[FIC]Betrayal and Retribution: Percieved Reality

[stingerhs]

With a hiss, the hatch opened on speeder. Qestar stepped out along with two of his most trusted bodyguards. Looking over at the cantina entrance, Qestar was slightly nervous. Usually, an unscheduled meeting with your employer was a good indication that something had gone wrong. Heading towards the cantina, one guard remained behind inside of the speeder while the other remained with Qestar. Nar Shadaa was definately a smuggler's paradise, and Qestar didn't want to take chances in case one of those smugglers turned out to be a bounty hunter.

 

Heading inside the cantina, Qestar noticed that the cantina was quite busy. A lot of people were inside having a good time getting drunk. If there was another thing Nar Shadaa was good for was the easy availablilty of smuggled wines, ales, and beer. The people on this moon loved to drink. Picking out a spot in the back of the cantina, Qestar sat down as his bodyguard picked out a table nearby that had a good line of sight to Qestar.

 

As the waitress came by, Qestar ordered himself a drink and waited. This contact didn't make a lot of sense. Already, Qestar had dones some research into this employer given the high profile potential this operation had. He had turned up some interesting information, and the hidden recording device he had on him would help out even further.

 

Finally, the employer entered the cantina. Running a bit early, Qestar thought. Probably going to scope out the place a bit first before he gets to me. Indeed, the man sat down by the bar to order a drink. The man was actually fairly professional about the situation. The average person would naturally look around the room to study the various people to identify whomever they were looking for after they sat down. However, this man had already found Qestar and was simply waiting a bit to throw off anybody that might be following him. The waitress arrived at Qestar's table and set down his drink. It was just the house brew, but it was some pretty good stuff none the less.

 

After a couple of minutes, the man finally got up and approached Qestar's table. "Tromba! It's good to see you, old friend," the man exclaimed as he reached Qestar. Realizing that this man was being followed, Qestar needed to act things out himself. Getting up, Qestar then stated, "Wonte! How ya been, you ol' rascal?". Getting out of his seat, Qestar got up and gave the man a brief hug. "Bah, I've been better. Darn spice running is getting harder and harder every year. Those darned inspectors keep coming up with all sorts of different ideas to throw you off. At least the pay keeps getting better," he replied as the two sat down at the table.

 

"Oh really? I didn't even know you were still in that spice runnin' gig. Still got that ol' garbage heap you call a ship?"

 

"Ahh, come on. That old gal is still running better than your ancient scrap heap ever did. Hehe, at least I've got myself a good mechanic this time. He don't know jack about smuggling, but as long as he can work a hydrospanner, that's all I ask from him. What about your crew? They've been up to the job's I hear you've been running?" the man asked. Qestar knew, however, that the last question was a real question. This employer wanted to know how well Qestar thought the operation was running.

 

"Bah, some of 'em are, some of 'em ain't so good, but at least the job's gettin done right. That merchendice we been runnin sure is fillin up my coffers real nice like," Qestar replied to say that some of the men he hired were hit and miss, but the job is still getting done.

 

"Well, that's good news. Credits in the pocket is always a good feeling. Oh, did ya hear the news about those Republic Medical Shipments getting robbed? I heard that the Chancellor is getting downright pissed about the whole thing. Word has it that Jedi are on their way to check it out," the man stated. At that statement, Qestar almost lost his composure. This was the real reason for the meeting: the Chancellor was trying to get the Jedi to look into his operation.

 

"No, I hadn't heard. Must be some pretty sensitive stuff for a Jedi to get involved," Qestar stated.

 

"Oh yeah, somebody's in for some big trouble if they can't keep things handled professionally," the man stated. Looking down at his watch as a show, the man then stated, "Oh well, its time for me to head back to my ol' girl. Oh, and if you're in still in town tommorrow, I wouldn't mind if you came over to the pad to check on my new crew," he stated. Pulling out a datapad, the man typed in a message on the pad and slid it across the table to Qestar. With one last swig from his drink, the man stood up.

 

"Well, it's been good to see ya, Tromba. I'll be here for a while, so I should be able to show up tommorrow," Qestar replied.

 

"I'll see you then," the man stated as he turned around to leave. Sitting back down, Qestar took the datapad and went over it. Qestar shook his head as he set it back down on the table. Looking at it again, it read,

• Qestar, my Master is quite pleased with your work and would like to speak with you in person tommorrow at a location we deem to be secure. A drop behind the Moon's Peak bench will provide you with further details.
   
  My Master would also like to inform you of a development. The opposition has requested backup. We have a contact for you that can provide you with the gear necessary to take care of these backup units. You will be compensted double plus an extra 5000. More information will be available in the drop.

 

After pocketing the datapad, Qestar left a couple of credits on the table and left the cantina.

[Jae Onasi]

I love the intrigue. Seeing how Palpatine does things in the background is fascinating.

The blood on Miranda's hands was very Shakespearian....

Nice job.

[stingerhs]

((hey, sorry i haven't been around as i've been very, very busy with moving aprox. 150 miles to a new house with my family. at the same time, i've had issues getting internet access as well as insane hours at my new job (i'm currently averaging 65+ hours a week).

 

the first part is a bit more supernatural in nature than most of the interpretations of the Force that i've read, but i think it fits rather well. if i haven't stated it already, your questions or comments are greatly appreciated. ))

 

Looking around, Miranda was quite perplexed. Everywhere she turned, all she could see was a deep, heavy fog as if a shroud were draped around her. There was no sound, not even the deep drone of the nightly traffic on Coruscant. It was almost as if something had swallowed up every sound that could be produced. Even her breaths sounded short and shallow in the fog. The fog itself was a dull gray as if the Sun was in the sky but yet hidden behind the clouds like a dull and dreary day.

 

Turning around again, the fog suddenly parted, and Miranda found herself immersed in a perfect darkness. It was as if the shroud of fog had suddenly been exchanged for a shroud of darkness. Bringing her hands in front of her face, she couldn't distinguish the outlines of her hands against the darkness. And all the while, the silence remained just as stifling as it had been.

 

Without even noticing, Miranda started to wrap her arms around her chest due to a chill in the air. As she suddenly tightened her arms, Miranda finally noticed that she was completely naked. Her breathing quickened as a chill ran up her spine. Looking around, Miranda began to curl forward as she began to feel even colder. Clinching her eyes shut, Miranda began to shiver in the cold, and although she couldn't see it, wisps of fog escaped from her mouth and nose with each quick and deep exhale. Finally succumbing to the cold, Miranda opened her eyes as she knelt down onto the ground and curled up.

 

Then, she felt something behind her. A very light breeze caught her hair from behind and blew it forward with small strands gently gliding across her face. Her spine chilled yet again, and she turned her head around. Again, she could see nothing in the crushing darkness. Turning her head back around, Miranda again clinched her eyes shut as she hoped that it would all end as she began to shiver in the cold.

 

Then, Miranda heard a light wisp off to her right. Turning her head, there was again nothing there. Then, the wisp sounded off again, only this time, it was longer and slightly louder. Miranda felt outwards with the Force, but all she could feel was a pressing weight all around her. Again, the wisp sounded off, but this time, it sounded off to her left. Snapping her head around, there was again nothing there, but Miranda could've sworn that the wisp was really just a sharp whisper. Then, the wisp sounded off again, only this time, Miranda could somewhat make out that the wisp was indeed a whisper.

 

"Who's there?" Miranda asked although her words seemed to be swallowed by the silence. Then, the wisp sounded off again, but this time Miranda faintly understood what the whisper was: "Miranda". Again, the whisper sounded off her name, but now it was getting closer. The voice that had stated it was sharp, and Miranda couldn't help but to feel its sinister edge. The cold was becoming more intense, and Miranda huddled even tighter to herself. "Miranda," the voice whispered sharply yet again.

 

"I'm right here! What do you want from me?" Miranda answered in a bout of frustration. Almost as if to answer her, a dot of light suddenly appeared way off in the distance. Before Miranda could react, however, the dot rapidly moved towards her and expanded in size at the same time. As it reached her, Miranda turned her head away and shut her eyes out of instinct. Opening her eyes, Miranda then found herself on a ledge inside the Jedi Temple. She quickly recognized it to be her one place of refuge that she used when she was much younger.

 

"You know that the Council doesn't want to send anybody after her, especially since she's just a Padawan like yourself," a familiar voice stated beneath her. Peering over the ledge, Miranda spied Master Windu and Jeez standing beneath her. "I know. Besides, I can't go running off after her with the Trials in the way. Her fate is death," Jeez replied to Master Windu.

 

Miranda didn't completely understand as she watched them turn and walk off. Then, Miranda suddenly felt as if something were pushing her off the ledge. As she fell forward, she tried to grasp the edges of the ledge, but her grip failed. Falling forward, Miranda flailed her arms around as she tried to brace for the impact with the marble floor. She then hit the ground with much greater force than she anticipated as she landed on her chest.

 

"Don't make me continue to ask these questions again and again, Miss Overwatcher. Why did you kill them?" a man asked her. As she tried to get up, her hands slipped forward on the wet ground. Realizing that her eyes had shut during the fall, Miranda opened them to find herself laying in a pool of blood. "Well, I'm waiting," the man asked yet again. Looking over, Miranda saw the man crouching next to her. She quickly recognized him to be Jeez, and she noticed that there was no blood on him.

 

"Waiting for what?" she asked spitefully.

 

"Why did you kill them?!?" Jeez yelled at her angrily.

 

Looking past him, bodies littered the floor. Again, Miranda remembered her past dream, and the scene was the exact same. Looking over at her hands, they were again soaked in blood. Suddenly afraid of what she had done, tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. Before long, her breaths came in deep groans as she layed there weeping in the blood.

 

"Well?? What do you have to say for yourself, murderer?" Jeez stated accusingly.

 

Miranda then started to say, "I... I didn't..."

 

"LIAR!!" Jeez screamed out at her as he stood up and stepped backwards. "I have no place with a liar," he stated in frustration as he quickly turned and walked towards an opening in the room.

 

"Wait!!" Miranda yelled out in tears and desperation. Jeez stopped just as he reached the opening, but he didn't turn around. "Why can't you help me? Don't you remember that night on Illum when we declared our love for each other?"

 

Turning his head slightly to the left, he looked backwards at her. "It was infatuation. Nothing more," he stated in hushed anger. With that, he turned and walked through the opening.

 

"NOO!!" Miranda screamed out after him. She tried to get up to go after him, but she again slipped in the blood and collapsed on the floor. Lying there, Miranda became overcome by all kinds of emotion. Her head swelled with a mixture of anger, fear, hatred, and grief. Finally, she broke down and began to weep uncontrollably.

 

After a couple minutes of crying, she slowly began to calm down. Carefully, Miranda managed to bring herself to her feet and looked around the room. A red hue lit the room as a small fire in a corner threw dancing shadows across the room. Almost a dozen bodies laid on the floor, and all of them had been mutilated in some fashion. Spatters of blood coated parts of the wall, and Miranda could feel nothing but anger emanating from the bodies. As she began to calm down even further, Miranda noticed that she was no longer afraid. Instead, she could feel herself absorbing the anger around her. Tilting her head back, Miranda tensed up as the anger began to manifest itself in her. In a way, she was becoming the anger itself.

 

Then, a groan came from a corner in the room. Snapping her head down, she glared at the source of the groan. One of the bodies began move on its own. The man had managed to survive, and now he was following pure instinct to escape from Miranda. The man slowly crawled towards an opening in the wall. Gingerly stepping over the bodies, Miranda then made her way over to the struggling man. The man groaned again and started to mumble in fear as he noticed Miranda coming towards him. As she reached him, Miranda knelt down and picked him up by the hair on the back of his head.

 

As the man groaned in pain, Miranda heaved in hatred. Near death, there was nothing the man could do to stop Miranda. In one quick motion, Miranda then dropped to her knees and slammed the man's face against the floor. She then began to repeatedly pick his head off the floor and slam it back down onto the floor. In her rage, Miranda didn't even notice the man had died, but yet she continued to beat his head into the floor. Finally, she slammed the head down for the last time and quickly stood up over him in a rage. Looking up through the opening the man had been crawling towards, Miranda found herself looking down a long hallway.

 

As her eyes looked down to the end of the hallway, something swayed in the middle of the hall. Whatever it was, it was hanging from the ceiling. Heading through the opening, Miranda slowly walked towards the object as her anger quickly began to subside. As she got closer, Miranda recognized the object to be yet another dead body. As she continued to get closer, Miranda's pace slowed as she studied the body a bit. It was facing away from her, so she couldn't identify it. However, Miranda did notice that there was no blood anywhere to be found around or on the body.

 

Finally, Miranda slowly reached the body. The person had been hung by the ankles, and the body was hanging downwards with the hands of the person just barely rubbing against the floor. Turning the body around, Miranda finally made out the face. It was Tsunin Uralai, her Master. Miranda suddenly recoiled backwards in surprise whenever she made out the face. Looking at Tsunin's face, Miranda suddenly made out a single singe point on her forehead from a blaster. Whoever killed her had done so with the barrel placed against her forehead.

 

Then, the entire hallway and the body disappeared, and Miranda found herself in an open area lit by nothing but a jagged circle of fire all around her. Miranda could make out nothing but darkness beyond the flames, and she could feel fear tugging at her. However, Miranda realized that the fear was just an illusion, and she pushed it aside. Standing alone in the jagged circle, Miranda breathed in deeply as she found strength within her buried anger.

 

"Good, my young Jedi. Embrace your passions, and it can all be yours," a deep voice stated from beyond the flames. Closing her eyes and tilting her head back in exhilaration, Miranda breathed in deeply. The voice then quickly stated "Now go!!"

 

Slightly startled, Miranda then opened her eyes. She found herself back in Jeez's room back in the Jedi Temple. Feeling a cold sweat over her, she got up and walked to the lone sink. After splashing some water on her face, she looked back down at her hands. They were clean, but she could yet feel the blood on her hands from her dream. Closing her eyes, Miranda couldn't help but to start shaking all over. Then, a pair of hands gently held her shoulders. Surprised, Miranda turned around rapidly.

 

"Hey! Are you alright?" Jeez asked her.

 

"Yeah. Uhh, just a bad dream, that's all," Miranda stated while trying to convince her self of the same thing.

 

"Oh, come on. I can always tell when you lie to me like that. You had more than a bad dream. Just calm down; you're shaking all over," Jeez stated calmly.

 

Inside, Miranda could see nothing but all those dead men in the room from her dream. A tear formed at the corner of her eye as she felt a wave of emotion starting to come over her. "It's ok; it's ok," Jeez calmly stated as he gently reached over and embraced her in his arms. Resting her head on his shoulders, Miranda stopped holding back the tears and wept in his arms.

________________

 

As the elevator began to quickly rise up the shaft, Ja'rott could feel some of his insides shifting downwards from the momentum change. It always had the same effect: he was starting to feel a bit queasy. Holding his head back in a bit of defiance to his own urges, the Hutt did his best to ignore the feeling. Besides, the meeting he was about to have deserved something, even if Ja'rott didn't think of Qestar as an equal.

 

It just didn't make much sense. Qestar just didn't have the reputation among the "heirarchy" of the underworld to start making demands to a Hutt such as Ja'rott. Qestar was a rising operative, sure, but that didn't make him anything too terribly powerful nor special. When somebody demands an unexpected meeting, its usually an indication that either something had gone wrong or that somebody was about to attempt negotiations for a better deal. Neither of the two options was very attractive for Ja'rott. And if something had gone wrong, well, there was a solution to that as well.

 

The elevator then began to slow, and the queasy feeling subsided. Finally, the elevator came to a halt. As the doors opened, four of Ja'rott's bodyguards entered the room. The room was one of Ja'rott's own hangars where two stolen Corellian Corvette's were being stored. Both of the Corvettes were sitting side by side with little room seperating the two. Several crates of parts and machinery littered some of the space between the Corvettes.

 

Emerging from the elevator, Ja'rott looked around for himself as two more bodyguards flanked him. His bodyguards hadn't noted anything suspicious, but no Hutt was ever very trustful of anyone. As he slithered down between the Corvettes, there still wasn't any sign of Qestar. A bit annoyed, Ja'rott looked over at one of his bodyguards. "We aren't early, are we?" he asked.

 

"A couple minutes. And, not to be rude, but these are your hangars anyways, right?" the bodyguard replied.

 

Breathing in a bit deep, Ja'rott realized that the comment did make sense. "Yes, these are my hangars. Even so, a meeting is a meeting none the less."

 

Then, a side hatch opened on the left Corvette. A man then jumped out of the hatch and landed on the ground. It was Qestar.

 

"A bit early, now, aren't we?" Qestar stated rhetorically. "Now for some business."

 

"What this, none of your professional bodyguards this time? You seem rather trusting for this sort of a meeting," Ja'rott replied.

 

"That's quite all right. They're handling something for me at the moment. Besides, this is just business after all."

 

"Fair enough. What seems to be the problem?"

 

"Well, to put it bluntly, you are. You see, I can normally appriciate a policy of playin' the fences; having a bit of play one side at the sake of another. It can be quite profitable, but at the same time, it can also be quite dangerous. If one of the sides finds out, the entire operation is a bust, and then you have to high'tail it out of Dodge. Such is the case with you."

 

A bit surprised at the statement, Ja'rott became a bit concerned. If Qestar was hinting at was true...

 

"That's okay. I can understand your silence, but even you have to realize that situation is about to become that dire. You see, I've been havin' a bit of a look'see at who you've been talking to for these deals of yours; you know, the same deals that you've made me directly responsible for. And now, I've got some things coming down on my head that neither of us want."

 

Growing a bit impatient, Ja'rott then stated, "Well, spit it out already, boy. I'm growing tired of waiting for you to tell me what you seem to know about me."

 

"Fair enough. I've known from the beginning about your deal with the Republic as that part was in my contract. However, what I didn't know was that you had another queen up your sleeve: you had a Seperatist Agent on your payroll. That same Seperatist Agent is the same one who approached me about getting this whole operation started. That's where the fence playin' part comes in. But, there is a part that I don't quite understand. Why did you hand out my name to a certain Republic Agent the other night?"

 

A bit taken aback, Ja'rott now knew that he was going to have to take care of Qestar right now. "Come now, my dear boy. Business is business, afterall. You honestly couldn't come to the conclusion that I would let something come down on my head, would you? Its all about business. I'm sure you can understand," Ja'rott replied.

 

Pulling his head back slightly in realization, Qestar looked at the Hutt sideways for just a moment. Smiling, Qestar then began to laugh slightly to himself as he discreetly tapped a button on the side of his belt. "Oh, I understand how business works all right. And you know? Here's another part of business that I understand: if you can't hold up your end of the contract, then you don't put your imprint on the datapad. Otherwise, there could be rather grave consequences."

 

Then, a hail of blaster fire suddenly erupted from the roof. Within two seconds, all of Ja'rott's bodyguards were dead on the floor. Surprised by the sudden attack, Ja'rott looked around and was about to make a move back towards the elevator. However, the elevator doors suddenly closed as three of Qestar's mercenaries blocked his path. Turning back around, Ja'rott found himself staring down the barrel of Qestar's blaster pistol.

 

"You see Ja'rott, I am a good businessman. I always hold up my end of the bargains. Something else that I know is that if anybody that hires me wants to suddenly turn tables and put my head on a platter, well, there's definately going to be hell to pay."

 

"What do you think you'll acomplish with this? I have a high standing among the rest of the Hutts. You only prove to the rest of the Hutts how much of an unreliable and backstabbing sort you really are," Ja'rott replied angrily.

 

"Me a backstabber?? Oh, I don't think so. I do know what I'm getting into, and if I can't shut all of the gaps closed now, then I'm a dead man anyway. Last I heard, I've got two Jedi that are about to leave the Temple back on Coruscant so that they can eliminate me. They have my name, and that's all they'll need. And besides, I can live without giving my business to the Hutts. There are other resources out there, and I intend to use them. However, there is still just one thing standing in my way."

 

Holding his head up high in defiance to Qestar, Ja'rott waited for the inevitable. Another hail of blaster fire rang out in the hangar. The sound of it echoed around the large space as it continued for several moments. Then, the last blaster was heard. It echoed briefly, and then, the sound died out at last. All that could be heard now was the sizzling flesh of a once highly feared and respected creature that was no more.

_______________

 

In a flash, the blue hyperspace field quickly subsided into streaking white lines and then into stars. Opening her eyes, Miranda then knocked her head lightly against the window in a bit of frustration. She hadn't slept a bit since the nightmare back in Jeez's quarters, and she felt terrible. If she hadn't experienced it before, she probably would've equated the experience to that of drinking too much Ondorian Rum in the morning with a full day's work ahead. Her entire body ached with over 40 hours of sleep deprevation, and the worst part about it was what was keeping her awake. She was afraid of the nightmares.

 

Throuhout the entire trip to Nar Shadaa, Miranda had kept to herself and apart from Master Tsunin. The fear of the nightmares had been eating away at her the entire trip, and Miranda had trouble focusing on anything else. Images of her bloody hands and the sight of pain permenantly etched into the faces of the dead men on the floor played in her mind almost constantly. Its not supposed to be this way, she thought to herself. I can't go down this road. I am a Jedi. So, she yet again tried to clear her mind of the images and to put the fear aside, but like every other time, the images would play through yet again. Then, the fear of the nightmares would return anew.

 

Then, Miranda felt her seat shift a bit as someone sat next to her. "You didn't get any sleep at all, did you?" Tsunin stated as she observed the tired frustration on Miranda's face.

 

Without looking at Tsunin, Miranda just shook her head. Feeling a little cold, Miranda wrapped her arms around her chest and sighed to herself. "Well, we're almost there, so we'll think of something soon enough," Tsunin stated softly.

 

The transport had finally entered Nar Shadaa's atmosphere and was heading towards one of the few public spaceports on the planet. As most of the planet's ports were private owned, there were weren't many options for the transport to land in which made security a bit of a hazard, but traveling indiscriminately helped to keep things under wraps for those that wanted to be left alone.

 

Finally, the transport circled in over the landing pad and slowly decended. With a light bump, the transport landed and opened its doors. Several other passengers disembarked before Tsunin and Miranda. Once they left the transport, Miranda and Tsunin looked around. The place was as advertised: a bustling spaceport that was heavily weather stained and unkept. Trash and empty cargo canisters seemed to be hastily shoved to the side of the walkways, and most people paid little notice to them. The place looked ancient, but it still thrived with life. Feeling around with the Force at all the life was just as breathtaking as it was to see it all first hand. Tsunin had been to Nar Shadaa many years ago with her master, but the place still felt the same: dark and brooding.

 

"First things first: we need to ask around discreetly in a couple of local cantinas. The locals here are a very good source of information provided that you have the credits to get their tongues loose. If you want, we can get some lodging first so that you can get some rest. You're exhausted, and I can tell that by looking at you," Tsunin stated.

 

"I'd appriciate that, but I'm not sure if will help. Its the nightmares again, Master. I can't sleep with the nightmares," Miranda replied.

 

"Well, this discussion can wait till we get some lodging. Come on, there has to be a transport that can get us there."

 

It didn't take long for them to find what they needed. Within several hours, they arrived at an old apartment complex. The owner wasn't too happy about renting out the place to a couple of what appeared to be refugees, but with a couple of credits, that problem was remedied with little hassle.

 

Walking inside, the apartment wasn't much. It was a standard one room apartment with a basic cooking station, one bed, a couch, and one holopanel projector. "Its not much, but it'll do. You stay here and try to get some rest. If you think it would help, try to use the Force induce a peaceful respite. I'll hit up the local cantinas and try to get some information. If I'm not back within eight hours, come and find me," Tsunin stated as she turned to leave.

 

"Master Tsunin, may the Force be with you," Miranda stated behind her.

 

Turning around to look at her Padawan and friend, Tsunin then replied, "May the Force be with you."

 

As the door opened and shut, Miranda then sat down at the edge of the bed. Closing her eyes, the images returned to play another round. This time, Miranda winced away at the fear the images brought on and tried to concentrate on the one thing that always gave her comfort. I really wish you were here, Jeez. I really do, Miranda thought to herself. As she began to think about how Jeez was able to comfort her in other previous times, Miranda laid down on the bed with her eyes still shut. Then, for the first time, Miranda finally fell asleep both out of exhaustion and out of the thought that Jeez could be there to ward off the nightmares.

_______________

 

"Then you have heard about the transport attacks," Tsunin replied to the man.

 

"So what if I have? I bet there ain't a soul on this planet that hasn't heard about them. Just like that incident with the one Hutt that got gunned down in his own hangar just yesterday. Everybody knows about it," the man replied with a bit of a drunken stupor.

 

A bit perplexed, Tsunin suddenly realized that something had to be related between the two. It wouldn't have been the first time Tsunin was about to use the Force to guide her intuition. "You wouldn't think the two are related, would you?"

 

"Hmm? What, you think that the Hutt had something to do with the transport attacks? You must be really new to this system or something. These kinds of things happen all the time; just not at the same time, mind you. I think the big news about that Hutt was his name, you know? Nobody ever thought of Ja'rott as making enemies that would gun him down in his own hangar, but it happened anyways. You just have to expect the unexpected, that's all."

 

"Well, thanks for the information. I guess I'll just have to get used to it here. Its just not like home, though," Tsunin replied as she set some credits down at the counter to cover the man's drink she had bought him. As she turned and left, Tsunin felt a couple of eyes on her through the Force. As she walked away, though, she didn't feel anybody following her.

 

Heading over to a different cantina just down the walkway, Tsunin knew that she wasn't far from the truth, and this next cantina would prove to be a very good source of information. The first cantina had been a very run down place, but this next one definately wasn't. It was really more of a casino than just a simple cantina.

 

Once inside, Tsunin could make out light jazz playing in the backround. "Ma'am? Can I help you?" a butler asked Tsunin. He was dressed rather well for such a place, and Tsunin recognized the place to be rather exquisite for a casino. "Yes, I'm trying to contact a certain friend in this place for some information. Perhaps you could see if they're available?" Tsunin stated lightly.

 

"Could I have your name, please?" he asked politely.

 

"Its not my name you need to concern yourself with. Rather, its the contents of this," Tsunin stated as she discreetly palmed her left hand to reveal a 5000 credit note.

 

"Of course, ma'am. I will inquire my master right away. Please feel free to enjoy a bit of refreshment while you wait."

 

As the butler walked off towards the 'Staff Only' section, Miranda calmly took a seat near the entrance. The place was quite opulent, but it didn't even begin to rival the opulence of some of the Senator's Retreats she had attended to gain her rank as the Political Advisor of the Jedi Council.

 

A waitress finally approached her table and offered her a drink, but Tsunin politely refused it and used the excuse that she was waiting for someone. It was service that the wealthy would appriciate but not admire.

 

Then, Tsunin felt someone approaching from behind. Turning around, she caught sight of two security guards and the butler approaching. "My master has agreed to the meeting. This way, please," the butler stated politely.

 

As she entered the 'Staff Only' section, Tsunin started to feel that something wasn't entirely right. As she tried to probe the feeling, Tsunin found herself repulsed by the Dark Side. As was with recent times, the Dark Side was once again interferring with her connection to the Force. As the entourage headed down the hallway, they came to a door that opened up into an elevator at their arrival. It was guarded by one lone guard who Tsunin recognized as being former military by his stance and demeanor.

 

As they entered the elevator, not a single word was spoken as the elevator began to rise. It didn't rise very quickly like most elevators, but it still arrived at the top floor quickly enough. As the doors opened, Tsunin was momentarily stunned at the incredible opulence of the room. It was a beautifully designed room that was filled with white stone. At a lone desk sat a woman in a bright red dress that was looking right at her. With a quick nod at one of the guards, Tsunin found herself being searched with the barrel of a blaster pointed at the base of her skull. The guards quickly found her lightsaber as well as the container that she kept her credits in.

 

The guard then brought the items to the woman and laid them down on her desk. "A Jedi coming to me for information? That's a bit out of the ordinary," the woman stated as she nodded yet again. She felt the blaster pistol move away and heard it holstered. "Have a seat, my dear."

 

Tsunin then quietly walked over to the desk and sat down in one of the white stone chairs. "Now, what can I do for you?" the woman stated.

 

"I want to know what happened to Ja'rott and the relationship between that Hutt and the transport attacks," Tsunin replied.

 

"Straight to the point, I see. Can I get you some tea or something before we begin? I'm sorry, I really shouldn't forget my edicate at times such as these."

 

"I'd appriciate that, thank you," Tsunin replied knowing that talking while having tea was probably what this woman was used to. With another nod to a guard, the woman then looked right into Tsunin's eyes. She was studying her.

 

The guard soon returned with a tray with two tea cups and a pitcher. Setting it down on the desk, Tsunin then spoke up, "Well, do you know anything about it or not?"

 

"I do, as a matter of fact. Actually, I know quite a bit. I also know that its going to cost you much more than just a single five grand credit note for you to get the complete story. Like anybody else on this planet, business is always my first responsiblity," the woman replied as she poured some tea into the two cups. Handing one of the cups over to Tsunin, she then took the other for herself and leaned back in her chair as she nodded to one of the guards again. The guard then walked over to the container that Tsunin was using, removed the credits, and then counted them out.

 

"45, madame," the guard stated as he neatly place the stack of credits on the table.

 

"45 grand? Now that does get my attention and then some, but its definately too much. I'll take 15 and you can have the rest back for yourself along with the information I'm about to give you. Deal?" the woman asked.

 

Nodding her head in agreement, Tsunin carefully took a sip from her tea.

 

"Very well. This Hutt, Ja'rott, had made a deal with three parties concerning medical supplies. The one you probably know about was the Republic. They were the ones trying to procur the supplies for certain systems that needed the supplies.

 

Another party was an agent of an organization that is heavily growing in power; an organization that is heavily opposed to the Republic. They wanted Ja'rott to stop medical shipments to increase pressure on the Republic. However, Ja'rott understood that he could set the two at odds by allowing some of the shipments to go through and to prevent others from taking place.

 

For this, Ja'rott went to the third party to capture the ships carrying the medical supplies. It was a very efficient way to do business, if I do say so myself. Ja'rott got to keep some of his medical supplies while getting paid by the Republic for the shipments that he allowed through while getting paid by the second party for not allowing some of the shipments to be made. It was a three-way profit venture, and I'm sure he made off very well," the woman stated.

 

"And what of the other two parties? You never mentioned who they were," Tsunin stated.

 

"And I did agree to give you the whole picture, didn't I? Well, the third party is easy enough to understand: a mercenary with resources. This mercenary had the capability and the standing to hire the men he needed to capture the ships as well as equipment he already owned. He's very cunning, and he has the right connections. A rather dangerous combination.

 

He was cunning enough to discover that Ja'rott was getting spooked about the Republic looking into his operation. So, to cover his tracks, Ja'rott was about to make an arrangement with Republic operatives to capture this mercenary. In retaliation for betraying him, the mercenary killed Ja'rott yesterday in Ja'rott's own hangars.

 

This, of course, means that the second party, an agent working for the Seperatist Leader, Count Dooku, has already left Nar Shadaa with good news for his master.

 

However, there is still one part of the puzzle that has yet to be solved: the Republic's investigation into the situation. And now, here you are wanting to ask all the questions, which means that the puzzle is complete."

 

The woman then took a sip from her tea while Tsunin sat still in her chair. However, something was terribly wrong with what the woman had stated. If Ja'rott had given out the mercenary's name to the Republic Agent, then how come she didn't know the name of the mercenary?

 

Then, a click sounded behind Tsunin as she recognized the sound of a blaster being removed from a holster. Turning around to face the noise, she saw that one of the guards was about to point the blaster at her. Reaching out her hand to pull the lightsaber off the desk, Tsunin was suddenly stunned to notice that nothing happened. Confused, Tsunin tried to reach outwards with the Force to get a gage on what was happening, but she found that she couldn't do anything.

 

Looking back over at the woman, Tsunin watched as a door opened up behind the woman. Several men that weren't dressed like guards at all quickly came through with assault rifles at the ready. Then, the butler came in behind them with some sort of an animal that was laying on top of a hollow tube that was filled with a bluish substance. The butler then set the device with the animal on the desk and calmly took up the lightsaber from the desk.

 

Then, Tsunin noticed a man approaching the doorway behind the woman. Tsunin's breathing quickened as she realized that the mercenary that the woman had been refering to was that man. Tsunin knew what was coming, and she was defenseless against it. Pushing aside her growing fear, Tsunin then stood up as the man finally entered the doorway. Calmly pulling out his pistol, the man then pointed it squarely at Tsunin. She waited for him to pull the trigger, but instead, Tsunin suddenly felt a sharp wire around her neck.

 

Struggling for a moment, Tsunin began to grasp for the wire, but she couldn't get her hands around it. Feeling a knee in her back, Tsunin fell forwards. She normally would've fallen on her knees, but instead her neck caught her in the wire. Slowly, her vision began to fade as she struggled to breathe.

 

From the doorway, Qestar watched as life slowly ebbed away from the Jedi without pity as he reholstered his pistol. Then, the Jedi finally quit squirming as the last bit of Tsunin's life left her.

[Jae Onasi]

Ooh, so dark. Bummer about Tsunin. Qestar is just an evil snot, isn't he? The only thing that caught my eye was how weak Miranda seems to be here--I expect her to have a little more backbone as a Jedi. She's going to have to be strong now that she's on her own on Nar Shaddaa....The dream sequence was intriguing.

[Raven_Onasi]

Can't wait to read more. Your very good at this, Stingerhs. Ever think about becoming a professional journalist or author? Your very descriptive when you write, and thats a good thing. Keep it up.

[stingerhs]

well, the final installment will be posted sometime tommorrow morning. i have one final part to complete, and it will be done.

 

and yes, i would post it now, but i prefer to make you people wait.

[stingerhs]

((alright, here it is as promised. just as a fair warning, some of the depictions are a bit on the violent side, although everything should be in good taste. and yes, this is the final installment of this 'episode'. hehe... ))

 

Jeez sat calmly by himself inside the Temple’s Meditation chamber. It was just a couple of hours before he would begin the Jedi Trials, and Jeez wanted to make sure that he was ready. Concentrating on the Force, Jeez could feel it flowing and coursing through his body. As he stretched outwards, he could feel it flowing in the room like the currents of a stream. Concentrating on the currents, Jeez felt as if he was being swept away.

 

Following the currents, Jeez could feel every life around him. Each life contributed to the stream as it gathered into a much larger current like a wide and rapidly flowing river. Before long, however, the river suddenly began to take form. Jeez then fell into the river as it took form. Underneath the surface, Jeez opened his eyes to find himself immersed in water. Heading up towards the surface, Jeez gasped for breath as he was carried downstream.

 

Looking ahead, Jeez noticed that the river was churning and spraying up ahead, and that meant that he was about to run into a rocky section. Trying as hard as he could, Jeez made for the closest shore. However, the current was just simply too swift, and it was a matter of seconds before Jeez was dashed against the rocks. Blinding pain flashed through Jeez’s body as his back slammed into a large rock. Stunned by the pain, the current continued to carry Jeez downstream into another set of rocks. Going under, the dazed Jeez struggled to find the surface. Kicking his legs, Jeez did his best to find the surface.

 

Then, Jeez suddenly felt the current subside, and he simply floated to the top of the water. Reaching the surface, Jeez gasped for breath as he looked around. He noticed that he was now in a large reservoir of some kind. It was dark inside the reservoir, but Jeez could still hear the loud roar of water flowing into the large hollow space. The lighting was just enough that Jeez could make out an island of some kind within 20 meters of his position.

 

Swimming over the island, Jeez started to make out the shadowy shape of several humanoids on the island. Getting closer, Jeez was a bit surprised to recognize that the humanoids were members of the Jedi Council. As he reached the shore, Jeez noticed that all of the Councilmen were focused solely on him and nothing else. Getting out of the water, his own Master, Mace Windu, separated from the line of the other Jedi Masters and approached Jeez. Suddenly concerned about his appearance, Jeez looked down to notice that he was completely dry as if he had never been in the water in the first place.

 

Perplexed, Jeez turned to Windu as he stopped in front of Jeez. “Master Windu, what’s going on? What is this place?” Jeez asked.

 

“This place? Well, this is the gathering point of the Force within the universe. All parts of the Force come together at this point,” Windu replied.

 

“But why am I here with the rest of you?” Jeez responded.

 

“That’s a good question, but you already know the answer, Jeez. This is the beginning of your Trials. You’ve already taken the first step by coming here, and soon, we will begin a series of tests to determine a number of things. You’ve already passed the first part of this Trial by making it here. But now...” Windu stated as he was suddenly interrupted by an odd sound in the background.

 

The sound repeated itself, and Jeez’s heart jumped within himself as he started to recognize the sound. It was a bit faint and far off, but Jeez recognized the sound to be that of a woman crying out for help. Walking along the island in that particular direction, Jeez listened for it. After a couple seconds of silence, Jeez then heard the voice yet again. This time, Jeez’s heart jumped yet again as he recognized the voice to be Miranda’s. Turning to look back at Windu, he and the rest of the Council were gone. Then, Miranda’s voice rung out again, and Jeez instantly snapped his head around towards the sound only to come face to face with Windu.

 

“Don’t go after her, Jeez. As I stated earlier, this is the collecting point of the whole Force, both Light and Dark,” Windu stated ominously.

 

“But we don’t know if that sound is of either the Lightside or the Darkside,” Jeez replied. Hearing the voice again, Jeez turned to face it again.

 

“Either way, you are responding to that voice, Jeez. You are responding to Miranda,” Windu stated ominously yet again.

 

Realizing the depth of Windu’s words, Jeez gazed at Windu in silence.

 

“You wouldn’t respond to the voice if it didn’t mean something to you, Jeez. Tell me, what does that voice mean to you?”

 

Miranda’s voice then echoed out yet again over the surface of the water. Jeez then once again turned towards the voice and started walking in that direction. Following, Windu then stated, “If you go to her, you will fail the Trials,” Windu warned.

 

Not even turning to face Windu, Jeez just kept going once he reached the water as he felt his heart tugging him in that direction. Diving in, he began to swim as quickly as he could to where he thought he had heard Miranda. Pausing for a second to get his bearings, Jeez listened across the surface of the water. Off in the distance, Jeez could hear water splashing and yet another cry for help. Swimming quickly in that direction, Jeez could soon see some sort of a struggle up ahead.

 

Two people were fighting in the water. Jeez could just barely make out a man of some kind trying to force Miranda under the water. Suddenly worried, Jeez swam as quickly as he could to the spot. Upon reaching it, Jeez surfaced to find out where they were, but there was nobody around. Looking around frantically, Jeez then dived under to look around. He didn’t see anybody until he saw something glint in the background. Swimming towards the glint, Jeez could make out Miranda struggling under the surface. Swimming as hard as he could, Jeez tried to reach her, but all he could see was Miranda reaching out towards him.

 

Ignoring the searing pain in his chest from the lack of air, Jeez continued to swim down towards Miranda only to notice that she was slowly disappearing from view. After a couple of seconds, Jeez could no longer make her out under the water as she faded from view. In his final desperation, Jeez swam as hard as he could towards her despite that Jeez knew he needed air. Swimming harder and harder, Jeez’s vision began to fade, and he squinted his eyes out of instinct.

__________________

 

Suddenly opening her eyes, Miranda suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Getting up off the bed, Miranda heaved over a waste bin and vomitted. Something was incredibly wrong, and Miranda could sense it. Gathering her feelings, Miranda noticed that something was lacking. Miranda wasn't quite sure what it was, but she knew that it was a person that she cared for. After searching for a moment, Miranda suddenly realized that she could no longer feel her master, Tsunin Uralai.

 

Miranda didn't quite understand what had happened, but she could sense that it definately wasn't good. Checking the time, it had only been five hours, but Miranda was sure that Master Tsunin would forgive her given what she was feeling in the Force. Making sure she had everything she needed, Miranda gathered her wits and left the apartment.

 

Concentrating on the Force, Miranda pushed aside her previous fear as best as she could and focused as hard as she could on the Force. Once outside, Miranda paused as she could sense every person around her. Life itself seemed to glow and ebb everywhere like a heartbeat, and Miranda fed off of the feeling. Although Miranda didn't know where to go, she trusted her instincts and picked a direction.

 

Sensing that she needed to go for quite a ways, Miranda headed towards a speeder and hopped on board. Starting it up, Miranda heard somebody yelling off in the distance about stealing their speeder. Reaching into her pocket, Miranda pulled out her credit storage and tossed a 1000 credit note out the window which was caught by a man about to pull out a blaster.

 

Rising up into the air, an image of an opulent cantina flashed inside of Miranda's head through the Force. Dropping the speeder back down, Miranda turned to look at the stunned man who was still holding the 1000 credit note incredulously. "You wouldn't happen to know where I can find 5-star dining around here, would you?" Miranda asked the man.

 

The stunned man just looked at Miranda a bit funny, but he finally spoke up. "Well, there is this one spot, uhh, I think its called "Diane's Place" or something like that. Owned by this one really good looking broad named Diana. Really likes contrasts in colors and has some fancy tastes. It ain't exactly 'five star', but its as close as you'll get on this trash heap," the man replied.

 

"Thanks," Miranda stated as she hit the accelerator and took off. Looking it up on the navicomputer, Miranda quickly headed off in that direction. As she got closer, a feeling of dread began to play on Miranda's mind. However, with her sudden focus on the Force, she was easily able to identify it as the Dark Side. Images of her dream began to play in her head yet again, but this time, Miranda didn't let them play on her fears. She knew that it was long past time for her to let her fear take a foothold on her.

 

Nearing the location, Miranda was quick to find a parking spot. As the speeder landed, Miranda immidiately exited the cockpit. Looking around for a moment, a certain man caught her eye. Sensing with the Force, she knew that the man was watching her intently. Not only that, but she also knew that he had been expecting her. Feeling for her lightsaber, Miranda held back the urge to ignite it and attack the man as her fingers graced the cold metal.

 

Turning away from the man, Miranda then headed for the cantina. As she was heading towards the entrance, Miranda almost instantly recognized that she was walking into a trap. Stopping in her tracks, Miranda stood perfectly still. Nothing happened, however, and Miranda wondered exactly what was going on.

 

Miranda then once again made for the entrance. As she entered, Miranda didn't bother to study the opulence of the place. The only thing Miranda knew was that it was the same place that she had seen just a few minutes ago in the image. "Excuse me, madam, but we've been expecting you," a butler suddenly stated from Miranda's left.

 

"I'm sure you have, sir. How can I help you?" Miranda replied without turning to look at him.

 

"If you would be so kind, madam, but we have a special room prepared for you in the back. If you would follow us please," the butler stated as two security guards walked up next to Miranda. As the butler headed off towards the 'Staff Only' door, Miranda followed as she was flanked by the guards. Miranda knew that she was walking right into a trap, but she also knew that she could rely on the Force to get her out of it.

 

As they headed into the back behind the door and towards the elevator, Miranda suddenly sensed something very odd. It was as if a switch had been flipped in the opposite position, and Miranda quickly recognized that her connnection to the Force had greatly diminished. Fear momentarily welled up inside of her as she knew that the trap had already closed. However, there was something odd about the whole situation, and Miranda just couldn't quite place her finger on it.

 

As they headed into the elevator, Miranda did her best to maintain her composure. Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes as she knew it was already too late. Closing her eyes, Miranda did her best to be brave at what was about to come.

 

Slowly, the door motors on the elevator came to life. Metal grated silently against metal as the lubricants had long since worn out. Light slowly began to project outwards at the joint where the two halves of the door met. The halves slowly parted like curtains uncovering a window at dawn. The room itself finally became visible. The white stone shined and glowed brilliantly with no contrasting colors except for one. In the middle of the room on the floor was a bright red color. Its color seemed to be almost swallowed by the white sheen from the rest of the room, but it still stood out in stark contrast. Its consistancy seemed to be the same as molten lead or mercury, and it had been pooled fresh on the floor. Spatter surrounded the puddle, and finally, another drop added to the puddle with a thudding splash.

 

As Miranda stepped into the room, she was finally able to see the source of the red liquid. Hanging from the ceiling, Miranda almost choked as she instantly recalled the image of Master Tsunin hanging in her dream. This time, the only difference was the location and the blood. Strangely enough, Miranda was able to call upon a certain amount of strength from within herself, and Miranda stopped herself from revealing her sorrow to the two guards that were flanking her.

 

With a creak, a door opened up behind the desk. Out of it came a group of men that Miranda initially thought to be soldiers. Suddenly, the two guards grabbed Miranda by the shoulders and walked her over to a chair. Very forcefully, they then shoved her into the chair. Finally, Miranda noticed a man dressed differently from the rest of the men that had just entered. Miranda knew he was the ringleader, and she knew that he was responsible for all of this.

 

As the man entered, he sat down directly across from Miranda. "So, the final piece has come straight to me. I had a funny feeling that you would come for her since your supposed to be, like, 'linked' is the term. And I must say, you're a damn sight better looking than the other one. Its a shame you Jedi don't believe in lovin' and all that jazz," Qestar stated. Propping up his feet on the desk, Qestar folded his arms across his chest.

 

Laughing lightly to himself, Qestar then said, "I just can't believe that little bugga' was right about how easy these crittars make catching Jedi. Ysalamiri, I think is what he called them. Its almost unreal how these little things can push away this 'Force'. Sure, there're supposed to be 'shadows' and all, but the fact that you can't put up any sort of a fight is testament enough if you ask me. It isn't going to be alive for much longer for various reasons, but then again, well, nevermind. So, tell me Jedi, what's it feel like not havin' any power?"

 

Without warning, the guard next to Miranda suddenly slammed the butt of his rifle against her head. Crying briefly in pain, Miranda suddenly realized what was about to happen. A hand then grabbed her mercilessly by the hair on the back of her head. Opening her eyes, Miranda had just enough time to see another guard bring a roundhouse punch across her face. Finally, her hair was let go of, but someone else forcefully picked her up out of the chair and stood her up. Opening her eyes again, Miranda found herself face to face with Qestar.

 

"Its almost a shame, really. You such a pretty girl, and I would just hate the thought of wasting such an opportunity of, well, wasting you," Qestar stated with an evil smile. Pushing Miranda away into another one of his mercenaries, Miranda felt her clothes being ripped away. "Don't move too fast boys. I get the first piece," Qestar yelled out.

 

Force onto her knees, Miranda couldn't hold back the tears. She knew what was going to happen, and she felt absolutely helpless. Forced by her training, Miranda tried to bring some sort of focus onto the Force, but she couldn't sense anything more than shadows. As she knelt there, she suddenly thought of Jeez. Where are you? Why aren't you here? Miranda thought to herself.

 

In her agony, Miranda couldn't help but to think more and more about Jeez. He wasn't there, and he couldn't save her. Why couldn't he suddenly show up and save her? He had done so on so many occasions before, but now, he wasn't going to be there. Miranda couldn't help but to feel incredibly alone, and now that she realized that Jeez wasn't going to suddenly come to her rescue, Miranda began to see Jeez as a traitor. He couldn't rescue her because he didn't want to rescue her. Jeez no longer loved her, and there was nothing she could do about it.

 

Continuing to weep in her agony, Miranda just wished it would all end. Why wouldn't they just kill her? It would just make things so much easier, and it could be over for her. Anger began to flash in her eyes, and she began to scream out curses at the men. Miranda yelled out of her anger, and although she had felt helpless before, she now squirmed in the mercenaries grips as her anger surfaced. Struggling, Miranda began to do as much as she could to fight back. Biting, kicking, and squirming, Miranda almost managed to get an arm free whenever one of the mercenaries connected a punch across her face.

 

The punch only served to feed her anger further, and another soon followed. Before long, they simply flung her to the floor and began to beat and kick at her. Miranda groped in her pain as she felt ribs cracking and repeated kicks to her head. Finally, it subsides as she heard a distant voice call for them to stop. Quivering in agony on the floor, Miranda's breaths began to come in gasps.

 

Lying naked on the floor, Miranda's blood flowed freely from several cuts and wounds. Miranda just wished it would be over, but she knew it wasn't going to be. Her anger was still there, and she wished that she could do something. Miranda once again reached out towards the Force and felt the shadows once again. This time, Miranda did her best to focus on the shadows. Feeling around the shadows, Miranda felt a beating heart of a small animal. The animal was pushing the Force away, but Miranda could still feel its beating heart. Consumed by anger, Miranda then squeezed the shadows together around the heart.

 

Miranda felt the heart crush; broken the way Miranda's heart felt about Jeez. Miranda squirmed at the thought. Jeez, the traitor. He had called her a liar in her dream, but now Miranda could put a name on him: traitor. Oh, how she suddenly began to hate him. He was always trying to show everyone else how much better he was than she was. How he was always there to rescue her from his foolish little schemes. She hated him passionately.

 

A hand reached down and grabbed Miranda by the hair. Pulling her to her feet, Miranda was no longer a whimpering and helpless little animal. "What's this?? Enjoying our treatment, our we? Well, there's certainly a lot more where that came from," Qestar stated.

 

Qestar's fist flew out towards Miranda's face. In an instant, Miranda felt the blow coming and caught the fist in her hand. Circumventing a hidden strength into her arm, she then stopped the fist and held it still. Squeezing with all her might, Qestar cried out in agony as bones began to pop in his hands. "I am not some little weak Jedi, fool. I am Miranda Overwatcher, and I will become your deepest form of terror," Miranda stated darkly.

 

One of the mercenaries then began to go for an assault rifle that was laying on the floor. Other mercenaries quickly began to move to try to either retrieve a weapon or to just simply attack Miranda. However, they didn't know that Miranda could feel the Force again. Inside, Miranda's rage could no longer be held back, and the Dark Side beckoned from within her. Answering the call, Miranda had turned to the Darkside.

 

Gathering the Force within herself, she suddenly flung it outwards in every direction. Qestar and his mercenaries went flying in all directions. Moving quickly, Miranda ran up to one mercenary and delivered a flying kick to his back. Quickly moving behind him, Miranda quickly reached around his head and snapped his neck. Sensing a mercenary had reached his rifle, Miranda used her arm to grab hold of the man's neck with the Force. Squeezing tightly, bones within his neck snapped from the pressure. Whenever she released him, his limp body fell dead on the floor.

 

Other mercenaries began to reach their weapons, but it was definately too late. Miranda lashed out with the Force again and again. Utilizing either her bare hands or just the Force itself, Miranda began to slaughter each one of them one by one while Qestar watched from the floor.

 

Qestar wasn' quite sure what to do. This Jedi was somehow able to feel the Force, and now she was violently killing off everybody in the room one by one. Out of fear, Qestar slowly began to crawl towards the open door behind the desk. With a sickening crunch, Qestar heard a head being split wide open. Then, Qestar suddenly noticed that the only noise in the room was his heavy breathing. Looking behind him, Qestar was suddenly horrified. Miranda stood directly behind him and was looking down at him. She was naked, but she was dripping blood everywhere. Around the room, blood was spattered all over the walls from the violent deaths of his mercenaries. Qestar could tell that some of the bodies had been ruthelessly mutilated, and looking at Miranda, Qestar could only imagine the horrors she had wrought upon them.

 

Without saying a word, Miranda reached down and grabbed Qestar by the hair and pulled his face within an inch of hers. Reaching down, Miranda placed her other hand on Qestar's chest. Suddenly, Qestar felt a pulling sensation all over his body. Pain shot throughout his body in rippling waves. Screaming in agony, Qestar could feel everything in his body rippling towards Miranda's hand. Qestar's skin first began to ripple, and then it began to shrink down and dry up.

 

His body looked as if it was decaying rapidly, but yet his scream continued on. Finally, the screaming began to wane, and then it stopped altogether. Tossing the remains of Qestar's dried body onto the floor, Miranda stood up in the blood that was pooled everywhere on the floor. Closing her eyes, Miranda relished in her new found power. Opening them, Miranda remembered her dream and looked at her hands. Looking down at her bloody hands, Miranda began to laugh lightly to herself.

__________________

 

Opening his eyes, Jeez was back inside the meditation chamber. Breathing hard, Jeez knew that something was wrong with Miranda and that she needed him. Remembering the vision of Miranda fading under the surface of the water suddenly invigorated Jeez as he knew that he needed to do something. Making up his mind, Jeez got up and exited the Chamber. Walking quickly, Jeez headed down a hallway as he made for the hangar where his Jedi Starfighter was being kept.

 

Memories of several visions flooded Jeez’s mind as he headed for the Hangar. He remembered the vision of Windu trying to kill Miranda while he struggled in his convictions as a Jedi. He also remembered Miranda’s descriptions of her dreams, and Jeez began to pick up his pace towards the hangar. Before long, Jeez was running very quickly through the halls. Going past a lot of other Jedi, Jeez did his best to weave through them without running into them.

 

Finally, Jeez made it to the Hangar entrance and headed inside. Heading over to his Starfighter, Jeez started to jump into the cockpit whenever he remembered that he needed to open the bay doors for the fighter to get out. Stopping, Jeez then turned and headed to the console to open the door. Punching in the code, Jeez then turned back around only to see Master Windu sitting on his fighter. With his heart skipping a beat, Jeez froze where he was.

 

“Going somewhere, Padawan?” Windu stated with emphasis on “Padawan”.

 

“I’ve felt it before, Master. Miranda is in trouble,” Jeez stated while breathing a bit hard from the running.

 

“Well, I think that it’s rather strange that none of the Jedi Council have felt what you’ve felt. Don’t you think so?” Windu stated.

 

“Look, with all due respect Master, you just wouldn’t understand my situation,” Jeez stated urgently.

 

“Oh really? Tell me, Padawan, exactly why wouldn’t I understand your situation?” Windu demanded as he got up from his position on the Starfighter.

 

Jeez’s heart skipped a beat yet again as he realized exactly what Windu had stated.

 

“Your silence speaks for you, Padawan. You love Miranda. There is no more denying it any longer. No more hiding it from the Council or the rest of the Jedi Order. You are in love, and that is one of the most dangerous situations any Jedi could face,” Windu stated as he waited for Jeez to reply. However, Jeez remained silent as he knew that Windu was telling the truth.

 

“As you seem to be finding out, love is a dangerous path. Already, it has clouded your judgment. It has made you reckless and vulnerable. So, without any more lies, tell me the truth,” Windu stated.

 

Thinking for a moment, Jeez then looked at Windu and replied, “You don’t understand because you don’t know what the experience is. You’re just like the rest of the Jedi: a group of people that desire to do good for others without understanding love. You have compassion and sympathy, but since you haven’t experienced love, you cannot empathize with them nor can you ever fully recognize yourself among them. You stand there and judge me for something that you’ve never experienced because of your fear of it. I stand here in response to what I’ve seen through my experience, and I am not afraid of my experience.”

 

“Then we have come to a crossroads, my friend. Here we stand affirm on our separate grounds, but I stand in your way. I will always be here unless you take action, Jeez. Does it come down to us crossing each other and our sabers?” Windu stated.

 

Jeez was then well aware that Windu had thrown down an invisible gauntlet. The only way Jeez was going to be able to reach Miranda would be for him to fight Master Windu. Jeez thought about that for a moment. For years, Jeez had known Mace Windu both as a mentor and a close friend. They had fought together, and they had saved each other’s lives on multiple occasions. Jeez remembered every single situation and realization dawned on him.

 

For the first time, Jeez noticed that he was very tightly gripping his lightsaber in his right hand. Relaxing his grip, Jeez knew that just as he could not attack Mace Windu, Jeez could not abandon the Order on the basis of a vision. Tears began to well up in his eyes, and Jeez closed them tightly as he hung his head. In his mind, Jeez could once again see Miranda fading from view, and somehow, Jeez knew that it was the last time he would see her again.

 

 

Copyright 2006 by stingerhs All Rights Reserved

[stingerhs]

i did post this morning as promised, however, there seems to have been some sort of problem with the forums this morning that prevented it from updating this thread. i will delete this post later as i just simply wanted to make sure that everyone knew what happened.

[Raven_Onasi]

AWWWWWW, How SAD!!!! *wipes a tear* poor Jeez.

Very descriptive, I liked it.

[Jae Onasi]

Aw, man, you gotta do a sequel and bring her back.

I enjoyed the imagery and the internal struggles both Jeez and Miranda faced.

[stingerhs]

Aw, man, you gotta do a sequel and bring her back.

what can i say?? its a series of works, so anything could happen.

 

the next part is going to introduce some new characters and bring back some old ones. you can look forward to a lot of the political backround stuff since i seem rather fond of writing about it as well as a lot more action. the only hint that i'm going to give you is that its going to start delving into the Clone Wars.

[starmark2k]

I finally got around to finish reading it and i liked it, i really can't wait untill the rest of the series.

 

It Rocks!!!!

[machievelli]

read