Coruscant: The End of the Line.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei Wu Wei stared out at the silhouettes of countless cruisers, frigates, and destroyers from where his ship sat on a small bit of space debris some distance away. The huge ships seemed small. From his perspective, they looked like a clutter of rocks, or other debris. But they were huge, not to mention deadly. The cockpit filled with the clear tone of a meditation bowl, giving the former Jedi access to the Force. His mind stretched across the black, sensing the planet. Sensing the Dark. It rolled off of Coruscant in waves. He had been meditating on the Force for at least a day, settling into the Vapaad technique bit by bit to manage all of the energy Wei was connecting to and cycling back. Meanwhile, R4 was unpacking the data from the Ord Mantell Imperial Base. When the droid was finished, it would contact Wei when it was ready to try passing through the planetary security. Until then, Wei would continue to set his mind in the state of Vapaad.

This was it. The end of the line. There would be no more running away. Now, he was running towards the people who wanted to kill him. Who had killed his father. Who had killed his wife. He was going to find out what they died for. Even if he died in the process. Then he remembered.

"There is no death. There is the Force."

R4 pinged. It was time. Wei engaged the thrusters. "All right, R4. Transmit the codes when we get in range. As long as no one actually looks out a window, we should be fine."

[Rossos Atrapes]

"Terminate Prisoner 1110-J-67P," he said, ignoring Iscandar for the moment as he went about his business administrating the most secret of secret organizations within the Empire; even with it's increased notoriety with its support of the Empress and role in her seizing power, the Imperial Inquisition was still by and large undisturbed and operated with impunity. He honestly felt the most at ease when doing this sort of work. Here, he was actively contributing to the Empire, not advancing some personal project or scheme or foiling some other's project or scheme. "Comatose due to invasive interrogation. No further use for him."

"Inquisitor," Iscandar said. Atrapes was honestly somewhat surprised she'd spoken up. Normally she'd wait for him to acknowledge her. He looked up from his desk and fixed her with a look.

"What is it, Inquisitor Iscandar," he asked.

"I've looked into the records of the Jedi," that my clearance allowed me to see, she didn't add, "And I've found something."

Wei Wu Wei's face was displayed, at the tender age of four, from the holoprojector sitting on his desk.

"I'm curious as to why you'd not set me out to chase Wei once more, Inquisitor."

"Oh. That would be a waste of time, Iscandar. He's coming to us."

"How do you know?"

Atrapes began sifting through the myriad reports that littered his desk screen.

"Because I do, Iscandar. Keep me informed. I will deal with Wei when the time comes."

[Wei Wu Wei]

The cover (what little cover there could be) was that Wei was a down-and-out guy flying a dilapidated antique starfighter to make a quick handful of credits. People got paid to move transports for people in the past. Hopefully no one would question why a priceless artifact would be flown on its own, rather than crated and shipped in a large cargo carrier. That was going to be the initial message transmitted with the codes. It would be up to R4 to handle most negotiations and any computer inquiries.

In the meantime, Wei would continue his Vapaad, and simply trust the Force to alert him when the shields needed to go up and the weapons had to go live.

[Rossos Atrapes]

"There," he said. "That one."

A line of aurebesh was highlighted and pulled into the forefront of the display.

"Wei Wu Wei," Atrapes murmured, as the model of the ship and the information sent by its codes cycled past. "It is about time we meet."

Iscandar was watching the vidscreens intensely.

"Inquisitor Iscandar," Atrapes said, calling her attention from Wei's ship's condition. "Wei is here for a reason. We do not know exactly what it is. But if we capture him before it is time, we may never know. We must know where he lands, when he lands, and track him his entire journey. Shutting down the planet is not feasible. Therefore, we will block his return to his ship, and shut down the starports closest to his position at all times."

Atrapes called his lightsaber into his hand.

"You shall push him. Keep him focused on you, and he will not notice our net drawing about him. Understood?"

"Yes, Inquisitor Atrapes," Iscandar replied. She willed herself to stay still and not grab hold of her light whip and lightsaber hilts just yet. There would be time enough for that later.

"Good. Go. We will direct you from here, and I will be along to facilitate his capture."

Iscandar bowed and left the room, and not long after that, Atrapes felt her presence diminish as she left the Citadel.

"A capture," he said, looking at the hologram of Wei's ship entering the atmosphere, "that has been a long time coming."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei took a breath. Vapaad sheathed his mind in light as the processed the dark power that threatened to overwhelm him.

This is the place. Where they live. They took your Order. They took your family.

The former Jedi breathed deeply through his nose, then out through his mouth. He felt the bitter pain. Felt the hatred. Felt the despair. Then, with one more breath, let it go. Cycled back to the Empire, insulated in light.

"There is no emotion: there is peace."

R4 tooted that they were in the clear as the starfighter dipped below the clouds and merged with the appropriate traffic lane. The little droid's next query flitted across the screen in blocky text: Where are we landing?

Wei took a breath, checked the sensors, and then the surroundings. Coruscant had changed only a little since he was last there. He supposed it took longer to truly change the face of a planet that was all city.

"We're landing where we can get into the Jedi Temple. What's left of it. I remember the place because it's how I escaped."

Wei found the junctions that allowed him to descend through the levels of Coruscant, down deep into the regions known as The Works. Ancient machinery there powered all of Coruscant--providing electricity, heat, water. The mysterious, legendary Gree were said to be responsible for what lay at the foundations of Coruscant. Not many people understood The Works, so only those that had the training went down there. Even the Jedi didn't bother to go. But Wei knew. The Force guided him down below to a dilapidated landing pad for work skiffs.

R4 gave a low moan. It was rather dark down there. The droid's sensors picked up a great deal of heat. The other scans came back with unsuable data--everything was too cramped. The droid didn't notice the probe droid descending through the shadows, using the pipes and conduits to hide. Wei noticed. The hum from the ship still reached his ears. He remained connected to the Force, and therefore, he was connected to everything. Wei chose not to deal with the droid. Let it follow as long as it dared. The Force sought balance that day. Wei would be its ally, and achieve that balance by gaining balance in himself. Nothing else mattered.

The Force Cripple opened the cockpit, climbed out of the ship, and thumbed his lightsaber on. "We won't be able to communicate for some time, R4. But, if you think you're going to be captured by Imperials, I want a full wipe of the ship's memory, and yours as well."

Regret pierced Wei's heart a moment when he gave the order. He had grown to love the little droid during their adventure. But that too washed out in Vapaad. There is no passion: there is serenity.

Calm, empty, Wei allowed the Force to direct his path. It was tricky, but he found his way along the aqueducts, cables, and catwalks until at last he reached the service entrance for the former temple's utility hookups. The former Jedi cut into the door until the thing fell away.

Wei Wu Wei entered the dark ruins of the ancient temple, his path lit only by the sea-green glow of his lightsaber.

[Palara Iscandar]

Leaving the Citadel was like breathing again. Atrapes had been a crushing force since her last attempt at catching Wei.

"'E 'as entered some ruins deep wizzin ze Undercity," Iscandar reported to Atrapes.

"You have your orders. I will be coming. First will be removing his method of escape."

Iscandar heard the connection shut down, and centred herself before leaping from her perch atop a large pipe to the landing pad.

"'Is ship is 'ere also," she spoke, and continued on. The astromech's frightened warbling went ignored as the twi'lek followed Wei's path into the darkness, her own saber unlit.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei walked briskly in the sublevels of the former Temple. Close as they were to the surface, the Force was beckoning him further down. Most citizens of the city-planet could only imagine the lower levels of the city in the most abstract way: ask them to imagine if there was anything underneath the surface of the planet, and they might laugh in your face. Under the surface? Who cares?

Wei did. With the Vapaad technique keeping his mind clear with Jedi training while shunting the Dark Side through him, he could feel the whole building. Deep beneath was something that couldn't quite be reached with a turbolift. A channel down into the depths that held one thing a Jedi loved and a Sith feared: emptiness. The former Jedi rushed towards it, compelled by the inevitable will of the Force.

There! A place almost like a vent, or overlarge conduit. Enough for a person--maybe two--to enter. Wei stepped out over the space, and the Force took care of the rest. Channeled through his intent, he descended safely downward until he stood before a door with no hinges, buttons, levers, or knobs. Only an indentation meant for the completed crest he kept in his pocket.

[Palara Iscandar]

Iscandar followed him to the vent and looked down.

"Follow him," Atrapes' voice thrummed through her earpiece. "But do not engage. I will be there shortly."

She stepped into the vent and fell, and slowed her descent with several kicks off the walls until she stood on a platform in front of a door. Wei stood in front of it, and Inquisitor Iscandar caught her breath while Wei held up the medallion she had helped him complete.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei pressed the emblem into the recess. The whole room trembled as ancient mechanisms groaned their reluctance to move after sleeping all those many years. Part of the wall sank into the floor until it revealed a space about the size of a small closet with a single stone shelf. Resting on that shelf, untouched by time, sat a small square box.

"So." Wei's voice remained calm, but a spike of grief made him shut his eyes. The charred, faceless head of his father sprung up at him from deep within his mind, contrasted with the pale, ghostly, fearful face of his wife. The images made him angry, threatened to throw him off his delicate balance. The former Jedi grit his teeth.

No. Not now. Not ever. No more despair. No more rage. No more booze to put out that angry fire with regret and shame.

He was a Jedi!

"There is no emotion," he ground out through his clenched teeth. Wei took a big breath. Held it. Imagined his feelings encased in a breath like a bubble. He released his breath and his anger. "There is peace."

Vapaad in tact, the Force Cripple took the box in his free hand. It pulsed. It glowed. There was no doubt. As the box responded to the light within him, he knew. "There is no ignorance." He shut his eyes, directed the Force to be the key and unlock the prize. "There is knowledge." The holocron opened, as Wei opened his eyes.



Empty.



It was empty! No ancient master appeared in spectral image to greet him. No voice came from deep within to share wisdom or knowledge. It. Was. Empty.


He could hardly believe it! His father risked his life, Wei's family torn apart, an intergalactic chase ending in the heart of the entity hell-bent on destroying him. All for nothing. Wei stared at that ancient device, open, but empty, and in spite of everything, managed a smile.

"There is no passion. There is serenity."

This journey brought him to the one thing he must have needed most. A revelation that Wei had been approaching for a long, long time. Emptiness of emotion, empty of ignorance, empty of attachment, Wei could hold so much of the Force within him. Why hadn't he realized it sooner? The darkness of an entire planet coursed through him, but did not touch him. The Force--more specifically, the Light--filled him so the Dark would not bring him harm. Even now, through Vapaad, Wei was using the Dark against itself. A tool for the Light.

"There is no chaos. There is harmony."

And then he laughed. Clear, strong, laughter of a man at last at peace. "There is no death," he said as he turned. He looked at Palara. Through Palara. Could see the Light within her against the backdrop of darkness that surrounded both of them. "There is the Force."

[Palara Iscandar]

"Wei, what are you...?" she breathed, and noticed that she could see her breath. She looked up, as if through the ceiling and the untold number of levels they had climbed through she could see the cause. The cold was intensifying, but she was aware that the change wasn't a natural phenomenon. It was a Force technique.

A sudden deep boom reverberated through the complex, and the sound of booted feet in the far distance echoed. Her expression turned severe.

"If you zink ze Jedi Code can save you now..." she said, before shaking her head. "'E 'as come for you, Wei."

She stepped back, and turned.

"You should flee now, while to you zere ees no death. For me, Death steell eez. If you do not run, I will mourn when 'e kills you."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei closed the holocron, then put it away in a pocket. There was nothing more to say. Instead, as he passed Palara, he simply placed a hand on her shoulder. Standing in the shaft, he looked up towards the Darkness waiting for him above. He connected to it, creating a focus for all the energy. Now that planet's worth of Darkness became bound up in the "superconducting loop" that would give the Force Cripple an edge--as long as he could maintain his protection of Light.

The former Jedi Knight crouched low, felt the Force in his muscles, then gave a mighty leap. He landed lightly on his feet on the next level, only to come face to face with Rossos Atrapes and a squad of black-clad stormtroopers. Immediately, Wei crouched into the low, narrow stance of Soresu.

His lightsaber poised, his body alert, but not tense, Wei stood ready.

[Rossos Atrapes]

"By the authority vested in me by the Galactic Empire," Atrapes said, stepping forward, "I order you to drop your weapon and submit."

Iscandar jumped up onto level immediately behind Wei, only to stop, glancing up at Atrapes, who kept his eyes firmly on Wei. The Inquisitorial Troopers stepped forward, flanking the Inquisitor and seeming to be an extension of his shadow.

"You will save many lives if you surrender, Jedi," he said, the Force suffusing his voice and thrumming through the air into Wei's head. Iscandar nearly found herself whispering to the Jedi in agreement before realizing that Atrapes was using a Force technique, quite the same as the one Gethzerion had used on him on Dathomir; only the difference between the old Dark Lady and this unassuming Inquisitor was that his voice was much more imbued, not with power, but Will. Where the old Sith had filled her voice with power to convince Wei, Atrapes' voice carried such a calm note, sounded so reasonable...

The area grew colder. Just was Wei was emptying himself, she could tell her mentor was also doing the same thing, if in a completely different manner, and to a completely different effect.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei could feel Atrapes's will. Cold, hard. Like durasteel. His power touched Wei, but Wei would not be moved. His Vapaad received that power, and returned it to him. "The Force seeks Balance. I am its agent and ally, and I will see that Balance restored. Do what you will, but I will not turn from this path. Now choose."

[Rossos Atrapes]

"You have chosen to resist," the Inquisitor answered, and raised one gloved hand. The Inquisition Troopers raised their blasters and took aim, and fired.

[Wei Wu Wei]

The Force told Wei all he needed to know. As the first trooper fired a microsecond before his fellows, Wei thrust his saber forward to meet the laser bolt tip to tip. The deadly light bounced right back the way it came, knocking the trooper out. At the end of the thrust, the Jedi stepped forward, bringing his weapon in close.

Laser fire raced towards him by the scores. Wei knocked them away in handfuls with wide-ranging blocks originating from his wrists or elbows. His blade seemed to be a a sea-green hemisphere--an impenetrable shield. He stepped forward with each movement, advancing like the tide. Unstoppable. Inevitable.

Wei had no time to notice, much less admire, the level of training his elite adversaries received. They did not flinch or retreat, even as he closed with them and disabled their firearms. They did not freeze or flee when Wei cut through their comrades. Only when it became too dangerous to continue firing, and the troopers ceased to shoot at him did the Force Cripple change tactics.

He brought his saber high, near his ear, then leaped over the troopers in a somersaulting locomotive jump towards Atrapes. He turned end over as he hurtled through the air with the intent to crash down on the Inquisitor's head.

[Rossos Atrapes]

Inquisitor Atrapes made no movement as Wei advanced; he watched impassively as the elite Inquisitional Troopers were incapacitated or killed. Normally they would move and spread out, making it difficult for any Jedi to fight one without presenting a target to the rest, but there was no room to manoeuvre or run.

He watched without twitching as Wei jumped and flipped up, aiming to come down on Atrapes' head, bowling him over and perhaps ending his threat right then and there.

Inquisitor Atrapes stepped to the side, and Wei landed directly beside him; Atrapes raised one hand open and released a Force push into Wei's chest in one fluid motion.

[Wei Wu Wei]

The impact of the push knocked some of the air from Wei's lungs. He flew backwards towards a wall, hit it with a thud. Wei caught his footing, took a deep breath, then sprung forward in a low somersault. Empowered by the Force through Vapaad, narrowed the space between him and his adversary. The Force Cripple emerged from the maneuver with a blistering thrust, allowing the speed of his attack to finish closing the distance.

[Rossos Atrapes]

Only the final speed of the attack forced Atrapes to move, and his lightsaber flared red as he flicked his wrist and parried Wei's attack to the side. He turned to keep facing way, and flourished his saber.

"Come now Wei," Atrapes said, his voice filling the space they were fighting in. "I was told you were at least talented with a lightsaber."

Wei's face was bathed in light from his lightsaber, in clear contrast to Atrapes' face, which was still mostly hidden by darkness.

The Inquisitor raised one hand, and lightning sparked from his fingertips to cross the distance between them in a heartbeat.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei caught the lightning on the blade of his saber. Dark energy surged around the electricity, and Wei pulled it into the loop. He drew back, and then with a sharp flick of his wrists, chopped down towards his foe's head. The Force Lightning crackled as it bent towards Atrapes. The Force Cripple bore down on it, putting the Inquisitor's borrowed power into the feat. If he could just angle the saber properly, the lightning would hurt its creator instead.

[Rossos Atrapes]

The reflected electricity merely coursed over the Inquisitor, as if it weren't even there, and even more curiously, it seemed to sink into him after a moment.

Atrapes' eyes narrowed, and his outstretched hand turned into a fist; the room around them shook as pieces big and small tore themselves from their places to hover in the air around the both of them. Atrapes lowered his saber and piece after piece was shot at Wei from multiple angles, a piece of ducting from above, some of the flooring from his left, and even a dead Trooper's body from his right were among the rubble Atrapes threw at the Jedi with the Force.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei retreated with a back-roll to avoid the ducting. He shifted his grip on his saber to give him better control while he performed the acrobatic Ataru maneuvers. He somersaulted over the debris, tumbled under the corpse, and avoided the last few converging pieces with a moonsault over Atrapes' head. Wei cut at his adversary's shoulder when he passed, landed low, and slashed at his legs.

[Rossos Atrapes]

Atrapes' lightsaber flashed and hummed violently in the air as he parried the Jedi's attack while he moonsaulted, still mostly unmoved and impassive in the face of Wei's skill and ability. His eyes did not seem to reflect any light back in the glare of the lightsabers.

The area grew colder even as the Inquisitor stepped back to avoid the slash at his legs, and swiped up with his lightsaber at Wei's head. A thrumming, like a distant drum or a heartbeat that pulsed in reality itself manifested; Atrapes lifted his saber in front of him.

The Troopers Wei had killed earlier that were still mostly intact rose to their feet again, their movements jerky, like they were puppets being pulled on taut strings. Their blasters rose again, spitting angry red bolts of energized plasma at the embattled Jedi.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei planted his feet. The blaster bolts turned away. One bolt in each volley went directly back to its source. Some bolts hit the puppet troopers, but the burning corpses still fired. Weapons slagged one after another until all that remained were useless molten lumps in the dead hands of Atrapes' marionettes.

The things could still be flung at him. Atrapes stood across the room, a great gaping black hole in the Force. An intuition suggested the leader of the Inquisitors would not break concentration easily. But Wei knew this game. The Force opened his recent memories. This man was predator all over. If he wanted to chase prey, Wei would give him prey to chase. No matter where he went, this man would follow.

For every turbolift shaft there is an emergency exit. A mundane ladder or set of stairs. Wei could gain high ground. Work his way up. Or...

The Jedi Knight closed up the distance, stabbing a heckling rhythm at his adversary's target zones. Wei had moved around a lot so far, but apart from a few steps, Atrapes hadn't moved at all. He was still relatively close to the turbolift he used to transport himself and his retinue into the lower areas. He pressed his attack, and his opponent in the direction of that lift. Too much debris and bodies here. Too much room to move.

It was dangerous no mater what he did or where he fought. So he'd fight in the only space that narrowed the danger down into a point he could block, parry, and riposte.

[Rossos Atrapes]

Atrapes fell back before Wei's furious assault, into the darkened interior of the turbolift. Their lightsabers spat and sang a frenetic song of conflict, clashing like cymbals in a discordant symphony.

He could feel Wei's flash of satisfaction at a moment of triumph in pushing the Inquisitor into such close quarters; Atrapes merely sank deeper into the Force and assumed the Duellist's Form, standing in profile to face Wei. The Force thrummed in him, vibrating ever more powerfully in an addictive rush of energy and power: he focused himself not on the power itself but funnelling it into action against his foe before him, making himself faster, keener, and ever more an abyss of nothing. The temperature in the turbolift fell drastically, such that the moisture in the air began to crystallise.

It was snowing.

Angry red gouges were scored into the lift as it rose higher and faster, their blades swinging in continual motion, each seeking to end the threat the other posed.

Atrapes said nothing, merely pushing himself to match and then, one brief moment after another, exceeding Wei's own assault. A thrust and parry turned into a slide down Wei's blade to the guard. Wei pivoted his wrist, attempting to disarm him. Atrapes pulled his blade back, and sidestepped the counter by an inch, thrusting again and swiping low to force Wei to keep moving at his pace, keeping his attacks varied and his strikes as unpredictable as possible in such a confined space, waiting for that opportune moment.

It came: Atrapes suddenly locked his saber with Wei's, using the full force of his strength, along with that the Force granted him to bring the battle to an abrupt halt with the turbolift's door directly behind his enemy, just as the turbolift stopped violently with a screech of tearing metal.

Atrapes waved one hand just as violently, tearing open the turbolift door and with a splayed left hand and his lightsaber-occupied right, let the coiled power of the Force he had been feeding off of in a concentrated burst directly into the Jedi.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei stayed empty so the Force could fill him. He worked on instinct. When the Force Push came, Wei relaxed. It hit him square in the chest and blew him backwards. The air rushed out of his lungs and he flew back like rag doll pulled by a string in his back. He sailed out into the upper level of the former Jedi Temple. The Force made him aware of the space. It told him where to put his feet. The Force Cripple pulled in a big breath, and the Force entered with it, traveled down into his legs. When he kicked off, Wei was a meteor. The attack bashed on Atrapes saber.

He knew the forms. Form II was good for quick footwork, but the flicking wrist-based parries were no match for Djem-So. The Jedi Knight planted his feet and swung hard, feeling the power corkscrew back up from his toes, through his torso, and into his arms. The Falling Avalanche technique, the famous opening strike of Form V's melee component, opened the way for more crashing attacks, each one so like the man-sized boulders that were its namesake. Wei's offensive was a force of nature. Wei kept his attention locked on his opponent to see if he was the type to try to ride the wave, or just get out of the way.

[Rossos Atrapes]

Atrapes had barely managed to step out of the lift before Wei was upon him.

Again, as he strode implacably to continue the fight, there was a swelling, like the sound of a chorus darkly chanting in the souls of the two men fighting, and Atrapes extended his hand, palm down; the stone he stood one cracked and dropped a foot.

With his new position, it was a simple parry to push Wei to the side. Yet even then the strength behind Wei's attack was undeniable: when their lightsabers clashed, the stone screeched and groaned, and Atrapes and the small section of rock he had displaced fell into the darkness below them.

There was a physical silence, but the chanting of the Dark grew even more deafening.

[Palara Iscandar]

Across the remains of the Temple, Palara skidded to a stop at the edge of the upper level staircase she'd found. She could see the glow of Wei's lightsaber in the distance, but there was no red blade signifying Atrapes.

She could hear and feel the Dark swelling in the vast empty room, making the shadows darker; the air froze in her lungs.

"Wei!" she shouted. "Run! Run, damn you!"

And everywhere, red glowing lights, like eyes, gleamed into being, floating in the darkness or hanging next to the barely visible parts of the structure still standing.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei only just heard Palara. "Not yet," He thought. The Force touched his mind. Assuring him that everything would be fine if he did the one thing he hadn't done yet: add his own Darkness to the fight. Wei Wu Wei dug up the pain of loss that froze his guts and made him look for a strong drink that burned like fire. He dug up the anger as Chariss' scorched corpse flicked across his mind's eye.

Make it righteous. Make it more than meager vengeance. Let it flow through the Light, to be an instrument of Balance.


The long, messy hair stood on end as the power coursed through him. Wei would try one last thing: Form VI. Wei hadn't given her style a name. Chariss' fighting style. It was the Form VI he developed on Geonosis, but calling it The Way of the Rancor didn't fit. "The Way of the Lily, Form VI: Chariss."

He dashed forward with an artful thrust aimed at Atrapes' gut.

[Rossos Atrapes]

Atrapes seemed to be no match for the newer style, but even so, he managed to somehow match Wei's tempo, even going so far as only using his lightsaber for attack, and dodging all of Wei's strikes outright. A quick pivot, a duck that turned into a cartwheel, three quick swipes. Even as he was being pushed back he seemed to be mocking the former Jedi.

Finally, the end came. Wei's lightsaber flashed; Atrapes could not block or dodge the blade which skewered him.

Yet it all seemed wrong.

There was no flash of pain in the Force, or sound or reaction from the Inquisitor to the deathblow.

"I am disappointed, Wei," the Inquisitor said, before dissipating into black shadow, a spider-droid (http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/robotsupremacy/images/0/08/Squiddy.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120512111003) rushing through the inky darkness to attack in this moment of weakness.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei scowled as Atrapes disappeared, then lopped off two of the spider droid's arms as it reached for him.

It was killing him inside to let the man escape--he had to pay!

No. He doesn't. There is no Passion; there is Serenity.

The Light that held back his own Darkness glowed brighter at the sound of the voice in his head.

Personal isn't the same as important. Wei finished dispatching the spider droid and hit his comm. The tracking signal from it pinged the starfighter, still in the sub-levels of Coruscant's infrastructure. R4 noticed, and responded by turning the ship vertical and leaving a huge scorch mark on the landing pad. The recovered Jedi stayed alert for more droids and the Force opened his memories and lead him to an area outside the building where he could meet R4.

[Rossos Atrapes]

As feared, the first droid was only the first of many. Four more floated into view, their glowing red ocular sensors gleaming in the darkness, before more light was introduced in the glaring flashes of blaster fire.

Atrapes appeared, the darkness that seemed to eat light dissipating like mist around him.

"Surrender, Wei," he said.

And in the darkness of the old Jedi Temple ruins, dozens of red flashes, as lightsabers activated.

Reinforcements had arrived.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei maintained a defensive posture and checked for his exit. He could take them. There was no way they could all come at him at once, even if they projected debris or used lightning. At some point they'd all get in each other's way.

Not today. More for you to do, there is.

Wei could sense R4 and the spacecraft coming closer. It would hurt, but he could get out through the window and land on the ship as it came by. He stood by the window and emptied himself of all desire. He let go his goals. He let go his pain. He let go his hard-won fought for his old identity. He let the Force come in, and it did in a sudden rush. The power of the Force filled his body and mind, until he felt he could contain no more power.

So he didn't.

He let that go, too.

Wei flicked his wrists, making the tip of his lightsaber snap forward and down. The Force rushed forward, as though it was floodwaters released from a mighty dam. It flowed, and kept flowing, losing nothing in power or magnitude as the Jedi gave himself as a conduit for it to flow.

Then it was time. The saber snapped back, speared the window. The transparisteel warped, then blew out into the city. Wei jumped into the whipping wind, landing on the starfighter amid shards that bit into his limbs and his back. The canopy opened, and Wei climbed in. The starfighter turned towards the edge of the atmosphere and rocketed off toward space.