*Note many of these characters, creatures, and places were created by/owned by Lucasfilm and various other people, mostly members of Decipher's Star Wars Message Boards. This story is not meant to infringe on those rights and is solely intended as fan fiction, and a tribute to the loyal BBSers. Others are of my own creation so you can't touch them HA-HA!* Well that said on with the story.
"There will always be darkness. Through the good times it is there. Through the bad times it is there, but when the darkness seems at its strongest there too is the light. Then heroes will rise up, many will be forced to rise up, and others consumed by darkness will ultimately fight against it. Whatever the case tales will be told for centuries without end of those who fought against the darkness."
~From the journal of Barquin Dios, Bith Jedi Knight~
"The sun that once had shown through the windows had been blacked out by something. Biths streamed out of their houses and gazed up at the sky to see the starship that hovered above the city. Then they ran in fear as a missile streaked from it downwards towards the city. As it impacted upon the surface they stopped in amazement because it did not explode, but they only stopped for a few seconds before the virus that had been carried inside claimed them and they fell upon the ground writhing in agony greenish blood oozing out of every pore. Then silence prevailed as their pain ceased forever. The virus spread across the planet so quickly that no one had time to warn others and eventually the whole planet was dead."
~From Clackdor VII Incident Report, Conducted by New Republic Agent Yodarth~
The stormtroopers entered the house and found Barquin Dios sprawled out on the floor in a pool of blood. He was barely breathing. His wife, who was lying only a few yards away, was not. The commander nodded, and one trooper moved to Barquin, produced an injector filled with a bluish liquid, which he plunged into Barquin's neck, and squeezed the trigger, releasing the liquid into Barquin's blood stream. He then rolled him over to reveal a small object that had been hidden under the body. It was round on one side, but flat on the other three sides, and inside it was what appeared to be a black liquid fire. He gave it to the commander who turned it over in his hands for a second, examining it. He then nodded in satisfaction.
Chapter 2: Quests
The mist swirled through the long, dark alleyway. A few bright lights from various shops on the street provided illumination, but not much, which is exactly what those traversing the alleyways wanted. It was a dangerous place, a place of secrets, and a place where no normal person would dare venture. Waiting in this dark mist, blaster drawn, leaned against a wall, was Yodarth, an agent of the new republic. He was staring down towards the end of the alley at the cloaked figure moving steadily nearer. He raised his blaster, aimed, and fired. From under the cloak whipped a lightsaber, the blade flicked on, and easily deflected the shot. The cloaked figure reached out its other hand and the blaster flew out of Yodarth's hand and into its. The figure moved towards him, the blaster in one hand and the glowing, red lightsaber in the other. Yodarth reached into his boot and pulled out his vibro-knife and prepared to strike, but he stopped as the face of the figure came into view. It was the telltale large, tan head and huge, black eyes of a Bith. "What do you want?" Yodarth asked.
"Merely some information," the Bith responded and handed Yodarth back the blaster.
"About what?" Yodarth questioned and holstered his knife, but kept the blaster ready.
"The Clackdor VII incident," the Bith replied. "You are in charge of the investigation into this matter are you not?" he asked.
"I was, but they took me off the case the other day and put someone else in charge," Yodarth responded.
"Who?" the Bith asked.
"I have no idea. They just told me someone else was taking over. I was annoyed myself which is why I was here trying to find out who they replaced me with." he answered.
"And how were you planning to do that?" the Bith asked.
"I had set up a meeting with The Dark." Yodarth answered.
"The Dark?" the Bith asked curiously.
"The Dark is a group that operate in the underground here on Coruscant. They're led by a mysterious chairman. Not even New Republic intelligence has been able to figure out who he really is. He supplied the empire with weapons and equipment to defeat the Rebellion, but when the rebels won, he turned the tables and helped them wipe out what was left of the Empire. In his downtime he helps bounty hunters get assignments, heads major smuggling operations, and runs the largest mafia operation right under the New Republic's nose." Yodarth explained.
"Sounds charming," the Bith replied.
"I was on my way to the meeting place when I noticed you following me," Yodarth stated.
"And where was the meeting place?" the Bith asked.
"Who are you?" Yodarth questioned.
"I am merely the son of a Bith. My whole family was killed on Clackdor VII and I'm going to kill whoever was responsible," the Bith responded, hatred rising in his voice.
Yodarth smiled and said, "Works for me. The Darkness Cantina, take a right when you get outside the alleyway and just keep heading straight. You can't miss it; it has a black reflective exterior. Head up to the bar and tell the bartender you'd like a taste of darkness. That'll get you into the meeting. From there on in you're on your own."
"Thanks I will repay you some day," the Bith told him and turned to walk away.
"Just kill those responsible. That'll be my payment," Yodarth answered. "Oh and son of a Bith, may the force be with you," he said.
The Bith nodded, deactivated his lightsaber, clipped it to his belt, and strode off into the darkness. Yodarth sighed, holstered his blaster, turned, and walked off in the opposite direction.
The door to the chamber slid open with a hiss, and the Stormtrooper commander entered the room nervously. He stared at the back of the gigantic black chair in the center of the room and the bluish glow just beyond it. The chair swiveled around, and in it was seated Karvyn. Karvyn's dark hair was braided and died crimson. He wore thick, black body armor, and a lightsaber was clipped at his side. He opened his fiery, red eyes and stared at the commander until his gaze fell upon the object he was carrying. "Xetrya!" He called. Out of the shadows strode another Sith. She had gold, cat-slit eyes, fangs, and emerald green skin. She wore a black armored hyde from some unknown animal. Gracefully striding forward she took the object, which was curved on one side flat on the others and contained a liquid, black fire within from him. Karvyn pressed the controls on his chair, and it slid to the left to reveal the source of the bluish glow. In the floor was a suspension panel which was emitting a bluish suspension field. Inside the field was what looked like an unfinished crystal globe. Xetrya walked up to the edge of the field and placed the object on the top of the globe. It fit perfectly beside an identically shaped chunk already on top. The flame that had been inside spilled out into the crevices, bubbled and then disappeared, but the crevices were no longer there; the piece had melded with the crystal globe and the fire was gone. A large chunk was still missing off the top. A chunk exactly twice the size of the piece they had just added. Xetrya nodded to Karvyn who smiled with satisfaction. "Well done commander you and your men have done well. You are dismissed," Karvyn said. The commander, relieved, turned and hurried out of the room. Karvyn sighed in pain, looked at Xetrya, and said, "Only two more pieces to go." She smiled. "Krammac, your information was good, as usual," He said. Krammac Retsill stepped out of the shadows. He was a tall humanoid with sharp eyebrows, short black hair, and an all around evil look about him.
"I aim to please your highness," he said graciously.
"Don't bother me with your pleasantries. Your payment is waiting for you in your ship," Karvyn said, slightly annoyed.
"Once again you are too kind," he said, bowing. He produced a data disk from beneath his cloak and handed it to Xetrya. "Here is the location of the seventh piece. I will depart tonight in search of the eighth piece," Krammac stated. He then turned and left the room.
"Get to work on planning the recovery of the seventh piece," he told Xetrya. She half turned to leave, but his voice stopped her as he said, "Don't forget we're all counting on you." She nodded and left the room. He opened the side panel to his chair and produced an injector filled with a heavy painkiller, which he pressed into his neck, and pulled the trigger. He sighed in relief and mumbled to himself, "Not much longer. Only two more pieces and the pain will be gone." He then fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter 3: Into the Darkness
The door to the Darkness Cantina opened. Smoke wafted through the air and the smell of burnt flesh assaulted the nostrils of the cloaked Bith as he entered. Two large, armed abyssians dragged the lifeless body of a rodian with a smoking hole in his chest away from the chair it had occupied. The Wookie with it's blaster rifle barrel still smoking roared and sat down once again. The Bith ignored all this and headed straight for the bar. He sat onto the first available stool. The bartender a quarren, ugly even for his own species, hurried over to him. "What will you have today sir," it questioned politely.
The Bith turned to it, a confident smile on his face and said, "I'll have a taste of darkness." The Quarren looked startled for a second, then turned to the bar and fumbled around for a few seconds. He then turned and placed a glass of swirling, black liquid in front of the Bith. "Here you are sir," it said. The Bith picked up the glass and drank the whole thing right away. Instantly his head ached, his vision blurred, and his senses swam. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the Quarren nod to the two Abyssians and their movement towards him.
He awoke with a vicious headache, but he shook it off and took a minute to survey his new surroundings. There wasn't much to see, the room was pitch black except for a dim light coming from a large, golden chair. On the chair, as best he could make out, was a well armored man with silver metal gloves that had a spike on each knuckle, and large boots with a golden, curved spike in the center of the toe area. His observations were interrupted by a loud, booming voice that said, "You are not Yodarth."
"He sent me in his place," the Bith answered meekly.
"Very well. Since you have come, what will you give me if I give you the information you seek?" the voice asked.
"Well I won't have to come over there and get the information from you," the Bith said defiantly. Many voices laughed, and the Bith looked around, realizing that he must be surrounded by people in the darkness.
"I'd hate to see you try that. As you can hear, you're a bit outnumbered," the voice said, obviously amused.
"Very well. What do you want?" the Bith asked impatiently.
"Don't give up, no matter how hard things get," the voice answered.
"What?" the Bith responded.
"The fate of the galaxy seems to rest in your hands," the voice responded.
"I don't care about the galaxy I just want revenge," the Bith stated anger rising in his voice.
"And by pursuing this quest for vengeance you will be forced to save the galaxy. How's that for irony. Well what do you say?" the voice said.
"You don't want credits, my ship, or anything? Just me not to give up?" the Bith asked completely bewildered.
"I believe you will find my conditions much harder to meet," the voice said ominously. The Bith didn't have long to ponder this statement, as a stun blast shot out of the darkness and hit him square in the chest. He slumped over and fell into oblivion once more.
He tried to open his eyes, but they felt like lead. "Oh good, you're awake!" a friendly voice exclaimed. The Bith shot up and saw he was in the cockpit of a starship. He looked to where the voice had come from and saw a human dressed in a basic flight suit. "You sure are a heavy sleeper! You were even asleep when they carried you on board! My name's Fram Framson I'll be your pilot. Oh, I almost forgot," he said. He then reached into one of the numerous pockets in his flight suit and produced an ear-piece recorder. "They said to give you this when you woke up," Fram said. He then handed it to the Bith and turned back to his consoles. The Bith slowly put the piece into his ear and pressed the start button. "I figured, why let a thing like the fate of the galaxy ruin your reputation? So I took your starship, but don't worry, I used the credits I found inside to hire Framson to fly you anywhere you need to go," the voice explained. The Bith smiled then closed his eyes and enjoyed a natural sleep for once.
Chapter 4: Trouble On Tatooine
The hatch to the starship opened, and the Bith stepped out into the light. He squinted and saw Fram Framson working on some exterior power cables. "Hey," he called, "Where are we?"
"Tatooine, the current location of the person in charge of the Clackdor VII investigation," Fram replied.
"So you know. I thought The Dark took my ship and ditched me off somewhere," the Bith answered.
"No, he may be living outside the law, but he's still a man of his word," Fram responded. He then closed the panel, tossed his tools in his toolbox, and placed them inside the hatch. "So you ready to go?" he asked.
"Go where?" the Bith asked puzzled.
"Mos Eisley Cantina. I've set up a meeting with the new investigator. I told them you had valuable information about the case." he said, nonchalantly.
"But I don't have valuable information about the case," he said somewhat dismayed.
"Right, but they don't know that," he said, laughed, and headed out of the landing bay.
"Great," the Bith responded and followed him out.
The door slid open and Fram spread his arms wide and said "Welcome to Mos Eisley Cantina, never will you find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy!," he exclaimed.
The Bith surveyed the place. Aliens of all types sat at tables, the bar, or roamed freely about, and all of them were armed.
"Great, so how do we find the investigator?" the Bith asked.
"Simple, the one at the bar, black outfit, purple cloak, red hair," he said pointing across the room.
The Bith turned to Fram and looked at him suspiciously and said, "You know more than you're letting on."
Fram winked at him, smiled, and said, "Could be, I'll wait for you back at the ship." He then turned to leave and called over his shoulder, "Good luck and watch your step, this place can get a bit rough."
The Bith watched him leave then turned, fixed his eyes on the figure on the bar, and he strode confidently up. He sat down beside her and said, "I've been looking for you." As the person turned he was somewhat startled, for sitting there beside him was Mara Jade Skywalker.
"You're Mara Jade aren't you?" the Bith asked.
She smiled and playfully responded, "Actually, that's Mara Jade Skywalker, so don't get any ideas." He couldn't help but crack a smile. "I take it you don't have any information for me?" she stated, sighing.
"How can you tell?" he asked.
"Simple, you're a Bith, meaning some poor soul who lost everyone he knew to the Clackdor VII virus," she said.
"Easy enough to guess. I need your help to find those who created and released the virus," he said with determination.
"So you can unleash your vengeance upon them?" she asked. She then drew a serious face, looked into his eyes and said, "Look, I know it hurts. You lost everything you loved in one day, but that's no reason to let your hate control you. I can tell you're a Jedi, so let me give you a little advice. This hatred you have will only lead to the dark side of the force, and once you've turned you'll become as bad as those who released the virus."
"That'll never happen," the Bith snapped back angrily.
"That's what everyone says, but the dark side is seductive, powerful, and once you've chosen the dark path it's nearly impossible to escape it," she said gravely.
"You escaped it," he said.
"Yeah, but I'm better than you," she replied.
A confident smile crossed the Bith's face and he said, "Oh yeah, I got you here thinking I had information for you. What would've happened if I had been one of the enemy setting a trap?" he stopped short as he felt the unmistakable jab of a blaster barrel in his side, and he heard a deep voice whisper into his ear, "Then you'd already be dead."
"Allow me to introduce my assistant in this case, Kaya Kenobi," Mara said grinning. He turned to see a tall, well built, well armed mercenary. The Mercenary had a Blaster in his hand and a huge grin on his face.
"Hi," the Bith mumbled, trying to disguise his embarrassment. Mara smiled, nodded at the mercenary, rose from the bar, and headed for the door. Just before she got there she cast a look over her shoulder, smiled at the Bith, and said "Well, you coming or not?"
The Bith smiled, got up, and followed her and Kaya out the door.
They had just arrived at a large palace-like building when the Bith asked, "So what are we doing here?"
"We're here to meet Ulic Qel-Droma," Mara replied.
"The jedi master?" asked the Bith.
"Well, that's what he'd like you to believe. He actually does have a connection to the force, but he has very little training. He uses the name Ulic Qel-Droma for the respect the name commands, and he carries on with his jedi outfit to further the point. It makes his enemies keep away and inspires awe in his friends," Kaya explained.
"So he actually says he's Ulic Qel-Droma," the Bith asked smiling.
"Yeah and it made him very rich. He owns most of Tatooine now, as well as controlling most shipping in the entire outer rim," Kaya told him.
"And then how exactly did we get a meeting with this guy?" the Bith asked looking at Mara.
Mara just smiled and responded, "I've got connections."
The Bith smiled and said, "It seems everyone has connections except me."
The large door slid open, and out stepped Bib Fortuna, who nodded his greetings and said, "Welcome Mara Jade and escorts, I will take you to your meeting with my master." He then turned, and signaled for them to follow him. They followed and Mara asked Bib, "Didn't this used to be Jabba's Palace?"
"It was once, until my former Master's death. It was then taken over by various rabble until Master Qel-Droma purchased it about a year ago," Bib answered.
Coming from the other direction was a dark haired man with a dark haired woman holding onto his arm. Mara smiled and greeted them as they arrived, "Camie and Fixer, how wonderful to see you again. Thank you so much for setting up this meeting"
Fixer grinned and said, "Not a problem, anything for Wormy's wife. How is the little runt anyways?"
Mara smiled and responded, "He's fine, and he sent this holo-message disc for you." She pulled the disc out and handed it to Camie. "I trust you'll be visiting us soon."
Camie took the disc and said, "Whenever we get a chance Fixer doesn't get a whole lot of free time being the head technician of master Qel-Droma's shipyards."
Fixer then cut in, saying, "Tell Wormy I'll make time to embarrass him flying T-16's."
"I'll be sure to tell him," Mara said, laughing.
"Well we got to go lots of work to do. Take care Mara," Fixer said.
"Bye" Camie said. Camie and Fixer then headed out the door. Mara waved at them as they left. Bib Fortuna then continued walking. They were then passed by several guards around a robed, tall man heading for the door. "Who was that?" the Bith asked.
"That was King Felix. Whatever Master Qel-Droma doesn't own on Tatooine, King Felix does. He had the appointment right before yours," Bib answered.
They came to a door and Bib stopped and signaled for them to enter. They did and were greeted by a small creature armed with some sort of mini lightsaber growling at them.
"It's alright Salacious, they're allowed to be here," a voice said. The voice came from the man behind a rather large desk. He wore a long cloak, body armor, and had a lightsaber at his side. "Ignore Salacious, his mind has been gone for a long time. He believes himself to be a dark jedi master. He makes a great body guard though," Ulic said. Salacious Crumb backed into the corner still staring at them.
Mara looked on the desk where an object, round on one side, flat on the others, was standing. Inside the object burnt a dark flame. Before anyone could speak further, the door slid open, and Bib Fortuna fell unconscious through the doorway, followed closely by a stun grenade. A bright, blue flash filled the room as the grenade detonated, and they all slumped unconsciously to the ground. Through the door walked a large, grey, bearded alien. He wore thick body armor, had ammo clipped all over, and carried a smoking stun grenade launcher. It was F'filc Hrisstcainen the infamous bounty hunter. He looked at the bodies on the floor. His gaze then fell upon the object on the desk. He then cracked a large, victorious smile.
Chapter 5: Dark Past
Mara sat in Karvyn's audience chamber on the Super Star Destroyer Resurrection. She sat on her knees on a large portal with an energy shield around it. Karvyn sat in his large, black chair. He was shrouded in shadows except for the eerie blue glow from the portal supporting the globe. The globe was now missing one piece. An evil glint gleamed in his eyes as he looked cruelly upon Mara. "This all could have been yours Mara," he said hatefully. "You gave it all away. You became weak, and joined with cowards. You were once much stronger than that," Karvyn said.
"I was a slave to hatred, anger, fear, and to the Emperor a cruel, inhuman tyrant. I merely opened my eyes," Mara spat back at him.
Karvyn rose in anger, but grimaced in pain, and he sat once more. "Don't ever speak about the Emperor that way again. He was the most powerful man ever to roam the galaxy," he said.
Mara replied, "It's power I can live without."
"We were friends once Mara, until you betrayed our master. I never forgave you for that. I swore then that I would hunt you down, and make you die a slow coward's death," Karvyn said evilly.
"And look what happened to you when you found me. you were no match for me Karvyn. I should've killed you when I had the chance!" she screamed.
"Yes, but now you're the one who's going to die Mara, but its not to late. You can join me. You know what's at stake Mara. I will soon rule the galaxy, and you and Xetrya could be on each side of me, or you can die an utter failure here aboard my ship," he offered.
Mara smiled back defiantly, "Do your worst."
Karvyn's face was lit up by an evil grin, and he said, " I was hoping you'd say that. After all these years of planning I have something quite special planned for you." Stun bolts shot through the floor, ripping through her body, and she fell painfully into a dark, unconscious sleep.
Chapter 6: Fates
DS-43-2 and DS-43-3 walked up to the side of a Tie Fighter in the hanger bay of the Resurrection. They looked around the side to where a mechanic worked on one of the solar arrays. "Hey! If it isn't DS-00-0, Flight School Drop Out!. Better repair my ship good, grease monkey," taunted DS-43-2.
"If you could fly straight, it wouldn't be damaged in the first place," the mechanic replied defiantly.
"What did you say to me?" DS-43-2 asked angrily. He and his friend then started to move towards the mechanic.
"Hey! Cut it out or I'll put all of you on report!" came a voice. It came from the man who just entered the room. It was DS-43-1, the leader of Black Squadron. The two pilots moved out of the room grumbling to each other. "You okay kid?" DS-43-1 asked.
"Yeah, fine." the mechanic replied.
"Hey, don't worry about them. At least you're doing something useful. They just lay about until they get a chance to fly," DS-43-1 said.
The mechanic looked up with a smile and asked, "So how'd he do this?"
DS-43-1 smiled, and started to leave the hanger, but he called over his shoulder, "He tried to keep his target lock while barrel rolling in an asteroid field. If we weren't short on pilots these days I'd have left him stranded out there."
Mara Jade Skywalker was strapped to a wall. She gazed around and saw she was in a small circular room. Her friends were all strapped on the wall as well. In the center of the room was a tree, and on the tree clung a Ysalamiri. A voice seemed to come from that tree, and said, "Welcome I've been waiting so long to try these out." A small man dressed in a pale blue jumpsuit stepped out from behind the tree. In his hand was a metallic box. He opened the box and said, "My finest creation. It took me years of development, and I've just been waiting for the day when Karvyn would be mad enough at someone to let me use them, and surprise! Today is my lucky day!" his eyes gleamed with evil satisfaction. He set the box down and out came tiny, arachnid-like robots. They were solid grey, and were smaller than a finger nail. Their legs were sharp and they swarmed up Mara's body and waited. The man leaned down and pulled a control pad out of the box. He looked up at her. He smiled an evil smile and said, "These little droids are the ultimate torture device. They cut into your skin, and crawl around inside you. I've specifically modified these to target pain receptors. They then stab into them repeatedly, and as an added bonus, their sharp, little legs crawling around inside you is bound to be terribly uncomfortable. Ideally this would be to get you to give us information. The robots would then be removed, but seeing as Karvyn has not provided me with any questions, this may take a long time." He looked up at her in mock sadness, and said, "This may hurt just a little." He then smiled once again and pressed the activating button. He then turned and exited the room. He did not close the door, but he did close his eyes. He then stood, arms spread wide, relishing the screams his creations were eliciting.
Chapter 7: A Golden Opportunity
The Professor signaled the two guards as he finished laser stitching the surgical cut in the furry arm. The two guards came to the edge of the surgical table. The Professor put his bloody tools back in their pan and said, " Take the creature back to the holding chambers. He should be done now."
The guards looked at each other nervously, and the first said, "Sir, shouldn't he be sedated?"
The Professor looked bewildered and asked, "Why? He should be sufficiently weak seeing as I just operated on him without benefit of a painkiller. Besides, you have your stun staffs and blasters." They nodded and moved to either side of the creature. It was a Wampa. The Wampa was not full grown, and it had many surgical scars on it's body. They got on either side, grabbed the chain on it's neck, pulled him up, and started forcing him to walk out the doorway. It moved slow, and was obviously in a great deal of pain. Just before they reached the door, the Professor called out, "Do turn on the comlink and open the door to our new guest's chamber. I do so want to relax and enjoy her screams some more." They once again nodded and left the room, dragging the Wampa along behind them.
They entered the holding room and released the chain. The guard moved to the door at the far end and pressed the open button. The room housed the tree with the Ysalamiri on it, and several people strapped on the wall. They were all awake. "Hey, let us out of here!" Kaya Kenobi yelled. The guard just laughed, but as he did so, the Wampa surged forward. He hit the tree hard. The two guards reacted quickly. They whipped out their stun staffs and jammed them into the Wampa's back. He howled in pain as the electricity surged through his body. He then collapsed face up on the deck. In his jaws was the bloody body of the Ysalamiri.
"Oh great!" the first guard exclaimed.
"What was that thing for anyways?" the second asked.
"I don't know, there's at least a hundred of them in level 12's animal storage," the first guard stated.
"Well help me get the Wampa put away, and we'll go get one to replace this one with before anyone finds out," the second guard said urgently.
"Good idea," the first guard replied. They grabbed the chain to drag the Wampa, but they suddenly heard all the holding mechanisms open. They looked up just to see the blasters fly into the Bith's hands. He squeezed the triggers and hit them both in the neck. They fell dead to the floor. He then tossed one blaster to Kaya.
"We've got to stop those torture droids," Kaya exclaimed.
"Way ahead of you," Ulic said. He picked up a stun staff and headed over to Mara. "I hope this shorts them out," He said. He then activated the staff. She screamed out in pain. He stopped pressing the trigger and looked at her. Blood ran from various places where the droids had entered.
Her eyes opened and she smiled. "Thank you. Now can we get out of here please?" she said.
Kaya looked up and said, "Don't worry, I'll think of a plan real quick."
Mara grimaced in pain and said, "Let me tell you of something my husband once told me."
Chapter 8: Escape!
The Bith and Kaya Kenobi were dressed in the guards outfits. Each held a blaster, and held one arm of the Wampa. The Wampa wore binders, and behind him were Mara and Ulic, armed with stun staffs. Bringing up the rear was Bib Fortuna with Salacious Crumb perched on his shoulder. Kaya pressed the halt button on the lift tube they were in and turned to the others. "So what's the plan?" he asked.
"We'll need to find where they're going next, and retrieve our weapons. And we'll need a ship," Mara stated urgently.
"Your weapons are most likely in processing on Level 12. It's just past the animal storage section. It's where they keep all the things they steal before they decide what to do with it," a voice said. They all turned in surprise to the source of the voice. The Wampa smiled at them.
"Since when can Wampas talk?" Kaya asked.
"Obviously since today," Ulic replied.
"I'm just one of the Professor's little experiments. He hoped to mass produce us, and drop us onto planets to do the dirty work before the stormtroopers were sent in. I'm equipped with a cybernetically enhanced skin that makes it blaster proof, enhanced intelligence, and come complete with vocal capabilities. I was his first test subject," the Wampa explained.
"So are you still a Wampa?" Kaya asked.
"More or less," was the Wampa's reply. He grimaced in pain and grabbed one of the many scars on his body. "The Professor's a genius really, but he's got a real bad bedside manner, and his stitching sucks," the Wampa growled.
"So you got any ideas how to escape?" Mara asked him.
"Sure I'll take this guy and the little fuzzy thing and get the weapons. I'll also find out where the ships going. You take the others down to the hangar bay and secure a ship."
"That's insane! You three will never get all that done by yourselves," Kaya objected.
"Oh, I got a little distraction planned out," the Wampa said, and smiled widely.
The door of the tube opened on Level 12. Out stepped Ulic, Salacious, and the Wampa. The door closed again and the tube moved downward towards the hangar. They started moving down the hall until they reached animal storage. Ulic moved up and pressed the open key on the keypad. It beeped loudly and flashed a locked message onto the screen. "It's locked. What do we do now?" Ulic asked.
"When I was listing my enhancements did I mention my enhanced strength?" the Wampa asked. The door to animal storage flew halfway across the room where it landed with a loud clang.
"Impressive, but do suppose you could be quieter in the future?" Ulic asked.
"Sorry," the Wampa responded. He then moved to a cage at the far right of the room. Ulic moved to the side of the door, and readied his stun staff as he heard the clanging footsteps of stormtroopers coming to investigate the noise. The Wampa smashed the lock off the cage with one blow and opened it. "When the Professor started experimenting on Hoth species he first tried the Tauntaun. It was fast, but his mental enhancements failed on it. The experimental Tauntaun just foamed at the mouth a lot and developed a mean streak roughly the size of Coruscant," the Wampa stated. A stormtrooper appeared in the doorway, but with a growl, a large, foaming at the mouth Tauntaun charged at him, and delivered a powerful kick to his chest. He flew into the opposite wall and his spine shattered on impact with the wall. The Tauntaun roared, and charged after the stormtrooper's stunned comrades still in the hallway.
"What's going on out there?" The stormtrooper asked. As loud bangs, screams, and blaster fire echoed out in the hallway.
"How am I supposed to know? Why don't you go out and check?" the second stormtrooper responded. The first trooper moved to the door and pressed the open button. Out in the hallway three panicked stormtroopers fled past the door, firing over their shoulders. After them charged a large Tauntaun. It was howling, foaming at the mouth, and taking blaster hits like it didn't even feel it. He jerked his head in surprise, and pressed the close button. The door snapped shut with a hiss. He turned to the second trooper. The second trooper looked up at him and asked, "What?" The first trooper turned back to the door, shook his head, and pressed the open button once again. The Wampa struck him with such a force that his necked snapped. The second trooper tried to draw, but Ulic darted in and hit him with the stun staff. He fell unconscious to the floor beside his dead comrade. The Wampa smiled, and they moved to collect their weapons.
The Professor shut off his monitor, grabbed his stun staff, and headed for the door grumbling, "When I get my hands on whoever let the Tauntaun loose..." He opened the door, and there stood the Wampa. The Wampa reached down and grabbed the stun staff before the Professor could react. He then snapped it in two as easy as a twig, and dropped the pieces to the deck. He then grabbed the Professor and forced him into his chair.
"Now Professor, I need to know where this ship is headed next," the Wampa asked politely.
"I don't know," the Professor responded. He then cringed in fear as he saw Ulic by the door holding an empty metal box, and he felt the tiny, torture droids swarming over his body.
"Last chance Professor," the Wampa said, grinning.
"You wouldn't dare," the Professor said.
"Oh I only wish I could, but," Salacious jumped up onto the table by the monitor, he held up the controller, "He has the control," the Wampa said. Salacious smiled, and pressed the button. The Professor screamed in pain as the droids cut into him.
"I don't know! They get all their information from Krammac Retsill," the Professor screamed.
"Thank you," the Wampa said. He then moved over to Ulic. "May I see your lightsaber for a second?" he asked. Ulic handed it to him, and the Wampa spun around, flicked on the blade, and chopped the Professor's head off. He then handed back the lightsaber, and picked up the Professor's head by the hair.
"What did you do that for? He gave us the information." Ulic complained.
"You try being tortured by him for years. I'm keeping this as a trophy," the Wampa stated, and headed out the door. Ulic looked at the headless body, and the smoldering stump where the head once had been.
"That's just sick," he said, and turned to follow the Wampa, with Salacious close behind.
DS-00-0 punched in the code, and the hanger bay door opened. He punched a few more keys and a Skipray Blastboat roared to life. "You know unless someone with the authorized DNA is hanging onto the controls, this ship isn't going anywhere," he said.
Kaya continued to hold the blaster to his neck and growled his response, "Maybe I'll just shoot you, and fly the ship with you hands."
"You could do that, but I signed up to escape poverty. I wanted to be a pilot, but I dropped out of flight school because I hated doing all the work. Ever since then, I haven't been able to get out of the Empire. Those who did manage to leave had their location sold to Karvyn by Krammac. Point is, I'd be more than happy to help you guys get out of here," he explained.
Kaya looked at Mara, who nodded. He lowered the blaster and said, "Alright."
The door to the hangar opened, and a stormtooper lurched in, dead. Salacious jumped off his back, and removed his bloody vibro-knife from the trooper's neck. The Wampa, Ulic, and a Tauntaun came charging in. Bib closed the door behind them when they got on board, and they all strapped in. "Hang on tight ladies and gentleman," DS-00-0 yelled. He then pushed the controls, and the Blastboat shot out of the hangar. From the other side DS-43-2, DS-43-3, and DS-43-1 entered.
"Get in your fighters lets go!" DS-43-1 yelled. They jumped in their TIE Fighters and followed the Blastboat.
"Oh! We got company!" DS-00-0 said. He then banked to the left turned hard, and fired. The shots went past Black 3. Black 3 then went into a roll, but the Blastboat rolled the opposite way, decelerated, and rolled right in behind him. DS-00-0 smiled and blew Black 3 away. Black 1 hammered away at the rear shields, and sparks showered across the Blastboat. DS-00-0 locked onto Black 2 and fired a missile, but as he did Black 1 fired and scored a direct hit to the weapons systems. The missile hit Black 2, turning it into a blazing fire ball.
"Weapons are down!" DS-00-0 yelled.
"Hit the hyperdrive!" Kaya yelled.
"I can't! The shields are to weak! He would destroy us before I could level out to make the jump," he said.
"Well, how much shield power do we have?" Kaya asked. Their was an explosion and a shower of sparks. A loud beeping noise sounded.
"Uh... none," DS-00-0 answered. Black 1 matched each evasion by the Blastboat. He then locked on and fired, but a YT-1300 freighter moved out of nowhere and blocked the shot with its own shields.
"Aren't scan shielders wonderful? They never saw me coming. Took me forever to find you, my Bith friend," came Fram's voice over the Blastboat's intercom.
"What?" Kaya asked, puzzled.
"Who cares?" DS-00-0 said, and hit the hyperdrive, and they shot safely into hyperspeed.
Chapter 9: Explanation
The Skipray Blastboat continued to sail through hyperspace. It was followed closely by Fram Framson's YT-1300 Freighter. Fram was on the comm channel, and all eyes were on Mara Jade. She looked at them, and started her story, "As the Emperor aged, he began to realize his own mortality. The Emperor was a person wholly devoted to evil. He could not stand the fact that one day he would die, and lose all his power. So one day he traveled to the witches of Dathomir. They created a crystal globe for him that would host his power after he passed away. Once he died, all the evil powers that had consumed his soul in life would possess the crystal in death in the form of a black fire. He then cut the crystal into eight equal sections. One of the eight pieces was given to each of his eight most most trusted generals so that when he died they could bring the globe together. Once the crystal was reassembled, they were to bring it to the witches. They would then hold the ceremony to bring his powers once more into the universe. This ceremony would be held on a mythical "Planet of Darkness", and its location was known only to the generals. The only catch is that the power must be transferred to a Sith. One who's heart is as black, and soul as poisoned as the Emperor's was. Karvyn and I each trained under the Emperor. I was his hand, and enforcer of his will. The "honor" of receiving his powers was to fall to me, but I saw how wrong I was and turned to the light. Karvyn felt so betrayed that he spent years hunting me down, but he wasn't ever as strong as I was. When he finally found me, we fought and I wounded him terribly. I couldn't bring myself to finish him off since we were once friends. He now spends his days in terrible pain because many of the wounds I inflicted upon him refused to heal. He then saw his opportunity to once more become powerful; even more so than before. So he set about to find the pieces of the crystal with another Sith, Xetrya, as his guardian. After the Empire fell, the pieces of the crystal were lost by the generals as they were killed, or stolen as they fled. Since then they have moved about under different owners for years, but Krammac Retsill managed to find the location of several pieces. We noticed the pattern after the fifth piece was recovered. That is why I was given charge of the investigation after we realized Barquin Dios had the sixth piece. I found out Ulic owned the seventh piece, and that is what has brought us all together. We must do anything to stop Karvyn from taking the Emperor's power. If he does, he will become more powerful than any Jedi ever was, or ever will be," Mara said, gravely.
They dropped out of hyperspace just a short distance from the New Republic's Outer Rim fleet. A perimeter monitor X-wing flew to intercept them. The pilot's voice crackled over the intercom, "This is Monitor 13, what is your business here?"
"This is Mara Jade Skywalker and we're going to need assistance," Mara answered.
"Please transmit your security code," Monitor 13 requested. Mara punched a few buttons on the control console. "Very well, follow me," Monitor 13 said and turned to fly into the hangar of a Nebulon B Frigate. They followed him into the hangar and landed. Each one of them was silent, lost in their own thoughts.
Chapter 10: Plans
Mara Jade Skywalker laughed heartily as the two cloaked figures entered the Medical Bay of the Nebulon B Frigate Savior. Her wounds had been treated. The Wampa sat in the corner, and looked over his body, searching for traces of the now nonexistent surgical scars. The two figures threw back their hoods, and Mara moved to greet them in turn. "Jedi master Kaltax and Jedi Man, how wonderful to see you!" she exclaimed.
"Jedi Man? What kind of a name is that?" the Wampa asked from the corner.
Jedi Man smiled and responded, "My parents ship crash landed on a far away planet, and I was raised by the inhabitants. They gave me a name, but sadly it is completely unpronounceable in basic. So after I was rescued and all through training, people just called me Jedi Man."
"What were you laughing about?" Kaltax asked.
"Oh, 2-1B was just regaling me with the tale of how he saved the galaxy by saving a young rebel many years ago," she replied. They all laughed.
"Well we must discuss our plans if you'll follow us," Jedi Man said, motioning her towards the door. They all started to leave when she turned and saw the Wampa was following.
"You're free now, you don't have to follow us. You can do whatever you want now," she told him.
The Wampa just smiled and said, "Well I've got no place to go, and the way I see it you'll need all the help you can get." She smiled and they all left the Medical Bay.
"Take cara ma'am," 2-1B said as they left.
They arrived at the hangar bay where Fram Framson's YT-1300 freighter the Ice Storm was being fueled up. Ulic Qel-Droma stood by the entrance. He had Salacious Crumb by his side.
"You coming with us?" Mara asked.
"With the fate of the galaxy on the line I couldn't leave the job up to amateurs could I? I did send Bib Fortuna back to see to my affairs on Tatooine," Ulic said with a smile.
"Now we were originally going to take the whole fleet, but from what you've told us we have to catch Krammac Retsill. Therefore we come with a fleet and he'd catch on and flee. So we figure we use minimum number of troops, and Framson's ship and we may just surprise him. We have a lead on him, and if we move now, we might just catch him. He has been reported looking for information on a small trading post near Ord Mantell." Kaltax explained.
"Let me introduce you to the team. Most you already know, but we've got an Alpha Blue team 12 in all. This is their leader, just call him Blue Leader," Jedi Man said, indicating a tall, strong man. He wore light, but thick body armor with the Alpha Blue insignia on both arms. He turned and nodded his greetings to Mara. Then Jedi Man pointed to a large, Dug, "This is Rabid Raccoon, master slicer."
"I can slice anything, anytime, and anywhere." Rabid said, confidently. Mara nodded her approval.
"This fellow here is the team's sergeant, Wurth Skidder," he said, pointing to a rough, looking man.
"You're not Wurth Skidder, he's dead," Ulic said.
Wurth looked at him with a large grin, and said, "And you're not really Ulic Qel-Droma, so what's your point?" Everyone laughed out loud.
"And this rather disreputable looking fellow is Deo. He's the team's demolition expert." he said. Deo was large, and had several types of explosives strapped to his chest.
"When Rabid fails slicing into the system to open doors, I make a new door." he said with a grin.
"Did I mention he is also the team's certified psycho?" Jedi Man said, grinning. "And the rest of the team is already on board. I recommend we follow their example. We don't have any time to spare," Jedi Man stated. Mara nodded, and they all started on board.
"What are we waiting for?" Mara asked.
"Just our pilot," Kaltax stated.
"I was thinking you might need a co-pilot on this mission," DS-00-0 said.
"You used to be in the Empire, why should I trust you?" Fram Framson asked.
"My family was starving. Every day I had to steal food to keep them alive, but one day I was caught. They said I could either go to the spice mines of Kessel, or sign up for the military. I chose the military, and was able to send my pay to support my family. Then the Empire fell, and the New Republic helped everyone out. My wife had a job, and no longer needed my support, but they wouldn't let me out. Those who defected were sold out, and killed. So I dropped out of flight school, and tried to wash out, but they wouldn't let anyone out after their fall. They stole that time from me, and I want to end their chances of coming back stronger than ever," DS-00-0 explained.
"Let me tell you something. On the planet I live on it's half paradise. That half has forests, beaches, mountains, and anything else beautiful you could ever dream of. The other half of the planet is ice, wild beasts, and misery. One day I was forced to kill a man in self defense, but he was the son of a very influential politician. He bribed the judges, and they exiled me to the frozen wasteland. I was exiled until I could return and pay an extremely large fine. Until that time my family was placed in prison. I wandered there for years without hope until one day that ship landed there. The dying pilot gave it to me, and I've been scraping together all the credits I can to get my family back. If I keep the Bith safe, and help him save the galaxy, the payment the Dark chairman is offering will more than cover my fine, and I will be reunited with my family," Fram said with tears in his eyes.
"Why did you tell me all that?" DS-00-0 asked.
"To tell you welcome aboard," Fram said. DS-00-0 shook his hand and they boarded the Ice Storm. It's engines roared to life and it flew out of the hangar, and blasted into hyperspace.
Chapter 11: Tip
Blue Leader marched across the cargo bay of the Ice Storm. He picked up one of the crates and lifted it onto a shelf. "Is all equipment accounted for?" he asked.
"All explosives are a check, but what would I do if they weren't? It's not like we could turn the ship around and get them," Deo said with a grin.
"Just answer the question son," Blue Leader replied, smiling.
"All the computer, slicing, and various tech is stored sir," Rabid Raccoon said.
"Very well," Blue Leader responded.
"Weapons, ammo, and body armor are stored sir!" Wurth Skidder replied, saluting.
"Very good," Blue Leader responded, saluting back. "Is everything secured?" he asked.
"Locked down tight sir," Rabid replied.
"Alright I'm going to report to Skywalker. Rabid I want you to run the hacking training program, Skidder drill the men on proper procedures, Deo check and double check every trigger on your explosives. We can't afford any mistakes on this mission gentleman. You are dismissed!" Blue Leader said. Deo opened up a crate and started check the explosives, Rabid turned on the computer terminal, and Wurth Skidder filed out with the other eight members of the Alpha Blue team. Blue Leader nodded, turned, and headed out the door.
"Here you go," the Wampa said. He then handed a large chunk of meat through the grating to the Tauntaun. It grabbed it, and started eating.
"Why'd you bring that thing along?" Ulic asked.
"I figured he'd come in handy in a fight," the Wampa responded.
"Plus I've rigged it so when anyone unauthorized enters the ship he's released. I think it'll be a great security system," the Bith said as he strode up.
"Have you given him a name?" Ulic asked
"Yeah Rabid Tauntaun. I know it's not original, but hey it fits," the Wampa responded.
"How about you? Do you have a name?" Ulic asked.
"I never needed one before," the Wampa responded.
"Well there's a famous Bith Musician named Figrin D'an..." the Bith said.
"So we call him Figrin!" Ulic said, interrupting.
"No we'll call him Dan," the Bith replied.
"I like that," Dan said, grinning.
The screen was black, but Mara Jade Skywalker could hear the garbled voice. "He moved from his current location. He knows you're after him. He is currently at the Trading Post near Corellia, but he won't stay there long. Head for the nerf store. You have to hurry Mara!" the voice said urgently.
"That'll make things more difficult," Kaya Kenobi stated.
"Yes it will," Mara replied, lost her own thoughts.
"Who is our informant?" Kaya asked.
"He calls himself Luke's Bud. He claims to be an old friend of Luke. It doesn't matter really. Whoever he is, his information is never wrong," Mara stated.
The door slid open, and Blue Leader entered. "Ma'am, our equipment is stored, secured, and checked," he reported.
"Great! Krammac has moved so we are moving to a new destination. Here's the schematics of the station," Mara said. She then handed him a data disk.
"We will review it and begin forming strategies immediately," He said. He then nodded, turned, and left.
"I'll go tell the guys to change course," Kaya said.
Fram Framson and DS-00-0 sat in the cockpit smiling. Laser blasts shot out from all directions. "What is going on?" Kaya asked.
"Oh, Salacious got into one of the quads again," Fram said. Kaya turned and saw Salacious crumb spinning around wildly firing the quad laser cannon wildly into space.
"Little guy can't keep out of trouble can he?" DS-00-0 stated, smiling broadly.
Kaya smiled then said, "We got a new course Fram. The Trading Post, it's a space station near Corellia."
"Okay DS, you want to put in the coordinates?" Fram asked.
"No problem," DS-00-0 responded. He punched in the coordinates, and they shot through hyperspace towards Corellia.
Chapter 12: Nerf Herder
"Let's move just like we rehearsed it men!" Blue Leader yelled. Wurth Skidder moved out on point. He was followed by Deo and four well armed Alpha Blue members. Then Mara, Dan, Ulic, Salacious Crumb, and the Bith strode out. Wurth Skidder and Rabid Raccoon took up the rear. Two other Alpha Blue members took guard positions by the airlock. "Is the cockpit secured?" Blue Leader asked.
"Cockpit secure," replied the guard inside the cockpit.
Blue Leader turned to the last Alpha Blue member a large Wookie, and said "Pick a spot and blast any unauthorized personnel who enter the ship. Don't let anyone get to the cockpit, and if you get in trouble, hit the panic button." The Wookie nodded and Blue Leader headed out of the ship.
"Okay, set up a perimeter," Blue leader said. Their sniper, a Rodian, slid into the shadows behind a support strut. The Abyssin moved to the left side of the door, and the Transdoshan moved to the right side. A large human set up behind some various debris with his heavy blaster rifle. "Perimeter secure, lets go!" Blue Leader ordered. They then headed for the door. Above the door stood a sign that read Frank E. Rottweiler's Nerf Store.
At the counter stood a large human who said very loudly to a Gungan, "What do you want?"
"Mesa looking' for bombad armor and weaponry," said the Gungan.
"You can't even speak proper basic, you're probably too stupid to use a blaster! Wes, throw him out!" he yelled. Wes Tycho moved forward, produced an electro shock gun, and fired it into the gungan. The Gungan screamed loudly, and ran straight into the wall. It fell unconscious to the ground. Wes Picked it up, and opened the door. Deo and Wurth Skidder slid in and took spots on either side of the door. Wes ignored them, and tossed the Gungan into the hallway. He then returned to the counter as the rest of the group entered.
"Gungans are the dumbest creatures in the galaxy! Frank E. Rottweiler is my name. No need to introduce yourselves, I've already been told all about you," Frank said.
"Oh you have?" Mara asked.
"Yup, Luke's Bud sent Momaw Nadon here to deliver some credits for a little grocery shopping, and let me just say you have a rather large credit rating," Frank stated. He then nodded to the Ithorian in the corner.
"We are already fully equipped for this mission," Blue Leader replied.
"Sure, and I'm sure it's the best equipment the New Republic offers, but it's not the best the underworld can offer," he said, slyly.
"Isn't this a Nerf store?" Dan asked.
"Yeah sure we got Nerfs, Nerf collars, Nerf sweaters, you name it, but it don't pay the bills," he said. He then pressed a button under the counter, and the back wall slid open. "Ladies and gents enjoy!" he said, laughing.
Deo strode out carrying several illegal explosives, and Rabid had a few slicing tools. Wampa Dan strode out in thick body armor, a red cybernetic targeting system on one eye, and he carried a large blaster rifle. Mara was strapping on a few smaller weapons in concealed locations. The Bith had donned a full suit of black, shining body armor. Wurth Skidder came out with a a large concussion rifle. Salacious Crumb charged out with a small lightsaber. Lastly out came Blue Leader carrying a ZX-12 railgun. "I thought you were fully equipped for this mission," Wes said to him.
"We're just being polite since the stuff was paid for," Blue Leader responded. "Now where's Krammac at?" he asked. Just then shots rang out from the hallway. Then the door exploded, and in strode a large assassin droid.
Chapter 13: Ambush!
Wurth Skidder fired his concussion rifle at the assassin droid. It was barely fazed by the shot, and it turned to fire at Wurth. Wurth dived behind a display as the shots flew at him. The others scrambled for cover as Blue Leader fired his railgun at it. The droid flew against the wall as the rocket exploded. It then tumbled to the floor. Blue Leader lowered his gun, and smiled. Suddenly it rose up, and aimed at Blue Leader, but Frank shot a small blaster at it. A small gray colored packet stuck to it, but nothing else happened. The droid turned to fire at Frank, but before he could, Momaw Nadon and Wes Tycho simultaneously shot the packet. The packet exploded on impact, and the droid was blown to pieces. Frank tossed the blaster to Deo. "Impact explosive. Use it wisely. Krammac's at docking bay 15, but you better hurry, it seems he knows you're here," he said. "Lets go!" Mara yelled. They all charged into the hall.
The Rodian fired at the nearest droid, but the shot merely deflected off. The droid pointed and fired. The Rodian was thrown against the wall with a large, smoking hole in his chest. Kaya dived behind some debris as shots flew over his head. He looked over to see all the Alpha Blue members were now dead. Suddenly over the debris appeared an assassin droid. Kaya grimaced then fired. His shot blasted off the droid, and hit the wall. The droid looked down, it's single glowing, red eye looked at him, and it brought it's blaster up to aim at Kaya. Then a small flash of red, and it's arm drooped to the ground. It turned to face it's attacker, and Salacious Crumb leaped up, slashed at it's head, and landed beside Kaya as the droids severed head hit the deck.
Mara, Ulic, and the Bith faced the droids with lightsabers humming. There were dozens of droids heading for them, but they were suddenly thrown to the ground. Hands outstretched, and lightsabers activated came Jedi Master Kaltax and Jedi Man. "Looks like we got here just in time!" Kaltax yelled. Mara grinned and they began slashing into the droids as they recovered. Salacious Crumb charged into the fray, and leaped onto the nearest droid, cutting it into pieces. Wampa Dan fired his rifle at a droid. The impact flung it against the wall, but it got up and came towards him. Wampa Dan slung his blaster over his shoulder, grabbed the droid, and physically ripped him to pieces. Deo fired impact explosives at droids, and Rabid, Blue Leader, and Wurth shot the explosives. Droid pieces flew through the air, and blaster fire, lightsabers, and explosions rang loudly in their ears. The panic button on Blue leaders wrist communicator began flashing. Blue Leader looked up, and yelled "Wurth, Deo, Rabid, Kaya come with me!"
The droids stepped over the dead bodies of the two guards, and entered the ship. Inside the Wookie's eyes shifted nervously. F'Filc Hristcainen led the droids onboard. The Wookie saw a metal grate begin to slide open. He then hit the open button to the cockpit, stepped inside, closed the door, and locked it.
Blue Leader led the group into the ship, and he smiled. Inside, the Wookie was holding his blaster on a very upset looking F'filc, and the Tauntaun was kicking about the broken pieces of the assassin droids. Mara and the rest of the group ran up. "Let's find Krammac," she said. Just then, Boba Fett rounded the corner with his blaster to Krammac Retsill's head. They all looked on in amazement except for Ulic. He stepped forward, and produced a bundle of credits which he handed to Boba Fett. Fett nodded, handed Krammac to Ulic, and left. Ulic looked at the others staring bewildered at him, and he said, "What? You guys had Kaltax and Jedi Man follow us as insurance. I hired Fett as insurance."
Chapter 14: The Sisterhood of the Dark Flame
Karvyn's personal shuttle, the Blood Lust, landed in a large plain on Dathomir. The hatch lowered and guards filed out to surround the ship. A long procession of black figures moved towards it. Clouds covered the moon as they approached. They carried torches and wore long, flowing black cloaks. They stopped a few meters from the ship and filed out into a straight line, except for three of them. One, a tall, muscular woman, stepped forward. Her black hair whipped in the wind. On one side of her was a smaller, thinner woman with red hair, and on the other side was a tall thin woman, whose hair was died purple. Karvyn floated his hover-chair down the ramp, and right beside him was Xetrya. "We have waited many years for this moment," the dark haired woman yelled. "I am Shadow leader of the Sisterhood of the Dark Flame. My companions are Nightshade," she said, indicating the purple haired woman. "And Shadow Rain," she said, nodding to the red head. "We will travel with you to the Planet of Darkness where we are to perform the ceremony that once more allows darkness to rule the galaxy," she said, hatefully. She then produced from her cloak the last piece of the crystal globe. She handed it to Karvyn. Karvyn nodded, and they all headed on board. The Shuttle then lifted off the field, and it flew off once more into the darkness of the night.
Chapter 15: A Flicker of Light
Mara Jade Skywalker emerged from the small holding cell aboard the Ice Storm. She placed a small metal box into a storage compartment, shut it, and turned to her companions.
"Well, what did you find out?" Kaya asked.
"It's not good. They are getting the last piece from the witches, and then are head straight for the Planet of Darkness," she said grimly.
"We should go back to resupply. Half the Alpha Blue team is dead, and we'll need more than a YT-1300 freighter to take on a Super Class Star Destroyer," Kaya said.
"We can't turn back. If they are heading straight there, then they'll perform the ceremony before we get a chance to stop them. Even if we lost half our men, we're the only hope the universe has," Blue Leader said.
"To bad, I kind of liked this universe," Wampa Dan said.
"How about calling for reinforcements to join us there?" the Bith asked.
"We could, but there's a slight problem. The Planet lies shrouded in a black vapor cloud in the middle of a black hole cluster," Mara said.
"Did you say a black hole cluster?" DS-00-0 asked.
"Yeah, you have to know the precise path, otherwise your ship will be torn to pieces, or sucked in," Mara said.
"I've navigated past black holes before," Fram said.
"And you think you can navigate through this cluster?" Blue Leader asked.
"No idea, but if I may speak for everyone, I'd rather die trying than do nothing," he said.
Mara grinned widely, and asked, "Any objections?" No one said anything, and then Shifty, the Wookie, stood up and said, "Let's do it. After all, we are the universe's last hope."
"All right, contact Jedi Man and Kaltax. Tell them to get over here. We got a universe to save!" Mara said.
Chapter 16: A Light in the Darkness
Jedi man and Jedi Master Kaltax boarded the Ice Storm. Shifty, the Wookie, Wurth Skidder, Deo, Rabid Raccoon, Blue Leader, and the muscular human who had been guarding the cockpit were strapped in on one side of the ship. On the other side sat Wampa Dan, Ulic Qel-Droma, Kaya Kenobi, Salacious Crumb, and the Bith. Mara Jade Skywalker sat at the far end with two empty seats next to her. Across the room from her the Tauntaun braced itself in its cage. They moved over towards Mara, and strapped into the two empty seats. Mara looked up at the two in the cockpit, she smiled to show confidence, and said, "May the force be with you."
DS-00-0 shut the cockpit door, turned to Fram Framson, and asked, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"No clue, but we don't have much of a choice do we?" Fram replied. He then reached down, and opened a storage compartment in it was a long metal object. He rubbed it, and said, "Come on man, it's good luck."
"What is it?" DS-00-0 asked.
"Back after the destruction of the first Death Star, I went scavenging, and I found this reactor terminal," he replied.
"Well look what happened to the Death Star, and it had lots of these things," DS-00-0 replied.
"Would you just rub it for good luck?" Fram responded. DS-00-0 sighed, reached down, and tentatively rubbed the reactor terminal.
"Alright, let's do some flying!" Fram exclaimed. He then hit the throttle, and they plummeted into the black hole cluster. "Set stabilizers to full, and reroute all power from non-vital systems to engines, shields, and stabilizers." he ordered. DS-00-0's hands flew across the controls.
"Done!" he said, nervously. They could feel the ship rattling as the gravitational forces pulled at the hull.
"Can you find me a path?" Fram asked.
DS-00-0 looked dejectedly into his screens, and said, "No, the gravitational forces have scrambled all the sensors."
"Just going to have to fly by instincts," Fram said.
"Yeah, try not to get us killed," DS-00-0 said.
"An exciting life is the only life worth living," Fram replied.
"Yeah, well I'd appreciate the opportunity to keep living it," DS-00-0 said.
"Coward," Fram said, jokingly.
"No, I just think I should fly," DS-00-0 responded, smiling.
Just then the ship was jolted, and began moving towards a black hole.
"I told you I should've flown!" DS-00-0 exclaimed.
"Shut up, and set thrusters for full!" Fram yelled. DS-00-0 complied, but the ship still was being sucked in.
"I'm open to suggestions!" Fram yelled.
"How about we dump some missiles, and blast them. The shockwave could throw us out of the gravitational pull," DS-00-0 said.
"With this kind of pull we'd have to dump the entire payload!" Fram yelled.
"And your point is?" DS-00-0 asked.
"What do we use if we run in to that Super Star Destroyer?" Fram asked.
"I'd prefer to live long enough to find out, wouldn't you?" DS-00-0 asked.
"Good point!" Fram replied. He hit a few buttons, and dumped the missiles. He then aimed the laser, and fired. There was a bright flash, and a large explosion. The ship rocked, and sparks flew. Then the shockwave hit. The ship was tossed around, lights flashed, consoles exploded, and fires started. Finally Fram regained control. The red emergency lights flickered on, and fire suppressant gushed onto the fires. Fram looked out of the cockpit, but saw nothing.
"Visibility is zero, we seem to be in some sort of black cloud," Fram said. The the cloud parted, and they saw ahead of them a large, black, planet.
"Well I guess this is our stop," DS-00-0 said.
Chapter 17: Ulic's Fate
"Well if you want it, it is probably fried," Fram said.
"Great," Kaya replied.
Mara flipped on the comm station, and asked, "You guys still with us?"
"Yeah, but we had a rough time of it. Who taught you guys to fly?" came the reply. Another ship shot over head.
"Excuse me, but who are they?" the Bith asked.
"Just a little distraction. They've been following in our ion wake all through the cluster," Mara replied.
"And you where planning to tell us, when?" Jedi Man asked.
"You didn't ask," Mara replied. She then said into the comm, "Send us down your scans then go immediately to start our diversion."
"Right away!" came the response.
The Teacher strode out of the ship. He had ammo, armor, and various hand weapons strapped all over. He checked his rifle and said, "Okay guys, listen up. The general plan is to wreak havoc. We draw as many forces away from Mara's group as we can. We'll never come close enough to Mara's group to contact them. So shoot anything that moves, then when I signal, head back to the ship." He then entered a small, cavern opening followed by Timbacca, the Wookie, and Labria. Menace 64, an assassin droid, entered an opening right beside it. He was followed by a large alien named Finrod Felagund, a small, strange creature named Mojo, and Putz, a large Gamorrean.
"Well it looks like a temple built into these caves. Unfortunately the main ceremony area seems to be shielded by a unit in the cave down this hallway. The whole perimeter is heavily guarded," Kaya explained.
"Simple, one team smashes into position, and the other takes out the shield generator," Blue Leader said.
"All the protection is around the perimeter. We couldn't spare many men, or we'll never make it through. Besides, the lack of protection around the shield generator makes me think it's a trap of some sort," Mara said.
"I'll go, you guys get in position," Ulic said. They all looked at him, stunned. "Look, I've spent my whole life pretending to be some kind of hero just because I have his name and lightsaber. Now maybe it is my turn to do something heroic on my own for a change," he said.
Mara smiled at him and said, "May the force be with you."
"Wait, we can't let him go by himself," Wampa Dan said.
"You got any better plans?" Mara asked.
"Sure, let one or two of us go with him," he replied.
"I'll go quicker and be less noticeable by myself," Ulic said.
"Well lets take some time to figure something else out," Wampa Dan said.
"Time we don't have," Mara said.
"Well I'll go with him then," Wampa Dan said. He turned, but Ulic had already started running off towards the opening. Wampa Dan moved to go after him, but Mara grabbed his shoulder.
"Let him do this on his own," she said. Wampa Dan nodded reluctantly.
"Alright lets move into position guys!" Kaltax yelled. They all took up their weapons, and they headed into the cave.
Ulic entered a large room. Though it all looked like a cave on the outside inside was a marvelously sculpted temple, but he had his eyes fixed on the shield generator. More accurately he had his eyes fixed on Xetrya, who stood between him and the shield generator. She stared at him, and then she activated her saber. Ulic activated his as well, just in time to deflect her first blow. As the battle raged across the room he knew he had no chance of winning. Ulic had very little training in the force. Xetrya had been raised in poverty. She fought every day for her survival. Until one day Karvyn had found her, taken her in, and trained her in the ways of the Sith. Still Ulic fought bravely, but his strength was failing, his skills were not enough, and his guard fell. She drove her blade through his stomach, just missing his spine. She looked at the wound, and then with a smile of hatred she looked up at Ulic. She expected to see there a look of pain, surprise, or shock. Instead Ulic was smiling at her as he brought his blade down upon her neck while her guard was at that moment temporarily down. The look of surprise never left her face as her severed head hit the ground, followed shortly thereafter by her body. Ulic reached out, grabbed the handle, and deactivated her blade. The wound had been mostly cauterized, but blood still oozed from the opening. Ulic crumpled to the ground. He lay still on the cold floor, but then his arm reached out, grabbed the wall, and he began dragging himself back down the hallway.
Chapter 18: Ice Storm Resurrection
Fram Framson lay on his back, his toolbox was at his side, and he was adjusting several circuits. DS-00-0 stood close to the door with his blaster drawn. All the sudden Fram made a final adjustment, and the monitors flashed back on.
"That does it. How does it look?" Fram asked.
DS-00-0 looked at the monitor, and he said, "Not good!"
Fram jumped up and asked, "What do you mean, not good?"
"Well, the Resurrection just destroyed the other ship, and is coming after us!" DS-00-0 responded.
"Take control and keep clear of the Resurrection!" Fram yelled. He then darted off down towards the cargo bay.
The Resurrection had taken out the remaining weapons, shields, and communications of the Ice Storm. It now had its tractor beam locked onto the ship, and it was pulling it into its cargo bay while the fighters returned. The ship was pulled into the docking bay. Stormtroopers blasted the door open. They charged inside, blasters drawn, while others entered the docking bay. The stormtroopers readied themselves, aimed at the cockpit hatch, and blasted the door open. They looked in surprise at the lone occupants of the cockpit: two droids. All the sudden the secret cargo hatch popped open behind the troopers. Fram and DS-00-0 jumped out, guns blazing. The stormtroopers were dead before they even realized what happened. Fram gave weapons to the two droids.
"Okay, the plan is we toss these extra grenades from the Alpha Blue squad out. We let them blow, then charge out. EVA-01 and SK-84 you bring up the rear. DS-00-0 you have the DNA to run a ship, pick the closest one and we get out of here," Fram said.
"No matter what ship we take they'll still be able to chase us down," DS-00-0 said.
"Just give us a few seconds and they won't be tracking anyone ever again," Fram replied.
The grenades blew and several surprised stormtroopers flew through the air. The rest opened fire on the four figures that emerged, guns blazing, from the captured ship. The figures boarded a nearby Sentinel-Class landing craft, and lifted off. Inside, Fram pulled out a small communicator in one hand. He held a blaster wound with the other hand, and blood seeped through his fingers.
"You okay?" DS-00-0 asked.
"I'll live. How are you and my repair droids?" Fram responded.
"I'm fine the droids took a hit or two, but they are in one piece," DS-00-0 replied.
"The Resurrection is following, so you better put whatever plan you had into action," DS-00-0 said.
Fram smiled and said, "Its a good thing the Alpha Blue team brought way more explosives than they could carry." He then started typing in a code on the communicator.
DS-00-0 smiled widely, and he said "Oh this ought to be good." The Resurrection exploded from within in a dazzling blaze of fire and light. Several fighters remained, having been launched to pursue. They closed in on the stolen ship, but before they could fire one TIE opened fire on them. They were to surprised to react, and all were destroyed.
"DS-00-0 this is Black 1 thanks for providing the opportunity to get out of the Empire," the voice came over the comm.
DS-00-0 grinned, leaned in close to the comm, and he said, "No, thank you for taking the opportunity!"
Chapter 19: Assault
Ulic Qel Droma's hand, covered in blood, reached up, and shut off the shield generator. He then turned, grabbed the wall for support, and headed back the way he had came.
Monitor #13 led a squadron of fighters that pulled up beside Black 1 and the stolen Sentinel-Class Landing Craft.
"Well, we came to help, but it looks like you guys had all the fun," Monitor #13 said. Frank E. Rottweiler's personal ship pulled up alongside. Wes Tycho and Mamow Nadon saluted them from the quad laser turrets.
"We followed your trail and signaled the fleet. They are waiting outside in case you were to fail," Frank E. Rottweiler said.
"Unfortunately, only small starfighters could follow your path in here," Monitor #13 said.
"Is there anyway we can signal the team on the ground?" Fram asked. DS-00-0 checked the scanners.
"No the outer cave somehow scrambles transmissions. They won't even be able to contact each other inside there," DS-00-0 replied.
"Well why don't you guys set down and wait to pick up survivors. Us pilots will cover you," Monitor #13 said.
"Sounds good," Fram replied. Fram and Frank E. Rottweiler then headed for a level area to land.
"The shield is down, lets move!" Blue Leader yelled. They moved cautiously down the hallway firing at the numerous stormtroopers. The Jedi rushed ahead, deflecting shots, and slicing troopers. They approached the door, but the reinforcements had arrived. They set up and began firing. They were all forced to take cover. The large door to the ceremony room began to close. The Bith stood up and with the help of the force dashed through the door.
"Wait!" Mara yelled. She began to move after him, but Kaltax grabbed her arm and said, "Are you crazy? The door is shut, we'll have to get there to get him. You'll just get killed trying now," Kaltax said.
Blue Leader looked over and said, "Deo, how many explosives you got left?"
"Enough to blow this place three times over," Deo responded.
"Good, we'll try to get the Bith back. Jedi Man, you take the rest of the team and wire this place. If we fail, at least no one will escape," Blue Leader said.
"Okay, but without my skills you know you don't have a chance," Jedi man said, smiling.
Kaya leaned out and fired wildly at the troopers, "Just go!" he yelled. Jedi Man nodded and led Deo, Wurth Skidder, and Rabid Raccoon down a separate hallway.
"Well, what do we do now?" Kaya asked.
The Bith charged through the door, only to run right into several guards armed with stun staffs. He fell to the ground senseless.
Chapter 20: The Dark Ceremony
The Bith awoke with both his hands chained. The chain led to a tree a short distance away. On that tree was a ysalmiri. He looked around to see he was in a large dome room. The walls were covered with intricate carvings. It had a high ledge surrounding it with stairs from the door where he had entered down to the level he was now on. Completely around the circumference of the room stood armed guards. He looked straight ahead to see a large stone table on which sat the crystal globe. The dark flame had once again been rekindled inside it. Standing right beside it was Karvyn. The Bith's lightsaber sat on the side of Karvyn's hover chair. Surrounding him was the three witches of Dathomir. They were chanting dark incantations, and the flame leapt with their words. Above the table, hanging from chains, was his father, Barquin Dios. He stared in disbelief at the man he had believed to be dead.
"They didn't let you onto Clackdor VII after the virus. We injected him with an antidote and brought him here. You see, the ceremony requires the sacrifice of a light Jedi to work. Of course, if I knew it was this easy to catch a Jedi, I wouldn't have bothered," Karvyn explained.
"Why did you destroy the whole planet just to capture him?" the Bith asked.
"Because the Professor said he could do it, and it was so much more convenient that way," Karvyn responded.
"If you had an antidote, why didn't you release it after you got him?" the Bith asked.
"Don't you get it? I'm not tied up by those pathetic moral codes you adhere to. I'm completely free to do what I want," Karvyn responded.
"Why don't you spare him and sacrifice me?" the Bith offered.
Karvyn rose, painfully, to his feet. In his hand was a long, cruel looking knife. "An interesting offer," he said. He then drove the knife into Barquin's stomach and he pulled it all the way up to his throat. He then placed the knife down on the table and said, "But it is so much easier this way." Barquin's blood flowed down over the crystal globe, dripped down over the sides of the table, and some splashed onto the floor. The Bith screamed out in pain.
Blue Leader heard the scream and yelled "We can't wait any longer!" Wampa Dan released the Tauntaun, which charged forward. Blue Leader charged for the door, Kaya dove across the floor, firing rapidly, and Wampa Dan stood up, spraying the troopers with fire from his blaster, Mara dashed into the fray her lightsaber flashing through the air, and Kaltax followed her. Blue Leader took a hit in the knee, and he slumped over as a trooper aimed for his head, but Salacious Crumb jumped onto the trooper's head and drove his tiny saber through it. There were too many troopers, and they started to get pushed back, but from behind them came the Teacher with his team. They opened fire on the surprised troopers. Everyone else took advantage of the situation and attacked as well. Finally the hallway was cleared.
"I thought you guys were supposed to stay clear of us," Blue Leader said.
"Well, the Resurrection destroyed our ship, so we decided to move forward instead of retreat," the Teacher responded.
The chants became louder and the blood on the table lit up in the same dark fire. Karvyn looked across through the flames at the Bith. The Bith stared back at him furiously.
"Well as much fun as this family reunion is I believe it is your time to die soon," Karvyn said.
Just then the door blew open and the Bith's friends charged in. They opened fire on the guards. Wampa Dan leapt down the stairs and charged the ysalmiri tree. He grabbed the ysalmiri just as Karvyn threw his saber at him. The saber sliced his left arm off, he grabbed it, and cried out, "I knew that was going to happen!" The Bith used the force to pull his saber off the hover-chair, and into his hand. He sliced through his chains, charged forward, and jammed his saber into the crystal globe. A Dark Flame rushed out upon Karvyn, who screamed, and toppled to the ground. The Bith then took one powerful swing and decapitated all three witches. He looked down at Karvyn. Karvyn rose to his feet, and looked at the Bith. Karvyn's eyes were no longer red they were now solid black.
"Lets hook up with Jedi Man, blow the tunnels, and get out!" Kaltax yelled. They all charged out of the room except for the Bith and Mara.
"I can easily escape before you can blow the tunnels," Karvyn said.
"I have to hold him here," the Bith said.
"I know," Mara said.
"I realize that he must be destroyed so he doesn't harm others, not for my petty vengeance. This is for the galaxy, not for me," the Bith said to Mara.
She smiled and said, "May the force be with you." She then charged out of the room. The Bith turned to face Karvyn.
Chapter 21: The Final Battle Between Good and Evil
They all headed out of the caverns. The remaining stormtroopers regained their positions and cheered at the retreat, thinking they had won. Wampa Dan was about to leave when he saw Ulic Qel-Droma stumbling down the hallway. He ran over to him and said, "Let me give you a hand." Ulic gratefully grabbed his hand, only to look in horror to see that the arm was not longer attached to the Wampa. Wampa Dan smiled and said, "Sorry, I couldn't resist. Hold onto that for me."
The Bith battled against Karvyn. Karvyn had all the Emperor's powers, making the battle impossible. He was faster, stronger, and smarter than the Bith. The sabers hummed through the air and crashed against each other time and time again as the two warriors battled. The Bith fought valiantly and thrust forward. Karvyn deflected his assaults and with a flick of the wrist he sent the Bith's lightsaber flying from him. The blade bit into the rock and stayed there, standing straight up. He reached out with the force to retrieve the weapon, but before he could. Karvyn hit him with a deadly ball of force energy. The Bith tumbled, stunned and in great pain, to the ground. He looked up at Karvyn, a bit of blood oozing from his mouth, and he smiled. Karvyn was standing over him with another ball of force energy crackling in his hand as he said, "Say hello to your father for me." He flung it straight at the Bith's head, but the Bith relaxed into a force trance absorbed the power into himself. With the newly acquired force energy he reached out and pulled his lightsaber to him. Karvyn ws so surprised at what had transpired that he turned just in time to see the saber fly from behind him, pass through him, and land in the Bith's hand. He fell apart, split in two, to the ground. The Bith got up and looked down at Karvyn. His face did not show hate, anger, or even satisfaction. His face was perfectly peaceful. He then felt danger prickle at his neck and he saw a vision of the clock ticking down on the explosives. He used the force to aid his flight from that room, but as he made his way through the halls he realized he was out of time. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he went into a force trance.
Everyone at the ships covered their eyes as the brilliant explosion erupted from the caverns. They all looked at the aftermath with dismay, knowing their friend had fallen. Then as they were about to turn and leave some debris shifted. The Bith stepped out of the smoking rubble surrounded by a greenish bubble of force protection. The bubble ceased to exist and the once black skies began to clear, the dark clouds dissipated, and rays of sunlight began to fall on the once dark world. One such beam fell upon the Bith. He felt the warmth, stared straight up into the light, and smiled.
The End
This Story Is Dedicated To:
Starwarsmom:)- Keep smiling wherever you are.
The Late Figrin D'an- Vaya con dios mi amigo.
Special Thanks To:
Black 1- For taking the time to edit my mistakes.
Jedi Master Kaltax- For creating the excellent Yahoo! group.
Also Thanks To:
Yodarth, Son of a Bith, Darth Purge, The Dark GSWCCGC Chairman, Fram Framson, Kaya Kenobi, Bib Fortuna, King Felix, Salacious Crumb Dark Jedi Master, Ulic Qel-Droma, DS-00-0 Flight School Dropout, Rabid Tauntaun, Monitor #13, Jedi Man, Alpha Blue, Rabid Raccoon, Wurth Skidder, Deo, Luke's Bud, Frank E. Rottweiler, Wes Tycho, Boba Fett, The Shifty Eyed Wookie, Reactor Terminal, The Teacher, Putz, Mojothebadmonkey, Labria, Timbacca, Menace 64, Finrod Felagund, EVA-01, SK-84, DuoTheGodofDeath, Grouchy Old Uncle Owen, and Lord of the Typo Demons.
To Recieve The Sequels:
Rabid Tauntaun's- Jonathan85@hawaii.rr.com
Jedi Master Kaltax's- mikesugden@hotmail.com
Momaw Nadon's- DarkHelmet@NC.RR.com
The Dark GSWCCGC Chairman's- the_darkgswccgc@lycos.com
To Join In On The Yahoo! Group Visit:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wampa_dan
