Relsor sat in the seat the Sphere had provided for him; Perce sat across him. Relsor didn’t even feel tired, though he knew he had depleted a portion of his powers.
            ‘How could they have overwhelmed us?’ he said.
            ‘Simple, they had many Jedi and Mandalorians with them,’ replied Perce. ‘I learnt something interesting though.’
            ‘Oh?’
            ‘Knarf, he sliced into the Empire’s Holonet,’ said Perce. Relsor scowled. ‘He fooled me, whereas I thought I had figured him out. Serves me right for trying to outslice a slicer.’  Relsor shook his head. ‘So of course they knew what was going on and were always a step ahead of us. The solution is simple, Relsor: we stop providing the Empire information about the True Sith, stop giving the Dark Council what they want for a time. It’s not like they’re going to refuse.’
            ‘They have no choice,’ said Relsor slowly, ‘we can crush them in an instant.’ Relsor paused for a moment. ‘We’re going to find another way to capture Shadie.’ He paused again. ‘We had her, until her friends liberated her.’
            ‘I had to attack Knarf and make it appear as though I had no interest in Shadie,’ said Perce. ‘It was the only way for her to come at me in that angry yet vulnerable way she does when she’s afraid for Knarf’s life. I grabbed her, and you held her. She was in our grasp! How in the kark did she slip away?’
            ‘You sound exasperated,’ said Relsor, amused.
            ‘I am!’ exclaimed Perce. ‘I told her and that apprentice of hers that we had something in common, that we all learnt from Kromus, and therefore we are the true Followers of Kromus and that we should team up to destroy you!’
            ‘And? Did she bite?’
            ‘Oh, she bit all right, but not the bait,’ said Perce. ‘And she bit back hard.’ Relsor laughed. ‘I thought if I brought back memories of Kromus for her, she would falter, or perhaps her apprentice, Fane, would.’
            Relsor leaned back in his chair. ‘Perce, you had a good tactic, it could have worked. Just goes to show that she buried her dark side deep within her.’
            ‘Well, that’s what I realised when I was choking Knarf. Her weakness is Knarf.’ Perce narrowed his eyes. ‘But he is also her strength.’ Perce sighed.
            ‘So, what do we do now?’ asked Relsor.
            ‘I’ve already devised a few possible ways we could achieve our goal,’ said Perce. He took out his datapad. ‘Shall I go through them with you? I’ve received…data…I believe will be of use to us.’
            ‘Oh, humour me, Perce. At worst, we can have a laugh at how our future attempts may fail.’ 
            Perce smiled. Relsor could tell he had something good up his sleeves.

* * *

            Lian approached Fane and Talyc with a bit of a limp. Fane stood, concerned. 
            ‘You’re injured,’ Lian told Talyc. Fane and Lian helped him up. Lian closed his eyes and passed his hand above Talyc’s shoulder. ‘It will take a few days, but your injuries should heal faster now and the pain should pass shortly.’
            ‘Thanks,’ said Talyc. ‘Looks like you’re injured too.’
            ‘Nothing that can’t heal itself,’ said Lian. ‘I too possess regenerative abilities, albeit they work at a much slower rate than Perce’s abilities, and are a lot less intense, but perhaps also less costly in Force powers.’ He shook his head. ‘Knarf had him. He had him.’ He shook his head again.
            ‘We all thought we’d have them, but now we know what the powers they attained from the Crypt can do,’ said Fane. ‘And we’ve learnt that their goal is to capture Shadie. I just don’t understand why.’
            ‘She trained with Kromus,’ said Lian. ‘They must need her for something.’
            ‘She’s not going to give it to them,’ said Fane.
            Talyc moved his arm a bit.
            ‘This really feels better.’ He looked ahead. The Mandalorians and pirates were discussing something and looking over towards their clan leader. ‘I think my clan needs me.’ He put his hand on Fane’s arm and smiled. He walked away.
            ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ asked Fane.
            ‘Yes, I’ll be fine,’ said Lian, nodding. ‘Relsor is very powerful. He functions with pure darkness, whereas I function purely from a place of light. I could not weaken him, I could not exhaust him, nor destroy him. I understand now that that is not my destiny. My destiny is to heal the Force and prevent his ailments from affecting everyone in the galaxy.’
            Fane nodded. ‘I think it might be Shadie’s destiny, or one of the others’, or mine, or all of ours, to destroy Relsor,’ he said. ‘Who knows.’ He observed Lian. ‘You truly are gifted in the arts of healing.’
            ‘Yes, it runs in my…’ He stopped. His face changed.
            ‘Lian?’
            ‘My forefathers were master healers too,’ he said, looking Fane straight in the eyes.
            ‘No, no,’ said Fane, dismay and realisation overwhelming him. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. ‘Lian, I am so sorry. I had no idea.

Continue reading Chapter Eight

Catch up on previous Star Wars Fan-Fiction from the Shadie story series.

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Talyc’s armour had a few scratch marks, but it looked otherwise still fairly polished. The biggest burn mark that had come from a lightsaber was on one of the brown sections of his arm and it gave it a glowing look. He looked at his left shoulder. At least the rest of his armour was almost as clean as when the fight had started. He’d have to remember that his shoulder was his vulnerable spot; although it had not reached his skin, there was a hole in the beskar armour.
            Talyc confirmed through his helmet’s channel that the Sith were down. Knarf replied something quick. It sounded like the fight was getting heavy. Talyc took his comlink out.
            ‘Fane, can you read me?’
            ‘I can. Is everything all right?’ There was concern in his voice.
            ‘Affirmative, but it sounds like things are getting intense where Knarf and Shadie are. I think they’re going to need Jedi reinforcements.’
            There was a pause; Talyc knew Fane was thinking. ‘I’ll go help them out, and I’ll inform the Jedi. I’m sending the pirates back your way to regroup. Keep fending off Sith reinforcements. Hopefully, we Jedi can overwhelm those two Sith, even if they have enhanced powers.’
            ‘Got it!’ Talyc paused. ‘Fane, be careful.’
            ‘You be careful!’ came Fane’s voice. Talyc could hear the smile behind his tone.       ‘Will do.’ He closed the channel.
            ‘I know you’re blushing under that helmet of yours,’ said Nriwe. She nudged him with her elbow. ‘Come on, I see some more Sith down that way.’
            Talyc was blushing; he could feel it. He led the team down a hill. He looked to the other direction. He saw the group of pirates approaching. Zaereg kept roaring as he ran towards the Mandalorian group.
            ‘I thought you were clan leader!’ Zaereg said pointing at Talyc.
            ‘I am!’ replied Talyc, a little taken aback.
            ‘Then lead us to some Sith so I can spill their blood, like a true Cathar warrior should.’
            Zaereg roared again. Talyc laughed. Where had Brenum and Trylia found this bunch? They were a motley crew, but well trained and surprisingly well disciplined warriors on the most part.
Talyc pointed at an incoming group of Sith. ‘They enough to sink your teeth into?’
            ‘We feast!’
            The pirates charged ahead of the Mandalorians, who provided laser fire as cover. Talyc switched to his vibroblade again when the Sith were close enough.

* * *

            Fane hurried towards the location where his friends fought. When he arrived, he could see Lian and Relsor duelling further down, while Perce was busy sending lightning towards and fighting the others. Fane ran towards his friends.
            ‘How is it that four Jedi cannot defeat one Sith?’ taunted Perce as Fane approached.
            ‘Because they needed a fifth,’ he replied, slashing at the Sith.
            Perce laughed, blocking. ‘Kromus’s failed apprentice,’ he said. ‘You’re still a Jedi? Pfft! You failed both your masters.’
            ‘Two of my masters,’ Fane corrected. ‘I will not fail the third.’
            Perce lifted a hand up and something came flying Fane’s way from behind him. He rolled away; the slab of broken duracrete landed on the grass where Fane had stood. Perce fended off Trylia with the Force as she attempted to overwhelm him with a series of quick attacks.
            ‘Relsor and I share the power of the Crypt,’ said Perce. ‘You lot are pathetic. What did Kromus ever see in you, Shadie, or in Fane? No wonder Lahnius failed him, it runs in the family.’
            ‘The only person who ever failed Kromus was himself,’ said Shadie.
            ‘Shadie this, Shadie that… I was glad to be away for a time, but the fact still remains, Shadie, you killed our master.’
            ‘He was no longer my master, Perce. He may have still been yours, but Kromus stopped being my master a long time ago.’
            ‘Too bad,’ said Perce, dryly. ‘You would have done well to heed his warnings. Now you will pay the price for your failures.’

Continue reading Chapter Seven

Catch up on previous Star Wars Fan-Fiction from the Shadie story series.

Perhaps you’ll also enjoy Stardust Destinies I: Variate Facing; fantasy action-adventure taking place in a realm strong with magic where prophecies are dictated by dragons. https://binkyproductions.com/stardustdestinies