Saga - Legends Darkest Journey: The Journals of Vydel Dir'Nul and Kardem [DDC 2019] - Updated 1/7

Title: DARKEST JOURNEY: THE JOURNALS OF VYDEL DIR’NUL AND KARDEM

Author: Volund Starfire

Timeframe: Between 22 and 19 BBY

Genre: 2019 Diary Challenge, Jedi, Dark Jedi, Legends, Journal

Acknowledgements: This journal is based on the comic short story called Dark Journey. It first appeared in Star Wars Tales 17, then again in the Trade Paperback Star Wars Tales, Volume 5. It was written by Jason Hall.

Author’s Note: This journal is from two different points of view. More than that I cannot say, but you will definitely enjoy it. I am separating the points of view by font and color to make things a little less stressful to determine who is who.

 

It is both a blessing and a curse that my current bodyguard assignment is coming to an end. The honorable minister Tel-Cray’Nor is on his way back to Coruscant after an uneventful trip. Rather than continue with the low-key transport that I hired, he decided to charter a luxury shuttle. I checked the security precautions, but he told me that my services were no longer necessary as his business was concluded. So, my first assignment as a Jedi Knight is at a close.

Personally, I’m glad to be free of that windbag politician. He cost me close to a quarter of my allotted dataries in food alone. Beyond that, his lecherous advances were becoming tiring and more than once his face met the back of my hand after his hand met my posterior. But, it is all behind me and can be filed in the little part of my mind to be soon forgotten.

Nowhere near there something altogether different. The only thing I can think about, and what has been in the forefront of my mind for the past seven months, is Ash. Ash B’risko. He is my charming, kind, roguish transport pilot. Just thinking his name sets a flock of flitterwings soaring in my stomach.

I first met him in a cantina on one of Coruscant’s lower levels. Master Plo Koon told me that I could find a good transport pilot there for the right price, but he never told me how good. Ash wasn’t the first pilot I spoke to, but he was the first to both recognize me as a Jedi AND say that he would fly for me. He told me that he’d even give me a discount because I was so cute.

He was a little put off by Tel-Cray’Nor, but took it in stride. He even joked that I had brought a chaperone one the trip and mocked insult. It was the first time I had laughed in so long. He didn’t even make comment when the honorable delegate began critiquing his ship, the Honorable Rake. He just said that “a lady, in the proper hands, can surprise even the most critical eye” and finished it with a wink to me.

The Rake was an older YT-model, but she could dance through the densest asteroid belt. She had good armament, as well. Besides the forward-firing laser cannons that Ash installed, the ventral dual-lasers were top of the line. I didn’t even have to use the Force to shoot a group of pirates out of space. Speed-wise, she was okay, but he had installed a ×.75 hyperdrive that helped keep us ahead of schedule.

I have always been taught that blasters were crude weapons, meant to bludgeon rather than sting, but in his hands a blaster was a thing of precision and beauty. More often than not, we found ourselves in a fight with Black Sun and other mercenaries hired to stop the mission, but every time we fought together in a way that I thought only reserved for Master and Padawan. The smile on his lips as I provided cover for him with my glowing orange blade melted my heart. He never lost it and it only grew when he looked in my eyes.

I know that it is against the tenets of the Jedi, but I did not care. I have never felt surer of myself. I was nervous going on my first assignment, but that nervousness fell away almost immediately. Now, I feel even stronger than when I traveled with my Master a scant eight months ago. There is nothing that I cannot accomplish with Ash at my side.

The most brutal battle we engaged in was against a group of twelve bounty hunters at Sullust. It was a running battle as I shielded both Ash and the minister. By the time we made it to the ship, there were only three of the bodyguards remaining, all but two falling to Ash’s precision shots.

When we got the minister back on the ship and took to space, we met in his quarters. Against my better judgment, I finally gave in to his kiss and… I have never felt anything so wonderful, in the physical or the Force. And it has only become stronger with each and every night we share together. I am in love, and it does not feel wrong at all. There is no possible way this can be wrong with all the wonderful feelings it has brought to me.

We are currently on layover on Hutta. I thought that the minister would take longer and that my report to the Jedi Council will likewise be more in-depth. Because of that, I told Ash that it would be about a week before I could return to his side… to his bed. But, the minister decided to leave the moment his business was complete and the Jedi Council did not require a personal report of my activities. They told me to stay where I was and await further instructions.

I could tell that something was wrong. The knight staffing the communications station was listening to three different conversations at the same time and I saw numerous Jedi running behind him, close enough to clip into the hologram. Besides that, I was able to pick up enough of the conversation to hear that something was happening on Geonosis.

I did not argue with the Jedi, though. It simply meant I would have more time to spend with my Ash. I think he will definitely be surprised to see me and I decided to increase the surprise a little more for him. I stopped by one of the markets and spend a couple of credits on some perfume that he said he liked. I also stopped at the ship and decided to surprise him even more by not wearing my inner tunic.

From the Rake, I made my way straight to the quarters he rented. It wasn’t in a good part of town, but he said it was secure and the local enforcers kept the peace fairly well.

 

The door to the room opened to reveal a sad sight. The Jedi hadn’t shown up yet, though the smuggler was far from alone. It was most definitely a pity. I truly wished that it had been her in his arms; that would have made it all so very perfect, but life was not perfect. Life was heartache. She would learn that in time. Until then, I would tutor her.

Though I was silhouetted in the door, the scoundrel was oblivious to my presence. How long before the Jedi returned? I cared not. Perhaps she will learn of me? Perhaps she will hate me. That hatred will make her stronger. That hatred would make her mine, until then I would have to take from her all that I could.

My name is Kardem, for any of you reading this journal. I am what the Jedi would call a Sith, though I find that term to be crass. I was never trained by one of that order, even if the rumors of their existence prove true.

Though, that is not important now. I know she will follow me and give me more power and control over her life. I will make her my apprentice and show the fools on her council that even the brightest young Jedi can fail. She is too weak to do what she needed to do and now I shall take from her everything.

The rogue looked up then. How long had I been standing in the door, just staring at the two of them? A few seconds, a minute, I know and care not. The twi’lek whore was on top of him, her headtails writhing with her pleasure. She was too busy to realize I was even standing there. He was quicker than I gave him credit for, though, especially as occupied as he was.

He pushed her off of him quickly. She hit the floor with a surprised squeak and finally saw me in the doorway. She grabbed for some scraps of fabric that I can only assume was her clothing. There was fear in her eyes as she tried to cover her shame. Good, the emotion fed me, sustained and empowered me. She was not my prey, though; at least, not yet.

“What are you doing here,” he barked out. He retrieved a sheet to cover himself. Were he actually smart, he would have instead gone for his blaster. He would have died in a more dignified manner, but he will still die.

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” he yelled out. The twi’lek ran into the other room, the sounds of a window opening meant she escaped. It does not matter. I will find her soon enough. It would be a simple thing to track his scent on her.

“The Jedi loves you,” I whispered to him. His brow furrowed as if he did not truly understand what I was saying. Though, his eyes also widened as I pulled the saber from my belt.

“Wait,” he said, backing further from his holstered pistol. “It’s not what you think.”

“I think you were breaking the heart of a Jedi,” I told him, the red-orange glow of my lightsaber filling the room. “That was only the beginning. Do not worry, I shall do the rest.”

He yelled out something as I slashed my blade across his left arm, finally lunging for his blaster. His hand fell to the floor, balled in a fist. The pain was even more intoxicating than I can describe. It was a new feeling, one that I until now I have been starved from.

He was pleading, begging for forgiveness and mercy. Why would be beg forgiveness from me? Did he know that forgiveness was not my way? His right arm was next, at the bicep. Then, his left leg was severed at the calf followed by the right at the knee.

He was sobbing now, the blubbering of the Jedi’s name mixing with his tears and pleas. It was not long now, I could feel her approaching. I smiled at him, still conscious despite the agony he was feeling. I decided to grant him a mercy and pushed the lightsaber into his heart. He twitched for a moment before what remained of his body sagged.

His death was powerful within me. It was my first kill, completing my journey. And the Jedi would find him like this. That was the sweetest taste there could have been. She would fall, and when she did I would control her life and she would be my apprentice.

I walked into the doorway, but glanced toward the window the twi’lek had fled through. Did she know that she would be my second kill? I wondered how much time I had before the Jedi arrived. She was close; I could feel her approaching. The twi’lek would be next. I turned and a feral grin spread across my face as the door closed. I could only hope that I am close enough to feel her emotions as she comes upon the scene. The thought made me burst out in laughter.

 

He’s dead.

I arrived at the apartment ready to surprise him, but I was put on edge the moment I stood in front of the door. I heard laughter. It wasn’t something nice as laughter should be. It was dark and full of malice. Beyond that, I felt cold. It was not the air, but the Force. Something dark had been standing right where I was and not long ago.

I opened the door and beheld a scene that I could not comprehend. It made me fall to my knees and throw up. Ash was laying against the wall, his eyes staring in pained disbelief toward the door. Around him were body parts. His. And, in the middle of his chest was a scorched hole.

I ran into the room and hugged him close. His body was still warm, too warm for it to have been more than a couple of minutes. I felt a presence in the room and jumped to my feet, activating my lightsaber in preparation for an attack. The yellow-orange blade illuminated the dark room but revealed nothing.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the hum of my lightsaber. It was calming and allowed me to focus. I could not feel anyone nearby, but could definitely feel the icy chill of the dark side filling the room. It was more than the feeling of death, though. It was focused and ordered; less like a wind-blown dune than a raked garden of sand. That, along with the cauterized wounds on my dear Ash’s body, told me that this heinous act was caused by a Sith.

There was something more, though. The sand had a distinct flavor to it. It was something that my master told me about and had me practice feeling. It was a distinctly masculine presence. But there was more. There was another set of footprints in the Force, full of fear. It was only the slightest of sprinkles, but it lead to the refresher and out the window. It must have been how the villain escaped.

Did I interrupt him, whoever he was? I walked into the refresher and pushed my senses out as far as my mind could comprehend, but I could not feel more than a trace of the fear as it fled out of my range. He was gone.

I contacted the local authorities to report the death. They were useless and told me only what I had already known. He was killed by a lightsaber probably just prior to my discovering the body. They did make mention of Ash having recently shared his bed with someone, though. I could say nothing; we had slept together the previous night before I escorted the delegate to his last meeting.

I used more of my credits to purchase him a simple headstone with his name on it. It’s in a small alcove to be forgotten by all but me. His ship was confiscated by the local authorities, something about unpaid landing fees.

While I was at his headstone, I received a call from the Jedi Temple. They were saying something about my needing to return and report for assignment to a military unit as a general. I don’t care for that. Jedi are meant to enforce justice, not lead an army for petty political goals.

I have to find his killer. I need answers. I need justice. I need… vengeance? I will not stop until I bring my dear, sweet Ash’s murderer to justice. I will continue no matter what it takes. The first stop is to go back to the apartment and track down whoever jumped out the window. Perhaps it was the wretch that killed my poor love.