Before - Legends Heart of the Sith (Action/Adventure, KotOR-era, some KotOR characters, OCs)

I managed to find some time after practicing my French to sneak in for a few minutes. Sorry I missed the second to last post--it was heartfelt and courageous and sad, all at the same time. I hope Karn managed to take out all the Sith in the room.

As for HK...heartbroken and slightly defeated, he abandons ship to the bleakness of space. It's a good enough way to end things, I suppose, but I still hope he gets some comeuppance!

Back on Sunday, I'll be practicing my French in Montreal till then.

 

darthhelinith: HK could definitely do with some time off from work. Fighting a galactic war is no easy matter and probably isn't an experience he plans on repeating anytime soon. But we haven't seen the last of our favorite assassin droid quite yet.

Jedi_Perigrine: Merci! You won't have to wait long for the aftermath of Karn's sacrifice. HK's plan to leave everything behind was probably a smart thing for him to do (like they say, when the going gets tough...) but in the words of Kreia, plans are fragile things, and life often dashes our expectations to the ground. Have fun in Montreal!

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[b]Chapter Twenty-Nine: Section Two[/b]

Lori heard an explosion far above and immediately sensed what had happened. The blast had taken out everyone in the room, including most of the Republic troops and a few Jedi who hadn?t made it far enough down the stairs in time. The entire passageway was no doubt sealed off; if any of the Jedi survived this, they would have to cut their way back out. But Commander Karn?s sacrifice had done its job: all of the Dark Jedi were either dead or dying. Lori promised herself that his death wouldn?t be in vain.

Just as she knew it would, the long, curving, dreadfully dark stairway spit them out onto one of the beaches surrounding the pool of lava deep beneath Ziost?s icy surface. Lori took a few steps forward, Master Kale at her side and eighteen other Jedi behind them. They were joined by a dozen elite troopers, including the three surviving members of Orenth Squad.

Only two people awaited them: Lord Aradox, seated on his throne on the island in the middle of the lake, Revan?s mask covering his face, and Bren, who was standing on the edge of the black ash beach, a lightsaber in each hand.

?Lay down your weapons, Bren,? said Master Kale. ?You can?t stand against all of us.?

?Luckily,? proclaimed Lord Aradox as he rose from his throne, ?He won?t have to.?

A score of lightsabers, those from slain Jedi, no doubt, flew out of the Dark Lord?s shadowy robes, soaring across the fiery lake to meet the intruders. Lori sensed her old master?s presence behind each, and knew that the Jedi?s superior numbers would give them no advantage in the battle to come.

There was one floating lightsaber for each Jedi, though two went straight for Kale, leaving Lori alone to take on Bren. Behind her, the troops stood motionless, unable to shoot at the lightsabers for fear of hitting the Jedi.

?You don?t have to do this,? Lori said to Bren as she took a step toward him. He ignited both lightsabers in a red ?X? across his chest.

?Oh, but I do. Darth Rath is dead, and that makes me Sith Apprentice. You could never beat me in a duel, Lori. With the power of this place behind me, you don?t even stand a chance.?

Lori could sense another presence lurking in the area, familiar and dark, and knew that Simus was watching, no doubt corrupting Bren?s mind and whispering lies into his ear. She could not convince Bren to betray his own thoughts, not until she removed him from this awful place. And no one was leaving until Lori defeated Lord Aradox, and the only way to do that was to first get past his Sith Apprentice.

Without any other alternative, Lori ignited her lightsaber, surprised only for a second that the blade was again emerald, and charged.

Surprisingly, Bren didn?t even attempt to block her attack, instead angling his lightsabers at his sides and pirouetting out of the way, extending a leg to kick Lori as she entered the space where he had just been. Lori, sensing his next move through the Force, twisted around and slashed downward. Bren caught the blade in another ?X? and pulled it apart, knocking Lori?s blade to the side and giving him a clean shot at her chest.

The Force told Lori not to risk a block, so she instead took a step backward out of Bren?s path. The warmth around the back of her heels meant that the edges of the lava were closer than she would?ve liked, and she would have trouble defending against Bren?s next attack. The strange t

 

Oh my Gosh!!!!
You can write these dueling squences really well!!

I was on edge the whole time.
*prays for Lori and Kale*

 

NoooooOOOOOO!!! Kale!

And....Lori! And OMG, whatta cliffhanger!! Adrenalin pumpin! Need...more....

 

I totally agree with the other two. Awesome show, you described things beautifully. Of course, Kale and Lori are now in deep doodoo. Go light-side, go!

 

darthhelinith: Thanks! At this point, it looks like Lori and Kale are going to need all the prayers they can get to even survive the battle, let alone win it.

Danaan: Don't give up on Kale quite yet. He may be out of the battle, but if Lori can take care of Aradox in a timely manner, there may still be time left to save him. The conclusion of the battle will be up in a couple days.

Jedi_Perigrine: Glad you enjoyed it. Lori and Bren's rivalry has been a subplot since the very first chapter, so I wanted to give it a big ending. The conclusion of their fight, and the ultimate confronation with Aradox, will be up later this week.

---

[b]Chapter Thirty: Section One[/b]

?Is it what the teacher teaches or what the student learns??
-Vergere (Traitor)


The bad news was that HK-47 was caught in a tractor beam. The good news was that it wasn?t the tractor beam of the [i]Sidrona Diath[/i] or the fighter carrier into which it was slowly crashing.

Nevertheless, HK had been hoping to take the escape pod all the way to Ziost?s surface, where he could steal another ship and, with the interdictor destroyed, leave the system behind for good. Now he would have to improvise, fighting his way past yet another long series of mundane meatbags that would no doubt try in futility to stop him from acquiring a new ship.

The tractor beam drew him through the cruiser?s belly and into the main docking bay. Two technicians quickly opened the escape pod?s hatch and were obviously surprised to see the muzzle of a Zerisum Rifle looking back at them.

HK killed them and climbed out of the pod, only to find the rest of the docking bay completely empty. There wasn?t even as much as a weaponless aurek for him to steal.

[i]Sithspit.[/i]

Cursing the galaxy for its twisted sense of humor, of which he seemed to be the primary target, HK made his way to the bridge of the smaller cruiser. Resisting the urge to blast everything in sight, the journey actually proved quite simple, since all the Republic personnel seemed to assume he was merely a security droid on their side.

That all changed once he executed the captain in front of his men and ordered them to prepare for the jump to lightspeed. Like good soldiers, they refused to comply, and he had no choice but to kill them all. Now he was in yet another predicament; it was only a matter of moments before the rest of the fleet realized he was stealing their ship, and then there would be nothing to stop them from ionizing it or just destroying it altogether. HK sealed the bridge?s blast doors to give himself time to think, though it was only a matter of seconds before a security team began slicing their way through.

What was he supposed to do now? He could get in yet another escape pod, but he?d only end up getting picked up by another Republic cruiser. That wouldn?t be a problem, except for the fact that he was down to his last energy shield, and his Zersium Rifle was using its last power cell. He wasn?t sure he?d be able to fight his way through a docking bay filled with armed troops. Then again, it was his only hope if he wished to survive the day.

The phrase sent an electric impulse through HK?s memory circuits, and he made a sudden connection he hadn?t before. He stopped for a moment and replayed Aradox?s words over in his head: ?No, I have every confidence you will be successful. You need to be. The Force will ensure that you are. If there?s anyone who won?t survive the day, it?s me.?

Aradox had never said that HK would make it out of the battle alive. He had said that HK would be successful, but that was an entirely different question. The [i]Sidrona Diath[/i] was destroyed, HK had already succeeded, but the chances of him surviving to fight another day were starting to look slim. Was Aradox really as powerful as everyone claimed? Had he perhaps gazed into the future, forseen HK?s fate, and sent him to his doom nonetheless?

Normally, HK wouldn?t put much stock in the opinions of organics, even one as ancient as Arado

 

What a great idea!

This is somthing I ceratinly wasn't expecting!

At least HK is free now.
Maybe he'll be happier, as a republic cruser. He'll get to go places and create huge explosions...
That is so sad in a way, so touching...
And why do I even care about a Droid?!

 

Nice update! I didn't see that one coming, but I can't say I don't like it. It'll be interesting to see what he does next! Good stuff, looking forward to more!

 

darthhelinith: Thank you! It's always good to hear that an ending is surprising. I think HK will definitely enjoy life as a cruiser, at least until he finds out this is supposed to be a peace-keeping vessel. And I wonder what the crew will think when their ship begins to take on a life of it's own. But alas, that's another story, and ours is nearing it's end.

Jedi_Perigrine: Glad to hear it! As for HK's eventual fate, you'll have to read HK's Wookiepedia Article to find out. Part of the reason I chose to use HK as a character in this tale was to bridge his story from the end of KotOR II to the beginning of Star Wars Galaxies.



Well, I can't believe it, but it's finally here: the final section of the final chapter, the ultimate confrontation that's been more than seven months in the making. Hopefully it'll live up to everybody's expectations. And since we started things off with a Prologue (oh so long ago), it's only fitting that we end the story with an Epilogue, which will be up early next week.

And now, the grand finale of Heart of the Sith:

---

[b]Chapter Thirty: Section Two[/b]

With every bit of power she could muster, Lori sent a wave of Force energy toward her rival, who, caught mid-leap, could do nothing to block the blast. In the air, he completed reversed direction and, as if repelled by a giant magnet, flew straight into the enormous hurricane of volcanic rock that surrounded Lord Aradox?s island. The same thing that had happened to Master Kale moments before now happened to Bren: he slammed into one of the larger stones, again reversed direction, flew back out, collided with one of the walls, and collapsed onto the floor of the chamber.

Lori reached out with the Force and found that, by some miracle, or perhaps simply through his connection to the power of Ziost, Bren was still alive, though clearly unconscious and with dozens of broken bones and scratches, some of which were bleeding profusely.

Even after all this time, Lori was no match for the boy in a duel of lightsabers, but, as always, she still had the upper hand when it came to the Force. There was no time to bask in her victory; Lori had one last challenge to face, the man who had not only started, but orchestrated the entire war, the reason she had turned to the dark side and back again, the one who now waited for her, standing in front of the throne that signified his place as Dark Lord of the Sith.

Only five Jedi were left standing. Aradox used as many floating lightsabers to keep them busy, and another to occupy the three Orenths; the other troops had already been struck down. The Wookie and the two humans seemed to be holding their own against the possessed Jedi weapon, though Lori knew this wouldn?t last long, not if she didn?t get to that island and stop her master.

She had hoped that the swirling stones were only to keep the other Jedi away, that, after Lori had defeated Bren, they would settle into some sort of bridge, allowing her to pass. But as she stood on the edge of the ash beach, she realized that Aradox wasn?t going to make this easy.

The most obvious way of getting past the blockade was simply by going through them, though if even Master Kale had failed this method, Lori didn?t want to try. Near the top, the paths of the stones intersected to form a virtual dome, so there was no hope of going over them. And, though the lowest of the stones were still a full meter over the surface of the lava pool, no one could try to go beneath them without getting burned alive.

No one, that is, except Lori.

Lori, who had spent several weeks training with the Matukai, who had learned, among other things, the ability to use the Force to walk across fire. Surely a lake of lava couldn?t be so different.

And she realized, with a pang that made her want to stop and sit down, that Aradox had planned for this to happen. He must?ve known, leaving her with the Matukai, that they would teach her th

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!

Brendan!
I knew it! I knew it!

But anyways...
What an amazing ending!
The sith are defeated, but prepare to rise yet again...
Ohhhhhhh!
Congrats! An amazing story!
Well worth the read and underecognised me thinks!



Great job!

 

Endings are among the most difficult things a storyteller can undertake, because they have to sustain the full weight of the narrative on their shoulders, weave together and resolve all the threads, and they have to do this without a flaw, lest the audience will feel robbed of the story's full potential.

You, sir, just accomplished an ending that met the challenge, as steep as you had made it to yourself. Congratulations!

Oh, and the reflection of this success, is that the final scene really brings it home that the story is at least as much about the Heart of the Jedi, as it is about the Heart of the Sith. Indeed, your understanding of the meta-physics of the Force have served you and this story very well!

Great climax, great end, great story, thanks for offering it up to us to read! [insert bowing smiley here]

 

Great updates. HK =

Loris actions are... impressive to say at least. I admire her, I really do.


And was "Order" with capital O at the end of 28 deliberate, or? Cause it made the scene quite ominous. Nice touch.

The start of the Finale is awe-worthy. Do keep me updates, please!!!

 

Whoa just in time for the grand finalle!

Coo, story dude. Your HK is the HK! Seriously, he is such Bada**!

Good job on writing your characters. The thing with Brendan was especialy great.

 

Sorry for the major delay, but the wait was definitely worth it! What a great ending to the story--you returned to the awesome depth of emotional turmoil and combat, like the way you started this whole epic months ago. You did extremely well with the ending here, I'm glad Lori was able to talk Sorn out of killing himself.

Great job! I'm looking forward to/dreading the last post.

 

darthhelinith: Glad you liked it! Just when it seems the Sith are finally defeated, a glimmer of hope (or despair, depending on how you look at it) remains. After all, somebody has to survive to keep the Sith teachings intact. Thanks so much for all the great praise!

Danaan: Wow, thank you! That's a very astute observation and one of the key themes of the story: deep, deep down, the Jedi and Sith are really quite similar. Both want to 'improve' the galaxy, but it's their varying methods that really set them apart. Thanks for reading; all the great comments and feedback are what makes posting it so rewarding.

Ulic_Starwalker: Lori's definitely been through quite a lot, and none of it's been easy, but I bet she'd be glad to know she's earned your respect. Yay, I was hoping somebody would notice the capital "O"; that was definitely deliberate! In one sense, Karn was following a direct order to help the Jedi complete their mission, but he was also literally following another Order: the Jedi Order. Here's the last part of the story.

Jedi_Drizzt: Perfect timing! Glad you liked HK. After playing as him for so long, I had a blast writing for him. Like I said before, all the characters had their parts to play, even Bren, destined to ensure the continuation of the Sith even after Aradox's ultimate defeat.

Jedi_Perigrine: Thanks! This actually worked out great, since I got a new reply almost every day. It was definitely a challenge getting everything to come full circle, but I'm glad you think I pulled it off. It helped a lot that I completed the story long before I started posting, so I had time to go back and tweak some of the character's story arcs even after they were finished. Lori saving Sorn was perhaps her greatest accomplishment; like Bastila said, the Jedi don't believe in killing their prisoners, no matter what their crimes. Looks like Sorn was right all along (even if it took Kale a while to realize it): Lori is, in her heart, a true Jedi.



When I started posting this so long ago (November 1st) I had no idea what to expect, especially after the rough start. I was just hoping for one loyal reader, and I ended up with five! So I'm greatly indebted to all you guys and girls and overjoyed that you liked the story so much to stick with it all the way through. Give yourselves a pat on the back for reading three parts, 30 chapters, 109 sections, and 141,316 words! It's been a wild ride and all the wonderful feedback is was really made it worthwhile. Everytime I saw that I had a reply, I couldn't help but smile, and I don't know what I'm going to do now that this eight-month epic is finally at its end. This has been an awesome experience I'll certainly never forget. And now, I present to you the conclusion of our tale, the ending of my little contribution to a galaxy far, far away...

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[b][u]Epilogue: A Change of Sith[/u][/b]

[i]The Night is our best friend, and it is our greatest teacher, and it is our worst enemy.
It is a pretender, and a liar, and a traitor.
But we can pretend too. And we can lie. And we can betray the Night.
All we have to do is remember the light.
And then the stars come back.
And then the sunlight returns.
And then we[/i] win.
[i]The darkest night is followed by the brightest day.[/i]


30 YEARS LATER?

?In the story of your life, is this your best ending? Is this your dream??
-Vergere ([i]Traitor[/i])


Sorn found the room vastly different than he had remembered it. In the thirty years since the battle had taken place, some geological shift had redirected the flow of lava to the room, causing what had once been a molten lake to harden into a vast stretch of uneven stone. No longer heated by the lava, the entire chamber was considerably colder, as was fitting for a place so far beneathe the surface of Ziost?s polar ice cap.

Many of the chunks of rock Sorn had blasted from the wall were still visible, though no other e

 

What a great finish!

Sorn is making sure that the Jedi will always have an adversary to keep them on their toes.
His legacy, one might call it.
Neither can live whilst the other survives, yet there are no Jedi without the Sith...

What an amazing ending!
You've kept me guessing the whole way, and have me begging for more!

 

Very evocative, very moody. It really seems appropriate that Sorn/Aradox had plans that went beyond the one order, doesn't it?

Very worthy epilogue, indeed!

 

Congratulations, Zeron, you've crafted a superb tale. Plots within plots. Motives hidden even from your own characters. It was my pleasure to read this story from start to finish; you've come a long way from the writer who posted 15 intense pages at a time.

Stand up and take a bow, my friend, you've done marvelously. I sure hope you write something else soon.

 

Wow!!!

Amazing story, Zeron! The epilogue was really well written and a great ending to your epic. Well done, the whole story was managed really nice form the start and you did a great job on keeping the readers clinging onto the story. Thumbs up!

The ending was pretty cool. Sorn is an amazing character even thoguh I didn't really like him in the beginning. It is epic and slightly ominous that both Jedi and the Sith descend from him in a way.

Revan's mask is another brillaint touch.



Thanks for the Order explenation, btw.

 

Dude! Awesome ending!

Thanks for such a great story!

 

Thanks everybody! I'm glad the ending lived up to your expectations. Heart of the Sith began with Sorn's quest to reinvigorate the Jedi Order, so I figured it was only appropriate for it to end with the aftermath of his crusade, while still revealing the future of the rest of the characters and the repercussions of their actions.

This story was the result of months obsessing with Star Wars (the KotOR games in particular) and I think I finally got all the ideas out of my system. I'm sure this won't be the last Star Wars story I write, but it may be some time before I get the freetime and motivation to start another. Maybe after Star Wars: The Old Republic is released. In any case, I'll be sure to let everybody know if I write a new story.

I'm also honored to announce that Heart of the Sith has qualified for the 2009 Before the Saga Fan Fiction Awards in the category "Most Underrated". Thanks for the nominations (reading all of them made my day), and be sure to vote come July 3rd! In the meantime, I have to submit an excerpt of less than 800 words. I still haven't decided which part I'm going to send in, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know.

Thanks again for joining me in this wonderful adventure!

 

Long-time lurker.

WOW!

A wonderful ending to a wonderful story, really. This is by far the best Before the Saga fanfic I've ever read, in my opinion. I'll remember to vote for Heart of the Sith!

Sorn and Lori are brilliant characters, and I love what happened to both them and HK-47.

 

Wow, thanks! Just when I was feeling sad that there'll be no more replies, I get another one! Glad to hear you've enjoyed the story so much. Thanks for delurking and letting me know; reading your post really made my day.




(By the way, in case anyone is curious, I decided to go with the beginning of Lori's very first scene [in Chapter One] for the excerpt, back when she was levitating the pebble in the Room of A Thousand Fountains. It seemed like a nice way to open to the story to people who had never read it before, introducing one of the main characters and their philosophical musings on the Force.)

 

Sorry I've been MIA...it's been an INSANELY busy, complete with serious injuries and trips to foreign countries. But for what it's worth, the beginning of the whole story was what I would have recommended. Do PM me when you post another story. But meanwhile, stay in touch, maybe we can TOR together...in 2011

 

Wow, I hope the injuries aren't too serious. The other countries part sounds fun though. The beginning of the prologue crossed my mind too but nothing really interesting happens in the first 800 words. I certainly will. 2011 seems so far away, but it'll probably be here soon enough. And maybe The Sith Lords Restoration Projection will finally be completed before then.