Before - Legends Bright Light, Dark Shadow (Tales of the Jedi, OCs, Post-Sith War)

Title: Bright Light, Dark Shadow
Timeline: 3,995 BBY, Legends continuity
Genre: Action, Drama
Characters: Ceth Mascor (OC)
Summary: In the aftermath of the Sith War, a Jedi Shadow is tasked with a serious mission: hunt down a wayward Jedi student that joined Exar Kun a year previously.

***

The council was late. This thought broke through the meditation of Ceth Mascor, wafting through the fields of tall grass that the Jedi used to visualize the Force. In the distance the bright presence of the three council members burned brightly, manifesting themselves as clusters of trees. All of the clusters were unfamiliar to him save for one: a presence in the Force like a thick grouping of trees in marshy water, long trunks that terminated in three layers of leaf clusters along their lengths. Master R'Thran was amongst them.

The tree clusters moved from their position in the distance and headed his way. The human male opened his dark brown eyes. He was seated cross-legged inside of a square room. The front wall was a length of transparisteel that showed the Senate district outside, the ecumenopolis of Coruscant a sea of activity outside. He wore robes of a deep blue over his dark skin, a strong jawline concealed partially by a black beard.

Three beings walked into the former Senate committee room, a golden-furred Caamasi male, an elderly human male who wore his white hair in a small tail behind his hair, and a young woman with rusty brown hair. "Masters R'Thran, Teeles, Sunrider," Mascor said. He stood from his seated position and bowed to the three of them in turn. "You wished to see me?"

"Jedi Mascor," the elderly human Jedi Master said. "You've been called before us because your former master says that you're best suited for the mission to come.

Ceth bowed deeply to the Caamasi. "Master R'Thran is far too generous with his praise."

The Caamasi curled his pink caluromynic snout upwards and gave a few short barking noises that approximated a laugh. "And you're too modest when praised."

"I was trained well," Ceth said. He smiled at R'Thran and the other masters. "I am, of course, always at the disposal of the Council."

"The death of Exar Kun and the exile of Ulic Qel-Droma a year ago ended the majority of the Sith War," Master Teele said. He ran a hand through his silver beard. "Their creations and some of their acolytes still remain."

"The other masters and myself have decided to call for a Great Hunt for them throughout the galaxy," Master Nomi Sunrider said. "One of their acolytes in particular may require your services."

Ceth's voice grew solemn. "I take it that he or she has holed up quite well."

"Before he left, Ulic gave me the location of some of his lieutenants," Sunrider said. Her blue-green eyes dropped to the floor.

"Grel Loyun was a student of a friend of mine," R'Thran said. "When Exar Kun came to the Library on Ossus and murdered Master Odan-Urr, Loyun was one of the many young Jedi that followed him off the planet. Ulic claimed that Exar's last order to him was to head to the planet of Selvernos in the Mid Rim and form a group of pirates to harass Republic shipping in the trade routes in the area."

"And you want him alive," Ceth said.

"If at all possible," Teele said. "There is hope that he can still be redeemed by one of our Order."

Ceth closed his eyes and retreated once again to the meadow of his inner spirit. He searched for Loyun there and saw only banks of dark thunder clouds in the distance. Lightning forked miles away and was answered by a tumultuous clap of thunder. He opened his eyes again. "I can't make any promises," he said. "I will try."


The Iridonian Sunrise was a simple courier ship. The 25 meter long craft was a pyramidal cockpit attached to an ovoid main hull with three engines each propelling the craft from two solar sails almost as wide as the ship was long. Ceth Mascor sat in the cockpit, looking through the top transparisteel panel. Brentaal IV loomed in the distance. The world claimed to be the most visited planet in the galaxy and with four of the five major hyperspace routes in the galaxy all leading to the world it could certainly back up its claim. Dozens of space stations orbited the planet, each of them blasting their advertisements through communications.

"Gavin's Retreat, this is the Iridonian Sunrise requesting clearance to land," Ceth said through his metal headset.

"Copy that Sunrise, you are clear to land in docking bay 4, berth 103." The Retreat was a long cylinder with several kilometer-long disks scattered throughout its length. Attached to the two ends of the cylinder were several large hexagonal docking bays. Ceth maneuvered his craft into the short line waiting for docking in the busy station.

The young Jedi checked his clothing as he waited. Gone were his deep blue robes, replaced by a tan shirt and black pants favored by several free traders. A blaster pistol rested on his right hip, replacing the simple lightsaber that he had hidden inside of a metal storage craft with the rest of his belongings. In his career as a Jedi Shadow, he had worn outfits such as this far more often than he had worn the simple robes that marked his order. He stretched his neck muscles and piloted the ship into the docking bay.

Docking Bay 4 was filled with ships of various designs and manufacturer as Ceth piloted his courier towards his assigned berth. Light freighters, private yachts and heavy freighters with their large cargo containers detached from their thin hulls were docked inside. Hundreds of sentients from just as many species milled about their ships as the station's maintenance droids restocked and refueled their crafts. One of these droids met Ceth as he walked down his craft's boarding ramp. The smell of spilled fuel and the body odor of the mass of sentients assaulted his nose.

"Greetings, captain of the Iridonian Sunrise," the droid said. It was vaguely humanoid, plump in shape, with a large rectangular head. "I am droid MT-17943, you may call me EmTee."

"The name's Ceth, EmTee," he said. "Is there anywhere a free trader can get something to eat and maybe find some work?" He handed the droid his cred chip to pay for the mooring and offered him a generous tip.

"Ah, yes," the droid said in his monotone voice. "Most gentlebeings of your profession tend to congregate at the 'Parched Yinchorri" down in Entertainment Ring A."

***

The Parched Yinchorri was bustling by the time that Ceth made it to the cantina's entrance. A deep bass voice echoed throughout the room in stereo as an Ithorian belted out a quick-timed song through his four throats. Ceth took a seat in a booth and ordered a Corellian-made brandy from the thin bodied serving droid. He closed his eyes and once more slipped into the Force. The Force was no longer a meadow but now a forest that teemed with life. He peered through the leaves, his mind wandering through the mass of life. "Where to go?" his mental image of himself said. In the distance he spotted them, a group of trees whose white bark was cracked and with the interior wood within showing.

Ceth opened his eyes and scanned the area for the beings that he had sensed through the Force. They were sitting in a corner booth, two humans and a canine-faced alien that Ceth hadn't seen before. The closest human was thin with sandy blond hair that touched the shoulders of his jacketed shoulders. The other was built the same way, but wore his dark hair tied in a long tail behind him. Both shared the same rectangular jaw lines that suggested some familial relationship. Brothers, perhaps. The serving droid rolled up to Ceth and handed the Jedi his drink.

The golden drink in the glass swirled in a whirlwind as Ceth rotated the base slightly. He took a sip of the shot and looked around the bar. He would need a proper reason to introduce himself to the trio and he surveyed his options. A bar fight was always an option, but with the character of Loyun himself, he didn't want innocent blood on his hands when the Sith pirate's crew took things too far in the ensuing melee. Other patrons around him spoke about their upcoming jobs: hunting for a criminal that had a rich bounty on her head, taking a load of Agamarian grain to the Core, running spice to Toprawa, and chartering a Republic dignitary to Hutt space. Cantinas in major trading hubs made for strange bedfellows both metaphorically and literally, judging by the Bith woman and the human spacer necking in a nearby booth. Each being had their own story to tell and certainly would if they had a few drinks in them.

He threw the rest of the shot back, letting the alcohol burn while it settled in his mouth for several long seconds before he swallowed it. He stood up from his seat and began to head for the refresher, taking the long way around so he could pass by the pirates in the corner. "KriffingRepublic," he cursed loudly as he passed close to the table. He slurred his words heavily and stumbled slightly as he walked. "Damn Jedi and Republic putting an honest man out of work." He probed the three pirates with the Force as he walked by and was satisfied by their vague curiosity. "Putting us out of business 'cause we did a couple of shipments for the Krath." That did it.

"You got something against the Republic, friend?" the black-haired human said in a high-pitched voice.

"Nothing personal," Ceth said. "Business-wise, though..." He signaled for a serving droid and ordered another brandy. "Mind if I sit down here, sirs?" He didn't even wait for an affirmative as he sat down next to the canid alien. "Round each for my new friends, too!"

"Business trouble with the Republic?" the blond-haired pirate said.

"Yeah, yeah," Ceth said quickly. "Worked in the Teta system before the war. Krath came and the crew signed up. Jedi came along and that was all to it." He continued to curse the Jedi under his breath, slurring his words slightly to maintain the illusion of mild drunkenness.

"Sounds like a friend of ours," the dog-faced alien said. "You looking for work, stranger?" The two brothers flashed their friend a slight look but quickly shrugged their shoulders and went along with him. It was a slight movement that they fully believed had been seen only by their companion.

"Ceth," the Jedi said. "And I'm always looking out for an unhonest day's work."

"Well, our friend is hiring out smugglers for some jobs on Selvernos. It's just a few days hyper-travel from here, around Taris way," the black-haired smuggler said.

"Sounds nice," Ceth said. The serving droid arrived with the group's drinks and they all toasted their new fortune.


Selvernos was a temperate world covered in forests throughout much of its temperate band. Two large continents dominated the small oceans on the side facing the Jerbuck, the light freighter of the two brothers and their alien friend. Two large uninhabitable moons floated close together near the terminator.

"Here it is," the black-haired brother said as he piloted the craft towards the smaller of the two continents. He was named Jamatt and his younger brother was called Nimax.

"Selvernos," Latran said. The canine-faced friend of the brothers was a Silupian, a relatively rare alien species in this part of the galaxy. He pointed a brown-furred finger towards a point in the middle of the largest continent. "That's Gevest, the capital city. Our base is about a thousand kilometers from it."

Ceth peered out of the viewport at the forested planet, barely seeing any discernable change in terrain from this distance save for a few mountain ranges. "Any issues with the local forces?"

"Not yet, at least," Nimax said. He was seated in the copilot's seat, manning the sensor suite. "Doesn't really matter, though. Selvernos' militia isn't that well funded."

Ceth remained silent, his brow furrowing in thought. The Jerbuck entered the atmosphere of the planet with a slight jolt. The freighter flew low over the planet, the digital altimeter of the craft showing an altitude of 6,000 meters. Underneath them the forests of Selvernos passed by, an unending carpet of dark green and the slightest hints of wooden brown. A white-capped mountain range rose out of the horizon, its length taking up half of the viewscreen.

"Here it is," Jamatt said. He pointed out of the viewscreen to a large clearing ahead. Numerous small freighters were docked on a massive hardpacked dirt landing pad. Fuel tanks ran their serpentine lines towards the mass of ships. "LoyunCity."

Nimax gave his brother a quick slap on the shoulder. "He hates that name, you know that."

Jamatt simply shrugged. "Like it or not, it's what everyone's calling it."

They landed in the clearing and when he stepped out of the small freighter, simple box of belongings in his arms, Ceth looked around the small city. It was a boomtown in appearance, a smuggler's paradise constructed entirely out of prefabricated buildings. Numerous cantinas and supply stores dotted the landscape, several of Loyun's hires and hangers-on milling about on the streets.

"Looks pretty busy," Ceth said.

"The hottest place to be in Selvernos right now!" Latran said. He barked laughter. He turned his eyes towards a cantina and excused himself.

"Not just yet for you," Nimax said with a quick grin. "We have to take you to Loyun first. See if he approves of you joining."

Ceth turned his head away from the cantina that Latran entered and focused on the two brothers. They were grinning as they normally did. "And if he doesn't approve?"

Jamatt gave a quick laugh. "He'll kill ya." Ceth's face fell and a lump formed at the base of his stomach. "Don't worry," the dark-haired smuggler said. "He likes almost anyone."

"I hope so," Ceth said. He calmed his thoughts, imagining his presence in the Force as a tree. He concentrated upon that tree, shrinking it until it was only the size of a young sapling, just as any mildly Force-sensitive being would appear.

The headquarters of the aspiring pirate lord was ahead. Ceth had expected something much grander when he had taken the assignment: a large house rivaling all of the others, several stories tall and with banners proclaiming their allegiance to the now-dead Sith lord Exar Kun. What he saw at the end of the street was a simple grey prefabricated building like the rest. Only a simple black banner with yellow fringe served to mark it as a headquarters.

Joyun's meeting room was small and modestly furnished. A simple desk made from some local oak was placed opposite the entrance, a powerless holoprojector sat upon one of the corners. Flimsiplast maps of the galaxy sat in the middle. The Sith pirate sat in the metal hoverchair behind the desk. He was Duros, a cyan-skinned and noseless species. Solid red eyes glowed out of bald head and triangular-shaped jawline. He wore a dark tan flightsuit adorned with numerous runes in the Sith language. "Courage. Fear. Power." A lightsaber hung from his belt.

"Admiral Joyun," Jamatt said. His trademark grin was gone now in the presence of his leader. "Picked up a possible recruit on Brentaal."

"So I see," Grel Loyun said. His voice was deep and throaty. He stood up, dwarfing Ceth by an eighth of a meter. He walked with slow, deliberate steps towards the Jedi, examining him with those crimson eyes. "What is your name, spacer?"

"Ceth Repry, sir," he replied. He could feel the Sith's presence in the Force begin to prod at his own slightly. He gave no outward sign of noticing.

"And what brings you here, Repry?" Loyun stood uncomfortably close.

Ceth pretended to shrink back. "Y-your men here thought I'd be a good fit."

Loyun nodded and walked behind Ceth, pacing around the trio. "And why would that be, Repry?"

Ceth swallowed heavily, making a show of the very real intimidation he felt. Loyun's presence was a fetid and decaying swamp in the Force, far from the peaceful marsh that he knew from his own master. "I worked for a crew that did jobs for the Ketos back in the Empress Teta system," he said. "Then the Republic and Jedi came and stuck their noses where they didn't belong." He snorted at the thought.

"There is a lot of that going on these days, yes," Loyun said. He gave a simple and sympathetic nod towards Ceth.

"So, am I hired?" Ceth forced a smile.

The space where a nose would be on most humanoids crinkled on Loyun's face. "Perhaps." The Duros walked back to his desk and pulled out a datapad. With his long and knobby fingers he typed in a few words upon the device before affixing his thumb to it. "You will be assigned to the Jerbuck for the time being. Jamatt and Nimax will be your superiors. Do not disobey them." Loyun stared deeply into Ceth's brown eyes. "I will be watching you."

Ceth's quarters inLoyunCitywas moderately sized, large enough to fit a large bed, a plasteel structure filled with storage bins for clothing and other personal items. The Duros pirate's guards had gone through his belongings, searching for anything that may have given away his true mission. They had replaced the spare clothing haphazardly, cramming in the various shirts and pants so they barely fit into the container. He packed away his clothes into the bin and then felt for the false bottom in the storage cube. It came loose easily to his touch, pulling away and revealing the foam tray underneath. Cut into the foam was Ceth's lightsaber, still in its proper place, as well as the portable comlink. He hastily replaced the false bottom and placed the cube to the side.

He turned to the covered window and opened the shades. Outside, the boomtown that was the pirate's base bustled with activity. Loyun's men and women went to and from the various cantinas on a pub crawl that would last well into the night. Selvernos' yellow sun was low in the afternoon sky. To escape from the city with a captured Loyun he would have to either steal a ship from the many docked in the make-shift spaceport or take a landspeeder and make it to Gevest nearly a thousand kilometers away. He would need cover of darkness to do so and a majority of the would-be pirates off balance.

***

It was several hours later when Ceth emerged from his room. The planet's twin moons were high in the sky, in a rare double-full phase. The satellites' light shone brightly down onto the boomtown's avenues, turning the late night into dusk. There were few spacers out at this hour despite the illumination, the few that had braved the late hour were milling about the closed cantinas.

Loyun's simple headquarters was up ahead. In it was the Sith pirate that he had been tasked to capture or kill. Ceth patted the concealed lightsaber in his vest pocket. He closed his eyes and breathed in, inhaling the stink of the city and the peaceful smell of the trees around at the same. He exhaled slowly, drawing the process out as long as he could. Two drunk smugglers outside of the nearest closed cantina were fighting while a hundred meters away one of Selvernos' many predators had just killed a porcine animal and was eating its catch. The blight in the Force that was the pirate's den mixed with the life that emanated from the woods. Up ahead Grel Loyun's presence in the Force raised from the building: a large tree devoid of any leaves, its bark rotting and covered in fungi.

It would end tonight. That certainty loomed through the Force. There would be no surrender from Loyun, no chance of capture. It would end in either the death of the Sith pirate or Ceth.

He ducked into a side alley as he approached the headquarters and climbed on top of a general store. A quick Force-assisted hop launched him over the empty street and the guards stationed around the headquarters' door and onto the flat durasteel roof. He pulled the lightsaber from its hidden compartment and held it into his hand, letting the coolness of the metal seep into the skin of his palm. He looked to the side of the building, seeing the unguarded window and dropping to the ground next to it. The window was secured from the inside, but a simple manipulation of the Force unlocked and opened it.

He crawled through the window and into an elegant dining room. A large metal table was adorned with a cloth of fine linen. A fancy golden candelabra sat in the middle, its artificial candles unlit. Ceth searched through the Force for Loyun and found him close by. Awake. Aware. The Jedi cursed under his breath and gripped the hilt of his blade tightly.

He found Loyun minutes later, the Duros standing at attention inside of a long hallway. He was gripping his own lightsaber in his long-fingered hands. "I felt you coming for me, Jedi," the Sith said. His gravelly voice was even. Unfeeling.
"A pity," Ceph said. "I had hoped to sneak up on you while you were sleeping. Waking up to a blade at your throat is the quickest way to go peacefully. Surrender now, Grel," he said.

"Never," Loyun said. A deep smile crossed his thin mouth. "I've called for backup. My guards should be hear any minute."

"Your guards are drunk or half asleep." He pulled a small cylinder out of his pocket and showed it to the Duros. "And the cavalry's coming. By the order of the Jedi Council and the Republic Senate on charges of attempted murder, treason and piracy, you are under arrest."

Loyun ignited his lightsaber in response, filling the lightly illuminated hallway with an orange light. "I said I wasn't going to surrender, Jedi," he said. His voice was harsh. He lunged at Ceth, the quicker Jedi deftly dodging the fast strikes.

The lightsaber came out of Ceth's vest pocket as the Jedi continued to dodge the Sith's swings. A quick kick towards the Duros' shins was negated as Loyun slid backwards on the tiled floor. The maneuver was enough for Ceth to ignite his own blade and assume a basic defensive stance.

The two blades, orange and green, hummed in the hallway. The narrow room restricted the movement of both combatants, their footwork restricted to lunges and retreats. Ceth licked his dry lips and sent his blade high, aiming to bisect the Duros down from his shoulders. Loyun moved his blade to block. With a quick breath, Ceth pivoted on the heel of his right foot and sank an elbow deep into his opponent's gut.

Loyun pivoted away, using the momentum from Ceth's attack to aid his swing. The Jedi blocked the strike and backed away. He backed away from the Duros, blocking and riposting as he went. Sparks of molten metal fell quickly away from the ceiling and walls of the structure as the lightsabers cut long gouges as the two combatants swung and deflected.

Ceth extended his hand and exerted through the Force, sending a wave of invisible energy towards his foe. The Duros raised his hand to block the push, but was thrown hard to the floor. The Jedi quickly opened the door behind him and moved into the open dining room.

With a sprint that left a blue-green afterimage in Ceth's eye, Loyun quickly closed the distance between them. Ceth adopted a defensive posture and barred the Duros entrance through the door. Through several small testings of the Shadow's defenses, the Sith pirate spread a hand towards him, fingers splayed and unleashed a current of blue electric energy towards his foe.

Ceth caught a portion of the torrent of energy upon his lightsaber, the blue streaks of power curling around the green blade while the majority slammed into his chest. Brilliant, burning pain surrounded him and lifted him up. A deep stabbing pain erupted along his back as he met the sharp edges of the dining table.

Eyes burning and stinging with tears, Ceth looked up as the Duros slowly approached him. Through the haze of his smoldering clothing, the Jedi could do nothing else. He twitched his fingers, trying to will them work once again. His lightsaber lay extinguished meters away by the door.

"So, the council sent you here to kill me?" Loyun said. The Duros was panting hard with each step he took. He twirled his blade around, the orange blade melding into a single flame-colored sphere in the action. "Send my greetings to Vodo and Odann." Time crawled to nearly a still as Loyun raised his blade.

The lightsaber near the door twitched as Ceth reached for it with half-numb fingers. His foe's blade arced downwards. The metal hilt hit Ceth's palm with a slap and it ignited immediately. A green pillar slowly emerged into existence and closed the small distance between the injured Jedi and his foe's leg. It burned through fabric, flesh and fabric again before emerging out of the Duros' leg. Ceth slashed outwards to free his blade from his opponent's limb, temporarily ignoring that it was a breach of combat etiquette.

The injured Duros fell to his good knee, lightsaber rolling out of his weakened fingers. "This how it ends, Jedi? Killing me while I'm hurt? Kun was right about your kind, you want to..." Ceth extinguished his lightsaber and swung his hand, connecting with the side of the Duros' bald head near his temple. Loyun slumped to the ground.

Outside of the headquarters, the Selvernan militia was making their way through the pirate camp. Ceth had contacted them before leaving to capture the Duros crime lord, and his suspicions that the pirates would be too drunk to organize a proper fight had been correct. He dragged the unconscious Sith behind him.

"You Jedi Mascor?" a young lieutenant asked him.

"Lieutenant Kinat," Ceth said. His breaths came rough and ragged. "My thanks."

"Your thanks?" The officer's blue eyes sparkled in amusement. "You helped us bust the biggest pirate gathering in this part of the Mid Rim since..." His boyish face crinkled in confusion. "Since I don't know when."

"The glory goes to you, lieutenant, I just told you when to strike."

"Well..." He smiled heavily, teeth showing in the darkness. He straightened his posture, mind obviously filled with the glory and possible promotion that was in store for him. "Is there anything that I can get you? A healer, perhaps?"

"Have a stasis tube delivered to the Jerbuck. That should keep my friend here unconscious until I reach Coruscant." Ceth waited patiently, catching his breath as the young lieutenant ordered a subordinate to fulfill his request. "One more thing, lieutenant." The Jedi hoisted the Duros onto his aching shoulders.

"Anything, Master Jedi."

A simple wave of his free hand coupled with a slight exertion through the Force was all it took. "My friend and I were never here."
Kinat nodded enthusiastically. "You and your friend were never here, yes." The officer nodded again before heading off to finish sweeping the camp.

The Jerbuck sat where it had berthed that morning, running lights off and the ramp open. A medical stasis bed hovered over the ground near the boarding ramp, top open. Ceth unceremoniously dumped the crime lord into the capsule and closed it. He entered a few easy commands into the control panel and heard the chemicals inside hiss out of their nozzles. The Jedi disengaged the repulsor brakes on the unit and rolled it easily into the freighter's small cargo bay. He secured it to the side of the bay's walls and walked to the cockpit of the craft.

Halfway through the preflight checklist, the door to the bridge opened. The tired Jedi at the controls quickly drew his lightsaber and ignited it in one quick movement. He turned around to look at the intruder and saw the stunned face of Nimax staring at the emerald-colored blade that was centimeters away from his face.

"You kill the boss and you're a Jedi, too?" The yellow-haired smuggler had an exuberant smile on his face.

"I thought you hated Jedi."

"The boss was a Jedi and we liked him. If you took the boss down, you're probably a better boss than he was."

"I didn't kill Loyun," Ceth said. He extinguished his lightsaber and returned it to his belt. "He's headed to Coruscant to answer for his crimes." He motioned in the general direction of the exit ramp. "If you want to answer for yours, by all means, you and your brother can stay aboard when I lift off."

"My brother and I, we follow anyone that can pay us better," Nimax said. "We could be your crew if you want!"

A small laugh escaped from Ceth's tired throat. "I don't have much use for crew."

"That's okay," Nimax said. "We'll stay out of the way. Besides, it's better than taking our chances with the militia out there."

Ceth sighed and turned back to the controls. He wasn't going to get rid of the two brothers that easily. "All right..." he said as he closed the ramp with the flick of a switch. "You and your brother can crew with me at least until I get back to Coruscant." He ignored Nimax's excited utterance. "If you or your brother even think about betraying me, though, I'll throw you out the airlock."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Nimax said. "We'll be the best crew a Jedi could ever hope for!"


As the freighter rose from the dirt-packed landing pad, Ceth almost wished that the two smugglers would try something.

 

Super action; I love how Ceth visualizes personas as forests and meadows.