Before - Legends The Sith Hunters - 7/22/16 - September 15, 2016....

Hey,

From what ive seen this is a great story but i hate to get into a saga in the middle of it.

I would like to Read the Others, so if you have the .zip file handy i would really like to read those before I read this one.

TJM

 

Thank you, new reader!

Right now, I am getting a system together in order for you and others to download the ZIP files. I would put it on Geocities, my normal website service, but they will be ceasing operation in a few days. So new arrangements are being made as we speak. In a few days I will PM you with the link, and provide a link here on the thread. BIG NOTE: the stories are long and longer than this one.


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?No,? said Angelleia quietly, shaking her head. ?You are implying-.?

?Implying!? He stood up, furious. ?Implying! I imply nothing! I?m making the accusation, and trust me, Angelleia, there are eleven members of the Jedi Council that came up with the exact thought I have now fifteen years ago!? He pointed as if to point towards Coruscant. ?Naressa Rapier had married the most powerful non-Force user in the galaxy, used his clout to install stealth technology everywhere, and control information about herself and her past. She owned and controlled the lives of others through such technology to her benefit. And through that same clout she began to expand the Sith?s influence again into the Senate. Even with her husband out of the way she continued, and then localized it with the ascension of her daughter. Make no mistake: Naressa Rapier told many people she used and pretended to be friends with that she foresaw a Madam Chancellor Rapier one day.

?And yes, Rapier Technology had penetrated the Jedi Order! It?s why we?ve spent years retooling the central core of the Temple, and eliminated file sharing with the Senate outside of Blue Harvest! She had slithered into the Temple digitally, changed everything, rearranged many things, and did it with the intent of hiding! What Mama Rapier never counted on was the Vhinech taking Daughter Rapier, and Enothchild Sarch getting involved. From that point on, the Sith?s hidden agenda began to be revealed, if not unravel.

?Your father, your real father, I knew him very well; he was very smart, very wise. He had sniffed the Rapiers out?.but something happened to him. The Jedi Council knew something had happened to him. I know this because as a Sith Hunter I can see anything I want, including private Council records on the matter. The Jedi Council was scared to death that Enothchild was compromised as a Jedi, but still, STILL, they let him tend to the Rapiers.

?According to your father he had some suspicions about him that needed to be explored. He assured the Council, however, that the Rapiers were not malicious. That assurance raised flags with everyone on the Council. The likes of Jurivicious Pern, a former Jedi, and Magus Prophet did not spend vast amounts of their power and resources to go after some meager Force user. Master Yoda tempered his fears about this, and trusted Enothchild would not only keep an eye on the Rapiers, but that he would also do the right thing when the time came to destroy them. Enothchild did everything he could to remain in their trust, hoping that some break would come. But something happen to him; he began to betray us.?

?I don?t believe that,? said Angelleia. This alone was something she had suddenly felt in her own heart; not something that was an opinion born from her time with Juna. ?He would never do such a thing.?

?What, you mean espionage? Spying? Lying? Cheating? Double-crossing?? Coy threw up his hands and moaned, ?By the Force, how do you suppose we Jedi actually get good things done around here?? He shook his head. ?Angelleia, in the beginning Juna was fooled; she was fooled by a very clever Jedi. But the Sith found out.?

?No, I don?t believe that! I won?t believe that!? Angelleia got up and walked away from Coy. ?Repeat it all you want, but you will not find this Padawan believing a word you say!?

Undeterred by Angelleia?s refusal, and her renewed resolve to not accept what he was instilling in her, Coy just said, ?Whatever: you don?t know your father. I did.? He just said towards her back. ?Enothchild Sarch did more for the Republic than the Jedi Order had ever done in that time. Now that?s the truth, cal

 

Ouch. Emotions, unchecked, unmastered, untamed, are dangerous. Use them wisely, however, and you win. (In the end, even the Darth Sidious himself was betrayed by emotion.) Use truth as a weapon too. It, after all, depends on your point of view. Here's to hoping Angelleia gets either or both skills soon.

I know Blue Seed is on a chip, but still.... (hey, seeds on chips... a new brand of junk food?)

 

Emotion, as well as history, has a tendency to repeat itself....



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But he didn?t heed her warning. Coy said, not fighting her, ?Such a response by you is very unbecoming. It is not very Jedi-like. Very much like what your ancestors, and your mother, would do. And believe me?.I?ve talked to people that have suffered such fates.?

As if realizing what she was doing finally, Angelleia abrupt let Coy go. He fell back, catching himself, not realizing she had lifted him off the ground. She looked at her little hands, which did not seem so small anymore. Something just came over them, she thought to herself. The stupidity of that thought made her frown at herself, as she realized she was the one that had attacked the Jedi Master, not her hands.

Getting over the situation fast, and lying his ass off because she was too upset to realize the truth, just as he had planned it, Coy said, ?She killed him because he understood what was really going on; all these Sith were in on the biggest scam in the history of the Republic, but like all great dark side plans there?s a betrayal. It was just another Sith versus Sith double cross, just another grab for power; their history is littered with it. Sith can?t stand sharing power, so all of them got in a clustersmeck, only your mother was smart enough to use the Jedi. It obviously served two purposes: to eliminate her fellow Sith, and to fool the Jedi in believing she was on their side. But Juna became wounded, and Enothchild was convenient prey. Enothchild had been used once; he was used one last time.?

Pausing to rub his neck, he then said afterwards, ?I know of this truth because of two testimonies. The first was from Casper; when your mother drained your father of life, it had weakened her. She won, she defeated Rune, she had the Republic, Enothchild was out of the way and he could no longer reveal the truth, but she was made weak by saving your life. Apparently when something so evil drains someone who was a greater good it has a tendency to weaken that evil, regardless of gain. That gives me hope that your father did not betray us; he just ran his investigation close to the vest. In the end, he just didn?t realize anyone, even the one he loved, would betray him.

?So she was done of the fight, and relented. Weak in the Force, and eventually in political and financial power because the Republic was going to recover from this scheme, she just patiently waited and plotted her next move, suspecting the Jedi Order was still suspicious of her. All that I made Bly Coaxial say and do, Angelleia, was just predicated on Casper Knightshade?s own words!?

Taking a breath, he said, ?The second was from the only verifiable source there was: you.? Angelleia eyed him with teary eyes. ?Yes you. When the Council examined you, they sensed where Rune?s death strike had pierced your skull. You and Juna were virtually dead until she drained your father to keep the both of you alive, to keep her aspirations for domination alive. The fight, in the Force, against the others, the ruination of her political and economic power: no way could she carry on what she and her mother wanted to do. Conveniently her mother went on the run, drawing our attentions towards her, which made the Council totally ignore your mother because, after all, your grandmother admitted her guilt in a plethora of crimes. And the remaining Rapier supposedly saved the galaxy.?

Angelleia looked down. Coy grabbed her chin and made her look at him, only releasing her when he felt she was not going to look down. ?But you came along, arousing the Council?s suspicions. A little, but enough for them to keep one eye on your mother while keeping an eye on the rest of the galaxy. Trust me, you came from Juna Rapier; I can show you the notes from every log of every Council Member of that time to verify it. You see, it was not just her power Magus Prophet was interested in back then; he knew Juna could bare his offspring, just as Naressa had at some point carried Enothchild?s own until she very conveniently disappeared, and

 

Different points of view, Darkly!

good stuff.

 

Thanks Delight.

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As mentioned in a previous post, I have created a new website through Tripod that will allow folks to download the previous versions of the Gessa Saga. There was a plan at one time to do this through Geocities, but Geocities is now closing up shop for good. I thought to archive chapter by chapter, story by story, but a new reader gave me the better idea.

Due to upload constraints, I have to put the stories up one at a time: TDH was done yesterday, TFL today, and tomorrow TSM. The good news is that this is the unedited versions of the stories; the bad news is that there are no goodies to go along with the stories. For the purposes of saving size in transmission, it's just the stories: no notes, no images, no option extras.

Keep in mind this reason why: The Sith Maiden, for example, reads 4.29 MB zipped: it reads 13 MB unzipped. Now that's all text.

With only 20 MB to work with at Tripod, my best effort is to squeeze whatever I can there. Kept at a minimum, I may be able to get more in there. I am still exploring other options, but right now the Tripod option is the best option I have.

So, if you want to download the classics, head on over here. Geocities served me well for this long.


FORWARD!

 

The Sith Maiden is finally uploaded to the Gessa Saga Database.

As for The Sith Hunters: it won't be posted at the website for download until it is finished here.

 

CHAPTER 72.0

Dagobah had no charm to it, and even fewer places to go to get away from everyone. Juna had to settle on what appeared to be a structure that was once a doorway; the trick was, it was on the edge on top of the temple they were on, and the doorway, without doors, opened to nothing but the muggy air. Strangely, as a measure of distraction, Juna had a feeling the doorway did go somewhere once, and once something, a terrible something, had came through it.

She could only sigh at it with disinterest as Juna could only feel Angelleia slipping away from her in her heart. For weeks, she had her Daughter, and all else that she felt was her responsibility was no longer. For a few weeks, she had her Gessa; she had all she had ever wanted at that point. And she still had her, even when she went with the Sith Hunters. Time nor space was ever going to keep them apart, not with the circumstances the way they were. The truth, on the other hand, was going to be that grand separator, that knife that cut the umbilical cord between mother and child, and that cursed Madex would apply his influence to that truth to give it greater merit.

As much as such a thing would sadden Juna, it did not crippler her like it would have in the past with such loss. When Darth Rune had killed Magus Faith, her child with Magus Prophet, from her egg implanted in an unwilling host, it nearly did break her spirit, crushed her will. That loss was always with her, never gone; it was a callous, and like all callused skin her heart had toughened. She perhaps questioned that toughness if Angelleia was murdered, or if Madex?s greatest Jedi dreams had come to fruition, whereas Angelleia disowns her totally. She would question the toughness in the beginning of her reuniting with Angelleia if the mood between them had stayed that constant up to this point. The callous prevented her from breaking down completely: that callous surrounding her heart had a name; the callous was called hope. It was something even Naressa had never possessed, but then again Juna?s mother had not suffered as much as Juna had in a shorter span of life and time; a clear, unforeseen advantage.

That hope was making her think and her quick mind was already formulating critical ideas to counteract Madex?s influence. It would be difficult, perhaps even impossible given it was the truth he will tell Angelleia. What it would require, she understood right away, was that no one ? not her, Casper, or anyone else on her side ? was going to change the young girl?s mind and see that Madex?s trick was what it was, a trick. There was, as she played with her and Enothchild?s wedding rings again, the first time in weeks she had toyed with them in her fingers, one chance that did require a number of things to happen: a great risk that would have only two outcomes.

But she said to herself, ?Without her, I might as well die.? Juna nodded to herself and said, ?And so it ends?.? She left the doorway and proceeded to the Millennium Falcon. Entering the ship, she skipped the galley where Casper, Muriel, and Rose was holed up and slinked her way to the engineering compartment. There, one of the floor bays was unsealed, and a tiny torch was at work.

?Little Man,? said Juna casually, leaning over the opening. Diggory turned his attention towards her, his welding goggles making him look silly. She smiled as he took them off. ?Did you eat??

?Hours ago, Auntie June,? said Diggory. He looked at her with worry. ?You okay??

?I will be soon,? said Juna. She reached down to stop him from doing anything more for a moment. ?I put you and your mother through a rough couple of years. I practically shoved you off of Naboo right after your father?s funeral. I?m sorry; I don?t think you had enough time to digest all of this, and I?m to blame for that.?

Shrugging his shoulders, he just said, ?I understand.? Diggory just put his goggles back on and proceeded to remove some debris that got embedded in the structure. Juna, however, felt he had not understood it. She knew, as overbearing as it sounded, she had hand

 

Don't worry, the calvary will be right behind you, whether you want them or not....

 

It depends if that calvary has the horses....



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CHAPTER 72.1

Clearing the atmosphere in mere seconds, Juna keyed in the frequency she pulled out of the node that controlled Yhon?s little ship and proceeded to broadcast it on a wide spectrum pattern. In her mind, she knew the others down below were safe and very upset with her, and she hoped they were at their best in repairing the specific damage she had done to Millenium Falcon?s intermix control while waiting for the premature discharge of fuel to evaporate. She figured, if Diggory kept his young wits about him, the repairs would only take fifteen minutes; Casper or Muriel helping him might prolong it, but that was a risk she had to take, given she had no way to know when Madex was going to respond to the hail she had sent.

A small holo of an Y?bith appeared and he began to say, ?Yhon, where have you b-?? Enfungo Nul?s large eyes appeared even larger when he saw who was contacting him. ?YOU!?

?Yeah, me,? said Juna sharply. ?Your Yhon is with me, safe and unharmed. Get me Coy Vempest?lya. I do believe he has someone of mine, just as I have someone of his.?

?Ohhh, if you think-,? began Nul, but his image faded away when Juna turned off the trans5mission.

?Damn it, I don?t need a cliché exchange,? she mused to herself. She could sense things were moving afoot down below on Dagobah. A funny thought did occur to her: Yhon?s ship was small, but a determined Casper could remove his Saberhide legs and fit right in the damn thing.

In a hurry, and thinking it was long enough now, Juna generated a broadcast again. Nul?s mug appeared, and he was just seething at her. She said, ?Now, if you have grown up in the past ten seconds, you will get me your fearless leader now.?

Nul said nothing and faded out of the transmission source. Juna probably sounded like a total boach, if not she sounded like a total Sith cliché. She couldn?t help that now, nor did she care; being more polite was not gong to change the Sith Hunter?s opinion about her. Years of exposure to Madex?s telepathic influence had ingrained in them all, and thus wouldn?t be so easy to diffuse even if she managed to kill him. However, killing Madex was not her mission; defeating the Sith Hunters again was not her mission either. This is all about freeing Angelleia.

?Well, well, well,? said the familiar, grating voice before Madex?s visual had entered the holographic transceiver field. He sat in his chair, put his hands together, and mused, ?Calling about something you left behind on Ancesca??

?You could say that,? said Juna, working her mouth around as she felt her bile just rise in her throat. ?I have something of yours.?

Madex nodded and said, ?Undoubtedly, the only way you talk to us through our illegal HoloChannel is if you have captured Yhon?s ship. The problem with that, Sith, is that you think you can bargain here to get your daughter back. If you haven?t killed Yhon already, you probably will when I tell you that you?re wasting your breath.?

?I think we can dispense with the arbitrary requirements normally associated with Jedi/Sith relations,? Juna pointed out. ?I know what you are doing just as I know who you are.?

?Well, I won?t repeat things if you won?t repeat things,? he joked.

?Then I will get right to the point,? said Juna. ?You win. You want me, you got me. And I know you don?t want me captured. I know what is going to happen will not happen on Coruscant either. My terms are very simple-.?

?You are in no position to make terms here, Rapier,? warned Madex, frowning. ?I won?t be giving you Angelleia, period.?

?I don?t want her,? said Juna. He already knew that, betraying it with his grin that just irritated her. ?What I want is her to be let go: her freedom, from you, from the Jedi Order, in exchange for myself and your companion. I won?t have her waste away on some planet enslaved by the idea of being a failure.?

?Do you seriously believe,? began Madex, ?I would let her go? Knowing what I know about you Sith Maidens you are not worth the trouble being kept ali

 

CHAPTER 72.2

The time that passed had never once entered young Angelleia?s troubled conscious since Master Madex had left her alone. And indeed, she felt alone, beyond the physical context. All that she thought she knew, all that she was told that contradicted what she knew, and now all that contradicted the contradictions of what she thought she knew, was making her feel she had been alone all this time. In short, everyone all this time had lied to her.

Angelleia had always felt in her heart everyone in her life had been honest with her, for they expected her to be honest. In her, ever since she could remember, she really appreciated the truth, perhaps demanded it a bit more than the next person. It was rather hard to explain it an easier context, but never had she felt like this before in her life. If this was what being betrayed felt like, she honestly never wanted anyone else to feel it. Reviewing over and over in her head explained why she had grabbed Madex by the throat; she could not handle the revelation, not of the truth but the fact that her first instinct about Juna, the instinct she had chosen to ignore, was correct, that the dark side creature was hiding something from her.

Not dark side creature: Sith.

Closing her eyes, Angelleia just sighed and just found herself correcting every memory she had of Juna, replacing them with that dreaded word of evil. Unbeknownst to her, under Madex?s influence, what Madex had said made perfect sense when thought about it over and over. There was no questioning the evidence. The Sith?s deception was both intentional and cruel.

The Sith. Truly, indeed, without question: they were evil, not just evil personified. Her Father truly did not know what he was getting involved in. Angelleia sighed again, understanding that Enothchild was, after all, capable of making mistakes like his Daughter was. Perhaps, she mused with little humor, it ran in the family.

But clearly, Enothchild had been duped as he gave into the idea that there was hope in the Sith he clearly thought he had locked in on. The Sith showed a level of cleverness that rivaled their deviousness, which was still enough to keep the suspicious Jedi Council back on their heels and accepting the Sith as allies. All because the Council had been fed what Enothchild had believed, and was tricked to say. Angelleia just shook her head: it was as if the Jedi Order had indeed learned nothing after five thousand years of fighting the Sith, which should have been long enough to trump the thousand years that passed between engagements. The Jedi philosophers were again proven correct: ignorance was disproportionately more massive than enlightenment, and no one was immune to it.

This was beyond being stupid for Enothchild; it was a betrayal of trust. In order for the Sith to had become pregnant, Angelleia assumed there had to be a physical relationship; there were other possibilities, but she just centered on the oldest and easiest process of impregnation. The how was unimportant; all there was at the end was a result, a result the DNA tests still on that terminal screen Madex brought up and showed her did not lie; Angelleia recognized her own patterns having run non-blood genetic scans of herself in the past.

Being true, the Sith had pledged her heart, body, and soul to a hopeful, perhaps lonely, Jedi Master who had left the Jedi Order and the restraints of the Jedi Code behind. The Sith wanted something that was rather convenient and flexible when it came to her ultimate plans. Clearly, having a child as a bargaining chip, a tool to eschew the reality of the Jedi Council, and a means to control the father was extremely cold, and brilliant. Underestimating any foe was dangerous; underestimating the Sith was a far more painful price.

It went beyond that betrayal; it was the fact the Sith was able to convince so many to believe her. As much as the Jedi Council was weary of her, they still took a chance with taking Angelleia. Her Jedi Father, Casper, was either a significant part of the Sith?s conspiracy, or he was severely dupe

 

Sounds dangerous... but at least the calvary is on the way...

Good stuff. waiting for the next chapter!

 

It's here....the beginning of the end.....


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CHAPTER 73.0

Bespin.

Like any other gas giant planet to be found in the galaxy it was large and unassuming. If not for the tibana gas that was in huge abundance there, its distant location from the galactic center and from other civilized, space-faring worlds it would have remained unassuming. Tibana gas, a marvelously efficient compound used to heat homes, cool hyperdrives and enhance the firepower of ship mounted blasters, was the planet?s only drawing card. Whereas it was normally manufactured at a high cost elsewhere, the tibana here was naturally occurring and replenishing: one of only three planets in the known universe to do so. To really make a killing, the independence running the platforms controlled from the central, floating cities, solicited unregulated traffickers in order to maintain no notice from the Republic; although not part of the Republic, they did business with member worlds and thus were, in theory, suppose to obey the laws that did not govern and ? critical of all ? tax them.

The Flora Noir broke through the upper tangerine clouds that were much lighter, less violate, still dangerous gases and disappeared into the dark skies of Bespin?s night side. Next to the tibana gas, Bespin Motors produced and sold very reliable cloud car security vehicles, which normally patrolled the ?civilian zones? around the floating cities, so Juna wanted to avoid detection. Her plan was already too complex with plenty of doubt in her mind that it could be pulled off, so there was no need to add something else like overanxious patrols to it that she would have no control over. This was by and far the riskiest gamble she was ever going to make to date, and perhaps her last.

The automatic transfer from ion engines to repulsolift generators made Juna realize she was in the habitat zone of the planet, where oxygen, gravity, pressure, and temperature were at levels suited for life forms. Her destination was in this zone, and she assumed the possibility that either a battle or a trap would be commenced one of the floating prospecting platforms far and away from any of the major cities. Such sights are lonely areas, large, with very few places to hide; it should be a wide open arena. It did occur to her, however, that a mind-twisted Angelleia would tell Coy Madex a thing or two about her teleportation abilities; if so, the confrontation would be within the guts of the structure. Given how she did not have Yhon, Juna was not going to be able to draw them out in an open arena to do battle if it got to that point.

Then again, this was all about freeing Angelleia. If Juna could not get to her, then there was no point in fighting, let alone living. It was better to die than, Force forbid, have her own Gessa hunt her down by Madex?s side. It had to end here, one way or the other.

Juna felt where to go long before she saw the platform in question, and indeed it was a no nonsense rigging designed to test air quality. Someone had a flair for childhood for it was designed like it was an airship from some children?s game. Vanes whipped and turbines spun eagerly on tall masts, all of it supported by a rather large bottom; each end of the ?airship? possessed landing platforms, and one ship resided on one side. The Flora Noir landed on the other side. As soon as she landed, she felt the scant few forms of life on the platform vanish; all save for one familiar one.

?Old tricks,? mused Juna, shaking her head. She patted the counsel of her ship and said, ?Fly well with whoever takes possession of you.? She stood up, ignoring her lightsaber still on the dash board, and making sure the larger lightsaber in her left hand sleeve was still tucked in there. Another inhale, another long exhale, and she left the ship.

The wind whipped around her with just a hint of coolness, a faint odor of trace gases mixed with the nitrogen-oxygen environment. Juna could sense Angelleia?s presence only in one sense; the Sith Hunters through the whispers of the blowing wind. The latte

 

No!

 

Well, it's my favorite holiday again!

HALLOWEEN!

Or in the Gessa Saga universe, 10/31 is better known as 'Juna's Leap Year' (See this story, Chapter 17).

And thanks to my perfect timing, how about some good old fashion horror and gore.


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CHAPTER 73.1

Forcing her legs to move, Angelleia just strolled past Juna, walking dangerously close by her, and frowning and feeling strangely sad when Juna made no move to grab her; not to take her hostage, and not to hug her one last time. The conflict caused Angelleia to begin to cry, and when she reached Enfungo Nul?s position she walked faster, not wanting to look back. The corridor was too far away for her tastes, and being consumed by her emotions, by the reality of her situation, by the fact that her Mother was a Sith, her Mother had lied to her, that her Mother had admitted to murdering her Father for selfish gain, although not clearly specified, the Vhinphyc could not stand it anymore. She couldn?t be on Bespin when the death blow was delivered upon Juna?s neck. Because of that, Angelleia cursed herself for not having any courage to call her Mother. She ran, and she kept running until she slammed her body against the back of the lift and hit the button to go up, practically smashing the control to smithereens with her unchecked strength.

The lift went upwards anyways as Angelleia just stared at the ruined panel and looked at her clenched fist. As the lift?s automated system told her the lift would be inoperable once it reached the top floor, she just glared at her unmarked, undamaged hand, and what marks and damage it had left in the wake of punching the controls. It bothered her, too, that she really had not felt the physical pain associate with such an irrational act on her part. But there was pain; it was emotional pain, and she could not tolerate it.

?Figures,? she declared. ?What good am I as a Jedi if I cannot control myself??

When she gained no answer, Angelleia just felt the known universe slow to a crawl, and she wanted it to because it was just too complicated for her. Nothing in her mind made sense to her anymore: everything was not what it was supposed to be. She knew life was supposed to be difficult, but she wished the life she had before Zonloki. That past life was a trial, but one she welcomed now having experienced all of this. A life where Zesha was alive, where the Jedi stood for pure good, the Sith pure evil, Enothchild Sarch was only an idol she had inspired to become as both a Vhinphyc and a Jedi, and she only shared the name of a former Queen of Naboo who, beyond the name and the headlines, she knew nothing about and never really cared to know. She wanted that life back, desperately, with none of these realities even hinted.

Angelleia forced both her clinched fists opened and just threw them to her sides. The clinking sound found her ears, and she looked. She saw the last moments of the necklace Juna had given her, with the simple wedding bands, bouncing across the lift deck and landing softly on the very familiar black fedarok leather cloak. It was funny how the conjoined rings had bounced, with the chain, like it did; physics would say impossible. And luck would have it, the rings landed on something that had something in common with it: a soon-to-be dead owner.

She was torn on what to do as it was; here, it had become the microcosm of her existence. Harmless rings upon harmless cloak: nothing more than allegories that should have easily represented betrayal, lies, deceit, wickedness, immorality, vileness, and vulgarity. All of those words and descriptions, easily in the forefront of her young, troubled mind, for she could sense Juna?s struggles to live below her.

There was something there?.

?I cannot,? she whispered, shaking her head, turning away from those objects Juna had told her to have. Angelleia just banged her head repeatedly against the wall of the lift, unable to cope with what was transpiring.

There was something there?.

?No,? she whispered, and just

 

Ouch! That's quite a clever thing Angelleia did.

What about the other lightsabre? Hmm.

 

CHAPTER 73.2

All was illusion.

It was?.not another world, it did not feel right; it did not feel like another world. Perceptional, it existed for her, whatever this realm was; a place she felt only the selected could exist in. What was here was and yet could never be: air, clouds, sunlight, fields of grain and grass, waters afar and majestic white mountains so very, very near.

The white mountains surrounded the plains of grass and all that looked towards the pale blue sea. In the north, casting no shadow even with the proper positioning of the sun above in clear enough spring skies, lead to by a great many steps upon of stairwell of ivory, stood a great white tower. The stairs continued on and upward, all the way to the top of the tower, where a bright light swayed and swirled about like a light in a lighthouse overlooking ancient sea shores. Each passing beam of light cut through the day like a lightsaber, unhindered by the overshadowing glow of day, seeking out and calling those selected to come, and indeed Angelleia now heeded the call.

Upon her approach to the massive stairwell the first step greeted her, taunting her with it?s height coming up to her chest; every step was so tall, so imposing, apparently deliberate to prevent the uninvited from scaling. How the builder would know the uninvited would be smaller than the steps were anyone?s guess; perhaps they knew that, here, in spirit, such evil would be small. As it was, Angelleia had to climb up, using her arms and legs to ascend over the edge, discovering at the top many names of individuals engraved in the steps, written in all sorts of languages she recognized, or did not recognized. Indeed they were names, many names; some of their owners dead, some of their owners still very much alive. The meaning of these names she felt were here as affirmations of gratitude.

Somehow, indescribable to believe, these living and these dead had built these steps, and had built the tower, for whoever they were thanking; in spirit, in mind, it just all came together, whether they knew it or not, and such gratitude was meant for such greatness. The tower was no different, engraved with names that outlined the shapes and figures, engineered with depictions of heroic deeds, ascending forty thousand six hundred and thirty-one feet into the wonderful, twinkling sky, each foot representing a day in the Republic?s standard three hundred and sixty day calendar. This was a place for a fallen hero, as if others had granted that Hero?s only wish, and had done so in good thought or in good spirit. Every foundation, with names, everywhere Angelleia had looked, upon every step she had to climb.

Not tired or questioning her reasons for climbing, Angelleia kept going, doing it the hard way, just pulling herself up and over, not jumping, not using the Force. Oddly, she just knew it had to be done. She had looked up many times, hoping to see someone or something that would give her the reason for climbing. Yet there was no one and none, and onward she climbed, and about the five thousandth step did she feel tired. She pushed on, looked up again, and stopped herself for someone was now waiting for her just a few steps away.

On the five thousandth and twelfth step was a male Vhinphyc; quite large, his massive legs just hung over the edge of the step he sat on, his big feet hovered barely over the step below it. Given she only knew Vhinphyc from holograms she had only a vague idea how big they were in mass. However, with his Jedi clothing, bearded face, kind amber eyes and different shades of long blonde hair traversing between his battered horns to roll down his back, she knew him very well. Angelleia just stood there, panting, just three steps away from her real Father.

Enothchild Sarch had a smile already that grew and he said, ?Greetings, my Daughter. It is wonderful that we have finally met.? He patted the step he was sitting on. ?Please, come here, have a seat. You have had a difficult trial.?

Angelleia did not need to be told twice. Still, for some reason, it was very tough to cli

 

Cool! Well planned by Juna. Looking forward to the well-executed!

Nice interaction between the two. So many 'what-if' questions....

 

Thanks Delight. As it might seem iffy as a plot point, clearly it shows what kind of a gamble Juna was taking. Very easily Angelleia could have just ignored the cloak, the lightsaber, and the rings. Circumstances had intervened by the way of Ramore, which goes to show you any measure of thought and plot does require luck as well as skill.

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CHAPTER 74.0

?What the smeck was that!? exclaimed Enfungo Nul, turning his attention away from his duties. The others, too, followed suite, feeling the dark side of the Force in the main structure, and what disturbed them more was it was all too familiar.

Meanwhile, Coy Madex pulled his swing because of that all too familiar presence in the Force as well. The sound of the lightsaber spinning caused the others to turn around and look at him. They were still, for Juna fell forward and just laid very still. This caused them to take a step towards her when they saw locks of her hair on either side of her body; burned, freshly removed from her head.

But Juna?s head was still on her shoulders.

She was unconscious, although the stun cuffs were still going off. She twitched and moved, clearly her body had enough, but clearly she was still alive.

Madex, on the other hand, was standing with his mouth gapped, and sensed what was going on in the building. He whispered, ?Force, no, Beja Tu!?

?No, it can?t be,? said Posh Piv. ?It just can?t be!?

Nul was no longer in denial; he was running, and heading right for the lift. The others made a move for the corridor, but Madex ordered, ?No! I-It?s a trick! Some trick of some kind!?

?Our worst nightmare has come to pass,? said Yars Meek compellingly. He was moving backwards for the corridor, looking right at Madex. ?One of us has fallen!?

?It?s a Trick!? barked Madex. He ignored Juna and walked towards the others who looked ready to go aide Nul. He thought and thought of something to say, and it struck him. He said, ?Her cloak! She left her cloak in the lift! She gave Angelleia rings?.and??

Madex turned back around at Juna, and the stun cuffs ran out of power, and her body became motionless. He pointed his lit weapon at her and proclaimed, ?She set us up! I?m telling you, it?s all a trick!? Unfortunately he didn?t believe it either, because the truth was he could feel Beja Tu Ramore, and he was no longer a Jedi. He quickly added, ?She?s seduced him, through her daughter, she must have!?

Before anyone could question that, Nul emerged from the corridor and said, ?The lift?s out of order! I can?t get up there, there?s no access ladder!?

Novee Cet pointed at the high wall, pointing out the access ladders. ?That?s because there all out there, Enfungo! Let?s go!?

?We kill Rapier, it ends!? begged Madex, his shout stopping them in their tracks.

?Then do it, and be quick!? remarked Meek, and he ran for the ladder. The other bunch followed right behind him, quickly as possible.

?It?s a mistake!? shouted Madex. He turned towards Juna and said, ?Huge mistake, by you! No matter, you are still the biggest threat to all of us, while alive.? He moved towards her and readied his weapon again. He saw where his slice had just gave her a short hairdo, and he had to chuckle, ?At least you?re going out in style.?

Hands shaking suddenly, Madex steadied them and said, ?This is for you, Nadja. And for Jrimmer, and Beja Tu, and for my Master Qualeggoes, you twisted, evil witch!? He raised his weapon?.

Madex felt something pop in his own head and he crumpled down to his knees, dropping his lightsaber safely unlike Beja Tu, and grabbing at his head. The Sith Hunters, as a group, swayed on their feet, not quite understanding what was happening in their perceptions. The Bothan Jedi Master and telepath, however, was very dizzy; this was something he had never experienced before, and it made him feel very ill.

By and large, the other Jedi recovered. The shouts from the others in the distance were followed by both a danger in the Force, and the slow painful death of his former Padawan Learner. It made Madex tighten up in body and in spirit,

 

That's most Nadja-like!

The reactions of the other Sith Hunters are worth noting, I think.

Good stuff. Is the calvary arriving soon?

 

Improvisation: It's not planned, it's a genuine surprise.

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Madex found himself in a bit of a bind; the others would not approve of striking her down now, not unless she had gotten too aggressive. She was staying in a pocket of philosophical Jedi reserve; she had not fallen, and the others knew it. It limited him in what he could do to finish this fight: her death could not be justified.

His other options in how to defeat her were just as mute, such as throwing an object at her with the Force; they did choose this location in order to eliminate Juna?s advantages of throwing things at them. But even so, if he could throw something at her, Madex had just been reminded through Beja Tu Ramore?s death by her blood that a bleeding injury will kill him if he was too close, and there was no real way in telling what the range of the blood was.

Clearly, he still had an edge: he was still young for a Bothan, and full of experience. Madex whirled his weapon, then himself in a flip, in. He struck against her defense three times, slipped inside, turned tight as she turned tight, and struck twice, and again he stepped inward, this time to her left in his version of a ?Brave Retreat?; simply attacking the same way going out as he did coming in, returning to the starting position.

Angelleia caught herself walking right into his passive feint. As if stuck in training mode with Master Zesha, she slowed. Right away Madex changed his tactical flow and bashed at her hard with quick strikes; right, left, right, up and upward and downward. He changed position, stepping in, and instinctively she ducked his trailing blade; it still clipped the top of her hood. She jabbed at him to buckle his hips, and then made him hop back when she snapped the tip of her weapon upward, almost taking off the tip of his snout.

Madex set off another set of repetitions, his attacks more from his sides, trying to get Angelleia to open her guard enough to bat her weapon away. Wisely, this time, Angelleia began to back peddle to not have him negate her weapon?s superior reach. And suddenly, it looked a lot more comical than serious; the tiny girl in the oversized cloak, almost stumbling in it as she just ran backwards continuously as the taller male just whirled his weapon in a circle, and both just running on and on across the vast valley floor.

?Oh what fun it is this,? chapped Madex at her, and he made his spinning tighter, clicking Angelleia?s weapon very quickly as he pressed forward, threatening to step in and trip her up again. She just kept running backwards.

Angelleia sensed more than one problem growing. She had to open her mouth to breathe, for the stepped up pace required more air to go in and out; the cloak hood was restricting her breathing, so no longer did she have a clever mock mask to protect her face. The other problem was she was getting separated from Juna; she had to stay with her, once the moment to save her came; too much distance was between them. And lastly, she could feel the wall behind her closing in, marking not only that she was too far from Juna but that Madex may try some trick or two to end the fight. She could not let that happen.

Angelleia tried to step about, but Madex cut her off with a feint that scored against the deck. She tried to side step to her left, in the opposite direction, and he missed cutting off her toes; ironic, for toe removal was what Enothchild had done to defeat Qualeggoes. Angelleia was not getting into any position to flip over Madex, he was just too relentless with his attacking pressure, and this meant either the wall or a lock of blades were forthcoming, and either would pin her.

The idea hit her, and this time she rolled her weapon on top of Madex?s, stepped in, and with a clenched fist backhanded him in the chest with all of her might; mouth flew open, and she actually managed a mighty roar. The impact produced a rather unnervingly loud THUD sound where her arm managed to strike the front of his shoulders.

The Bothan did not stumble backward; he left his feet. His leaner

 

(Sorry, DRL struck)

What??!! Watch where you aim!

This calls for another Nadja moment!

Seriously, it's hilarious. Just trying to imagine the scene makes me laugh. I hope it's supposed to be comedy (for now at least)... sorry!

 

Same DRL here, so no worries.

And yes: that was supposed to be a moment of hilarity. Something that will either make you laugh, or like the Jedi take a moment and try to understand what exactly is going on, and then try to figure out what to do next.



----------------------


But finally Madex had to break the bad news. He pointed out, holding his position and pointing with his lightsaber, ?I think your pants are too big for you now, little girl.?

Angelleia knew that: the little girl in her, more than the Jedi she had hoped to be, still was hoping he really didn?t notice that. She only realized it the moment she felt her pants just slide down by themselves, becoming undone by her now realized dramatic girth loss. She had not calculated it yet, but she had lost fifty pounds. It was not lost on her that the elastic band on her shorts was holding: thank the Force for minute favors, anyway, everyday, the old saying went. She was realizing it just everyone else was: as a means to heal herself naturally from fatigue she was burning through her body?s physical reserves.

?Oh boy, this isn?t good,? she mumbled. Tactically vulnerable, she began to try to get out of her boots. Pulling up her pants would waste time. Dragging her clothes would create defensive problems?.

Madex made a funny gesture at Angelleia and, sure as the stars shined, he took full advantage, making the clothes trip her up, knowing her boots needed to be unbuckled in order to free herself. She nearly fell on her weapon, and having no choice she had to toss it out her hands. As expected, her weapon bounced out of her hands as she struggled to get her feet free from her boots; she could not do it with one hand.

?Whew, did I worry there,? chuckled Madex, wiping his brow in mock relief. He noted her attempt to get her lightsaber back, but he used the Force to move it away from her. When she went right back to her boots, he jumped on a part of her pants and stuck his lightsaber in her face, stopping her; he watched her brown eyes return as she backed down from the advancing tip of the weapon. ?Or did I worry there??

Angelleia found herself lying down, and Madex stopped his weapon. He said, ?You?re beaten, this is over.? He shook his head and said, ?And to think I was just going to let you go but now that you really tried my Jedi patience, I will gladly put you in the deepest, darkest, coldest cell in the Jedi Detention Cell and personally watch you wallow! But first, I got a Sith to execute.? He just turned to the others and ordered, ?Do it!?

?No!? screamed Angelleia, stopping short when she felt Madex?s weapon too close to her face. When she saw the others ignite their weapons, she began to whimper.

Another lightsaber igniting behind them all made them all look. They had not felt Casper Knightshade?s approach. His green lightsaber betrayed the righteous anger on his face when he looked right at Coy Madex and ordered, ?Get the hell off my Daughter!?

?Daddy!? squealed Angelleia.

On that note, Casper proceeded directly towards Madex with his weapon lit and his intentions clear. He said anyways, ?All who do not wish to perish surrender.?

?I?m afraid we can?t do that, Brother,? said Nul, and he pulled away from his guard position. So did the other Sith Hunters, and Madex stepped away from Angelleia; all of them collectively understanding this new issue before them. Worse, Casper kept walking towards them, unhindered by any fear.

As this happened, Angelleia realized Casper was in peril and began pulling up her pants, undoing the buckle on the belt to retighten it?.

?I?m not your brother,? responded Casper at his old friend Nul. ?No brother of mine would execute a mother in front of her only child! No Jedi would engage an innocent in battle! This farce ends right now!? He moved himself relatively between them and the women. Without looking, he ordered, ?Angelleia, just get your mother out of here. Do as I say, don?t even think to argue.?

?I will destroy them both, Casper,? warned Madex. ?Don?t make me: the Sith cannot be allowed to live to corrupt any mor

 

Cliff hanger!

Casper reminds me of Obi-Wan, for some reason.

That would be a fight to observe.

More soon please.

 

Probably because like Obi-Wan in Episode Three Casper just accepts what he feels in the Force. It will always beg the debate if it's the Force or one's own conscious that drives them not to do something they probably should: letting Vader get burned alive, or taking out the Sith Hunters by killing them but giving them at least half a chance to give up.

---------------------------


Meanwhile, Casper noted what had occurred, cursed himself, and eyed the three other Sith Hunters. He realized he had to draw them all in, to be able to take them all out at once, or close to once as possible. Casper still had one edge: the others could not reconcile with the fact, in essence in the Force, they were fighting themselves in fighting against their fellow Jedi Knight. Their strikes were not as one now, and Nul was the most tentative.

Angelleia skirted down and under Madex?s swipe for her head, and realizing that unlike before she could barely handle either him or the large lightsaber in her small hands. She forced herself to be more body evasive since he was not quite going for her weapon. Slowly, patiently, she began working her way towards the main entrance to the mesa, pulling Madex towards her, going so far as to fling the Force in his eyes to annoy him towards her. Her initial idea was just to pull him away from Juna; since the other Sith Hunters recognized Casper as their only true threat at the moment; only Madex was interested in killing her in her unconscious form.

Casper was moving away from Juna as well, but the Sith Hunters were pushing him away, only realizing now that he could grab her and run, and that their leader was busy again with the Padawan Learner. Even with their lack of enthusiasm in fighting a fellow Jedi the three were good together, Casper learned very quickly, moving independently and most certainly without Madex having to influence them in anyway to fight. But every fighter had a flaw; that was why a Jedi pairing was adequate for one covers the weaknesses of another. If the pairing?s fighting techniques were different even better. Three Jedi with their own distinctive styles was really covering the bases.

Still, Casper?s other edge against them was their reliance on each other; as with Beja Tu Ramore and Madex before them, the three teaming up negated some of the options they would have possessed in style and attack in order to accommodate each other. Only this time, unlike Naboo, unlike in the Dungeon Maze, he was not forced to fight in confined spaces. He could move as a trained disciple of Master Yoda, exchanging, engaging, and moving away before the trio confined into one place.

As the bulky fight continued on, elsewhere Angelleia pulled her arms in and used shorter movements to block Madex?s fast-paced attacks; her little arms were beginning to burn from effort, and the rest of her body was hot and sweaty as she bailed on blade-to-blade defense to fend off her foe. Madex could sense her despair as he stepped inward and to her left to create an opportunity to attack from above. She moved under him, making her run the other way, and he just missed grazing her ass.

Just as she turned around, there he was; unlike before, Madex was not going to let Angelleia get her breath; every time the Vhinphyc did, she was seemingly refreshed; he surmised it had to something to do with her immunities actually ?killing? fatigue. Impressive as that idea was, a warrior that could not tire, there had to be an end to it, and given Angelleia?s thinning appearance such a gift, still, required energy sources. He attacked again, making her use every muscle she had in her body to prevent him from winning, because, honestly, she may have not been using Enothchild?s Spirit to guide her at the moment but she was holding up too well.

Across the mesa, Casper caught Novee Cet?s leg at the heel with his toes and forced the Nikto to lock up with him. Casper slipped around in a pivot, just as Yars Meek was coming down on him with a diagonal crosscut, nearly cutting Cet. Rolling off of Cet, he blocked Enfungo Nul three times be