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 Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 6:00 pm
Corellia, Corellian System, Corellian Sector - 19 ABY
Kyle Katarn walked through the streets of a decent sized town on the planet of Corellia - one of the most well known worlds in the galaxy. Corellia had been the first planet to develop the hyperdrive and one of the Core Founders - worlds that had helped to form the foundation of the original Galactic Republic.
Corellia was a world full of rich tradition and a brave, unorthodox, and independent people. The planet itself was comprised mostly of humans and oddly enough - it remained undeveloped save for several villages and towns that dotted the globe. The biggest city was the capital known as Coronet, a massive urban setting that was impressive but no where near the city-wide planet of Coruscant. Corellia's massive shipyards - for which Corellians were most famed for - remained high in space.
Kyle Katarn himself was a former Imperial Stormtrooper turned mercenary turned Rebel Alliance spy turned Rebel SpecForce agent turned Jedi turned again to mercenary and finally turned a Jedi once again. He had become a Jedi Master and trained two students with some degree of success in them.
Now some five years after training them, he felt the Force again call to him: There was another one who was to be trained by him. He had felt this calling and longing from the Force for some time now. He had waited a year before deciding to finally take upon this burden.
Kyle had wondered: what could have been so important about this being that the Force had given such a longing for this person?
If it was sheer power - then it was good reason. He stood in front of a decent sized home. It was nice, Kyle wouldn't of have minded having his own home like this one day.
The Jedi Master snorted - maybe when the galaxy was done turning itself inside out every chance it got.
Indeed, the being inside - which felt human to him - had a considerable amount of untamed, unfocused, purely raw ability laying dormant.
Kyle walked to the door and knocked a couple times. A man, roughly close to Kyle's own age of 41, opened the door.
"Can I help you, sir?" The man asked politely - albeit slightly confused. It wasn't every day a man dressed in casual clothing with a cloak addressed you. Suddenly, a young man - a teen with such brilliance in the Force it was stunning to say the least. Even without the proper training, he shone bright.
"Perhaps, sir. But it may be the opposite way around - I may be able to help him," Kyle said, pointing at the teen a few feet behind his father.
I wonder, Kyle thought, Which will be harder? Fighting off hordes of Dark Jedi and the Imperial Remnant - or training this kid?
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:35 pm
"And that's why I'm here," Kyle summed up his statements. Valin and his family had listened to everything - Kyle's explanation on who he was - and why he was here.
Valin couldn't really grasp it all completely. He, Force sensitive? Valin had never felt different from any of his friends or family or anyone for that matter.
"So..." Valin's father - former Rebel Alliance pilot Rik Lobel - asked Kyle, "Do we have to lose complete contact with our son?"
Kyle shook his head, "Master Skywalker explained to me that back in the Old Republic, children with Force sensitivity were taken from their homes and placed in the care of the Jedi Order. No contact was established with the apprentice's former family."
The Jedi Master paused and Valin listened, "However, Master Skywalker no longer does this. Your son, Valin, would have to stay at the Jedi Praxeum - something similar to a boarding school. Should Valin wish to stop his training, he could return to his home at any time."
Valin's mother - Sybil Lobel - gave a sigh of relief, "So, our son could come home at any time? Just like that?"
Kyle Katarn nodded, "Master Skywalker would not force a student to train or attend the academy in any way. This is completely optional. The training... it's not easy."
Rik looked at Sybil, then at Kyle Katarn, "I think we need time to talk this over with our son and take some time to decide."
Jedi Master Katarn nodded, "Of course."
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Two days had past since Kyle had first visited. Many stories had been shared between Kyle Katarn and Rik Lobel.
Valin had heard all these stories before: Rik Lobel, formerly a pilot for the Rebel Alliance. He gave it up when Valin was four because of injuries sustained that costed his father his right arm and right leg. Although fitted with high-end prosthetic replacements for his leg and arm, this no longer provided him with the needed amount of fine movement and control to pilot a starfighter. Thus, he was given the choice to either accept a desk-job or be honorably discharged. He resigned his commission from Starfighter Command and left to go back home to be with his family on Corellia. Thus, he had become a local and popular swoop, speeder bike, droid, and landspeeder mechanic.
Valin's mother, Sybil Mjol Lobel, had a less interesting story. She had always lived on Corellia and had known Rik since they were teens. They had eventually married and had Valin as their only child even while Rik was away with the Alliance. She currently helped Valin's father run their business - taking care of paperwork, dealing with money. Basically, everything his father wasn't good at or forgot.
However, Valin himself helped his father around the shop somewhat with repairs and such. Mostly, he was in school earning himself decent grades.
Together the family had reached the decision: Valin would go and train under Master Katarn's tutelage in the ways of the Force and maybe one day become a Jedi.
"Being a Jedi - it's a hard life, kid. The path we follow is not an easy one," Kyle said to Valin.
The young man merely nodded. This was hard to understand right now. Master Katarn seemed to notice this and padded him on the head.
"Don't worry, Valin. Where we are going, you will be surrounded by friends and those wishing to help you along this path as much as they can."
Several hours later, Valin Lobel had packed everything he needed. He said tearful goodbyes to his parents. Kyle gave his promise to protect their son. Valin gave his promise to make his parent's proud of himself.
And they were gone. Off to Yavin IV to train this young man in the ways of the Force under the care of the New Jedi Order.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 7:21 pm
Tatooine, Tatoo System, Arkanis Sector - Anchorhead - 27 ABY
The man was overly large. Disgustingly large. He sat in his chair, watching some holoshows in the middle of the hot day of Tatooine. Few would be outside in such weather without proper clothing - and few would enjoy the incredible heat generated by the twin suns.
The shadow stalked the man. The air seemed to grow stale and heavy. The holoshow started to short out as if the connection was being cut or interrupted. It stuttered and looped until the show froze in place.
"Damnit..." Said the fat man as the transmission became static. The man sighed in annoyance.
The man shrouded in darkness moved closer, his steps made in utter silence and came to stand directly behind the man, who sat in his plush chair. He grabbed the older man's head with a single hand and the huge man jumped in terror and surprise.
"What the hell!?" He shouted out. The fat man tried to move and turn his head around to view the shadow - but couldn't will his body to move anything but his head. Even then, he could only make see parts of the darkness that composed the shadow.
"You will not move," Stated the shadow man in a cold, dark voice, his will dominating the man's mind, "I have come for you."
"M-me? W-what do y-you want w-with me?" The fat man asked. The shadow could sense the poor man's fear and fed off of it, adding it to his darkness, using it against the old, fat man. He was going to tear this man apart. The shadow was going to make this man pay for everything.
A red beam of light flashed across the man's neck with a loud snap-hiss in the silence. The distinctive hum of the lightsaber was the only sound in the room that the shadow allowed to exist besides the man's fear-induced, heavy breathing.
The darkness smiled. The fat man was starting to profusely sweat in sheer horror. Few had seen a lightsaber before. Still, many had heard the stories of it cutting through inches thick durasteel like a hot knife through butter.
The shadow held it so close to the man's neck that any wrong move - by either of them - would produce a rather macabre scene of blood splatter.
"I know what you did to her. I know," The shadow bitterly said to the fat man, hissing out the last word.
The shadow moved his head closer, ice cold breath breathing against the man's fat neck.
"I have come for revenge, you b*****d." He growled. Suddenly, the saber was away from his throat and the fat man was flung out his chair with a display of Force power. Equally, the chair went flying into the wall, as well. The shadow man grabbed the fat b*****d with the Force and pulled him to him.
The man hung in the air, hands at his throat. He fought like a mad animal to get his the invisible grip away from his throat - that cut his air flow to near nothingness. The shadow moved his hand and the fat man flew into his wall. Almost immediately, he was up and running for the door. He actually made it outside, as well.
The shadow man strolled along, the red blade sliced through the floor as he walked along.
"You can run..." The shadow said, "But you'll only die tired..."
The fat man ran until he stumbled and fell unceremoniously to the ground like a ton of bricks. The shadow snickered at the idiot's attempt to run.
The shadow reached into the darkness of the Force and completely shattered the man's kneecaps with hardly any thought to it. The fat man would never walk again - even if treated with the mighty healing agent of bacta.
Next, the shadow man dragged the man over to him with the Force.
"You can't run this time. You can't escape. I am here to claim revenge upon you. You sick animal!" The shadow reached out and grabbed the man by the neck, squeezing with all his considerable might. He could have easily snapped the man's neck if he wish it - but that was be too easy.
Death would not be fitting punishment for his crimes.
"I know what you did to Kalee! I know! I know! I'll destroy you! I'll make you beg for mercy you will never receive! I shall make the rest of your days so completely full of unimaginable pain!! I HATE YOU! I KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO HER!" The shadow was screaming now and man was blue in the face from lack of oxygen.
He threw the fat man on the ground. The lightsaber swung once and took away the thing that the fat man used to destroy a young girl's innocence.
"I know! She told me! She told me! I HATE YOU! You are nothing but a pig! You are the lowest of the low!"
The blood red blade of the lightsaber faded away. The man lay on the ground, sobbing in pain. The shadow kicked his massive stomach. Then again. And again. And again and again and again. Suddenly, the man was in the air again. And the shadow punch him in the face, shattering bones beneath his flesh.
Again, the shadow threw him to the sands of Tatooine. He stared at the fat, bleeding man. In between his sobs and groans, he was attempting to plea for his life, for the shadow to stop.
"YOU WANT MERCY!?! YOU DESERVE NOTHING!!! YOU HAVEN'T LEARN ANYTHING OF PAIN YET!!!"
The shadow released a barrage of Force Lightning. The man spasmed uncontrollably on the ground as barrage after barrage of blue lightning coursed through his body, destroying him. This lasted some time, until the shadow was sick of this.
The b*****d of a father continued to jitter long after the shocking had stopped. The shadow severely damaged or destroyed the muscle system of the fat man's body. It made the darkness smile with sick glee.
"How does it feel? Oh, but we've just begun though! Your daughter... your daughter... how could you do that to your own daughter?" The shadow asked angrily.
The tried to say something along the lines of asking for forgiveness. Suddenly, the shadow man picked up the man by his burned shirt and brought him face-to-face.
"She is dead. The Yuuzhan Vong killed her. I loved her. And you..." The man surrounded in darkness grabbed the man's left arm at the wrist and set powerful hypersonic waves that shattered bone into nothingness, "You never loved her. You just saw her as a means to get what you wanted."
The shadow man tossed the man to the ground and he skidded for a handful of meters. The man managed to look at the shadow man, who was walking over to the old b*****d. The shadow the man's mind and violently assaulted it, projecting demonic images of a massive four meter tall beast walking towards him with many claws and fangs. The ground was made of ash to the fat man and covered in demonic bugs and spiders that crawled upon him, biting him and burrowing into his skin. The shadow projected into the man's mind thousands of razor sharp objects stabbing his flesh and then thousands of needles. His finally projection involved the giant beast consuming the man - ripping his body and taking chunks out of him.
However, the b*****d wasn't dead. No, no, no.
Instead, the darkness had instilled insanity into the man's mind. Forever would he see the galaxy as a living hell made of ash, brimstone, towers of flames, small imaginary demons that would gnaw away on his flesh, and bugs - thousands upon thousands of disturbing and fearsome bugs. Paranoia would forever be the fat man's constant companion, constantly making him feel as if the shadow man would and could strike again.
The fat man was screaming a screeching wail that assaulted the ears. It made the shadow smile with evil glee.
"And now... I think you deserve to see the face of the man that has come for revenge," The shadow said, bending down to the screaming fat b*****d.
The shadow removed the jet-black hood of his cloak.
From the cloak was the face of Valin Lobel.
A face that almost corpse-like grey, whose eyes were sunken in and the sockets red, raw, and puffy. However, the most fearsome was those eyes. Not the peaceful emerald green of a Jedi Knight.
But sickly yellow irises surrounded by red blood.
And the fat poor-excuse-for-a-father wailed and screamed even harder as Valin forever burned this memory into mind of the man with the power of the Dark Side of Force: YOU TOOK HER INNOCENCE. YOU DESTROYED YOUR OWN DAUGHTER. YOU ARE WORTHLESS.
YOU. ARE. NOTHING.
Valin placed his hand on the man's head.
"This is your end."
With the Force, Valin entered into the man's mind and destroyed it. He burnt the man's brained form the inside out. He would have only enough brain activity to keep himself alive - and to keeping producing a screeching wail that forever signified the man's sins.
And his final action was this: He ignited each and every pain receptor in his body. They would continue to go off at their maximum levels for the rest of his life.
That would teach him about pain. But it was nothing to what Kalee had experienced at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong.
Valin Lobel was the darkness. And he loved it. It was the ultimate power! Unlimited power! A well of power that never ran dry! It supported it him when he need it! It was harsh or cruel or hard to control like the light. He was more than willing to let the Dark Side use him as he used it - a mutually beneficial arrangement for such unlimited power!
In his last act to the fat man - Valin called upon the Dark Side of the Force so deeply, so fully his face began to shrivel and powerful indentations crossed it. Some would perhaps say he looked like a young Palpatine.
And with this incredible power, the Dark Jedi produced a wave of ungodly energy. For several kilometers on out, Tusken Raiders and Banthas and Jawas and humans and anything living just died. Homes exploded, massive rock cliffs exploded, and the ground shook like a thing possessed.
The sands receded under the man's big mansion - which caved in. A giant pit formed where his house use to lay. And Valin forced massive demon-like, rock-made protrusions from the ground around the pit. The rock was nearly pure black - infused with the Dark Side, just like the pit. Anything that neared it would die a horrible, painful, but swift death
Except for the fat, screeching man. He could live here. And Valin would allow sentient beings to pass unharmed.
What was a monument to this b*****d's sins if no one could see it and feel its dark presence?
The darkness put his hood back up and looked at the man twitching and convulsing on the ground - his body shakes only caused him greater pain. He screamed and screamed. Forever he would until his pathetic life ended.
The shadow began to walk away. This was just the beginning.
Many would pay for having ever caused harm to his beloved. He would slaughter billions upon billions to obtain the power to bring her back from death's grip.
His new Master said he could learn how.
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 9:23 am
Yavin IV, Yavin System - Jedi Praxeum - 19 ABY
"I... I can't do it," Groaned a young Valin, only a teenager and new to the ways of the Force. The young apprentince to the famous Jeid Master and New Republic covert agent Kyle Katern - Valin felt like he was letting down the man.
"It's... it's just too... big..." Valin said, turning his sweat ladened face to Kyle. He had learned in the last few weeks that Yavin IV was hot. And humid. It was a far cry from the temperate weather of homeworld.
Master Katarn smiled, a warm smile that offered some hope to - what seemed - an otherwise hopeless situation, "It's not too big, Valin. You just need to focus yourself. Luke, uh, Master Skywalker once told us that the great Jedi Master Yoda told him: 'Size matters not'. He was shorter than a meter tall and he was one of the greatest Jedi Masters ever - at least, that's what Luke says."
"Try again, extend your preceptions, feel the Force and use it to grab it and move it. That pillar probably weighs more or less the weight of a starfighter. Go on, you can do it."
Valin closed his eyes and touched the Force - which greeted him with warm and comfort. It was... slippery, hard to grasp, hard to use. Kinda like wearing thick gloves to grab a single grain of sand - rather impossible to do.
Yet, it was there and he could at least feel it. And maybe he could use it.
He reached out with an invisible hand and surrounded the pillar with his Force-Hand. He attempted to lift its massive weight and he felt that he was losing grip. It was just too damn heavy.
He reinforced the Force and attempted to lift it. The his invisible hand wanted to bend and buckle under the massive stone's weight - but Valin wouldn't let it.
He didn't want to disappoint his Master - or himself.
And he didn't know it - but Luke Skywalker stood in the background by Kyle, working the progression of one his newest students.
Valin reached into the depths of the Force, drawing its power and push with incredible strength. The pillar lurched up and then fell down with a rather loud boom that shook the ground.
The young man opened his eyes and saw the pillar had moved - but less the a meter than where it had been before.
"... That's it...?" Valin groaned, falling to his butt where he sat on the ground.
Kyle walked up to him and he was simply smiling - probably a mocking smile on how poorly he had done.
"Nice work, kid. You surprised me."
"Huh?" Was all Valin could muster to say.
"You moved it, Valin. This was just suppose to be a way to show you didn't grasp the concepts of the Force just yet - but I see I was wrong," Master Katarn chuckled, "Seems you are beginning to understand, after all. Nice work. Come on, kid, watching you doing all that work has made me hungry. I'll time you some of my adventures. You know, typical stuff: Dark Jedi, Imperial warlords - those sorts of things."
Again, Valin - out of breath and quite exhausted - could muster a simple, "Alright."
The young man would come to find out the training got harder but more rewarding. He would stay several years at Yavin IV and he would learn in the way of the Jedi. He would find the Force to be an amazing ally, but difficult to always understand and comprehend.
He made friends and rivals. Valin lived the life of a relatively normal person. However, he was trained in an ancient tradition of those who protected the galaxy from harm.
Valin Lobel would one day become a Jedi Knight.
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Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 6:42 pm
Unknown System in Unknown Sector - Vibroblade Squadron - 21 ABY
Ensign Valin Lobel sat in the cockpit of the T-65AC4 X-wing Space Superiority Starfighter. His designation in squadron was Blade Ten and he had earned the nickname 'Jed'.
He was a rather recent addition to the squadron. Valin had left the Jedi Order two years ago. No - not left, that wasn't the word that fit precisely. He had taken some time off of his training. That explained it better. After spending two years in the Jedi Order under the training of Master Skywalker and Master Katarn, he had decided he was going to take some time away from learning the ways of the Force and go out and get a better feel for the galaxy around him.
Valin had decided to join the New Republic Defense Fleet and join the Starfighter Corp. as a pilot - like his father was back in the times of the Galactic Civil War as a pilot for the Rebel Alliance.
In the academy - he excelled at everything they threw out him. Especially in the starfighter simulation battles. He scored within the top twenty of all students to have ever taken the hardest test of them all: the Battle of Endor simulation - a test of skill, mental durability, survival, and pure luck.
Valin had survived all his tests and scored quite highly in the sims. He evened forced his instructors to make the battles harder for him - his training as Jedi gave him precognition that most pilots couldn't hope to have. Still, he got in the top twenty at number 13 of the top testers of all time for the Battle of Endor sim.
Now he sat in a real cockpit.
A real cockpit under real fire in a real battle.
You see - despite signing peace accords some two years ago: some Imperials didn't want the war to be over. These Imperials were considered rogues even by the Imperial Remnant - the unofficial moniker of the severely weakened government of the Galactic Empire.
"Wrench. See if you can fix those motivators, they're loose again," Valin asked the little droid. Wrench - who's serial number was R3-X2 - was his newly assigned astromech droid. The droid was identical to the more famous R2-series droids except for the see-thru dome that showcased its advanced computer brain. Finally, the droid had a white body with a black and green trim.
An Imperial TIE Fighter stuck close on Valin's tail, spitting out its green lasers in an attempt to blow apart his X-wing. The TIE Fighter - nicknamed 'eyeballs' by New Republic pilots - were the primary starfighter of the any group remotely related to the Imperial cause. They were slightly faster and more maneuverable than an X-wing, but they lacked combat shields, missile weaponry, and hyperdrive - something which all X-wings had.
Someone had once said: "Siener System's TIE Fighter - a commodity, after hydrogen and stupidity, was the most plentiful in the Galaxy."
The TIE stuck close, weaving after him. Valin made a sharp starboard turn and the Imperial starfighter followed - straight into the crosshairs of Blade Six who fired and turned the fighter into a very brief, very hot explosion. Six let a victory yell escape as he flew through the fire and debris.
Vibroblade Six was a Devaronian male - known for their red tinted skin and devil-like horns that grew from their heads - that had joined up with the squadron right after the Thrawn campaign. The being - his name Vilh Grak - was an overall great pilot but what he truly excelled at was being a sniper. He had been a covert sniper for the Rebel Alliance back in the day but now enjoyed the act of blowing apart Imps from the cockpit.
Things had been going quite well. They had jumped in on this convoy of an Imperial warlord - and intelligence had done their job well. The warlord had a single Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer Death's Hand, an upgraded verison of the original Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Accompanying it was one very old Venator-Class Star Destroyer from the Clone War, two Nebulon-B escort frigates, and a dozen and a half cargo ships of various models.
Destroying their convoy - their highly defended convoy - would end them quick.
Vibroblade Squadron was being backed by a Mon Calamari MC90 Star Cruiser New Hope - which had the same amount of firepower as that Imperial II-class. Also accompanying them was Endurance-class Fleet Carrier Centerpiece with her two wings of starfighters or one hundred forty-four starfighters, one of the new and powerful Republic-Class Star Destroyers, two of the older MC40a Mon Calamari light cruisers, three CR90 Corellian Corvettes, and a single DP20 Corellian Gunship that was for anti-starfighter defense.
The Centerpiece alone with her entire wing of K-wing assault bomber could easily blow apart the Death's Hand. The New Republic was sick and tired of dealing with Imperial warlords creating disruption form them. Thus, they had sent this massive array of warships to pound them into stardust.
Vibroblade Squadron dove back into the fray as the larger warships exchanged fire between one another. The Centerpiece, however, with its light armor and minimal weapon emplacements, hung back and away from the bigger ships fighting it out between themselves. The starfighters fought in their own weaves or along the hulls of the warships, fighting other starfighters or pelting the capital ships with missiles and bombs.
Valin and the squadron he was part of flew back into fray of starfighter combat. The Imperial splinter group was now throwing I-7 Howlrunners - mediocre starfighters that was fast and actually had shield generators but lacked a powerful punch - at them in waves.
The Howlrunners broke formation in a scatter pattern and dove at Vibroblade's X-wings. Valin skewed his ship port, dodging fire from the Imperial starfighter that had taken position on his tail. The greater speed and manuverability of the Howlrunners can them a slight advantage over the X-wings. Valin dodged 'downwards' in spiral but the Howlrunner followed easily and fired, blasting away at his shields.
The not-quite-yet-a Jedi reached into the Force, attempting to calming himself in the situation. He felt the Force around him and felt the laser bolts from the Imperial starfighter coming to him, which he dodged expertly in a spin that had the lasers zoom past - missing by centimeters.
"Eleven, I have one on me and he doesn't want to get off my tail," Valin commented to Eleven, a human male who had served with Vibroblade Squadron since a handful of months after Endor.
"Roger, Ten, I got him in my sights," Eleven replied in a calm tone.
Eleven's X-wing came soaring behind the Howlrunnner - which spat more fire at Valin. Because of his slight drop in concentration, a handful of bolts hit his rear deflector shields, nearly collapsing them. Wrench didn't yell out - he simply went to work. He was a stalwart little droid, who had apparently seen a decent amount of combat.
However, Eleven dropped in right behind the Howlrunner, blasting with a single burst of all four of the X-wing's laser at once. The blast was dead-on, blasting away the Imperial ship's shields and blowing out the back-end. A few seconds later, the small spacecraft exploded in flames.
Valin realized he had been holding his breath and the fire in his lungs told him that breathing was a much needed necessity to live. He exhaled, breathed in, and said "Thanks for the save, Eleven," The young pilot expressed his overwhelming thanks to the other pilot. Valin could have swore he heard Vibroblade Eleven chuckled before he said, "No problem, Ten."
Suddenly, the Imperial starfighters broke off from the enemy, dodging Republic gunfire. Some of the larger Imperial warships were breaking off, as well, from the New Republic's warships.
It seemed they were retreating.
Then the s**t hit the fan.
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Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 6:16 pm
The Maw, Kessa System, Calaron Sector - Shelter - 27 ABY
Kessel. The planet - which was a very loose use of the word in this case - barely had an atmosphere and to those that peered at, the world seemed like an overgrown asteroid - rocky, barren, and almost completely devoid of life. The air was thin, the conditions to be on the world were incredibly difficult without mechanical assistance.
The Galactic Empire loved it. Kessel - leased by the Hutts to the Imperials - was their happy little place to send anyone to. You see, Kessel was incredibly important for one reason alone: Its spice mines of glitterstim, a potent mind-affecting drug that was highly addictive. It was the biggest fears in the galaxy during Imperial reign to be condemned to the spice minds of Kessel. However, now under New Republic control, Kessel was operated by a Sullusten who employed some insectoid species that thrived in the environment.
The Maw. A collection of highly unstable and mostly unnavigable black holes inside the Kessa System. The Death Star Prototype had been built here - essentially a skeletal Death Star frame with the reactor, a small command cabin, and the superlaser: which was tested on Kessel's moon - quite effectively. Also located here was the Maw Station, where the great minds of the Empire cooked up their latest superweapons.
These two stations were located inside a safe zone - safely away from the radiation, plasma, and strong gravitational forces that the black holes created.
The whole Maw was considered some kind of freak accident of nature - or perhaps constructed this way.
However, overtime both the Maw Station and the Death Star Prototype were destroyed.
What was left of Maw Station had been rebuilt for a new person by the New Jedi Order. The Jedi had remade it into a new station nicknamed Shelter. Shelter provided just that - a shelter for the young Jedi children and apprentices, hidden safely away from the genocidal Yuuzhan Vong. It was actually a stopgap until Eclipse Station could be finished inside the Deep Core - which would actually be a slightly better hiding spot considering that the Deep Core regions were virtually unexplored due to lack of safe hyperspace lanes and of the massive gravity fluctuations.
Valin Lobel approached the station.
He sent his codes to Shelter as he approached - slowly, of course. One wrong move in the Maw and you guaranteed yourself to be sucked into a black hole or destroyed by radiation.
Shelter sent back a message saying that the codes were good and to begin his approach.
"All too easy. They should change the codes more often," Valin said to himself in a low tone.
This was a very important mission. One that could determine whether his new Master was going to teach him the technique once known by Darth Sidious and his Master, Darth Plagueis.
His Master knew a Force technique that could influence the midi-chlorians in a person's body. Such a power could prevent someone from dying. Equally - it could create life, as well. His Master had said that with time, they could learn a way to bring back a person from the netherworld of the Force.
Kalee. He could bring her back one day.
There was one condition: Valin must give up his ties to the Jedi Order and to the Light Side of the Force.
He would have to serve under his Master. He would learn the ways of the Dark Side of the Force.
And he would learn the ways of the Sith.
Valin had cast away his former friendships, the Jedi ideals, his respect for the Jedi Masters, and even his name.
He was no longer Valin Lobel.
He was now Darth Misgien. His Master thought it was 'silly' to continue this particular ancient Sith tradition. His Master had not taken up the title of 'Darth' or a new name. A new name for a new person. He had taken the name after killing Kalee's father and after starting his initial teachings in the Sith ways.
Valin Lobel was dead. Darth Misgien merely looked like him - appearances could be deceiving.
The death of Darth Sidious - Emperor Palpatine - was thought to be the end of the Sith Lords. Under Darth Bane's Rule of Two, there were only two Sith at any time: One to embody power and the other to crave it. A Sith Master and a Sith Apprentice. So when Sidious's apprentice Death Vader had killed him and then died himself - there were suppose to be none left to claim the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith.
How foolish Sidious had been. Vader had been very underhanded, not as committed to the Sith ideals perhaps. Lord Vader had trained another in the ways of the Sith and of the Dark Side. His Master was the one trained. Thus, even though the two Sith Lords had been killed - the teachings lived on.
Darth Misgien eased the shuttle into the hangar bay of the station.
Three Jedi, probably simple apprentices, came out to greet him. Darth Misgien eased up his expression, let the look and feel of Valin Lobel come over him. He would need the mask for now.
He stood and eased his robes. They were mostly the same robes he wore before - a dark, earthy brown tabard that's slightly torn up from too many battles fought. A dark gray gi-top with black under-tunic. Dark gray pants with red Corellian Bloodstripes on each pant legs. Finally, there were the black boots, the dark gray cumberbund, and the brown leather utility belt. However, one detail had changed. Normally he wore a very worn, very dark green cloak. Now he wore one that was blacker than the darkest night.
Darth Misgien decided the ramp of his transport, his dark cloak wrapped around him.
"Greetings, Jedi Lobel," Said one of the apprentices who gave a light blow, which the other two did as well.
"Master Lobel...?" One of the apprentices said. He had to be about sixteen, seventeen years old.
"I am not a Master... not yet anyway... but ask anyway," The Valin disguise said cooly.
"Is... is it true you were stuck on Coruscant after the Vong took it?"
Valin was quiet for a long moment, "I was."
"Then... then how did you get off planet?" The boy asked, his friends looked on silently and uncomfortably, they felt it was inappropriate to ask Valin such questions - especially since it was a known fact that Valin that had lost his Padawan while getting off planet. Obviously, they didn't tell the kids this.
"The Vong took me on one of their slave ships along with my Padawan. I killed them all save for a lone pilot who brought me back to the Republic," He stared coldly at the kid, "Now - begone. I have a meeting to attend to."
The hidden Sith pushed his way past. He was done with them. They simply stared on at Valin - few survived being taken by the Yuuzhan Vong once captured. None had ever slaughtered an entire ship of them.
The Dark Lord of the Sith prepared himself, he could feel the stirring of some of the Jedi Masters beyond...
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Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:56 pm
Telos IV, Telos System, Kwymar Sector - 27 ABY
Valin stood at the hospital bed, looking at her. She was in terrible shape - her body failing her and the machines struggling to keep her alive. The poison that was inside her had proven so far to be resistant to any known anti-poison that the hospital had. The only thing keeping it and her pain at bay were Valin's use of the Force to slow its evitable course.
Valin didn't want to think about it - he couldn't. Kalee couldn't die. He wouldn't let it. He would save her. Somehow.
However, he was in bad shape himself. His left arm had been severed from the elbow down by a Vong weapon and the doctor's had tried persuading him to go rest and recover. However, typical Corellian stubbornness and genuine love won in the end - they had simply placed a small tank of bacta over the wound until they could get an artificial replacement on it. Valin was also suffering from various smaller wounds, malnutrition, sleep depravation, and a host of other problems that would kill a lesser man.
But the Force was a powerful ally. It had never abandoned him. And as he called more and more Force inside him to use against the poison, Valin was hoping that it would help him one last time.
"Val..." Kalee whispered to him. Her soft eyes looking at his - which Valin could see where riding a torrent of terrible pain.
"I'm here, Kalee," Valin said to her, reassuring her that he wasn't going to leave her. The younger woman - three years Valin's younger - smiled lightly. Valin's heart jumped to his throat.
"Val... I'm sorry I was stronger for us both. I'm sorry I'm not the best Jedi, the strongest Force user," She whispered to him. Indeed, Kalee was rather average in Force abilities. However, Valin still saw the potential in her that he thought he could get to blossom in her so that she would become a great Jedi Knight.
Valin gave a small smile, "You are a stronger Jedi than you give yourself credit for. After this, I'll show you what I see in you. You can win this, love."
She looked away and her body shook some as waves of pain hit her. Medical droids in the room continued to monitor her condition and administer pain killing drugs.
He felt the pain, too. In their time together - Valin and Kalee had formed an incredible Force Bond. It was superior to the Master and Apprentice bond that formed generally between teacher and learner. It had evolved with time to the two nearly being one in the Force - a bond of love and care and trust. It was incredibly powerful to the point that even Master Skywalker was surprised on the strength of it. The final link of the Force Bond was sealed together when the two had given themselves completely to the other one night a handful of weeks ago.
And now Valin was Kalee as Kalee was Valin. In the Force, they shined like equals - to the point that some people had trouble sensing the differences in the two Force 'auras' they presented to others.
Thus, when one felt pain, the other felt it. When one was overjoyed, the other could feel the joy inside them. It served only to strengthen their love of each other.
"Val... I'm dying..." She finally said. The words hit Valin like a speederbike at full speed.
"D-don't talk like that - please don't... The Force is strong with you. Its - Its strong with us both. I-I-it won't abandon us, baby,” Valin said to her. He didn't want to think like this - negative emotions would just fuel the Dark Side.
And Kalee looked away as he thought that. The Dark Side.
Valin looked away, too. He had tapped into the Dark Side of the Force on the Yuuzhan Vong ship: killing each of them, one by one until only a lowly Shamed One - that use to be a pilot until his implants ruined him - was left to fly the ship. Then he killed the Shamed One after they made it here.
"I'm sorry... I just..." Valin started but he couldn't think of anything to say that would make it better. Her faith in him had been shook.
"Val, its alright. Even Master Skywalker fell to the Dark Side once," She said with a light, comforting smile for him. Valin bent down and kissed her head - it was warm, very warm. She was running a high fever.
Sometimes, she made him feel like the apprentice rather than the Master. She giggled lightly at his thought, though it sent her into a wave of pain. Valin felt the poison taking a strong grab at her - it was only getting worse. He channeled more of the Force into the her but it could do nothing.
This wasn't happening.
He channeled more and more until he was running himself dry of energy with beckoning the Force to himself to channel into her. But as the Force removed poison, it just wasn't doing it fast enough to counteract its affects.
"Val... when I die... will they cremate me in..." She went into a coughing spasm. The monitors started to report that her body was starting to fail her as the Yuuzhan Vong poison finally started to go into overtime, "...in the proper... Jedi ritual?"
Tears were rolling down her face now.
Valin couldn't watch all those rivers that ran down her skin.
Even though the tears fell down Valin's face as well, "Kalee... don't talk like that... there's still hope..."
She smiled lightly again, "If they do... could you have my ashes used in the Corellian ceremony of the dead...?"
Valin blinked, confused. She wasn't Corellian - she was from Tatooine. But she was asking to have her ashes compressed into a synthetic diamond in the traditional Corellian death ceremony, "W-why?"
She looked at him with those eyes that he had fallen in love with. But the eyes were filled with sadness and pain - but love was there, trumping both of the two others, "I'd like you to use it as the focusing crystal of a lightsaber..."
And now Valin really started to weep. The lightsaber was built like it was a part of yourself, a possession that was much more than a weapon but a symbol of yourself. It was incredibly important and special to a Jedi Knight. It was not uncommon for someone to use a family heirloom as the crystal focus. Every single part was important. Each lightsaber was unique and only the builder could ever truly understand its construction. It was the heart of the Jedi.
Time passed. Kalee only got worse, her body now truly failing her. Her vital organs had more or less failed her. But still Valin stood by her side, pumping the Force through her body, hoping desperately that this would someone work. Sweat covered her body and she coughed up blood several times.
Then suddenly, she went into several violent spasms as her body reacted to the final effects of the poison. The monitors went crazy with alarms, droids began to work overtime on trying to keep her alive.
"No! Kalee, hold on! We can fight this... we can..." Valin begged, pleaded. He begged the Force to let her live. He begged the cosmos. He begged everything, anything. His life even. Anything. Something. Everything. Whatever could grant him the power to save her.
Nothing. There was nothing. Nothing, no magic or science or whatever.
Even the Force had abandoned them.
"Val... there's great... great good in you... you are... a wonderful man... meant for... great, wonderful things... I... love you..." Suddenly, the machines went crazy as she flat-lined. Valin willed the Force to him, channeling everything he had and more. He could feel himself burning his body from the inside out from the sheer, insane amount of Force focused through him. But it was useless.
She gave him one last smile, one last tear, and four last words: "I love you, Valin."
And he felt it in her. He felt it in himself.
She was gone.
And he realized how empty it was. How torturing it was. How nothing would ever be the same again. How he had lost the single most important thing in the galaxy to him. And that one, final, absolute truth hit him:
Kalee was gone.
And Valin reached into the Force with all his anger and sorrow, and let forth a galaxy shattering scream of pain and rage. The room reacted to the touch of the Dark Side of the Force as metal walls twisted and buckled. The four medical droids shook, sparked, and exploded violently, raining debris and fire around him as their twisted, destroyed bodies hit the floor. The machines monitoring Kalee's body spurted sparks and bursted into flames. Everything in the room shook and exploded, twisted and burned. The walls twisted and screeched as the Force tore metal panels and heavy equipment from the wall, shattered windows into billions of fragments, and caused some parts to melt as if from extreme heat.
The heartbroken man screamed until his voice wouldn't carry any longer. He collapsed to ground, his body so weakened that he too was near death. Doctors came rushing, some pausing to survey his incredible damage before rushing to get him into bacta or a bed.
As he slipped into unconsciousness, he realized that inside - he could no longer feel her presence, that his soul was all alone and empty...
And he realized that the Force truly had abadoned...
That everything he had learned as a Jedi had failed him...
That she was gone... forever...
Ossus, Adega System, Auril Sector - 27 ABY
It was several days later.
Jedi of all ranks and species stood solemnly as they watched the funeral pyre burn, watched as another member of the Jedi Order was cremated before them. Most wore the browns and tans that all Jedi wore during such occasions. Everyone wore black cloaks with the hoods over their heads. Some Jedi - just out of combat - still wore their military combat uniforms or the bright orange flight suits of a starfighter pilot. Yet they too wore the black cloaks. Even the non-Jedi in attendance - friends of the Order, Valin's family - also wore the solemn cloak.
There was only one person not standing. A young man, a young Jedi Knight who had lost it all. He sat in the grass, bawling his eyes out with his face buried in his hands as he could not watch the woman he loved be burned away, forever gone...
The funeral had ended. Everyone had left save for two Jedi Masters : Luke Skywalker and Kyle Katarn - who had been Valin's master, the one who taught him everything he knew as a Jedi.
Both men stared as the now extinguished pyre, where they had collected the Jedi Apprentice's ashes after the funeral.
"He's a mess," Kyle finally said to Luke with a exhausted sigh. He had felt the anguish the young man's lover had died. It had stung like someone drove a spike in his own heart. He too had been there before - he had thought he had lost his own woman once, though she was still alive. Thank the Force.
"It's not easy," Luke said calmly. Kyle knew better though. The great Jedi Master had recently lost his nephews Anakin and Jacen Solo when the younger Anakin led a strike team against the Yuuzhan Vong to kill the mother-creature created to spew clones of herself that could easily, and incredibly effectively, hunt down Jedi. It was a successful mission. But the causality rate was horrific and many Jedi had died.
And so the two looked towards the Force... wondering what they could do...
For the war was not going well...
The New Republic had lost the single most important planet - Coruscant - in the Galaxy, the Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya was dead, the New Republic government was in chaos and disarray, Han and Leia had lost both their sons - though Leia claimed that she did not feel Jacen die.
So the two Jedi looked to the Force.
They looked for hope.
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