Beyond - Legends The End of All Light (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Updated 11/29/14!

first!
Niiice chapter, .

 

SECOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brilliant senate scene. Loved every minute of it. Rodan is feeling his just rewards coming to him now. He must have seen the end to the story was was blown away by what happened that he knows what's coming to him

Poor Zonama Sekot. And poor Kyp. I hope Kyp survives, cos I doubt that Sekot is alive at this point.

 

3RD!!! Wow, I almost feel sorry for Rodan. And I HATE Rodan! Zonama Sekot is gone!?! Why!?!
That's pretty much my first reaction.
The last thought Kyp Durron had as he clung to consciousness was a terrifying one.

Zonama Sekot was gone.
Poor Kyp. The thought was too horrible to live with. Why couldn't it have been Spongebob!?!

 

Okay I'm a little behind! I'm sorry, I just got out of school for the summer and I had all kinds of left over work to do but you get the idea, !

Okay don't have a lot of time but I want to say one thing.

Han. Solo. Is. Awesome! Okay that is out of my system

Awesome job!

Friday!Friday!Friday!

 

Ahh Rodan, please let it be a horrifyig and painful end for you.

 

<headdesk>

If that is the general level of competence this little cabal exhibits, they'll probably end up being discovered when they blab about their conspiracy on an open connection on the holonet. Don't they have any talent at putting things together? Ar'krai + Yuuzhan Vong + Zonama Sekot = ???.

Good to see that the Galactic Senate still plays a role in your version of the EU, not like the non-existant entity over in FotJ.

Good chapter.

 

and 7th!
So, Sekot's gone? For real? Are we going back to Dathomir for the next chapter? Why am I asking all these questions? And if not Dathomir, are we going to see *looks around nervously* Him?

 

Hmm. So Zonama Sekot is gone? Still alive I hope.

Excellent Senate scene by the way. Glad to see ol' Triebakk.

Anyway great update. Can't wait for the next one. Are we going back to Dathomir or are we seeing Jacen I wonder?

 

YK

I just get in touch with my inner-Squib

LOL

Noooo!



I have no idea what you're saying here



Maichen doesn't understand things like compassion or selflessness.

Should have picked up on that over the last four months maybe ...





Chapter 8: Fallout

Kre'fey and his fleet had simply disappeared.

Maybe they should ask Jacen about that

She knew nothing of the truth. He never told her of his dealings with Faybol or Darth Malig, and she, like the rest of the galaxy, knew only that Nylykerka was imprisoned on charges of sedition while the details of his alleged crime were sealed under the War Powers Act.

This was Rodan's only chance. If he could successfully play both sides against each other so that the ultimate victor believed he was a true ally, completely loyal to them, he might just survive this thing after all.

He is playing a dangerous game!!

Klorne waved his explanation off. "That's not what I was looking for. What I mean is that Kre'fey obviously accepted whatever Rénin was selling, because he talked Kre'fey into attacking Ossus. So, as I said, I'm not sure Admiral Kre'fey would be on our side even if he is still alive."

"But what did he offer Kre'fey? He was never made Supreme Commander."

Zonama Sekot and the YV and Jacen killed Kre?fey instead on Maligs wish
Klorne was smart not to accept it - she might not have fared better

"Hm?" The woman looked up at him as though waking from a deep thought. "Oh," she said, her eyes darting back down at the datapad in her hand and began thumbing the controls. "There is this. We have not heard from the flotilla stationed at Zonama Sekot for at least three months. They missed their bimonthly report and we've been unable to reach them. It must be some sort of communications problem."

Right - what not exists anymore can?t communicate nor report - not even bimonthly


***


He glimpsed it only for an instant before his green-armored interceptor was jerked violently off course and sent spiraling into the carnage. A blur of rubble peppered his cockpit's canopy, gouging long scratches and webbed pits into the transparisteel blister between Kyp and the angry abyss beyond. It drummed against the craft's stubby wings, sending low vibrations through the already powerfully quaking craft while a screech came from the astromech droid socketed on the starboard side when a whirling piece of metal debris split its dome open in a shower of white sparks.

What happened with his shields that should prevent major damage of some impacts

The last thought Kyp Durron had as he clung to consciousness was a terrifying one.

Zonama Sekot was gone.

Kyp Durron unconscious + hell of a system with debris and crashing planets and moons + no astromech to take over = not good outcome

Did you just kill him in not so many words?!

 

MrMuse: first!

Nicely done

Niiice chapter, .

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it

And thanks for reading and replying.





GMK: SECOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good job

Brilliant senate scene. Loved every minute of it.

Thanks, that's good to hear I'm always afraid these scenes will seem boring.

Rodan is feeling his just rewards coming to him now. He must have seen the end to the story was was blown away by what happened that he knows what's coming to him



The walls are definitely closing in around him. I think he knows his fate will not be good no matter how this turns out.

Poor Zonama Sekot. And poor Kyp. I hope Kyp survives, cos I doubt that Sekot is alive at this point.

It's hard to say. I don't think Jacen and Malig planned to kill it... at least, that's not what Malig said he wanted it for I guess we'll have to wait and see. Same with Kyp...

Thanks for reading and replying





Rohan: 3RD!!!

Not bad

Wow, I almost feel sorry for Rodan. And I HATE Rodan!

I don't think it's that weird. Yeah, he did some slimey things, but I think it's easy to see how a good person could get sucked into it all.

Zonama Sekot is gone!?! Why!?!

Will be explained in Chapter 11

That's pretty much my first reaction.
Poor Kyp. The thought was too horrible to live with. Why couldn't it have been Spongebob!?!

I'm saving the Spongebob revelation for when Malig takes off his mask

Thanks for reading and replying





Goddess_At_Heart: Okay I'm a little behind! I'm sorry, I just got out of school for the summer and I had all kinds of left over work to do but you get the idea, !

No need to apologize. It's a busy time of year and there's no rush on replying. I appreciate it whenever you can do it Hope you've got some time to enjoy summer!

Okay don't have a lot of time but I want to say one thing.
Han. Solo. Is. Awesome!

I couldn't agree with you more

Okay that is out of my system
Awesome job!

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

Friday!Friday!Friday!

Yep. Chapter 9 should be ready to go then.

Thanks for reading and replying





FORCEBlLADE: Ahh Rodan, please let it be a horrifyig and painful end for you.



Still not feeling sorry for him, huh? It does seem very likely he'll die in some horrible way. He outlined how pretty much everyone in the galaxy will want to kill him when he's finally exposed.

Thanks for reading and replying






Magnuskn: <headdesk>
If that is the general level of competence this little cabal exhibits, they'll probably end up being discovered when they blab about their conspiracy on an open connection on the holonet. Don't they have any talent at putting things together? Ar'krai + Yuuzhan Vong + Zonama Sekot = ???.



Give them a minute. I can almost see the hamster starting to stroll on the wheel...

Good to see that the Galactic Senate still plays a role in your version of the EU, not like the non-existant entity over in FotJ.

Don't worry, Daala's got things under control there The Senate is no longer needed.

Good chapter.

Thanks and thanks for reading and replying





Rohan: and 7th!

You're on a roll

So, Sekot's gone? For real?

It looks that way, unless Kyp just didn't see it and something else was going on to throw the system into chaos?

Are we going back to Dathomir for the next chapter? Why am I asking all these questions? And if not Dathomir, are we going to see *looks around nervously* Him?

We'll see both Dathomir and Him soon. I'm not saying when or in what order But when we see Him again it will be complete with more Namtar flashbacks

 

hmmm.... good chapter. i like Fyor Rodan as a character even though (or maybe because) he's evil. the though process was well written and i like how Fyor is always looking out for Number 1 (Himself).

hmmm... what is Kyp gonna do??? he's in a bad place and the odds dont look good.

anyway... update soon... I hope we get Havok and Danni Quee scenes soon.

regards
Shahid

 

Great chapter Yoda...the senate scene was brilliant and i like Rodan more every time we see him...you can still see his desire for self preservation in some of what he says but he seems to have realised that the Rathians are not good for the GA.

On the subject of Maichen is she related to Malig by any chance!?

Anyway looking forward to the next chapter

 

You already killed Kyp once, you can't do it again. Or can you...

 

That actually helped a lot to refresh my memory of the political landscape of the fic. Depending upon what he does - or doesn't - decide to do, Rodan has the potential to to be a pivotal factor in the outcome of this conflict. The guy is morally ambiguous at best; but that is still better than many characters might be in his position.



If anybody has the ability to survive and return with news of Zenoma, Kyp Durron can.

 

Great stuff YK. Love the politics bits as always

 

TSF: Thanks for reading and replying






shahid_chestro: hmmm.... good chapter.

Thanks

i like Fyor Rodan as a character even though (or maybe because) he's evil.

That's kind of why I like him too

the though process was well written and i like how Fyor is always looking out for Number 1 (Himself).

Yeah, it's all about self-preservation for him, as unlikely as it is that he'll survive this

hmmm... what is Kyp gonna do??? he's in a bad place and the odds dont look good.

Yeah, the entire system is in disarray. Hopefully he'll be able to get out of there before it's too late

anyway... update soon... I hope we get Havok and Danni Quee scenes soon.

It won't be long now.

Thanks for reading and replying





Diamond: Great chapter Yoda...

Thank you!

the senate scene was brilliant and i like Rodan more every time we see him...

He grows on you... like a tumor

you can still see his desire for self preservation in some of what he says but he seems to have realised that the Rathians are not good for the GA.

I think that's mostly true. He realizes that what would be best is the removal of the Raithians as long as the Jedi and the GA don't find out about his dealings...

On the subject of Maichen is she related to Malig by any chance!?

That's an interesting idea It would be quite a coincidence, but not impossible. We'll be finding out more about Malig's family soon though. There's a lot more to that story

Anyway looking forward to the next chapter

Glad to hear it. It should be up on Friday.

Thanks for reading and replying






Rohan: You already killed Kyp once, you can't do it again. Or can you...

When did I kill Kyp? Not ringing any bells. Or was it a death fake-out?





L0B0: That actually helped a lot to refresh my memory of the political landscape of the fic.

That's good to hear. I add the backstory stuff as reminders and hopefully so new readers can follow along with the story. I find it very difficult to insert into these early chapters a lot of times, so it's nice to know it's working

Depending upon what he does - or doesn't - decide to do, Rodan has the potential to to be a pivotal factor in the outcome of this conflict.

I think he certainly will be... one way or another.

The guy is morally ambiguous at best; but that is still better than many characters might be in his position.

I think having to shoot Cal Omas back in the Age of Heroes was a big wake up call for him. He knows he's in way over his head at this point.

If anybody has the ability to survive and return with news of Zenoma, Kyp Durron can.

He's made it out of destroyed star systems before... of course, he's the one that destroyed those systems, but still

Thanks for reading and replying





Spike: Great stuff YK.

Thanks!

Love the politics bits as always

Glad to hear it, I'm always afraid that stuff will end up being boring.

Thanks for reading and replying






Next post we'll be going back to Dathomir to see what happens with Jaina and the Nightsisters. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Anakin and Tahiri make an appearance either

 

It was a death fake-out back in EIGHTH CORTEX. It nearly brought me to tears.

 

Oh yeah, that was a good one









New post tomorrow

 

Nice. A lot more subtle.

 

You are a sick...a sick, uh, thing! I spit on you!
But I still want the next post.

 

DemonzNMySleep: Nice. A lot more subtle.

Glad you liked that one

Thanks for reading and replying






Rohan: You are a sick...a sick, uh, thing! I spit on you!

That's not even the first time I've heard that today

But I still want the next post.

Comin' up in a few

 

Chapter 9: Nightsisters

The fog had melted from the forest floor as the morning hours dwindled, and by late afternoon many of the clouds had drifted Southward in gauzy runners, allowing the sunshine to peer through for the first time that day. Leaf-filtered shafts of light punctured the canopy suspended above the Nightsisters' camp by towering trees and arching branches feathered in green foliage, shading most of the modest ground below and allowing only glimmers to dapple the grasses in riddled, golden patches.

The prisoners sat near the edge of the camp with their wrists bound in knotted vines so toughened and sinewy they might have been forged of durasteel. They were surrounded by trees skinned in ashen bark and a dozen Nightsisters brandishing staffs, blades, and even bows. At their backs was the camp itself, dotted by tents constructed of rickety limbs and leather flaps planted where much of the grass had been flatted or worn away by constant boot tread, leaving large patches of dirt and decaying leaves to make up the floor.

Beyond the camp, the rancors stood hunched over as the youngest of the Witches emptied traps that had been strung along the outskirts and fed the giant creatures. It was a monstrous display, their teeth chomping grotesquely through a variety of dead animals, ripping flesh and crunching bones with sickening ease, and leaving long, lurid strings of drool to dangle from their horrible jaws.

Jaina Solo averted her gaze from the spectacle, trying hard to exude confidence instead of the flustered unease she knew her captors were attempting to coax. She was seated cross-legged on the ground with Tenel Ka and Wrev on either side of her, and Alema, Lowbacca, and Kirana Ti spread out behind her. The lightsabers the team had been divested of were tethered from a rack of thorn-studded branches by cords of coiled bramble more than ten meters from the prisoners on the opposite side of the camp, twisting in the chilled breeze as though they were trophies of battle the Nightsisters were proudly displaying.

Despite all of this, Jaina was fairly confident she could retrieve her lightsaber, slash through her bindings, free her friends, and take control of the camp by force in a matter of minutes. Half of the Nightsisters encircling them were weaving spells to keep the prisoners from calling on the Force, but Jaina felt certain she was strong enough in the Great Energy to overpower them when the time came. The rancors hunkered at each edge of the camp did give the Jedi Knight pause—there were six of them. One or two would have been challenging enough, but six of them would be a chance cube roll, even for an equal number of Jedi. Still, if worse came to worst, they would be capable of fleeing through the forest to escape the ferocious creatures.

There were two reasons why Jaina did not do this: first, the blaster marks she'd seen scorched through the bodies and tents at the Singing Mountain Clan's ravaged camp, and second, the quiet specter of fear emanating from these women that they were trying so hard to mask. The only blasters she'd seen in the Nightsisters' camp were the three they had confiscated from Jaina, Alema, and Wrev. And the Witches were certainly afraid of something...

Both of these mysteries told Jaina there was more going on than met the eye, and she would wait patiently until she was sure of just what was really happening before taking action. The young woman had a feeling that if she drew her lightsaber now, she might never find out.

A lissome figure emerged from the heart of the camp and marched toward the prisoners. Most of her straight black hair was tied in a tight bulb above the base of her skull while the rest swept down the sides of her stern face. She wore sleeveless black leather armor and gloves of the same color that made her pale white skin appear so bloodless she might have dwelled in Coruscant's underlevels instead of the teeming forest. When she stepped into a shimmer of sunlight that slanted through the mesh of crossed limbs above, it became clear that her dark, unsmiling eyes were dusted with flecks of violet.

Jaina recognized her immediately as the one who had confronted the Jedi when they were ambushed in the forest. She seemed to be the tribe's leader, but there was an air of inexperience about her that Jaina could not quite place, mingled with a deep frustration and emptiness.

Trailing in the leader's wake was another Nightsister with a strong build and a surly expression drawing down her mouth, and Lura V, the girl who had led the Jedi into a trap.

The leader reached the prisoners and jammed the butt of her staff into the dirt in front of Jaina with such force that it stood straight up in its gouged pocket. She loomed over them for a moment, coldly staring at her prisoners with her pitiless eyes. When she finally spoke, her voice sounded like an exaggerated rendition of Kirana Ti's accent.

"My name is Ilandra Grim," she said. "I am the leader of this clan, and you have all trespassed into our territory—"

"This is not Nightsister land," Tenel Ka interrupted. "You ambushed us at the Singing Mountain Clan's camp."

"The Singing Mountain Clan is no more," the other woman glowered. "Thanks to you and your friends, traitor, we are all that remains. All of Dathomir belongs to us now."

"What?"

"Be silent," Ilandra admonished sharply. "I will not tolerate deception in any form, least of all feigned innocence."

Kirana Ti was too shocked by the Nightsister's claim to comply. "You are all that is left?" she asked in disbelief. "That cannot be. It's—"

With astonishing speed and a single deft movement, Ilandra Grim plucked her staff from the ground and spun, delivering a wheeling blow to the side of Kirana Ti's skull. A loud crack split through the forest canopy, startling a flock of squawking birds in the upper branches and sending the Jedi prisoner sprawling on her side.

"Hey!" Jaina shouted as the birds flapped away.

"I said silence." The Nightsister's eyes gleamed with the promise of more violence while her grave mouth frowned even deeper. Jaina considered forgoing her quest for information and just springing at Ilandra, but was able to restrain herself when Kirana Ti pushed herself back to a sitting position. The former Dathomir Witch looked slightly dazed and there was a wet trail of blood running down the side of her face from her temple, but she was otherwise unharmed.

"I will make this very simple for you, Jedi," Ilandra Grim went on, thrusting her staff back into the ground. "If you will not answer my questions, we will torture you until you do. If still you refuse, we will begin killing you one by one."

"And after that?" Alema asked with a cruel sneer pulling at her blue lips and eyes gleaming with mockery.

Either Ilandra didn't understand that the Twi'lek was taunting her or she believed it more effective to offer an answer, because she did not take the bait. "After that, we feed you to them," she said, nodding towards the rancors arrayed around the camp.

"We have nothing to hide," Tenel Ka explained diplomatically. "We will answer your questions."

"Good. Where are your armies now?"

Tenel Ka exchanged a look of bewilderment with Jaina before turning back to the Nightsister and answering. Was this clan aware of the war that had erupted across the galaxy and the alliance the Jedi had forged with the Chiss, Imperial Remnant, and Empire of the Hand to fight it? Most of their forces were hidden along the Outer Rim with the Jedi at Halo, but they couldn't possibly disclose that information with the Nightsisters if they had established communications with the rest of the galaxy. "We cannot tell you that. It would compromise their safety."

"Their safety?" Ilandra repeated as though the words tasted vile. "Have they left this world?"

"Left?"

"Yes—are they still on Dathomir?"

Again, Tenel Ka turned to Jaina, searching silently for answers in the other's eyes. "We brought no armies here. It is only us."

The Nightsister's face fell in an expression of cold hatred as she stared down at the Jedi. "Do you believe me a fool?"

"Is that a trick question?" Wrev asked, unable to resist.

"No," Tenel Ka cut in before Ilandra could respond while Jaina shot Wrev an admonishingly look that told him to keep his airlock sealed. "Of course we do not. But I believe you are mistaken. The six of us came alone on a single freighter called the Millennium Falcon. We brought no one else with us."

Ilandra's dark eyes blazed with contempt for Tenel Ka. "Tell me, traitor, which of your companions do you wish to see tortured?"

"She's telling the truth!" Jaina blurted. She'd meant for her words to sound as calm as Tenel Ka's explanation, but diplomacy would probably never be Jaina Solo's forte. "We came here alone—just us. Any soldiers on our side of things are a long way from here."

"They came here," Ilandra insisted. "They killed our males, they stole our rancors, and they took our sisters too."

"That wasn't us."

"Tell me where they are!" the Nightsister growled, leaning down so that she was face to face with Jaina. "I want my clan back! I want my mount!"

"I don't know where they are!" Jaina shouted back. "Whatever troops came here, they weren't with us. They were probably the Raith—"

"So it is just a coincidence that you arrive at the same time? Dathomir exists in relative seclusion and the six of you just happen to come here on some unconnected excursion to this planet at the precise moment it is ravaged by some other army?"

Lowbacca yowled a response, but it was clear from the disgust in Ilandra's eyes that she did not understand the Wookiee's language. "It's not unconnected," Jaina explained. "We were sent here to find those soldiers. We're at war with them too, not on their side."

Ilandra leaned back, her brow furrowing as though she didn't know what to make of the Jedi's claim. After a moment, she looked over her shoulder at Lura V. The blonde Witch's head inclined in a nod of confirmation. "That is what they told me as well. They said they were sent here by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker to track the soldiers in blue. The Jedi call them 'Raithians.'"

"And you believe them?"

An indolent shrug rolled off of Lura V's tree-branch-scarred shoulders. "I led them to you, didn't I?"

"If we were with them, why wouldn't we just have killed her when we found her?" Wrev asked, nodding at Lura V.

"Perhaps because you wished to use her to locate the rest of us," Ilandra countered. "So you could finish what you started, get us in one swift strike instead of having to hunt us down one at a time. It's what I would do."

"Well, we're not you," Jaina bristled. "We didn't come here to do anyone harm. We only came here to find out what the Raithians were doing."

"Well, now you know. They landed here more than two weeks ago, ambushing the largest clans on the same night and hunting down the rest afterwards. They killed anyone who got in their way—slave, woman, or child—it mattered not to them. The Witches and warriors they could capture alive were taken, as were many of our mounts. What you see is all that remains, as far as we know. Only the Nightsisters survived, and a few lucky ones from other tribes like Lura V. She is the last survivor of your mother's clan, Tenel Ka Djo. We found her in the jungle fleeing for her life and she chose to join us because we are the only ones strong enough to continue on."

While the gleaming beads that appeared in her gray eyes made it clear the news had shaken Tenel Ka to her core, her body language did not relay the shock or sorrow twisting at the woman's heart as she stared back at Ilandra. "Then you believe us?"

The Nightsister stood back to her full height and pulled her staff from the ground before offering the Queen Mother of Hapes an indifferent shrug. "It doesn't really matter now, I suppose," she said. "If what you say is true, then none of you knows where my mount is, or where our sisters are—that makes you useless."

"Considering you don't know the answers to those questions, isn't the same true of you?" Alema sneered.

"You're going to kill us?" Jaina's eyes narrowed.

"Those of you who are disobedient will be killed, yes," Ilandra answered coldly. "If you wish to live, you, Tenel Ka, and Kirana Ti will acknowledge the error of your ways and choose to serve us, learning the ways of the Dathomir Witches and helping us to rebuild our mighty clan. Your two alien friends will become our slaves and maintain our camp. And we will take the human male as a slave to mate with."

Wrev looked over to Jaina. "I don't know about you, but this is actually starting to sound pretty good to me."

"Stow it," Jaina hissed, turning back to Ilandra.

Before she could speak, Alema interrupted, scowling at the Nightsister. "I will be no one's slave, Witch."

"Then it is death for you—"

"For one of us."

"If you have no use, you—

"You're mistaken, Ilandra Grim," Jaina interjected, hoping to stop the argument before it escalated further. "There are other ways we might assist you. If you would allow us to return to our ship, we could contact Master Skywalker and bring reinforcements to help us find your clanmates and rancors."

"Just let you go back to your ship? I think not." The pale woman seemed almost amused for the first time as she shook her head. "What would stop you from simply escaping? Or perhaps you plan to bring these reinforcements here to finish exterminating us as revenge for taking you prisoner?"

"No, nothing like that. We—"

"I think you will stay here," Ilandra said sternly.

Tenel Ka attempted to reason with the Nightsister's leader, but when Jaina's mouth opened to do the same, she hesitated, sensing an almost undetectable flutter pulse through the Force. Her lips closed slowly in a frown as she recognized the touch of reassurance and tried to project her own feelings of rejection back.

Predictably, it was like trying to reason with a ronto. He didn't even appear to be listening.

"Oh great," Jaina muttered.




Anakin Solo peered through the maze of slanted tree trunks and wind-rustling leaves into the slight depression where the Nightsister's camp rested. It was a small, round pocket blanketed beneath the branches of the trees that encircled it and two wispy ribbons of smoke coiling up from the pair of fires where a handful of younger women were roasting things they'd pulled from nearby traps. The Jedi Knight could see Jaina, Tenel Ka, and the others near one edge of the camp, bound, seated, and utterly surrounded by severe-looking Nightsisters.

There were twenty-five of them in total by Anakin's count, but at least eight of those were mere girls who probably wouldn't provide much in the way of resistance. The rancors would be trouble though—Anakin hadn't quite worked out what he was going to do about them yet.

He reached into the Force gently, trying hard not to disturb the energy around him. It was like slipping his fingers into a spider web without disturbing its adhesive threads, or sliding his hand into a pond without making any ripples in the water, requiring his full concentration, while the slightest twitch would sound an alarm through the encampment of Force-users below. Carefully, Anakin nudged Jaina, allowing her to feel his presence there so that she would be ready for whatever was about to come.

His sister pushed back, imploring him to be cautious or something—Anakin couldn't tell what she was saying exactly. He severed the tenuous link he'd established with her and concentrated his energies on formulating a plan of attack. If he—

A twig snapped behind him and Anakin spun around toward the noise, his right hand instinctively dropping to the lightsaber dangling from his utility belt. The breath that had been hitched in his lungs flushed out in a relieved exhale when he saw the familiar figure creeping between a pair of barren trees. She was dressed in dark utilities and had one hand on a thick, low-hanging limb as she stepped over a mild rise in the grass, the boots no doubt "torturing" her toes carefully avoiding the other twigs and fallen leaves on the forest floor. The short blonde hair framing her features was just long enough to need blinked away when a breeze sent locks of it over her brow, and her eyes flicked up to see him for the first time.

"What are you doing here?" Anakin asked, not rising from where he was crouched.

"Oh, there's a fine greeting for you," Tahiri Veila bristled as she stepped past the trees and continued toward him. "You sure know how to make a girl feel welcome, Anakin. How about—'oh, hello, Tahiri. It's great to see you again. How are you doing today? I've missed you the last couple weeks. Is that a new combat suit? It really brings out the green in your eyes'—something like that."

"I didn't mean it that way," Anakin stammered. "I just... I didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah, well, I didn't know you'd be here either, but I saw your fighter on the way down—great job hiding that by the way—and I felt your presence in the Force too."

Anakin frowned at that, and the distant, troubled look that clouded his ice blue eyes was as transparent to Tahiri as if he had been speaking aloud. "And you didn't sense me at all," she said. "Nice."

"I've been sort of shielding," Anakin explained clumsily. "Because of the Nightsisters."

"Right," Tahiri said without looking at him as she reached his side. "Your uncle sent me, same as you I'm assuming."

Thanks for the heads-up, Uncle Luke, Anakin grimaced.

The blonde woman crouched down next to him and set her gaze on the camp in the shallow slope nestled below while Anakin's own eyes remained fixed sadly on the side of her face.

"So what's the plan, wonder boy?" she asked, studying the layout of the camp and the Nightsisters milling about it.

Slowly, Anakin dragged his own gaze away from her and followed Tahiri's line of sight. "I was thinking of charging in, knocking down those two Witches next to that rack where the lightsabers are hanging—see? You can come in from the other side and take out some of the ones watching over our friends on the ground there. When I've got the lightsabers cut loose, I'll toss them to Jaina and the others and they can free themselves. Once they're armed, that should take care of the Witches."

Tahiri nodded. "And the rancors?"

"I hadn't gotten that far yet," he said, turning to her and offering a lopsided grin. "I was thinking we could just improvise."

She didn't smile back, but Anakin could see a glint of amusement in her jade eyes for the first time. "Sounds good. You charge in and do something heroic—I'll practice getting eaten."

Anakin smirked at her, and Tahiri rose from their hiding place. She glided swiftly through the forest, making her way silently toward the other side of the camp as Anakin watched her go, his smile slowly fading as she passed out of sight behind the thickets of crisscrossing trees.

Since she'd returned from Apollyon, things between Tahiri and Anakin had not been the same. They had been newly engaged before the tragedy on Denon when Anakin had believed her dead, and his grief had fueled his own descent into darkness. Carelessly, he'd left her body behind, allowed her to be taken to Apollyon where she was tortured and shaped for months, all the while consumed with his own need for vengeance.

Anakin should have known she was alive, should have felt her out there... He had always been able to sense her before, their connection linked in a way that seemed to go beyond the Force... but he hadn't been able when it counted most.

That failing and the things Anakin had done in the wake of losing Tahiri had created a gulf between them that he didn't believe they'd ever bridge. They rarely spoke, but when they did there was a great emptiness, a well of things unsaid that neither one of them could say— there were too many raw nerves, there was too much bitterness, and so much guilt Anakin half expected he'd choke on it whenever his mouth opened.

He turned his attention back to the camp, waiting until he felt Tahiri was in position on the opposite side, and then the young Jedi Knight crept forward. When he was a dozen meters from the edge of the Nightsister's encampment, Anakin broke into a sprint, ducking low branches and weaving around twisted trunks until he was a few strides away. Then, Anakin leapt into the air and came down in the center of the camp where the last embers of an old fire were still glowing below a dead animal that had been barbequed over the pit.

"Hey!" two of the younger Nightsisters shouted in unison, hopping up from where they'd been seated around the fire.

Anakin immediately sprang into the air again, sailing over a pair of faded leather tents in a forward somersault before landing in the midst of the scrambling Witches nearest the weapons rack. The Jedi's right leg thrust out in a hard side-kick to one of the women's midsections that sent her sprawling to the dirt, then spun and drew his lightsaber in the same motion to rap the second Nightsister across the back of the head with the pommel of his weapon.

Shouts of alarm and dismay split through the camp as Anakin thumbed on his blade with a snap-hiss, bringing the glowing beam down through the center of the thorn-encrusted rack in an overhand chop that sliced it in two. He reversed his stroke before the demolished stand could crumble to the ground and scorched through the knotted brambles looped around the dangling lightsabers, allowing the gleaming hilts to tumble free.

"Anakin!" Jaina called over the storm of Dathomiri voices.

A Nightsister on the other side of the prisoners had scooped up a spear from the ground and was cocking her arm back to hurl it between Anakin's shoulder blades when Tahiri emerged from the woods and caught the Witch with a flying kick. She then whirled around and ignited her lightsaber, slashing through three staffs with a single stroke of her blue blade when a trio of Nightsisters attempted to rush her.

Anakin extended one hand and sent a violent Force-shove at a woman with well-muscled arms near the front of the prisoners, hurling her into a pale Nightsister dressed in black and toppling them both. The circle of Witches guarding their Jedi captives converged on him at once, and Anakin again called on the Force to lift the shambles of the weapons rack from the dirt and launched a cloud of splintered debris at them while sending the liberated lightsabers sailing towards Jaina and the other Jedi.

"Anakin!" his sister called again.

Tahiri stepped between Anakin and the charging Nightsisters, dropping one with a Tusken Raider palm-thrust to the solar plexus and then catching a second Witch across the knees with the pommel of her lightsaber. The humming blade in Anakin's hands fanned out to slash a flying arrow in two and then cleaved through a spellweaver's staff when its wielder attempted to neutralize him.

A screeching growl made the ground tremble beneath his boots, and Anakin knew that the rancors had been called to attention and were lurching out from the forest to attack the Jedi their riders were steering them toward with the Force.

"Anakin!"

The urgency in Jaina's call was augmented by a spike of reproach that finally captured Anakin's attention this time. He looked up to see his sister standing amongst the other Jedi a few meters away. Jaina had managed to activate her lightsaber and shredded through her bindings, leaving her arms to hang freely at her sides with the throbbing lightsaber in her right hand pointed loosely toward the ground.

"Stop!" the petite young Jedi ordered. Even the Nightsisters who were still standing paused to stare at the woman calling a halt to the attack while some of their sisters pushed their way shakily back to their feet. "They're not our enemies, Anakin. I don't think they're going to be a problem."

One of Tahiri's fine brows arched skeptically as she glanced at the rancors and bristling Nightsisters who had been holding Jaina and the others captive only seconds earlier. "You sure?"

Instead of answering, Jaina stalked over to where the pale woman in black had been jolted to the ground and extended her free hand toward her. The woman's brow furrowed as she stared at the offered hand in bewilderment for a moment until her dark eyes narrowed in a glare of contempt and she slapped Jaina's hand away, climbing to her feet under her own power.

"Sorry about that," Jaina said to her, clearly resisting the urge to prickle beneath the affront. "My brother can be a little reckless."

Anakin's lips parted to object or to ask Jaina what was going on but he hesitated, his mouth closing as he decided instead to trust his sister's instincts and wait to see how it played out.

"I'll see you both dead," the woman seethed in a low, chillingly calm voice.

"He thought I was in trouble and was just protecting me," Jaina explained.

"We're not here to hurt you, Ilandra Grim," Tenel Ka answered, stepping forward as she finished unwinding the vines that had been coiled around the stump of her left arm and the elbow of her right. Alema, Wrev, and Kirana Ti were similarly untangling themselves from their organic bindings while Lowbacca simply pulled his fists apart and snapped them, drawing stares of fright from the Nightsisters who realized his submission thus far had been strictly voluntary. "Truly. If we were, Jaina would not have called off Anakin and Tahiri and we would take our chances in combat against you."

Ilandra's scowl deepened at the perceived insult but said nothing as her hard mouth tightened in a sneer.

"The people who attacked you have attacked us too," Jaina continued, compelled by the woman's silence. "Your enemies are our enemies. We want to know why they came here and we want to stop them, just like you do. If we work together, I can help you find them and then find your sisters and your rancor too. But I need you to trust us... Can you trust us?"




Ilandra Grim couldn't trust them—at least, not enough to let them hike to the Falcon without her and a well-armed Nightsister escort. The clan's leader had also stipulated that Tenel Ka—who they saw as the most valuable of their captives—remain at their camp with the rest of the clan in order to discourage the Jedi from just fleeing Dathomir and neglecting their end of the bargain. Lowie had elected to stay with the Queen Mother in order to protect her in case the Nightsister's had something else planned, as did Kirana Ti, who was still slightly shaken by the blow she'd taken to the head, which, in all likelihood, had probably caused a mild concussion.

Jaina, Anakin, Tahiri, Alema, and Wrev marched hesitantly through the woods with Ilandra Grim, Lura V, and six other Nightsisters, making their way steadily toward the modest clearing where they'd tucked the Millennium Falcon at the forest's edge. Jaina had managed to convince the Nightsisters to leave their rancors at the camp, fearing the giant beasts would make too much noise stomping through the woodland than would be worth the added protection their presence might provide.

"This had better not be a trick, Jedi," Ilandra Grim hissed, her dark eyes hardening to obsidian.

"It's not," Jaina replied simply. The Nightsisters' leader scowled at her response and then began taking slightly quicker strides to lead the way to the freighter Jaina had described.

Jaina just shook her head.

"I'm not sure about your new friends." Anakin was watching Ilandra storm forward as he moved to his sister's side. "I think I'm going to have to tell Mom and Dad that you've fallen in with a bad crowd."

"I'm sure it would still be a relief after meeting Jacen's new friends," the woman replied without thinking. She saw her brother wince at her remark and immediately felt a pang of guilt. "Sorry."

"It's okay... So, the Nightsisters were really attacked by the Raithians?"

"Not just them—maybe all of the Dathomiri clans. I saw the Singing Mountain Clan's camp—it wasn't good, Anakin. There were a lot of bodies..."

"They killed them all?"

"Those they couldn't capture according to the Witches. Ilandra and Lura V say they took prisoners and whisked them away."

"Why would the Raithians want a bunch of Nightsisters?" Tahiri asked, moving alongside Anakin. "No need to turn them to the dark side—they're already there."

"I don't know," Jaina admitted. The Jedi was surprised to see her brother and Tahiri together again, given how frosty their interaction had been since the girl's return to Halo, but she decided to leave her questions unasked. "Perhaps Malig is looking to fill out his army's numbers with Force-sensitives."

"That's a scary thought," Anakin frowned.

"They took some of the rancors too."

Tahiri snorted. "That might not be so bad—if the rancors' temperament rubs off on the Raithians it would actually be an improvement."

"As much as I enjoy pondering what the Raithians are going to do with their adorable new pets, it seems to me we've got bigger things to worry about right now," Wrev interrupted, moving a few steps behind Jaina to her right as they started up a shallow incline in the forest.

Jaina glanced over her shoulder at him. "Meaning?"

"Meaning, what's the plan, Solo?"

"Just like I told the Nightsisters," she answered. "We get to the Falcon and send a holcomm call to let Uncle Luke know what's going on. Maybe he can send some reinforcements."

"And then?"

Jaina let her gaze sweep around her before answering to make sure none of the Nightsisters were listening. "Then we get out of here—with or without their blessing."

"Abandon a tribe of long-legged jungle goddesses who only want men as slaves to mate with? Yes, by all means, get me out of this hell," Wrev said dryly. "Honestly, Solo, I can't figure out why I didn't move here years ago."

"Then stay if you want." Jaina rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the modest hill they were scaling. "Now I won't feel bad about leaving you behind."

When they'd crested the hill the procession passed beneath the shade of a dense canopy of leaves where the trees seemed to be more tightly packed together. The sound of water purling over soil and loose stones revealed the presence of a narrow creek snaking through the forest, and when they arrived at its bed Jaina nudged one of the stream-smoothed rocks with the corner of one boot.

"I recognize this creek," she announced. "We're not far now."

Ilandra Grim was already traveling over the top of the water by way of the larger stones breaking the surface. The Nightsister did not even look back when she responded. "Good."

They followed the Witch's trail over the stream swiftly, and after only five more minutes of hiking across Dathomir's tree-strewn terrain, neared the edge of the forest where it gave way to a serpentine clearing of knee-deep, verdant grasses that cut through the wilderness. Patches of gray hull armor could be seen on the far side of the clearing where the Millennium Falcon was huddled beneath a blanket of overhanging branches.

And it was not alone.

The clearing that had been vacant when Jaina set the YT-1300 Corellian freighter down was now crowded by a dozen black troop carriers, shuttles, and Raithian warbirds. Soldiers in metallic blue armor were fanning out in the tall grasses behind the sweeping nozzles of the blaster carbines clutched in their gloved hands while others crawled over the freighter’s hull, all searching for the Falcon's absent crew or some clue as to their whereabouts.

"Sith," Jaina whispered, snatching the compact macrobinoculars from Alema's utility belt and unfolding them quickly as she knelt down behind the thick trunk of a trogo tree. She lifted the device to her eyes and gazed across the clearing now teeming with Raithian soldiers. "They've found us."

"I guess the Raithians didn't leave after all," the Twi'lek Jedi said from behind her.

"We didn't see them on the way in..."

"Neither did I," Anakin added.

"You think they came back?" Wrev questioned as everyone huddled down near Jaina. "Why would they?"

"Maybe they didn't get everything they wanted the first time," Alema offered.

Ilandra Grim was seething at the sight of the soldiers spreading out through the forest. To her right, Lura V just appeared frightened. "They came back for us," the younger woman said. "They want us all."

Wrev leaned close to Jaina. "I don't suppose you had a backup plan?"

"We should attack and kill them," Ilandra answered before Jaina could respond. "They have my mount."

One of Jaina's eyebrows arched at the Nightsister's bloodlust and eagerness to engage the Raithians despite their obvious advantages. It almost seemed that Ilandra was more concerned over her rancor than her clan, but Jaina left that thought unspoken. "I don't see any rancors," Jaina said, scanning the field. "And besides, I'm not sure attacking them is the smartest move right now. We need to get to a holocomm so I can contact reinforcements."

"Well your ship is clearly being occupied," Lura V mused.

"What about yours, Solo?" Wrev asked, turning to Anakin.

"I actually set my fighter down just past those trees," the younger Jedi said, his eyes fixed pensively on his father's ship. "If they've found the Falcon, they've probably found my interceptor."

Tahiri looked up sheepishly. "And I landed next to Anakin..."

Wrev Caster rolled his eyes. "Wow, it's like watching a herd of banthas just walk off a cliff one after the other..."

"Uh-oh," Jaina murmured.

"Uh-oh what?"

"Uh-oh," she repeated. Through the lenses of her macrobinoculars she spotted a small shuttle in the field plated in obsidian armor shot through with veins of golden circuitry that seemed to glow with some inner luminescence. The landing ramp was lowered and from within its dark hatchway a tall figure emerged swaddled in a blood-red cloak.

"What is it?" Anakin demanded.

"It's Faybol."

"Okay, I changed my mind," Wrev said. "I'm ready to go now."

 

First!

Wow, great chapter, Yobi! You continue to excel as always! The last bit was GOLD! Really epic. The middle part was wonderful! And that bit where that something happened? Incredible!

Sorry, I just had to do that...

Time for the proper review now...

Edit: Ilandra Grim was cool.

@ Tahiri and Anakin. Ouch. In a way it wasn't as awkward as it could have been, and despite all the grimacing and wincing they're back to telling jokes I think.

And Malig has more of a plan for the Witches than more recruits in a dark side army, I think. I wonder if anything of the Star Temples and the Infinity Gate are left, and if they are if Malig is interested or knows of the superweapon that can destroy planets from lightyears away... It could come in handy.

Eagerly awaiting the next chapter!

 

And when you think things just can't get any worse. Not only are Jedi on Dathomir with Nightsisters, but then Sith arrive, and then to make things worse, Faybol, the "Shadow Hand" arrives. Doesn't that just make their day any better?

Well done, Yobi. Great chapter. Little bit by little bit it slowly got more epic and drawn out. Pity about Tahiri and Anakin though. Maybe you should just stick them in a room together and have them sort out their feelings for one another...eh?

@ Wrev Caster: loved the sarcastic comments. Made my day.

Taking the nightsisters though brings up an intriguing idea. Is his superweapon he is building much like the Star Forge in practice? I mean, it is a giant factory, and as far as i remember, i may need to recheck this with what you said in your last fic, but if it runs on the Force, then i assume, like the Star Forge, it will drain force users of their power. Good way to get rid of nightsisters.

And i am guessing the rancors can be used to aid in building it. given their size.

Good chapter. Hope to see more soon.