Onderon

[Darex Trevelian]

"Onderin," Darex said, quietly pulling his fellow Jedi aside. "We are here to help these people, not to slaughter them. I see your point, but we have to trust in the Force that we will stop them from leaving this planet. If we let the ends justify the means, we are no different from anyone else. If we become willing to sacrifice people without trying to help them, we can no longer call ourselves Jedi. I know that sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good, but only as a last resort."

 

Darex had been content to let Onderin take the lead here, but this was a place where he would draw the line. "If that last resort arrives, then we can have this conversation again and decide what must be done. But until then, we need to believe that they are simply mind-slaves of the Arach'tar that will be freed once the Arach'tar are dead." He noticed that not even he had any doubts that the invaders needed to be killed. "We will pick our targets carefully, stunning only the Onderonians. You and I can take the Arach'tar." He could not believe that it was the will of the Force to plunge the galaxy into another war, especially one which it was so ill-prepared for. Therefore, he had confidence that despite how things looked, it would all work out in the end. Somehow.

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin understood Darex perfectly. He didn't want those people's blood on his hands, especially since he didn't know for certain whether they could be saved. Although intelectually he found it very unlikely that they could simply rip out the Arach'tar implants and the Onderonians would survive, from the Jedi perspective simply killing them was not an option. They were charged with the protection of all life, no matter what had happened to them. From that standpoint, Darex was absolutely right to challenge the position Onderin had taken.

 

It was too bad he still couldn't let himself think the same way. "I'm sorry, Darex," he said, his voice softening for a moment. "I can't be a Jedi and hold command at the same time." I never could, he realized suddenly. There had always been an on/off switch when it came to his duties with the Order. One moment he could be a Jedi Master, sitting in meditation with his padawan and teaching him or her how to be the Jedi they needed to be. The next he could be on the bridge of a starship, shutting out the thousands of deaths in the firestorm around him so that he could hurt the Empire more than they could hurt him. Darex had seen firsthand how willingly Onderin had thrown himself into the path of the Jedi once he had resigned his commission, how well he knew what it meant to be one. And yet here he was, answering the call of the Force by coming here and yet setting aside the ideals immediately to take the action he judged was necessary.

 

He had meditated on this for a long time since the Galactic Alliance had formed. Who could deny that he had been a significant contributor to the fall of the Galactic Empire? Who could deny that his decisions had saved the lives of millions of civilians and soldiers alike? They had cost many as well, but did that mean that he had not fulfilled the will of the Force in these matters? When he looked back over his life through meditation, he saw that he had. Onderin Starlisk wasn't always the Jedi that he had been expected to be, but he was the Jedi that had been trusted with the burden of fighting on a front that no Jedi ever should, and one who had seen the will of the Force accomplished anyway. The Empire was vanquished, the Sith weaker than they had been in centuries. The Force was closer to being in balance than it had been since the end of the First Galactic Civil War. How many Jedi like Kitt Fitt had sat on the sidelines and watched the war as a mystic instead of fighting to see it ended?

 

The sound of starfighter engines could be heard and Onderin looked up as his E-wing appeared overhead and descended to land next to him, controlled by his astromech droid. He stepped up to the snubfighter and unsealed its warhead bay. Reaching in, he pulled out with his hands a heavy, baradium-packed warhead which had been stripped of its propulsion systems. Darex would recognize it as a shadow bomb. "Find a perch and get ready to join the battle, R7," he told the droid. Then he turned back to Darex. "We have to win this battle, no matter the cost. This weapon cannot discriminate between its targets, but if it claims even one Arach'tar, it could stem a tide that would otherwise lead to the entire planet being enslaved just like that small group of civilians are now.

 

"There is nothing good in war, Master. Sometimes you have no choice but to fight them anyway."

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex shook his head. This was one situation where he knew that Onderin was wrong. Yes, they had to ensure that no Arach'tar escaped, but they couldn't do it by betraying what it meant to be a Jedi. There was always another way. But in this instance, they were running out of time. "Hold off," Darex said. He had no more time to argue or explain. "I'll be back." There was a simple solution that may solve this particular issue.

 

A slight application of the Force whisked him away, and another application of it's energies caused the light rays to bend around him, causing him to become practically invisible as long as he was careful. His enhanced speed brought him around the flank of the enemy in minutes. Ensuring he remained undetected, he reached out with the Force. What he sensed caused his heart to sink, but that was all he needed. Another burst of the Force brought him back to their lines in another minute. Slightly out of breath, he nodded to Onderin. "They're dead. The Arach'tar have reanimated their corpses." Onderin would understand. If the Onderonians were dead, then the scruples that had caused this argument were void.

 

He walked back over to the Onderonians that had remained behind in the village. "The Arach'tar are using the dead bodies of the people from the other villages they have attacked," he said. "This may make it difficult for you. You may know the people you are shooting at. But they are dead already. The most important thing is that we make it out alive, and that we prevent them from doing the same. Focus on the corpses. Let Master Starlisk and I focus on the Arach'tar."

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin watched as Darex ran off, light beginning to distort around him. The former Admiral simply nodded, figuring it was time to ascertain for certain whether the bionic zombies were living or dead. Unfortunately, he realized, it would make things even more difficult if they turned out to be alive, because even in that circumstance he could not advocate using any lesser force to stop their advance. Thirty casualties was well worth the millions or billions of lives that could be saved by ending this invasion before it began in earnest. It didn't seem like Darex was capable of understanding that, and it could become such a point of contention between them that it could have lasting repercussions on Onderin's relationship with the Jedi Order. To him, this was not a situation of the ends justifying the means, it was a simple cost-benefit analysis as performed by the mind of a man who had been sending men and women to their deaths for his entire career. Perhaps it was extremely unbecoming of a Jedi, but he had never denied that Jedi should not become military commanders.

 

So while Darex was gone, he continued to prepare. The volunteers were making progress on the barricade, and soon they had speeders, furniture, and anything else on hand piled up. Now the Arach'tar force was looming before them, getting close to weapon range. Their mobility was somewhat hindered by the plodding advance of the zombies, but they did seem to have a vanguard on swoops. Onderin found it somewhat unusual that the Arach'tar would use such primitive technology, but he supposed they had to make due with what they had available on this rock. Just as he was doing in an attempt to stop them. He doubted they would expect the kind of artillery he could call upon though; it was truly a boon that the Force had called him here. Without support, this town would have been caught unaware and the size of the invading force would have tripled.

 

Soon the other Jedi Master returned and made his report. Onderin breathed a quiet sigh of relief that Darex would no longer countermand him on this. "We still don't know their capabilities, but the Arach'tar never did anything halfway," he added to Darex's briefing. "I suspect they will make up for their lack of mobility by being resistant to blaster fire. You will focus fire as a group--start from the right and work your way left across the group as they fall. If they get close, don't hesitate to fall back."

 

With that, he leapt up onto the barricade and looked out at the approaching force. "May the Force be with us. Open fire as soon as they in range. Darex, let's see if we can do something about those swoops."

 

No sooner had he finished speaking than the swoop riders revved their bikes and blasted around the outside of the barricade, quickly moving to flank the group. Onderin kept his lightsaber off--it wasn't yet time to tip their hands and reveal to their enemies that there were Jedi in the mix. Instead, he picked the swoop on the left and called on the Force to dash off toward it, pulling his blaster pistol in his left hand and considering for a moment how he would take down such a dangerous opponent.

[Darex Trevelian]

No sooner had Darex returned from his scouting than the enemy were nearly upon them. There was time only for a few last minute commands from the former admiral, and then it had begun.

 

Onderin was gone, headed towards the swoop on the right flank, so Darex took the left. He overleapt the barricade and headed out at a much slower pace than his fellow master had, for his approach was to be different. Calling on the Force, he drew on the air particles around him, creating a gust of wind at his back, pushing forward towards the oncoming swoop. The wind picked up dust and debris with it. When the concentrated gust reached the swoop that was his target, it caused the vehicle to buck at the unexpected change in air concentration. Any competent swoop pilot would have no problem adjusting, but Darex had the inkling that swoops were not in the common arsenal of an Arach'tar warrior.

 

His suspicions were correct. The swoop veered to the right, separating the Arach'tar from the rest of his troops a bit. Darex dropped to the ground as it careened towards him. For a moment, it looked like it was going to crash into an outcropping of rock, but then the alien regained control of the machine. Turning to bring it back to the main body of troops, however, meant coming right by where Darex crouched in the tall grasses. Allowing himself a small grin, Darex reached out again. Bending metal with the Force was akin to ripping thin paper, and it took only a small application, well timed, to bend one of the steering rods just enough to cause the swoop to plummet the remaining meters to the ground.

 

It's pilot leapt clear at the last minute. Rising, clearly suspicious, he began to look around wildly for the cause of his crash. Darex obliged, firing with his blaster from his prone spot in the grasses.

[Onderin Starlisk]

Before he had been a fleet Admiral, before he had become a Jedi, Onderin had been a CorSec officer. Sometimes, CorSec simply trained police officers who did the usual business like handing out traffic tickets to reckless speeder pilots. But others were a little more adept at field work, investigation, and stakeouts. Onderin had been a promising officer even in his youth, showing tremendous intuition in the field that he now attributed to his sensitivity to the Force. Even from a young age, he had learned to trust his gut and it had turned out to be right almost every time.

 

Now he was a mix of a cop on a stakeout, a military officer planning how to take down a superior force, and a Jedi Master capable of taking down targets that ordinary soldiers wouldn't dare to face. If the swoop-riding Arach'tar successfully flanked the barricade, the battle would be lost before it even began. Keeping a low profile, Onderin entered a nearby building and ascended two flights of stairs in a few Force-aided bounds, then made his way to a window. He could hear the whine of the swoop engine as he closed his eyes and opened himself to the timing of the Force.

 

When he felt it was right, he dropped himself out of the window and fell two stories. Just in time, the Arach'tar swoop came around the corner, nearly complete with its flanking maneuver. Onderin's lightsaber thrummed to life and he slashed downward. His enemy's preternatural reflexes served it well as it abandoned its vehicle even as he sliced through the chassis, snapping his eyes open again at last. He landed and found incoming high-power energy bolts coming his way. He brought his lightsaber around in an arc, but it was intercepted by what he knew was called a pulse-blade--a sword with an energy beam comprising its forward edge. A weapon that could challenge a lightsaber.

 

"Jedi," the Arach'tar hissed.

 

"Crusader," he responded. "You're a long way from home." He spun and slashed, and his blaster pistol ended up in his left hand, peppering fire into the mix. The Arach'tar didn't even bother to dodge the shots, its armor easy handling what shots Onderin was able to land. It counterattacked with the pulse blade and Onderin caught the attack, then pushed his blade on top of the alien weapon and down toward the ground. The Arach'tar's blaster rifle filled the gap, and Onderin twisted, for a second giving the creature a shot at his back. When the shot came, though, it was high, so he ducked and raised his blade, deflecting the bolt back even as it passed him. Amazingly, the Arach'tar mirrored the feat, its pulse-blade returning the shot a second time. But for all its speed, Onderin was even faster, and caught even the ricochet, deflecting it down away from the previous block and into the Aracht'ar's knee. The powerful bolt from its own weapon blasted away the armor there and his opponent dropped to its other knee. With a swift move, the Jedi Master capitalized on its pain and brought his blade through its neck and shoulder.

 

"You came a long way to die."

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex's blaster was still set to stun. The shots didn't have much of an effect on the approaching alien, but he did have to work harder to avoid the concentric rings of blue energy. Indeed, a few did make contact with the Arach'tar's exposed flesh, but they did little to hinder him.

 

The shots did give away Darex's position, however, and the alien stalked towards him, igniting a lightsaber-like weapon, something Darex had never seen the like of except in the holos. He rolled to a kneeling position and drew his own lightsaber. Rising to his feet, he lit the deep blue blade and met the Arach'tar's strike. The alien's eyes narrowed in a particular kind of hatred when it realized its foe was Jedi.

 

They traded blows back and forth for a few rounds. Darex was impressed at the alien's skill, but at the same time, he knew he was better. It wasn't too long before the Force showed him a flaw in the move his opponent was about to make. With a disengaging flick of his wrist, he ducked to the side and almost casually raked his blade across the Arach'tar's belly.

 

The creature fell silently, his life force winking out. But Darex didn't have time to consider. He reached out to the Force to refresh him--the duel had taken a considerable amount out of the aging master, especially given the Arach'tar's strength--and turned to the main force. You shall not get past me.

[Onderin Starlisk]

The sound of blaster fire drew Onderin's attention back in the direction of the blockade. The volunteers had engaged the zombie force. Calling again on the power of the Jedi, he sprinted back toward the pile of speeders, picking up his defeated opponent's high-powered blaster rifle on the way. He was back there in a moment, a grim look on his face. He hoped Darex had managed to bring down his Arach'tar, for there were still four or more of them out there. As he reached the barricade, he peered over the top and realized just how close the main force had gotten. The zombie-like infantry were armed with blasters and armored with Arach'tar tech. As he watched, one of them took several direct blaster hits before stumbling and falling.

 

It was clear that the barricade would be overrun well before the small defensive force was able to put a serious dent in the approaching force. The Arach'tar commanders walked in the group for now, but it was them that he was most worried about. Even one of them would cleave through the volunteers as easily as Kirlocca would cleave through a squad of space pirates. It was time to bring in the artillery--the one weapon the Arach'tar would never expect such a rag-tag group to have.

 

Drawing on the Force, Onderin dropped himself behind the barricade and picked up the shadow bomb he had been holding nearby. He shut his eyes again, and in his mind he moved the warhead well around the outside of the barrier. He couldn't afford to risk moving it into the line of blaster fire that was being exchanged. It took him about thirty seconds to bring the weapon into place at the left flank of the attacking force, but once it was there, he triggered it for a three-second delay. "Get down!" he shouted to the volunteers, putting the Force behind his voice. They dropped just in time for a tremendous explosion to be heard. The shockwave tore away perhaps half of the barricade as the baradium and proton warhead detonated, all the oxygen in the area being sucked into an expanding ball of fire and death.

 

The Jedi Master popped up from behind cover and found a crater replacing the left flank and zombies and Arach'tar picking themselves quickly up off the ground. It had made a difference, shattering maybe a third of the attacking force. He counted the Arach'tar again and counted only two, and he was extremely glad to realize he had gotten two of them with the blast. Then he heard one of the volunteers cry out in pain, and when he looked he saw a third Arach'tar, on his side of the barricade, skewering a civilian with its pulse blade.

 

The rest of the men cried out in shock at the gruesome display. "Fall back! Find a building and hole up!" Onderin cried out, lighting his viridian lightsaber again and throwing himself at the Arach'tar. The barricade's purpose had ended, and as Onderin locked blades with his second opponent, he hoped the Onderonian army was indeed coming....

[Darex Trevelian]

No sooner had he brought the Arach'tar down than Onderin set off his shadow bomb. Darex flattened himself to the ground, trying to avoid the blast. Thankfully, he wasn't too close, and he only had to absorb a tiny bit of energy. He rose once the blast had dissapated and immediately engaged two zombies that had gotten near him. It wasn't difficult for him to deflect their blaster bolts back into them, bringing them out of the fight.

 

The Force called out to him, and his attention was drawn to an Arach'tar that had gotten behind the remnants of the barricade and was attacking the Onderonian forces. Onderin was there, but Darex knew they had to do their best to cover the retreat. So with a prodigious Force-assisted leap, he was suddenly there, lightsaber blazing. The Arach'tar turned at the last minute, trying to disengage Onderin to protect his flank. The turn saved the alien's life, if not its left arm.

 

By the time the appendage hit the dirt, the Arach'tar's pulse blade had met Darex's lightsaber. A look of fierce anger contorted the alien's already gruesome face. It fought ferociously, and Darex would have been hard-pressed to meet its attacks had he been the master of any other lightsaber combat form. But his Soresu served him well, and he met every attack the Arach'tar lashed at him, giving ground the whole way, drawing it away from the villagers. Onderin kept up his own attack, and between the two of them, the alien was clearly hard-pressed but fighting valiantly, which was quite impressive; not anybody could withstand two Jedi Masters. The Force shouted a warning, and Darex ducked under a sudden horizontal sweep. But the Arach'tar was cunning, and lashed out with a kick, sending Darex sprawling to his back.

 

If they had been fighting one-on-one, that well could have been the end for the Grandmaster. As it was, Onderin provided a needed distraction, allowing Darex to leap to his feet. It was time to end this; the other two Arach'tar were advancing on the Jedi, and their troops were close to swarming the civilian volunteers running pell mell through the remains of the village.

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin was impressed by the competence of this individual Arach'tar, especially with only one arm. It was able to press an attack against Darex even while warding off each strike he made against it. Still, Onderin was patient, keeping the pressure up but his senses alert to a breakdown in his opponent's impeccable defenses. He knew that Darex could hold out for quite a time with his Soresu, and honestly he was more concerned about the volunteers. Still, he could serve them best by making sure the threat this powerful foe represented ended here.

 

When the Arach'tar dealt out a powerful kick, something subtle changed. It felt for a moment like it had the upper hand, and its fight became less desperate. Onderin called on a reserve of strength and his movements accelerated as he delivered a rapid assault of lightsaber blows, demanding his opponent's full attention. When Darex advanced again, his assault suddenly ceased mid-strike. The Arach'tar hesitated for just a split second and the Corellian Jedi froze its blade arm in place with a surge of telekinesis. That bought the moment for Darex to strike, and strike he did.

 

"Back! To the Dxacron office building!" he called to the volunteers. They retreated and he moved between them and the approaching force, deflecting as much fire as he could that bypassed what was left of the barricade. Several of the volunteers had fallen before they made it through the glass doors of the multi-story building, and those that were left were either terrified or grim. "Up the stairs. The evacuees have the head start they needed, so the assault will be a total loss unless they capture us. We will make a stand on the second floor and hope help is coming."

 

There were only two Arach'tar left, but even one of them could cut through the volunteers, and both Onderin and Darex were growing weary. As the group hustled up the stairs, glad to no longer be under fire for the moment, Onderin knew that they had barely scratched the zombie force, even with the torpedo. They just didn't have the strength to end this invasion here. Not without backup.

[Darex Trevelian]

Working together, Darex and Onderin brought down the Arach'tar in a display of teamwork that had Jedi written all over it. But no sooner had they done so that Darex felt a subtle shift in the tone of the fight. They were losing. Onderin clearly felt it too, for he shouted a retreat. Darex urged the volunteers up the stairs, his lightsaber joining with Onderin's in deflecting fire away from them.

 

Once the last Onderonian had made it up the stairs, they all took a moment to catch their breath. Taking the moment to sit down in a desk chair, Darex could tell that several of them were regretting their decision to stay behind and wishing they had been evacuated with the rest of the civilians. Morale was low, and there was not a single man who had not sustained some sort of injury. Darex himself had several scorches from blaster shots that had gotten a little too close, and his right knee throbbed. He couldn't remember what had caused that, but he was definitely favoring it when he walked.

 

Best to keep moving, he thought, heaving himself to his feet again. He traded a look with Onderin, hoping that his fellow Jedi would speak to the men. It wouldn't do to have them turn and flee. Meanwhile, he snagged some electrobinoculars and took the turbolift to the roof of the office building.

 

From the lofty vantage, he could see the entire Arach'tar attack force. It was depressingly large. With just the two of them and the volunteers, Darex knew it would take a miracle to defeat such a sizable force. The enemy had regrouped on the other side of the barricade and was now advancing to breach the office building. It wouldn't be long now.

 

He turned away and scanned the horizon in the direction of Iziz. It was slow work, for he didn't know how far away help might be. Suddenly, his heart leapt in his chest. Reinforcements! The dial on his electrobinoculars told him that they were about fifteen minutes away. He smiled grimly and headed back down.

 

As soon as he entered the area where they were holed up, he announced the news. "We just have to hold them off for fifteen minutes," he finished.

[Onderin Starlisk]

It was nice to have a moment out of the firefight while the invaders slowly closed on their location, a moment to think and prepare for their stand. But he could tell that the volunteers were terrified and many of them were injured. There wasn't much hope of survival left in the room, and many of them clearly regretted their decision to stay behind. Onderin understood that sentiment full well, coming from civilians. They never signed up for this, they weren't trained for this, and they didn't deserve to be put in this position. He would have taken real soldiers any day... but that didn't mean they weren't just as valuable.

 

Taking the cue from Darex, he started talking to them. "Today has been one of the greatest challenges of your lives," he said. "It will continue to be until this fight is finished. The Arach'tar are ruthless and efficient, bred and designed to wage war on an intergalactic scale. I have fought them before, I can tell you that they know what they're doing. But when I look at you men here, staunch in the face of adversity, I'm reminded of why we sent the Arach'tar running both times they have tried to take us. It's because we are stubborn, we are resilient; it is because this is our home, and we will not give it up.

 

"I see the same things in you that I see in the best of soldiers trained for such fights--I see the willingness to stand despite the odds, to risk their lives to save their families and their homes. You may not have the experience, but you have replaced it with fervor and defiance toward our attackers. I have been on many battlefields for decades, but never have I seen the fire of someone fighting to save their own home town. Surely any force can be overcome by such men.

 

"The best part is that we have already won. The Onderonian army is fast approaching. All we need to do is hold out for fifteen minutes until they get here. We might not all make it, but the fight we are about to win is one much bigger than saving this town and your families--we're preventing a war that could rage across the entire galaxy! How many countless lives have been saved today!" His voice was strong, proud. "So I urge you to stand and fight, prove our resilience and show the Arach'tar yet again that we will never yield our homes. For such a cause I would lay down my life a thousand times if I had a thousand lives to give, and in the company of such men as you I would die knowing that no matter the odds the day would still--"

 

Suddenly there was a crash and a small metallic ball came flying in through the window. Onderin immediately realized what it was. "Get down!" he shouted, then grabbed the device with the Force and flung it back out the way it had come in. It detonated spectacularly just outside and the shock wave knocked him off his feet, cracking the wall and knocking loose office supplies everywhere. "Get to cover. Watch the doorways. Don't let anything make it through!"

 

He grabbed a concussion grenade from his belt and held down the trigger with the Force, rolling it into the doorway. When the first of the attacking force came through, he would release it and see if he could take a few of them down.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex came in about halfway through Onderin's speech, and from what he heard, he was glad he had left the speech-making to the former admiral. He had known the man had a way with words; it came from being in a leadership position most of his life. Darex had only recently had leadership thrust upon him, and it sat most uncomfortably on his shoulders.

 

Morale was back up just in time. The assault actually interrupted Master Starlisk's speech, and immediately they were in action. The volunteers peppered the stairwell with suppressing fire, keeping the attackers back and not allowing them to pour into the room and overwhelm them, while the Jedi defended their own line by batting away the incoming blaster bolts. Many of the attackers fell to their own shots. While the Onderonians had the choke point in their favor, however, Darex knew it was only a matter of time before the Arach'tar pushed through.

 

And that meant doing what he could now to prevent that from happening. He thought about it for a minute. What they really needed was to take this fight to two fronts, but they couldn't really effectively do that until the reinforcements arrived. He could hypothetically take a back stairwell and come down and around the Arach'tar, but he didn't think that even a Jedi would be very effective in that situation. Not with two Arach'tar left.

 

No, he'd have to do what he could from this front, and see if he could buy his forces a little breathing room. So he advanced, flourishing his lightsaber to block the increasing storm of blaster bolts heading in his direction. The Force didn't fail him; he felt every one coming and could dodge it or send it flying back to the one who had shot it with ease. In a few long steps, he was in the midst of them. Here, his weapon became not just for defense, but also for offense. He spun and sliced, and his blue blade cut through one man and reflected a blaster bolt into his fellow in one smooth move. But no sooner had it done that, then it was behind Darex's head, protecting the Jedi from another attack. Men began to fall left and right as the Jedi Grandmaster cleaved his way through their first wave.

 

Then subtly, he got a sense from the Force that he needed to retreat. Without hesitating, he did, covering himself as he returned to the choke point the volunteers had set up. He had bought them a few minutes, but now things would heat up. The Arach'tar themselves were here.

[Onderin Starlisk]

It was for just such times as this that Onderin had spent so much time developing and perfecting his Shien form. He had begun to wonder if the form would no longer serve him as well now that the war was over and whether he should spend some time on the related Djem-So form in case he crossed blades with Sith. Yet so far Shien had served him fine in his confrontation with Darth Ares, and now he was back on a sort of battlefield again and the focus it had on the deflection and redirection of blaster fire was perfectly suited to evening the odds a little in this otherwise-desperate stand.

 

Alas, the analytics would have to wait for another time. He and Darex were holding well against the bionic zombies, but the other Jedi Master knew as he did--it was only a matter of time before the Arach'tar stormed the room. In close quarters such as this, he was genuinely worried what would happen to his band of civilians. His speech may have served to rally them to stand even in the face of death, but it did not inspire actual competence. Against an Arach'tar, they would make mistakes and they would die.

 

Even now one arrived at the doorway and the other, apparently having scaled the wall of the office building, could be seen just outside a large shattered hole in the wall caused by the earlier grenade detonation. Onderin looked closely at the one in the doorway, then released the concussion grenade he had been holding there. He dropped into a crouch as it exploded, shielding himself with the Force from the shockwave and hoping the civilians were sufficiently entrenched to avoid the worst of it as well. Still more chunks of wall fell away, and the Arach'tar in the doorway fell back a few steps, probably coming to the correct decision that it would be unwise to charge in at less than full strength. It wouldn't be out for long.

 

The other, meanwhile, forced its way through the wall, and Onderin and Darex stepped up to meet it. "Watch the doors!" he called to the civilians. They were still needed to stem the ongoing tide of zombies and provide focus fire were the Arach'tar to come back before the two Jedi Masters had finished with this one. Even now the Corellian crossed blades with it and could tell that this one was even stronger than the others he had fought today. Even together he and Darex would have trouble bringing this one down.

[Darex Trevelian]

As Onderin crossed blades with the Arach’tar, Darex was right behind him. Together, they engaged the organic machine. The thing was blasted tough. Darex had fought his share of Sith Masters, and this Arach’tar was practically the equal of one. The only advantage the Jedi had over it was the Force. Of course, that was a powerful ally, but the monster was so skilled that the Force only barely gave them an edge.

 

As they fought, Darex lost himself in the Force. This was what it meant to be a Jedi; to be a conduit for the Force to work though. Nothing would happen that it did not allow, and it used Darex to shape that. Outwardly, the Jedi Grandmaster was a whirl of motion, his reflexes responding faster than the human eye could follow, parrying, cutting, attacking and retreating. Inwardly, he was as calm as a crystal clear mountain lake reflecting the fluffy white clouds and pristine blue sky.

 

As such, it surprised him sometimes in a detached sort of way what his body was doing. He was aware of accumulating cuts and bruises and burns, and that his knee was killing him. He was aware that they had pulled the Arach’tar away from the main conflict, letting the troops battle it out between each other while the Jedi dealt with the abomination. And he was aware when the fight reached a turning point, and he and Onderin slowly gained the upper hand.

[Onderin Starlisk]

Once two Jedi Masters had the upper hand, their opponents tended not to last long. Just the right parry by Darex and Onderin swept in for a blow that took off the Arach'tar's sword arm. Then he and Darex made the last cut together and there was only one invader left. Thankfully, that second invader was still out of the room, causing Onderin to wonder just how bad his grenade had caught the being. It also occurred to him that it could have retreated, realizing that it was the last of its kind and the only one capable of renewing this assault at a later time.

 

He checked his chrono. Still seven minutes out, and the civilians were faltering. A few of them had fallen to the onslaught of blaster fire coming in from the ranks of zombies, their bodies only serving to dishearten their allies. Frankly, Onderin wasn't sure if they were going to make it the way things were now. "Darex, give me a hand," he said. Dropping behind cover and stretching out with the Force, he telekinetically grabbed a chunk of wall that had been dislodged by the earlier grenade and drifted it to the doorway, starting to block it off. If they could get the doorway sealed against the zombies, they could just hold it until the Onderonian army arrived and finished everything off.

 

There was still an Arach'tar out there, and he hoped desperately it wouldn't get away or kill too many Onderonian soldiers, but the matter was effectively out of his hands. With all the scrapes, bruises and burns he'd picked up already since the battle had begun, he wasn't sure how much help he would be against it anyway.

[Darex Trevelian]

Just hold out.

 

That was all Darex could think as the skirmish continued. When he and Onderin brought down the second-to-last Arach'tar, he didn't even breathe a sigh of relief, just grimly moved on. When Onderin started blocking off the entrance with rubble, Darex ducked behind a desk, disengaged his lightsaber, and joined him. Together, the doorway was effectively blocked off after a few minutes, granting a breather for the ragged civilian volunteers.

 

The Jedi Grandmaster took a deep breath, and as he let it out, he recentered himself. The Force trickled into every pore of his body, rejuvenating him mentally, if not physically. He allowed himself a moment to think of his family. They were waiting for him, and he wouldn't let them down. He wouldn't let anyone down. He looked around the room at the disheartened men and women. In that instant, the Force gave him a flash of reassurance. They would make it, he knew.

 

Rising to his feet, he reactivated his blade, a blade that was as deep blue as the depths of the ocean in sunshine. With a nod of encouragement at the volunteers, he began to pace in the no-man's land between the blocked off entryway and the defensive line the civilians had set up. Five more minutes.

 

There was sound coming from the other side of the barrier, the Arach'tar's drones attempting to move aside the rubble so they could resume their attack.

 

Four minutes.

 

The Arach'tar himself must have been wounded or retreated, Darex realized, for it made little sense to tell the zombies to keep assaulting the room. Unless they wanted no witnesses.

 

Three.

 

He sent some more rubble to join the pile.

 

Two.

 

Some of the civilians were relaxing a bit. He felt new hope begin to course between them.

 

One.

 

And with a whine of engines that they could hear from there, the army arrived. Darex could see from an office window that they were sweeping through the streets. It would be obvious where to go; the trail of bodies would lead them right to the office building. Ready, Darex reached out with the Force. As soon as the soldiers reached the building, he'd break the barricade and catch the remainder of the Arach'tar force in a pincer.

 

The rest of the fight was short-lived, and twenty minutes later, Darex was standing with Onderin, receiving a report from a lieutenant commander. "Our recon scouts have reported that not a single one of the invader's forces escaped the town. However, there seems to be no sign of the last Arach'tar."

 

Darex nodded. He wasn't surprised. He glanced at his fellow master questioningly. There was no need for him to say anything; the question was clear. Darex knew what he believed the answer should be, but he wanted to see what Onderin's instincts were telling him. He thought he knew what the former Admiral was made of, but he couldn't resist the chance to be sure.

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin took a deep breath and let it out when the Onderonian army arrived on schedule. He was glad to know that they had taken the situation seriously and scrambled what seemed to be a sufficient force to handle the threat. It seemed like this ordeal was coming to an end... he only wished he had been able to arrive sooner and prevent the first few attacks. Still, concerning all that was at stake, this was an acceptable resolution.

 

...Or it nearly was. He set his jaw when he heard that the last injured invader had disappeared without a trace. "Set up a perimeter, Lieutenant Commander. Put people everywhere you can. We have to make sure that even one Arach'tar cannot escape, or this whole battle may have been for nothing," he said. "Even if we have to dig through the rubble, we can't stand down until we have as many Arach'tar bodies as there were living ones at the start of the fight."

 

The officer nodded. "Understood, sir," he said, clearly not resisting accepting orders from a man he knew from the holonews as the Admiral responsible for coordinating the New Republic's war against the invaders when they had come in force.

 

"And officer? Make sure these people get any medical attention they need. They're the ones that saved their town and all of Onderon." The man nodded again and left.

 

Onderin turned wearily to what was left of the civilian volunteers. "You have survived your most desperate hour, overcome the highest adversity," he said. "And never did you waver. It has been an honor." He bowed to them and then started picking his way through the rubble and out of the building, reaching out through the Force for strength and also searching for the Arach'tar in the Force. He knew them, he could feel them. He wanted to get off this world, suddenly more than anything, but couldn't turn away from this loose end.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex was unsurprised at Onderin's attitude. While he himself wondered how much of a threat one likely wounded Arach'tar could possibly be, he agreed with his fellow master. They couldn't take the chance that it would return with another army. They had to ensure the safety of the Onderonians. He said a few words to those who had held out, commending them and making sure they knew they had the appreciation and respect of the Jedi Order as a whole before he followed Onderin.

 

The two Jedi Masters picked their way through the streets of the city, letting the Force guide them. Darex was not as attuned to the specific presence the Arach'tar left in the Force as Onderin was, but a living machine was such an oxymoron that it wasn't difficult for him to pick out the anomaly. Their search led them to a warehouse filled with spare machinery and parts. Once inside, their search became more physical, watching for clues, knocked over shelving and blood trails. But the Force was with them, and it led them straight to the last Arach'tar.

 

The monster was seriously injured. Blood and something that looked like lubricant leaked from multiple gashes on its body. One quick glance confirmed to Darex that the thing wouldn't be long for this galaxy; it didn't take a skilled healer to know the look of a dying being. When it saw them, it turned, leaning its head and back against a sturdy shelving unit.

 

"Jeedai," it coughed, it's voice harsh. "Finish what you started."

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin looked down at the wounded Arach'tar, his face hard as it asked him for death. "Gladly," he said, pulling his blaster pistol out of its holster. "A trillion people died the last time you invaded the galaxy. That will never happen again if I can possibly prevent it." He pulled the trigger and a bolt of energy burned through the invader's head. The Jedi Master turned to face Darex. "Thank you for coming when I called for backup, Darex. During the search I received a comm from the Jedi Temple on Ilum, reporting that they have captured what they suspect are Sith that were posing as Jedi to infiltrate the crystal caves. Now the Force is calling me there."

 

He took a deep breath and let it out. "Sometimes, I think the war isn't over. The Arach'tar lingered, and the Sith are still a threat. I had thought when I resigned my commission the Force would lead me down a different road, one where I could train padawans to exist solely in the living force, in a galaxy at peace where only the peace was in need of keeping. Now, I'm beginning to realize that all the time I spent in the military was the road the Force had for me. I can no more deviate from the path of war than I could cast myself away from the Order," he said as though he was discovering the words just as he gave them voice, his gaze growing distant.

 

Then he snapped back to the present. "I should go. Comm me anytime if you need me."

 

Without another word he turned and headed back to his starfighter, leaving the details here on Onderon to Darex if he felt they needed further resolution. Soon he had departed.

[Darex Trevelian]

Resolving everything on Onderon took a bit longer than Darex had reckoned, but eventually, he was free to leave. With a sense of contentment that everything had worked out here, and with much soreness, Darex climbed into his ship, punched in the coordinates for several jumps that would take him home, and disappeared into hyperspace.

[Aira Cadan]

After a long flight, I came out of hyperspace over Onderon. As I drew nearer and requested landing clearance into Iziz, my thoughts were full of the only two other times I had been here. The last time had been during the war. I had come here under the command of General Slaughter and helped clean Iziz up after a vicious attack. My healing skills had been valuable, but it had been hard to see all that carnage. At least I had been able to help.

 

But it was my first visit to the planet that occupied most of my thoughts as I brought the ship down. I had come here with Onderin to negotiate a peace between the Republic and the Mandalorians. I hadn't been much involved, other than getting stunned by a rouge assassin droid. But I had met Dr. Van Isel, of the University of Iziz. I remembered him as a man of medium statue, with dark brown hair and eyes. I had liked him immediately, although Onderin had always been a bit suspicious of him. He had, however, saved my life, as well as Onderin's, when an attack on Onderin happened, and that gave him a good mark in my book.

 

As I stepped out into the city, I turned my footsteps towards the university. I wished I still had Van Isel's card. He had invited me to visit him; I just hoped that offer was still open several years later. Approaching the main desk, I greeted the receptionist. "Hello, I'm looking for Dr. Van Isel. He's a professor of archeology focusing on ancient religions. Can you tell me where I could find him?"

[Vladimir Faust]

A functionary is able to give Aira directions to the city's history complex, third floor, where Dr. Van Isel was in his office.

 

*****

Within that office, the good doctor was writing up a report, conspicuously addressed to a "Headmaster F." at "JN University".

 

The bulk of the artifacts have been located to the JN University grounds. My report on the Nihilus event horizon is included along with theorized minimum progressions needed to feed, as is my research on the Ritual of Nathema. The problems of executing such a large ritual at Ground Zero over an extended time are mitigated by your preparations, but completing it within the time frames you desire will be tight. The artifacts I've sent to JNU, and with proper placement should expedite the process at Ground Zero. The new type experiments from your alchemy lab are both growing fast and growing restless. I can only hypothesize they are sensing the oncoming storm. Mass producing them is dangerous, but the risk is being taken.

 

Dr. Van Isel, Adept of Luciferian

 

Scratching at the stubble on his chin, Isel sends the report through the encrypted channels, then shakes his head. It was more direct than he cared, lest it was intercepted somehow, but the timing was getting tight. The damage done on Corellia to that last shipment hurt, but at least the Jedi and the Alliance weren't able to trace either the artifacts or the weapons back to their sources. Standing up from his desk he absently walks over to a shelf full of old artifacts, his leg barely carrying a limp from the Mando invasion from long ago. There is a completely refurbished Sith lanvarok on the shelf and a glowing sphere that appears filled with mist. Isel absently handles the sphere, knowing the danger of breaking it, feeling the presence within, but at the same time, feeling the tingling rush of the Dark Side. His eyes close and he savors it, gently putting it back on the shelf, ignoring the glowing red eyes staring back at him.

 

He presses a comm and summons two graduate students, also minor acolytes, to his office, intent on following up with the experiments being conducted in the new lab outside in the ruins. Soon his research would come to fruition, and his master thesis, his Master's thesis would be proven for all Iziz... Onderon, no all the Galaxy to see.

 

Soon...

[Aira Cadan]

Following the receptionist's directions, I made my way up to the third floor of the history building and to Van Isel's door. Before knocking though, I took a reading of the situation. I could tell there were three beings inside the office, along with a few objects radiating an evil aura--hardly surprising given Van Isel's specialty. All three beings seemed excited.

 

Shrugging, I knocked on the door and then pushed it open. "Dr. Van Isel?" I said, recognizing the man who had once saved my life. "It's been a long time. Remember me? I'm Aira Cadan." I smiled warmly at the professor. "How have you been?"

 

There was no reason in my mind for this to be a hostile confrontation. I remembered liking the professor, despite his what now appeared to be quite sinister connections. Nevertheless, I kept my mind clear, for if he was reluctant to help me get the information I was looking for, he and his assistants did outnumber me.

[Vladimir Faust]

"... we want to make it to the lab site by dusk. The experimen-" Van Isel states, suddenly cut off by a knock, and the door opening. There's an emotional spike of tenseness, and then fear radiating from the doctor, and unease from the two associates. The emotion passes, and Dr. Van Isel, distinguished professor is all smiles, folding his hands together in a steeple, having taken a seat once more at his desk. The two graduate assistants, a male and female human, stand in front of the desk, and stare blankly at the Jedi, unsure what to make of this interruption.

 

To the doctor, there was a conflicted set of emotions. He kept the faith, and was loyal to Faust to the bloody end, knowing his own life force may be forfeit. It was the culmination of a life's work. Through the Master, he could touch the Force he so often studied, but always as an outsider looking in, never as one gifted with a midichlorien count enough to attune his body to the Force. That Jedi, and the others who helped save his life, for it was a mutual effort, marked the one time Isel truly felt a hero in his duties. The Jedi's sudden appearance, now, on this day, set his mind afire with suspicion, a growing sense he might be frustrated so close to the end. Still, he had a small reserve of good will and cheer he forced into his voice.

 

"It has been a long time, Aira" he says, one hand rubbing the leg, still remembering that wound as if it were yesterday. "I was conversing with some of my graduate assistants on some university business, but I'm more than happy to be of help. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

[Aira Cadan]

I noted the unease my sudden appearance generated in all three savants. It seemed the information Onderin had been given was correct; Van Isel was involved somehow. My heart heavy, I knew the chances of this ending well were lower than I had originally hoped. But that wasn't going to stop me from trying.

 

"Well," I said, answering his question, "I am investigating a Sith ritual that has been utilized several times across the galaxy in the last week or so. I remembered that you were studying the ancient Sith. Given that none of our scholars have been able to find any information about it, I knew I had to go to the experts." I flashed him a small smile, then sobered as I briefly described the ritual's effects and how it drains the life out of regions that had previously been sites of great massacres or battles. "Have you heard of a ritual like that? Could you give me any information about it? I am eager to learn."

 

I decided not to bring up the name of the perpetrator. If Onderin's information was correct, there was no need to. The Hunter's name hung in the air between us, unspoken. I wondered just how close Van Isel was to all of this. I hoped he wasn't intricately connected to these terrorist activities, because if he was, then I was certain that losing his post here at the university would be the least of his worries.

[Vladimir Faust]

Isel's face slowly drains of expression as he listens to the Jedi, the professor trying to keep a tight reign on his emotions.

 

"I..." he almost stutters, trying to search for the right words in this situation. "I'd heard rumors about that," he continues, slowly drawing out the words. "I didn't know that was true." The two assistants, swing back to Isel, looking at him, uncertain how to handle this situation. "There's three or four recorded instances in Sith History that this reminds me of." Isel, slowly, hands flat on the desktop, sensing the tenseness in the room, moves over to his bookshelf, absently thumbing through the books lined up there, his hand never far from the glass orb of swirling mist. "The resurrected Emperor Palpatine was able to affect a field on Byss, leeching off the survivors there to fuel his own immortality. His brush with death brought him closer to the Dark Side of the Force by all accounts. When Darth Mortis DIabolus reconstructed the planet, perhaps some of that energy was available for those with the means." That was in fact part of Isel's research for Faust, but a minor part.

 

"The second is something known only as the RItual of Nathema," he adds. "Darth Vitiate performed that to depopulate his homeworld and gain near immortality. Details on that are very scarce, but it's effects were limited." It was known to a few there were means of unleashing it on the whole Galaxy. In some ways that was the Master's goal. "The third, were two known Wounds in the Force, the one known as the Jedi Exile, and her nemesis, Darth Nihilus. Both rejected or fed on the Force, or took off wounds caused by massive life loss, pain, or suffering. The ruined world of Malachor V" He glances aside at Aira. "The Galaxy has had no shortage of those. Indeed, the Mandalorian slaughter here in Iziz that we were apart of opened up one of those wounds." He turns back to the bookshelf, regretting having mentioned that since Faust might look to Onderon as one of his next targets, but under it all, he was still a professor. Isel wondered if that was when he would have to give up his life for the Master's cause. "The last was incident something I've only heard of, the Nephilim cult, lead by Darth Thanatos. Their aim was tear open the barrier that separated the Force's spiritual and physical sides, creating a... well, death Dark side singularity. They were stopped in recent times and scattered."

 

A lot of this would be familiar to anyone versed in the events of the Old Republic, over 4,000 years ago. But he knew that while there were always enthusiasts, history was often neglected by those of modern times, those who refused to learn from it. Some were doomed to repeat it... others fated and guided to do so.

 

"I'm afraid I can't help you much more." In truth, he'd probably given more than he should have. What Faust attempted combined all three of those incidents, building up to a massive attempt to complete it on a Galactic scale. Still, he felt his heart beating faster, wondering if the Jedi truly came to him as an expert, or if Lord Faust's operations on Onderon were in danger. "Do you have any leads on this case?" he asks softly. "There was the announcement in the Senate by the former Dark Lord Faust that seems all too timely, but the power needed to pull this kind of ritual is formidable and likely impossible, even from what little I know of him."

[Aira Cadan]

I listened carefully to Van Isel's explanation. When he finished, I could tell he was still nervous. "Could you give me a list of all of those planets from all of those rituals? I will most likely need to investigate several of them personally."

 

When the professor casually asked about leads, Faust's name was finally brought up. "Yes, Vladimir Faust is once again up to his old tricks," I replied. "There have been several confirmed attacks matching what I described to you. Obviously, we would like to prevent him from taking more innocent lives. I'm all for research," I added dryly, "but some things cross the line into terrorist activities. And I'm sure Faust's intention is not simply academic enlightenment, as possibly yours and mine would be."

 

I gave him a sad look and lowered my voice. "You know he doesn't hesitate to sacrifice those beneath him, which in his mind, is everyone. I'd hate to see someone like you caught in the middle of that."

[Vladimir Faust]

Isel nods, still warily watching the Jedi, mentally breathing a sigh of relief. He was suspected, perhaps at worst of aiding or supplying information to Faust, but not of having been the Master's loyal servant for years, one willing to sacrifice his life for the cause. Adepts and Acolytes of Luciferian like Van had the Master's will, a fragment of his mind and consciousness impressed into them. Not enough to give away secrets, but enough to drive the Master's purpose.

 

Going back to his desk, leaving the sphere on the shelf, the professor starts drawing up a list as asked. He would need to move the experiments out of the alchemy lab in the jungle and on to one of the rendezvous points tonight in case the Jedi or her allies came back. Transporting old fashioned Sith abominations would be dangerous, but necessary. "Malachor V was destroyed by some unknown super weapon, Nathama's still existent, but still desolate. Byss is mostly habitable now. Nephilim is one that I haven't located in my research, though it's rumored destroyed as well." He shakes his head. "I agree with your assessment on this current situation, Mistress Jedi," he says formally. "If Darth Luciferian, Vladimir Faust, has found a way to synthesize those techniques, this entire Galaxy could be consumed. The Sith have no brook for innocents in their plans, nor the welfare of their allies." He slides the paper forward, along with the coordinates. "I'd wish you luck in your hunt, but neither Jedi nor Sith believe in it." He pauses, then adds with a smile, "Though I did read about an anecdote where Darth Sidious, Emperor Palpatine almost acknowledged luck where the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was concerned." He slides the list over to Aira, giving a good natured grin. "I guess I'll have to wish for the Force to be with you then, Mistress Jedi."

[Aira Cadan]

If I had been a different sort of Jedi, I might not have accepted Isel's clear dismissal. I could think of several Jedi, in fact, who would insist on more information, or even insist that Isel help stop Faust. But I didn't believe a Tionese leopard could change it's spots--at least, not with much more convincing than I had time for. But I did hesitate, the list in my hand. "Thank you for your help, professor." However, it had helped little. In fact, what he had given me had only served to muddle things more. But at least we had some direction.

 

Finally, I nodded courteously and headed out of the office, shutting the door behind me. However, instead of leaving the building, I crossed over to the other side of the hall and entered an empty classroom. I slowly pulled my Force-presence in tighter around me in case Van Isel or his associates were trained enough to sense those sort of things. Then I sharpened my hearing via the Force and eavesdropped on Van Isel, just in case he let anything drop behind closed doors. I knew he knew more than he let on.

 

As I listened, I typed out a message to Onderin, enclosing all the data I had learned from Van Isel. Hopefully it would help.