~The Crimson Path of Destiny~ Updated 1/28

Awww...you guys are my loyal fans

This next installment is going to kick off the major plot of the rest of the story...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


They didn?t use the front door, of course, but instead scaled the side of the building up one level, to an open window. A convenient open window, in Kyp?s opinion. He kept his eyes open and all his senses doubly alert.

The first thing they noticed upon their arrival was there was no one around. They had planned to shield themselves with Force power if they saw anyone who looked halfway alert, and they had assumed there would be guards in the building, but they could sense no one. It was like the massive castle had been deserted.

?It?s not deserted.? Katara said, seeming to read Kyp?s thought. Force, she probably had.

?I guess not?I wish we could sense someone around here?there?s got to be people, why can?t we tell that??

Katara didn?t answer him. Suddenly she seemed caught up in her own thoughts, and she began walking stealthily through the door to the room they?d entered.

?Katara?? Kyp said, his voice barely audible.

Katara turned the corner outside the door, and Kyp was forced to reluctantly follow her. The silence was eerie, and even eerier was the building itself. Once they were beyond the room with the window, it was dark, and difficult to see in the shadows. Kyp didn?t like that one bit.

Katara wasn?t sure if it was curiosity or the Force guiding her, but she continued down the hall, turned a corner, down another hall, until suddenly she found herself facing an audience chamber. It appeared deserted, so she crept inside. She sensed Kyp coming up behind her, and together they walked, almost in a trance, towards the empty throne ahead of them. The room was filled with tapestries, and the light was an orangish glow that seemed to speak of majesty- and malice.

Without warning through the Force or anything else, the door shut behind them.

?And so you come.? A deep voice boomed out. The voice was full of humor and pure evil, all at once.

Katara spun to see the source of the voice. Unbelievably it was the throne, which was empty a second before. Now it contained a tall, broad-shouldered man of middle age. Katara realized he had been there all along, hidden to all of their senses.

Kyp turned to the throne as well, and stifled a gasp. Katara knew he was scared, perhaps even terrified. Somehow, crazily, she wasn?t. She felt suddenly as calm as she?d ever felt. Suddenly she knew this was what she?d been born for. She was born a Jedi, and a Jedi?s destiny was to fight evil.

?Yesssss, Borth. They come,? said another voice, this time coming from the side of the room. It?s owner was a small felinoid being, who also pulsed with dark power. More darkness surrounded them then Katara had known existed. But still it did not frighten her.

Out of instinct, Kyp ignited his lightsaber. The human, who Katara assumed was ?Borth?, laughed.

Kyp leaned close to Katara. ?I can take the big guy. I?m sure you can handle the cat,? he whispered softly. Katara didn?t even have time to frown at Kyp's comment, which she considered a slight before the felinoid lunged at them.

?Take care of the cat, can you?? Her voice was haughty, and full arrogance. She ignited a lightsaber of her own, an orange bladed one, as she ran.

Katara and Kyp both turned to the attack, sabers at ready, but before they could engage, Borth started towards them as well, igniting a blood red saber of his own.
Suddenly Kyp was not so sure he could take the guy after all.

Katara backed a few steps from the felinoid, preparing to attack. Their blades crossed, as Kyp turned away to face Borth. The cat was small, not even half Katara?s size, but she was strong, fast, and seemed to have an endless wellspring of Dark Force to draw from. Katara found her own connection to the Force stifled, obviously an effect of something the two Dark Jed

 

oooooohhh a cliffhanger... what happens next!?

*waits eagerly for next installment*

 

Sorry, just a little short one today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

?We can sssstop them Borth. Should we sssstop them?? The felinoid, whose name was Tabitha, said. She had dropped to all fours after the Jedi had fled, a position more comfortable for her. She was cleaning herself, but looking slightly annoyed that the Jedi got away.

Jarun Borth smiled. ?No. Let them go. The time has come.?

Tabitha stopped preening and stared at him, startled. ?Are you ssshhure??

Borth raised his head and shut his eyes, sensing something through the Force. ?Yes, I am sure.? He said after a moment.

The young girl walked over to where they were, and dropped to one knee. ?I apologize profusely, Masters, for my hesitation-? she began.

?Think nothing of it!? Borth said, interrupting her. ?I would have done the very same thing in your position, my dear. But in fact, this is a very, very good thing that has happened to us.?

Tabitha cocked her head to symbolize agreement. ?Yes, indeed it isss. When I saw the young one, I ssssusssspected, but until I saw you with her, Devlia, I did not know for sssshhhure.?

Devlia brought her head up, but remained kneeling. ?Please, Masters, explain this to me?what does this strange occurrence mean??

Borth laughed almost gleefully, a phenomena Devlia had never once seen her master engage in. ?This means very good luck for all of us, Devlia. I knew when I began your training you would be something special, but now I see?it may be you who brings about victory for us, and the Sith Order.?

Devlia still looked confused, and Tabitha continued. ?Let me explain what we mean, my dear??

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Katara and Kyp?s flight from the palace was always hazy in Katara?s memory. She could not recall them escaping the building, getting back on their speeder, or flying at top speed through the open, grassy countryside that covered the land between their ship and Trilono.

She could not recall this, and yet it happened, because they made it to their ship, and launched, without a hitch. Both of them were shaken from their encounter, but Katara recovered first.

?It?s obvious they let us escape.? She said to Kyp, the first thing either of them had said in a few hours.

Kyp was lost in thought and meditation. He sat in the pilot?s chair of the small, clunky craft that had been their home for the past several days. He was gazing out into the star lines of hyperspace, feeling suddenly that the galaxy was not nearly as big as he thought. Certainly not nearly big enough for him and these three Dark Jedi.

?Kyp!? Katara said impatiently.

Kyp stirred from his thoughts. ?That?s obvious, Katara. We had no chance of escape. You felt their power as well as I did.?

?Even more so?? Katara said, her voice trailing off. Kyp was tempted to remind her who was the senior Jedi on this trip, but he refrained. Something in her voice told him she wasn?t putting on airs.

They were silent for some time.

?And I wanna know who the Sith that girl was?the one who looked like me.? Katara said this almost lightheartedly, trying to lighten the mood, but Kyp knew how deeply this fact had troubled her. It troubled him nearly as much.

Kyp shifted his chair around, wincing at the shrieking sound the chair made. Nothing on this ship had been oiled since the Clone Wars, it seemed. He faced Katara.

?It was some trick they played. She was a Shapeshifter, or maybe it was a trick of the Force-?

?No,? Katara said, solemnly shaking her head. ?No. Because it wasn?t just a surface resemblance. There was something?familiar in her.? Katara said, her face twisted in disgust at this concept.

Kyp returned his gaze to the viewport, searching for some answer to this riddle that would bring Katara comfort. Suddenly, he hit upon it.

?Of course!? He said. Katara looked at quizzically. ?You remember Master Skywalker?s little moral story?? Kyp asked.

Katara rolled her eyes. ?Which one??

Kyp grinned, and continued, ?The one where he was at Dagobah, and he went into that cave and thought he was fighting Darth Vader. You know, but it wasn?t, it was really himself. He?d killed himself in hatred or some kriffin? stuff like that. That?s probably all this was.?

Katara still looked doubtful, but it wasn?t in her nature to linger too long over something troublesome, so she halfheartedly accepted Kyp?s explanation. Until she researched it further at least.

She sat down in the copilot?s chair, and put her booted feet up on the console. Genuine leather the boots were, hard to come by, too. She was proud of the boots and wore them all the time. Said they made her look ?more imposing?.

?So?what do we do now?? She asked.

?Katara, something?s been troubling me.? Kyp said. There was something about the battle they?d just fought which bothered Kyp.

?Yeah?? Katara asked.

?You remember when you flung that cat into the wall? How did you find the energy to do that??

?I don?t see why that would bother you, but as a matter of fact, it was funny. I felt pretty much powerless, then it was like I tapped into a new wellspring of Force energy, and I had unlimited power?then I lost it somehow, because then the cat had me again.?

Kyp nodded. ?And you don?t know where this Force well came from??

Katara looked uncomfortable. For some reason, discussing her powers always made her uncomfortable. She wasn?t ashamed of them, only felt they weren?t something to be discussed- they were too sacred for that.

?No, I don?t know.? She said.

?It came

 

we want more!