of Jedi Knights Feori, Hissan, Beldan and Corana, and Masters Hk’Tn and Gurrlum on Santooine.”

MilAEA…aea was a traditional feminine suffix meaning  “belonging to” or “being a part of”  the Aether…Mil of the Aether…Mil was not a prefix familiar to him…but the use of an “IL” sound was consistent with the mountain village families names – ShILea…CILina…

The implications of this being the name of the Jedi girl he was looking for…He shook it off he had more pressing matters for now.

“Please exit your ship as instructed and submit peacefully.”

Submit…his mind filled with memories of being taken by the slavers…whipped, electrocuted…struggling to escape…beaten into submission.  He would never – NEVER – be placed in a cage again no one would take his freedom ever again. 

So many of his comrades…his brothers in arms…amongst the Sons had fallen beside him with pride on their faces to have died free…died fighting their oppressors and those who sought to place them back in chains. 

If they wanted him dead, so be it, he could accept that.  A cage - never.

“Leave me alone…and I’ll leave you alone,” he offered them a way out even as he scanned them in the aether, reading their species, their emotions…there were six…no…seven…one was behind the other a subtle presence…not trying to hide but not trying to stand out either…that must be their true leader – the one who watched not the one who talked.

“I repeat, come out with your appendages on your cranium, unarmed.  You are under arrest by my authority under the Jedi Powers Act Section 3.  There is no need for a violent escalation,”

He stepped off the ramp and onto the oil stained duracrete floor, walking with deliberate heavy steps around to face them.  They were all wearing armour that had a bronze tinge, their faces obscured beneath helmets suited to their species.  He darted two blasters and four grenades out of the ship behind him and gently slid them around the far edge of the hangar while their eyes were on him.  With another level of consciousness he kept his mind pressed on the Vorynx hidden anti-infantry cannon that would pop down from the hull and unleash a barrage in an instant.

With slow steady movements, keeping his left hand raised, he unclipped his belt which held his tremor sword and blaster, the Jedi didn’t have any weapons out, but he could feel them twitching to use the light swords in the aether.  His weapons clattered to the floor and he raised his right hand beside his left and placed them on the back of his helmet.

Jedi glanced amongst themselves…based on what he knew of their code, they would not attack someone who had nominally surrendered, he took a few steps forward then knelt down.  They were uncomfortable he was still armoured, but there was a sense of relief in the aether as his knees hit the grotty pitted floor. 

The two closest edged forward, the others kept to his flanks and closed the distance, the odd one at the back who wore a darker armour than the others remained unmoved…that was the one he had to worry about.

The aether boiled with tension once more as the nearest one produced stun cuffs and began to circle round him. 

He gave the cuffs a quick glance…recalling the shock collar he was forced to wear between bouts in the arena…

Never again.

As the Jedi passed his left side, with all the speed the aether could grant him he sprung up, his fingers crooked into a claw strengthened by the aether pierced through the face plate and dug deep into the skin, muscle and bone behind it, ripping it free leaving a gaping mess of red flesh and yellowed bone behind.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there had been any doubt after seeing the Vorynx, it was gone now. 

The supposed Sith of Cygrat was an Aethan...more specifically…it was Jarys. 

As Jarys ripped his hand free from Lims wreckage of a face, he summoned his tremor sword and unleashed blaster bolts from the side of the room while Valens remained unmoved.

It all made sense to him.  Only an Aethan Guardian could’ve survived a fight with Milaea when she was protecting Sofa, only an Aethan Guardian could destroy Gurrlum and cripple Soryu in the same fight…

Only an Aethan Guardian, faced with six Jedi Sentinels, could manage to rip the face off of one…and now plunge his sword into the chest of another while their sabre was only half lit and the others distracted by four explosions that rocked the cavernous hangar and set the fire alarm spewing suppressive foams, the doors only remained closed due to the security override. 

The other Sentinel’s immediately closed, blades alight, aetheric blasts shattering the blasters Jarys had placed to distract them.  Overwhelmed already he lit his lightning shield to force the Sentinels to keep their distance.  The aether was alive with pushes, pulls, smashes and grabs, lights in the side of hangar walls exploded apart, fuel tubes and old crates were flung around in the tumult. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Four onto one…there were ways he could even the odds…but the fifth…the one in dark armour that just stood and watched…was no doubt waiting for him to try something to sweep in and finish him.

He pivoted to the side, a green blade searing a thin scar on his helmet, his sword pushing down against a silver blade as he tried to get some distance, to break them up…His lighting shield sent arcs against the Jedi’s armour, but apart from a few blackened scorch marks it was too concentrated to make a difference.

They were too co-ordinated…he had the element of surprise on Santooine and a sniper to back him up…here they knew what to expect. 

Though imbued with a Kortosis weave, with every clash against the energy blades – silver – green – amber – blue – green – amber –green – silver – it was chipped down more and more, it could not take his kind of punishment.

The aether kept him slightly faster and stronger than each of his opponents, but sheer numbers were starting to tell…he managed to score an elbow to the side of an overly tall head, but it cost him getting struck in the shin by a low kick as he raised his sword to parry an overhead blow.

And that damn fifth one just kept watching on…This hangar was the place…and that one…
That would be the one who finally killed him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He doubted Jarys had picked up any training in Lightsabre forms, yet he still managed to keep the Sentinels at bay, his genetically enhanced cognition allowing him to pick up and learn moves as he fought.  Nonetheless the storm of four Sentinels with six glowing blades was too much, Jarys twisted and thrust but was already taking glancing hits, in response he tried to press on the Sentinels minds, but mental attacks had never been his strong suit. 

Taking a kick to the ribs and barely blocking the follow through that would’ve skewered him, Valens realised Jarys was holding back some reserve because he knew that Valens - the anonymous Jedi who watched on so far as he knew - was a greater threat. 

He thought of Sofa…her scent still tingling his nose…Jarys had hurt her…hurt her terribly…his lover his wif….no Shilea…he had to remember Shilea…had to bring her back…and Cilina with her…Cilina – Milaea – Jarys...

Jarys collapsed back onto one knee, pressed down by the swirling barrage of sabre blows, his strength was failing, combined against him it was only a matter of time, one on one they would’ve been no match for his brother…

…his brother…

If he……all his plans would have to be cast aside, there would be no quiet exit with Milaea from the Jedi Order…but the price…watching his brother who even now fought the torrent of glowing blades - as if knocking aside enough of them would make the rain cease – be cut to pieces…

…his brother….

Valens tore off his helmet and roared with all the strength his throat could take,

“ANDIS!”

His grandfather’s name on his lips he surged forward, sabre hissing into life, ending with the green blade firmly implanted into the back of the Sullustans neck, carving it out through the shoulder and into the Thakwaash upper left arm, and down through the small of its back, then up along the spine and through its equine skull.

The other Sentinels exploded shock and terror into the aether that was only matched by pure joy streaming off his brother to hear his grandfather’s name and see Valens face.

They backed away…Two Sentinels, a Gran with a double bladed green sabre and an Umbaran with dual amber bladed Tonfa grips stood against two Aethan Guardians who had spent a hundred afternoons sparring side by side against their grandfather after a hundred mornings trying to come up with combinations they could use in unison to land a hit. 

For all their time apart the aether instantly flowed between them as it had then.  Valens slid low and unleashed a torrent of lighting upward at the Gran, Jarys leapt over him mid-stream to come down on the Umbaran who caught his blade in a yellow white flickering scissor of blades, pushing to keep the tremor sword from reaching its head. 

The Gran switched to a low guard to block Valens, who instead pivoted stretched his arm out as far as he could and sliced through the Umbarans ankle with the tip of his sabre redirecting the stream of energy to the Umbaran, blazing its flesh within the armour as the blue arcs found every little imperfection to slide inside and cook the meat.

The Gran thought this was his chance to strike Valens and spun forward, his double blade a wheel of death until Jarys, pushing off from the Umbarans faltering lock flew behind and sliced through the Grans hips, indifferently catching the spinning green blades in the aether as Valens rolled out of their path.

What was left of the last two Sentinels flopped onto the floor, the steam of blood and bile hissed from the cauterized wounds, the stench of fresh blood keen in his nose.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throwing off his helmet he grabbed his brother, pressing their heads together as tears of true joy fell from his eyes.

“Valens…you’re…you’re…” he could barely speak

“And you brother…and you…” Valens gently pushed him back,
“We don’t have much time…the Jedi will soon discover what happened here…I’ve infiltrated them…and Milaea…your daughter…Milaea is with them…” 

His heart leapt as his suspicion was confirmed…yet regretted deeply having fought her…and even more so not having recognised her.

“It’s not your fault Jarys,” Valens placed his hand on his shoulder while fumbling for something in a pouch, both their hands were shaking with emotion. 

“Take this, key to an apartment I own with a private hangar, details are stamped on it. It’s covered in Aether illusions and wards, you’ll be safe there, Kiraea will join you soon,”

“Kiraea…fiery little Kiraea is alive!” he said excitedly

“Blazing…but not so little…I’ll shut off the lock down and get Milaea from the Temple…then we can go home,”

He nodded overwhelmed by everything that was happening in one sense, trying to guess what it all meant in another, and further planning how he could help.

“Anything I can do?” 

Valens paused for a moment

“Put the bodies in the ship before take-off…Keep an eye on the Temple, hopefully I won’t be long…but if they find out what happened here before I get Milaea out…”

“A thousand Jedi won’t stop me,” Jarys replied, the way he felt right now…a million couldn’t stop him…couldn’t stop them.

They clasped their arms one last time, their excitement setting their aetheric lighting trailing up each other’s arms in a sign of a warrior’s fraternity.

“Aertemisaea strengthen you brother” he said,
“And Aethenaea guide you,” Valens replied
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Outside the hangar Commander Tsi was still waiting,
“Master Jedi, is everything alright? We heard explosions but following Master Lims instructions remained outside,”

Tsi was a tall man, a head taller than Valens, but with the aether he towered over him psychologically.

“Everything is fine, the fugitive has been subdued, you will immediately remove the lock down, the other Jedi will depart in the fugitive’s ship, it will be taken to the Temple for further investigation.  Everything is fine” he emphasized his words with an uncompromising mental pulse.

The Commander swayed gently with glassy eyes,

“Everything is fine,” he summoned over another officer, “You will immediately remove the lock down, the other Jedi will depart in the fugitive’s ship, it will be taken to the Temple for further investigation.  Everything is fine” he said in a monotone voice

The other officer gave his commander an odd look, a sharp jab in the aether soon had him just as compliant,

“Yes Commander, everything is fine….”

Satisfied the dullards were dealt with he sprinted down the corridor…
to Milaea…
To the Future.
*******************************************************************************************************

And they are reunited at last!  Tight narrative and I love the internal dialogue as each works up to the moment of decision.

And yet...   My mind (and Valens, apparently) keeps coming back to Sofa.

What will she do?  How will she react?

Especially since Millaea turned her into an Aethan as well. 

Oh, this is great.   Even in resolution there is new and continued conflict!  Onward!!!!

It definitely seems like this story could be coming to an end, though I don't think it is yet. I still get the feeling that we still have to resolve Soryu's part in all this, as well as Kimar's. But seeing them together at last was so good. We have literally been waiting since the first chapters of CotA for this moment to happen, and it finally did. ;D it took a while, but when it did come, it did not disappoint.

Such glorious, visceral fighting, death.  It was a chamber of drums pounding the reader through all the steps and motions.  The tempo rising with the surprise in reserve, until the low, building counterpoint of indecision exploded into resolve, as brothers, united once again, brought art to the end of the battle.  Oh but what of Sofa?  What will she think, do?  What will Jarys think of her?  Will Milaea go with Valens, he's not yet let her in on the secrets he's kept...  If they flee, surely Kimar will be forced to send chase, and open the Aethan return with war looming...  Oh the twists and turns this opera has in store potentially...

Wonderful...just wonderful... Although I do feel bad for those Jedi Sentinels.

What a reunion!  And if this is the harbinger of things to come then we are in for some ACTION!  A congregation of Aethans  :D

Although I imagine it may be bittersweet after the brothers catch each other up after 20 years of history... Absolutely excellent pathos!

Now THIS is how "Purple Prose" should properly be utilized!!  Nice review, Illyiss  ;)

Flattery will get you noticed. ;)  The inspiration draws the words, I am the instrument of many things.

Illyiss...you should write blurbs professionally, book sales would go through the roof - You make it sound like a Homeric Epic, or Norse Saga unfolding!

And yes everyone else's comments are spot on, there are many characters threads to come together. To pick up on another of Illyiss brilliant insights.....

Now...Shall We Begin

The comm beeped again. Hers this time.

“Oh for frells SAKE!”

Valens had been gone barely half an hour…she grunted in annoyance having been disturbed twice in one night,

It kept beeping as she shuffled over to her pants pocket belatedly realising her fingers were still slick as she fumbled the touch pad.

“Yeah what is it?” 

“Sorry did I interrupt?” Milaea’s sweet contrite voice came across,

“Oh Mili, sorry…no it’s fine…just…its fine, what’s going on, is your trial finished already?”  Already might not be the right term she’d been gone for two days

“Umm yeah…it’s over…I just spoke with the Grand Master…we’re having the ceremony in about an hour,”

Sofa glanced at the clock, it was only two hours past sunset…still it seemed a quick turnaround…although Kimar was not one for ceremony for ceremonies sake.

“Alright...I’ll be right there…So happy for you Mili,”

“Thanks see you soon,”  She didn’t sound overly enthusiastic…but then being a Knight was hardly a cause for much joy…half the galaxy hated Jedi, half didn’t understand them, half were sick of you prying into their business, and half didn’t even live in the Republic….

That was four halves…grievances against the Jedi were not mutually exclusive she supposed….


She shrugged wiping off her comm’s screen against her pants…that was one to toss into the Temples laundry chute…

It was really happening…once Milaea was knighted…she had nothing holding her to the Order any more…no one’s reputation she needed to protect…For his own sanity Valens needed to get out just as much as her…she would take him away to Hapes or Alderran, finally free to be themselves.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*******************************************************************************************************
“By the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, I dub thee Jedi, Knight of the Republic” Kimar declared loudly in front of the small gathering Knights and Masters as he hovered his blade by the new Knight Milaea’s shoulders

The small crowd applauded and whooped, she was a popular figure, hard not to like he had to admit.  She seemed far more confident and sure of herself than she had been going into the under levels, the change was palpable…she had, he knew thrown off the doubts of a Padawan for the surety of a Knight of the Light and Republic.

As her Master congratulated her he could sense a little sadness that Soryu was not there, after the fight with the Sith he had retreated to the nearby Jedi outpost on Dantooine…their last conversation was replaying in Kimar’s mind….

“Three of them,” he had said,

“The other two are not as powerful…but combined they fight as well as any Jedi task force I’ve ever seen…”

“I’ll arrange an emergency meeting…Soryu…you rest up, we’ll need you,” and he meant it, they might not always see eye to eye…but he respected Soryu.

Soryu had nodded through the holo net, his face burnt from offshoots Sith Lightning,

“Take care Iives…this group…I’m not sure they are Sith…but they are deadly, and cunning,”

Brought back to the present he looked over the assembled knights…how many would die against this new enemy…hopefully no more.

As soon as the CSF had picked up the ship on the watch list he had acted swiftly and summoned Lim to intercept…he had little confidence the Sentinels alone would manage…but with Valens assistance they should get the job done.

Odd he should’ve heard back from them by now…no news was good news he supposed…

He didn’t wish to have to put his plans to deal with the Mak’Tor on hold any longer than necessary…it was the first step before he deal with the Vhal’Dan…but as it stood he only had Valens he could rely on for definitive endings…a thug he might be but a useful one.

He glanced toward the somewhat less than enthusiastic Milaea receiving hugs and handshakes, Master Neirai hovering protectively behind her.

Neirai was an annoying influence…only forty…odd she looked much younger…eh humans…she had been raised to Master too early at the age of thirty…but favouring his former apprentice had kept Soryu on side.

Regardless Milaea had proved staunch in dealing with the Mak’tor…she was just the kind of Jedi he needed…there was no reason to delay her knighting…he sensed he would need another thug sooner rather than later.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Still no word from the Sentinels…odd…he sat at his desk flipping through the various missives as the day wore down.  It had been good so far, a knighting, the Sith of Cygrat dumb enough to walk straight into the Jedi’s heartland saving him the effort of assigning people to find him.

It was spoiled when Knight Usura a Yinchorri entered his office, there was a taint of something strange in the force about him…a kind of muffled…shriek?

“Master Kimar…there has been an issue in one of the hangars…some of the technicians and maintenance workers were found quite ill,”

“And?” he asked,

“Well they called for a Jedi and I…I found this crate beside the Andis, the ship belonging to Knight Valens….”

Yinchorri were usually an aggressive, upfront species, Usura must be the exception that proved that rule Kimar mused…

“I thought you should see what’s inside it…”  the burly reptilian opened the box.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He stared at the items on his desk…17…17 lightsabres…

He hadn’t know what they were until he opened the sack in the crate after dismissing Usura as soon as he sensed it…but it wasn’t a sack, it was a robe, cut and torn with blood stains and burns…a Kage’s robe.

17 Lightsabres…each belonging to a Gray…17…

Whilst some of the crystals were missing, the 8 that remained screamed in the force with ever quieter voices as they died apart from their masters…it would’ve been excruciating to hear them when their masters had first died….they shrieked a song of betrayal, violence, murder, struggle, death…

It was almost impossible to imagine…how could one Knight and a Padawan kill 17 Gray Jedi, Masters, Knights and Apprentices…Based on Valens report there had only been four including Odjina….clearly a lie…

But then how many others had Valens killed for him, how many times had he sent him to ‘deal’ with a problem the Chancellor or a Senator had, or ‘bring in’ an errant Jedi…then never demanded exact details on how it had ended….he had unleashed if not created a monster…

And a monster that could kill 17 Mak’tor was a monster he could not control…

Then it struck him…it had been nearly two hours and still he had heard nothing from Valens or the Sentinels.

He quickly commed the CSF Commissioner,
“Master Jedi,” the formal brusque policeman answered,
“Commissioner, any word on the fugitive tracked to the Ginii spaceport,”
“Yes…Commander Tsi reported in half an hour ago…apparently everything is fine and the Jedi are returning to the Temple with the ship and fugitive subdued.”

Why wouldn’t they have reported this directly to him? He shouldn’t be hearing this from the Commissioner…

“Thank you Commissioner, extend my gratitude to your men for their assistance, professional as always,” he finished up with the standard compliments. 

Something did not add up…and Valens was at the heart of it…he had to find out what…but how to proceed - if he were to make this public, try to arrest Valens…Valens might spill the truth of some of Kimars less noble missions…naturally Kimar could argue his way out of it…but the accusation would stick in the minds of those who already suspected him… Soryu and Yoda would be able to undermine him, ruining all his good works.

He sat backed and pressed his fingers…something else didn’t make sense, why would Valens lie….why not simply say there were a large number of Gray instead of exactly four…why hide how many he had killed unless…unless to avoid Kimar realising just how brutally effective Valens truly could be…

Valens was playing his own game…a game that Kimar did not understand….yet…

He flexed his fingers and stretched his neck, he had let himself place too much trust in Yoda’s foundling…Valens was too dangerous to be allowed free reign…but how to bring him down without exposing himself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*******************************************************************************************************
They were back in her room,

“Knight Milaea…has a nice ring to it,” Sofa said,

“I guess…it’s just so sudden…”

Sofa slid over the bed to wrap her arm around her,

“Hey you’ve been training since forever, not that sudden,”

“Ha ha true…still…I don’t know…I worry about what kind of missions I’ll get…after Vyth…” she paused “I don’t want to do things like that ever again…”

Sofa didn’t seem to know how to respond to that apart from giving her a squeeze.

“It’s been a long day Mili, why don’t you head off to bed, I have a surprise for you tomorrow to celebrate,”

That lit her up,

“Really what is it!” she loved surprises…but always managed to pry them from the force aura of the people planning them…maybe it was the pulling of their thoughts she truly enjoyed she mused,

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you….”

Milaea wanted to know too badly…she couldn’t help but tug at Sofa’s thoughts….

“Soryu’s due back tomorrow!...and…do you think we can book a table at Dutch and Karm’s at such short notice?” 

Sofa’s annoyed expression a being delved subtly was all put on, “A little mind trick will get us in I’m sure, if not Valens can probably buy the place out…”

Mentioning his name made Sofa seem a little miffed in the force,

“Hey is everything…alright” their relationship was a massive open secret but Milaea would never talk about it explicitly,

“Yeah he just had a sudden job for Kimar…Anyway seeing as you’ll just guess anyway, I also thought we could go to Taegins Razor Ball Park to work off the deserts after lunch, then the anti-grav spa before dinner, get our hair and nails done…well toe nails at least…‘You mustn’t be so Vain Sofa’ ”  she did an impression of Soryu chiding her making Milaea giggle…but then she felt a sadness.

“It won’t be the same will it…now I’m a knight…” she said

“No it won’t…” Sofa pressed in tighter, “But it’s up to us to make it even better than before sis,” 

“Yeah…”  suddenly Milaea realised Sofa had just said sis…as in sister…it seemed so natural…yet she knew if another Jedi had overheard that she could get in trouble…

“I’ll let you get some rest, I have some laundry to take care of…” Sofa stood, “We’ll have a great day tomorrow Mili, I promise,”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*******************************************************************************************************

<<do you think we can book a table at Dutch and Karm’s at such short notice?”>>

Awe, man, the secret is out!  Our true origins ... The resturant business!  ;-)

Seriously, great chapter, nice development.  Sofa and Millaea are close...  Sisters.  In more ways than one.
And Sofa is sooooo ready to ditch the Jedi.

Yes, this is certainly interesting.  As you said, there are still a lot of sheets in the wind, but as each one comes home the story just accelerates into the finale. 

Also interesting that the Vhal'Dan are on Kimar's 'hit list' as well as the Mak'Tor.  It makes sense, though.  This guy really does NOT dig opposition.  And it sounds like M'Tzigon would have been his next target except for...

Well.  Except for whatever happens next.  :-) 

LSG, I am loving this.  Your narrative is tight, this is so well thought out, and we're totally invested in the characters, even the ones we don't like!  Lets wrap this up in a bow and send it to Disney, eh?  :-)

There is SO much to enjoy with this chapter!  

Absolutely LOVE the easter eggs  ;D. (I hope you can cook Karm; I burn water  ;)).
And a "razor ball park?!"  Nice one TR!

Yeah I'll say this about Kimar: he's consistent!  Thanks for that nod, LSG  :)

Now that Milaea has been Knighted I am wondering where she'll go next... Maybe take Sofa with her?  Hmmm...

Poor Soryu; damned Lightning...

Yep, it's official: Valens has Cumberbatch's voice  ;)

Karm put it best: the individual threads come together to make a gale force!  Wonderful!

Yep, time for Disney to see what REALLY good SW stories look like  ;)

Well does Kimar handle the red edges of panic as the threads of his scheming come undone, and he starts to see now that he has been as much the pawn as the puppet master, and is now tied dangerously to the monster he has ignored beneath his gaze, and even more foolishly thinks he has had any true hand in creating Valens...  Still waiting to see how Milaea and Sofa will respond...  There is as well, the question that burns in mind; will Valens leave Kimar alive to be a loose end?  Kimar seems lost to obsession of his crusade, missing the darkness he courts and invites, in order to secure his vision...

Loved all the little nods in this one. ;D But the first mention of the Vhal'Dan in this story was great. Just enough for us to know exactly what you are talking about, but for anyone else, they will just assume it is another group like the Mak'Tor who are radicals. I also really liked getting a look through Kimar's eyes. He doesn't seem that bad, until you realize that it is not the Mak'Tor who are the extremists, it is Kimar. Good all around chapter.

Honestly...this is better than the chapter itself!  Do you take commissions? It's like a saga within the story. 

Anyway things are moving fast on this very eventful night....

His day…night now…was getting worse by the minute.  He had gone directly to the space port to investigate himself only to find summoned Commander Tsi of the CSF doddering around in a force induced stupor telling anyone who he could catch that “Everything is fine”.

The lock down was over, the ship was gone, there was no sign of Valens or the sentinels except a series damaged lights, blasted crates, dried our fire suppressants and blood stains across the hangar floor. 

“Show me the footage,” he demanded of the Commander once he had slapped some sense into him with the force.

He wished he had never asked that question. 

On the Vid The Sith of Cygrat made a faux surrender after that idiot Lim tried to arrest him instead of attacking straight away…

What followed was shocking less for Valens obvious betrayal, than for the disturbing ease with which he and the Sith slew six Sentinels…even with Valens surprise attack it should not have been that easy.

“Delete this…and every copy,” he said straight away using the force to ensure his order was obeyed – he could not under any circumstances allow it to be known a Jedi had turned and was working with a Sith…and worse they were both free on Coruscant, it would undermine any and all confidence the public and the Senate had in the Jedi for decades to come.

This needed to be dealt with quickly, quietly and fatally.
************************************************************************************************************

It was only fifteen minutes after Sofa had left when the door swished open without even a chime, wearing only her bra and trousers she threw her hands across her breasts having only just taken her tunic off.

“What are you…Valens…what’s wrong,” He looked a little ragged from running, clad in his armour, there was a smell of blood about him.

“Milaea I need to talk to you,” she could feel the depth of his sincerity in the force…the panic…the fear…the urgency

“In the Andis, can you be there in five minutes,” 
“I…Ok, I’ll be right down, should I find Sofa,” 

“uh…” he paused seemingly weighing two impossible options,

“We’ll catch her up later, five minutes,” he repeated

“Five minutes” she echoed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She stepped aboard the Andis…she could sense something important was about to happen…something she might have feared once…but no more.

“Congratulations Milaea,” came a voice from the shadows as Valens stepped out, “You haven’t just become a Jedi…you’ve bested them all…exceeded them,”  his voice was calmer than before.

She frowned, as usual she couldn’t sense him in the force, or work out where this was going,

“Thanks I guess…what was so urgent”

“What did Soryu tell you about your parents?”  he abruptly changed the subject, she didn’t understand what was happening

“Well…nothing really…I mean just the basics, a small world with a genetically different but basically human population…Aetharis I think….Soryu found me as a baby on Nar Shadda…but that’s it…look what is so urgent, what is all this about” she demanded, before quietly adding
“I don’t like this…”

“It’s time you learnt the truth,” 

Seemingly unbidden the loading ramp closed behind her, and a blue holo flicked to life against the cargo bay wall, Valens was beside the projector, half his face a shadowed blue, the other black as oblivion. 

“Twenty years ago…there was…is…a planet in the deep core, your home and mine…Aethas…the people lived simple lives, no star ships, no machines…at one with the land and each other….then they came…slavers, soldiers,”

His voice broke very so slightly as hate, unquenchable burning hate filled the force about him,

“They killed half our people, and enslaved the rest, including your parents…the day after they were married…I was only your age at the time…I couldn’t stop them…”

An image flicked on the screen, a large chamber with a strange shrine like conglomeration of objects, a woman kneeling, candles, lightsabres, two large stasis pods, one with a woman in it.

“This…this happened shortly after you were born, that woman…” he paused chocking back a pain that even she could feel in her gut, “Was your aunt…Shilea…my wife…in that pod there…your mother, Cilina….both of them were,”  she could see tears glisten in the artificial blue light,

“tortured, abused…”  the images moved, a man…a Jedi entered the room, he and the woman fought viciously till he had her pinned with the force and ripped some kind of device off her arm…but as he did so another Jedi entered…an Ikotchi…Kimar…he put his sabre through the woman’s back…

“Murdered…one day he will suffer for that.”  Valens said with a hollow clarity

The young Jedi rushed to the fallen body as Yoda and Soryu entered,

“That’s you, in Soryu’s arms…”

“who’s the man who fought her…” she asked,

He didn’t answer, didn’t need to, she could sense the answer, it had been him

The scene changed to some kind of arena…a fighting pit…in the centre a human and a Nagai…

“Years later…I discovered this…”

The man in the arena suddenly unleashed a torrent of lightning on the Nagai…and then the crowd, as he circled she finally saw his face…it was the Sith she had fought on Cygrat….

“Jarys, your father, a Guardian of our people, like me…taken from them…forced to fight for their entertainment…” the disdain in his voice was palpable,
“But he survived, the legacy of his strength, his fortitude, flows in your veins, and he’s here, here to come back with us”

“They tried to destroy our people…all of them…the Hutts, the Republic, the Jedi…but I found a way…I used the ghosts of our forebears,” 

She could feel it…it was as empty and rotten as Korriban…this was why he kept his presence hidden so often…he was carrying the death of a thousand souls locked into him…their pain, their fear…their burning desire for vengeance and…resurrection.

“It gave me the power I needed to carry our legacy forward alone…to bring you back from your slumber…to revive our Goddess…but not as you were…different…melded with a new personality, a new body…not just resurrected, but reforged!”  He stood, arcs of blue lighting were flickering across his skin energised by his unfettered zeal. 

“I have plans underway…our people will live and now…now you are ready to retake your place…you have learnt the ways of the Jedi, you have overcome them, you know the ways of this galaxy, you have embraced your power, now you just have to use it…” he stepped close to her, she could feel the sickening combination of righteous hatred and fanatic determination pouring from him

“Your father, your sisters…they’re waiting for you…and more…you can bring your mother and aunt back, you have the power I know it…you not only revived Sofa…you remade her!  You can take us forward to new glories…” he knelt before her the tears in his eyes were now of pleading rather than grief,

“Save us Milaea…Save us…Goddess”

She could feel her hormones racing, cold and hot flushes across her skin…
there is no emotion there is peace…she recalled Soryu’s calming techniques to remain in control. 

She could sense Valens truly believed everything he was saying…

It all fell into place now…his extreme training methods, his slaughter of the Mak’Tor….his distant presence…he was completely insane…twisted by some kind of necromantic ritual.

She kept her voice level and calm

“I’m going to find Sofa, and Dr. Kougal, and Master Kimar and we’re going to get you help Valens…just stay here and I’ll be back soon,” she flicked open the loading ramp with the force and slowly walked out backwards. 

He just stared at her with mad intensity.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She raced down the halls, toward the medical centre, trying to sense Sofa…if only Soryu or Yoda were here….she had to act fast, she twisted around a corner, knocking over a Jedi, she instinctually pulled them up with the force, then she realised who it was….

“What the Stars are you doing!”  he yelled,

“Master! We have no time, Valens…he’s…he’s gone insane,” the Knight cried,

His annoyance instantly died, the world seemed to stop,

“What,”

“He’s gone mad…he’s yammering on about reviving dead people, Goddesses, crazy things about me being the child of some mass murdering gladiator form decades ago…I should’ve sensed it sooner…after what happened with the Gray heretics…”

“Yes…” he replied, “How many were there, Knight Valens report mentioned only four…but I have evidence,”

“Four!” she yelled, “There were seventeen, I took down eight alone ”

That shocked him…how could she kill that many Gray’s!  No matter he would deal with that later,

“What else was he saying, where is he?” 

“He’s in the East hangar, he bowed to me saying I was some kind of Goddess…he’s completely spaced,”

This was too perfect, no one would believe the accusations of a mad man…he could finish this today. He grasped her arms,

“Knight Milaea, head straight to the infirmary and stay there, tell any Master you see ‘code black East hangar’”

She nodded, “but master, I should help, if you’re going to try and arrest him…I’m not sure you…”

“I understand, Milaea, but you’re in danger now,” he tried to calm her, “He’s obviously become obsessed with you, you need to stay far away, not just for your own safety but for everyone else’s, we have thirty Masters here" he held her shoulders supportively and let the force flow calm into her.

"I think we can handle one knight no matter his state of senselessness.”
************************************************************************************************************

I might. ;)

Oh but the madness of his purpose, the paranoid secrecy that kept his drive too secret has now brought things to a head in a way that seems all too obvious from outside.  Perhaps from within as well, could he have foreseen that Mileae would find his seemingly mad presentation beyond belief or sanity, and run to Kimar, setting him in motion to present himself.  Even had she gone to Sofa, her feelings wouldn't be hard to sway, she is ready to leave with him already.  So now the showdown is in motion, though will Kimar run into the trap, and lose many Jedi lives, for surely he won't face Valens alone...  Oh but the background soundtrack that must be running now, stirring, dramatic, with a heavy, staccato drum line, shrill flutes wresting anxious heartbeats and moving readers to the edges of seats, armrests gripped as the throatier horns send tingles through muscles wishing to act, to be a part of what they can only watch like a train heading for collision...

"I think we can handle one knight no matter his state of senselessness.”

Pffft!! You think wrong Kimar.

Still, an interesting development. You wouldn't instantly think that "Oh, Milaea is going to have a hard time believing it all", no, but after you stop and consider, you realize that that is exactly what would happen in real life. Very well written. The anger and hatred towards the slavers, as well as his love for his people. So well done. Wonderful chapter.

LSG, this is wonderful!  Valens has laid himself before his goddess, bared his soul ... and she has rejected his offering, his life's work.

What does it feel like to be rejected by your god?  Cain knew.  He didn't react well....

So much to unpack here, so complex and yet, deep down, so simple.  Millaea was raised as a force-gifted human child by Jedi.  She is immersed in the Jedi culture, the Jedi world-view.  Valens just told her the earth is flat and there be dragons.  That she just ran into one of the dragons hasn't quite hit home yet.  :-)

And again, as invested as I am in every one of these characters, I find myself oddly hoping for a middle-ground resolution.  I want Millaea to succeed in restoring her people, but to retain the best of what she has learned in the process.  So far it seems that the characters tend to keep the worst and lose the best.  Soryu being an exception to that rule.    But for the most part the folks I would normally identify as the 'good guys' and root for are either sidelined or just off stage completely. 

And yet...   As Illyiss said, two trains on a collision course.  We don't want it to happen.  We're almost ashamed to be watching it happen.  And yet, we can't stop.  We in fact don't want it to stop...

And I must say:  As I read that last bit with Kimar, only one thought really resonated in my mind:  I wonder how long it took for them to put out the fires?

Determined in his stride we marched through the halls calling every knight and Master he could to his side, he didn’t want to alert Valens so he didn’t activate the alarms or force a lock down just yet. 

Behind him an army of Jedi formed, twenty strong by the time they reached the hangar doors.  He didn’t need to explain the details, they could all sense the seriousness of the situation reverberating off him in the force.

He turned to the assembled group,

“Jedi, one of our own, Knight Valens, is in this hangar, he is extremely ill suffering delusions, he may become violent, we have no choice but to arrest him,” 

Grim nods and other gestures of understanding from non-humanoids flooded the force,

“As most of you know, he is an extremely powerful Jedi…Yoda and I both rank him among the strongest of the order…unfortunately I have evidence that - in his insanity - he murdered upward of fifteen Gray Jedi and six Sentinels,”

Outrage flooded the force, many Jedi still had fond recollections of the Gray, fools he mused, he would deal with that later...nonetheless this worked to his favour no one would EVER believe the accusations of not just mad man but a murderer as well, he could pin every assassination he had ordered on Valens madness now…a cathartic way to release the tension of rumours that plagued him

A brief smile crossed his face, frankly he doubted Valens would live long enough to even make any accusations.

“Master Yoruuba, take four Knight to secure the southern entrances, Master Torfun take as many for the Northern, The rest of you follow me.”

With a sweep of his hands he opened the heavy doors with the force.

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

The Mandolorian Assault craft, the Andis sat oddly amongst the sleeker ships, it was a weapon of pure malice, Kimar thought as he approached surrounded by seven Knights and three Masters. 

The Hangar blast doors snapped closed with an echoing roar preventing any ships from leaving.

He stood at the end of his ships boarding ramp, in sooty dark armour, armed to the teeth, like a Mandolorian sizing up some petty thugs who dared to interrupt his binge drinking.

“Master Kimar,” the helmet distorted voice came, “How can I assist?”

“Knight Valens, By order of the Council you are hereby suspended of your duties and rank, and placed under arrest pending investigation into both your mental health and accusations of the murder of Gray Jedi on Vyth, Sentinels this very night at Ginii Spaceport and collaborating with a known Sith Lord,”  he said confidently,

“Please surrender your weapons peacefully,”

He could see a distorted reflection in the dark emotionless slit eyed helmet of himself and the other Jedi as Valens looked them all over.

“Turn around, and walk away,” Valens said with cool detachment, Kimar could feel the pressure build just behind his eyes as the rogue Jedi tried to control his thoughts…it was unusually strong…

“I’m going to turn around and walk away,” came the voice of a Camaasi Jedi to his right.  Weak minded fool!

“Stop this or we will use force,” Kimar pushed past the mental attack, he sensed the others building up their defences

He needed to push him into violence and end this before he got out of the temple, he had no doubt they would find the Sith of Cygrat after searching Valens body and ship for leads.

“This is Your Last Chance Valens, surrender or die”

Valens shook his head 

“No…Grand Master…you sealed your fate when you killed my wife…” he regraded the other Jedi,  “but they don’t have to be part of it…face me here, like a Knight of old, single combat, no tricks, no games, no cronies, warrior to warrior…This is Your Last Chance”

Kimar shook his head, wives, single combat…Valens was clearly delusional,

“Take him” Kimar ordered with gleeful satisfaction
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The moment Kimar had entered he knew this could only end one way, the Ikotchi was too arrogant and too afraid of what Valens knew to let him go peacefully.  And without the reasoned old guard of Soryu, Yoda or Gurrlum here, Kimar had no one to oppose him.

He surveyed the Jedi before him…nine including Kimar…some of Kimar’s most loyal followers…

“Take him,” Kimar ordered
He would have to kill them all one by one

The First to fall was the Twi’lek.

He covered himself with a Fallanassi Mist and birthed two Sith doppelgängers - the combination leaving the Jedi with three visuals targets merging and twisting in a mist that denied their visual senses the ability to lock on any one of them.

As their lightsabres ignited he sent an aetheric implosion behind the group, the less prepared flew forward their blades not even full lit, he darted forward beskar dagger flipping to his hand as the twi-lek unbalanced flopped forward onto the blade, in a single motion he pulled up through breast and out of the throat - a spray of blood coating his black armour red.

Second and Third were the Duros and Camaasi.

He unleashed his side weapons with the aether into a ring orbiting the Jedi as he flipped through the aetheric mist to land behind them as his green blade hissed to life.  Seven Jedi surrounded him, four Shikkars, two blasters, two grenades and a dagger surrounded them in turn.  Red bolts and yellow explosions flared to life he became three spinning green blades in their midst. Assailed on all side the Duros chanced he was facing an illusion to destroy a shikkar and aetherically crush a blaster – the green blade that pierced his skull proved him wrong.

The Camaasi deflected a sweeping low blade spin and used the force to dampen the explosion behind him, but missed the aetherically silent shikkar that planted into his abdomen, the glass handle snapping off, Valens telekinetically pulled the embedded blade though his trunk organs until the furred creature seized still standing.

The fourth was the Yinchorri.

The masters were beginning to see through the illusions, slowly overcoming the shock as Valens spun, parried, ducked and twirled through a clockwork of blue, green and yellow sabres whilst deflecting the odd force push or pull. He grasped the camassi before it fell and flung it into the Bothan, quick stepping into the small gap and telekinetically grabbing at the reptiles chest and arms, slowing its naturally heavy movements even more, its downward blue slice missed Valens arms, his riposte to its chest did not, hissing scales vaporized as the heart was burnt inside out.

The fifth was the Aqualish, a master

Moving back to the conflicts centre wrong footed the Bothan who expected him to flee. The masters were beginning a battle meld, the illusions spent he let them drop as the mental meld streamlined the Jedi’s attacks into faster less cluttered, more frequent blows forcing him on the defensive as force grips pushed and pulled.  He traced the rhythm of the meld, felt its tempo and caught its ends twisting the Death Song into it…the deep harrowing lows disrupted the energetic highs the masters were trying to create.

Staggering as their minds filled with the poison Requiem he parried a yellow low cut, spun forward and planted his knee into the Aqualish stomach, stamped that foot down onto the creature’s knobby knee with an audible crack and pop, he batted the paltry attempt to push him off and smashed his double gripped pommel into its tusked face with shattering strength that popped one eye and dragged out black bile as he twirled back out.   

The sixth was the Barabel.

The circle was tightening, the runts were dead, but their losses were galling…the Death song pulled back into his lighting shield, blue arcs flickered across his body, up his sabre and into the air around him.  As soon as the sabres clashed the circuit completed and burned into the Jedi’s flesh forcing them to distance themselves from the dance of blades – all except the Barabel whose scales insulated him from the raw energy.

Switching to a right hand grip he poured a storm of energy onto the Bothan and Ithorian and slid to the Barabel, who twisted with beyond human speed into a tail sweep, his blue blade held upside down covering his exposed back – Valens was not human – he jumped the tail and locked his green to the blue with juttering sparks of white, landed as the tail past then kicked into the reptiles face as he came round from the spin.  Teeth and bone shattered on the first kick, mush and blood spewed out on the second.

The Seventh was the Ithorian Master.

Panic was setting in, but two masters remained, Kimar was yet to make an entrance. Recovered from the storm of energy the Masters circled, he summoned the sabers of the dead and flung them at them as he charged toward the Bothan.  As they batted, deactivated or imploded the sabres he hit himself with an aetheric blast centimetres before reaching the Bothans range – the Bothan tensed to defend from the blast that sent Valens skidding around into the Ithorians path, he reached out and pulled hard behind the hammerhead, displaced air pushing him into the path of his green blade that sliced into the right eye stalk but was knocked to the side by the masters yellow blade before he could finish it.

The Ithorian was in hideous pain, diverting energy to suppress it, he…

Ducked.

A yellow sabre sliced over his head and through the Ithorians faceplate which flopped with a gurgling thud and green jetting vitae.  Turning his crouch into a spin he kept a high guard and came round melding aetheric and kinetic energy into a fist smashing straight into Kimars left horn shattering fragments into the Ikotchi’s face – always from behind Kimar – the Grand master skidded across the floor from the charged impact.

The eighth was the Bothan Master.

Charging forward with flawless Ataru as Kimar scuttled away behind him, the Masters fur was burnt and blackened from the lighting, but filled with the force Valens parries that sent more flesh burning arcs into the skin beneath yielded no pain response.   The Bothans form was precise, deadly, strong…but it was straight from Soryu’s classes…almost boring, low, right, right, parry, back one, high, and through, his blade severed the Bothans Left arm, he pushed his right shoulder in to maximize contact area, diverting his lighting shield to focus toward the head melting the creatures face and searing the last fur with a crackling burn.

He spun out into a defensive stance ready for Kimar to strike…but the Grand Master was nowhere to be found.

Eight Jedi...two minutes…barely a quarter of the effort he had expended on the Mak’tor…a kill-by-numbers fight…he could hear the phantom of his grandfather laughing.

This was the legacy of Kimar’s regime…predictable, rote techniques, fine against some Gamorrean thugs, security droids, even Mandolorians…almost no experience fighting to the death against force users who used alterative combat techniques…completely hopeless against a seamless melding of techniques from Aii-Ting to Fallannassi to Sith.

Yoda, Soryu, Gurrlum and Yoren had let Kimar’s legacy of dogmatism seep into Jedi training for too long…the corpses littered around the hangar were the result.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He felt it as soon as he hit the atmosphere…The death of Jedi…

A feeling all too unique and all too familiar…Soryu had returned from Dantooine to resupply, recover and reinforce for his search for the Sith of Cygrat who had managed to…not just elude him…almost kill him…

It had been the hardest fight Soryu had in…well ever…one man had killed one Knight two Jedi Masters, and almost another…his companions had killed a further knight each.  One on one Soryu would’ve had no chance…how Milaea and Sofa had survived was even more a marvel to him now.

More Jedi died in his mind’s eye…had this Sith attacked the temple directly?  As his ship headed toward the west hangar he felt the force reverberate in ways all too familiar…it was so similar to the Sith warrior…and yet…no this was too familiar…

He knew this energy…

This was Valens.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The lockdown was in effect, the hangars blast doors and shield slammed behind him as warning claxons resounded through the cavernous space, and Jedi poured in through the north and south entrances, eight and twelve respectively…

As soon as they saw the carnage he was standing amongst they froze, he felt the threads of doubt and uncertainty, rivulets carving into the bedrock of confidence….he pulled at the mental landscape to turn them from streams to rivers.

“Kill the SITH” Kimar yelled from the side of the door way to the north, at the south Master Keishar Yoren entered…the others he could handle but Yoren ranked below only Yoda, Soryu and Gurrlum and was tactically more component than all of them.

“Form Up, group sixes, Herf formation,” Yoren ordered, names for the letter Herf, the formation had three Jedi engage in melee while three supported with aether attacks from the side and behind. They quickly formed three groups of Six, Yoren and Kimar behind them, as he slowly stalked toward the durasteel hangar doors.

Yoren believed he had him trapped.  Valens stretched out his arms theatrically as the Jedi, now formed with Yoren flowing calm in the force began to recover from the initial shock of seeing their fallen foes.  He needed to destabilize them once more.

He grabbed the hangar bay doors behind him and pulled. metallic shrieks and yellow parks filled the bay as the durasteel doors tore inward. Their doubts returned at this display of raw power, he smiled behind his helmet – still the Jedi did not understand ‘size matters not’.

“STOP HIM YOU FOOLS!” screamed Kimar over the screeching as the doors opened half way, the shimmering blue energy field behind them distorting the lights of Coruscants sky line like stars on a lake.   

The fear was building, Yoren issued hand signals and the first group headed toward him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He was to keep an eye on the Temple, now he knew why…the Jedi had tried to kill his brother.

So far Valens seemed fine and confident…but in the corner of his eye…ships heading toward them.

Jarys repositioned the hover car as artificial light staggered from the hangar door below, the aether straining to tear the metal doors away…but the shield remained…he glanced at the approaching vehicles emblazoned with Coruscant Security Force insignia.

That shield was now the only thing keeping his brother trapped in there…

He reached out to the police transports…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Four blades from three Jedi spun around him all trying to find purchase as the aether was pushed and pulled in all directions by three more around them. Backed by Yoren and the unengaged masters battle meld he was sorely pressed.  He spared a level of consciousness to grip at the heavy industrial bolts that held the catwalks, gantries and cargo rails to the ceiling…dodging beneath the triple spin of a double bladed sabre he pulled at the metal.

All across the hangar the Jedi immediately reacted, jumping, catching and avoiding the falling metal frames.

He unleashed his lighting shield in an expanding blast, un focused it did little more than buy him space and cause superficial burns, but as he pushed the aether out he pulled it inward – past the conscious current that most Jedi used, through the under currents to the very thinnest lines of the aether…the background energy that suffused reality itself…he pushed against it.

What was a Jedi without the Force?

He recalled the words of the ancient Master Kreia – she was a true teacher and guide the Jedi were infinitely poorer for forgetting. 

“Take the greatest Jedi Knight, strip away the force and what remains – they rely on it – depend on it more than they know –watch as they try to hold a blaster as you would try to hold a lightsaber and you will see nothing more than a woman, a man, or a child,”

He pushed the aether – the Jedi’s Force away…nullified and voided it, he became the centre of a Null field in which the force no longer flowed. Just as Kreia had predicted the six Jedi that faced him became children.  The gyroscopic effect of the lightsabres instantly took hold and their stances faltered as they struggled to hold their own weapons, the support trio visibly slumped from having gone from using the force deeply to a void in an instant.

What was an Aethan without the Aether?

A being that possessed reflexes and physical strength four times that of a human, an endocrine system primed for war and reproduction three times more efficient, cognitive capacity that rivalled Givin and Siniteen and a culture that taught them never ever rely on the aether to survive or fight nor be shocked if it were stripped from them.

The six Jedi about him now learnt this difference as his blade, fists, feet, knees and elbows beat them into a broken mess.

Yorens face dropped as he crouched behind the fallen cargo rail, Valens could only imagine the shock in the aether as a gaping abyss opened up in the force right in the Jedi Temple and six Jedi including three masters were bludgeoned to death as they floundered like children.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The doors burst open as more Jedi flooded in, the Sentinels had finally arrived along with a dozen older padawans armed with repeaters and heavy rifles only to witness the thirty second massacre of six Jedi who looked drunk and pathetic trying to counter the brutal bone crunching, blood churning strikes Valens unleashed.

Yoren tried to shake off the shock of what he had just seen…to create a force void was a near impossibility for most Jedi…he had to act quick – issuing commands with his hand he had the teams of six re-arm, three with sabres, three with rifles.

“CSF are on the way,” Master Yoruuba called beside him

Valens was trapped behind the shield and didn’t have the force to deflect the bolts

The hum of charging weapons filled the hangar as the Jedi activated the few ships turrets that pointed toward him and positioned in cover behind the fallen walkways.

He filled the battle meld with his confidence as the Jedi wavered

Fear gives way to courage,
Chaos gives way to order,
Passion gives way to serenity,
Death gives way to the force

He flicked his fingers in a countdown as he stared at Valens who stood at the heart of the abyss of the Energy Field that should’ve flowed through all Living Things.

He could just make out the CSF Heavy speeders behind him through the blue shimmering shield heading into position fast…

too fast…

what were they….
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
His mind gripped the armoured vehicles as tightly as he would bite down on his prey’s throat, his heart pounding his hormone filled blood through his muscles and brain in anticipation of battle…

Like rag dolls he flung the outer two into the sides of the temple beside the hangar shield where the generators were most likely to be.

He hit the accelerator on the hover car and sped toward them as they smashed with blinding yellow fury into the temple walls.  The blue watery shield flickered and died as he threw the third straight ahead.

Jarys was no expert in aetheric illusions,

But he did know Vorynx….

He Roared
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Courage gave way to fear,
Order to Chaos,
Serenity to passion

The force filled with death as the hangars walls crumpled inwards, the catwalks provided cover from the heat of the explosion but not the shards of durasteel and ferrocrete that pelted down like superheated hail upon their heads.

Yoren pushed a force shield around himself and those near him to bounce the debris away, knowing it would likely strike those less able to reflexively raise such defences.

To the howling screech of the conflagration was added a wet…hungry…predatory Roar that echoed throughout the chamber and subsumed the crackle of spot fires.

He risked a glance upward, his mind retched at the sight above…

A starship sized animal, muscled with ferocious teeth and vicious claws flew across the ceiling of the hangar over the black silhouette of Valens who stood amidst the orange and yellow flames, straight into the back of the hangar.

His frontal cortex he knew the beast was a force illusion…but his limbic system was not so convinced as his body shook with adrenaline.

The beast headed straight for the traffic control room, dropping behind the fallen metal he braced himself once more.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Vorynx illusion covered transport smashed into the hangar bays observation an traffic control rooms at the far end, a plume of metal and blue and orange fire erupted outwards and over the hangar as a heavy figure slammed to the ground beside him.

He twisted into an offensive stance back to back with his brother, his sabre angled and aimed like a rifle as the Jedi tried to leap from the flames and ruination spreading around them. 

The Aether flowing back through him twice as fast with Jarys at his side, who turned his illusionary powers into making the two of them seem three metres tall - he felt the traces of the Jedi’s fear and dissonance as their conscious understanding of illusiosn battled against the unconscious terror of a foes doubling in physical size.

They surged forward leaping the fire heated metal as he used his HUD to activate the Andis auto pilot.  The Assault craft leapt free of its mooring and sped out of the hangar, the backwash of wind churning the flames and creating small tornadoes of detritus.   

Yoren desperately tried to reassert some order, bolts flew from cover as they made light work of the terrified Jedi…for every one that stood his ground two were fleeing - the north and South entrances a mosh pit of confusion as Jedi trying to storm in were  pushed aside by Jedi trying to get out.

He flicked his hand to catch a blaster bolt then crushed the rifle that had fired it, the Togorian Jedi turned and fled but was floored by Jarys Lighting bolts.  Yorens  battle meld a tiny voice against a Chorus of fear as he summoned the sabres of the dead and sent them flying into the fleeing Jedi whilst Jarys hammered a Nikto’s skull into the edge of a collapsed I beam while - his guttural primal Roar continuing to send shivers up even Valens spine…the Beast of the Arena indeed.

The Andis was out, the Jedi were on the run, Yoren trying to direct the flood of fear into rivers of order, Kimar screeching like a porg.  Numerically inferior terror and confusion were their weapons, now was the time to withdraw while both were at their peak thus giving their enemies a fractured paused rather than a true resolution to he war they had started.

As he electrocuted an already half crushed Whiphid and Jarys all but twisted off a Nautoloans head, he tapped his brother on the shoulder and they pulled back, still deflecting the odd blaster bolt and stray falling light fixture or duracrete block.

Reaching the edge of the hangar, the 400 level drop before them they grasped arms, Valens gave one last look back to see Yoren screaming orders atop a burning crate…their eyes briefly fixed.

With a nod of respect they leapt.
*****************************************************************************************

So.  Probably about 3-4 hours to put the fires out then.  ;-)

Great scenes.  Its about what I had expected, though I am starting to appreciate Kimar's survival instinct more.  Though his leadership style - push someone else out into the front to take the heat - is extremely annoying.  At moments like this I find myself rooting for the Aethans, not the Jedi.

But that's the point, right?

I loved the transposition of Yoren's poem.  And this phrase:  "... screamed like a porg."  :-)  Great little snippets of the new to tie the old into our greater imagery of the Star Wars Universe.

And I can see I need to re-evaluate the Mak'Tor training system...  ;-)

So the returns of blind obedience manifest, as one man, fevered in his vision of order, leads dozens of others to their deaths, a drop in the debt of his sins.  Echoing back, we see that the Jedi Order has a long tradition of power masquerading beneath their noses, an enemy they do no know, and haven't the first bit of comprehension of stepping to the clear to show them their inadequacies.  Swirling death, seeming chaos, as a superior foe overwhelms on each and every level, and unleashes something beyond hell upon those who Kimar has hidden himself behind.  When you practice peace, you are unprepared for war.  Especially true war.

Oh yeah! 2 Aethans vs. ~20(?) Jedi. Not even remotely a fair fight. But I've gotta say, I'm pretty sure my favorite line was "Kimar screeching like a porg"  :D

But also this "“No…Grand Master…you sealed your fate when you killed my wife…” he regraded the other Jedi,  “but they don’t have to be part of it…face me here, like a Knight of old, single combat, no tricks, no games, no cronies, warrior to warrior…This is Your Last Chance”. He gave Kimar a chance to set things right, and Kimar (being the worm that he is) rejected that chance, and at the same time, sentenced a lot of Jedi to death. That's all on him.

I don't know Kreia, but using her as another reference point was awesome. He whole "Take the Force away" thing was great. And seeing Valens create a Force "Void" was also incredible. Well done.

Sadly, none of the Jedi who heard Valens give Kimar the out lived...

Darth Kreia....  oh but she is worth a study.  It's long, but this explains a lot...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO5Zzdi3W40 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO5Zzdi3W40)

All of the foreshadowing...every single clue, subtle and overt...the expanse of what we've seen, implied, been told, and guessed...all for what?


For one of the best damn payoffs in print!

Truly spectacular chapter!  And interwoven in the action, a sweeping drama the transcends the mere confines of the Jedi Order or even the Aethans!  This will have galactic ramifications indeed! 

Lovely Aesop, that: don't rely on one thing as the sole measure of one's attributes. 

This.  Was.  AWESOME!

Fantastic job LSG!

Hmm.   Research...   ;-)  Thanks for the link!

Welcome.  It popped up in a rotation while I was researching something one day, and I almost clicked past for the length, and was glad I sat through it.  The poster offers some well thought out and researched insights.

Thanks Guys!

That is the point exactly, for Kimar to Lose Valens has to Win, just like earlier for Soryu to win Jarys would have to lose, how does one pick between such characters? who is the lesser evil?


As most of you noted, this was just as much about Kimar as it was Valens and Jarys...when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object.

at any rate to show my appreciation for your comments....

Cold, clinical white, slightly glossy reflecting her image back at her.  She could feel the deaths of the Jedi…one by one they were lost to the second greatest weapon the Aethans had ever made themselves into that bore the name Valens. 

A part of her told her she should be up there…helping them…that she was the only one who could do anything about this…yet she didn’t…she just stared at her reflection.

She knew…somehow…what Valens had told her was true…that her mother…her father…had been taken from their home…she could recall moments from her infancy…her mother…

The reflection shifted before her intense gaze…another face like hers…but fuller, more rounded cheeks, energetic, playful eyes…her mother…Cilina…but worry crept across her features…fear…annoyance…despair…forced to slave away for…yes she remembered the Bith…

Valens…he had rescued them…she recalled the voice of Yoda…sending her and her mother away…a red black tide of energy…a distorted face…she had cried as she was ripped from her mother…a hideous Quarren and Dathomiri looked over her…but they left replaced by the face of…not her aunt Shilea…but the tortured abomination that lived in her body….Sevra.

But there was more behind that…a blood red…a darkness...she had been trapped…trapped for a long time…but that was not her…or not her as she was now…the prison…it was like a black abyss that separated the two lives…the one before then…

The quiet beeps of medical equipment chimed in time to the death of another Jedi far above her.  Her vision started to resolve back to the present…but she needed to see…see for herself what her heart told her to be true…she closed her eyes and entered the blackness between her lives…shifting through the quagmire of centuries…

She found herself in a dream she had before, not a dream…a memory, the people…her people surrounded her, called her names of glory and power…Aethenaea, Aertemisaea, Aephrodaea…she was like a goddess to them…

The room was white, she was red, the women were beautiful…all there to satiate her lusts…and when she tired with them she had Valance…she held the women’s minds enthralled as she used them…but she didn’t control Valance that way…he was lesser…yet the only one strong enough to resist her…

She lay back onto the cold black stone, Valance stood over her red lighting from his fingertips as her consciousness slipped into the altar, plunging into a deep black bath…as she rose it was into a body of burning energy…now he was on the altar, she was on top of him…her body…was so much more than it had been now…he couldn’t satisfy her anymore…the room was littered with women passed out trying…she needed to remake him.

She poured the red lightning of life into him…but he was stuck…caged as an infant in the diamond forged of his own carbon…she had rushed her calculations…misjudged the process…it wouldn’t have mattered…but.

Sith had found them, their legions looted and killed as their Armada scorched the earth behind them, for every Aethan killed thirty Sith died…but they were one world against an empire.  She looked down from the mountains as her People died…they turned to her…

She slew thousands, tore dreadnoughts from the sky, broke their spines and immolated Masters and Lords with mere thoughts…still they came…

Upon that mountain as the sky burned, she told the few who remained to hide in the valley, this she could shield…no more…She poured out all the power the aether and the generations of Genetic science had given her…the Armada was ripped to shreds, the legions burnt to a cinder…but she was dying…

Dark wet air in the cave they had brought the altar, Valance an unconscious babe sealed in a diamond prison upon it…her body was falling to pieces…she let her consciousness slip into the altar…into the abyss….
***************************************************************************************************

Her eyes opened…grief poured through the temple halls…it had been...hours, the fighting was over…for now.

She looked at her hands…Valens was right…she had been remade in this new body…she was not just the blazing shameless, brutal, manipulative Aethena, or the terrified baby Milaea rent from her mother and a father she never knew….she was both of them combined through…by some eldritch necromancy…she had the powers and memories of both…

They were not separate…they were her…

Just as she was the product of Jarys and Cilina, so she was also the child of an innocent baby and a carnal Goddess.

She was Milaea. And she was no longer afraid of that.

Yet the question remained.

She knew who she was, she knew what she was, she knew the extent of her power…

But how and for whose benefit would she use it?
***************************************************************************************************

She only slowly recognized that the infirmary was filling with people, pain, despair and fear. 

She noticed her legs and backside were sore for sitting too long in the same position as she stood and started to move around.  They were so afraid. 

She paused by the nearest bed as a wounded Sephi was lowered onto the bed, a large black cut marred her purple forehead and trailed dark blood across her face. 

The Padawan on staff already looked haggard as he absently washed the wound and sloppily applied a bacta pad that wasn’t quite big enough to cover the gash.  There was a shout further down the room and he rushed to assist.

Such pain…such fear…She had done this on Vyth and she didn’t really know why anymore…for the Order, for the Light? 

She couldn’t undo that…the Sephi noticed her and their eyes met…

But she could fix this…though her calm was more the result of shock and the numbness that follows trauma it was still a calm she could share with the shell shocked Sephi.  She took the lavender hand in her pure ivory fingers and let the calm and peace flow to her…

If she was using the force to heal at the same time it was not consciously, the gash on her forehead not covered by the bacta patch slowly turning pink and closing, settling from a raised scar into a rosy streak of clean fresh skin. 

Yet pain remained in her the horrific after images of a walking wound in the force and a giant who roared like an animal, she leant forward and kissed the woman’s forehead, fading from her mind the active memory of what she had seen. 

The Sephi’s deep eyes flickered under heavy lids till finally she passed into a sleep free from the terror her waking hours had tried to instil in her.

She continued down the line of beds, pausing at each one, just standing beside the sometimes thrashing, sometimes screaming, and sometimes catatonic figures.  She felt such sadness for them…such sadness for herself at having once caused such terror…

A thought that was not a thought in her heart, barely a whisper that told her she could heal them all…no just physically but emotionally…

And so she would stand there beside them as the doctors hurried about seemingly oblivious to her presence at first until they had to stop their ministrations because they were simply not necessary…every moment she stood near someone they seemed to recover more and more to the point they simply fell into dreamless slumber.

People were talking to her, asking her things, calling her things…

Miracle, Angel, Saviour…

Didn’t they know what she had done? No they didn’t…what did it matter…she was capable of both…creation and destruction, life and death…to wound and to heal.

"Your choices determine your actions, your actions determine your self, yourself shapes the galaxy around" Soryu would say

Here and now she chose to heal.
***************************************************************************************************

She didn’t know what time it was when she returned to her room, but Sofa was waiting for her, she literally leapt forward and pulled Milaea in deeply and tightly,

“Thank the Stars you’re alright,” she sobbed, she had been crying, her night black hair was loose the strands around her face wet with tears

“Where were you sweetie…I’m so glad you’re alright…”

She could feel how worried Sofa was, feel her concern…feel her using every method she to keep from falling apart…but more than anything else trying to understand what this all meant for the two of them…her love for Valens conflicting with her horror at what he had done…

But Milaea knew how that would be resolved…she knew how and to whom Sofa would assign the blame before she did. 

She felt herself pulled down slightly as Sofa kissed her forehead.

“Mili, talk to me, what’s going on,” she said as she pulled her onto the bed that served as the only place to sit in the small room, patches on the walls and new furniture still evident from when she had nearly blown it apart with her last nightmare…

Her Last Nightmare…it would be the last…now that she knew…now that she had seen into her own memories…she had nothing to be afraid of anymore.

She leaned her head back against Sofa’s breast,
“Mili…it’ll be alright Mili” Sofa went on stroking her hair

She was tired…but she let what little energy she had left wash over the both of them,

“It’s alright…” Sofa repeated drowsily

No it wasn’t, she thought, as she faded along with her, wrapped in each other’s arms,

It hadn’t been alright for a long time…

But maybe…if she could let this peace and comfort she felt here and now flow to everyone…maybe it could be.
***************************************************************************************************

And there comes a point where every parent, every architect, every creator must step back, hold their breath, and see what they have made choose what it will be.  Years upon years, with bodies beyond count, plans and machinations, a grand scheme, actions in motion across an entire galaxy, and for all his careful planning, all his machination and control, Valens cannot force this outcome.  He gave Mileae strength and power beyond measure, merged her with the closest thing to a goddess ever conceived by sentient species, and for all that, she is her own person.  Now that person knows who, what she is, and who, what Valens is.  She's seen, twice now, and the pain, grief, death, and suffering it entails, is not what she chooses.  Another moment, perhaps she will choose differently, but for now, she chooses peace, healing.  Somewhere, deep in my mind, is the nagging notion that Kimar may be the point of balance yet again.  If he comes down on Mileae harshly, or reacts like the petulant child he is, she may yet turn.  If he chooses to keep it to himself, or to take the path of remedy, the Jedi may yet retain her heart.  Then there is a wholly different path; Mileae may yet leave the Jedi and their decline in hubris, but not take Valens and his path of blood, yet take from him the shining possibility of the future he has set before her, and their people, and lead them upon a more peaceful path.  Even if she has to do what she must to protect that life for them; but then, perhaps that's been Valens' plan all along...

Illyiss has the heart of it.  Millaea is still in the decision point, has not committed to a path.  Her knowledge of who she is and what she is will change her perspective, but only in that she now has the self-confidence to actually choose.

And also as Illyiss said, I fear that Kimar will be the catalyst of choice.  To the woe of the Jedi...

Powerful chapter LSG.

Impressive; CH.34 was an incredible treatise on the sheer violence that one of the most powerful Force beings could bring to bear; but with Milaea she becomes the proverbial Yin, using her vast powers to heal.  You've always like dichotomies and here is the result in spades! 

And even with all of that, Milaea still vacillates as she thinks upon her newfound epiphany as something more than just "Milaea" indeed more than the goddess...
Wonderful writing!  I really like when characters who think that they've been given two choices instead take a third option  :)

Looking forward to reading what comes next!

The Situation room was large and quiet, the shadow of defeat lying as heavily as the sting of betrayal.  The Council at around the central dais were blue lit consoles showed the footage from the Ginii Spaceport and the East Hangar alongside various details of the two…

Destroyers.

Valens he knew all too well, the Sith of Cygrat now identified as “Jarys” leader of an elite squad in the Sons of Kessel he had met all too recently, his joints and ribs still sore from the introduction.

Kimar leaned heavily on the central projector table, his face still bruised from Valens backhand, horn cracked and skin glistening with bacta-seal gels.

“There can be no doubt, we are facing the Sith Lords following the Baneite Rule of Two…which is master and apprentice is irrelevant both must be destroyed,”

“Our first move must be….”

“No,” replied a strong clear voice,

It was only as all the eyes and visual receptors suddenly flicked to him that Soryu realised he had said it,

He briefly closed his eyes…there is no emotion there is peace…there is no ignorance there is knowledge…two maxims that they had failed to put in place throughout this whole situation and he must remind them of now,

“No to what Master Soryu?”

“No they are not Sith…we have no evidence of that, their motives are unknown but their actions show no indications of an attempt to dominate others…they have only acted defensively,”

“Defensively!” he stabbed his finger toward the replaying fragment of Valens stabbing two Sentinels in the back

“You call that Defensive!”

His heart was pounding, but he had to go on, assumptions and jumping to false conclusions has lead them to this disaster, reacting to events emotionally could not continue or more Jedi would be lost.

“Think, this Jarys only appeared when Master Neirai confronted him on Cygrat, only fought when she attempted to arrest him, exactly the same thing happened on Santooine and now Ginii port – we sent an armed force to bring him in and he resisted…he is a member of the Sons of Kessel!”

The blank looks on the faces of all the Masters except Yoren meant he needed to explain to them – EXPLAIN to the Jedi order what it meant to try and arrest a member of the Sons.  They had fallen so far he sighed.

“There is no situation, absolutely no situation in which one of the Sons would ever, ever allow himself to be taken away in chains or locked up….” He knew he was doubling his words but the point had to get through.  He gazed at Kimar
“Why Valens helped him…I don’t know…but it doesn’t look like it was planned”
Ha paused for a moment to redirect his thoughts
“We have failed…we have misread the situation, we heard the words Sith Lightning from Milaea and panicked, failing the Order, failing ourselves”

Kimar’s gaze like iron flowed into his words,
“WE have failed!  You and Yoda failed by bringing in the Sith spy Valens, training him!  Your willingness to accept unorthodoxy has led to the deaths of over twenty Jedi and seventeen Mak’Tor including your friend Odjina at the hands of this Monstrosity”

His stomach sank, Odjina…no…it wasn’t possible…why would Valens…

Means, Motive, Opportunity he quickly thought…means…until seeing the footage from the East Hangar he would not have believed Valens had the means to defeat Odjina…that was one…Motive, Opportunity…why would he go to Vyth…no one knew about it…he’d suggested it to Odjina because it was off the beaten track…let alone motive…

It fell into place…only one man had the Motive and Opportunity – the same man who controlled the Means directly…he struggled to rein in his anger…but he had to
There is no emotion there is peace
There is no emotion there is peace
THERE IS NO EMTOTION THERE IS PEACE

“YOU - You sent him there didn’t you, you told him where they were!” he shouted back rising to his feet, the dam that held back years of frustration finally bursting

“YOU sent him to kill the Mak’Tor…not enough to Exile them…you sent…Monster…you’re the Monster” his hands were shaking with barely suppressed rage

While the other masters started to lean backwards, Kimar pressed forwards

“I do what is best for the Order in all things!  I saw the danger of the Mak’tor, their weaselling into control over various planets, establishing so called ‘healing centres’, they are creating a militarized Theocratic terrorist network!”

All attention turned to the Grand Master as he flooded the force with confidence and determination,

“I saw the danger this Jarys posed and followed the protocol deploying you and Gurrlum to seize him – a protocol both you and Yoda helped design after the disaster of the archives project saw twenty Jedi killed by the Quarren and his psychotic witch Sevra!”

He surveyed the room with a dominant gaze and powerful presence that supressed any argument before it formed a sentence in the speakers mouth

“I saw Valens betray us and I moved to arrest him immediately, everything I have done has been in line with protocol, if I have failed in anything it has been in severely underestimating our enemy and severely over estimating our own ability!”

Soryu couldn’t take any more

“Don’t you see that is the problem! We instantly turned to force to solve our problem”
Whilst Kimar spoke in terms of ‘I’ Soryu would only speak in terms of ‘we’ no matter their divisions the Order was one, they were ALL responsible for each other’s decisions.

He felt the anger welling but poured it into serenity, into wisdom, into compassion,

“Instead of taking time to think, to learn, to speak and understand, following the true path of communication, dialogue and compassion we panicked and attacked! If that is protocol then our protocol is wrong, and continuing to follow it will not make things any better!”

His breath was ragged from the emotion, he could feel his own conflict in the force about him…he needed to steady himself…but he could not allow this to continue any longer.

“We have failed the Order…each and every one of us has failed…and the Order has suffered in turn,”

Kimar sneered, “Save your sermons and self-flagellation for your acolytes Soryu,”

“Enough!” called Yoren rising up, “this bickering is pointless,”

“We need to focus on what is frelled up, not who frelled up!” He gave the whole assembly a condemning glance,

“We focus on the Now…how we got here…” he eyes darted to Kimar then Soryu,

“We can consider later…right now the Rancor is on the loose and we need to reign it in before anyone else dies”

Soryu felt himself sink as rage turned to shame that he had acted so rashly just now…it was an outpouring of anger at so many things he had seen going wrong over so many years…

Yoren brought up a map of the area around the Temple,

“We’re co-ordinating with the CSF trying to trace where they went, orders are not to engage…teams of three Jedi scouting the under levels again orders not to engage…”

As Yoren explained the search efforts progress, Soryu settled himself back down, this was getting too much for him to take…he suddenly thought about Sofa and Milaea…they hadn’t been on the list of the dead thank the Maker…truly he would’ve sensed if anything happened to either of them…but Sofa…he knew about her and Valens, he had always known…what would she think…what would she do…

“Does anybody have any leads on where they might be, potential resources or fall back positions or their motives I haven’t already covered” Yorens’s voice pulled him from his reverie

Soryu felt the eyes of the room burn upon him…

He felt the strain of being pulled in two directions…he had one clue that could shift the investigation…yet he could not put Sofa in danger…nor could he betray the Order by remaining silent

“I may have a lead…it is tenuous but I will speak with the contact immediately,” he said quietly

“And who is this lead Soryu,” Kimar growled

He had to play this carefully…the tightrope between betraying the girls he loved like daughters and the Order was starting to wobble beneath his feet

“Master Neirai had…discussions…with Knight Valens at length following his return from Vyth – concerning her apprentice who was just knighted- she might know something…” hopefully that would work

“Have her brought before the council,” Kimar said bureaucratically

“No!” Soryu’s quickly interjected before steadying his tone,
“She’ll be more open if I, as her Master go to her informally…as a first step”
He could not risk her being interrogated by the Council about her relationship with Valens…if she were taken into custody Valens might be provoked into trying to rescue her…the cycling images from the hangar showed exactly what that would result in.

“Very well…” Kimar allowed
The force settled and calmed as they agreed on how to continue the search, but spiked once more as Kimar explained his plans with regard to releasing information

“So far we have explained to the Media and the Senate the events in the hangar were part of a live fire exercise…our slicers have back cast formal advice to the CSF dated a fortnight ago to make it appear they were informed but overlooked it,”

“Surely they won’t believe that given their losses,” Yoren replied incredulous

“It is the least worse option…we cannot have the city in a panic and we must not be seen to be weak or divided in the eyes of the Senate or the galaxy…” the Grand master continued

“To that end, all footage from the massacres is to be deleted save for copies that I myself will keep,”

The force echoed with concern

“Is it wise to censor this information?” Torfun queried “surely as the champions of Truth and Jus….”

“Would you rather more fear and panic spread through the ranks?” Kimar interjected with another question,

“Just look at it…” he stared at the holo on repeat of Valens using six Jedi like punching bags after he had used a null field to snatch the force from them, beside that another cut of Jarys and Valens brutalizing any Jedi they could catch as the lucky ones ran from them. 

Soryu couldn’t decide if the fact the holo-cams had been unable to capture the reported force void, force illusions and force ‘Roar’ as they called it made the viewing more or less terrifying. 

“If the Order at large sees this…it will create a cancer of fear…it will only be a matter of time before it is leaked to the press and as overwhelmed as we are now…how much worse will it be if this is playing to raucous laughter in every dive from here to Soccorro…” Kimar concluded

There was a logic to the Grand Masters words…the Jedi were only seven thousand against hundreds of trillions…their mystique – or spectral fear factor one might unkindly call it – was a part of their arsenal that kept the thugs and gangs wary of going too far and risking Jedi intervention…

The holo-footage could not record the force illusions, void, the manipulation of the emotions of the Jedi …all a non-force user would see is one man slaughtering fourteen Jedi, three huge explosions, then joined by another to kill ten more as over twenty others fled in absolute terror – and all this in the Temple itself. 

Instead of backing down at the site of a robe and glimpse of a sabre, a thousand more gangers, smugglers and pirates would be emboldened to try their luck against the all too mortal Jedi.

He didn’t like it…but his fury was spent…it was a bitter medicine to inoculate against a greater disease spreading…but he felt no less sickened for gulping down.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The darkness of recent events cast a pall across their celebration. 

Even the standard lighting of Sofa’s room seemed dim as he sat across from her and Milaea.  He had come to congratulate her of being knighted…but somehow that all seemed so…beside the point now. 

Still…he reached across, opening his palm,

“I wanted you to have this,” he offered Milaea the small wooden circle with a sword coming from a star in the centre,

She took it with little enthusiasm, he had heard she helped out in the infirmary after the  -could it be called a battle – at any rate amongst the fearful chatter in the halls about the ‘battle’ were small lights of stories about the young female who had healed nearly two dozen wounded Jedi just by standing near them.

“Apparently it’s made from the bark of a special tree from the lost world of Ahch-To…” he began but there was just no helping it

“Maybe we should talk about it…get it out in the open,” he said finally
“We have every right to feel saddened…betrayed by…” he didn’t know whether to say Kimar or Valens,

“Betrayed by those we trusted...but this is the time we need to trust in the Order the most…”

“I trusted in the Order on Vyth,” Milaea said quietly idly looking over the wooden medallion, “Trusted the Grand Masters instructions…the councils judgement on the Mak’tor…” she looked up, “After where that lead me how I can ever trust them…”

Sofa gently stroked her back, he couldn’t really respond to that…he could only see the escalation of the fracture the expulsion of the Mak’Tor all those years ago had caused…and it broke him to see Milaea had been used to carry that out.

“The Order is made up of imperfect people…but we can’t make it better by giving up trying to change it…” he finally replied

She nodded, but she still looked uncomfortable, this conversation was not going anywhere endearing. 

“I need to go…” Milaea said standing up, Sofa looked at her concerned,

“You alright,”

“Yeah just…girl stuff…” she replied her hand on her stomach.

“Thank you Soryu,” she said as she went past, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, leaving him and Sofa in strained silence.

“Sofa…do you have any idea where Valens might have gone…” he broke the hush

“You think I’ll know because I’m frelling him? You think the answer to catching him is between my legs?” she snapped,

“Sofa…”

“No, I don’t care, I’m sick of this…I’m sick of what this is doing to us all, Milaea’s having to kill Mak’Tor, Kimar is trying to kill Valens, and you’re getting into fights with the Sons of Kessel…And I…”  she paused for a moment collecting her thoughts,

“I’m sick of pretending, Yes I’m in a relationship with Valens, you’ve know it for ages, I shouldn’t have to hide it, I should be able to wear what I like, go where I like, have sex when I like.”

“Sofa, you shouldn’t say these….”

“Who cares?” she leapt up and headed to her wardrobe, “What are they going to do try and kill me like with Valens?  Oh sorry I meant arrest”

“Sofa, Valens is sick, even Milaea said so…”

She turned and gave him a dark look, “And why do you think that is?  They pushed him and pushed him and pushed him, do you even know half the things Kimar asked him to do…do you know how many people Kimar sent him to kill for his chums in the Senate…it’s amazing it took him this long to snap.”

She scrounged into her wardrobe and pulled out a set of black negligée that was well beyond what was considered contraband.

“See this…this is what I want to be able to wear, something that makes me feel good and sexy instead of these drab robes  - I want to enjoy the freedoms we’re meant to be fighting to protect!”

She paused her rage subsiding into a calming mantra she muttered under her breath as her eyes stared at the black lace.

“I was never cut out for this…you always knew it…that’s why you never stopped me sneaking out when I was a teenager, ignored my nail polish and make up, never turned Valens and I in before…”

She looked him deep in the eyes, the look of a daughter pleading with her father to finally accept she’s a grown woman.

“And that’s why you won’t stop me leaving now…” she stepped up toward him and placed her hand on his cheek,

“You know I love you…but I want my own life…my own family…not some rank in an Order I just don’t believe in anymore,”

He nodded slowly, he understood but this was not the time

“Sofa it’s too dangerous, I don’t want you to get hurt…Valens isn’t who we thought he is…”

She shook her head,

“I know who he is…I don’t understand what’s happening with him but I know he won’t hurt me…and honestly…this is the best chance to end this before anyone else dies…we’ll go away together, just vanish....”

He knew she was right…Trying to arrest Valens was a fool’s errand and could only lead to more deaths…he just hoped Sofa could convince him….

He nodded as she tossed the negligee back into her cupboard and stepped over to hug him…if she succeeded he might never see her again…

This was a time for raw honesty, even with himself, something he had kept secret for too long

“Maker Bless and keep you,” he prayed as he held her tightly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow...  The aftermath is at least as chaotic as the attack itself. 

First thing that popped out at me was Kimar's description of the Mak'Tor.  I loved the way he sees them as religious zealots setting up a "militarized Theocratic terrorist network".  I mean, who can argue against stamping something like that out?  :-)

I feel for Soryu.  He needs help, and he's essentially alone.  Millaea and Sofa are about to bail, and they'll be seen as somehow corrupted by the "Sith" when they do.  Kimar will interpret Sofa's views as coming from the corrupting influence of Valens, an influence allowed by Soryu and tacitly approved by Yoda due to his involvement in bringing Valens into the Jedi in the first place.  The internal politics are indicative of an organization on the verge of collapse, but all they can do is fall back on orthodoxy.

Well woven, my friend!  I am greatly anticipating the reunion of Valens and Jarys with Millaea and Sofa...   

Standing over the holo-vid, blatantly deviating from the code itself as his emotional reaction is launched at the rest of the council, Kimar demonstrates his loosening grip on sanity.  Blame, blame, blame, fault, fault, fault.  His finger pointed desperately at any target that took the sights off of him and his role in these things.  He even deigned to use the Force to influence the council.  No, to manipulate the council.  Soryu, finally having had enough, no longer able to hold back his own tide, stands, the impassioned voice of reason, of loyalty to the core of the Order, and Kimar throws it back on him, and on a master not present to defend himself, Yoda.  Defending his actions against the Mak'Tor, he accuses them of forming a terrorist network, by setting up healing centers.  When healing the unwell is a threat to your Order, it is likely that the terrorists in play IS your order.  Then, as the aftershocks still spread out from the event, more bottles, long corked, come undone; Sofa, standing for her beliefs, her desires, her needs, and telling Soryu that she is done, leaving the Order, an order she has not believed in for some time.  Milaea (hey I got it right this time, damn lysdexia) not even comfortable talking about her mind on it with the two of them, or at least not with both together, excuses herself, and where her mind is carrying her is yet a web of potential futures fracturing into the Force ahead...

THIS is why I LOVE reading about the Aethans: while their moral barometer is highly skewed towards their favor we now see that the Jedi--even Soryu!-- will ignore "what is right" if it suborns the welfare of the Order.  Is it right?  Wrong?  I say "both."
Once again, outstanding storytelling!

Every sentence read, I had to slow down, just because I wanted to find out "what's next?!"

Oh, two parts in particular that tickled my fancy: the reference to Ahch-To and that Soryu is a believer in the Mak'Tor Maker   ;D

I have to agree, those two nods were PERFECT and amazing.  The second really giving a whole dimension to Soryu that just makes... Sense.

Agreed.  generally a really solid moral compass generally comes from a source that is extrinsic to the one who believes in it.  Usually a source that is believed to be deity.  This is true of the Aethans as well as the Mak'Tor.  :-)   One big problem with the Jedi is that they only have "the force" as a guide - and its ambiguous at best.

Just in case any thought two Aethans running around Coruscant wasn't enough...

Valens message was a short as it was urgent, “Now”. 

She’d made good time to Coruscant in her small Chiss craft, and headed straight to the apartment, only to find….no one home. 

Bored she poked around the rooms, Valens small neatly folded collection of clothes, books on Physics, Starship Design, Economics, The Collected Poems of Illyiss, a few holocrons and strange totems he’d saved from the dusty vaults of the Temple and curiously a fluffy black and white stuffed Ewok with a sad expression and blue hood that had ‘Hug Me I Need help’ stitched on it.

Then Sofa’s – whom Valens hadn’t even let her meet for some reason – underwear, a few dresses and casual outfits, cosmetics, jewellery, fashionable magazines, “Ta'a Chume'Dan Style Today – Get Hapan chic for your home or office”, Holo-discs for bands like the Blazing Comets that hadn’t been popular for ten years or more in a draw with…ooh toys…

But the unmade bed interested her the most…she knew Valens scent but the female one smelt…Aethan…human females didn’t give off pheromones like that…she knew very well they were almost tasteless – fun when Kiraea wanted a living toy…but tasteless…

There was no way Valens would be having sex with Milaea so whose pheromones were they. 

She mused on the question as she tried on various bits of Sofa’s wardrobe…hmmm Sofa had a larger bust, Kiraea just couldn’t fill the tops out…it couldn’t be Sofa’s pheromones she was only human…though Valens had mentioned Milaea had done something to her….

Could Milaea have?  No she wouldn’t even think something so gross.

Finally the apartment alarm signalled someone approaching, she headed out to the entrance way to find Valens and…

“Jarys!” she beamed rushing up to hug him…the blood and grime of Coruscants under levels streaking his armour inadvertently ruining the pure white chemise she was wearing.

“Kiri, you’re so…” he arched back to look her over, “…grown up…still losing your shoes though…”

She offered a slightly saddened smile as Valens dipped his head in remembrance, her older sister Yorna had always been on her about losing her shoes, always finding them for her…always amazed she could wriggle out of them no matter how tight she tied the laces…

“We have so much catching up to do!” she started, “So what happened after…”

“We’ll have to do it later Kiri…things…aren’t going well…” Valens interrupted
She realised who was missing,

“Where’s Milaea?”

“She’s still with the Jedi…running into Jarys meant…” Valens sighed defeated,

“I had hoped to slowly tell Milaea the truth, guide her gradually…she was already past the Jedi…but events…got out of control…I had to move fast and she didn’t take it well…”

He poured a stream of understanding into the aether for her to pick up on, much more efficient than telling the story, Jarys added his own pieces in turn…she understood…

The Jedi had attacked them both and were now keeping her confused little sister Milaea away from her in their hideous Temple.

They had to die.
*******************************************************************************************

"The Collected Poems of Illyiss"

I am SO stealing this!!

“'Ta'a Chume'Dan Style Today – Get Hapan chic for your home or office'” and the "Blazing Comets"

WONDERFUL easter eggs, those!

Uh oh, Kiraea is NOT someone that I would want...irritated at me, much less with her actively deciding on death.  She's actually the one that scares me the most, given her as an "x-factor" since she doesn't even have the code that Valens and Jarys do.

But she makes a great agent of entropy!  Can't wait to see what the galactic ramifications will be from this event arising...

I wonder...

What would happen if Kiraea were to run into a Jedi named Sofa...  And killed her...  In front of Valens... 

*ponders*

Ok, hypothetical, I know...  :-)  I have no idea what will happen, but with all the high emotions running right now anything that Kiraea gets thrown into is going to be tense, dangerous and probably deadly.

And then there were three...  An agent of change, called in to support a plan gone awry, and questions raised, in this once periphery player.  Violence, the first choice of a people sundered by violence, vengeance, at any perceived slight, confident that superior genetics and ability will see them to victory over and over again.  What though, will rest of the Aethans think of what their beloved prodigy, Milaea, has made Sofa into, without even knowing what it was she was doing.  Tangled webs have imposed in the ripples left by the shattered point of unplanned contact between two brother, re-united with violent celebration ensuing, and without patience of intelligence gathering, could more sad result be imminent?

I... I am humbled by the inclusion in your tale, and further that it would appear that Valens, of all characters, would be interested in what I may have written in this universe. 

I do wonder, what will happen when Kiraea gets a dose of Sofa's pheromones in person...

The door slid open and the Man who had nearly killed her on Cygrat stood before her.

She went to summon her sabre
It wasn’t there…
the emitter was pressed to her forehead - she would die wondering how in the galaxy he had taken her sabre and put her in a kill zone before her reflexes had time act.

“Jarys…” came Valens voice from behind him, “she’s with me”

The man was oddly handsome, dark haired, a battle hardened square jaw, and eyes…eyes that had seen a lot of pain…and wanted to deal out even more.

He stepped aside, but kept her sabre.  Valens was on the couch of their secret apartment…hidden deep in the interior of a mid-priced apartment block.  Seated next to him was a woman with dark brown hair…exceptionally beautiful yet…strangely terrifying, like she exuded some kind of primordial…fire?

The door closed behind her and she could feel ‘Jarys’ looming over her,

“This is Sofa,” Valens said…both ‘Jarys’ and the fire woman seemed to relax…whatever Valens had told them about her they no longer considered her a threat.  She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or offended.

Valens came over to her, “We’ll talk in the bedroom,”

“Just talk?,” the fire woman came back quickly,

“Kiraea…” Valens warned, “Sofa’s scared enough as it is…”

Was Valens talking about her as if she wasn’t even there…now she was offended!

As he lead her into the bedroom ‘Jarys’ and ‘Kiraea’ kept staring at her as though she were some kind of curiosity in a cabinet…she could just sense something passing in the force between them…it made Kiraea smile wickedly, Valens turned and gave them a despairing look.

The bedroom door closed behind them.  Valens had bought this apartment so long ago…they had done…so much in here…no windows, no neighbours…a perfect place for their trysts…it could never be the same again.

“Why?” she asked simply as she sat on the bed…the sheets were a warm cream, still unmade from when she had left last night…wait she hadn’t left her white chemise…the stains on it!  Who had….she put it to one side,

Strange the things that drew your attention sometimes…She remembered picking the sheets out…how they had gone shopping together…something so ordinary…yet so unusual for a Jedi…he had bought her a bracelet that day…she could never risk wearing it…but still….

He stood before her, head slightly down, unreadable in the force as always.

“Kimar…gave me no choice…once…” he began

“Cut the kriff…I don’t care about that…well I do…but it’s not as important as what you did to Milaea?  What did you say to her…what…what is all this about?”  she yelled cutting him off

He seemed a little taken aback,

“She’s…she is one of us…” he gestured to the other room, “the last one who can save our people…but time…time is running out…to bring them back…you wouldn’t understand…” 

“Try me!”  she stood up and went straight up to him, she poked a finger into his chest, “Just Try me!,” 

She was surprised at her own tone, he stared at her accusing finger, she let it drop,

“You think I don’t know?  You think after all these years I wouldn’t work it out….Soryu told me what happened on Nar Shadda…what Yoda had told him about you and Milaea…I knew, and I didn’t care,” 

She backed up a step to see him better,
“He told me how your wife died…where you were from…fine you know, people come from all over…you know all the better, it meant that you weren’t an uptight do-bat of a Jedi…” 

She turned her head slightly, this next part was hard to say,
“I knew…I knew you were still broken up over what happened…I didn’t care…because…I was just as lonely as you…we had each other…you and Milaea…I knew she was different…but what I don’t know is what….what did you say to her that made Kimar go ballistic?” she demanded

He paused,
“I told her the truth…about her…who she is to us…what she could be…” he looked like the uncertain, hesitant young man he had been their first time together again…
“but, it was too much all at once, she…she went to Kimar…she hasn’t chosen…not fully…but she needs to...”

“choose what?”  she said stepping closer to him

“either the Galaxy…or us,”  he looked at her tearfully…

She didn’t want to fight with him…she wanted…she pulled him into her embrace

“Let’s go…just go…let’s get away from all of this….”  She nuzzled her head between his chin and chest,

“I don’t care about the Jedi…I don’t care what happened….I only care about you and Mili…,” she looked up at him through teary eyes

“Let’s just go, Mili will follow when she’s ready, she won’t turn us in…”

“Sofa…the Jedi…Kimar…Kimar will hunt us till we’re all dead,”

She chuckled sadly…
“After what you and Jarys over there did…Kimar’s struggling to keep the Media from bashing down the door, Yoren is poking around the under-levels, but everyone is so scared of you the scouts don’t want to find you…Soryu…Soryu won’t chase us…Gurrlum’s dead and, and we can be long gone before Yoda returns…” she lifted herself to brush his lips with hers,

“Let’s go Valens…while we still can…to Hapes…we could…” she had wanted to say this for so long,

“We could have a family of our own…you can invite your friends if you like,” she brushed his lips again, then again

“Just so long as we’re together.” 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He wanted to say yes…to fly away…take her to Aethas…but…Shilea…if there was any possibility…he had to get her back…He needed Milaea for that and needed her now…aetheric phantoms…they dissipated over time…on an aetherically charged world like Aethas they lasted longer…but still…Shilea hadn’t died there.

He was afraid it was too late already…and then…the ghosts of his people would never let him rest until his people were reborn.

“Sofa…” Her blue eyes were teary, he could feel her longing in the aether…by the Goddess how he wanted her…to scoop her up, carry her to his ship fly away, tear those damn clothes off her and just…

No he had to remember Shilea…Sofa wasn’t even Aethan…or was she…After what Milaea had done to her….he didn’t need this confusion.

“It won’t take long for the Jedi to find out you’re in league with us…the Jedi will hunt you down to find us…for all their talk of peace and justice…they have started a war with us that will not end until we stop it,” 

Her expression changed to one of concern, he could all but here her thoughts…What could they do to the entire order that would make that happen?

“We have to confront them…I have…unfinished business with Kimar…we…we rarely swear by the Aether…but I did when he killed my wife…I have to follow through with that…and I have to confront Milaea…there at the Temple…it’s where she will decide,”

He could sense her confusion still

“Valens…you don’t have to…this is all just…just in your head…” 

He sighed and held her more tightly, so many things to tell her, but how to make her see…

“Sofa…I hear the drums of war echo in the force…see the fires of a thousand future battles…you, you hear only the whispers of a forgotten conversation, a dim star on the horizon….the threads of the aether…they are pulling toward this…”

He could tell she was both confused and now slightly offended at his patronizing tone…

“Our people knew the Aether…the force...has no destiny written into it…but there is a legacy…all our actions echo into the future and the present…like a river cuts into bedrock…it creates a path that flows of its own accord and pulls us with it…that thread of legacy…is leading me to this.”

She dropped her head,

“And where do I fit into this legacy…”, she looked back at up at him with teary entreating eyes,

He didn’t know the answer to that…he just didn’t know what to do with her…it was all getting out of his control….

He couldn’t let her leave, she meant too much to Milaea…and to him…yet if she knew what he was planning to unleash…her Jedi sentiments…
“I’m sorry…” he whispered as he took her head in his hand,
“This is for your own safety,”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Valens came out of the bedroom as Lyaea and Adaea came in the main door, Jarys comrades Selaena and Maeson having arrived a few minutes before.  All but one of the known surviving Aethans were now in this one tiny room. 

She felt an instant surge in the aether and Lyaea pulled back her hood…a visceral scream, Selaena, the silent older woman rushed forward and grabbed the stunned younger woman,

“Lya…Lyaea” she struggled to say with a voice raw from disuse.

“Mother,” the girl embraced her back…instantly the Aether was flooded with joy as Adaea joined them, Kiraea rushed forward as well, Maeson grasped Jarys in a bear hug, tears in the older man’s eyes to see a mother and child reunited against such startling odds.

She could even sense Valens presence briefly light up…he seemed far…emptier each time she saw him…she felt a nudge in the aether, she slowly disengaged from the embrace and went over.

His voice was cold and clinical,

“Once we finish here, see that Sofa is taken to the ship and secured…” he gave her a conspiratorial glance,

“Milaea…did something to her a while ago…remade her physically…she could prove very valuable to us,” 

She nodded, “I’ll see it done,”

Jarys was trying to talk to a shy Adaea, Selaena and Lyaea were on the couch still holding each other, their faces stained by tears as Maeson kept a supportive hand on her shoulder.

“This is a day of great joy for us,” Valens said, “but one born of great sorrow…” he had changed from the indecisive boy she had known on Aethas…forced to lead their people in a strange galaxy...he was the most intelligent and strategic of them all…yet there were still traces of the old Valens that appeared at times…she feared this Sofa was one of them.

“We have to leave here, the Jedi are trying to destroy us, they sent the Masters Soryu and Gurrlum along with their Sentinels to kill Jarys, Selaena and Maeson, and now they’ve tried to kill me.”   

She surveyed the suddenly hardened expressions of the others.

“They’ll find this place soon. Milaea is still amongst the Jedi…she is confused and alone…we must rescue her,” 

He breathed deeply and sent trails of meaning and knowledge into the aether to combine with his words…faces of Jedi to watch out for…their strengths, their weaknesses all communicated at the speed of their genetically enhanced neural networks.

“The Jedi are too strong to confront directly, even for all of us combined…In three days Jarys and I will infiltrate their temple, using an ancient device beneath it to destabilize them, then Jarys will destroy their secondary leaders and archives, all their data on us and our home world - while I will destroy their Grand Master and retrieve Milaea,” 

She noticed Jarys stretching his neck side to side, a fierce glint in his eyes,

“Selaena and Lyaea, I’ll give you the codes to the Andis, you’ll deal with extraction, Maeson and Adaea you’ll help creating a distraction on the day, but we will all help Kiraea prepare over the next few days,” 

“What kind of distraction?”  Adaea asked,

Valens turned to Kiraea, she felt a sense of…release…fill the aether as he gave her completely free reign with his reply

“Set this world on fire,”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So the danger rises, exponents adding to integers, and the stakes may be higher than some may yet know.  How much of his plan has Valens communicated, how much of his rage can Jarys cage?  Things are about to be set to match, and the course of the fuse is yet in flux.  Oh but the tale to come holds the reader engaged, salivating for more, more, more...

Uh, yeah, what Illyiss said...  ;-)

LSG, you keep raising the stakes, and you don't disappoint.  I am getting a little worried about Valen's plan at this point.  Fore-shadowing the aether ghosts fading... 

Like I said, raising the stakes.  Time is ticking away, and Valens is feeling the pinch.  Will he crack?  Will the other Aethans be able to do what needs to be done?  Will Corsucant survive the Fires of Kiraea?

Tune in next chapter!  :-)

One thing seems certain, though: Kimar is a dead man walking...

And so, the wheels in motion are spinning much faster now... OK, we all know that the Aethans are POWERFUL but Valens is going to go BACK to the Jedi Temple to ATTACK it?!  Well...if I were a betting man, my money would still be on Valens  ;)

Still: I have to feel for poor Sofa.  She's at such odds on SO many levels...

But, and I think that Karm certainly put it best: Kimar is a dead man walking  ;)

I can't WAIT to see what happens at the Jedi Temple!

Keep up the awesome story telling LSG!

He peered down from the grimy railing at the market promenade below, it was typical low level Coruscant, filled with a mix of the deranged, the desperate and the dangerous, cutting deals, swapping tales and swigging intoxicants, a Rodian beside a deeb store openly flogging death sticks to a pair of Mon Cal’s.

They were taking the long road to the Temple through the under levels…here Republic law and order held as much weight as it did on Nar Shadda and Soccorro.

The crowd split and frantically hid their wares, he followed the shockwave of modesty back to its source, three Jedi at the end of the market street, a human, Muun and Givin.

He kept his focus on the crowd while sizing up the Jedi with the Aether…these were all…weak…childlike…he was beginning to realise that Aethans were Better…just Better...

As the various vagabonds and shysters huddled away Valens mingled and pressed in a door way, his armour covered by a mangy brown robe…a little pool of nothing in a sea panic, worry and odd bits of shame as the Jedi approached.  They both kept their presence hidden, this close to the Temple they had no choice until Kiraea’s plan drew them away. 

None the less they had their own mission in these wretched hives of scum and villainy. The Jedi generally kept out of these areas, but they needed to change that if they were to get Milaea out unopposed.

The Jedi gradually made their way forwards proudly, a pride Valens had noted trickled down from Kimars overinflated sense of himself. They neared Valens who appeared just another vagabond.

The Givin in the lead, as they stepped past Valens pivoted out and twirled behind the Muun and Human, ending on the other side of the street amongst a group of Bith spice addicts whose bobbing drunken heads were quite amusing.  Yes the Trunk to Trunk movement Karintha had taught them, spin between trees, blades out as soon as your enemy steps past.

The Muun paused and looked down…pain filled the aether as he allowed his senses to return, the human stumbled, Jarys could just see the blood starting to soak through the robes.  The Givin suddenly turned and stared in astonishment at his dying comrades, he could sense no malice or intent in the crowd around him, panic flooded the aether as the Jedi died from precise lethal wounds.

The Givin ignited his sabre, the people began to scatter, Jarys could sense another group of Jedi nearby…moving…fast.  The Givin was shouting, demanding to know who had done this, trying to use the aether to assert some calm, but got nothing more from the desperate and disposed citizens than curious looks and the odd attempt at a selfie with a dead Jedi.

Another group of Jedi arrived, then another…seven Jedi, four kept the curious crowd and scavengers away, three tried to work out what had happened.  All the while Valens simply sat there pushed and jostled as more and more curious onlookers came out of the shadows.

Now it was time…Jarys would take the lead on this one, he needed the practice.  His brothers strength slaved to his own he stirred the over consciousness of the crowd…he found the thin threads of morbid satisfaction to see Jedi laid low, to see the rich fall dead in the streets of the poor.

With an encouraging jolt in the aether he catalysed the denizen’s innate violent tendencies.  They pressed around the Jedi who retreated into a tighter cordon, a Gotal screaming for extraction.  The crowd pressed closer, he didn’t even need to create the ideas in their minds, just turn the streams to rivers, break the dams of fear…they had seen the Jedi, symbols of their poverty and oppression were vulnerable…dead Jedi didn’t need sabres…but the half-starved could sell them…

The Jedi didn’t sense or see who started it…an old broken battery charger smacked the Givin in the side of the head as Jarys prompting tipped the first of the crowd from thought to action.  Lightsabres erupted to life, blasters flashed and flared, the crowd no longer afraid of the all too mortal Jedi turned on them.

He joined the bodies pressing him forward, the tide of the poor against the sword of the rich was overpowering, dozens were falling as the riots ramped up, explosions started to rock the stalls, fights amongst the populace broke out…it wasn’t directed at the Jedi anymore it was simply a free for all, he kept the aetheric encouragement up not because it was needed, but because it spread it further.

The hum of lightsabres and the raw grinding sound as it sliced through flesh, electric pings as they bounced back bolts was constant, he pushed toward where Valens had been sitting, past fur, scale and leather hide…straight into a Gran Jedi.

All the Gran saw was a suit of battered mandolorian armour.  The sabre came down as Jarys pivoted and grasped the wrist in crunching vice that set the sabre dropping as his other fist splattered two of the grans three eyes into a sludge of crushed eye stalks. 

The Kubaz Jedi redirected toward him, shoving a group of Gand aside with the aether, Jarys spun his blaster to his right and combat knife to his left hand, his fire lost in the symphony of blasts all around the street.  The Kubaz batted them into the seething crowd as Jarys stepped onto one of the growing number of bodies, twisting and turning instinctually to avoid the blaster bolts that were flying without rhyme or reason.

An aetheric blast from the Kubaz was easily bounced aside, the alien stepped into a downward cut, Jarys pivoted into a weequay and slashed back, the Kubaz dodged - the Jedi was fast, and skilled, the ruffians about them moved away as their melee took up more space, the green sabre cutting through the heavy air in a counter point to Jarys red bolts and blood thirsty knife. 

Two more shots deflected he let go of his blaster, the Kubaz moved to take advantage…his mistake was to assume because Jarys had let go of the blaster he was no longer using it…as soon as the Kubaz had arced his blade away from the blasters line of fire, Jarys used the aether to fire three swift shots into both eyes and the creatures snout.

The melee seemed to be slowing, corpses littered the ground, bolts screeched less frequently…he glanced over to find Valens stalking around the hard pressed Givin the skeletal creature dodging a high kick only to be hit by the flying corpse of the Muun Jedi from behind, staggering and focused on the Trandoshan pair waving vibro blades at it, it stood completely oblivious to Valens rapidly stepping into knife it in the back, twisting his head 360 degrees with his other hand.  The lightsabre dropped, the Trandoshans swiftly snatched it pushing to get out of the crowd.

Idly pushing back the odd ganger or thief they proceeded along the corpse lined wreckage of the market place as the wave of murder, looting and destruction spread further up and down the street, new fights erupting between scavengers over the loot of the growing number of bodies, and nine precious lightsabres.

Valens clapped his hand on his shoulder as they turned down toward a service corridor between pylons,

“All too easy brother…”

Jarys nodded,

“Take away the veneer of civility and let the true self run free…huh I suppose I’ve moved from freeing slaves from physical shackles to psychological ones!” he mused as the sirens of CSF hovercars screamed overhead far too late to hold back the tides of anarchy.
********************************************************************************************************

The conundrum, to the forces of order, of poverty, is to maintain the illusion that the tipping point is out of reach.  Knowing that said precipice is constant, and giving the precise nudge will always spill the desperation into violence, if one but knows the right nudge.  Now, the forces of the Republic will be spreading thing, trying to reclaim that veneer of civility, the illusion of order and control.  As distractions go, this would be perfect, yet, one cannot forget, Kiraea has been given leave to open her own kinds of hell upon the capitol planet...

Nicely done.   This is a great case of two being more than the sum of their parts.  Jarys and Valens together are just incredibly effective.  This is not going to go well for the Jedi.
Though I am starting to appreciate how it might have been possible for Yoda to so effectively reform the Order...

One thing that popped out at me was the crowd wanting to get a selfie of themselves with the dead Jedi....   It feels so organic.  But not something Lucas would have written back in the early days!  LOL

Great start!  The child-like Jedi filled with arrogance.  Its no wonder the Aethans feel themselves superior.  Which brings an interesting conflict:  In every way they ARE superior.  So why should they not rule?

Once Kiraea gets going...  *shudder*

It had been three days since the war had begun…

The Jedi didn’t consider it a war…for them it was the pursuit of two dangerous two fugitives…they did not understand how the Aethans interpreted the situation…the Jedi had struck at Jarys, unprovoked in their minds, and stopped Valens doing what he wanted…that was enough to turn the Jedi from annoying but neutral to actively opposed.

Even if it was actually her that had informed Kimar of Valens betrayal, they would only blame the Jedi, never ever her – she was one of them…they would always love her and forgive her - she could do no wrong in their eyes.   

This love…this deep and all accepting love was marred by a terrible possessiveness - they would never ever let her go, they could not conceptualize she might choose to live without them, and they would come to ‘rescue’ her, to take her back ‘home’…and if anyone or anything that stood in their way…

So far only two events she was sure they were involved in had occurred

First the bodies of the Six Jedi Sentinels Kimar had originally despatched to arrest Jarys, the so called Sith of Cyrgrat, had appeared in the Coruscant Galactic Zoo in the Nexu enclosure…the heads however were found on the Senate building adorning the Holo-flag pole of the Jedi Order in a sickening row like beads on a string.   

Subsequently a riot had broken out in the under levels leaving nine Jedi dead and the CSF struggling to regain control…only thing the Jedi feared more than two so called Sith on the loose was an uprising at the heart of the Republic and they would stoke that terror to the full.

She was sitting in Sofa’s room…no one had seen her since she left the temple a few hours after their half-hearted celebration of Milaea’s knighthood…Soryu feared the worst, but Milaea knew she would be safe…Valens was a lot of things…but he would never hurt Sofa…if not for the fact he loved her, then because he knew Milaea did.

It had all been so straight forward…just three months ago on Chandrilla…organising a ceasefire, preparing for the trials…her whole life planned out for her…serving the Republic as a Jedi...self-sacrifice for the many…

Now…what was she to be…
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She stood on the balcony looking over the purples and oranges of Coruscant twilight, the hover cars a constant stream as light twinkled on in the skyscraper windows. 

There was a beauty to it…yet she knew just a few levels down in the under levels there was deep seated poverty and violence…a cancerous irony at the heart of the Republic that was easier to ignore than address.

They were out there…her…people…her family? 

Or were they in here, her Order her friends.

Both calling for her to join them…and only them.

Pulled in both directions…what answer could she give,

How could she decide between who should die and who should live. 

They both killed without a thought, thinking they do good,

She couldn’t avoid a choice, and yet she wished she could.

She feared what she might be, and what horrors she’d unleash

Both as a Jedi and as a Goddess

Twisted every way…
********************************************************************************************

It began at dusk in Monument Plaza, the night stalls were setting up, young lovers walked hand in hand on the balmy night as the setting sun cast an orange glow across the sky. 

A single human wandered around carrying a large luggage case, he headed toward a line-up of frozen TaunTaun pops.  He was just an average looking fellow, mid-forties, mid-priced business suit, the only odd thing the patrolling officer noticed was a vague, almost hypnotized look in his eyes.

He pushed forward to the centre of the line-up, yielding rude gestures and angry looks.  He opened up his case and pulled out a high calibre rifle and started firing into the crowds.

By the time CSF central monitoring had sent a Strike Team, three more reports came in, a woman outside a museum hacking at strangers with a vibro blade, a Sullustan had crashed his hover car into a high rise walk way, a Wookie was in an uncontrollable rage in a shopping centre.   They sent more and more squads, but for every one they sent a dozen more reports came in.

The attacks were occurring everywhere at once, all random, hypnotized people starting fires, crashing vehicles, using whatever weapon they had bought or found to attack people randomly.  Even when pinned to the ground they would froth and rage beyond sanity.  There was no rhyme or reason, it was all races, all levels of society exploding into anarchic violence. 

In the under levels the riots already two days old showing no signs of abating got worse, entire wards had to be abandoned. The fighting began to spill over into mid-levels, forcing lock downs and redeployment of riot police to barricades to prevent the wealthier citizens being effected, an evacuation in an election year was out of the question.

When reports of insensible acts of violence by ‘upper level’ citizens reached 500 they called in all off duty officers, when it reached 1000 they activated Police Droids kept in emergency storage.

When it reached 2000 they called in the Jedi.
********************************************************************************************

The marvel of a great orchestral performance is the perfect timing and placement of each instrument, each section, joining in the exact right time and place to build the momentum into the full, crashing body of the piece, then flowing through the pathway of the movement, setting up the next even as it ebbs it's own, every segment in itself a masterpiece, and together...  Together worlds can change, for good or ill.  As this virtuoso masterpiece kicks off, the forces of the Republic scrambling to follow the brilliance, reacting to the segment, but already the music has moved forward, and the game of catch up plays them like one more instrument in the many.  Meanwhile, the one person who might stop it, a young lady on the precipice of self, struggles with choices that both seem brutal and ugly, to one who wanted her whole life to make things better...

Well this is no longer (if it ever was!) a war of attrition.  And to paraphrase Sun Tzu, often times it's not so much about what your enemy does but rather how you are prepared to fight them.

The Jedi are NOT.

Such ignorance will cost more than just the lives of the Order; now war comes on multiple fronts.  And I am thinking that the Jedi will mistake diversions for the true offensive.

OK I'll say it: war with the Aethans is damned horrifying  ;)

LSG you've GOT to post the next chapter ASAP!!

Ah, poor Millaea.  She is confronted with the tyranny of 'choice'.  She must choose between two opposed views.  One has the tug of "family".  The other "nurture".  She is Aethan.  She is Jedi.  She is both.

She is neither.

I fear for her choice, more than anything else, because I fear she will choose a third option.  "Not to play."

Meanwhile, Coruscant burns...

She watched with a strange feeling of detachment as the Jedi scurried about, organising teams to try and control the chaos that was turning the planet city upside down. 

The police forces had called on the Jedi soon after what they believed were random attacks had begun.

Soryu, still not fully recovered and Yoren were hunched over the main console directing what teams they could, Kimar was running around yammering on how to respond to the innumerable queries from Senators and Journalists…his aura was fear driving toward hatred..

She could feel the battle mediation being applied to the emergency response, hear the frantic calls from the Media being addressed with empty platitudes…

All the threads were coming together…a tapestry of fate perhaps…she could pick them all up in this room, take over the co-ordination, stream line it, improve it, the Jedi could easily regain control if they just…just saw what she saw…if she told them…

“Divert teams 16 and 22 to the Mining Crop docks,” she said half in a trance,

“What,” Yoren looked up,

“Divert teams 16 and 22 to the Mining Crop docks, it’s where they will hit next…” He looked at her oddly,

“How do you know,” asked Soryu ever ready to encourage her,

“It’s the pattern they’re using…the…activations are moving in a triple helix through the levels from the Works toward the Senate, Hi, Mid then low, each time alternating through each sector of the city in a helix pattern…”

Yoren punched some keys, filtering and analysing the data,

“You’re right…Kissara, Nue’Ta, redirect to Mining Corp Tower docks,” he added on the comm. 

“Milaea…what else can you see,” Soryu asked gesturing her to come forward.

For the two few hours she was in total control, directing the entire Jedi Order, and then the Police response as well from the crisis centre.

First she could sense them just after they happened…then as she learned the pattern just before, the police able to restrain the hypnotized victims.  She could see the plan not just on the holo projectors but in the force, a web of lines and points…a planet spanning battle map…she began to feel the mind of the person who had created it…the cunning, vicious and merciless intent behind it….

The power, the co-ordination…the malice behind such an attack…to manipulate thousands of people to kill randomly…to use them as tools and care nothing for the consequences on hundreds of thousands of civilians…

It was…not evil…it was pure brutal genius…A part of her told her she shouldn’t be in awe of such a thing, yet another part was jealous not to have thought of it first.

A thousand mythologies feared primordial Chaos as the true enemy of sentients, a manifestation of society’s terror of individuals tearing up the social contract and reverting to primal desires…

This was what was being unleashed upon the planet – a mind with no social consciousness of her own had stripped it off of others and set them free.   

Wait…how did she know it was a ‘Her’? She felt the movements, traced the lines…she just needed to follow them...to…

Fire…Blazing fire…it struck in her mind,

“Mili,” Soryu yelled, she opened her eyes and noticed she was on the floor,

“what’s happening are you alright!”  he called for a medic,

She waved the help away, “I…I’ve found her…the woman behind this…there is more, she’s planning far worse than this…”  she sat in a meditative pose and charged back into the mental highways, she now knew what to look for amongst the multi coloured lights of the aura’s of billions of Coruscanti citizens, the blazing hate filled fire.

It tried to hide itself amongst a large group of people, it struck out with flaming mental tendrils when she approached, Milaea let them wash over her mind, this woman could not harm her, only delay her. 

Raging torrents of flame came at her from every direction, but she would not be distracted, she was the air, incapable of burning.

She pressed against the fire…walking straight into it, it buckled with surprise that anything could be stronger than it…she searched the flickering flames for intent…

“I need to go right now,” she said back in her body,

“What where,” Soryu asked,

“To stop her from setting this planet on fire,”
********************************************************************************************

Check C42 on the previous page first!!!
Jedi bitch….her head hurt but she quickly recovered.  

She was pressed into the main intersection of the air conditioning system of the Coruscant Grand Opera, her skills in infiltration and mind control had been put to the test already tonight…but now she needed to move quickly the Aethan raised as a Jedi that Valens put so much store in, Milaea, was onto her.  

She sent a quiet thin line of warning to the others, Adaea and Maeson were overseeing the activation of the pawns whilst Selaena and Lyaea had finished stoking the riots - handing out what few thermal detonators they had time to purchase to the thankful denizens of the under levels- and were preparing the extraction.  

They had spent the last few days criss-crossing Coruscant planting the seeds of control in people’s minds, priming them for a tick of the clock when their most base desires would be magnified and unleashed, it was so easy to push non-Aethan minds from annoyance and frustration into indiscriminate slaughter, they had done nothing more than take away their ridiculous moral restraint and suggested a time, place and appropriate instruments with which to enact their innate violence….but now Milaea was onto them.

She let her annoyance at being caught open the gates to her burning hatred, in the cramped confines she let the blue flames flicker to life and with the precision she had learned cracking safes and security systems she directed the streams down the memorized network of air ducts straight into the oblivious audience of some 5000 of Coruscant’s richest and gaudiest.

This was the third part of her plan…Jarys and Valens had set the under levels alight, the others had set the mid to high tiers alight…now she would hit at the true Elite…the Senate might not care for the riots…but they would hammer the politically Jedi once their own rich friends were in the line of fire…speaking of…

Even here deep in the plant rooms she started to hear the screams, and feel the life’s winking out.  She kept the blue glowing flow going a moment longer…but she couldn’t go all the way as she had planned with Milaea on to her.  She used her aetherically enhanced dexterity to slide back to the maintenance hatch and out.  

She raced through the plant halls toward her hover car, an emergency exit burst open behind her, aliens of all kinds in expensive charred clothes were trying to bat out the blue flames, to corridors smoke alarms activated and water and suppressants sprayed down…

They had no clue that aetheric fire was immune to such things…it was powered by hate, anger, fear…all the things she had felt when her people were massacred and enslaved before her…not simple chemistry.  

They flailed and tumbled into the shallow pools of water, but it did no good, the smoke kept rising and the flesh kept charring.

Another door opened before her and she pushed through the gaggle of screaming crying beasts, she could sense her flyer and telekinetically started the engines up.  

Bursting through the emergency exit she leapt straight into the open hatch, punching the accelerator as soon as she landed.  She could not fail her people.  So far the distraction was working, the Jedi were scattered across the planet trying to deal with their pawns…but…

She turned hard to the right…she was here!

Milaea was chasing her, she noted the white and red Corusci speeder in her rear view monitor.  This was unexpected…nonetheless Valens and Jarys still had other tasks in the Temple, if it were left to Kiraea to deal with Milaea so be it.  Yes she was strong, but surely she was no Guardian.

She set the ship on auto pilot headed straight for the Works where she had set the ground work for her plan days before, she was to infiltrate and disable the safeties on several of the geothermal power generators, igniting the industrial sector in blaze of destruction as the lava spewed out, the final crisis to send the Jedi in a spin.  But if she could take Milaea here that wouldn’t be necessary – just fireworks to celebrate their reunion.

Unfortunately she could feel her younger sister’s deadly intent…this called for some tough love. She slipped out of her seat and opened the side door ignoring the warning light, summoning a rifle Selaena had gifted her.  Peeking out against the wind she opened fire.  

The shots sped back, ominous red energy surrounding black cores, Milaeas speeder accelerated toward them, the bolts deflected off to the side without much effort.  Kiraea suspected as much.  She read the patterns of traffic and started grabbing at the hover cars beside the Corusci and bashed them with the aether into her path.  Again she expertly pivoted out of the way mere seconds before being hit.  She was so proud of Milaea!  

As she had to take her alive…that put Kiraea at a significant disadvantage….but if Milaea couldn’t take a beating what good was she.

She leapt onto the back of the speeder and steadied herself with the aether. “Now let’s see how much of a Jedi you are”…She unleashed.

Searing arm sized chunks of concentrated aetheric fire jetted from her palms, not at Milaea, but at buildings and speeders all about.  Explosions rocked the Corusci back and forth, the traffic lines began to crumple as the auto pilots on most cars struggled to deal with the surge in hazards.  Windows shattered and beings flew from the towers to escape the hate filled flames.  

Yet Milaea just kept at her, drawing ever nearer, seemingly ignoring the deaths of so called innocents, she sent another bolt into a large carrier filled with petrified Aqualish, it blew apart in the centre raining little people into the depths.  

A Jedi ought to help these aliens as Kiraea understood it…or at least do more than this to stop her.  

“Come On!” she shouted into the howling air, blasting a balcony party of at least 30 beings into superheated oblivion.  

As if in answer the Corusci door opened and a lithe form flipped to the top of the speeder, a mane of golden red hair contrasting with the amethyst sabres glow.  It was a stunning sight that almost distracted Kiraea from the shikkars Milaea had quietly sent her way.  

With a snide smirk she crushed the glass into glistening green fragments as her speeder shuddered, Milaea was both using the aether to slow Kiraea’s speeder and hasten her own.  They were barely 6 metres apart now still headed to the works.  Good let her waste her concentration matching the machines speeds.

“Nice try, but I’ve seen those trinkets before,” Kiraea yelled across the rushing winds,

“I know what you’re planning, but why?”  She yelled back,

Kiraea smiled, “Haven’t you ever just wanted to see a world burn?”  she fired three blasts at the girl,

The first exploded against her sabre, the others she deflected with the aether, it was enough distraction for Kiraea to fire more shots with her hold out pistols that she floated by her side.  As the fiery explosions died down the blasters were suddenly burst apart by their own defected bolts.

“Nice Try,” Milaea called, “But I’ve seen those tricks before,”

Smart mouthed little tralk – Kiraea liked her

She let her annoyance power her, grasping two nearby hover cars and sending them flying at her while launching another wave of flames.  The girl elegantly dealt with the attacks, a neat deflection, and then diversion of one car back at Kiraea, she crumpled it with her mind cutting its velocity and sending it plummeting a screaming Bith inside.

“Not very Jedi like,”  She called,

Milaea shrugged then surged forward, a massive aetheric blast pushed at Kiraea almost knocking her off, but it was enough distraction to allow Milaea to leap the gap and land before her, amethyst bade sweeping for her legs.  She leapt quickly and moved to pull her Beskar short sword from her thigh sheath – but Milaea pinned it in place in the air and their velocity sent them straight past it.

Fine the hard way.  She turned her anger into a shield of Lighting around her as she dodged the girls precise arcs and battering pushes.  In return she shot precise arcs of lighting and blasts of flame, grasping at what nearby cars she could flinging them at the girl.   She was trying to press on her mind as well, Submit, surrender, retreat….it was strong but not especially subtle.  

More and more Kiraea was on the defensive, she was fast but this girl was faster and had a far deadlier weapon, her lightning was just curving over the girl not scorching, and every hover car she tossed her way the girl leapt aside or pivoted to avoid, indifferent to the fact they ended up smashing into the sides of the buildings.  In their wake blue and yellow fire rose from the cratered and smashed sides of skyscrapers.

The buildings were getting lower and the traffic sparser as they approached the Works, and Kiraea getting ever closer to being sliced to pieces.
She needed to get off this thing.  Ducking beneath a high slash then countering a hard hitting knee with her forearm she surged a blast of lightning into the speeder.  

Small explosions rocked its direction as the electronics exploded, the girl became wrong footed Kiraea took advantage with a rapid fist to her chest as the speeder began to descend.  She made a wide arc with the sabre to buy herself space but another jolt let Kiraea drive her elbow into the girls shoulder with a sickening pop.  

The aether burst with fury an overwhelming blast flung her off into the empty skies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She landed heavily on an old industrial roof cluttered with catwalks, ventilation ducts and solar collectors that ranged from 50 to 300 years old by the looks of them.  

The speeder had smashed down onto a building across a narrow but very deep gap, sparks and smoke issued from the crater.  

She could sense the other woman somewhere…largely unharmed, but tiring.

She took the brief respite to flood the force into her as she popped her shoulder back in…no longer restrained by her own fear she found she could heal almost any minor injury like that completely in moments…perhaps even major ones, though she had no desire to find out.

She scanned the area with the force and her senses….the wanton destruction this woman…and whoever was helping her…were willing to inflict was terrifying…what could make someone so…indifferent to the suffering of others…

But then she recalled what had happened with the Gray…what had happened on a dozen missions…it wasn’t so hard to imagine - slipping unthinkingly into that state of mind…that saw other beings a mere obstacles to your goals…even for a Jedi that is what ended up happening…these smugglers or pirates were opposing the Republic and it was just easier to kill them than try and rehabilitate, to address the complex social, cultural and economic issues that had led to this situation.  

But that was a topic to investigate another time…
She rolled to avoid the brutally charged knee of the woman as it smashed a lighting accented crater into the concrete beside her.  

Rising into mid guard she deflected two more of the fiery bolts this woman was expert in.  She had such a raging aura about her…so familiar…she leapt forward with lightning clad fists…as she ducked the blows she smelt her…she could viscerally smell her…she hadn’t noticed with the wind racing any traces of pheromones away on the speeder.

She turned into a low cut, she didn’t want to hurt the woman if she could avoid it, but she had to stop her.  That smell…familiar...it activated something in her…memories…of her past life, so like…Valens…and the Sith of Cygrat…of course she was one of them…they were all of her People.  She was embarrassed it had taken her this long to figure it out…No she had known she just hadn’t wanted to admit it.

Her opponents advantage was the variety of techniques she used, Milaea could sense she was weaker in every other measure as she dodged another ream of fire.  The Jedi always avoided methods like this…it led to the darkside…yet how could a technique in and of itself be evil…Sith and Jedi both used lightsabres…

She twisted away from another lighting sheathed kick and returned a quick heel strike to the back of the woman’s balancing leg.  

She gazed at her own amethyst blade…she didn’t need this...this wasn’t the way to fight…someone who smelled as she did…it was unfair to fight one of her People like that.  

That part of her that was still a Jedi warned her not to, but she switched the blade off.   That same part screamed as she copied the woman’s technique and let her raw power form in electrical blue, then purple arcs across her body.  

For the first time she had intentionally conjured force lighting.

The woman staggered a little but a surge of the force soon restore her muscles.  The expression on her smooth face was almost…respectful, admiring.  

“You are one of us after all,” her voice was soft and genuine affection suffused the force.  She spread her arms as if to hug her, “We can spar later Milaea, come here sister!”  

Milaea kept her fists in a high guard, her fighting stance firm as she became accustomed to the flicker of energy about her.  Her words were…honest…but to join her…to stake her claim to her cause…after what this woman had intended to do….she couldn’t.

“I don’t want to join you…but I don’t want to fight you,”  

She shook her head, “You’re confused my love, I understand Valens told us you were brought up by the Jedi…but you know why that had to happen…” her eyes flashed with burning rage,

“Because they destroyed your family and destroyed our home, we had to compromise to protect you, now you can stand on your own, come back home, help us rebuild,”

“You can’t hold the Jedi, or the people or Coruscant responsible for what happened, I’m not coming with you…but knowing that won’t stop you will it,”

She laughed, “No…no it won’t,”  

She lunged forward, her fist smashed into Milaea’s forearm block with a crackling brutal impact that shook her whole body.  She responded in kind with a low kick to her side.  The air cracked and sparked with their shields, the arcs danced in time with their fists, feet and bodies as they clashed.  

Blow by blow they wore each other down, each hit charged with enough force energy to break a ferrocrete pillar…yet they each withstood the hits, their inhuman genes and unnatural force energies allowed them to take and deal dozens of blows any one of which would kill a wookie outright.

She began trying all kinds of tricks, force illusions, perceptual distortions, mental images of Sofa or Soryu being tortured, force synthesized sounds behind her…everyone allowed her to notch another blow on Milaea…but only ever once, no trick or combination worked twice.  

This was not a woman used to losing, she could sense the frustration building, and see it visibly as she fired off more and more streams of force fire.  

Her skin was raw and bruised, her body aching from the fight, yet she knew as much as she was wearing out, her opponent was twice that.  The fight shifted when she landed a blow to the woman’s ribs, she stumbled back instead of countering as she had been.  She caught the bleated kick back, twisted it in her arm and flung her into a spin, she landed heavily but was physically swaying.  Another hit to her shoulder put her down again, a short kick into her shin had her on her knees.

Her shield of lightning flickered and failed, her dark brown hair matted with sweat, face gaunt, illuminated in the night only by Milaea’s purple arcs of energy.  

“Enough Yorna….lets go home….”  
Milaea wasn’t sure if she was trying on a trick or simply confused with exhaustion.

The building shook as yellow light burgeoned from an explosion deeper in the Works casting their figures into black silhouettes,
Milaea kept her eyes on the woman’s face as some lucidity returned,
“Plan B bitch,” she said,

“What have you done,” Milaea pressed on her weary mind drawing out the information she needed

“Ehh…we didn’t have enough explosives…that’s why I needed to be there…the safeties are sabotaged but…ahh…if you’re quick…” she looked back toward the main city,

Another explosion…

This time not in the physical world but in the force…an earthquake of…
Black...
Ugly…
Hideous emotions almost swept her off her feet, sudden but…then subsiding…in the aftermath was…

The balance…the underlying flow of the force she had been so accustomed to feeling on Coruscant was changed…slightly ever so slightly tuned toward the darkness…some balance had been…not lost…taken.

The riots…the madness…it would all intensify…her enhanced mind performed eldritch calculations of how a shift in the aether would effect physical reality…it would triple instantly and take twice as long to subside..

Wait…had she just thought the word Aether….

“You’re strong my love…but we’re still a lot smarter than you…” she said in a ragged voice

Milaea’s stomach sank…this had all been a distraction…destroying the works, unleashing hordes of mind controlled killers…destabilization that would leave a terrible Legacy in the Force…all simply ways to get the Jedi out of the temple…just so they could get to her…if she had just gone to them willingly….  

She re-ignited her amethyst blade and placed it at her throat.

“What is your name,” something about those words chilled her…a phantom of another time…another life

“Kiraea…daughter of Yilaea and Karan, student of Karintha, sister of Yorna…their stories….”  she paused with the strain of speaking and a sadness echoed in the force,  

“I carry with me…” There was a sense of pride and loss in her words that Milaea tried desperately not feel sympathy for…

Yet she failed…

For in Kiraea’s eyes she saw the pain that drove her to inflict it indifferently on others…and the tremendous love for her own…for Milaea herself…her incomprehension that her little sister Milaea could consider this fight as anything more than a sisterly tumble…she was in just as much need of healing as anyone she had harmed.

“Well Kiraea…daughter of Yilaea and Karan, Student of Karintha, sister of Yorna…if I weren’t a Jedi…and you weren’t one of my People…I would execute you…” she switched the blade off and headed back towards the burning Works

“Which of those reasons is stronger Milaea?”  Kiraea called after her, stumbling and unable to stand.

“I’m not sure” she whispered.
********************************************************************************************

Brilliance, fueled by the madness of indifference, played expertly across an entire city-planet, with looming implications the Jedi have never even fathomed.  Milaea, seeing the pattern of the movement, the only one who seems able to look beyond her nose, takes a step toward the Order, helping, calling out the patterns, yet still she is limited by her upbringing, and sees only as far as that.  Then a moment of insight and a choice made, run to the architect, stop her from unleashing fiery hell upon the planet, ignorant to the ways in which that will change little, and play partly into the hands of the aggressors.  A chase and battle, worthy of epic song, if any there ever were, with Milaea learning more and more of how to fight as the being she is, as she simultaneously takes steps away from the Jedi she was raised to be.  Single minded focus, disregarding the deaths meant to distract her, she becomes a part of it, bearing down upon her target, only to best her, then let her live to loyalties split between her teachings and her genetics, still no closer to knowing what her choice will be...

Success!!! I caught up. :D Wonderful chapters. No possible way I could remember everything that needed commenting on, but from these last two chapters have enough to start with. I loved that Milaea was able to see the pattern in the attacks that seemed so random. And that she actually decided to act for the good of the planet. Yes she is struggling with which path to chose, but at the same time, she is forced because of it to chose the only path that is right. Her fight with Kiraea is scary. These are two titans fighting against each other, not knowing which one actually has the advantage. One has more techniques at her disposal, while the other is significantly more powerful. And even by the end, once she accepts that she is an Aethan (even using the word Aether once), she still is undecided about which pathway to chose. Like Karm said in an earlier reply, Milaea may yet chose a path not expected. One that is neither the Jedi, nor the Aethans, but her own path. I am excited to see whether she does or not.

A few random things that I remember liking from past chapters.

Mentions to Ahch-To and Porgs
Reference to the "Collected Poems of Illyiss"
Soryu's wisdom
Valens' and Jarys' comradory
Lyaea's and Selanae's reunion.
All of TD's Karm's, and Illyiss' comments. :D

Wonderful job so far, I only wish I had been able to comment on everything as I read it.

Wow those were some whirlwind chapters!  I like that Milaea is taking a third option but DAMN is Kiraea making it difficult to maintain an Olympian view, the warring sides of her Aethan heritage with her Jedi upbringing.  But what writing!  The action: edge of your seat!  The drama: Shakespeare has nothing on you!  The explosions: Michael Bay could learn a thing or two!

I absolutely love the exchange between Milaea and Kiraea: despite the fact that they are adversaries and at odds with one another, I think that there is sincere love...at least on Mimi's side.  Kiraea?  ...That's a tough one...

But this proves that only imagination (heh, and cognitive dissonance) are strictures for what one can do with the Force.  I'll say it again--and I'm including Karm, TR, TDC, Illyiss, and (at the risk of sounding immodest) myself--LSG: THIS is what SW should be!!!

You guys are awesome!

Modesty is for the controlled. ;)  Thank you, good sir, and you belong in that list.

Echoing others: This was an amazing and deep chapter sequence.  Millaea helping the Jedi, knowing she was going up against her own people, but deep inside the drive to save innocent lives is strongly instilled.  Her outlook on the other people of the galaxy is very different than her sister's.  I do not believe the Aethans see anyone else as a true "person".  They are inferiors that can be used and discarded at need.  Sure, you don't go out of your way to hurt or harm, but you don't worry about doing it if you need to either.  Kind of like the way I think about spiders...

ON the other side, Kiraea burns with her hatred.  I am honestly surprised that this hasn't burned her up by now.  Smarter they are.  Stronger.  Genetically superior.  But they are still people, and deep down that will destroy them if they don't eventually learn to live in peace.

Millaea is the key to them truly bridging that gap.  I fear they will not turn it.

Thanks All Sounds like that chapter went well!  And thanks for your patience things are now coming to a close (?) so watch this space!

(https://thumb.ibb.co/jTAKiS/Jarys_1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jTAKiS)

“Ahh,”  He sighed contentedly behind his helmet as a spray of globby green fluids coated his armour and the mutant beast with five legs and leathery brown skin flopped before him,

“It’s good to fight together again,” he felt his brother’s presence amongst the dying pools of a gaggle of other creatures…mutants that inhabited the under levels of Coruscant.  

“But,” he added, “It will be better when we don’t have to fight at all…” he wiped chucks of quivering flesh from his tremor sword

“Our war for survival never ends….” Valens countered stomping a ganger’s rebreather covered face into the corroded metal floor, “but yes…at least we can stop fighting these…others, start living…”

Since the first riot they’d incited six more working through roughly levels 2-50 …since they left the last hovel it had been a near constant fight against mutants, gangs, outcasts, strays…all manner of beings that stalked these humid and toxic levels.  

Hundreds had tried to rob them, kill them or eat them…every last one of them was now a smouldering or bloody wreck.  

“Might as well rest here…we’re close,”  Valens said

“Kiraea should be starting soon,” Jarys added checking his helmets chronometer

“Speaking of which…she’s a strong woman…determined bold…” he hinted not too subtly,

“You want to set me up with her?” Valens asked,

“Not you…you’re more suited to Adaea I think,”  

Valens sighed…Jarys could feel his reluctance in the force…They had both lost their wives…for Jarys when he saw the footage of Cilina dead…it had just confirmed what he long suspected…he could deal with that…he would carry her with him, and avenge her by saving their daughter from the Jedi…but for Valens there was no such consolation…he had seen his wife twisted and tortured, killed before his eyes…he was a deep feeling person, that pain still haunted him.

“Ughh…this isn’t the time…”

“We’ve been lost for twenty years…there is no time to waste!”  he said firmly,

“You don’t under…when I brought her back…it was on condition she bring them back…once she returns to us…”

Jarys crossed his arms incredulous,

“do you truly think my daughter can bring the dead back to life?”

“She has powers beyond even what I can understand…she already just about did after you belted the life out of Sofa on Cygrat,”  

Oddly that wasn’t as much as sore point between them as Jarys had feared…but he suspected it would be different had he actually killed Sofa or Milaea not healed her. That reminded Jarys

“Speaking of whom, what happened to her, you took her into that bedroom and she never came out,”

“Kiraea took her,”

“Alive?”,

“I have no problem with you and Kiraea…the Republic would never sleep soundly were you to have children…”  

He was about to press when he sensed it…six, three closing on each of them.  Valens leapt up onto a rickety broken catwalk with a grace that bellied the heavy armour, Jarys stood firm and raised his rifle.  

As soon as the first limb peeked from behind a rusted cabinet he fired, the shot speared through the enviro-suit hissing gasses and eliciting a cry.  Two stun grenade flew out, he caught them as easily as a he had rocks in games of flying stones back home and sent them sailing back, more squeals followed.

The top half of a body in an enviro suit flopped to the ground beside him, then a head from another body…he sensed the attackers fleeing.

“Why do they bother” Jarys asked through his helmet comm,

“They have little choice…this is the legacy of centuries of Republic neglect…the rotten core at their heart,” Valens replied leaping down.

Jarys shook his head, “Just like the rim, full of the desperate and the dangerous…the Jedi, the Senate…why even pretend, why not just admit they are as corrupt and complicit as the frelling Hutt’s,”  

Valens shrugged, “They like their illusions too much,”

Jarys looked up the towering edifice of a skyscrapers foundation as though he could see her up there

“Kiraea will soon dispel it for them,” he noted as they rose to continue on.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Entrance was covered by auto turrets, both alongside and in a bunker opposite the door way.  Three Jedi stood guard…he could feel their nervousness…normally no one would be down here…but with the riots so close they would not take chances.

“How do you want to play this?” Valens asked through the comm, only a few metres away he was invisible in the dense green smog of the under levels.

“I’ll take care of it,” he replied.

The entrance was on the edge of the Temples foundations, the lowest entryway without having to tunnel in.  The Jedi were on edge…annoyed they were not on the front lines…he could hear the thin sound of the comm from their envrio-suits as he leapt from I beam to I beam amongst the jumble of trusses and struts that supported the buildings foundations by splaying the weight outward.

He let the aether flow through him in a cooling stream to lower the temperature around him avoiding the auto-turrets heat sensors stalking ever closer the sounds of his armour dampened by the aether…not that it was really necessary amongst the clanks and hiss of the pipes and vents…but it was good practice.

“Another sector lost…” said one voice distorted by their rebreather

“It’s getting worse…”

“We should be out there…”

“And get ourselves killed! After what happened in the East Hangar…Better here than out there…I tell you those Sith are too smart for us…they won’t attack the Temple again…they’ll draw us out pick us off one by one…”

Jarys smiled at how poorly they understood as he dropped down silently behind them, the aether flowing around him gently as though he were a pebble on a river bed…all flowed past, it caused on ripples only subtly shifting the stream as it needed to.

“There’s only two of them, the Sentinels will catch him soon enough…”

“Like Fergo and Hmmum?”

“They didn’t know what they were up against Kirkut does…once Yshrrk’s back from Kashyyyk with Oma…not even the Sith would take on a three metre tall Wookie Sentinel”

Jarys pursed his lips…that sounded like a challenge. He quietly drew his dagger.

“I don’t know they don’t seem like Sith…I met Valens a few times…he’s damn clever and cold as Ilum …”

“Yeah and crazy a Gungan on spice,”

“That’s really racist you know…” one chided, “I can’t help think more is going on here…the Councils not saying much…and that tells me a lot”

“The guys spaced, what more is there to know, Kimar’ll have his head,”

“Don’t you think that could be part of the prob…”

He aetherically lifted a piece of scrap at the far end of the clearing and let it drop, the turrets immediately repointed, the Jedi sabres out in an instant

“What was that…”

“Check it out,”

“no way you go,”

“Ugh it’s probably just a valve or something,” the middle one headed forward yellow sabre pointed ahead as Jarys gently worked the knife on the Jedi in fronts pouch, slicing into to grab the ident card before springing up.  

Arm around the Jedi’s throat he crushed it in an instant as his dagger plunged silently into the spine.  

Letting go he sidestepped behind the other as it turned to regard the flopping form of its companion.

“Hey…what….”

The momentum of his step carried Jarys arms through in a twist snapping the neck.  

With the ident card on his person the turrets ignored him as the other Jedi turned back around,

“Just a womp….”  The dagger was firmly planted between his eyes before he had time to finish the sentence. A flick of his wrist sent thin bolts of energy into the turrets overloading their circuitry with indifference.

Not bad...but he really needed more stealth practice he mused.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The caverns beneath the temple reminded him of the dead lands of Aethas…ruins ancient beyond understanding, but still suffused with the aether.  

“Check this out!”  he said excitedly before a door with strange Runes, “haven’t seen an aetheric mind trapped door in years…that one Melron showed us…this ones much more functional…”  He could feel the mind trap pushing him to kill his brother and then himself…it was strong in its own way…but not strong enough.

“I saw that one years ago…” Valens replied, “Never got around to opening it, maybe someone else will,”  

The went down, then up, then down some more heading to what Valens had termed the Spire. The remnants of so many dead cults and Jedi…it was a sobering thought…everything died…

He tasted a thin scent on the air…a feminine sweetness…Milaea had been down here recently…

“You alright,” Valens clapped his back as he paused,

“Just thinking…so much loss…” he spoke not of the Jedi and the others who had come here but his own kind,

“Too much…” Valens replied  
“You’ll see her soon brother…”

When they finally reached the dark portal he began to feel it…a churning in the aether, a back and forth, a dynamic equilibrium.  


When they finally reached the dark portal he began to feel it…a churning in the aether, a back and forth, a dynamic equilibrium.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(https://thumb.ibb.co/fLmiCx/crystal.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fLmiCx)
The cave was full of crystals in the all colours and light...shielded by force illusions...strong ones it had to be said.  

“Grab as many as you can carry,” he told Jarys whilst prising out one with the Aether

“We might not have a chance to get more any time soon…especially form here.” Jarys obliged picking one of each colour within his reach.

The Monolith was an ancient thing, deep beneath the temple…created long ago by the ancient ‘Kings of the Hill  -the Mak’Tor, and added to most crucially by Jim Xandin, an early Kage.  

What he had come here for sat in a pit lit from below flanked by two lamps, the aether echoed, twisted and turned in a rhythm, a song Odjina would’ve said, it suffused the room and diffused across the entire planet.  He stepped down the stairs toward it, the aether of the place immediately began to resist him…it could feel the emptiness he carried with him…

This was a place of balance, he was a walking vessel of the dead.  He pushed past its resistance by sucking the repulsive energies into the hungry emptiness of the death he carried…its energies were strong…yet the insatiable desire of a thousand Aethans to live again was something the people who built this place could never have anticipated defending against.  

He found the hidden latch and opened it with the aether, the monoliths outer shell rose to reveal the three crystals, one red for what the Jedi would call dark, and one yellow for their light side the one in the middle a shifting orange blend for balance.  

“What’s the point of all this”  Jarys asked behind him, his blunt tone seemed disrespectful for a place of such power, but Aethans were not known for respecting…well anything or anyone other than their own.

“An ancient shrine to balance the aether,” Valens replied peering at the crystals with the aether, using the shatter-point and white current techniques to see the flaws in them and dispel any illusions.  Odjina’s memories had furnished him with a detailed knowledge of this place…still there were things about this place even the Kage had not fully understood.

“Right...” Jarys was catching on…”And you’re going to destabilize it…send those Jedi and all Kiraea’s toys into a spin,”  

“Precisely” he fixed his eyes on the yellow crystal

“It will let what they call the Dark Side permeate more…the Jedi try and regulate and suppress emotions like fear, anger, pride, with the aether, this will make it more difficult.”

“Dark Side?” Jarys inquired

“Of the aether…they apply moral categories to it,”

“Fools,” Jarys spat,

“Exactly…that is why they hold themselves back, and that is why they will never let us be…we are an abomination…anathema to their dogma, just as their beliefs are to our culture.”

“How did you put up with them for so long?” Jarys asked poking at one of the lamps

Valens just shook his head and reached for the light crystal…it fought him…pushed his hand back with a righteous fury…it didn’t want to be broken free, it was part of a grander melody than his petty scheming…it was as though the crystal could think back at him as well as push…it was alive in a way…

Do not break the balance…it cried

Abomination…kill it!!!, the dark crystal screamed at him in equal measure

He felt the attack come…but he had plans of his own…he touched the phantom of his people…he smiled viciously…yes…this was the truth.  

“Your light and dark are false idols” he screamed, “There is no good, no evil, only life….” With all the strength he could muster he surrounded the ghosts of the dead that he had carried with him since the day he had pulled Aethena’s power out of the altar into Milaea -

“AND DEATH” he whispered with a scream

He pushed it out of himself

The ghostly image of his Grandfather tore free from him at last…a huge weight lifted from him immediately.  Jarys stared in astonishment as he saw his grand fathers apparition stare at the Light crystal…the face they had known as children turned rotten and vicious…like a hungry vampiric ghoul of old…the true face of the dead.

Finally…finally it had found something it could fill its empty hunger with…it plunged into a ghostly white beam straight into the yellow crystal.

The aether crumpled into an implosion as the yellow light of the crystal lost all luminosity….then exploded out as the strength of the death ate the light energies….a black hole sucking in a stars brightness and spewing forth an overload of darkness into the galaxy as the Red crystals energy pushed against an empty shell.


The crystal turned dark…muddy yellow-brown and fell from its slot as the Orange crystal with what balance it had accumulated fought to regain some normality…it would last for a time…but the balance had shifted irrevocably until it could be properly replaced…and with the last great Singer dead by his hands…it could take centuries.  

He fell to his knees…not in exhaustion…but strength…the dead legacy of the power he had used to resurrect and reforge Aethena into Milaea was finally gone from him…He smiled broadly…all that remained was the memory of the techniques he had forged with it…an understanding of the power of aetheric phantoms no one else could ever match….

Jarys was beside him, he felt himself being turned as Jarys checked him over,

“That looked dangerous, you alright brother…I can’t lose you so soon…”

“It was…but it’s done.”  He rose with Jarys help, feeling his true strength returning.

“Was that…was that Grandpa?” Jarys asked,

He shook his head…”No…not in the way a usual aetheric ghost exists…that was…something left behind….”  He stood and brushed himself off…finally free and back to his full power.

“We have the window we need, the Jedi will struggle to adapt to the new flow of the aether…play on Yorens pride and arrogance…he is a proud man, use that to kill him”

Jarys nodded, their arms still grasped, Valens looked around the room now darkened, the crystals supressed by the imbalance.  

“Now brother…” Valens said intently pulling his Jarys closer, “We find your daughter,”
*********************************************************************************************************************

Thanks to Dutchman for his amazing Contributions to this!
(https://thumb.ibb.co/frq23S/MAdness.jpg) (https://ibb.co/frq23S)

“What the frell was that!” Yoren slurred as he struggled to stay standing after the dark tide had struck them from somewhere…somewhere below…

Soryu tried to shake off the dank oil he felt himself dripping with…but like oil it felt sticky and scrubbing at it just moved it around rather than soaking it away.

“I…I don’t know…” there could be no doubt now, if there had been before, this was a co-ordinated attack on the whole planet…and now an attack on the force directly…

“You’re always bleating about being in tune with the living force…” Yoren snapped, his tolerance already drained by six hours of coordinating the response effort.  The room was empty apart from the two of them, every other Jedi was out there fighting to regain control apart from the padawans and a handful of Masters in lock down.

“There was nothing living about that…” Soryu said quietly.

The air remained punctuated by the whining beeps of City Security Holo Cams sending alerts as their algorithms detected violence…but what was previously a second by second beeping now ramped up to a hideous drone.

“Frell…” Yoren stared at the tactical readout as the blue map of the city slowly turned ever more red with alerts

“Frell, frell, FRELL” Yoren was not normally the kind to swear…even in such a stressful situation…could the dark explosion have…

“Where do we even start…Team 74 head to Uscru District, Team 89 Dea plaza…” Yoren directed one hand propping up his head.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Golban did a good trade…refurbishing and scraping ident codes off rifles and blasters, he could buy ‘used’ rifles for around 200-300 credits and resell clean ones for 600-700. 

With his store on Level 61 Section14 C he was high enough to get business from the mid-tier gangsters, but low enough to escape notice.

Flicking the button under the desk, behind his electro-cage he opened up for the night – more customers by far after dark -  the door swinging open…and to his surprise two customers already, a large Male and small non male.  His eyes scanned them…odd combination, the male had the right look, chipped armour, the woman looked too well dressed in the hooded robe…he never understood human courtship and pairing and had long since given up trying to.

“Welcome to Golban’s  your store for Rifles, Blasters, grenades, all with three month guarantees on the cleaned ident codes, and buy two blasters get a free heat sink!” rang the slightly tinny greeting message as they came in.  The male hung back looking over the rifles behind the trasnparisteel as the non-male approached him.

“Golban…” she said quietly…”Duros…” she paused and stared at him oddly…eh he’d dealt with weirder,

“You’re going to have a busy night Golban…you’re having a sale, 100% off,”

“Yes…I’m having a sale…” It was such a wonderful idea, why hadn’t he thought of it before…if he gave everyone a hundred percent off sales would boom!

“And everyone gets a free detonator with their blaster,” Adaea suggested

“Oh!” he slapped his large head with his hand “Of course…I should give everyone a free detonator!”

“And we’d like a few boxes of thermal detonators, that way we can spread good word of mouth about you,”

“Brilliant!” he beamed, “I’ll get you three boxes straight away!”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She leaned back against the wall, her left foot propped up and knee crooked to give a little thigh away. 

She heard the refresher flush behind her and the male Ootoolan walked out having not washed his hands…gross…what a hypocrite to want to kill his hatch mates for not washing out their apartment’s humidifier filter regularly .

As he left he passed a female Devaronian heading to the refresher to her left, surface thoughts showed her annoyance at being dumped by some male or other.

“Excuse me,” she said pleadingly, she made sure to wet her hair a little and smudged up some lipstick and a tear in her dress, gave her a nice roughed up look that made females willing to try and help and played on the universal rule that every male was willing to believe any given female needed his help.

“Can I help you hon?”

“Yes you can…” Lyaea replied pressing gently on her mind,

“Can you head to sector 32-G and kill every male there…they roughed me up!”

Her eyes glazed slightly and she rocked back a little,

“Bastards…all of them….”  her eyes steeled as she turned back around

She checked her chrono then flicked a glance to her mother who pulled a detonator out of a bag and handed it to the Devornian as she walked past,

“How many left?”

Selaena held up three fingers,

Lyaea nodded, three more and then it was time to get the ships and get out of here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Aquila Varga walked slowly through the square leading to the Galaxies Opera House in the Uscru District, everyone failed to notice the young Bamasian.  But then, why would they notice a lone person walking amongst the masses as they flowed to and fro within the Entertainment District?  Had anyone taken the time, they would have thought that the lavender-skinned woman was speaking as if to herself.

And they be right; she was speaking to herself.  Because her other voice was inside her.

It was telling her where she needed to be, what she had to do prior to arriving, and the specific time for her gift.

As Aquila looked around, seeing all of the rich, opulently dressed crowd, she shook her head as her other voice continued to talk.  Nodding, she agreed that they were deserving of gift, they needed her gift.  They were the entrenched affluent, their method of disenfranchisement subtle and absolutely unyielding.  Yes, yes her eyes were opened.  It was their fault.  They were the reason to blame for everything that was wrong.

But it was her gift that would fix everything; her other voice assured her of this.  And it hadn’t been wrong yet, it had already told her where her fellow activist Golban was posing as an arms dealer who provided her with the gift so enthusiastically.

The Tower of Harena sounded the half-hour, the doors opening to the Galaxies Opera House as the Intermission chimed, disgorging a multitude of theater-goers.  No, Aquila agreed with her other voice, they were criminals. And with that in mind, she readied her gift.

As the crowd reached its height, bodies packed tightly together, reinforcing the smells of perfumes, expensive tabac, and rare spirits, Aquila closed her eyes and, exultant, pressed the button on her gift…
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tsi hit the deck as another volley of red and blue cut into the darkness over the barricade.

Everything here was not fine.

“Suppressive fire, where are the stun nets!” Command Tsi yelled over the tvump tvump tvump of the rioter’s fire…where they had gotten all the weapons from he had no idea.

“Transport got rammed by a speeder en-route sir…” the lieutantnt replied beside him popping his pistol over to loose a few stun shots to keep any more of them sneaking up to the debris constructed barrier, just behind them lay two Sneevels that had gotten up and over it armed to the teeth with vibro knives and sliced poor Officer Tgrut to piece before they blasted them.

“Dren…” without the stun nets this would be a lot harder…already the no-man’s land between their positions was littered with bodies under the nets they had used…but they needed more…it seemed like for every rioter they took down six more appeared twice as angry.

A heavy body slammed behind him and pulled his shoulder around, he almost put a fist through the Officer before realising who it was.
“Sir Jedi support in bound,” Ambrin informed him pointing to the two robed figures rushing forward.

He crouch ran over to them as another volley flew overhead, this time met not just with stun fire but with deflections off an orange and green blade.

“Master Jedi…thank the Maker you’re here…we have them pinned, but we’re out of stun nets,”

“I thought you had permission to use deadly force?” came the burbling voice of the Crolute Jedi, that surprised Tsi…
“We do…but I’d rather avoid any more deaths than necessary…these are our citiz…”

“They are criminals, The Grand Master and Chancellor have demanded a swift end to this, switch your fire to lethal and follow us in,” 

The hulking creature pushed past him, armour glinting beneath the brown as the Lieutenant looked to him for orders.

He sighed,

“Live fire, back up the Jedi,” he called despite himself

They wasted no time leaping the barricade sabres spinning like shields of pure white as they bounced red bolts back, explosions rocked the rioters upturned crates and hovercars as they sent grenades back at them.  He valuted over the barricade…he might not like this but he still needed to lead from the front.

Cover to cover he picked off limbs where he could with his rifle taking a half dozen glancing hits and one solid one to his left shoulder. 

“Forward” he cried in lieu of screaming in pain as his vision briefly reddened before his armours auto-medic injected him with anaesthetics.

Glancing up he saw limbs and heads flying from blackened sabre wounds…were these Kimars guardians of peace and justice?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Risshk A’kazz stood staring at the flashing lights of the CoCo Town Bistro, the only “five-star” diner in the Industrial sector.  And it had earned its fifth star just recently, as the head chef Sitau Thell was wont to tell everyone…which just happened to coincide with Thell’s advancement to the position.

Pure rancor poodoo.

It was Risshk’s menu that had garnered the awards, it was Risshk’s cooking that had drawn the crowds.  But since Thell was pod-cousin to the owner, he got all of the accolades.  And Risshk had said nothing.  Not even when Thell had had him fired did he say anything…

…That is until his other voice had spoken to him…he had just been sitting on the refresher the other day and it just happened…HE was the real chef, HE was the real talent, HE the real master.  It was HIM, Risshk, that had put the Bistro on the map, amazed every critic, from the Corusci Fine Dining Holo-mag to winning a Cream of the Core award HE had pulled them kicking and screaming from a petty “three-stars” into the Avant guard of the culinary world . 

Try telling Thell that though…not only had he been rebuffed but fired to boot!  And how he’d lamented…

But his other voice had given him clarity, given him perspective.  Risshk deserved better, would demand his recognition.  His other voice had promised him.  Otherwise, Risshk agreed with his other voice, they were criminals.

Revving the accelerator to his hauler, Risshk gained velocity as he quickly covered the distance between himself and the diner, the large speeder a missile aimed right at the Bistro’s kitchen.

And right before the chassis of the hauler broke through the bulkhead of the kitchen, Risshk knew that he would finally have his recognition…
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shamus Vrieska had seen his beloved neighbourhood encroached upon by the Bimms and had wondered if they would bring crime along with them, as he’d been told from several of his drinking-mates.  And it seemed, at first, that they were the suspicious types: keeping to themselves, always quiet, never ones to say ‘allo.

But, as time went on, Shamus noticed more and more that they weren’t so much “suspicious” as just…polite and…hospitable.  He made friends with them, both individually and as a community.

And so when he saw that a couple of young punks were terrorizing Sire and Sira Khaar, Shamus got angry.  What right did these punks have to hassle good, law-abid’n folk?  And although Shamus was afraid, he weren’t no coward.  And, Shamus reminded himself, these weren’t punks, they were criminals.

Running out to help the Khaars, Shamus jumped into the fray, confronting the two criminals...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“…Breaking news: The insanity continues with the CoCo Town Bistro burned to the ground as a result of an out-of-control collision from a heavy speeder, killing many of the people within.  Among the casualties was beloved Epicurean Chef Sitau Thell who had given the Bistro its new menu, resulting in a “five-star” rating…emergency response is still yet to put out the fires as…”

“Sorry Gilib we have this just in a suicide-bomber exploded what appears to be an improvised thermal-detonator, killing dozens and wounding hundreds in the Uscru District near the Galaxies Opera House.  We’ve just been sent a link on out Holowitter feed to a broadcast by a former Coruscanti University student with some kind of manifesto…if you have any leads or picts send them to our Holowitter feed on As It Happens @ Coruscant New Network.”

“Thanks Kolbi, CSF Commissioner Orbis maintains that the CSF have the situation under control….”

The frell they do Corrix Hern mused as he switched off the holo news before hopping out of his speeder, wiping the blood from his hand on the door.  The whole place was coming apart…and he was loving it.  Caution to the wind he’d already collected on three bounties…now he was going for his fourth in as many hours…

Another yellow explosion blossomed on the plaza below as private security forces opened fire on an angry mob of what looked like students trying to make their way to the opulent Deas tower…not a CSF officer or droid in sight the wealthy denizens had unleashed their private armies to protect themselves – where the state failed, capitalism succeeded.

Proceeding through the tower opposite he came to the address, apartment 3121-4…he had only taken the job yesterday, usually it would be a week more research and stake outs…but with the cover of insanity he went straight for the jugular. 

A flick of his wrist auto-sliced the door, behind it the target wobbled up on fat legs as the holo screen showed a live feed of the burning opera house.

“Wa…wa….”  Hern didn’t give him a chance, he sprung forward and planted a fist in the flabby mans gut, grasped his arm and pivoted him around in a lock, popping out the shoulder,

“50,000 credits is now 60, you got it!” he seethed with his ‘intimidation’ voice

“I’ll pay, I’ll pay I just need ti…” 

He tugged harder on the arm and stomped on the back of his foot,

“No time, pay now!” It was a good night to be a criminal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tsi pulled off his helmet trying to get a fresh breath…but was met only by the grimy granulated air of the under levels now mingled with burnt blood and fresh death.

The Crolute Jedi held up an amputated Wee’Quay by the throat,

“Who is orchestrating this, where are the leaders of this uprising,”

“E chu ta” it replied, only to be met with a wet cracking as its throat was crushed.

Tsi’s eyes widened in astonishment,

“Master Jedi you can’t just execute a captive!  It’s criminal!”

“Silence, the Grand Masters orders are clear,”

He glanced around the other bodies…the fruits of chaos, disorder – he would uphold the law against anyone who broke it…anyone!

“No that is murder, I am placing you under arrs….ahckk…” his throat choked up instantly

“You dare defy the Grand Master!”

As his eyes started to roll back in his head the swimming thoughts tried to formulate a response in tune with his mother’s lullabies….

Tvump Tvump, Chktssss…bdow bdow

He crumpled on the ground,

“Commander…are you alright,” the Lieutenant hurled him upright as the blood returned to his brain in warm flushes of sanity…in front of him lay the Jedi with three black holes smoking from his chest.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Me Bwaster…” The Gamorrean grunted in the best basic it could manage

“Yes yes of course!” Golban nodded enthusiastically…it was going so well, there was a huge line up! He’d run out of detonators, so was now giving away free stun mines.

“Oh dear…” he suddenly realise he was out of blasters…it had been such a busy Night!

“Oh I am sorry it seems we’re out of stock…all I have is this Vibro Axe…”

“It Do” the bulky green creature snatched it from his hand and wandered off muttering “call me fat…not call me fat no more…chop chop chop…”

Suddenly Golban realized something…if he was to get even more attention he needed to make a big statement…

Pocket…

Pocket…of course his pocket…he still had a detonator

Show off your wares…

Uh! How had he been so stupid, he needed to show how good his explosives were! A Live Demonstration!

Determined he marched straight out of the store, the market street was empty…he needed a crowd, he pulled out the detonator and pressed the activator, once released it would detonate…now he just had to find a crowd to show it to.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“The latest from our feed…a Duros has blown himself and an unknown number of others up in the back of a holo-cinema in the mid-level Tonga shopping district…we’re getting picts from camera comms…” Gilib said deflated

Soryu glanced at the reporters as their desk piled up with ever more hands from nowhere placing new reports before them to read…How many more stories would go unreported, those that Reporter Kolbi now read were the few prominent exceptions as this Night of Madness wore on…

“The Chancellor will be making a statement in half an hour, the Jedi order are…A BUNCH OF FRELLING NERF FRELLERS FRELL FRELL FRELL I WANT MY PROMOTION”

Soryu staggered back himself as the lithe Togruta leapt from the desk onto Gilib and tore at his face before the screen went black, replaced by a picture of an Ugnaught holding two sparking wires [We are Experiencing Technical Difficulties – Back with the latest Soon].

This was a war…a war they could not win…for it was a war they had only just realised they were fighting…the enemy soldiers their own citizens, with no front line and no single field of conflict…against an enemy whose goals he did not understand.

The lingering slick of dark emotions told him who was behind it…only two or three people in the whole Order had the ability and creativity to unleash an attack on the force directly…it would be easy to hate Valens…and the way he felt right now he wanted to…but that would solve nothing…there was too much about this situation he didn’t understand.

He tried to centre himself…to find balance…to seek guidance...be the eye in the heart of the storm of destruction…yet the Force he stood upon had shifted beneath his feet…the landscape changed when he needed stability the most…the other Jedi…might not fare as well…It would be too easy to give into the dark for too many…

Only those who cared nothing for the distinction between light and dark when they called upon the Force would be indifferent to such a shift.

The dark circle beneath Yoren’s eyes seemed somehow more sinister now as he directed the CSF as best he could bereft of Milaea’s insights.

Milaea…where ever she had run off to…it could only be to stop something worse than what was already happening- and whatever that was terrified him.

That girl was their last hope.
********************************************************************************************************************

Wow....  LSG, these are terrific!  *nod to Dutchman* and your contribution as well!  Simply amazing...

The trek under the temple...  Now we finally see what happened to the Mak'Tor shrine.  How the balance was lost.  Its sobering, Karmack worked his BUTT off to fix that.  :-)  and the mind-trap almost killed him anyway.

Amazing.  Simply amazing.  The fight was precise, but the exposition, the weight of what Valens is carrying, the hopes and dreams of an entire race...  Wow.

Yeah, wow! I think we are finally starting to see why there is such a difference between the Jedi of the SW movies, and the Jedi of your stories. It is probably a good thing Yoda isn't around right now. He may be one of the only Jedi left with the correct view of the Force (form a Jedi's perspective anyways). Well done, but I feel it is still just beginning.

Wow LSG...

OK, those chapters were doorstoppers!  But SO many AWESOME scenes!

I have to say: I LOVE how you tied in the Aethans' plan to disrupt the Jedi with Karm's earlier crystal mission.  Inspired! 

Valens' and Jarys' plans to disrupt and demoralize the Jedi is proof of their superior tactics: attacking on multiple fronts, obfuscation, and (literally) scorched earth.  I don't know how (or even IF) Kimar can recover from this!

I wonder what Valens will be like now that he's been divested of the weight of the Aethans' collective presences (quite literally giving up the ghost...).

AWESOME chapters LSG!  Now THIS is the way for Force-users to wage war...

FTFY  ;)