[fic] Just keep Running

[Fallen Guardian]

I like this fic a lot. I think the pyramid is a good idea to incorporate.

[Chevron 7 locke]

Kashyyk,

Entrance to the Shadowlands

 

"Do you think I'll ever see it again?"

 

Juhani looked over at Jolee who was looking over the home that he had built in the shadowlands all those years again. Juhani handed the sleeping Ariana over to Mission. The cathar then walked over to Jolee and grabbed his hand.

 

"It's possible, but tell me: Would you really wish to come back to Kashyyk?" She asked quietly. "There are predators that stalk these forests and there is almost no sunlight at any time."

 

"You may be right...but this was my home for a long time. After awhile it grew on me...and now we may have to leave it forever."

 

Juhani gently pulled Jolee back towards the group and then let go of his hand once they reached the group. "Don't worry, I'm sure that one day you'll be able to return here...or you could take up traveling the galaxy once again."

 

Jolee sighed as he took a last look at his hut before looking back at Juhani. "Maybe I will...but if I do decide to travel the galaxy again, I'm going to make sure my next ship isn't a piece of junk like the last two were so I don't end up crashing again."

 

Juhani let out a soft laugh as they joined up with the others. She stopped for a moment as she felt a dark presence that was far away but was steadily closing in on them.

 

"I believe that our enemy has managed to locate us...but it doesn't make sense. He was badly injured after his battle with me and yet he seems as strong as he was when I first fought him." Juhani had a nervous tone to her voice. She knew that she had broken one of his legs and had probably broken a few of his ribs when her force assisted push had sent him flying through the railing...but at the rate he was closing in on them he could only have use of both of his legs.

 

Juhani looked up at the sky in confusion for a moment. The dark presence had stopped moving towards them.

 

Shiyra put a comforting hand on Juhani's shoulders even as she drew her lightsaber. "If there's one thing that I've learned from my battles with Mical it's that hes full of suprises. It's the reason so many of my friends were caught off guard by him."

 

Jolee was looking up into the air and he then ignited his own saber. "If I were you I would get on the lift and return to the surfa-, Jolee suddenly grabbed his head and gasped in pain as Juhani did the same.

 

Shiyra pulled her hand off Juhani's shoulder and ignited her lightsaber as she looked around to see if Mical was anywhere near them only to see nothing except a few tachs running around.

 

"What is it?! What's wrong?"

 

Jolee managed to raise his head up. "Deaths." He whispered. "Someone or something up there is killing everyone. The wookiees, the animals...they're all dying."

 

Jolee managed to get his senses about him and he rushed over to Juhani to help her. "I haven't had the time to teach her to block out this sort of thing." He said as he put his hands on her head and whispered so that only she could hear. "Come on lass...imagine a wall, a wall that no one can get through, use that as your shield!"

 

Juhani was whispering something under her breath, something that Jolee couldn't understand. "What is it? What are you trying to say?"

 

Juhani raised her voice slightly "I can sense them..." She whispered in a horrified tone. "I can sense each and every death Nobody is being spared."

 

Shiyra eyes widened in horror as she understood what was happening. "You mean...he's killing the wookiees?"

 

Jolee who was still trying to bring Juhani back to reality nodded. "Exactly. And from what I'm sensing he's not leaving any survivors."

 

"We have to help them!" Shiyra said urgently. "He folllowed us here and now the wookiees are paying the price for my foolish decision."

 

Jolee nodded his head as Juhani finally managed to bring her head back up. Hey eyes were filled with fear. "I can sense everything...the joy that hes taking from each and every death. The fear of his victims."

 

Shiyra motioned for Mission to come over by her. "As soon as we reach the surface I want you to head for the Hawk. Put Ariana in her crib and put the Hawk in lockdown mode. You've had practice flying the Hawk before right?"

 

Mission nodded. "Carth gave me lessons back when he was the pilot. I can pilot the Hawk but don't ask me to do any really complex piloting."

 

"Good." Shiyra said. "Keep the scanners on and if Mical comes near the Hawk I want you to take off and head for the closest republic friendly planet. It doesn't matter if I'm not on the Hawk, just make sure my baby survives."

 

Mission nodded even as tears came to her eyes. She turned to the others. "But what about Big Z and the others? Should I bring them along with me to the Hawk?"

 

Zaalbar grunted a negative. "I will not stand by while my father and those who live in my village are slaughtered! I will fight by my father's side until we drive this warrior away."

 

Juhani managed to get to her feet and she and Jolee looked at each other. Juhani narrowed her eyes. "The wookiees have always been kind to us. On occasion they have even left us food." Juhani looked over at Zaalbar. "I will gladly fight by your father's side as well."

 

Jolee nodded as well. "I've been living here for a long time. I used to help out the younger ones who got lost in the shadowlands. I won't let them be killed like this."

 

Shiyra felt tears roll down her cheek. She had came here to try and lose him, to lose him by hiding among the population. Her act of cowardice had brought destruction on the wookiees. "It's my fault that the wookiees are being killed. Count me in as well."

 

Both Juhani and Jolee shook their heads. "You have a child to look after. We can handle this."

 

Shiyra shook her head. "You don't know what he's capable of. He was able to kill my former crew without much difficulty. One of them was the leader of the mandalorian clans and he was one of the toughest men I've ever met. Besides...I'm the reason he's here."

 

Juhani and Jolee looked over her and shook their heads again. "I'm sorry lass, but I won't let your child lose her mother. Get to the Hawk and fly away as fast as you can."

 

The old man and the cathar both looked at each other and then force jumped onto a branch before jumping up onto another branch as they jumped higher and higher as Shiyra watched them as they quickly got out of sight.

 

She turned to Mission who was also watching the two of them until they were out of sight. "Mission...take Ariana to the Hawk. I'm going after them."

 

Without another word Shiyra jumped up on the branch above them and jumped from branch to branch until she was out of sight as well.

 

Mission turned to look at Zaalbar only to lose sight of him after a moment as he quickly climbed up the trunk of one of kashyyk's giant trees.

 

Stay safe Big Z...she thought as she ran to the lift and gently set Ariana on the floor of the lift as she pulled a few switches and the lift began to rise up off the forest floor."

 

 

Rwookrrorro

 

Mical smiled as he managed to dispatch yet another wookiee with his lightsaber. He then quickly turned around and unleashed a massive amount of force lightning on a group of wookiee guards, killing most of them and sending a few of them flying off the edge of the railing.

 

I would normally consider this beneath my notice but if it draws Shiyra out of hiding then It will be worth it. These wookiees...I would rather blast them all with my ship but the echoes will draw her out eventually.

 

He was just about to cut down a group of wookiees who were running at him when he suddenly felt a sense of extreme danger. He quickly force jumped backwards as a violet lightsaber cut through the air where his head had been a moment ago.

 

He then brought his lightsaber up to block as yet another lightsaber came down on him from above him. This lightsaber was green. Mical had to admit he was abit suprised. He hadn't expected their to be another force user on this planet.

 

He turned to look at his opponets as they landed in front of him. He quickly looked over them. One was the mysterious being who had attacked him before, now that the mask was off he could see that it was a cathar. The other was an older dark skinned man with almost no hair.

 

"This is quite a suprise. I was expecting Shiyra to come after me, obviously the ripples I created through the force extended further then I thought." Mical said thoughtfully as he unleashed a stream of lightning at the old man who caught it on his blade.

 

Juhani narrowed her eyes at Mical. "You are going to pay for the deaths that you caused today." Juhani said angerly.

 

"I highly doubt that." Mical said with a dark smile on his face.

[Fallen Guardian]

I really like it, keep it up. Just one question though, how did Mical become so powerful?

[JediMaster12]

Nice to see that you've continued this story. As always I am astounded by how you managed to have Mical turn out to be the biggest baddie ever. The introduction of the Sith pyramid, or is it a holocron? was a good touch. Now it was just plain cruel to execute the Wookiees in order to draw the exile out. Then again when you have cold cruelty, there really is no point in bemoaning it.

 

It was very well done and the cliffhangers leave wondering what happening next. Good job as a whole.

[Chevron 7 locke]

((@ Fallen Guardian. I'm sorry to say that it's a secret for now, but don't worry, How he became so powerful will be revealed in upcoming chapters. @JM12, Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.))

 

Rwookrrorro

 

Juhani and Jolee both warily watched their smiling opponent who seemed very much at ease among the bodies of the slain wookiees. His lightsaber which was glowing yellow caught an incoming bowcaster bolt and sent it flying back at the wookiee who had fired it, catching him in the neck and causing him to fall to the ground in a heap.

 

"The wookiees I killed weren't enough to draw the exile out." Mical said thoughtfully. "Perhaps it's because they were simply not strong enough in the force to cause a ripple...but perhaps your deaths will finally draw her out."

 

Juhani hissed in anger. "You murdered the innocent today. rest assured, you will pay for your crimes."

 

Jolee looked over at her and shook his head. "Don't give into your anger Juhani. He needs to be stopped but remember: You should only kill as a last resort."

 

Mical didn't give Jolee a chance to say anything more as he gathered the force around him and launched himself at Jolee who barely managed to jump out of the way. Mical stopped himself before he slammed into one of the destroyed huts and instantly turned around just as Juhani jumped up into the air and brought her lightsaber down on him. Mical couldn't help but smile as he easily managed to deflect the blade. Before Juhani could launch another attack, Mical unleashed a massive wave of force energy that sent the cathar flying through the air towards the railing.

 

Before Juhani could fly off the side of the walkway, Jolee grabbed her through the force and managed to alter her path so that she wouldn't fly off the walkway, instead the cathar hit one of the huts and slid down to the ground in a heap.

 

Mical looked down at the cathar who was now out cold and then turned to Jolee and smiled at him.

 

"One down." He said with just a hint of glee. Jolee force jumped backwards and began to focus the power of the force into his free hand. This was going to be a difficult battle. Was this the "Mical" that he had been told about? It didn't really matter to Jolee, whoever this was had managed to take down Juhani and that was no small feat. Jolee and Juhani had fought their share of dark force-users before and they had never fought someone like this before.

 

"Now what could an old man like you think you could do against me?" Mical taunted. The cathar had proven to be only a minor difficulty and the old man most likely wouldn't be much of a problem either.

 

"You'll find that with age comes experience." Jolee said as he unleashed a stream of force lightning at Mical who was unprepared for the attack. The dark force user shouted in pain as the lightning wracked his body. Mical, despite the pain he was in gathered the force around him and smiled at Jolee.

 

"Bad idea."

 

Mical unleashed a massive wave of force energy that broke Jolee's concentration and sent him flying directly into one of the massive trees that grew on Kashyyk.

 

Jolee Bindo hit the ground without even a whimper.

 

Mical was breathing heavily as he struggled to stay on his feet. The combination of the force lightning that had hit him and the force wave he had used to knock Jolee out of the fight had taken quite a bit out of him. He couldn't help but smile though. The two jedi had underestimated him and now they would die. Now...which one would he kill first? Such a difficult decision.

 

He looked over at the cathar who was now awake and was struggling to summon her lightsaber to her hand. Mical smiled as he slowly walked towards her.

 

"My...how the mighty have fallen." He said as he looked down at her. Juhani looked back up at him with defiant eyes that had no fear in them.

 

"You may have defeated me once..." Mical said quietly. "But I learn from what few mistakes I've made. I will not give you a chance to ruin my plans for the exile."

 

Juhani looked up at him angerly as he brought his boot down on her lightsaber as she continued trying to summon it her. Mical continued smiling even as he applied pressure and crushed Juhani's lightsaber with his boot.

 

Juhani looked down at the ground. "End it coward."

 

Mical brought his lightsaber up and prepared to bring it down on her head. "Gladly."

 

Just as Mical was about to bring his lightsaber down on the cathar's head he heard the sound of soft cloth boots hitting the walkway behind him. He turned around and smiled plesantly at the robed figure who had stopped walking as was simply staring at him.

 

Shiyra stepped out of the shadows and stared at the bodies that littered the village. "Mical..." She said in a shocked voice. "What have you done? I didn't thinkl that you could possibly do this."

 

Mical looked down at Juhani and then kicked her in the head, knocking her out cold again. He then turned to Shiyra and smiled that same plesant smile at her. "It's really your own fault Shiyra. You should know by now that wherever you go, I will follow. It was simply bad luck on the wookiee's end that you decided to seek refuge here."

 

He kicked one of the wookiee bodies out of the way as he slowly began walking toward Shiyra as he reignited his lightsaber. "Are you finally ready to die Exile? After all running and hiding you've done are you finally ready to die knowing that once you and your allies are gone the darkside shall reign supreme?"

 

Shiyra simply stared at the ground. Why should they even try to fight a monster like Mical? Someone who always seemed to survive no matter what happened.

 

Mical smiled at her again. He couldn't resist throwing in one last taunt. "As soon as I dispose of the twi'lek guarding your daughter I think I'll take her for myself. You should be proud Shiyra, your daughter is going to be the first in a new generation of sith."

 

That last comment seemed to break through Shiyra's feeling of despair. "What did you say?" She whispered quietly. as she looked up at Mical. He hand was nowhere near her lightsaber.

 

"You heard me exile. Your daughter will become my student."

 

Mical had no idea what hit him next.

 

Shiyra's lightsaber came flying to her hand and Mical barely had time to bring his own saber down to block against a strike that nearly took off his head. Shiyra's lightsaber strikes seemed to come from everywhere at once and Mical was barely able to keep up.

 

Shiyra force jumped backwards and Mical was almost sent flying backward as she unleashed a massive force wave that he was barely able to defend againt. He looked up at her and was barely able to jump backwards before her saber cut through the air where his head had been a moment before."

 

"How...?" He muttered in amazement as Shiyra began to gather the force to her free hand.

 

"You make on fatal mistake Mical." She said as she unleashed a powerful stream of lightning at Mical who was barely able to catch it on his lightsaber. "You took Atton from me...you murdered the crew that you once served with and you've killed countless innocents. Everyone has a breaking point Mical." She said quietly. "And I've just reached mine. You will never touch my daughter as long as I live."

 

Mical looked at her. For the first time in a long time he felt something he thought he would never feel.

 

Fear.

 

I need to get out of here come up with a plan. he thought urgently as he quickly pulled the sleeve of his robe up and tapped a control panel. He looked on with fear as Shiyra slowly walked towards him, her expression was one of extreme anger.

 

Just as she was about to reach him Shiyra suddenly turned around as the sound of engines filled the air. A dark shape filled the air and shiyra force jumped into the air as laser blasts echoed through the otherwise silent village where she had been standing just a moment ago. Mical sighed in relief as he used what was left of his strength and force jumped up onto the ship and quickly settled in the pilot's seat."

 

"There will be a reckoning exile." He shouted over the sound of the engines. "The next time we meet...only one of us will survive."

 

The small fighter took off into the atmosphere and Shiyra deactivated her lightsaber as she looked around the village.

 

"Your right Mical...the next time we meet only one will survive." She said quietly as she looked over the ruins of the wookiee village. "But this time...the innocents will not suffer because of my decisions."

[JediMaster12]

Oh ho! Mical did a bad, BAD thing. If there's one thing that I have learned is that you never mess with a mom. I tell ya mom's are some of the vicious creatures in existence. They are a species of their own

 

That was a good set up. Shirya is now going to stop running and fight back now. Nice when you have an incentive on the line. I love the last line because it shows determination to fix things. Good job Chev.

[Chevron 7 locke]

((Mach, do you think you could review the story again? I'd like to see what I can improve on and I would honestly like to hear your opinion on it ))

 

One Day Later

Ebon Hawk

 

"Alright...so what's the plan now?"

 

No one could answer Mission Vao's question as the Ebon Hawk continued on it's journey through hyperspace. Shiyra who was holding Ariana who was sleeping. "I don't know Mission...We can't have a repeat of what happened at Kashyyk and we can't confront him alone. If we head for an inhabited planet Mical will most likely kill the inhabitants to draw us out...And he's too dangerous to fight alone on some uninhabited planet."

 

"But what if we had allies when we fought him? Most planets have security forces like the TSF and Dantooine has a militia, we could head for one of those two and see if we could get help."

 

"No...Mical would simply take them out first. He's one of the strongest people I've ever fought. And I'm not going to endanger anyone again. Mical has proven that he's not afraid of killing the innocent to get my attention."

 

Mission shook her head. "What did you do to make him so angry?! Even the sith I fought in the Jedi Civil War weren't as determined to kill us as that guy is!"

 

Shiyra shook her head. "I don't know what we did...but I do have a theory that might make sense. "When I first met Mical on Dantooine he was working for the republic. After he first attacked us I checked the republic database and found that all mentions of Mical have been wiped from the databases. Nothing is left."

 

Juhani who had just been released from the medbay by Jolee growled. "Then the question remains...did Mical delete the information from the databases...?"

 

"-Or did the republic?" Jolee finished. "I have to admit. It might be a possibility that the republic deleted the information. During the Jedi Civil War the republic covered for an old friend of mine. His name was Sunry and he was convicted of murdering a sith on the planet Manaan. He was found innocent of the crime but we later found out that he killed the sith in cold blood. After that little incident I found it hard to trust the republic."

 

Zaalbar limped into the room with a snarl on his face. "We should take the fight to him! This...outsider killed everyone in my village including my father! Honor demands that we make him pay for what he has done!"

 

Mission moved over to Zaalbar and put an arm around the wookiee's shoulder. "Don't worry Big Z, we're going to make sure that this guy pays for his crimes."

 

Shiyra raised her hands to calm everyone down before this discussion became an argument, she did have an idea but she was hesitant to voice it. "Everyone needs to calm down. I agree with you all: Mical needs to be stopped. But we can't go after him like this. What we need to do is come up with a plan. What we have now is a limited opportunity."

 

Juhani stared at her. "And how do you see this as an opportunity? Right now we're on the run and most likely Mical is going to find us as soon as we drop out of hyperspace."

 

Shiyra shook her head. "No...I have a feeling that this time he ran. I managed to take him by surprise on Kashyyk when we fought and he was forced to retreat. What we have now is time and that is something we normally don't have. I have no doubt that he's going to come after us again but it's going to be after he manages to recover from his wounds and once he's confident enough that he'll be able to handle us this time."

 

Juhani shook her head. "And how do you know this? By the time we got back to the Hawk his ship was gone."

 

"I know this because I've been fighting Mical for nearly a month now. He was extremley confident in all of our encounters." She turned to Jolee and Juhani. "You must have noticed that when he fought you two. He was confident when he fought you."

 

Both Jolee and Juhani nodded. "True." Jolee said quietly. "But he wasn't overconfident when we managed to surprise him. Then he stopped underestimating and took us seriously."

 

Shiyra smiled darkly. "I managed to surprise him big time when I forced him to retreat. It's going to be awhile before he heals from his wounds and he feels that he'll be able to fight us again. In the meantime I have an idea of where we can go to find information on fighting him...and maybe even find some information that might tell us what happened to him."

 

Shiyra moved over to the display console and the image of a planet with a large space station hovering over it.

 

"We're going to Telos. It'll have to be a short visit but it could tell us how to finally defeat him...or maybe even possibly save him."

 

 

 

 

Hyperspace

 

Mical looked down at his arms which were still very sore from his last battle with the exile. He looked down at at the tubes that were transferring kolto to his wounded arms from a small kolto pack sitting next to him and then looked at the sith holocron that was sitting on top of one of the consoles. He had considered using it but the sith healing process was quite painful and in his weakend state he might not be able to handle the healing.

 

No...it was better to use the kolto to heal himself. It might be slower but at least there was very little risk of him dying.

 

And he refused to die. He would not rest until the Exile and her companions were dead. But he knew that before he could confront them again...not so soon after his battle with the exile. Her strength on Kashyyk had suprised him but he would not underestimate her again.

 

The fighter's computer began to beep, signaling that he was about to come out of hyperspace at his destination. He smiled as a brownish-red planet appeared in front of him.

 

It appears that I still have much to learn before I can deal with Shiyra. And what better place to learn then Korriban?

 

((Sorry for the short chapter. The next one will be longer.))

[JediMaster12]

This was a nice filler and sets up for what Shirya is going to do. I also like the fact that Mical is now unsure about the turn of events. His goal is the same but now that Shirya is fighting back, it changes the rules. Keep it up Chev.

[Chevron 7 locke]

Korriban

 

Korriban...the place where my journey down the darkside began. Mical thought as as his small fighter headed for the ruins of the Dreshdae settlement. Mical sighed heavily and looked down at the broken remains of Korriban's sole settlement. After the Jedi Civil War, the sith had turned against one another and the settlement had been destroyed in the power struggle. As far as Mical knew, he was the only living person currently on Korriban.

 

It hadn't always been that way.

 

When he had first arrived on the planet years ago, it was because he had been in search of Jedi and Sith artifacts that may have been left behind when the sith had turned against one another. He had been naive when he had first arrived on Korriban. He had been idealistic and had been hoping that he could find holocrons or other artifacts that could be used to help rebuild the jedi order after so many jedi had been wiped out by Darth Nihilus and the other members of the sith triumvirate. At first...after weeks of searching the ancient tombs he had found nothing. Whatever had been left in the aftermath of the infighting between the sith had either been hidden by experts or had been stolen by treasure hunters.

 

It was after a month of searching that he had found the tomb.

 

A ship had flown in overnight and had landed close to the tomb. Mical had been snapped out of his meditative state when he had heard the sound of a ship passing over the Dreshdae settlement. It had only taken him a few moments to power up his ship's sensors and to locate where the ship had landed and he had immediately set out on foot to take a look at what was happening. After a few minutes of using the force to increase his speed he had managed to reach the ship that had landed at the very edge of the Valley of the Dark Lords. He had managed to find a small area overlooking the area that the ship had landed in. He had sighed when he had seen who was crewing the vessel.

 

Flashback

 

Treasure hunters...Mical thought angrily as he looked down at the assortment of individuals leaving the ship. The ship was big, it looked as if it was a heavily modified freighter that was now armed to the teeth. He continued watching as a twi'lek who had a long scar going down his right head-tail addressed the group of treasure hunters.

 

“Alright you group of idiots! The information from the bounty hunter had so far been correct. It's almost a shame that we had to kill him but we couldn't have that information be shared with everyone couldn't we?”

 

Mical could hear laughing from the crowd of treasure hunters. His hand began to head down to his lightsaber but he stopped. He didn't know if it was his own anger or the effect that Korriban had on force users but he had been finding himself getting angry faster and for trivial matters.

 

I need to stay calm...There is no emotion...there is peace.

 

He looked back down at the group of treasure hunters and continued to listen. The twi'lek captain looked over his group and smiled. “We found the tomb and we're armed to the teeth. According to the bounty hunter, we may be facing standard sith defenses, ancient droids and possibly some sort of creatures that the sith may have mutated. Not to mention traps. Everyone has their breath masks equipped correct?”

 

The large group of treasure hunters nodded as one as the twi'lek captain began to pace. “Now...from what we've heard about the other tombs they each have unique defenses so despite what that bounty hunter told us we may run into surprises. Remember, travel in groups and if you find anything valuable...contact me immediately. Are we clear?”

 

“Yes sir!”

 

The twi'lek captain walked towards a wall that looked like an ordinary wall. He reached forward and pressed his hand against a small stone that seemed to be stuck in the wall. Nothing happened for a moment but then dust began to fall as a small opening appeared as the walls began to shift and move. The twi'lek captain smiled as the walls finally stopped moving.

 

“Forward squad...move in!”

 

A small group of four individuals, each a different species slowly moved forward, blaster rifles primed and ready. The four moved into the dark tomb and activated their glow lamps and took a quick look around. “All clear sir. No signs of active defenses so far.”

 

Squad two. Move in! Squad one with continue to scout ahead. Squad two will provide support for the forward squad in case they run into trouble.”

 

Mical continued watching the group of treasure hunters as they went into the tomb in squads of four. Whoever was leading this treasure hunting expedition was skilled and must have had prior experience. The twi'lek captain motioned for the two remaining crew members to take up positions guarding the entrance to the tomb as he walked in after his crew.

 

This can't be good. Mical thought as a sudden thought came to mind. Sith artifacts by themselves were dangerous but what if these hunters found a holocron?! If they did find one and ended up selling it someone there was no telling what kind of damage it could do if it fell into the wrong hands.

 

For all I know...this could bring about the rise of another dark lord. Mical thought urgently. It was a tough decision. He could try to order the treasure hunters to leave this planet and contact the republic about this unknown tomb. Or he could take matters into his own hands and make sure that they never found anything.

 

He chewed his bottom lip as he pondered what to do. It would most likely take the republic weeks to get a garrison out here to guard the tomb, by that time the treasure hunters would most likely be gone with whatever treasures that they could get their hands on. But if were to fight the treasure hunters himself...he could keep them from selling the artifacts.

 

It appears I have no choice, Mical thought as he summoned his lightsaber to his hand and ignited it. The glowing yellow blade crackled to life and Mical focused in on the two guards outside the tomb.

 

There is no emotion...there is peace, Mical thought as he force jumped at the two guards.

 

They never saw it coming. The two guards hit the floor with a thud as Mical's lightsaber cut across their chests before they had a chance to react to the attack.

 

Two down...Mical thought. Only around thirty to go.

[Chevron 7 locke]

Korriban

 

Peace is a lie there is only Passion.

Through Passion I gain strength

Through strength I gain power

Through power I gain victory

Through victory my chains are broken

The force shall free me

 

Mical sat with his legs crossed as he consulted the pyramid shaped holocron that he had set down before him a few hours ago. It was the same pyramid that he had used to heal himself back on Kashyyyk a few days ago. For reasons unknown to him, he could access some of it's functions when it was taken off world but to access the gatekeeper and the valuable information it contained he had to be on Korriban. He didn't care though. He didn't care why it only let him access it's information on Korriban, all he cared about was the knowledge it contained. He had been studying it since he had found it months before and he had still barely scratched the surface of it.

 

The gatekeeper looked up at him and a sneer appeared on it's face. The small hologram looked human but there were tattoos on it's face and arms. “So once again the former jedi returns. Tell me, did you manage to kill the jedi once you found her?”

 

Mical kept a straight face. He did not want to show the fear that he was feeling. This holocron was clearly different from the jedi ones that he had once studied. He had no idea if the holocron had the ability to kill him or not.

 

“No. I often came close but she was able to escape my grasp. I almost had her on Kashyyyk but apparently there were jedi in hiding. One of them was able to surprise me and I was wounded. She somehow managed to gather powerful allies even when on the run.”

 

The gatekeeper's eyes narrowed as it looked up at him and Mical felt a shudder run through him. “What of the child? Did you have any opportunities to steal it away from her?”

 

“No. As far as I can tell she often leaves it aboard her ship with someone on board. The ship was modified and needs either the pass code to open it or a verbal pass code that only the exile can provide.”

 

“I am most disappointed. I give you my knowledge and yet you are unable to kill a single jedi. You were able to extinguish the lives of her companions easily and a few of them were jedi.”

 

Mical narrowed his eyes back at the holocron. Despite not knowing the full capabilities of the holocron he didn't enjoy being mocked. “For the record, the jedi that I managed to kill were not fully trained. The exile left known space and expected them to rebuild the order in her absence. If not for me killing them off it's possible they would have found you and destroyed you.”

 

The gatekeeper laughed. “I'm sure that any one of them would could have killed the exile easily if they fell as easily as you did. But yet you have failed me repeatedly. Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps you are not the one to finally rid the galaxy of the jedi.”

 

Mical clenched both of his hands into a fist. The gatekeeper was merely an extension of the holocron so it was the holocron itself that was mocking him.

 

Only one other person had mocked him and that had been when he had fought against the treasure hunters when they had entered the unknown tomb.

 

Flashback

 

Mical's lightsaber cut through the torso of one of the last remaining treasure hunters. The man screamed in pain as the lightsaber took his life. The last remaining hunter brought his blaster rifle up and rapidly hit the fire button only to have Mical deflect the blaster bolts into the wall as he slowly advanced towards the hunter. The jedi's eyes were filled with anger as he continued to advance on the hunter. Mical was trying his hardest to keep from killing the hunter at that moment. The jedi could feel Korriban's influence driving him to kill the man in anger and he was trying his hardest to resist the urge.

 

The hunter dropped his blaster to the rifle and raised his hands above his head. Mical could sense the man's terror. “P-Please! You don't have to kill me! I'll give you what I found! Just please don't kill me!” The man quickly reached into the pocket on his jacket and pulled out a triangle shaped object. Mical instantly recognized it.

 

A holocron. A sith holocron.

 

“It's all yours in you let me live.” The man said quietly as he dropped it on the floor and slowly backed away. Mical looked down at the holocron and than back at the hunter.

 

Kill him...Kill him! There can be no survivors. If they leave then more will hear of what they found and then more will arrive.

 

Mical looked up in confusion. The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. But it made sense: If these treasure hunters escaped then more would arrive soon. And that raised the possibility that sith artifacts could fall into the wrong hands.

 

“I'm sorry. But you are too great of a risk.” Mical said quietly as he raised his lightsaber and brought it down on the man, killing him instantly. Mical grabbed the holocron off the floor and was about to head for the entrance when he heard the sound of a blaster being armed behind him.

 

“Freeze jedi. Turn around slowly or you die where you stand.”

 

Mical slowly turned around with the holocron in hand to see the twi'lek captain pointing a blaster rifle at him. “You know, at first I thought my men were being killed off the tomb's defenses. But now...I guess I found the real reason.”

 

The twi'lek motioned him to drop the holocron on the ground and Mical narrowed his eyes. “I take it you already have plans for what to do with the holocron. Am I correct?”

 

The twi'lek smiled and nodded. “As soon as that man you killed informed me what he had found, I contacted an associate of mine who was able to find a buyer within hours.”

 

Mical was tempted to look down at his lightsaber that had been dropped on the floor along with the holocron. “You know that I can't allow you to leave with that. No one should have access to the knowledge that that thing may contain.”

 

The twi'lek started laughing. “Well, that seems to me that you think that only you should have access to it. You killed all of my men without knowing if you would find anything at all. It seems to me that you are acting more like a sith than a jedi.”

 

Mical stopped for a moment as the twi'lek's words sank in. He had killed nearly the entire crew of treasure hunters without knowing if they had found anything or not. What did that make him? If he had killed so many could he really call himself a jedi?

 

The twi'lek captain took his stunned silence as an opportunity to pull down on the firing trigger and fire off a blaster shot at Mical. Time seemed to slow as Mical's lightsaber was summoned to his hand and his lightsaber came up. The twi'lek's eyes widened in fear as the former jedi's lightsaber caught the blaster bolt and deflected it back directly at his head.

 

The twi'lek captain toppled over backward and hit the ground with a thud.

 

Mical looked down at the holocron as he heard the same voice in his head that he had heard earlier. Well done...

 

Mical tried to focus in on the voice, to try and figure out where it was coming from. He slowly looked down at the holocron and heard the voice again. You are right. I am the one who has been guiding you. It was through you that I was able to save myself from being sold like some sort of trinket that would have been locked away in some sort of vault. You have killed men and women who sought to steal me away from the tomb.

 

Mical looked down at the holocron as a blue glowing figure appeared on the floor. I was once known as Darth Valeron in life. What you have found is all that remains of my legacy.

 

Mical backed away from the holocron and deactivated his lightsaber. “I should destroy you right now! The sith have brought nothing but pain and destruction to the galaxy! And you somehow manipulated me into killing the treasure hunters! I could have disabled them.”

 

Was it really me that forced you to kill them? There has always been darkness within your heart jedi. I merely brought it out and showed it to you. It felt good, killing those treasure hunters didn't it? Knowing that you were ridding the galaxy of people who could have brought about the rise of the sith?

 

“It...I merely stopped them from bringing about the rise of another sith lord. If you were to fall into the wrong hands. And now that they are gone you will be taken back to the jedi temple and locked away.”

 

You may be able to lie to me jedi, but you can't lie to yourself. Even now I sense the hatred within you. I can feel your anger towards a specific someone. Tell me jedi, who is it that you are so angry with?

 

Mical almost manage to catch himself but the words slipped off his tongue as his tone turned bitter. “The Exile. She left us here...left us alone...”

 

You wish to make her pay...You wish to make her suffer for leaving you here to rebuild the jedi order alone. I can sense the hatred within you.

 

“That's n-not true.” Mical stammered unconvincingly. “She left us with a task. To rebuild the jedi order and I have made that my goal.”

 

Don't lie to me jedi...Speak the truth.

 

“Fine!” Mical shouted. “I had dreams of my own. To explore the galaxy, to aid the republic in it's time of need. And she entrusts me to rebuild the jedi order from scratch! It's isn't fair to me or to the others that she left behind! She could have stayed to help us but instead she left for the unknown regions with that smuggler of hers!”

 

Let your anger fill you jedi! I can teach you. I can help you accomplish your dreams...but first there is something you must do for me.

 

“And what would that be?” Mical asked skeptically. Truth be told, it had felt good to say why he was so angry but still...why would a sith holocron want to help him.

 

Destroy what is left of the jedi. Wipe out the exile. As far as I can sense, she is one of the last remaining of the jedi. Destroy her companions and those who traveled with her. Only then will you be able to forge your own path.

 

Mical stopped for a moment and looked down at the holocron. He held no ill will towards any of those who had traveled with the exile except for Atton but still...to be able to forge his own path in the galaxy...it was a tempting offer.

 

An offer he would accept.

 

“I pledge myself to your teachings.” He said quietly as he sat down in front of the holocron's gatekeeper. “Please...teach me. Teach me all that you know.”

 

Very well. But beware. Those who say that the ways of the darkside are simple are fools. It will take much hard work before you are ready to face those who you once traveled with.

 

“Yes...master.”

 

 

Flashback ends

 

Mical smiled down at the holocron. It was an unpleasant, slightly demented smile. “I have learned much from you but I think you are no longer fit to be my teacher. If there is one thing I have learned for you it's that the information from holocrons is that the knowledge can be siphoned from the holocron and placed directly in the brain.”

 

The gatekeeper looked up at him. A suddenly nervous look appeared on it's face. I will destroy myself before I allow you to do that.

 

The next thing Mical did surprised not only him, but the gatekeeper itself as he gripped the information center of the holocron and pulled.

 

Ancient symbols and languages he had never even heard of before flashed through his mind along with thousands of other pieces of information. He saw the entire archive of the holocron's information flash through his mind. He could barely breath, his mind was struggling to make sense of all of the information even as his hand reached out and grabbed the holocron and began to crush it.

 

No! You can't do this! I am your teacher! The one who has taught you everything you know! You cannot destroy me if you have any hope of destroying the exile!

 

Mical smiled as his mind began to slowly make sense of all of the information. He would have to rest for a few days as his mind processed the information. “I can do this. I have absorbed all of your information. Which means I no longer need you.”

 

Mical slowly and with great pleasure crushed the holocron to dust in a moment and smiled as he knelt down in the remains of the holocron and began to meditate.

 

The next battle between the Exile and myself will be the last one. He thought as he meditated. Either I will die or she will.