‘We have been following them for about an hour, when we finally had the chance to see their main ship... It was quite big... but it was also a transport ship with a small hangar... It had at least four rotatable turbo laser turrets. Their ship seemed to be heavily modified and well armoured too...’
“That is not what I hoped for.” — Said Seldibo...
“Definitely not...” — Agreed Ayel with a clearly troubled expression...
Seldibo activated his wrist communicator and called the others, who were still hiding.
“Guys, come out. It is time for the “B” plan.”
“Understood!” — Came the answer immediately, and that was all they spoke.
“Uhm... may I ask, what is plan “B” exactly?” — ‘I questioned him, knowing nothing about a plan “B”.’
Claire placed her hand on my head and smiled weakly.
Ayelfita also turned towards me. She looked into my eyes and smiled.
“You have a rare pair of eyes, such a lively pink color, even for a twi’lek it is a rare one. Take this, you will need it soon.”
‘She gave me back my lightsaber... Oh, I see...’
“Okay, we are in their tracking beam now... I don’t have to control the ship anymore.” — Reported Seldibo, while standing up from the controls.
‘I saw Jack coming in through the door behind us. He was in full gear equipped with a short range automata laser gun.’
“Come on guys, it is time for us to shine. Get your gear in tune!” — ‘He shouted at us, while giving Claire and me a happy wink.’ — “Since when did the Ohnaka Gang start to get boarded by enemies? We are the ones who used to do that, ain’t that right!?”
“Yeah!” — Shouted a few pirates nearby.
“Get to the ramp, we will wait for them there, we have to run out of the ship and take defensive position as fast as possible. I don’t want to die because this unarmoured piece of trash blows up under my ass!” — Shouted Jack to the others, and we moved to the ramp as fast as possible.
‘Jack and Seldibo crouched down beside each other in the corridor as the first line.’
‘The corridor was narrow, and only two adults were able to stand side by side. Me, Ayelfita and another weequay were in the second line. We stood tall. This way, we were able to fire over the boys’ heads. Well, I don’t really have a handgun, but the others did.’
‘Soon, the ramp began to open, as someone clearly opened it with the help of a droid from the other side. Everyone was tense and silent. I could only hear the quickening breathing of the surrounding people. I was not much of an exception, either. However, my training made it so, that it didn’t really appear in my body language that clearly. Yet I felt my heart throbbing in my throat, just the same.’
‘As the door continued to open, the mechanical white light of the hangar began to make its way into the dark corridor. It blinded us for a second, but I could still feel the presence of the three creatures standing outside. We were able to hear them speaking with each other, clearly oblivious to our presence.’
“Kill the man, immediately. He seems to be a coward, and I don’t like his face...”
“Yesss... What about the female?”
“Well, if she is pretty, I may have a closer look... kekekee...”
“Oh, yes! But what about the kid?”
“Hmmm... Kill his father in front of her. Then we will take her to the hunt with the other one. That should be enough motivation to make her into... kssss... worthy prey... And if not, well, I will have a new trophy.”
‘All of them began to laugh at that... But their laughter was cut short, as the ramp lowered and Ayel got a vision of them: there were three red laser beams fired in quick succession. Each one was right on target, melting the faces of the still laughing trandoshans into a bloody paste.’
‘They died just like that. Never even knowing what hit them.’
‘All of us began to run down the ramp and out of our ship. We ducked behind a few crates but they were not really suitable as a real cover... Sadly, there was nothing else to use in this place except the now empty fighter ships, and they could blow up just as easily us our ship.’
‘The three shots that were fired didn’t go unnoticed. Soon more trandoshans began to arrive at the hangar. This time they were not laughing, more like hissing with rage as they realized their position as hunters had been compromised.’
‘I was crouching behind the crates in the middle of our pirate group, continuously firing at the trandoshans. I just confiscated a blaster from the previously killed trio, not that they will have much use for it anymore.’
‘I already managed to kill a lizard with it. The fool took an unlucky shot to its face and stopped twitching. These bastards’ skins were naturally resistant to plasma, at least to a degree... Which left their face as their only weak spot. Especially because they didn’t bother to wear helmets, since the helmet would weaken their naturally evolved sense of smell and hearing.’
‘The surrounding pirates were basically shouting and cursing at them continuously since we left the ship, and I mean, every one of them, even Claire...’
‘Oh hell, she had a nasty mouth for sure... We were kind of lucky, with our meager cover, because the enemy didn’t have any at all. Their numbers, on the other hand, kept growing...’
‘But the pirates’ morale was high, as we had killed at least five of them, while we didn’t suffer any losses yet. Something that was about to change fast.’
‘I could see that we were about to be overrun by the enemy. They already encircled us as some of them were running on four legs with an increased speed, getting into key positions that allowed them to flank us.’
‘Just then, two laser beams hit a weequay beside me in the chest. He immediately dropped lifelessly on the floor... One of the trandoshans jumped over the crates biting into the neck of a female weequay, while Jack jumped on the trandoshan’s, back, grabbing its neck from behind stabbing his knife into the lizards face that was forced to release the unlucky woman... Sadly, she would likely bleed to death with such a wound, anyway...’
‘Three shots hit another weequay man, this time in the back, as the ones that ran by began to shoot at us... I saw as more trandoshans arrived into the battle through the hangar door... If this goes on, we will die in a minute... Our formation was at this moment practically nonexistent. Everyone was shooting around while cursing continuously. This battle was unfocused and chaotic. I was really missing the clones right now... We could stand our ground easily, with clones...’
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‘I shot down another lizard when I saw Jack get hit on his shoulder, finally falling off the back of that raging trandoshan... As it was released and blinded by pain, it threw himself on the first moving thing, and that thing was unfortunately Claire, who immediately started to run towards Jack... When she saw him getting hit.’
‘As that crazed animal fell on her, it bit into her hand and clawed into her back simultaneously. I heard her painful cry, and for a second I forgot about the risks, the fear of getting hit by a stray laser and losing the memories that so many masters over so many years built up with the utmost care...’
‘I simply stopped thinking about that... My senses expanded and the world slowed down. I could feel the flow of the surrounding battle, every presence moving in a bloody whirlwind. In my suddenly heightened awareness, I accidentally let go of my blaster.’
‘It began to fall slowly towards the steel floor.’
‘I sensed as Ayelfita was hit in her leg with a blaster shot.
‘I sensed as Seldibo knocked over one of the lizards that were about to jump on the kneeling Ayelfita.’
‘I sensed as the other two weequays were desperately trying to keep away the closing enemies.’
‘My dropped gun suddenly hit the floor, creating a strangely clear metallic ringing sound. That sound reminded me of a memory I tried to bury as deep as possible.’
‘Those very memories burst forth against my will like a broken dam flooding my senses. My master’s lightsaber hitting the floor. Then another one, his master’s lightsaber, and another one quickly followed until a familiar mask fell on the ground, creating the same noise over and over again...’
‘That infuriating sound... Stop it already! Do you hear me?! I heard a stretched-out laughter in my mind. Then a voice appeared. It was a mix of many voices... speaking at the same time...’
‘You are not a Jedi-di-di. You are one of us-s-s. Do not hesitate-te-te. Act like one of us-s-s.’
‘Do not hesitate!’
‘At the end of the blurry vision, I heard my voice speaking out a familiar sentence. It was a promise I made to myself after inheriting the memories...’
“What good is our knowledge if no one uses it in the end?”
‘Then I snapped back into reality.’
‘As I opened my eyes, I just know that there was a yellow gleam in them. I continued to draw heavily from the dark side as the quickly darkening veins began to extend over my paling skin.’
‘I stood up from the cover of the crates, simultaneously releasing a heavy air pressure that momentarily froze the entire battlefield.’
‘The lizards immediately sensed the change in the atmosphere. They knew that another predator had appeared. They were looking around, smelling the air carefully, trying to find it, but it was already too late for them.’
‘I raised my arms by my side as the closest seven trandoshans began to grab at their necks. They were panicking and choking on their own spit. They soon fell to their knees, struggling against the hold of invisible fingers. That was the moment when I closed my hands, creating a terrifying sound of snapping bones. Seven bodies stopped struggling and fell to the floor at the same time.’
‘The blood thirst that ruled the battlefield had changed. Now it turned into confusion, panic, but mostly fear.’
‘This frozen state was broken by an enraged trandoshan that managed to overcome his initial fear, sending a laser bolt toward me. I activated my lightsaber, blocking the shot and sending it back towards the face of the one it originated from.’
‘The unusually big trandoshan managed to move its head in the last second. The shot only grazed the left side of his face, leaving behind charred scales in the form of a straight, elongated scar. The particular lizardman refocused its vision on me and hissed out a single word with burning hatred.’
“Jedi...”
‘I looked into his animalistic eyes.’
“You are wrong. You stand before one of the Lords of the Grey, and you will be my prey!”
‘I sent a powerful lightning strike towards the further enraged trandoshan. The heavily compressed lightning hit him in the chest, then it immediately bolted towards the nearby lizards, cooking them partially. Many of them fell on the floor convulsing while some miraculously managed to stay on their feet, but they were still mostly paralyzed by their unwillingly convulsing muscles.’
‘They were already dead, even if they hadn’t realized it yet.’
‘Knowing that my victory is at hand, I reached even deeper into the darkness, fueled by an unexplainable desire to cause them more suffering. Bringing out one of the most terrifying techniques I had access to.’
‘This time it was continuous red lighting that burst forth from my fingertips. It hit every remaining lizard in the room. Yet instead of quickly killing them, it attached itself to their bodies, continuously sucking out the very life from its victims.’
‘The lizards were screeching and wriggling, scratching the ground with their claws, blinded by their unimaginable pain.’
‘The strongest of them lasted about ten seconds, when its body turned into a black, unrecognisable dry husk. Some of those husks were still clawing into the floor with wide-open mouths that were howling from pain only seconds ago, but now there will be no more sound leaving those cursed throats ever again.’
‘The sudden silence that engulfed the hangar after the hellish screams died down left behind a suffocating aura of silence.’
‘As the sense of euphoria from my one sided victory passed. I felt a deep sense of emptiness. My powers were completely drained, sweat freely running down my face, as I struggled to remain on my feet.’
‘I couldn’t show weakness, not yet, I reminded myself through my fuzzy thoughts.’
‘I was not alone.’
‘I slowly turned around and saw that the remaining pirates were looking at the massacre with shaking bodies, obvious fear, and terror mirrored in their eyes...’
‘Claire gave me a look of abhorrence. Jack seemed to be about ready to throw up. While the twi’leks were simply frozen in place. Their usual façade was nowhere to be seen. One of the weequays turned his gun towards me and shot, as his fear overruled his sanity. I raised my left palm and blocked the beam with it, completely dispersing the energy bolt a few millimetres from my open palm.’
‘The otherwise simple action caused me a sense of vertigo. As icy dread traversed across my completely blackened veins, draining my vitality in place of my empty force reserves.’
‘I should not have used that red lightning. It was completely unnecessary, only managing to turn my allies against me and burning through all my force reserves. I scolded myself internally. No matter, it was futile to ponder on the past now.’
‘With a sweep of my arm, I knocked out the weapon from the panicked man’s hands using the force. I winced as even more coldness spread across my body.’
“That was your only warning.” — ‘I told him calmly.’
‘The guy seemed to freeze in his boots. He turned completely still and unmoving, as if he had lost consciousness. Yet his eyes were still following me.’
‘The first one to compose herself was Ayelfita, then Seldibo followed her example soon. They forced themselves to continue their stupid act, and I was kind of full with it already.’
‘Ayelfita walked towards me slowly, giving me a strained smile.’
“Well, well, well... So you are really not a jedi after all...“ — She chuckled. — “I mean… A jedi isn’t supposed to kill like that? Is it?”
‘At the mention of the jedi, I felt a burst of frustration, one that was long since buried inside me coming to the surface at last.’
“A jedi... heh. What is the difference between killing with a lightsaber and killing with the living force? I can tell you what, arrogance! The only thing that stops them from doing so is their blind arrogance!”
“Letting their enemies run around left and right, because they believe that their power and knowledge will always make them come out on top at the end. While they constantly make sad gestures about the suffering of civilians and the death of hundreds of thousands. I just read in their archives that they want to capture the mass serial killer separatist leaders alive? They missed a bunch of chances to eliminate them in these few months of war... because they didn’t want to kill them...”
“I am not a jedi... yet I let their arrogance sway me... Their very force presence unconsciously sways me towards making stupid decisions... But, that is over now... I have paid back my debt by saving you towards Hondo. Now, we have no more business with each other. This ship is mine, since I was the one who took it from the cold bloods. You will leave with yours the way you came.”
‘Ayelfita seemed to look around, thinking over her choices. Her gaze seemed to linger on one of the charred, black, ghostly bodies that was frozen into a corpse statue while trying to claw out his own eyes...’
“I guess we are good, then. We will take our dead and leave immediately. Bye-bye!” — She stated with a fake cheer that continued to grate on my nerves. I felt an urge to snap her bones just to hear how her real voice sounded for once.
‘As if sensing my thoughts. They stood up, gathered their things along with their companions’ dead bodies, leaving behind only the charred ones and they were gone in less than five minutes.’
‘I watched them leave as I closed the hangar doors and began to walk towards the inside of the ship.’
‘I felt an immense headache pulsing through my mind. My body was shivering under the effects of over accumulated dark side energies and I could barely put one leg in front of the other.’
‘Still… I needed to know… I needed to know what the other living presence was on the ship aside from me.’