[fic] Star Wars: The Last Hero (II)

[christos200]

Chapters:

 

I

 

STAR WARS

 

The Last Hero

 

A week later

 

A week after the clash between the two Jedi and the Sith Lord, everything returned back to normal. The duel had been forgotten. People were coming in the Cantina to enjoy themselves. And John was still working as a slave in all but name for Han. Han had asked him to throw some garbage out of the Cantina, since all orders had been served. John expected that Han would allow him to rest a bit, until a new costumer would come. But this was only wishful thinking. While John was in the Cantina, he would never rest.

 

When he exited the Cantina and walked towards the trash bin, he saw how beautiful the night sky of Carleria was. He looked at all those bright stars. How large the galaxy is! How many words were awaiting for him to explore. He sighed. 'I will never get off this damn planet! I will always be a slave for this stupid old man!', he thought. He wanted to vent his anger but he could not. He had to remain calm.

 

He threw the garbage to the trash bin and quickly came back to the Cantina, to be ready for any new costumer. And a new costumer indeed came. A young and quite beautiful woman whose black eyes shone like the moon and her fair white skin resembled the ice of Hoth. John knew of this woman, Mary. They grew up together. They had fallen for each other and it seemed that they would marry and live together. But the execution of his parents and his serving under Han brought those plans to an abrupt end. As the daughter of a nobleman of Carleria, she could not have a relationship with the son of a disgraced noble who was working as a waiter.

 

Initially, John thought that Mary was forced to stay away from him due to her father's pressure. He felt bad for her. Very bad. He thought that he knew Mary well. After all, they grew up together. But, affairs of heart change easily. Especially for young people. Immediately after John became a waiter and when Mary was in deep sorrow, she met a charming young nobleman from Coruscant. She had thought that she would remain loyal to John for all of her life. But this changed as soon as she laid her eyes upon that nobleman. She forgot about John. She could not explain how that happened. Logic would argue that it is impossible for someone to change her feelings so fast for someone she had loved for years. But matters of heart are not bound by any logic.

 

At first, Mary hated herself for 'betraying' John. But every time she saw that nobleman, her heart would beat fast and she would feel a warmth inside her. So, she eventually came to terms with her heart and accepted that reality that she no longer had romantic feelings for John. But she could not face him, so she send a servant to give John a letter explaining the situation to him. Until now, she avoided going to that Cantina. But after that nobleman, Paul, pressed her too much, she decided to come to Han's Cantina. Paul was supposed to meet an old friend of his in the Cantina and wanted Mary to come with him.

 

Upon seeing her and Paul, John clenched his fists and felt his blood boiling inside him. But he had to calm down. 'After all', he thought, 'love cannot be forced'. So, he just let out a sigh and went to take an order. That's all he had been doing since the death of his parents. He would just sigh and accept every hardship he had to suffer as unavoidable. He did not have the will to protest anymore. His life was out of his control. He just accepted this fact and swallowed his pride and denied his emotions and himself. His patience would impress even Jedi Masters.

 

"What do you wish, sir?", John asked Paul. Mary had never told Paul about her previous relationship with John, so he could have never imagined that the man standing before him was once the lover of his wive. Mary did not look at John. She did not dare to look. John himself had managed to control his emotions quite well and he was smiling. But his smile had an aura of vast sadness in it.

 

"Bring us three glasses of Corellian brandy."

 

"Alright, sir. May you have a good time in our Cantina."

 

He went away, supposedly to bring the drinks. But in reality he wanted to go out of the Cantina and stay alone for a few seconds. To think. To bring back past memories. Of past loves. Of past joys. Of past friends. Of the life that had been snatched from him. As soon as he went out of the Cantina and was alone under the dark sky of Carleria, he shouted as loud as he could. He could not hide his emotions any more. He did not care if other people had listened to his cry.

 

Above Korriban, Darth Venius' flagship, Arrow

 

Darth Venius personal room on his flagship, the huge destroyer 'Arrow', was much different from the one that most would expect that a Sith Lord would have. It actually resembled more of a garden, with tens of different and exotic plants. Those plants were kept to 'life' by a machine that simulated the atmosphere of a garden inside the room. That's why the room had such a fragrance, that resembled the smell of flowers.

 

In the middle of this 'garden', there was a bed made out of certain flowers and plants. Darth Venius was lying on it, wearing a beautiful red dress made out of silk. In fact, Darth Venius was the handsome man that had killed the two Jedi in Han's Cantina. In that garden like room, he looked even more feminine. His smile radiated a sense of happiness across the room. Besides him, there were eight women, all playing Zither, a musical stringed instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat body.

 

But despite the fact that those women's music was the most beautiful in all of the galaxy, Darth Venius did not seem to be even taking note of them. Instead, he was looking at Admiral Piet, who was the Admiral of the entire Sith Fleet despite his young age, being only thirty-two years old. Most likely due to his "relationship" with Darth Venius. Most people thought that he was a Sith student. They could not have guessed that Piet was actually Darth Venius' lover. But except for Piet and those women, no one else had ever seen Darth Venius dressed like that. Most people always saw him wearing a dark cloak and a mask that was covering his entire face. And when people did see him wearing more colored dresses and being without a mask, they would not recognize him as Darth Venius.

 

"Am I beautiful in that dress?", Darth Venius asked, laughing.

 

"Very much, my Lord.", Piet replied. After gaining the trust of Darth Venius, Piet had quite an influence in decision making in the Sith Empire. This allowed him to purge his antagonists in the Sith fleet and secure his domination of the Sith political scene. Now, he was the driving force behind the Sith fleet's defeat of Republican forces.

 

Darth Venius smiled when he heard Piet's response. But, suddenly, he sensed an echo in the force which almost drove him mad. He let out a scream.

 

"What is it, my Lord?", Piet asked, worried about Darth Venius.

 

"It is impossible... Who could have such connection to the force? Who could be so powerful?"

 

Darth Venius searched his memories and remembered that on the neutral world of Carleria he felt the same feeling, albeit on a smaller scale. He immediately ordered, "Lord Piet, send ten of my best Sith pupils to search the world of Carleria for a force user who is neither Jedi nor Sith!"

 

"As you command, my Lord!"

 

Piet rushed out of the room. Darth Venius would have send more men if not for Carleria's neutrality. But he was sure that his pupils would find out the source of that echo in the force. If he could convert that force user to the dark side, then he would surely be able to win the war.

[MsFicwriter]

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