Silverlight Rising Part I: ForceFall
Chapter Six: Fleeting Light
Fear is an affective and volatile weapon, the Sith have always understood the power of it and have used it for centuries against enemies and allies alike. Fear, is the mind killer…the dark nothingness of doubt and uncertainty. It’s infectious, creeping in to the recesses of your mind and spreading like a degenerate rot. I can feel the fear of every person on the Cardinal Phoenix flowing through the ship like a massive antenna as we grow closer to Coruscant.
The uncomfortable ache in the back of my head was starting to dull, either because things were getting better or I was getting use to the feeling…disconcerting, to say the least, if it’s the latter. Tome frowns under the weight of the sensation. Even the less sensitive can’t deny the feeling that something terrible is happening. Mara places her hand on Tome’s shoulder and gives him a confident nod before walking out of the room and locking the door behind her.
Tome leans against the wall and glares at me, his mood was no different than ever. The overwhelming sense of dread continued to grow like a pit in my lower gut as we approached Coruscant. Everyone knew that I was right but no one was willing to admit it.
“Wipe that smile off your face, Sith!” Tome’s caustic tone left me in a foul mood.
“You should learn your place, Padawan.” I retorted in a low voice. “You forget who you address.” Tome grabs his lightsaber hilt from beneath his robe and dangles it by his side. “What is that?” I start with a laugh. “Are…Are you really trying to intimidate me, Tome?”
Tome’s face twists into a frustrated grimace. “Shut up!” he demands with a growl.
I let out another laugh. “Drop the attitude, boy!”
Tome launches off the wall and punches me. This is the second time he’s punched me…and there will not be a third.
I sneer at him as he returns to the wall with a grin on his face, he really feels like he isn’t in danger. I’ve dealt with plenty of his kind before, over confident and completely idiotic. It’s obvious that his single-minded tendencies come from the fact that he is a young Zabrak striving to prove himself, understandable but foolish nonetheless.
“That’s better.” He says, “Maybe now you’ll watch your mouth.”
I study him for a little bit thinking about what to say next. He’d make a phenomenal apprentice as a Sith, I can sense the anger in him, something I bet the Jedi were trying to force him to control. His eyes are dark green and did well to hide his insecurities. His reddish brown complexion was free of any markings or tattoos; he has yet to complete the Rite of Passage that is so essential to culture of his people. Judging from all this and the small set of horns that were starting to emerge from his head he was just reaching mature age. However that didn’t detract from his powerful build, he definitely exemplifies raw brute force. He fit well as a Jedi Guardian, but it didn’t lessen his foolishness.
The stinging sensation in the back of my head intensifies; we have to be getting close to leaving hyperspace. I lick the blood on my lip where Tome’s second punch reopened the wound from before and flash him another sarcastic grin. “Tell me what you know about my exploits, Tome”
He opens his mouth, but hesitates for a second. “You’re a killer.” He states. “Wanted for the assassination of senators and high ranking members of the Republic Fleet and Jedi order.” He did little to hide his disdain for me. “They say you’ve never had a mark that got away.”
“They were right.” Over the course of the last four years I’ve assassinated over twenty republic and Jedi dignitaries and high ranking military members. My feats alone have helped the Sith win battles and conquer planets all over the galaxy. But, it weighs heavily on me… it was more or less my actions that forced the Republic and Jedi to do the unthinkable and destroy Korriban in an attempt to break the will of the Sith. I stare at Tome. “And how many Sith have you killed?”
For the first time I can see through Tome’s confident front, he was scared out of his mind. “That doesn’t matter.” He stammers.
“Oh but it does, see there’s nothing quite like killing someone. You might be willing to commit the act but to actually do it is a whole different story.”
“What’s your point?” Tome asks in a low voice.
“My point is you change when kill and even more when you kill a lot. It gets easier and easier and before long you find yourself not even bothered by the act itself. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?” I feel my lips creep into a grin.
“Why are you telling me this” Tomes voice boasts more anxiety then he probably wanted to show.
“Because, I want you to fully understand the consequences of your actions, Tome. You are not as safe as you think and I’m not one to easily forgive let alone forget.”
Tome glares at me. “You’re not going to scare me.”
“Lying isn’t very Jedi-like, Padawan.” I respond “I know what fear feels like, I know it’s smells and what it looks like and you’re saturated with it…” My voice boasts more malice than I expected. Tome’s eyes are locked on me, his body ridged and still. “Don’t ever lay a hand on me again, do I make myself clear.” I sounded calm but the words I uttered are irrefutable. For a fleeting moment I could tell Tome wanted to do something stupid but he simply nods his head. “Good boy.”
The room falls deathly silent; Tome slowly slips his lightsaber hilt beneath his robe. His face was a mix of frustration and hate. He needs to work on his temper before he gets himself into a regrettable situation. I can already tell he’d lose his state of mind in a real fight. Even the Sith teach never to lose your control, it makes you sloppy and easily beaten. Tome has much to learn if he ever wants to be in this conflict…and live.
The Cardinal Phoenix suddenly heaves forward, pulling me out of my thoughts. Tome pushes himself off the wall and glances at me, the unbearable sensation magnifies tenfold. We’ve just arrived at Coruscant and things are more dire than I could have imagined. A second later I hear Halish’s frantic voice come over the ship’s intercom. “Tome get to the bridge, now!” Without question Tome runs out of the room, leaving me alone.
I can feel shock waves and shutters running through the ship’s hull, there must be a space battle taking place. I clench my hands tightly and begin pulling the bindings…I have no intention of dying here, not locked in a room tied up like an animal. I focus on my bindings using the force to augment my strength finally feeling them slightly giving way. The Phoenix pitches downward and I roll forward hitting the door. A loud muffled bursting sound cause the ship the violently shake. Screw this…I pull hands apart even harder causing the bindings to dig into my wrist sending a searing pain through my arms. Then finally they snap just as the ship lurches to the side, the contents of the room spill out and avalanche across the room.
The Phoenix levels out and I rush to the door, it’s locked from the outside. I look around the room for anything that would help me open the door when I hear a small knock come from the corridor. I knock back and a few seconds later the door slides open revealing Peni and a stout little astromech droid working on the door controls. Several lights were flashing red in the corridor and Peni had a look of unadulterated terror on her face.
“Peni, I need to get to the bridge!” I say anxiously.
Peni quietly sobs and shakes her head offering me her open hand. I take it and she begins leading me through the ship. A few moments later we turn a corner down a long walkway. We pass a room where I catch sight of Master Seto still strapped into the gurney.
At first things didn’t quite register, but I stopped in my tracks nonetheless and returned to the med bay. Master Seto was fine his vitals were nominal but that wasn’t the issue. The medical bed beside him where Master Alix was strapped in was empty. I search the room for her but she was nowhere to be found when I feel Peni lightly tug on my robe. The tug was unnecessary because I felt the presence behind me, it was familiar and disheartening. It was the same thing I felt in the temple on Yavin 4 and the same overpowering feeling I felt in the Jedi council chamber.
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I slowly turn around expecting Xyon-Kray’s disturbing eyes staring at me, but to my surprise it was Reeva Alix. She was staring at me but it was an empty stare as if there were no presence behind it. I grab Peni and pull her behind me. “Master Alix.” is say nervously.
She remains still almost statuesque like a lifeless manikin before her head tilts to the left, the color leaves her eyes and a silvery aura begins to circle her body. Her long dreads lift off her shoulders and suspend in midair floating freely as if gravity had no hold them. The thin mist continues to creep up her body turning her skin into a pale dark brown with a silver luster. It encompasses her face, turning her black dreads dark shades of grey and white. Then the silver aura absorbs into her eyes turning them into this same lifeless silver orbs that Kavin had at the conclave. I feel my heart drop; Master Alix has just become one of those Silverlight Wraths before my very eyes…and I have no means of defending myself.
I feel another tug on my robe, I glance down at Peni. She’s shaking with panic, fear is emanating from her like a flooded dam. She points at Master Seto’s lightsaber on his waist band and with a swift motion I grab the hilt with the force and activate its violet blade. “Peni, I need you to hide.” I whisper “When I lead Reeva away go warn the others, do you understand?” I look at Peni who barely nods her head and takes several steps back towards the corner of the med bay.
I grasp Seto’s saber hilt with both hands and take a step towards Master Alix. She truns her head following my movements before pulling her double-side saber hilt out from beneath her robe and activating one of the yellow blades. For a single moment it feels as though time stands still then just like that Reeva begins her assault, lunging forward with her blade leading the way. I don’t want to kill Master Alix but I need to neutralize her as fast as possible. I deflect her attack leaving her wide open for a counter on her left arm. I motion to strike when she activate the second blade of the lightsaber affectively blocking my attack and leaving me open to her first blade that was just to the right of my torso. I only have a split second to react, launching myself backwards with a force push nearly avoiding her upward slash.
I’ve never seen a Jedi use Tràkata with a double-sided lightsaber. Typically it was unbecoming of a Jedi to use trickery in battle but Alix was brilliantly different. She’s taking advantage of the ability to activate and deactivate her sabers at will allowing her to have the element of surprise almost constantly and rule the battle tempo. I look down at Seto’s lightsaber; I may be in a little trouble here…
Reeva Alix continues her attack, phasing her yellow blades in and out leaving me only fractions of a second to either dodge or block; which in turn leaves me open for another assault. Battle fatigue was quickly setting in as her attacks were becoming more and more relentless. If this was an open battle field I could probably force her to keep a distance but we’re essentially in a pressurized metal tube it’s only a matter of time before she gets lucky or I get unlucky.
I hear the sound to footsteps come from the corridor as Alix and I lock blades. Violet and yellow sparks fly off our saber when everyone funnels into the common area. Halish, Mara and Tome quickly activate their lightsabers causing Alix to lose focus for a split second. I take advantage of this and release a torrent of force lightening throwing Reeva across the common area and into the bulkhead.
I leap forward to ensure she’s been knocked out when Halish and Tome attack me. I easily dodge Tome’s clumsy slash and deflect Halish’s assault catching sight of my saber hilt in belt. Mara was checking Master Alix who seemed to have been knocked out from the impact. Tome lunges for me again I counter his attack and force push him into a line of cabinets bolted to the wall. Halish almost catches me off guard with an attack from behind but I’m able to dodge it and grab my lightsaber in the process.
I square off with them as Mara and Pensim carry Master Alix’s body out of the room; I really hope she stays unconscious...for everyone’s sake. With a simple flick I activate my vermillion blade and assume a Niman duel saber stance. I can sense Tome’s apprehension, but Halish was completely calm. There are no words to say…this ends now. I launch forward and unleash my fury on them with a series of rapid attacks forcing them to be on the defensive. I can feel the anger grow on me as Halish intentionally leaves Tome open for assault so he can try and get a better position on me. He eventually gets his wish when he dodges one of my swings and attempts to take the kill. But I’m not so easily beaten…I quickly reverse the grip on my vermillion Saber hilt and deflect his attack. Halish’s eye widen with shock, I guess he’s never seen someone switch from an offensive technique to a more defensive Jar’Kia technique in the middle of an assault. Halish quickly recovers and force pushes me across the room and into a circuit panel sending spark flying. The astromech droid from before rolls into the room and begins beeping and hooting incessantly. I lift the droid and a couple chairs off the ground using the force and prepare to launch them at Tome and Halish.
“Enough!” The booming and unexpected voice of Master Bim Seto causes me to drop the chairs and astromech droid. “Stand down all of you!” he continues.
Master Seto was leaning against the hatch cradling his severed arm. Although it was obvious that he was in an extreme amount of pain, it did little to detour from his intimidating presence. He glances at me then his lightsaber in my hand and grimaces; I deactivate the violet blade in response and lower my hand.
“Master Seto…you’re awake!?” Halish stammers.
Bim gazes at Halish and makes a disgusted face. “How perceptive…” he says in a low voice. “You can deactivate your lightsabers now, the Sith isn’t a threat.”
“But Master…” Halish starts.
Bim slams his left hand into the wall. “Deactivate you sabers!” he shouts, everyone quickly obeys. “Master Qin, as the more senior Council member I’m assuming command.”
“You’re not my senior!” Halish retorts. “You’ve just recently arrived at the conclave.”
Bim glares at him. “Need I remind you once again, Master Qin, I was a member of the Grand Council long before you were a Jedi Knight.” Halish opens his mouth to argue but remains silent.
Bim looks at me. “And what of you Sith, does the Exiled One wish to continue this fight?”
I shake my head and cautiously approach the master. “This fight wasn’t my choice.” I hand Master Seto’s lightsaber to him and place my own hilt back into my waist band, catching sight of Halish’s glare.
I walk past Master Seto towards the bridge. “This is an outrage,” Halish begins “You can’t let that Sith walk freely on this ship!”
I feel a slight grin form on my face as I reach the med bay. Master Alix was once again strapped into the medical bed with Mara, Pensim and Peni watching over her. “Is she ok?” the question slipped out faster than I realized causing a strange expression to form on both Mara and Pensim’s faces.
“All things considered…” Mara musters out. “She’s in perfect health.”
“She’s one of those…things.” Pensim whispers to Mara.
“Yeah, Peni and I witnessed it happen.” I say in a low tone. Mara and Pensim look at Peni who simply nods her head in response.
“So…you weren’t trying to kill her?” Mara asks looking away.
“No…I’m not your enemy anymore.” My words were cold and unwavering. This is the first time I’ve declared that out loud, but it’s the truth Xyon and the Silverlights’ are the real enemies now.
Mara and Pensim nod their heads slowly. Another shutter echoes through ship making Pensim shake with anxiety. He glances up at me, his skin changes to a pale blue; his hair becomes a dark gray while his eyes are cold and white. “What are we going to do now, Atlas?”