Dathomir: A Place of Storms.

[Wei Wu Wei]

On the run. Again. Wei Wu Wei found himself once again attempting to escape the clutches of the Imperial Inquisitoriate.

"Leave me alone!" He hissed while he watched the rear video feed.

We are entering low orbit around the planet Dathomir.

R4 must have finally gotten used to being chased around. The astromech seemed to be as cool as Hoth ice. Wei wondered if the droid was just showing fortitude or if something had finally gone wrong in all its programming and would be in need of a mind wipe.

"That's nice," Wei said. He looked over his shoulder at the large Imperial cruiser. Fear and worry etched his face. The alcoholic could feel his hands shake, his heart race, and his forehead bead with sweat. "I really just want to get away from these stinking Imps!"

R4 tooted. Scanning the planet for a safe window for atmospheric entry. Nearly the entire planet's surface is covered in storm clouds.

Suddenly a great arc of lightning lanced up fromt he clouds and into space itself.

"That's no ordinary storm." The Force Cripple's eyes widened in recognition of the planet. "This is a Force Storm! Whatever's going on down on the planet's surface, I can bet you one thing: the Dathomiri Force Witches are behind this!"

Force Witches?

"Women with strong power in the Dark Side. Run a matriarchal society that subjugates men as slaves. The strongest ones are called Night Sisters or something. The Jedi Order lost the training ship Chu'unthor in a Force Storm like this. Crashed into a tar pit."

What do we do?

Before Wei could answer, a spike of lightning jolted the little starfighter. Smoke filled the cockpit. No lights flashed. R4 made no noise. The ship was dead, and plummeting towards the planet at an alarming rate.

Wei didn't have time to even put on an oxygen mask as the G-forces pressed him into the pilot's chair and knocked him out.

[Palara Iscandar]

Prologue

Three Standard Weeks Earlier*

Imperial Centre, Citadel of the Inquisitorius


Pain. Her entire being was pain, and there wasn't enough light to wash it away. It had been drained from her.

"You cannot fathom the depths of my disappointment, Inquisitor Iscandar."

Inquisitor Atrapes straightened out the creaseless sleeves of his uniform with a sigh, his hands, clad in black nerfhide gloves once more, almost convincing her that what had just occurred was a dream. He'd begun wearing the gloves since travelling to see the progress of another of his proteges on another planet. Iscandar couldn't remember her name now, her thoughts scattered to the winds. The twilek Inquisitor had been somewhat surprised at what had seemed a show of affectation on her mentor's part, but she knew now that it was not affectation at all that had caused him to add the gloves.

"Do you think I am embarrassed?" he asked, looking up at her after making sure the gloves were secure. "One of my personally trained students lied and allowed a mortal enemy of the Empire to escape and moreover could be said to have facilitated his escaped and abetted in the damages he has wrought since. After what I had done for you. How weak."

Iscandar gasped, feeling cool air rush into the room. She could see her lightsaber, the wooden one gifted her by the Tree in the Library, in his hand. He studied it intently, but he looked at her. She kept his gaze, and did not look at the hilt.

He smiled wryly.

"Perhaps it is my fault. Perhaps I did not train you enough, or felt you ready before your time."

"No," she gasped. "You are not at fault. It is mine."

"Oh? As your teacher, the one who vouched for you before the Grand Inquisitor, who trained you and allowed you to study the Light over anything else, I feel some responsibility for these events." Atrapes tossed her the hilt. She caught it, surprised; she had expected it to be taken from her.

"It is obvious that your continued failures point to a consistent weakness. You have not turned against the Empire; we would know of that if it happened. Frustration, perhaps?"

Atrapes hooked his own lightsaber to his belt and waited for Iscandar to gain the strength to stand. She felt a tumult of emotions inside, but mostly she felt the disappointment radiating from Atrapes. It compounded with her own guilt at her actions that day on Ossus, marching into the corvette with nothing but a list of planets and their coordinates.

"You are discontented. I never promised you peace, Inquisitor Iscandar. Peace is not a lie, as the Sith claim. Neither is it a truth or static state of being as the Jedi teach. It is as mutable as anything else you will feel, Iscandar." Atrapes walked around her as she staggered to her feet. "I will send you once more to apprehend this Jedi. But obviously as it stands you are unable to defeat him."

Iscandar's eyes widened. Atrapes noted this.

"We never gain strength or reach our potential by shying away from what has defeated us. One faces their fears, conquers their desires, and disciplines the weaknesses of the body. It is the same with external foes as with these inner demons."

Atrapes walked back into full view, having completed one circuit around her. The training room lightened from its former dimness, and Atrapes tossed a coiled object at her. She caught it, and saw it was a vibrowhip.

"We will begin training you to use this weapon, and you will build one that operates much as a lightsaber."

His lightsaber activated, humming as he stepped forward towards her.

"Begin."


Present Day

Vigil-class Corvette (http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php?title=Vigil-class_Star_Corvette)Arbiter

Dathomir Orbital Space


"Scans are showing unusual meteorological events in the planet's atmosphere."

The captain of the Arbiter, a career officer serving his fifteenth year, looked at the datapad presented by his second in command. He frowned.

"Atmospheric storms should pose no obstacle to our pursuit," he said. The lieutenant commander nodded.

"Normally not. But there are some anomalies that the algorithms have brought to our attention."

"Is this worthy of bringing to our commander's attention?" the Captain asked, looking at the Inquisitor standing at the bridge viewport. Unlike the few others he'd been privy to work with, this Inquisitor wore a long hooded cloak, which shrouded any and all distinguishing features. All they could truly see was a pair of black gloves on his or her hands.

"I believe that it is, sir," the second responded. The Captain sighed. The Arbiter was ostensibly a customs and patrol ship, hunting down smugglers and small groups of Rebels. It was specially set aside as a ship to be available for the use of Inquisitors who had need of a corvette or frigate.

"Very well," he said, bringing the datapad to the pacing Imperial Agent. After a few moments of speaking, the Captain returned.

"Helm, continue on course to intercept. Draw power from weaponry to engines, and begin the startup sequences for the tractor beams."

"Sir! We're getting a spike in readings from the storms in the atmosphere!"

"What-"

The ship jolted, lights dimming and the inertial dampeners completely going offline for a few moments before the ship corrected for the surge.

"What was that?" the Captain asked.

"A large bolt of plasma from the storms in the atmosphere. It acted much like the discharge from an ion cannon."

"The fugitive ship has been hit as well. Scanners read it falling into the atmosphere. Signal lost."

The Inquisitor marched down the walkway of the bridge and spoke to the Captain quietly.

"Very well. We shall wait here for you, as you wish."

The Inquisitor walked to the turbolift and entered it. The doors closed behind the dangerous Imperial agent and the second in command looked at his superior officer in askance.

"Pull into outer orbit. Have a shuttle and a landing party prepared. The Inquisitor will land and retrieve the prisoner."

"Sir."

In a matter of minutes, the Lambda-shuttle approached the old fighter's trajectory and was also struck by a huge bolt of lightning.

"The shuttle is going down, sir."

"We have no other shuttles. Attempt to reach the Inquisitor. Once repairs are made to the systems, begin a complete scan of the planet." The Captain grimaced. "I will not return to civilized space to report that we lost a shuttle, stormtroopers, and an Inquisitor to an atmospheric condition. I would not long survive such a report."

The bridge crew went to work, while the Captain and the Executive Officer watched the roiling clouds in the planet's atmosphere writhe fitfully.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei saw the smoking husk of the Jedi Temple over his shoulder as he fled. Hours before, he had stood in the Council chamber. Hours before, he had been knighted. Hours before, he had been given his own mission--a covert operation like the ones he used to do with his old master, Quinlan Vos. He was in his street clothes. The new Jedi Knight figured it must have been the only way the Clone Troopers missed him on their march into the Temple to destroy it.

The Jedi ran for hours, not daring to activate his lightsaber. At last out of breath and unsure where to hide, the Force Cripple whipped into an alleyway and backed into a middle aged man.

"Well!" he said in a gravelly voice. "Look what the kath hound dragged in! You look a mess!" the man laughed, then peered at Wei out of the corner of his eye. "You look to be out of breath. What are you running from?"

Wei had never wished more in his entire life that he was like normal Jedi. If he could feel the Force, he could get an idea about whether or not to trust this man. That's when he saw it. In the back of the truck in a transparisteel case sat a blue ceramic bowl identical to the one from Wei's childhood.

"Running from certain death," Wei said honestly. "I'm--well, I--"

"Certain death?" the man cut in. "Well, that sounds pretty bad. Do you need to go to the authorities?"

Wei shook his head 'no' but couldn't seem to get his eyes off of the bowl.

The man followed Wei's gaze. "You like that bowl, huh? It's from my culture. By running a small stick around the rim of it, it creates the most beautiful sound."

Wei nodded. "I know. My caretaker had one when I was little and would make the sound for me often."

The old man arched an eyebrow. "Where you from, boy?"

"I think I've always lived on Coruscant. I was--" Wei wasn't unsure what to say, so he went for the truth in an ambiguous statement. "I was adopted."

The man nodded. "Come on, then. Get in the back of the cargo skiff. It's just me on the delivery. Need to get back to my ship so I can get off planet."

The two got into the vehicle and once the doors of the enclosed cab were shut, the man said "You're running from whatever's going on in the Temple, aren't you? Don't worry, I'll get out off the planet. You can come live with me. I'm P'u Wu Wei. Pleased to meet you."

"Wei Wu Wei."

"Good name. Very common in my area of Talus. You'll blend right in. If anyone asks, you're my son. We're delivering a set of wooden office furniture to a local business executive."

"Wood?"

"Yeah, wooden furniture is a luxury. Very costly to make. All hand-crafted too. I'm the best there is in five quadrants. By the way, your caretaker wasn't a miralukan, by chance?"

Wei's eyes got wide. "Yeah. Yes he was. His name was Luka Sene."

P'u smiled. "Well, now we won't have to pretend. You really are my son."

Wei nearly shouted. "WHAT?!"

The former Jedi sat bolt upright. Wherever he was, it was dark. The storm still raged, but he could hear it now. He looked up and found it was overhead. He must have crashed on the planet's surface.

To his right, he could see his ship. It still smoked. The bottom looked blackened and scorched. But apart from that, it seemed to be ok. But Wei hadn't landed the ship, and R4 was still inert. So how...

Lightning flashed, casting humanoid shadows across him.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

[Palara Iscandar]

"Report."

Her voice came out more strongly than she expected, given that the shuttle had just crashed into the planet at almost terminal velocity.

"The pilots are dead, Inquisitor," one of the surviving stormtroopers replied, turning away from the remains of the displays.

"We've lost five... six men," another said, stripping the ammunition and thermal detonators from the dead troopers.

Six dead, and they hadn't even faced the Jedi yet.

"Do any of you 'ave experience with ship repairs?" she asked, picking her way around two dead troopers.

"No sir," a stormtrooper replied. The others shook their heads.

"Somezing doesn't feel right," she said, filing away the added complication to her list of worries. She turned to the troopers and bit her lip, pulling back the hood of her robe to expose her lekku. "Stay with ze ship. Do what you can."

She didn't stay to hear their affirmations. She pulled the release lever and twisted it counterclockwise, as the diagram indicated, and the emergency hatch blew open with a hiss as the air locks broke their seals.

They had landed in what seemed to be a dense forest, and a long trail of destruction showed her the fated shuttle's trajectory. She felt, for some reason, the instinct to put some distance between her and the shuttle. Whatever had struck the shuttle, its object had been herself, and her chances at survival were diminished without a working ship and some troopers to provide covering fire.

She proceeded cautiously through the underbrush, following the trail of broken trees and debris away from the crash site.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei jumped up in time to have several spears surround him, pressed uncomfortably at his throat.

The former Jedi slowly raised his hands.

"You are ours now! The Force is strong with us, and we have torn you out of the sky!"

A slender, toned woman stepped forward in the ring and grinned maliciously. "Prepare to be worked until the flesh is flayed from your bones!" She whistled sharply.

The ground shook. Another flash of lightning revealed an enormous silhouette. Whoa. Was that a rancor?

Sure enough, it was. The spears withdrew from his neck in time for the rancor to scoop up the alcoholic in a giant claw and carry him away.

Wei sighed, trying not to show anger. "After all" he said to himself, "it could be worse."

[Palara Iscandar]

She could feel herself being surrounded. The thudding footsteps of a large creature, which reminded her of the abominations Vel Aath had been creating from rancors over in her tower on that green, wild planet. It felt very similar to those creatures.

She withdrew the hilt of her light-whip, but left it unextended and unactivated. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the conflict to come.

The silhouettes of the witches soon appeared in the gloom.

"'Alt, in ze name of ze Empire!" she called. Laughter reached her, and she firmed herself.

A dart lanced in, and the Force remained silent; it stabbed her in the arm, and she pulled it out quickly. She returned to her stance, but in a matter of moments she felt heavy, and tired.

Her resistance crumbled, and her weapon fell from her hand, hitting the earth at the same time as her knees. She saw the rancor, and felt a familiar presence before everything went black.

[Wei Wu Wei]

A short while later, Wei and his father were preparing to land on Talus.

"Welcome home! You can live with me and work in my furniture factory until you save enough for your own place. I expect it's not what you're used to, being a Jedi and all." P'u smiled, making his bushy moustache bristle. "We don't travel a lot, except for deliveries. If you feel a need to travel, you can make a few. But since you're invested in hiding out, I suggest you stay in town. It's a very small place. Mostly there's my factory, a few shops, a bakery and deli, and a training outpost for the local security force. All the wide open space and the woods makes for good training ground."

P'u looked over to Wei. "You going to be ok, son?"

Wei nodded. "I hope so."

The Jedi's father clapped him on the back. "It's all right. We'll take a few days to get you some local clothes and start your training at the factory."


***********

Months passed without any sort of incident. Wei went to work, where he learned to carve wood from a Zabrak named Dao'bur. By the end of the second month, Wei could make tables and chairs from patterns. By the end of the fourth, he could carve basic patterns.

Outside of work, Wei kept mainly to himself. The Empire requisitioned the training outpost for the new stormtroopers, and so loyal Imperial soldiers could be found spending plenty of time in town.

"I understand you need to keep a low profile, but these new stormtroopers aren't clones. They don't know you from Anakin Skywalker. You used to train with lightsabers, right? Why not try vibroswords or teras kasi?"

Wei shrugged and did as his father suggested. It was too hard for the Force Cripple to fake a beginner's level of competence. So after a boring session in the back of the class, the former Jedi tried Teras Kasi. It was nice, but not the same as when he practiced with his lightsaber.

Days dragged on. Wei grew restless and bored. He missed his old life. The war was horrible, but being a Jedi allowed him to make tangible improvements in the quality of all beings across the galaxy.

The former Jedi took to wandering restlessly in the woods, attempting to quell his frustration and anger in meditation and exercise. Nothing helped. Wei tossed fitfully every night in his bed.

Wei woke with a start. The floor felt cold and hard beneath him. It was definitely made of metal. Darkness enveloped him.

"No more naps," he said to himself. Without any way to see, Wei reached for his lightsabers, but couldn't find either one. He pawed around the room until he found a wall. Then he felt along it until he came to a barred door.

"Hello?" Wei called. His voice cracked when he spoke. "Can anyone hear me?"

The Force Cripple's dream had him shaken. His mouth felt dry. His forehead beaded with sweat. His hands began to tremble. Wei was once again fighting withdrawal. "I really wish I had a drink."

[Palara Iscandar]

"I can 'ear you, Jedi," a familiar voice drifted back. "Do try not to vomit. I am close by and ze smell of sweat and bile would be distracting."

The twilek shifted across the darkness. It was only the still silence that allowed the movement to be heard, or the slight lilt in her voice that belied what would normally be considered a calm and detached tone.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei made a face in her direction. "Inquisitor Iscandar. What's a lady like you doing in a place like this?"

It was plain to Wei what she was doing there: the Twilek followed him down to the planet's surface and got captured by the Force witches just as he had. The former Jedi wasn't sure if he ought to be concerned or relieved that he was imprisoned with the Inquisitor.

"I guess they took your weapons, same as they did me?"

***********

It was odd living without a lightsaber. Wei had a hard time adjusting to life without the hour of lightsaber practice he enjoyed each day. Harder still was the adjustment of not having the familiar hum filling his ears and keeping him connected to the Force.

Times like these, Wei was most thankful for his father. Despite never being present in his life, P'u was very attentive to the needs of his son. Recognizing his son's skill with carving tools (no doubt a result of his lightsaber training), the older Wu Wei moved his son to the Detail Shop. It was much quieter there than in the main assembly room. On nice days, the workers left the docking area doors open to let in the breeze. With the addition of a few wind chimes, Wei was able to work and connect to the Force. It helped Wei to find some peace, but he still missed his life as a Jedi.

*********

Wei stepped back away from the cell door and sat down. He needed to get his breathing and heart rate under control. Anxiety would not help him to escape.

[Palara Iscandar]

"Of course zey did," the Inquisitor responded, trying to focus her attention and awareness on the door to her cell, and render her escape.

She sighed, finding the focus elusive. The Dark was potent here, floating on the edges of her senses like a mist of blood and adrenaline. She kept herself centred; even with the totality of the Force open to her as an Inquisitor, she found touching the Dark distasteful, like offering a bribe to achieve a goal. It seemed... cheap, somehow.

"You are not foolish; do not attempt to paint yourself as one."

She continued her meditations and concentration in the darkness and the Dark. Even without succeeding in freeing herself, it was always good to be centred.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei wondered what the place felt like--through the Force, that is. Sometimes it made him anxious that he couldn't just extend his senses at will and get the feel of an area like all is other fellow Jedi. Then there were some times when Wei was glad he couldn't.

This was one of those times when he was glad to be stuck with only his normal senses. Being Dathomir, the place no doubt stank of the Dark Side.

"So," Wei said. "You feeling at home in all this Darkness, Inquisitor?"

[Palara Iscandar]

"Zis Darkness..." she trailed off, frowning, the inclination to simply brush him off and wait to capture him being swept aside by how this Darkness was different from the Darkness of the Citadel.

"It is not ze same," she continued. "Ze Citadel, it is grey, a dark grey, on ze upper levels where we train and practice. Below, it is an oily, cloying Dark, full of fear and torment."

She had never seen what went on below. But her feelings told her just as surely as her eyes could have, and she was greatly unsettled.

"'Ere, ze Dark is light, like mist, per'aps, tinged with blood and is always in motion, like it is stirred and roiled by many people fighting, ze conflict within."

She bit her lip and broke her focus, letting her awareness become first person once more. She wished there was a way to wash, as she always did when meditating and focussing on the Dark.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei found himself irritated. "So your brand of Darkness is better, then? Smoky greys that make you feel better about the tortured and dying you bring in for the sake of justice and peace? And did they torture you as well when they found out you hadn't killed me?"

He wanted so much to just get up and kick her face in. The Galactic Empire took and took and took. Took his life as a Jedi. Took his life as a happy family man. All because someone wanted power, and had enough selfish interest in keeping his power that he'd strip the entire galaxy of power just to keep himself safe.

The former Jedi's blood boiled the more he thought about it. But even though he wanted to vent his rage on this Imperial lackey, he was too sick to really move. So he settled for rubbing the Empire's cruelty in her face.

In the back of his head he knew he was wrong. It seared in his conscience like a laser bolt, chastising him for his high passions and desire for revenge. The whole situation disgusted him. But even as he sat there hating himself and wishing he could be a better Jedi, the circuitous blame game started again.

IT'S ALL THEIR FAULT!

[Palara Iscandar]

"Yes," Iscandar replied after a moment. "And not only zen."

But the Jedi was gone, wrapped up in a cocoon of hate and self-loathing. He couldn't hear her; any words she said would be twisted to the whims of his anger and hate, his reasonable desire to lessen his emotional pain and trauma.

"Ze more you indulge your self pity, ze more attention you will receive from ze Dark Sisters," she said finally. "I would not recommend zat."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei knew Palara was right, but hated to hear the words coming out of her mouth. He would have to let go. He had done it before. He could do it again.

"Son, is there nothing I can do for you? Your work is good, and your co-workers like you. I hear you're a natural-born leader. Everyone in town admires your manners and your patience. The kids like you. But they all say the same thing: they don't know anything about you and you keep to yourself so much! They're starting to speculate about where you've been and what you've been doing during the Clone Wars."

Wei and his father sat on the front porch under a wind chime. It was beginning to become a ritual that Wei particularly enjoyed. "So, what? Is there a problem with being reserved?"

P'u frowned. "No, son. But you don't do anything but work! It wouldn't kill you to join some of the men at the canteena after work for a drink, or sit outside a coffee shop and talk to a perfect stranger. The town is always doing something social. I just wish you'd try to make some friends." P'u sighed and looked sidelong at his son. "Besides, wouldn't your Jedi masters frown that you've formed such an attachment to your old life?"

Wei rolled his eyes, but still managed a smile. "Fair enough. I'll try harder. But I don't like beer, so I think I'll try coffee instead."

A loud clanging sound broke Wei from his memories. Hungover as he was, the sound was a sharp edge cleaving his skull. He cluched his ears and moaned.

"Yes, cry out in pain, Jedi! You and your companion will pay for intruding here!"

Wei looked towards the voice. A woman in robes stood outside the cell door holding a lamp.

"You will be interrogated, and then your fate will be decided."

[Palara Iscandar]

Palara's eyes opened to find another sister staring her down. Before the thought even had time to settle into her consciousness her hands shot up, palms outstretched, and a wave of the Force barreled into the woman, who cried out and disappeared from the dimly lit doorway.

The Inquisitor was quick to her feet, but the other sister was just as fast. They met just at the entrance to her cell. Iscandar acted on instinct, falling backwards onto her hands and kicking her legs out, making her parallel with the floor. Both booted feet connected, sending the other out. Iscandar's attack overextended, and she fell, hitting the ground with a thud and a sudden gust of air.

Picking herself up slowly, the twilek stepped into the hall and looked around, letting her eyes grow accustomed to the slightly better light in the corridor than in her cell.

Her reprieve didn't last long however, as another group of the witches appeared at the end of the corridor, and yelled angrily at the sight of their two unconscious sisters and the wary Inquisitor above them.

Iscandar barely had time to blink before another dart found its way into her belly. She tugged it out quickly, but the toxin within worked quickly, and she fell unconscious once more.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei could hear the scuffle. Then silence. For a moment all he could hear were his own long, slow, steady breaths. He needed to cope with the pain and do something to help Iscandar if he could.

The Force Cripple forced himself to open his eyes. In the dim light he could see two women standing over him. They grabbed him roughly by the forearms and jerked him up off the floor.

He moaned. He was too weak and sick to do much on his own. The two Force Witches dragged him along. They exited the cell. Wei's captors turned in the hall to get by a third. The witches bowed their heads deferentially to her, causing Wei to dip a little as well.

The former Jedi looked up. He could only really see her chin and her grimace at the edge of his vision, and then her neck, with something hanging around it. Wei blinked and squinted in the dim light. It was a necklace with a pendant that appeared to look like half a lightsaber.

That was it! The thing he came for! Of course! Wei had already collected the wings, now all that was left was to form the lightsaber. He had to get it and get out. The Inquisitor could stay, but Wei had to have that thing around the leader's neck, no matter what.

[Palara Iscandar]

When she awoke, Inquisitor Iscandar was imprisoned within a smaller, more lit cell, sitting with her hands manacled to the wall, and her legs were likewise locked to the floor. A few tugs revealed the chains to be too strong for brute strength, even with the help of the Force, which literally seemed to glitter vibrantly around her, if still tinged with violence and an impassioned verve for life.

The cell was nearly identical to an Imperial cell in a prison facility; the same size, basic shape, and the colouring was uncanny, if the gloss had faded quite a bit. Her mind raced, and she closed her eyes searching through the Force for answers.

"You are not of this world," an aged woman's voice said. It sent chills down Palara's spine with the malice and Dark it conveyed. She opened her eyes and saw a cowled and cloaked woman, whose face, wrinkled with time and the Dark, reminded her of Palpatine. "Your clothing reminds me of the Imperial men we enslaved some time ago."

Palara glanced up sharply. The woman smiled.

"Oh yes," she said, striding to face the younger twilek. "I know of your Empire. How it feared me, and so attempted to leave me stranded on this planet, unable to wrest control of it as I have done here."

Iscandar remained silent.

"You have talent, girl. You may come to be a valued sister to us here, learning powers and abilities that you couldn't learn elsewhere."

The woman went silent, feeling the Inquisitor's mental resistance and bent to bring their faces closer together. Palara's eyes drifted downward, caught by the glint of a chain around her neck, bearing a small medallion. It seemed familiar, but Palara couldn't remember exactly how it was.

"I want to be free of this place, Imperial," the woman breathed. "I can feel my destiny, calling me out to the stars. If you will not help me, then you will be trapped here, just as I am. I am Gethzerion, and I do not make idle promises."

Inquisitor Iscandar watched the old woman leave, and the door shut, slowly and on hinges.

The light flickered out, and she was left in Darkness.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Look, I'm sorry the Empire destroyed the Jedi Order, but you're beginning to destroy my patience."

Wei looked up at his father from his chair on the porch near the windchimes.

"You may not have the ability to wear your lightsaber in public or travel the galaxy to squash intergalactic trouble, but you can still be helpful here, in your community."

Wei glanced at his father, and then let his gaze scan the neighborhood.

"Besides, aren't you supposed to shun attachment?" P'u put his hands on his hips and joined his son in looking at the surroundings. "It's not like you spent most of your Jedi career NOT being a Jedi."

Wei laughed. "I suppose I could do it a little longer."

"What was that, prisoner?"

The former Jedi looked up at the woman shackling him to a wall. He stared at her without a word and vomited on her robes. The smell of bile, half-digested synthetic proteins, and booze filled the air.

"Filthy drunk!" She struck him across the face. "How you wound up out here in the possession of a lightsaber is beyond me!"

"Perhaps he is another agent of the Empire, or even a Jedi." Responded the Force witch's colleague.

"I've never known a Jedi to get sick drunk on alcohol"

"Neither have I," came an harsh voice behind them.

"Mistress Gethzerion!" They spun on their heels and knelt in the cramped space.

"Wait outside. And find one of the slaves to clean up this mess."

The pair stood, bowed, and vacated the cell with purpose.

"So, are you Imperial?" Gethzerion asked Wei, taking him roughly by the face and digging into his cheeks with sharp fingernails.

"No."

"Then you are a Jedi?"

"No."

"Then why are you here on my world? And carrying a lightsaber with you? No one wields a lightsaber that does not know the Force!"

Wei looked at her.

"ANSWER ME!"

"Ask the Imperial."

Gethzerion growled and gave Wei a back-handed slap across the face.

Wei turned with the blow. It didn't do much to soften its sting. Wei faced Gethzerion squarely, and came face-to-face with her necklace. The piece he needed! He tried to get his mind clear, to think straight.

He needed a drink, or he needed his lightsaber. "Did you leave that ship and that droid where you found it? And the lightsaber?"

Gethzerion arched an eyebrow. "Why should I tell you?"

"Without all of them, I can't discover the truth."

"The truth? About what?"

"The truth."

"Do not play games with me. I am not to be trifled with. If you mean to keep me from my destiny, then you will be crushed."

There was something. Not much, but useful enough. He managed to hook her with a few vague words, and hopefully insure that R4 and the starfighter remained whole and unharmed. If Wei could riddle out more of this "destiny" Gethzerion mentioned, he could probably talk his way out of his bonds.

[Palara Iscandar]

Iscandar could see through closed eyes, the sheer vibrancy of the life on the planet.

The herds of Rancors, their intelligence blossoming slowly.

The clans of women and the few free men on the planet, wandering and settled, near mountains and rivers and great seas.

Trees as tall as any building on Imperial Centre, forests of them, covering the soil with shadow and granting some security to the smaller fauna that fled at the sound of footsteps.

She focussed on the clans, however, and saw, briefly, a great shadowy mass drift along the floor of the forests, up to the walls of the fortress in which she was held. A young woman, her eyes glinting, held up an old hilt without a blade. Around her were many others.

Her arms shook with aches and pains from the torture of her continued position and the lightning Gethzerion had plied her with for what seemed to be hours, always stopping before her heart gave out, and allowing her time to breathe and recuperate, only to begin again. She asked no questions.

How long had she been here? She couldn't say for sure.

The door to her cell opened, and she woke.

"I yield," she said, opening her eyes and looking at the black robed woman that had come to feed her. "Tell your Lady I yield. I will do as she asks."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei waited. A thin looking male of some species or the next came and cleaned up his vomit and left.

He wondered about R4. He wondered about his lightsaber. He wondered about Gethzerion and her assumption that he was a Jedi.

And last of all, he thought back to the first time he was ever forced to publicly denounce himself as a Jedi.

"Son, if nothing else, you can still help around here. It's a quiet town, and mostly folks get by without problems, but once in a while people find themselves in a bind. You could help them."

Wei did. When a Rodian at work mentioned his mother needed a ramp because she couldn't navigate steps, Wei built one out of wood in the dead of night. It wasn't difficult to find out where the Rodian and his mother stayed. He just needed to be able to move it without help of people or even a cargo skiff. He needed the Force.

So he bought a tuning fork at a music store and waited for night. He struck it on the ramp, held the thing in his teeth, and let the steady note vibrate into the night. It made his teeth feel funny, but it had to be done. Wei lifted the ramp over head and started off. It was tough going at first: when the tuning fork began to grow quiet, he nearly fell over from the weight of the ramp. Quick thinking won out. He could turn his head and tap the tuning fork on the ramp. Then he was good to go again.

The ramp was the talk of the town. Wei's Rodian co-worker talked about it to anyone who would listen. Many were amazed, and some were incredulous. One cynical man scoffed and retorted that perhaps he would wake up one morning and find his garage no longer leaned to one side. He was rather shocked to wake up the very next day to find it standing as straight and tall as the day it was first built!

Over time people began to find their problems solved as if simply speaking them into the air had been all that was needed to set things right. But if anyone had bothered to look over their shoulders, they might have seen that quiet, reserved Wu Wei kid sitting in the booth behind them or just gathering up the groceries to take home while they moaned to the clerk.

It wasn't until one wet night that things changed. A boy and his mother were on their way home late one night. They started across the street, when suddenly a speeder whipped around the corner. Wei struck his tuning fork against a lamp post, and with Force-assisted speed got both of them out of the way. They shouted his thanks at his back. Luckily they had not seen his face.

Afterwards, the community began to call their anonymous do-gooder the Lone Jedi. They didn't think he was a Jedi really, but his altruistic nature and ability to be in the right place at the right time caused them to think of their hero in this way.

"You know, when I said you should help out around the town, I didn't mean you should do it like this. I meant that you could volunteer with a charity, or help a friend. You could have offered to build that ramp with Ooros over a weekend, and it would have been just as well."

Wei shrugged.

"Now they're calling you the Lone Jedi. That kind of thing attracts attention, and soon it'll attract the kind of attention you don't want. I was serious when I told you to move on from being a Jedi. You wait and see if your personal investment in being a Jedi doesn't bring a heap of trouble on this town yet."

"Hey!" Wei called out at last. What's the hold-up? I thought your Lady wanted to know what I knew."

[Palara Iscandar]

"Hey, what's the hold-up? I thought your Lady wanted to know what I knew."

Wei's voice echoed through the cell block, but he didn't distract the Inquisitor from powerful Dark Lady in front of her.

"Call them down," Gethzerion commanded.

"If zey are still in orbit," Iscandar said again, "zere is a good chance zat my ship 'as left, for ze Empire, it is not sentimental. Protocol dictates I must send an 'olographic transmission to zem. Especially if it is a command such as zis."

Gethzerion frowned, her yellowed eyes full of suspicion, and turned to look at the door behind which Wei was calling again.

"...And him?" said she lacing 'him' with scorn enough to surprise the Inquisitor.

"'E is my prey. I 'ave 'unted 'im for some time now, and 'e is ze reason I am 'ere." Inquisitor Iscandar slipped into an at-ease pose, standing straight but not tense, and with her hands behind her back. "Without 'im, I will most certainly be ignored and left 'ere. Ozzerwise, I would not care and leave 'im to rot."

Gethzerion smiled nastily.

"Bring the man. Are you sure he is not Jedi? I sense he is..."

"'E is not," Inquisitor Iscandar interjected. "'E is an adept with little natural ability but great skill none-ze-less."

Gethzerion's smile turned wry.

"I sense you are frustrated with him."

"I 'ave 'unted 'im from one side of zis Galaxy to ze ozzer, and yet 'e still eludes me," Iscandar answered stoically. A Nightsister walked up, prodding along Wei, who had binders on his wrists and ankles. Palara Iscandar kept her reserved facade, but internally hoped the Jedi would play along with this without giving away her game, which he could do without even knowing it.

Gethzerion looked with disgust on the sweaty, pale looking Jedi. Palara's expression changed as well, though there was also mixed in a modicum of pity.

"My time has come," Gethzerion said with satisfaction.

Play along, the twilek Imperial thought at the Jedi, but could not give him any real sign or expression to convey it; Gethzerion, for all her pride and arrogance, was still cunning enough to catch a whiff of conspiracy where there was any to be found near her.

"We must go to ze communications room. My communicator was taken from me."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Still pale, sweaty, and shaking, Wei followed Gethzerion and Palara. The former Jedi had received the Inquisitor's message loud and clear, but without a means to connect to the Force, Wei could not respond telekinetically.

Instead, he used a signal he shared with his Jedi Master and the Clone troopers they commanded. He curled his fingers, interlocked his knuckles, and pulled slightly. It said "I'm a link in your chain," and meant understanding, teamwork, and commitment to the unit.

Wei didn't precisely feel any of the last two parts, but he couldn't think of anything better--the signal would have to suffice. He held the sign and bowed his head. With luck, anyone would think he was meditating. It wasn't far from the truth. Even if his body wouldn't settle, he needed to try to settle his mind. He needed to stay sharp, if he could at all without alcohol or the Force.

At least as incapacitated as he was, the Nightsisters wouldn't see him as a threat. It was a good opportunity--if he could get his lightsaber.

[Palara Iscandar]

The Force swirled chaotically around her, around Wei, around Gethzerion. Inquisitor Iscandar desperately searched for a way to remain centered and open to the Force, to know when the strike would come. It was difficult work.

She led them through the fortress without thinking; it followed the Imperial system to the last detail, and the holocommunications suite was exactly where it should have been, though it was in grave disrepair.

Gethzerion frowned, realizing at the same moment that the problem presented to them was enough to make or break their chances. Iscandar moved to the panels and began powering up the system, only for the lights to swiftly turn red.

"Zere is not enough power to run ze systems," she announced, sounding lost. Gethzerion smiled maliciously.

"Your plan to call for backup has failed, hm?" the old witch's voice was humming with a cruel satisfaction.

"You still need a transmission to bring ze ship to land. All we need is an 'olographic transmission, which does not require much power. A small power supply wired into ze transceiver would allow a message to be sent."

"A small power supply?" Gethzerion echoed. "Such as...?"

"Ze power supply of a lightsaber of course. 'And me mine."

Gethzerion's eyes narrowed, her hand over her own lightsaber, but when the twi'lek disassembled the small hilt and attached the power supply to the part in question, the witch relaxed. Iscandar quickly sent the messages and codes to her ship, and a blueish and rather garbled figure of a man appeared in front of them.

"Transmission received, Inquisitor," the Imperial officer said. "Orders?"

"Land ze ship. Zere is no ozzer way for me to return."

The Imperial visibly balked, despite the graininess of the hologram.

"Authorization code Cresh Besh 1109-0767 Aurek."

The officer stopped, and turned to look to his side, obviously listening to a junior officer speaking to him. After a few moments, he stood at attention saluted, and bowed.

"Bringing the ship into orbit, Inquisitor," he said. Iscandar nodded, and made to power down the communications terminal, but a sudden explosion did the work for her, and turned the lights off in most of the fortress as well.

Gethzerion's eyes narrowed, her fingers gripping the hilt of her lightsaber.

"Were those codes in fact our location...?" she asked, stepping forward. Iscandar remained impassive.

"Grandmother!" a younger witch ran up. "The clans are attacking!"

"Well? Fight them! They cannot stand against us," Gethzerion responded, turning and gesturing. The Nightsister ran off as another explosion ripped through the building. A Rancor's roar echoed dully through the corridors. She turned back to regard the Inquisitor and the Jedi.

"Bring them with me," she growled, stalking off through the corridors, to the sounds of battle.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Hey, if you have company, I can come back later," Wei said.

A rough push was all he got in reply.

"I don't want trouble. If you would please just return my things, I'll move on."

The ball was in Palara's court. Wei could afford to be patient until she tipped her hand, but he couldn't afford to be at the mercy of either the Nightsisters, or the Inquisitor for very long. He wouldn't be captured, and he wouldn't fail his mission either.

"Can I at least get a drink?"

[Palara Iscandar]

Gethzerion said nothing to Wei, but instead turned and left, followed swiftly by the two sisters guarding himself and the Inquisitor.

"Now, to do away with these rebellious little pests, and finally a way for us to exercise our power elsewhere," Gethzerion said, satisfaction oozing from her voice. The sisters beside Iscandar and Wei both smiled. Sounds of battle began getting louder. Gethzerion seemed to anticipate it eagerly.

Gethzerion stopped in what once was a large foyer, set some ways back from the front entrance to the fortress. It had been noticeably changed from what Iscandar was increasingly convinced was its former days as a receiving area for prisoners. Instead of the walls and boundaries that made running difficult in a standard Imperial prison facility, the area was cleared and open. Iscandar looked behind herself to see growing numbers of Nightsisters forming up behind Gethzerion; she hadn't noticed them.

There were more explosions, causing the ground to shake. A few battered women staggered in from the shadowed entrance, stumbling to the older woman, who ignored them. Behind the survivors of the guards, the walls crumbled, bringing light into the darkened interior, and exposing another crowd of women, most carrying spears and metal swords, but some did bear lightsabers, activated a glowing a myriad of colours.

"So, you wish to die?" Gethzerion almost hummed the words, which carried in the now quiet foyer. The women facing the Nightsisters shrank back, save for two or three, who glared at the old woman. Palara glanced at Wei, and in the time she took her eyes away from the tableau, chaos erupted. The attackers charged, and the Nightsisters behind the Jedi and Inquisitor barreled into them with weapons drawn. The sounds of the first few deaths were quickly swallowed by the cries and crashes of battle.

Iscandar didn't wait long. As soon as she caught sight of one, she summoned the lightsaber from the hand of an attacker, who looked around and was cut down in her confusion, and tossed the weapon to Wei. She locked her focus onto the lightsaber given to her by the Tree of Ossus, and it flew from Gethzerion's belt into her hand, and the ignited blade of plasma with a small tilt cut through the chains of the binders on her wrists.

Gethzerion felt the lightsaber leave her side and turned, her own lightsaber still embedded in the chest of an unlucky Witch whom had faced her. The old Nightsister's eyes were yellow, and she seemed satisfied.

"Yet another Imperial for me to kill," she said. Iscandar couldn't see Wei, and couldn't afford to look for him either. She needed to survive long enough to escape and make it to the ship's landing site, which would inevitably be near the site of the shuttle crash. She settled into a defensive stance and waited.

[Wei Wu Wei]

The hilt snapped smartly into his hands, and for the first time ever, Wei was grateful for the Inquisitor that followed him like his own shadow.

Wei activated the weapon. The hum reached him, even amidst the sounds of battle. The sound washed over him. His mind cleared and expanded. Tension washed out of him, and for sheer relief and joy, the former Jedi laughed.

Smile still on his face, Wei became a whirling blur of deadly light. He was surrounded by enemies on all sides--it didn't matter who he struck. Form V seemed most appropriate. It became apparent to Wei that the Nightsisters hadn't fully realized what had been unleashed in their midst. They still thought of him as a drunk who didn't understand what he had--and now it was their turn to not understand.

Wei cut through metal weapons and bones in broad, powerful strokes. He bashed lightsabers from the paths their wielders' set for them. Lightning fast stabs pierced hearts. Lumberjack chops lopped off limbs.

The bodies piled around him. As the pile grew, so did the Force Cripple's anger. Wei didn't realize the effects of brushing up against so many Dark minds would have on his uncentered soul.

He only knew he felt as though his power was increasing with every victory--and he felt so justified.

Before he knew it, the back ranks were dead, and the battle pressed on towards the entrance of the compound. He, and every slain Nightsister, were forgotten.

Good.

[Palara Iscandar]

Gethzerion didn't leave her waiting for long. She jumped the distance between them, and brought her lightsaber down to cleave the twi'lek Inquisitor from her right shoulder to her left hip.

The attack nearly struck true. Boggled by the leap - there had been at least five meters between them - Iscandar barely rolled out of the way and firmed herself. The Force coiled around her, and she struck back, beginning their deadly dance.

The Nightsisters seemed at first stymied by the sheer ferocity and determination of the Witches they faced, the preoccupation of their leader with the stranger in Imperial garb, and the thinning of their numbers from behind due to the rapidly falling Wei only tilted the balance of the engagement into balance, and the attackers, somewhat winded from the fighting to the entrance, fell back before the fresh and unbloodied warrior-women of Gethzerion.

They retreated slowly into an addition to the fortress that Gethzerion had ordered - a stone hall that descended at an easy gradient from the high hill on which the prison had been built. Easily fifteen meters wide and at least ten tall with columns interspersed regularly down its length, it was lit by large openings carved into the blocks, and torches along the walls and columns.

Palara swiftly followed the fighters into this enclosed battlefield, Gethzerion pushing her relentlessly with almost tireless energy; the twi'lek could bring her lightsaber to deflect the old woman's attacks, but had no chance to strike back. She disengaged, flipping back and over the locked weapons of two Witches.

Gethzerion laughed.

"Good, good, my little songbird!" she called, her voice somehow carrying over the din of combat. "Flutter to and fro to escape my knife, but I'll have you for my supper yet."

She leaped impossibly again, and Iscandar jumped to meet her, turning and spinning her body as she did so. The momentum of the manoeuvre allowed her to swipe Gethzerion's lightsaber out of the way and kick the old Nightsister back down to the ground, where she hit with a rush of air, and Iscandar began to fall directly on top of her, the blue-green blade pointed to skewer the Grandmother of the Nightsisters into the earth.

Gethzerion lifted one hand and pushed Iscandar away, gripping her in the Force and throwing her into a wall. A rancor's roar from outside the hall could dimly be heard, as well as fighting out along the hill's base.

Iscandar release the pain of her impact into the Force and jumped back into combat with the old woman, utilizing the style she had heard the Jedi Solomon call "Ataru"; she became a whirling dervish, her lightsaber carving in at odd angles, interspersed with attacks from her legs and free hand, putting the old woman on the defensive.

Until a Rancor, driven berserk by the bloodshed and death of her rider, smashed in part of the hall, and roared in fury. More Witches poured in through the gap in the stonework the Rancor made, and more Nightsisters made their way into the hall from the prison-fortress, further deepening the chaos.

Inquisitor Iscandar and Gethzerion stopped their duel for a moment, processing the sudden development. Iscandar looked around, wondered where Wei was for a moment before gathering herself and let fly a Force Push and cry followed by a leap and slash of her saber. Gethzerion swatted away the push and parried the Imperial's attack.

Their duel resumed.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nearly laughed when the rancor burst in. It was only making his job easier. Still, he bit down on that impulse. His Clone Wars training crept back into his mind. He walked soft--not that the remaining Force Witches could hear him.

The Force Cripple cleaved the Darksiders from shoulder to hip, chopped them through the waist, and sliced them top to bottom. Sometimes in the melee he would find two from opposing factions deadlocked sword-to-sword. One swing sent two heads rolling across the blood-slicked floor.

The Rancor swung its massive arms. Bodies flew across the room like waves breaking on a shore. Wei wasn't fussed about it at first. Then the beast started walking towards him.

An amused expression made its way across the former Jedi's face. He'd never taken on a rancor before. Wei ran towards it. The rancor reached for him. A scolding slash removed one enormous claw, and the beast recoiled. He passed under the rancor's legs, nicking one of its ankles along the way. Fresh burning pain caused it to forget its lost appendage for a moment and stoop to try to see the new wound.

Wei took his opportunity. With one mighty Force-boosted leap he sprang onto the thing's back. He dashed along its spine and lunged forward, stabbing hard into the back of the rancor's skull. The beast bucked, but the damage was done. Wei lowered his stance and held the lightsaber in place. The smell of charred flesh permeated the room. The rancor fell. Several Force Witches met their end under the massive corpse.

Wei scanned the room from his elevated position. Where were the Inquisitor and Gethzerion?

[Palara Iscandar]

Wei's unasked question was answered by the sight and sound of Inquisitor Iscandar's body hurtling into the side of the Rancor, before falling almost bonelessly to the ground. Gethzerion stalked forward, her eyes yellow and piercing. Above, thunder rumbled and the sky darkened.

"This Imperial is tenacious," the Clan Mother said conversationally, dropping her hood for the first time in the battle. "It is commendable."

Iscandar staggered to her feet, looking at the old woman determinedly. Gethzerion didn't respond however; she instead looked at Wei, a smile oozing with pride and power on her face.

"She is weak," Gethzerion said with speaking, her voice quiet and nearly a whisper, but seemingly to breath directly in the Jedi's ear. Iscandar made to leap and attack the old woman, but a gesture of the Clan Mother's hand pinned her to the side of the dead Rancor.

"Look at her," the old Nightsister continued. "She has dogged your steps for too long, hasn't she? Until she dies, you will not know peace. I have felt you during this battle. Your presence sings of victory, of domination. You didn't run, you faced these enemies and struck them all down as easily as breathing."

Iscandar dropped her lightsaber, desperately attempting to marshal her own command of the Force to free herself. Gethzerion's will was too powerful, crushing her against the creature pitilessly.

"It is so easy," Gethzerion murmured, her voice seeming to vibrate the very air around the Jedi, humming into his blood, which carried them into his brain and filled his mind with visions of striking down the twi'lek Inquisitor and fleeing the planet unnoticed, finally free. "I have her here, waiting for death. She cannot fight. She cannot resist. Kill her, and free yourself. Free yourself."

Iscandar lifted one hand and pushed with the last of her will towards the Nightsister. Its effect was no more than a gust of wind, shifting her cloak and dress, causing a chain on her neck to glimmer briefly in the torchlight. Gethzerion frowned, and her voice rose, though her lips didn't move.

"Kill her! End your fear, here and now! Strike her down and realize that nothing stands between yourself and victory!"

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei frowned. Gethzerion had a point. But somehow, despite his anger, it was enough that she was down for the time being.

He shook his head. "I could, but she's not the one standing in my way." The Force Cripple pointed his lightsaber at the old woman. "You are."

He jumped down from the Rancor in a classic Ataru style leap: spinning to add power to his falling attack. The old lady stepped aside, and hopped over the follow up strike Wei aimed at her ankles.

The former Jedi stood, and it was back to Form V. Djem-So's Falling Avalanche crashed down on the matriarch's blade. Wei held nothing back. If he knew anything, he knew that however strong in the Force the Witch might be, her age would eventually be her downfall. He only needed to crush her into submission. He assailed her defenses as mercilessly as he had attacked the mountain on Dorvalla. She would crumble to dust, and his path would be clear.

[Palara Iscandar]

Despite what seemed to be a long battle with the Inquisitor, Gethzerion's reservoir of energy seemed limitless. She flowed around Wei's attacks like water, unwilling to try and match Wei strength for strength.

She did match Wei's tempo, leaping in from far away, only to speed up even further (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Force_speed), and come back in from another angle.

"Good! More of a challenge than the Imperial, but she knew how to pace herself!"

She laughed, gestured, and a severed head collided with his hand on a downward stroke. Her hands continued to move, almost independently of each other; one held the lightsaber, screaming in for blood, and the other sought out implements through the Force. Rubble, torches, even still living and fighting Witches and Nightsisters were thrown into his path, or pulled onto him from behind.

Inquisitor Iscandar watched the fight from where she sat, breathing deeply and releasing her exhaustion into the Force, finally free of Gethzerion's implacable will forcing her down. The old woman's words echoed in her memory; almost word for word they were the same used by Inquisitor Atrapes back when he was convincing her to join the Inquisition. Wei's response was darker than she'd felt from him yet. A willingness to kill her, but more eager to take on the stronger of his opponents. He was falling, not yet fallen.

She pulled herself to her feet and gripped her lightsaber firmly. She had a mission to complete.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei answered her assault with all his skill. Her ability to telekinetically throw things at the Force Cripple bothered him greatly. He dodged the old woman's projectiles as best he could or cut through the things he couldn't avoid. He needed a solid opening to get at her, but she wouldn't sit still.

At which point did you lose control here?

The memory of his father's voice asking him a very pointed question worked its way into his thought process. He shook his head. He needed to focus on killing Gethzerion.

"I mean it. I thought you were doing some good in the community with all your antics. Working at night, wearing a mask, you're straight out of the holos. Like that Darth Vader the propaganda vids go on about."

"I'm not like him!" Wei growled at the memory.

"You're not? No one knows who you are, where you come from, or what exactly it is that you're doing besides promoting the 'general welfare.' You're a mystery. Tireless as you are, some people think you're a droid that missed a mindwipe."

"I don't need to hear this from you."

"No? I guess because I'm not a Jedi master, it means I can't have wisdom. Well, the Empire is getting to be very interested in our small, out-of-the-way community. Soon Talus won't be just a planet to train new troops. No one around here asks too much about you because they know not to be nosy. But if the Empire finds out anything about your past at all, you can kiss your life farewell."

Wei ducked under a corpse tossed at him by Gethzerion, and came back up in time to stop the woman's lightsaber from cutting his throat. He swatted at her, but she was already gone again to refresh her attack.

"You need to take fresh stock of your situation and examine your motives. Are you doing all this because you want to help people, or because you're too full of yourself to be a regular citizen who volunteers with charities instead of insisting on being a Jedi? Because believe me, you're making way too much work for yourself with all this secrecy than if you just focused on what was really important."

Wei knew better than to do what he was doing. He didn't need to be trying to kill anyone. All he needed was that stupid necklace around that old hag's shriveled throat. But she was too fast, and Wei couldn't muster the concentration to retaliate with a Force push.

But there was someone around who could.

"Iscandar!" Wei called out. "Lend me a hand here, will you? We need to try to pin this mynock to the floor!"

[Palara Iscandar]

Gethzerion laughed, leaping in and pulling a veritable sphere of rubble and debris in on the Jedi.

Around them, the battle had slowed, the survivors on both sides watching the combatants warily, though farther out groups still fought each other with vicious abandon. The Witches watched in cautious awe as Gethzerion's attacks were foiled again and again by the man and his skill with the lightsaber in his hands.

In the meantime, the humanoid female with lavender-hued skin moved stiffly up to the fight. She seemed to be breathing the Force: energy drawn in, flowing through and let out with an increasing lightness.

"Iscandar! Lend me a hand here, will you? We need to try to pin this mynock to the floor!" The man called to the female. Iscandar seemed to not hear him, simply watching the fight unfold intently for a moment, stretching into a minute...

"She knows she is overmatched!" the Clan Mother said, landing lightly and swiping quickly at the backpedalling Jedi. "And why should she, when her goal is to kill you?"

Iscandar took the opening the impromptu speech granted, igniting and throwing her lightsaber at the old woman, and following it in with a series of flips. Gethzerion swiped away the weapon contemptuously, but the twi'lek extended her hand and called it back, using her last flip to bring the weapon down onto Gethzerion's guard.

The Imperial's re-entrance into the fight brought the Witches and Nightsisters out of their wary peace, and they resumed their combat, chaos once more taking over the hall, while thunder rolled heavily above.

Above it all, Gethzerion's laughter as she continued to fight the Inquisitor and the Jedi with seeming ease echoed.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"What good does it do her to kill me if she can't get away herself?"

Wei needed an opening. He needed something useful. Palara's willingness to help him take down Gethzerion was good, but it would take more than that. He needed to re-focus. He needed to think.

"Your personal stake in being a Jedi has caused us all problems!" It was the first time Wei had ever seen his father lose his temper. "I hope it's been a good time, because it's about to be over!"

By then it had been a few weeks since P'u had chastised his son for his nightly Force-aided good-doing.

"Word about you has spread so much that now they're actually coming to investigate this town! There are rumors that the Emperor is sending that--that--that Darth Vader THING here! The soldiers at the post are all ill at ease. And if something makes Imerial Stormtroopers afraid, you can better believe it won't be good for us!"

"What do they say, Father?" Wei asked.

" He leaves no survivors. The destruction he wreaks wherever he goes is too much! And if this Darth Vader gets even the tiniest idea that there really is a Jedi here, he'll burn the whole town to ash!"

"I'm taking this!" he continued, snatching the windchime off the porch. And I WILL have that tuning fork you carry with you wherever you go. Yes, I know all about it."

He held out his hand. Wei stared at it. "Were I a Jedi master, you wouldn't hesitate to do what I ask for the sake of the Jedi Order. Now I'm asking you as a member of your new community to give this up so that we might all survive!"

Wei didn't want to. It was his, and his only connection to the Force. His father didn't understand.

Then he felt it. A Lambda-class shuttle screamed overhead, and the dark presence it carried made everything feel dark and cold, even though it was afternoon on one of the hottest summer days of the year.

Wei stared off in the direction of the shuttle and wondered: could he fight Darth Vader and live? Wei hadn't practiced any lightsaber combat in months. Would his skills still be sharp enough?

Sizing up the situation in his mind, the Force Cripple felt at odds. But the biggest problem was that his father was right. It took Wei a few minutes to steel his resolve, then finally managed to quickly toss the tuning fork to his father.

"Very well. I'll let it go."

"Good. I'll get rid of this, then. You should see about Vader."

"Why me?"

"You brought Vader down on this community. It's your duty to send him back where he came from."

The former Jedi stepped off the porch. He walked down to the street and looked around his neighborhood. Really, the place wasn't so bad But now if he didn't do right, Wei would never see it again--either because he would be dead, or it would be a ruin.

He walked on towards the base where the shuttle was no doubt landing. If he had to, he'd turn himself in and leave his town in tact. It would be his last act as a Jedi: shedding his personal attachments and finding peace in the knowledge that he would soon join the Force.

Wei shifted stances. He needed to re-center. He needed to dig deep and let go of whatever it was that kept him invested in killing this witch and the Inquisitor. He needed to change his mind. So he changed his fighting style. The Force Cripple brought his elbows in and narrowed his stance. He stopped caring about the battle at large, and allowed his focus to extend only to the tip of his lightsaber. He began to practice Soresu.

[Palara Iscandar]

Iscandar's attacks had somewhat levelled the fight, but she was tired, and had been beaten already by the Clan Mother. She moved into the duellists' form, trying desperately to conserve whatever energy she had left after being beaten so badly by Gethzerion before.

It was made more difficult in that Wei and Iscandar were in the habit of fighting against, and not with, each other. They did not complement each other, and their unease at the situation was capitalized on by the old Nightsister.

Gethzerion's smile parted as she breathed deeply, for the first time seeming even slightly out of breath. Iscandar remained wary, as Wei shifted into the Defensive Form and centred himself in the Light.

Even with the two of them, and Wei no longer so blindly angry and unfocussed, the Inquisitor knew their foe was too skilled and powerful to be defeated unless they worked together.

"Well?" Gethzerion said, eyeing them with a superiority that even grated on Iscandar's nerves. "I'm waiting. Or do you want me to attack first now?"

Iscandar blinked, suddenly finding the old woman in front of her.

"Very well!"

Iscandar back-flipped away from the attack, and brought her lightsaber to bear, mainly blocking the old woman's attacks, which only slowed when she grabbed something in the Force and tossed it at the twi'lek. During one of those, Iscandar flipped over the woman and landed, only to catch the woman's hand in her face, and the full brunt of a Force Push, which rolled her to Wei's feet.

"We must work togezzer," she panted as she picked herself up. "Fight 'er togezzer, not merely at ze same time."

Gethzerion stalked toward them, any semblance of tiredness gone.

"I think I'm ready to end this game," the Clan Mother said, one hand loosely holding her lightsaber and lightning dancing on the fingertips of the other.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei was stumped. He knew the Inquisitor was right. They needed to work together. The Force Cripple was still off his rhythmn, and it needed to change.

The former Jedi and the Inquisitor stood shoulder to shoulder. "Let's just try a simple flanking maneuver to start with, shall we? I'll see if I can't jump over here, and we'll attack from both sides."

Wei mentally switched to Form IV, gathered his energy, and vaulted over Gethzerion's head. He flicked the tip of his lightsaber towards the crown of the woman's skull as he passed. As he neared the ground, he added a twist and slashed again.

Wei felt his inexperience with the Darkside strongly: even though much of his time during the Clone Wars harassing Count Dooku's forces, he never faced the Sith directly. Even when he faced Vader years ago, it had not been as a Jedi in direct combat.

"Excuse me, but are you Lord Vader?" Wei asked.

He had come across the Imperial speeder at the edge of town. The enormous man--if he was a man at all--towered over his subordinates and Wei. His black costume seemed to absorb all the light in the area, as though it were literally darker when in Vader's presence.

"How do you know of me?"

Wei shrugged. "I don't, really. I've seen you on the holonet. What brings you to our little town? I know we're becoming somewhat famous for our furniture, but I doubt you are here for an office suite or a bedroom set."

Vader's helmet made every turn of his head almost comical if it weren't for the fact that the man was so obviously powerful and intimidating. "I am looking for a rogue Jedi."

Wei raised his eyebrows in surprise--not surprise at Vader's objective, of course. He was much more surprised that Vader would declare it so openly. It meant Vader thought himself unstoppable by either the community or this Jedi he came to find.

It wasn't much, but arrogance like that could be used against an opponent in a spectacular fashion. He just needed to play his cards right.

"Huh." Wei said in sudden revelation. "Why did I not think of it sooner."

[Palara Iscandar]

"Think of what?" Iscandar asked, just before Gethzerion lifted one hand and arcs of lightning shot toward them. Tired and distracted, the twi'lek took the full brunt of the attack.

She was lifted off her feet and to her back a meter away. Gethzerion cut off the lightning, her smile wide and full of a malice deeper than any the Inquisitor had seen before.

"Suffer," the witch said, her eyes on her enemies.

"If you 'ave an idea, I think you should implement it soon!" the Imperial grit her teeth and stood, still feeling her muscles spasm from the current.

The thunder was rolling almost constantly now.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Lord Vader, is there any way we can help?"

The Dark Lord's head swiveled as he took in the town from its edges. Was he looking for something in particular?

"I will seek him out. If he has the Force, I will detect him."

Wei nodded. "I think I understand, Sir." Wei had to play ignorant to the hilt. If Wei let on he understood anything to do with the Force, it would give him away. He had to be close, but small. Beneath Vader's notice. After all, the Force Cripple couldn't attempt to read Vader's thoughts and feelings without a clear tone, but Vader did not suffer the same handicap and could read Wei readily if he chose.

"Can you sense him now?"

"He has hidden his presence from me, but I felt him as the shuttle passed. He is here." Again, the arrogance.

"Then please, Lord Vader, allow my community to show its loyalty to you and the Empire by helping to flush the Jedi out of hiding. I'm sure with the cooperation of the local troops and the community leaders, we can invent a situation that would force the Jedi to confront you."

The officer sitting beside Vader leaned in to speak in low tones with the Sith Lord. "I think it is a wise idea, Lord Vader. The sooner the Jedi is vanquished, the sooner we may all return to our regular duties."

Vader nodded. "Very well. We will try your idea. However, should your plan fail, or if this turns out to be a means to warn the Jedi or help him elude me, then you will be killed along with him."

Wei bowed as low as he could "Of course, my Lord. I promise, he won't see this coming.

Wei blocked one of Gethzerion's sword strokes and offered a riposte.

"Do you know, Gethzerion, why I am here? Did you get your followers to find my droid and my ship? They're part of a puzzle. A puzzle that leads to enormous power. Power the Empire both hates and fears. Power the Jedi kept hidden and locked away. Power that comes only to those with the sheer willpower to bend planets to their will. The final piece to that puzzle is close by. But without the droid and the ship, it cannot be activated."

Wei saw the old woman's eyebrows lift in interest. The Nightsister leader stopped electrocuting Palara and turned to face Wei full square. "I will have this power! You will take me to it, or you will perish."

Wei deactivated his lightsaber. "As you wish. And bring the Inquisitor along. Nothing gives an advantage than a life you can make into a bargaining chip."

The Force Cripple glanced over at Palara, offered a wink that was more of an eye-twitch and flicked his earlobe with an index finger. With luck, the Force would be with them and Palara would understand.

[Palara Iscandar]

Iscandar gasped, collapsing to her knees and glaring at both the Jedi and the Nightsister. As it was, she realized at a moment that if she was able to move at all, she would probably have given away Wei's gambit; the urge to scoff at the sheer ridiculousness of the idea was overwhelming.

But Gethzerion was going along with it, for now; her eyebrows rose in interest. She was planning on killing them out in the forest, or perhaps right outside the hall, where there wasn't so many obstacles that the Jedi and Inquisitor had used defensively.

Iscandar sighed, and let her gaze fall to the ground.

There, laying in the hand of a dead Nightsister, was her energy whip, lost and then forgotten in the battle. She reached for it and amazingly unhindered by Gethzerion and Wei, she grabbed it, pulling it to her and affixing the hilt to her belt.

"Then you take her, if a hostage you need," the Clan Mother said, sickly sparks playing on her fingertips. "I do not require anything but my own power."

Iscandar looked up, seeing a chance to kill the woman and end it, but her arm spasmed and the moment was gone.

"Zis is ridiculous," she hissed into Wei's ear as he picked her up, supporting her with one arm around her back. She held herself steady with one arm over his shoulder before looking up and seeing Gethzerion waiting. "I 'ope you know what you are doing."

Thunder rolled again outside, much closer than before.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"It worked once, it'll work again. Dark Lords are all the same."

Wei and Palara started towards the exit with Gethzerion following behind. The Force Cripple looked over his shoulder at Gethzerion.

"We need to get to the wreck of the Chu'unthor. I'll also need my ship and the lightsaber I had with me when I came. They're all part of it too. And be sure the astromech is still in its bay when you have your people send the ship."

"Why?"

"Because, Lord Vader, the Jedi only shows up when people are in serious need of something."

It took some doing, but Wei managed to get his plan into his father's ear without Vader or his assistant being present for the conversation. From there it was pretty easy for P'u to find the pillars of the community and explain things to them.

It was going to be pretty costly, but if things went right, the Empire would be reimbursing the community along with a little extra.

"This is the emergency water pump. It's kind of old, like the town, but it's been working well for as long as anyone can remember." Wei shrugged. "It takes very little to break it, though, as you can see."

The former Jedi grabbed a durasteel rod that connected the motor to pump and with an effort, pulled the ancient bit of metal free of the machine.

"If his pattern serves, he'll come in the dead of night to replace the thing. You can ambush him here, and we'll have the trash barrels out in front of all the alleyways. you can station your stormtroopers there if you like, and we can create a nice funnel to guide him wherever you like."

"Where would you suggest we direct the Jedi?" Vader's officer asked.

"That would be telling," Wei answered the Nightsister's leader.

"I have no time for games!"

"Truth is, until we get there with the ship and the droid, I won't be able to fit the rest together. Just be sure it's all set like I say."

Wei leaned in towards Palara. "You think we'll be seeing much from your Imperial forces?"

[Palara Iscandar]

Iscandar smiled wanly, but shook her head slightly, her eyes drifting up to the ceiling and the clouded sky above it.

Gethzerion frowned.

"You ask much," she said. "For a ploy to forestall your death."

She smiled. The area around them was quiet now; the fighting had moved from the hall into the prison's entrance itself. Instead of the chaotic melee that had dominated the area, now each Witch and Nightsister sought out an enemy and they duelled, though most combat was brief.

"Oh yes," the elderly witch said. "I am no fool to be toyed with. I can sense your guile. I know the wreck of which you speak. But you are not being completely untruthful."

She pointed the deactivated lightsaber at the two.

"Lead the way. You will see the tokens you asked for."

She spoke with a young guard, who nodded and sprinted away, disappearing into the shadows.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei smiled. "Guile? I just love seeing people wear looks of surprise and joy too much to spoil the big reveal."

Without his lightsaber, Wei was once again feeling the effects of hangover and withdrawal. His legs were still pretty solid, but his insides felt squeamish and hollow. His addiction called to him out of the back of his mind, and it was throwing him off his game. As a result, he was willing to risk grinding his heel into Gethzerion's last nerve to cover up his insecurity.

Dusk was nigh. Wei put on a brown cloak and a plastiform mask on loan to Wei's father from the antique shop in the square.

"You don't have to do this, son."

Wei put the mask on an looked at his father. "Yes. I do."

"We can still come up with another plan. Another idea. Someone else could be the decoy. We could get a droid."

The former Jedi shook his head. "No. Vader would know it was a fake. He mentioned he could sense me earlier, which means Vader himself knows the Force. He has to be able to feel me out if we want it to work."

Wei gripped his lightsaber. He hadn't held it in almost a year. It felt good, but it also felt wrong to be carrying it again. "I'll handle Vader and his troops. I know where they're hiding, and unless Vader has changed the plan behind our backs, they're arranged such that I'll only have to deal with a few of them at a time."

Wei picked up the durasteel rod that would replace the one he broke off the pump. "Just be sure that things are ready by the time we get to the End of the Line."



He vanished into the darkness.


Wei and Palara crested a small hill. The strong acrid smell of tar hit them, making Wei's eyes water.


"There it is. The Chu'unthor. The largest vessel the Jedi ever built. It once traveled across the galaxy, recruiting and training young Padawans to be Jedi."


Wei inclined his head towards the hulking wreck. "Let's go."

[Palara Iscandar]

Iscandar breathed deeply, and felt her eyes water as well.

The Chu'unthor rested within a swamp, and no vessel had ever seemed older to her.

Gethzerion, and two other Nightsisters followed the them down to the ship, while above Wei's ship could be heard approaching.

She hoped he was prepared for what was about to happen. She could feel the tension building in the Force.


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


The first sign the battling Witches and Nightsisters had of the third side in the abrupt war that had broken out on Dathomir was the volley of blaster bolts being shot into the melee. Several of them fell before they noticed.

"Search the facility for the Inquisitor. Exterminate all non Imperial personnel," the Commander ordered, overseeing the company's advance into the prison.

"Yes sir," answered his NCOs, who rushed off to commit their orders to action.

The tired Nightsisters and Witches made only one concerted effort to fight the Stormtroopers in the hall, before falling back into the prison fortress, and attempting to close the doors behind them.

Above, the Captain felt a sense of satisfaction welling up within him as the natives fled; it was justice for the horrors done to the other Stormtroopers and for taking the Inquisitor prisoner. It seemed fitting that they would be killed in a prison.

"Alert me when the situation changes," he ordered. His second in command saluted, and he strode to his room to get some sleep.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Have the ship land near us. Without my commlink I can't talk to the astromech, and I need to give it instructions."

Gethzerion waved her hand, and the Jedi starfighter landed. Wei approached the fighter and his eyebrows flew up in surprise. He took up a position close to the cockpit and half-dragged Palara into position next to him to crowd out Gethzerion's view of the ship's interior.

"I thought there was supposed to be some one with you?" Wei whispered.

The droid made a sort of aggressive blatting sound, and displayed a small taser-esque protrusion.

The former Jedi smiled. "That's the ticket. Ok, I need a spare comm, R4," Wei said.

The little droid whistled, and a thin rectangular storage compartment in the machine's dome-shaped head opened. A circular comm with a small screen poked out of the slot like a disc. From a second compartment came Wei's lightsaber.

Wei gathered them both and hid his lightsaber in his sleeve. Then he pressed the button so he could see text communications from the droid, and return text communications himself. His fingers flew across the comm's touchscreen.

Woman behind us in charge. Thinks I'm holding a secret about the big ship. Need u 2 fly ovr ship like ur scanning 4 stuff, then shoot @ her.

R4's response was not so hasty. I will do it. Be prepared to dodge on the second pass. Look for an aileron roll to mark the attack.

Wei's fingers again moved quickly. Thnx R4. Ur teh beast.

Beast?

"Auto-correct!" Wei hissed. Now hurry, before she gets any closer and sees you're flying solo!"

R4 whistled and took off into the sky.

"Now, Gethzerion, we will be scanning the ship for a pattern that appears only when the ship is scanned by certain ultra-sonic frequency. The sound waves will bounce back to the equipment onboard the Jedi starfighter. Then, the astromech will turn the data into an image. When it's overlaid on a map I scanned from the lightsaber's hilt, I should have the location of the power we seek."

Wei counted the passes. "Get ready," he whispered to Palara. "He's on his way back now. Look for the aileron roll."

[Palara Iscandar]

"Look for ze what?" she whispered back needlessly. The ship was just then performing the roll and fired at the old woman, who batted the shots away scornfully.

Never one to miss an opportunity, at least until she'd started combat with actual Jedi, she pulled the energy whip off her belt and activated it, and with one smooth movement and a snapping hum of contained plasma, the weapon decapitated one of the Clan Mother's guards.

She kept moving, twirling the deadly weapon around once and striking at Gethzerion herself. The surviving Nightsister moved to engage Wei, her own lightsaber hissing to life in an angry eruption of red.


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


"There's more of them!"

"Blast them!"

The E-11 carbines in the hands of the Stormtroopers sharply reported their fire, tearing through the robes and flesh of the natives.

"Sir, we've searched the prison, and have found no sign of the Inquisitor."

The Commander frowned and looked at his counterpart, the Inquisitorial Trooper Sergeant, who said nothing.

"There were two cells which have seen use recently," the Trooper in front of him supplied.

"She was here, then," the Commander said. The Inquisitorial Sergeant finally spoke up.

"We've captured some natives."

He turned and left, followed by the Commander. The Trooper giving his report turned back to the fighting and directed his men to split up and clear out the rooms in this corridor.

The Commander and Inquisitorial Trooper stopped in front of three kneeling black robed women, who glared up at them fiercely.

"Where is the Inquisitor?" the Inquisitorial Trooper asked as soon as they stopped.

They all glared. The Commander watched as the INQ trooper's carbine, at first settled on his shoulder, dropped to point directly into the face of them.

"I don't know who you are talking about," the woman said. The trooper pulled the trigger and turned to the other two.

"She must have been the Imperial the Clan Mother had captured," one said quickly, staring at the still smoking barrel of the weapon pointed at her. "She took both the Imperial and the other prisoner out of the hall, toward the swamps."

The Commander nodded and relayed orders to his men. The Inquisitorial Sergeant stunned the remaining two prisoners and gave his own orders to the other black armoured troopers.

"I will remain here and eradicate this fortress. I am sending two teams of five with you." the Commander said. The Inquisitorial Sergeant nodded, and turned away, leading his men out into the pale morning that had begun to dawn.

"Set charges throughout this building. I want it flat within one hour!" the Commander ordered. It felt good to do what he'd been trained to do.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei approached the emergency pump in the cover of night. Everything was quiet. Without the Force, Wei could only imagine what the Imperials were doing behind their positions. Or where Darth Vader lay in wait. He crept up on the pump, and activated his lightsaber for illumination.

He waited a moment or two for his senses to reach as far as they could. No one moved. No one stirred. The darkness of Vader made things cloudy. It seemed the Empire was content to allow him to effect his repairs to the pump. Wei set the bar in place and worked the handle until he could see the glisten of water on the ground.

But where was Vader?

Wei knew better than to think Vader was going to leave him alone. But he couldn't just keep standing there. Only one thing to do. The former Jedi stood, turned his back to the pump, and shut off his lightsaber.

That's when he heard it: the snap-hiss sound of another lightsaber. Wei looked up. Vader towered over him like a manifestation of the shadows that concealed him, save for the blood-red glow of the saber marking him out. Vader did not speak. He swung the lightsaber at Wei's head. Wei moved and re-activated his lightsaber.

Wei managed to block the Nightsister's attack just in time. He shoved the Sister away and dropped a massive hammerblow on the off-balance foe. The remaining guard fell to the ground in two pieces.

The Force Cripple lunged forward to take a stab at Gethzerion. She would be out of the way soon, and Wei could get off such a miserable, stinking planet.

[Palara Iscandar]

Gethzerion, beset by the two unlikely co-conspirators once more, found herself floundering with the addition of the Inquisitor's energy whip. She backed away, and with a scream of frustration, let loose a wave of the Force that surged out from her in all directions; Iscandar was picked up and thrown a few feet, her whip deactivated for safety.

Feeling that victory was finally near, she kipped back to her feet and activated the whip once more.

Wei was on the far side of the Clan Mother, who looked back and forth between them with a bright, sickly yellow gaze.

Around them, a group of Night Witches appeared, all looking pale and tired, but the women run past them without noticing. Blaster-fire could be heard in the distance, and Iscandar's determination firmed.

"Gethzerion!" she shouted over cries of Nightwitches and the sharp reports of the stormtroopers' blasters. "I am Inquisitor Iscandar. As ze represenative of ze Galactic Empire, I sentence you to death."

Gethzerion's face split into a wide, menacing and almost insane smile, and jumped the distance between them easily.

Iscandar felt as if she were watching these next few moments from above and behind herself, and time slowed. The old witch lunged, her lightsaber raised to kill; Wei, moving to catch up, his eyes locked on the woman with a fierce intensity; the Clan Mother's medallion bounced up and hovered just below her jaw; the Stormtroopers continued their bloody work around them. She flicked her wrist back and then forward.

Time sped up, and the energy whip snapped forward and through Gethzerion's chest. The witch landed, and Iscandar spun, bringing the whip around to slice the old woman in half. Gethzerion's arms dropped, and she looked at the Inquisitor hatefully.

Before anything could be said, the twilek's whip carved through Gethzerion, splitting her horizontally; her wrists fell and hit the ground before the rest of the pieces of her body. Iscandar stared at the dead woman intently for a moment before deactivating her weapon and turning to greet the Inquisitorial Sergeant that was marching forward to meet her.

"Inquisitor," he saluted. She nodded, and they both turned to Wei.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei saw the trooper and inquisitor turn towards him.

"R4! Get ready to pick me up! I need to be in the air as soon as possible!"

He rushed towards the Chu'unthor's wreckage and towards his ship which was still flying over. He ran away from the Inquisitor and her lightwhip.

Wei bolted around Vader and took off down the only open path he had. Snipers and stormtroopers opened fire, turning the street into a deadly lightshow with the former Jedi at its center. He deflected the blasterfire as best he could. Luckily his Force enhanced speed was still good enough to make most of the shots miss.

Painful, tedious minutes passed. Then he cleared the square and the residences and was on the open road, heading towards P'u Wu Wei's lumberyard. Wei knew speeders and TIE Fighters would be waiting to cut him off. He had to manage. He had to get to that yard.

One screaming TIE shot at him from the left. Wei jumped clear before the lasers hit where he was standing. A speeder zoomed in front of him. As Wei slid underneath he could feel the repulsors pushing him into the ground and threatening to crush his ribs. An eternal second later, and he was back on his feet. The mask was making it hard to breathe. Combined with the unwise decision to eat repulsor wash, Wei was feeling a stitch in his side much sooner than he needed.

He risked a look over his shoulder. Vader was coming. He must have had a speeder bike of his own parked somewhere. The red blade pointed towards him like a compass point and approached at great speed.

Wei looked ahead. The lumber yard's fence and gate stood tall before him. "Sorry, Dad," he muttered to himself and cut the gate's lock. Wei put his shoulder to the gates and they swung open freely. He could see his goal right in the middle of the yard. A shuttle with its boarding ramp and cargo ramp down, completely ready to go. Wei dove into the shuttle, deactivated his saber and tossed it under the pilot's chair, and hit the autopilot button. Then a much slower, much less aware Wei tore off his mask and jumped out of the cargo as it started to close.

Wei ran off into the dark towards a stack of lumber to hide until everything was over. He ducked into cover in time to hear the TIE fly by and fire on the shuttle. He hear the explosion and see the shadows cast by the fireball.

Insurance would cover the damages to the property and replace the ship. Now he just had to be convincing enough to set Vader off the trail forever.

Wei jumped onto the starfighter. "Hover around. Stay out of range of the guns and that lightwhip while I do something important!"

Wei knew this was his only opportunity. He was no good at things like this, but it was his only chance.

The Force Cripple took a big breath and pulled with his hands. The medallion around the Clan Mother's corpse jerked around in the dirt. Wei let his breath out, took another, and pulled again. The medallion skittered a couple inches towards him.

Wei could feel the desperation rising in him. Another breath, another pulling motion--this time with greater energy and intensity. The medallion lifted off the ground and strained to move towards the former Jedi.

R4 obligingly tilted the ship so that the shields would absorb the blasterfire and make Wei a harder target.

"Almost there!"

Wei pulled again, and the thin chain snapped.

"One more!"

Wei took a big breath, imagined the medallion flying towards him and into the palm of his hand, and PULLED. Wei smiled to see the thing flying through the air towards him--

[Vince]

Wrong Account! Gar!

[Palara Iscandar]

-- And turn suddenly, arcing away from him to land in the Inquisitor's outstretched hand.

She looked at it for a moment before returning her gaze to Wei once more. The Inquisitorial Sergeant raised his blaster, but his finger did not lay on the trigger just yet.


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


"Sir, the rest of the prisoners have been placed within the facility."

The Stormtrooper Commander nodded, and gestured for the Stormtroopers to follow him.

"Stand clear!"

They gave the structure plenty of space, almost a third of a kilometer, before they stopped and turned back to the black fortress.

"Blow it," the Commander ordered.

The demolition started as a low rumble, slow growing in power and noise until the structure exploded, sending large pieces of it sailing up into the air and down, into the surrounding landscape. The rumbling and noise just as slowly receded as the structure crumbled in on itself, seeming to sink into the very earth on which it stood.



"Mission accomplished sir," the Commander reported.

Make your way to the Inquisitor's position. Do not return without her, Commander.

"Yes sir," the Commander responded. The captain of the Arbiter closed the comm connection, and the Commander gestured again. "Move out."

The Stormtroopers settled into their formation and marched towards the beacon which indicated the position of the Inquisitorial commander.

[Wei Wu Wei]

It was all over. Vader at the front gate.

"It's all over, sir."

Vader nodded. "The Jedi tried to escape in that shuttle as predicted."

"We gave him little choice. He's molecules now."

Vader nodded and looked out at the salvage. "Indeed. You shall be compensated for the shuttle and its cargo."

Wei bowed. "Thank you, Lord Vader."

Vader did not respond. It seemed something had caught his eye. Wei followed the direction of the Dark Lord's gaze. A metal cylinder rolled out of a small bit of the burning wreckage. The masked Sith reached out and it snapped into his palm with a smack.

"The Jedi's lightsaber."

Wei's jaw dropped. It had survived! But it was in Vader's hands. How could he get it back?

Wei bit back a curse. "Let me in, R4. It's time to go."

The astromech opened the cockpit for its master.

Why not take it now? There's only her and one other.

"It's only her and that trooper for now. But where there's one, there's many and even more after that. We need to move on while we can. There's still one left, if the starmap is right. Besides, we're bound to run into the Inquisitor a few more times. We'll have a better opportunity to get it back later."

"Sir?" Wei said, trying to keep his voice calm. "Would you permit us to keep that lightsaber on display in the town hall?"

Vader's head swiveled towards the former Jedi. "Why?" The question was almost a roar.

"Well," Wei started, "I just thought it might be nice to have as a reminder of this day when our small town took such a large part in keeping the safety and security of the Empire. It's not everyday average citizens like us get to work alongside people with your power and prestige. It would give us something to be proud of and boast about."

"Very well. The lightsaber will be kept at the military base until a proper display case can be developed." Vader handed the lightsaber over to an officer who had just arrived. "Do not make me regret this."

Wei shook his head. "I wouldn't dare dream of it, Sir. No one can outrun the Empire's justice."

Vader seemed pleased, and left without the slightest goodbye.

Wei arranged for the display to be built by his own company. It made it easier to copy the key to open the display. A few more months of careful work, and Wei had a passable plasteel fake. One late night, Wei stopped in at City Hall to clean the display (a job he insisted only a woodworking professional could accomplish), and switched his lightsaber for the fake.

Afterwards, he buried it in the back yard under a flower bush. Better there than on display.

"Don't worry, R4. We'll get it back. We will."