Black cloaks, emblazoned with the inscriptions I had come to recognize, billowed in the faint wind. The setting sun cast blood-red glints across the hilts of their lightsabers.
The faces of nearly all the acolytes were lost in shadow, but through the Force, I could sense exactly who they were. To my surprise, I identified Tifa among the seven. How on earth did she end up here? I knew they'd formed an alliance, but I hadn't expected her to be part of the inner circle.
Number One stepped forward, tilting his head slightly. I felt an ironic half-smile freeze on his lips as his unblinking yellow eyes locked onto us. They were the only part of his face visible; a heavy metallic mask concealed the lower half.
"Well, I suppose you shall be the penultimate sacrifices of this trial," he said. "I might have offered you a place among us, but there is no room here for weaklings like you. Kill them all."
Everyone except Number One and Tifa, who was clinging to his arm, began a slow, predatory advance toward us. One by one, plasma blades ignited, their hum replacing the silence of the dying sun.
"Stand back, you freaks, or I'll curse the lot of you!"
Lana rose unsteadily to our side. Her slender fingers, nails jagged and broken, were leveled at the enemy. Her voice sounded unnaturally hollow, as if echoing from the bottom of a deep well. A faint, sickly green radiance flickered from one hand to the other.
But no one faltered. It was as if they hadn't even heard her, continuing their rhythmic approach.
"I warned you."
Several translucent, gossamer tendrils, accompanied by a sound like a chorus of screaming women, tore from her hands, lashing out at the enemy. For a fleeting second, I actually believed it might work.
A moment later, a pair of heavy boulders from our side whistled through the air in the same direction. If we could take out even two of them, we stood a chance!
They moved like a single organism. Five identical hands in dark armor snapped upward.
A translucent shield flickered into existence an instant before our combined attack hit. It swallowed everything whole, flaring with a brief green spark before vanishing.
Simultaneously, I heard two voices overlap:
"Lana, Set, get out of here!"
"What are you waiting for? Cast them down!"
As if it had been the plan all along, a synchronized Force Wave slammed into us, a wall of raw power sweeping everything in its path.
At the last moment, I tried to reach Lana with a desperate leap, hoping to do something. A weak Force barrier began to instinctively coalesce around me.
But I was too late. Mid-flight, the impact caught me, hurling me into the abyss.
It felt like being hit by a turbolaser; I felt several ribs snap instantly. But that wasn't the main problem. No. Now I was falling from the height of a karking skyscraper!
The last thing I saw before the jagged cliff face obscured my vision was Kamma diving headfirst, trying to slip beneath the wave. It looked like he was aiming for a small outcropping below.
Then there was Lana. She was swept off the ledge, helpless. Her arm twisted at an unnatural angle, and her green eyes, wide with pure terror, locked onto mine. A second later, she vanished behind the rock face rushing past me at terminal velocity.
For several heartbeats, I flailed in the air, tumbling at every possible angle as I fought to coordinate my descent.
Finally, twisting my entire body, I managed to stabilize my plunge. The wind screamed in my ears, my eyes watered, and everything was a blur as my speed increased.
I couldn't tell how much farther I had to fall. But if I didn't do something right now, I was a dead man. A plan flickered in my mind—the kind Kamma would say had a success rate of maybe ten percent. But ten percent is better than zero, right?
Please work, please work! The thought hammered in my skull as my hand scrambled for my lightsaber hilt. Got it!
Rotating again, I faced the cliff, plummeting like a diver aiming for water. Only the stakes here were much higher than a bad splash. If I missed, my "wonderful" face was going to be painted across the stone.
The black blade hissed as it plunged into the rock, carving a glowing line of molten slag. A violent jolt racked my body; I felt a sickening pop in my shoulder followed by an agonizing tear in the muscle, but my descent slowed.
I wasn't falling anymore, I was sliding. I had a decent chance of grinding my boots and feet into mincemeat, but I was slowing down. My muscles screamed under the tension. The soles of my boots were smoking, and the speed wasn't dropping as fast as I liked, but I could finally control the slide.
By sheer luck, the fall didn't end with broken legs. At the last second, I managed to kick off the wall in a long leap. I cushioned the impact with the Force, but still slammed hard against one of the many boulders littering the ground. The landing was accompanied by another sharp crack, this time in my leg.
I lay there staring at the sky, but I couldn't see it. Above me was nothing but absolute blackness; the sheer cliff I'd been thrown from vanished into the heights. A hysterical laugh bubbled up, I wanted to roar with laughter and sob at the same time. I survived! I karking survived! I fell at least four kilometers and didn't die! Who else could pull that off?
But laughing hurt. My ribs made it clear that such exercises were strictly prohibited. Every hysterical hitch in my breath brought a dull throb to my side. I couldn't properly close the fingers on one hand, and my leg refused to move.
I don't know how long I just lay there, letting the Force flow through me. Maybe hours, maybe days.
In my delirium, blurred images of my life flickered past. A ruined city, the Grand Inquisitor, the Academy... a blue dress on the dirty ground.
I couldn't die. Not until I had my revenge. I couldn't...
I only had enough strength for fleeting thoughts before slipping back into semi-consciousness.
Every time I managed to wake, I focused all my available energy into my mangled leg. I had to get up and get away from here. If the Force was cruel enough to let someone pass by, or if those freaks decided to hunt for my body, I'd be finished.
With that resolution, I slipped back into the void.
As if through leagues of water, I sensed someone nearby, pacing and muttering under their breath. The phrases didn't quite click into anything meaningful:
"...dying again..."
"...but I wanted..."
"...either you're very luc..."
"...beh... you..."
Then, a soft, welcoming darkness swallowed everything.
When I finally opened my eyes to the black sky again, the pain in my leg had dulled. Generally, aside from a gnawing, agonizing hunger, I felt slightly better.
Trying to push myself up on my elbows, I grimaced. It wasn't the worst thing I'd ever felt, but it was close.
Moving with painstaking care, I stood and began to stagger... somewhere. It didn't matter where, as long as it was away from the cliff. My first instinct was to look for my partners, but I killed that thought instantly.
Lost in this natural labyrinth of stone, finding anyone was impossible. I could pass within meters of them and never know. Besides, every scrap of my energy was going toward keeping my body upright.
To sense anything, I'd need to be right on top of another living being. Even the massive artifact at the mountain's peak was barely a whisper now. Trying to focus on it brought a stabbing pain to my temples, as if a giant hand were crushing my skull.
Walking was a chore. I had to stop periodically to lean against whatever was handy and let my body rest. Every movement was a symphony of discomfort. But gradually, I began to tune it out.
My thoughts were sluggish, tripping over each other. What now? Where to go? I knew nothing. In this state, a single stray blaster bolt would finish me.
My mind wandered in circles, grasping for a plan, but coming up empty.
I only truly came to when the sparse forest surrounding the mountain gave way to a scorched wasteland. Blackened embers and ash covered everything as far as the eye could see. Large remnants of uprooted, twisted trees lay scattered—the victims of some massive shockwave. Embers still glowed in the distance.
Moving forward was dangerous; I'd be exposed on the open plain, and I was running on empty. A short walk had drained me completely.
I found a spot among the wreckage that was easy to miss if you weren't looking for it. A few fallen trees had created a makeshift crawlspace. With a great deal of effort, and cursing through gritted teeth, I managed to wedge myself inside.
It was surprisingly roomy; I could breathe without the weight of the world on my chest.
Not wanting to waste time, I began trying to mend my broken body. But the Force had other plans. Sleep dragged me into its depths.
I was jolted awake by the sharp snap of breaking wood and the faint, sickly smell of scorched meat. I opened my eyes and nearly screamed. In the light of the setting sun stood a figure, if you could still call it a man.
Horrific burns covered most of his body; only parts of his right arm and torso seemed intact. One eye was gone, replaced by a dark, raw crater. Rags that used to be clothes hung from his frame, barely covering him. Only the standard-issue acolyte trousers remained somewhat recognizable, now reduced to tattered shorts held up by a belt. His hairless head was a map of fresh scars. His fingernails were blackened with blood, as if he'd tried to claw his way through the solid rock.
If it weren't for the lightsaber hilt at his belt and the heavy container he was lugging, I would have taken him for just another ghost.
Honestly, a ghost would have been preferable.
"Where is she?"
The raspy voice was harrowing, like someone trying to speak through a malfunctioning comm-link.
"Who?"
"Tifa. My dear, my darling. Do you know where she is?"
The voice was familiar, but I couldn't place the man.
"Where she is now? I don't know..."
"What a pity. No one knows, no one sees... how useless you all are." His single eye tracked my every movement. "Then you will die!"
With a flick of his wrist, the hilt at his belt leapt into the air. A crimson blade ignited with a low hum, swinging toward me.
"I don't know where she is this second, but I know who she's with and where she was recently!" I need to buy time. "I can help you, if you want."
"Tell me. I must find her, tell her I am alive. Her dear friend still lives. She promised we would be together, you see? Back when we were still there..."
I looked closer and it hit me. Sibar! That explained how he was still alive despite those wounds. The rumors were true. But what kind of monster do you have to be to survive a bombardment like that? Because there was no doubt he'd been at ground zero.
"You help me, I help you. Only I know where to look. You can try on your own, of course, if you don't mind her dying before you find her. Your choice."
I watched him waver. He began to gnaw on a finger, —a gesture that had clearly become a habit, and one that didn't help the look of his hand.
I tried not to look at him directly. I probably would have vomited if there had been anything in my stomach.
But thank the Force, the gamble paid off.
"What do you want?" he growled.
"As you've noticed, I'm not in peak condition. I need medical supplies. Can you help with that?"
His yellow eye bored into me for a full minute. Then, with a look of pure irritation, he grunted.
"Fine."
Reaching into his container, he dropped two compact military medpacs next to me. I knew them well from my time in the city. They were combat stimulants, designed to force the body to heal while flooding it with nutrients. Not a miracle cure, but enough to get me moving.
Where did he get this kind of loot? Mercenaries? I'd figure it out later. Using my good hand, I cracked one open and jammed the injector into my arm. It wouldn't be long before it kicked in.
"Now talk. And don't you dare lie to me."
"Do I look like an idiot?" After a brief pause, I gave him the "correct", and mostly truthful, version of events. "As you probably know, our mutual friend allied herself with the strongest. You remember who that was? I see it in your eye. She's not alone, either. But things didn't go according to her plan. I'm sure she's regretting not sticking with you right about now."
"I don't care about your opinion. Where are they?"
This was the delicate part. I had to lead him to the right conclusion. I was certain that as soon as I told him everything, he'd bury me.
"Are you talking about your friend, who I suspect Number One is holding against her will?" I hoped he'd swallow the lie. "Or the specific squad at his command? Oh, I think you've guessed it already. Nearly all that bastard's sycophants joined him on the island. He has the five strongest with him, plus Tifa. And there are seven more circling the area. Your precious Twi'lek won't be able to leave with you unless you kill them all. You're strong, but there are too many. I want them dead, too. And I have a plan. In a few days, we can destroy them together."
He thought about it. He thought for a long, long time. I tried to remain impassive, but it was difficult. I didn't have a solid plan, just fragments of ideas that had formed while I was talking. If he sensed a trap, or if the voices in his head whispered the wrong thing, I was dead.
Sibar didn't hide his emotions. Irritation turned to distrust, then contemplation, then anger, then back to contemplation. This went on for ten minutes. At one point, a chilling wave of bloodlust rolled off him so thick I thought it was over. But as it turned out, it wasn't aimed at me.
"Fine. I agree. We kill them together."
Waves of raw emotion radiated from him. This wasn't a man anymore; it was a wild beast baring its fangs to show who was the alpha.
"As you wish."
I bowed as much as I could while lying down. But it wasn't enough.
A colossal weight crashed down onto my shoulders. I was literally being ground into the ash-covered earth. My ribs flared with pain, and my face twisted in agony.
Anger and pain kept me from being crushed, but I couldn't hold out forever. The Dark Side within me screamed for me to submit to the stronger power. His path is right, learn his secrets, take them for yourself...
Suddenly, the pressure vanished. With a great deal of effort, I stood up. My nose was bleeding, but it didn't matter. I had held my ground. I hadn't bowed to the "right of the strong." Even if I was weaker, I still had a choice. That was one of the perks of the path I'd chosen.
"Get up. We have work to do."
"You're right. We have plenty of work to do."
…
We spent several days preparing for the fight. The plan I'd cobbled together on the fly seemed to satisfy Sibar. He had become more impulsive, more animalistic than rational. He was prone to fits of rage where he'd smash everything in sight. He was definitely stronger in terms of raw, unbridled power, but he was also significantly easier to manipulate.
The concept was simple. There were still mercenaries on the island, and plenty of beasts. The Force allows you to break a mind and bend it to your will.
Neither I nor my new "companion" had mastered the technique, we only knew the theory. But that didn't stop him. The idea of arriving at the head of a small army to crush the rival for his beloved's heart appealed to him immensely. The details were irrelevant.
Every day we went hunting for survivors. If it hadn't been for the stockpile of military medpacs, I wouldn't have survived the pace. But the bastard had scavenged enough of them to last two weeks of active use.
Over those days, we found about fifteen to twenty people. Not all of them made it into our "army." Some we couldn't take alive; others couldn't handle the mental intrusion and died or became vegetables.
In the end, seven people joined our ranks. Not bad, considering we had no idea what we were doing. Just a general sense of the technique.
As a bonus, I got new clothes. While the savage Sibar didn't care what he looked like, I had standards. My main issue was my boots, the soles had literally fallen off. I wanted to replace everything else, too, but I had to settle for a relatively intact pair of boots. I even thanked the corpse for having small feet.
The morality of it didn't bother me. Something had broken inside me a long time ago; now, killing and looting were just part of the job. Besides, when I sifted through their minds, I saw fragments of their lives. We were doing the galaxy a favor by cleaning out these scum: rapists, murderers, addicts. It seemed they'd all been sent here straight from prison.
The animals were easier. We found a pack of some two-legged, four-armed monstrosities. Their grey skin blended with the ash, and their flat, ugly muzzles were barely distinguishable from the rest of their muscular bodies. Bony growths covered them, providing a natural armor.
Experiments showed that a blaster wouldn't penetrate those plates on the first shot, sometimes not even the second or third. A lightsaber cut through, though it took more effort.
To catch one, we had to stun them with the Force and rewrite their minds on the spot.
Luckily, they traveled alone. Even a pair of those things would have been a problem; they were incredibly fast and physically powerful.
Perhaps because an animal's brain is simpler, or perhaps because of the local Dark Side saturation, the process went much smoother. More of them survived our interference, though about half still died.
There were almost no breaks between raids. We'd gather a group, bring them back to our temporary camp in a clearing, and head out again. We ate on the move, since our "recruits" had decent supplies of field rations.
It was better that way. Whenever we weren't busy, my new partner would start droning on about his life with Tifa. How they talked, what they'd do after the trial, how "wonderful" she was. How he'd do anything for her and why she didn't realize how "perfect" he was.
The saccharine nonsense made me want to retch. Blurred memories from a very distant past would surface, making my jaw ache and my fists clench until my knuckles turned white. I wanted to grab the idiot by the collar and slap some sense into him.
Instead, I just smiled and nodded when necessary. He only shut up when we were out hunting. And even then, I had to convince him that his voice would scare off our "recruits." It helped, temporarily.
By the time Sibar lost his patience and ordered us to move out, we had twelve beasts, nine of which served as our mounts.
I tried to stall as long as possible to recover. I had zero intention of actually fighting in the upcoming battle. I was 100% sure that once the dust settled, the trial would be over. Why risk my life if I was going to pass anyway?
To impress the Emperor or the Grand Inquisitor? No thanks. I'm not risking my skin for that. I only have one, and I'm quite fond of it. I've been on the edge of the grave enough lately.
By the time we actually set out, I had managed to get myself into decent shape. Not perfect, but I could hold my own in a short skirmish, and I could definitely slip away under the cover of darkness.
I might have done it sooner, but the scorched bastard never let me out of his sight. If I wandered too far, I'd feel invisible fingers tightening around my throat.
No matter. I was sure he'd go charging off toward his darling, and that would be my opening. Or I'd think of something better.
One of the mercenaries had a decent sniper rifle. I handed it to one of the "zombies" to keep up appearances, but I knew I'd be using it later.
The climb took a long time. Keeping a small army stealthy while climbing cliffs is no easy feat. Our zombie soldiers managed well enough, but the farther we went, the harder it was to move those two-meter beasts. They could run like the wind, but for some reason, they couldn't jump.
I have to admit, this side of the mountain was easier than the one I'd climbed with Lana and Kamma. If you looked closely, you could see ancient, weathered inscriptions on some of the vertical stones. There had probably been a road here once, or at least a path.
It was a questionable move, walking straight into the lion's den again. But in the long run, it was the best play. Even if we didn't wipe them all out, we could at least kill off Number One's main henchmen. Without his followers, the First would still be a threat, but his reach would be diminished. A single man can't be everywhere at once.
And generally, all the alliances formed up until now would probably collapse. As history has shown, the Dark Side only really supports one system: a rigid hierarchy. Groups based on anything else fall apart much easier.
Though, if we hadn't marched into this nexus of darkness, things might not have ended so tragically. Stop. No time for regrets. I'll mourn after I survive.
I felt the Dark Side reaching for us again. While the broken minds of the soldiers didn't react, the beasts became much more aggressive. They began fighting for dominance, and we had to suppress them with the Force. We had to put a couple down because they were too wild.
What surprised me most, however, was Sibar's apparent stoicism. Obsessed with his goal, he seemed completely oblivious to the surrounding Darkness. Even I, knowing what was coming, was falling under its influence, becoming more irritable due to exhaustion and nerves.
But the scorched monster seemed untouchable. He just kept walking, immune to pain or fatigue. I saw his bare feet leaving small bloody prints on the stones, but he didn't seem to notice.
But he was the exception. The rest of our party was at their breaking point. A little more and some of them would just drop and never get back up, regardless of their orders.
"We need to stop."
"No. We're almost at the summit. She's waiting for me! You saw how much she was suffering; I cannot leave her in the hands of those animals."
I'm done with this. Every moment we spent together, I had to listen to how "wonderful" and "good" this girl was. He could talk for hours, and once, he actually did.
"That may be true, but if we don't take a short break, we'll lose half the squad. The rest will be too exhausted to help us. We either fail at the finish line, or we wait a little longer. Your call."
I tried to sound as calm as possible, but over the last few days, my anger toward him, and for some reason, myself, had been building. It needed an outlet. My rational mind knew it was the influence of this place, and that I needed to be careful, but self-control was becoming a luxury.
I watched him think again. Honestly, at that point, I didn't care what he decided. If he refused, I'd just move to the back of the line and vanish with the rifle, then pick them all off from a distance later.
"Fine. You're right. We rest."
Most of the squad collapsed exactly where they stood as soon as we reached our temporary camp, falling into an instant sleep.
Those who could still move went on sentry duty. I don't know about the scorched monster, but I definitely needed sleep before what was coming. No matter how things turned out, I'd need my strength. I needed to think through...
I didn't finish the thought. As soon as I found a comfortable spot against a rock, I was out.
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