"What are we doing here?" Oli's voice was full of impatience and skepticism. "These are just ruins..."
"It's not all that simple," the Master smirked. "This fortress is one of the treasure houses of the past. I should have looked in here long ago."
"An unremarkable place," Ahsoka supported her friend. "Rocks, jungle, and ancient statues... what could be valuable here?"
They stood on a wide plain before a structure that was low compared to the other temples on Yavin 4. Until recently, this had been the most inaccessible place on the entire moon—the automatic defense system spoke for itself. Fortunately, the approach of the Defender had been enough for the outdated, but no less dangerous, guns and the cloaking shield to deactivate.
The main building was in the shape of a spacious truncated four-sided pyramid. The spacious landing pad, once made of massive stone slabs, was now covered with a layer of earth and lush vegetation, making every step muffled by flora untouched for thousands of years of neglect.
Why they had gone here after Belsavis—to a Force-forgotten place deep in the area of responsibility of the systems army under the command of Master Unduli—the Master didn't explain. Nor the reason why the Fury had flown after them, delivering Master Grell and her apprentice—Ahsoka.
Lady Grell, Oli corrected herself. Calling the ancient Jedi, as experienced and powerful as the Kira accompanying them, "Master," Starstone couldn't bring herself to do. Primarily because despite their past, both girls, shining in the Force like two stars, were no longer part of the Order. And looking at them, at the aura of power surrounding them, the girl could only sadly conclude that had they both been in the Temple, how much they could have taught the rising generation. Even Carsen, despite all the Master's instructions, and the practice in battles, the girl could not only not defeat—she couldn't even push through her defense. According to Ahsoka—the situation was the same with Lady Grell.
The conclusion suggested itself—it seemed that the Jedi of the past were taught many times better than the current generation. Or, their power was born from that very Balance the Master spoke of? The doctrine of the Order of Imperial Knights, which she understood with her mind but could by no means perceive.
Meanwhile, their small group reached the entrance to this "fortress," as the Master called it. The massive doorway was blocked by a huge slab. To the eye it seemed stone, but looking closer, Oli realized it was a mixture of stone and building materials like duracrete. Consequently—anyone who could overcome the defensive perimeter would also need the artillery power of an entire corvette to break inside.
"It seems we're not expected here," Ahsoka noted. Oli cast a cautious glance at her. If before the Togruta had shone in the Force with the bright light of the Light Side, now... Now her Force power was a bright star that had reached the peak of its life cycle. Without fluctuations, without drops: steady, pure GRAY energy. The same as the Master had when he didn't cover himself with a mask, Lady Grell, and Kira... Did this mean Ahsoka had learned to draw the Force from both sides, adhering to the proverbial Balance? If so, Oli envied her immensely.
"That's not the point," the Master countered. "The metal of the entrance mechanism hasn't passed the test of time—unlike the stone. Well, no matter, that's not a problem."
He made a pass with his hand, and the massive stone slab flew up as if it weighed nothing. Yes, as a youngling in telekinesis classes, she had heard from Master Yoda that size matters not (and having become a Padawan, had come up with an alternative explanation for this statement). But to see it with her own eyes...
Dougan pulled a massive chunk of rock from the weeds, which he placed under the colossus of the entrance slab so that it wouldn't crush anyone passing under it. And only after he was convinced of the safety of this structure did he first step under the vaults of the ancient building.
The first thing that caught Oli's attention was the darkness. Pitch-black and impenetrable, it seemed to envelop each of those present. And it evoked memories of the monastery on the planet Teth, where they had acted in a similar way. The light penetrating through the main entrance only slightly dispersed the gloom, making the massive statues inside seem even more ominous.
Then, a moment later, a crackling reached her, drawing the attention of the others as well. Kira, appearing a moment later from the darkness somewhere to the left, nodded to the side where the noise breaking the silence came from.
"A substation was located there," she explained. "Water broke through the wall and short-circuited the system. There's no threat of flooding, but all the electrics will have to be laid from scratch."
"Critical," the Master shrugged. "First we'll look around, then we'll send repairmen from among the clones here."
"As you wish, Emperor," the girl bowed.
Reunited, the group continued to explore the abandoned structure. The more they delved into the depths of the fortress, the more Oli felt uneasy.
At first she hadn't given it significance, but now...
This place clearly meant a lot to the Master. Being near him for all the time they had been climbing through the corridors and rooms, she eventually felt that this place was saturated with the Force. It wasn't so noticeable when you were next to three powerful Force-adepts. But as soon as she went down into one of the rooms alone...
At first she thought she had entered an abandoned warehouse. But once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the girl noticed that the room actually looked more like a laboratory. Numerous tables with a multitude of objects on them, shelves, again with certain objects. In the darkness it was difficult to make out.
But the Force emanating from them...
Like a monster slumbering in the depths of non-existence, it stirred, catching the radiation of a Force-sensitive. Here and there red, blue, green lights began to appear... Aggressive, sad, calling, threatening... And every single one wanted to get to her.
"Steady, apprentice," a hand lay on her shoulder. "These are just artifacts."
"Just artifacts, my foot," she shuddered, pointing to a pyramid glowing with an unbearable red light. "That's a Sith holocron!"
"And what of it?" the Master was surprised. "Just an object that's been waiting a long time for a Force-sensitive sentient to have a chat. Want to talk to the gatekeeper?"
"No thanks!" the girl protested. "You do that yourself somehow!"
"As you wish," the Master shrugged. "Always knew you were a coward."
"I'd rather be a live coward than a dead hero," the girl countered, causing the man to laugh.
"So be it. I'll talk to the holocron gatekeepers myself," he promised magnanimously. "If I find something useful or interesting—I'll share. Deal?"
"Oh, so you've decided to return to my education after all?" the girl quipped.
"Naturally," the man answered unperturbedly. "The Emperor can't have a weakling for an apprentice."
"Hey!" the girl was indignant. "I'm not like that! And anyway, few are your match! So don't give me that."
"Heh," the man smirked. "You talked me into it, I won't."
"Thanks," the girl threw out. Looking around again, she realized in the light of numerous holocrons—both Sith and clearly Jedi—that there weren't just a lot of them here. But enough to finally dispel her initial assumptions.
This was not a warehouse or a laboratory.
This room was a library, a workshop, a treasury. Being underground, it reached enormous sizes—no less than the area of the main hall she had just been in. Yes, numerous pieces of furniture were present here—eaten by time, rotten and destroyed. Dozens of holocrons, outdated data storage devices, all sorts of lightsaber hilts and parts for them, and pieces of armor lay on numerous identical tables.
But the interest was in something completely different.
Along the walls of the room were massive shelves, painfully similar to those in the Jedi Temple Archives on Coruscant. She had seen several similar panels, but smaller in size, on the Master's ship. Yes, not all of them glowed with a soft blue color as in the Jedi abode—exactly half shimmered with a crimson backlight. But to meet such a thing somewhere so far away...
Most of the room remained in darkness, but even the echoes of light emanating from the holocrons were enough to understand—unimaginably huge objects were located there.
"Master, what is this even?"
"This is the fortress of the Hero of Tython, Oli," he said softly. "He lived at the same time as my teacher and the Hands. And Kira was even his apprentice. A strikingly great man who began his life as a rank-and-file Padawan. If the Jedi Order weren't so categorical in its view of teaching the rising generation, his story would be passed from mouth to mouth among younglings."
"Really?" the girl smirked. "And what's so special about him?"
"For starters, he saved Coruscant from its destruction by Sith agents. Prevented the Empire's seizure of numerous superweapon projects. Stopped Darth Angral, who sought to destroy the Jedi Order by destroying Tython. Finally, he killed the Sith Emperor—Vitiate. Generally a lot of things. The last thing I remember about him is that he created his own state—the Eternal Alliance, which was joined by all those sentients—not just Jedi and Sith—who were not satisfied with both the Empire and the Republic."
"So you're doing everything like him?"
"Something like that. The funny thing is that Vitiate also helped him in this."
"Coincidence?"
"I don't think so," the man shook his head, examining an intricately designed lightsaber hilt he had picked up from one of the tables. "Vitiate is too smart and cunning to do anything for the benefit of all. His plan... I don't even know what he's aiming for in the very end. But I'm not sure I'll like it."
"Is that why you made me and Kira visit that machine?" Oli guessed. "Are we your insurance?"
"In a way," the man smirked. "My insurance, two even—in the place where Vitiate would by no means stick his nose in his right mind."
"Where's that?"
"Too many questions off the topic of the lesson, Padawan," the man cut her off. Tossing the lightsaber hilt in his hand, he held it out to the girl. "Do you know whose lightsaber this is?"
"Um... no, of course. How would I know that, I'm here for the first time."
"Well yes, how could I have overlooked that," the Master smirked. "This weapon once belonged to Revan. Another outstanding adept of the past."
"A Jedi?"
"He was both a Jedi and a Sith. He conquered the galaxy and saved it. Destroyed and reassembled it," Dougan, it seemed, was struck by another bout of nostalgia. "In a way, he is who I always wanted to become."
"Turns out you have idols too?" Oli smirked. "And what is he famous for?"
"In my memory, he is the first who in the last four thousand years found the way to Balance. And achieved great power, knowledge, and might. He tried to kill the Emperor, but was betrayed..."
"By whom?"
"By a Sith named Lord Scourge," the Master added with a touch of sadness. "He saw a future that showed him it was the Hero of Tython who would kill the Emperor, not Revan. Therefore he became the Emperor's servant for a full three hundred years..."
"That long?" Oli said, stunned. "Can anyone live that long?"
The Master didn't have time to answer her.
With an imperceptible movement, he turned toward the far part of the room, peering into the darkness. Revan's lightsaber, the very one he had continued to twirl in his hands until this moment, was now gripped in his right palm. The purple blade hummed now as if it hadn't lain here for millennia.
"Well now," Oli shrugged. "Such an antiquity, yet it works..."
"Quiet," the Master hissed at her. "There's..."
"Not only ancient blades function here," Oli heard a pleasant female voice in broken Basic, coming from the depths of the archive.
As if on command, the darkness parted, and three figures appeared at the border of light and shadow, a single glance at whom was enough for Oli to activate her own lightsaber.
In the center stood a short Zabrak woman with red skin and a short hairstyle of black hair decorating her short horns on her head. She was clad in a skin-tight black-and-gold suit, advantageously emphasizing the beauty and slenderness of her figure. In her hands she held a lightsaber staff, brought to life by a pair of crimson blades. She was literally oozing with the Dark Side, which only strengthened with every second. Her eyes blazed with molten aurodium, and a triumphant smile danced on her lips. It seemed that a moment would pass, and she and the Master would be flooded by an ocean of Darkness.
On her sides stood two monsters. Under two meters tall, they were a mass of muscle at the sight of which any bodybuilder would die of envy. Their bodies were externally similar to each other, but one—the one on the left—was a creamy olive color with red stripes. The second, on the other hand, was a crimson-red with a gray pattern on the right part of the chest. Their bared maws murmured something like streams of growling, and in each one's hands lay huge metal swords, with sparking streams of energy passing along the blades.
"Khem Val, Ak'ghal Usar," the Zabrak addressed the monsters. "Kill them."
Immediately after these words the monsters rushed into the attack, dissolving into the air as they moved.
"Master?!" Oli shouted with panic in her voice. "What is that?"
"Those are Dashade, Oli, damn it!" he shouted. Crossing his arms over his chest, he sharply spread them to the sides as if trying to tear something. In the same second a translucent sphere appeared around him, inside which purple lightning splashed. "Run!"
***
As soon as she reached the top steps of the main hall, she felt that outside the treasury things weren't so smooth either.
Lightsaber blades flashed in the semi-darkness, branched Lightning cut through the air, and clumps of energy pierced it. Casting a glance toward the exit, the girl realized with horror that the stone propping up the slab had disappeared, and they were cut off from the exit.
Meanwhile, bursts in the Force made her flutter up the stairs to the upper floor—that was exactly where Kira, Ahsoka, and Lady Grell were supposed to have gone. Premonitions didn't deceive Oli.
They had all fallen into an ambush.
Kira, surrounding herself with a Force Barrier, was holding back an incredible onslaught of violet-blue lightning that struck her, as if born from non-existence. Looking closer, the girl noticed that before Carsen, in the center of the bridge, was her opponent in a blue-black robe similar to those worn by the Sentinels in the Temple. His face was hidden by a mask more like a metal human skull. He hovered in the air at a height of half a meter, surrounded by a sphere of energy similar to the one the Master had protected himself with.
Tracing further with her eyes, Starstone saw that the other two of Dougan's subordinates were also occupied with battle.
Their opponent—a yellow-skinned Zabrak girl whose body was covered with strange rectangular patterns—was masterfully wielding a pair of double-bladed lightsabers whose yellow energy streaks flashed with unimaginable frequency. She was so agile that neither Ahsoka nor Nadia could even make her retreat, let alone gain the initiative in the battle.
It became clear that there was no one to look for help from here. The Master's only chance against these monsters was herself. But he had told her to run?! Why?!
The Force burned her with a cry of danger, and without thinking, the girl went into a roll to the side, avoiding the streak of a crimson blade intended to bisect her.
"Fast scum," the red-skinned Zabrak she had seen below hissed. "Hutt offal, I will finish you."
"Who are you even?!" Oli cried out, instantly moving to defense. Her opponent approached, fast and graceful as a predator, quickly spinning the weapon that seemed small and pathetic in comparison to her own blade. Mechanically Oli noted that this girl's blades were less than a meter and a half—though they were told in the Temple that exactly such a length is optimal for balancing and maintaining the aerodynamics of such a weapon. Но, похоже, забрачке было на это совершенно наплевать.
She threw herself at the Padawan, letting out a fierce cry. She attacked from unexpected and peculiar angles, changing the position of her miniature crimson blades in the middle of a strike. Every lunge of the Sith (well, who else could she be?) could easily enter a manual on lethal effectiveness—all of them consisted primarily of fast and powerful strikes and counter-strikes, the direction of which the opponent could only guess. Oli for a moment imagined that the Troll himself would have perspired a fair amount to deal with such an opponent.
She, however, was managing to hold back the onslaught only because the bond between her and the Master was still active. An invisible line tied them together, allowing them to draw on each other's energy, strength, and knowledge. Practically always Dougan kept this channel closed, not allowing her to penetrate his mind anymore. But now... It seemed the Master realized she was having a very hard time, so he extended a peculiar helping hand.
While the Zabrak spun her blades, maintaining speed and inertia, she saturated herself with the Force, opening up to it more and more. Like a mountain river, it fed Oli, helping to direct the blade, parry, and deliver return strikes. It seemed as if the Master had as if taken her battle under his control.
And then she felt another bright point join her bond with the Master. And another. And another...
Five minds, connected into one indestructible harmonious system, flawlessly wove into a combat brotherhood. Each of the parts became practically indispensable, like a cornerstone. Knowledge, feelings, emotions, Force... all this intertwined like threads from which a rope was formed.
The calm weight and caution of Lady Grell.
The unstoppable rage and pressure of Ahsoka.
The cold calculation of Kira.
Her own uncertainty in the outcome of the battle, which was literally immediately washed from her consciousness by the encouragement of the others.
"You know everything," Nadia sent her a thought.
"You can do everything," Kira echoed her, from whom she hadn't expected support at all.
"Hutt, stop drifting with your thoughts through the jungle and kick this red-faced one's ass!" Ahsoka finally ignited the flame in the girl.
The Darkness slumbering inside her... shattered the icy bonds, breaking free like magma from the crater of a supervolcano.
The Dark Side picked her up, drawing her into a swift dance of death with her opponent, who was literally broken by the element that descended upon her in the guise of a pretty black-haired girl.
Oli waited for the moment of the Zabrak's next attack and calculated her laughably predictable lunge. Knowing exactly where the blade would come along the trajectory of her swing, she was able to distract herself from the fight for a moment and send a worried thought along the channel stretching to her from the Master.
"What's happening? Who are they? How are you?"
"Everything... is fine," the answer came with a slight delay. And a second later, two organic shells—red and olive-colored—flew out of the upper part of the main building like cannonballs.
The first literally swept away Kira's opponent, launching him into flight in the same direction where her two friends were fighting the second Zabrak.
The second shell, however, didn't have it so easy. According to the trajectory, it should have knocked Lady Grell's opponent off her feet, but the second Zabrak went to the side with striking ease. Like an ancient weapon, the unfeeling carcass of the light Dashade returned to the huge hole in the building from which it had been released.
And there...
Everyone present without exception felt on themselves what sensations a star system experiences when its sun turns into a supernova.
Surrounded by an impenetrable translucent barrier—a sphere on whose surface lightning splashed, vaporizing everything they touched—the Master hovered at a height of several meters.
He emitted waves of the Force around him so powerful that the red-skinned Zabrak, who had tried to retreat, was instantly swept off her feet, rolling head over heels toward her subordinates. Oli felt herself, as well as the three other companions, picked up by an invisible Force, carefully delivering them all to that part of the bridge dividing the complex of the fortress into two parts where the Master was. Who, as if he had nothing else to do, was embedding the light-skinned Dashade into the remains of the wall, not even paying attention to it.
"Is everything all right?" the Master's voice sounded as if several people were speaking. His eyes glowed with purple light. Oli, noting this fact, pointed with a cry to the fact that the durasteel plates of the man's armor were flowing down his body onto the stony floor as if inside the sphere surrounding the man there was a temperature sufficient to melt the strongest metal in the galaxy.
"Yes, Emperor," Kira said. She, like all the others, took a place to the side of the man, waiting for the further development of events. No one doubted that the continuation of the battle would be.
"Who are they?" Oli repeated her question, pointing to the four opponents. The Master, freezing for a moment, sent the unfeeling Dashade to them along a ballistic arc.
"I don't know," Dougan admitted. "But they are very strong. It seems they found this place and the knowledge collected in it long ago. Dashade are perfectly trained Force-adepts. And this trio doesn't lag behind them. It seems you're not the only ones who lived several thousand years."
"What?" Nadia was surprised. "Are they also the Emperor's subordinates?"
"I doubt it," the man answered. "Down below are stasis installations. Vitiate preferred to freeze you all in carbonite. In that case biological processes in the body stop..."
"In stasis the body continues to age but is fed with special preparations," Kira recalled. "In all the time I've known Vitiate, he only kept one prisoner that way."
"Revan," Dougan finished her thought. "So the question arises— what kind of nonsense is happening."
Oli, thanks to the Battle Meditation, realized that their opponents might not be as powerful in the Force as her Master. But if the assumption about stasis was correct—before them were fighters who over millennia could have absorbed knowledge she wouldn't master in a lifetime. Likely for this reason Dougan had connected his supporters into one—to level the chances.
Meanwhile, a fifth joined the four opponents—the light-skinned Dashade rose to his feet, filling the surroundings with a heart-rending roar.
"What's the plan of action?" Ahsoka asked, spinning her snow-white blades in her hands.
"Stay behind," the Emperor ordered. The sphere surrounding him collapsed, and he easily descended to the ground. Gripping the blade found in the dungeon in his hand, Dougan walked unhurriedly toward the enemy team. Glancing at each other, the four girls followed him.
They met exactly in the middle of the ancient stone bridge separating the central part of the complex from the two smaller buildings. Oli felt how the sentients standing opposite her were literally being torn apart by the Dark Side of the Force. Each of them dreamed of finishing her and her friends, but for some reason they didn't attack.
The Master moved slightly forward. Practically immediately the sentient Kira had recently fought moved to meet him.
"We wish you no harm," the Master began, but was unceremoniously interrupted by his interlocutor.
"Then you will all die," he stated in a low, hollow voice. "I am Darth Xarion, I promise you this, Jedi."
A surprise was felt in the Bond, the source of which was Kira. Oli reached out to her in the Force, but she hastily closed her mind.
"Well, and what can you do to me?" Oli felt Dougan relax. "You're ancient Sith crap, nothing against the power of the Unified Force."
An irritated growl came from the opponent's side.
"I am the last representative of the Dark Council of the Sith Empire, head of the Sphere of Galactic Influence. You are nothing before me."
"Are you sure?" Dougan smirked. "It seems I just scattered your mini-Sith like kittens. And on their own they couldn't even handle two apprentices. That's not how I imagined the power of the Dark Side. And yes, you are in my domain. So—either serve me, or..."
"You have no right to claim anything, Jedi," Darth Xarion said with contempt. "I..."
"...am a pubic bone," the Master finished the thought for him. Then, ignoring the growing indignation from his opponent, he addressed those standing behind the Sith's back.
"You all serve a weak and pathetic regime that in three and a half thousand years hasn't been able to do at least something that would lead you beyond the limits of this fortress. All your dreams of greatness and power are within these walls. I know each of you," he pointed a finger toward the light-skinned Dashade. "Khem Val, servant of Tulak Hord and Darth Nox. Ak'ghal Usar," he pointed toward the second monster, "last chieftain of his people."
Shifting his gaze to the Zabraks, the man seemed to think. Then, unerringly pointed toward the Zabrak gripping a pair of double-bladed lightsabers. "Darth Simi, I assume?"
The Force burst with indignation and surprise. Oli, smiling crookedly, looked with mockery at the taken-aback Sith girl. It seemed the Master really knew them. Had he met them before, or were these the merits of his past life?
"And, the one whose presence in this gang of losers I find most incomprehensible—Darth Hexid," Rick nodded toward the red-skinned Zabrak. She, unlike her friend, didn't react to this action in any way. "How curious it turns out... Five Sith from different times gathered in a fortress packed with the knowledge of Jedi and Sith. And who opened the way for you here, into the abode of the Hero of Tython, commander of the Eternal Alliance?" he clarified. "Who betrayed his former master, opening the way for the Sith to where their path is barred? You, Usar, who served the commander faithfully? Or you, Hexid? You both outlived your former commander. And now I, the one in whose hands is his legacy, ask—by what right are you all here?"
"Because they serve me," Xarion stated. "As did the Hero of Tython you mentioned in his time."
"That's a lie!" Kira stepped forward, calm but saturated with the Force to the limit.
"Carsen!" Hexid growled, also stepping forward. "Small brat who betrayed the Emperor! I will pull your guts out and bathe in your blood!"
"Not after I rip out your uterus and pack everything that's left of you into it," Kira growled, ready to break into battle.
"Oh, wonderful," Dougan uttered, stopping his ward with a hand. "Now everything is clear. You—" he pointed at Hexid, "embedded yourself in the Alliance, on the orders of your boss, Darth Xarion, right? And when the Alliance fell, you collectively cleared out to here, to the most protected fortress of all, where you gained knowledge throughout all this time. Want to restore the Empire?"
"Exactly," she said with pride. "A pity he died at the hand of the Jedi and not mine. The killer of the Emperor is unworthy to live..."
"Shut your mouth," Dougan snapped. Looking once again at the Sith standing before him, he spoke. "I see we won't part in peace. After all, you won't just give me your servants and henchmen, Xarion? You won't accept over yourself the lordship of the one whom the ghost of the Emperor himself instructs?"
"That is heresy," the Sith growled from under his mask. "He would never cooperate with a Jedi, and you literally ooze the Light Side."
"Excellent," a wave of pleasure ran through the Force, the source of which was Dougan. Oli for a moment thought, was this whole conversation not a spectacle intended to lure this pompous Sith into a peculiar trap? "Then, only one thing remains, Xarion."
"Oh, I even foresee what you want to say, Jedi," he said sarcastically. "But you have nothing I want to receive."
"Behind my shoulders is an Empire, thousands of warships, an army, and a huge amount of resources. Or did you think the ships arriving at this planet just flew in to look at the tea? And the fighters that flooded this moon are worthless pawns? I possess more than you once did, you prick from the Dark Council. And I declare Kaggath upon you."
"Excellent," the Sith also seemed pleased. "As in the good old days..."
"There's nothing better than the old school," Dougan smirked. "You and I, no one else. We fight to the death—here on this platform. The winner takes all. If you win—my people will follow you, and everything I have is yours. If you die—I get everything you possess. Including," he pointed to the sentients standing behind the Sith's back, "your servants or henchmen—I don't care who they are to you."
"Ready for such an unequal exchange?" the Sith smirked, accumulating the Force in himself.
"The main thing is that you don't turn coward," the Master answered. "No mercy?"
"None," the Sith smirked.
A short glance at the Master that Oli gave Dougan, trying to clarify in her head how he could just put everything on the line, intending to fight in tattered armor, nearly cost her her life. Without any warning, Xarion rushed forward, extracting a lightsaber blade from his armor, which he immediately brought down on Dougan, trying to burn his face with one blow. The latter stood without moving, only at the last moment before the strike did he throw back his henchmen with a Force Wave, and, dodging from under the enemy's sword, activated his own blade. The unplanned maneuver deprived him of balance, confusing his coordination, and the sword, after parrying the strike of the crimson blade, returned to a defensive position unforgivably slowly.
And in this second, which he required to return control over the duel, he was vulnerable as never before. His opponent felt it too, raised his sword high, swinging at the head and forcing him to duck, and with a reverse strike at the legs forced the Master to jump before he took a more stable position. The Master avoided the fatal blow, but the landing was quite clumsy. And a new strike descended on him. The wrong position forced him only to block the blade instead of deflecting it. The opponent's strike was so powerful that Dougan was forced to retreat.
The Sith moved closer, seeking to finish him, and pressed Dougan with a new series of fast and swift lunges, of which his unknown fencing style seemed to consist. The Master, which was new for Oli, switched to a deep defense. There was not that swiftness and rage he had used in the battle with Sora Bulq. Instead, the man used only Niman. And, to the surprise of all present, this was enough to, having frozen in place, stop the enemy swiftly hacking at everything around.
"Your Force is insignificant, human!" the Sith triumphed, delivering a hacking strike from above. The Master stood motionless as a statue, only parrying the ubiquitous crimson blade.
For a brief moment Oli noticed a gap in the opponent's defense, but the Master, who undoubtedly saw the same thing, did not wish to take advantage of such a loophole.
Darth Xarion straightened to his full height, and the girl realized with horror that he had until now hidden his true physical strength. He surpassed the Master by a full head. And used this advantage as never before.
The air around the duelists hissed; with a long sword the brute traced a pattern around the Master's body. The Sith roared triumphantly when he was able to cut Dougan's breastplate into pieces with the tip of his weapon. And he...
It seemed that he didn't react to what was happening at all, fighting in automatic mode like a droid. There was neither masterful technique nor insidious lunges. Absolutely nothing. The Master demonstrated completely mediocre skills. The feeling was as if all the Force he possessed had left him at once. And only a perfect knowledge of Niman saved him from complete collapse.
This was seen from the opposite side too. From the smiles and bared teeth of the four Sith, Oli realized that they considered the Master exhausted in the first phase of the confrontation. And now, at any minute, he would fall.
However, the possessor of the purple blade was able to surprise everyone.
As if having been startled, he neutralized the frenzied attack of the opponent and delivered half a dozen lethal strikes to the chest and stomach. But instead of falling dead, the big man continued to advance. His clothing as if hadn't met the Master's weapon. He nearly knocked him off his feet, threatening to trample him with heavy boots, but at the last second the master managed to dodge and retreat.
The Sith, without slowing his pace, rushed at Dougan by inertia. The latter, spinning around his axis, avoided meeting the opponent, simultaneously delivering a slashing blow to his back.
And again, the opponent remained unharmed. Oli noticed how the Master frowned, peering into the figure of his enemy. Something incomprehensible was happening—she had seen with her own eyes that the purple blade had already struck Darth Xarion more than once, but he continued the battle as if it were nothing to him.
The Sith, meanwhile, turned on his heels and struck with an invisible wave of the dark side. The Master, without removing the mask of concentration from his face, surrounded himself with a Force Barrier, on whose surface all the opponent's energy spread. However, the force of the enemy attack was such that the Master was pushed back several meters.
The enemy stretched out his hand and sent a powerful discharge of lightning, gathering all his monstrous strength in the blink of an eye. Oli saw how the lush vegetation covering the stone bridge literally evaporated if streams of energy jumped near it.
The Master put out his hands, continuing to hold the Barrier, which in the Force was palpably melting, not coping with the power of the attack. The Master realized this too, and instantly opened his protective bubble from all sides except the front, thereby strengthening the leading part of his defense. It seemed the opponent needed only this. He walked forward slowly, strengthening the pressure on Dougan.
Dougan, unable to hold back all this pressure, dove down like a fish, moving off the line of attack. At the same time his blade came to life and in the same second the purple energy fiercely fell upon the Sith's legs. It seemed the Master intended to deprive him of his limbs, thereby reducing the opponent's mobility. But again the attacks didn't cause the enemy a single injury.
This made one start to fear for Dougan's health and life. Perhaps for the first time he had met an opponent equal to him in strength. Masterfully wielding the Force, an order of magnitude more than the Emperor himself. Such a thing seemed incredible, but the fact, as they say, was plain to see. Whatever her mentor did, it brought no success.
Darth Xarion brought the lightsaber down on the man, and the latter raised his own to block the opponent's weapon at the point of intersection. But the attack turned out to be a feint, and at the last moment the Sith pulled his blade from the trajectory and struck the man under the ribs with his elbow. The blow knocked the Emperor off his feet and threw him to the ground. The lightsaber hilt rolled to the side, and the purple blade went out.
The opponent triumphantly raised the blade, lowering its point onto Dougan's body. The latter, not hesitating for a second, raised his hands above his head, forming another protective barrier. It seemed even this wouldn't stop the Sith, because his weapon poked into the Master's defense. The Sith pressed with his weight, trying to push the weapon through the translucent film, but it brought no fruit. Then he freed one hand and, scooping up the Force, began to drench the Master's defense with Lightning, from which his eyes were already rippling.
However, despite the fact that his defense had begun to give way, the Master didn't lose his composure. He was smirking at something, and literally a moment later it became clear what at.
The Master poured out of himself the accumulated energy of the Light Side, a moment earlier having lowered his shield. Like a giant ram, it knocked the weapon from the Sith's hands, which rapidly disappeared behind the bridge's parapet. And the Sith's body itself was thrown a good hundred meters up, after which it rapidly plummeted down, following the sword.
In the next second the Master rose to his feet. Swaying slightly, he leaned over the railing, positioned sideways to both sides watching the conflict. Despite the jubilation of his supporters, he still radiated anxiety and wariness in the Battle Meditation, which was absolutely incomprehensible to Oli.
After all, he had won?! What was he afrai—
As if from nowhere, the figure of the defeated Sith appeared right behind Dougan's back, bringing the blade for a mortal blow. Oli tried to shout to warn him, but Dougan managed on his own.
He spun on his heels, with composure grabbing the opponent's blade. And, it seemed, he had clearly not expected such a thing.
Because the Master didn't scream with pain, as it should have been as soon as flesh came into contact with pure energy. On the contrary, he smirked, looking his enemy straight in the eyes.
"Tutaminis," he explained for everyone. "Surprised, you bastard?"
And after that, before anyone—even Darth Xarion—could do anything, the Master, having placed his free hand on his belt and catching one of his swords, placed it to the opponent's lower jaw, simultaneously pressing the activation key.
With a characteristic hiss the yellow blade gathered strength, burned through the armored elements of the mask, incinerating the flesh, bones, and brains of Darth Xarion.
And a moment later, when the Master's weapon went out, the giant's corpse fell to its knees, after which it toppled onto its side, finally ceasing all movement.
"So," the man, hanging his defeated opponent's weapon on his belt, stepped over his corpse, approaching the four stunned henchmen of the Sith. "You are witnesses to everything. Questions?"
His answer was deathly silence and four figures full of bewilderment and doom, kneeling before the Emperor.