"I'm sure you have a plan."
"Correct. We have two options, and a third that's still a question mark."
"Well, tell us. Don't keep me in suspense."
"I'll start with the simplest: we can just hunker down here. But if my calculations are correct, and they are, another bombing wave will hit us in a week. Then we'll be forced to leave in a panic or just pray to the Force that we aren't buried alive."
"I don't think that's the best option you've got. We're staying here until Lana recovers enough so she isn't a liability, but we at least need to scout the immediate area. I have absolutely no idea how to go further up the mountain, and we can't go down, it's crawling with thugs, bastards, and generally unpleasant types."
"Heh, spending time with Lana is a bad influence on you. You've started swearing far too often."
"It's not me influencing him," Lana chimed in, "he's just discovering his own natural talent. But I agree, we need to prepare to move. I'm sure the First will want to know where his sentry went. If he decides to come here with a larger squad, we're bantha fodder. He'll find us eventually. So, let's move to the second option: we haul kark and head for the center. If you recall the conditions, we survive if we reach the artifact hidden on the island. Get to it, and we can get out of here."
"Not the best plan. When I reached out to that thing through the Force, my mind was nearly overwhelmed. And my sensitivity, for the record, isn't exactly the highest in this group. Though, if you're looking for a sophisticated way to kill our redhead here, the plan is perfect."
"That's only because you never properly learned to raise Force barriers," Lana countered. "If you spent less time practicing with a blade and more time with us, it wouldn't be such an issue. I can teach you in the days we have left."
"Hm. If that's the case, I don't see a problem."
"Can't we just move to the center of the island and wait there?" Lana asked. "I'm wounded, but I can handle a few treks, especially if I have time to recover. We just lie low in the center, and that's it."
"Risky. A quick dash for the artifact is one thing; setting up a permanent camp there is another. Suppose we stay there for a week. I personally can't guarantee we'll withstand the constant pressure of the artifact. Out of all of us, only you have a decent enough defense for now. Besides, we've been lucky, but our comrade ran into mutated beasts. And I'm somehow certain that the further toward the center we go, the more dangerous they become. I can't guarantee they don't possess a glimmer of sentience, enough to set a trap for us."
"What's the third option?"
"I haven't fully thought it through, and the data is thin. But it might make sense for us to return to the coast."
"Are you out of your mind? The bombers are making a hellscape out of the shore. We barely survived by a miracle."
"That's exactly the point—it seems they aren't doing that anymore. Look." He bent down and ignited his lightsaber. With a light movement, he burned a slightly uneven circle into the floor. "This is our island."
"You're a regular artist, aren't you? I can practically see the coastline," Lana joked.
"Lana, I wouldn't advise mocking a sentient with an active blade less than two meters away from you."
"Sorry, sorry. Shutting up and listening."
"This is our island, and these two lines…" two more quick slashes appeared inside the circle, "are the sectors the bombers hit."
"And your point is?"
"My point is, stop interrupting and you'll find out. We don't have a perfect vantage point to be certain, but it looks like they aren't shelling zones they've already hit."
"So they bombed the coastline and won't go back there?"
"Likely. I tracked the coordinates where they dropped the ordnance, and it's definitely not the very edge of the island anymore."
"But they could rotate. Go sector by sector. First zone, then second, then back to the first and third, and so on."
"Possibly. And to test my theory, we need to get higher."
"Which aligns with your suggestion to move quickly toward the artifact."
"Yes. We can leave in a few days. In a day or two, we can get far enough to avoid the shelling and have a good enough view to draw conclusions."
"And if anything happens, we can quickly shift toward that object... or whatever is lying there..."
"Exactly, Set. For now, I consider this our best plan."
"Grand. Then, you two invalids, off to rest. We don't have much time."
"Fat chance. I don't plan on dying yet." As if to punctuate her words, Lana's mane of red hair whipped back and fell dramatically over her shoulders. "First, you're going to tell us something."
"What?"
"What the Hutt happened to you?! You feel different in the Force. And that saber... I've never seen that shade before. And where did you put your own blade? Don't even think about dodging the question, or I'll curse you."
Two piercing green eyes stared directly at me without blinking. It felt as if her pupils might turn vertical, like a predator's.
"I agree," Kamma added. "I'd also be interested to know what happened. It will supplement my data on this island. And we certainly need all the info we can get."
What should I tell them? Everything, or keep some things hidden? Why bother? As far as I understood, there was no top-secret information here. Sure, I built a saber, that happens when you find your own crystal. It's rarer for Sith, but there are precedents. A Force entity, a ghost, or whatever it was... also rare, but not unique. As for the rest, they probably suspected it anyway.
"Alright, alright. I'll tell you."
The entire story took less than ten minutes. At the mention of the mercenaries, Kamma frowned.
"Are you sure you heard correctly? Definitely Cad Bane?"
"Yeah."
"Strange."
"Your Wisdomship, pray tell us what secret is hidden here," Lana said. "I spent my childhood in caves or cages. This guy over here probably did too."
"I thought he was dead. During the Clone Wars, he took the title of the best bounty hunter from the late Jango Fett. He held it almost until the very end of the war. Then he was either killed in a duel or set up. Bane hadn't surfaced since. And here he is, on this island with us. Apparently, the Imperials intercepted him while he was licking his wounds."
"Does that change much?"
"Not really, just that it's better not to cross paths with him. It's true he's killed Jedi. Of course, we are servants of the Emperor and stronger… " I winced slightly at that phrase. "We're, God help us, just teenagers with barely any specialized training. Bane had defeated that acolyte without breaking a sweat. 'Stronger than Jedi'? They were trained from birth; our methods were different, but still. You can't make proper warriors in less than a year. So, it's best we don't make contact."
"Perfect. If I see a Duros, I turn and run the other way," Lana summarized.
"Not the worst plan."
During the description of my encounter with the Force ghost, Kamma raised an eyebrow incredulously but didn't comment. Lana just snorted, seemingly barely holding back a laugh. It was highly unlikely her lower lip was trembling from suppressed sobs.
The room full of corpses didn't interest them much, though both eventually went to check the hole in the floor, just in case their crystals were waiting there too. But no, there was no call, not even a faint echo in the Force.
As I expected, my story didn't raise any major red flags. Unusual, yes; confusing in parts, sure; but overall, not that shocking given where we were.
The following days flew by. My handling of the new weapon improved. Kamma slept for days on end, occasionally training with me. However, it seemed I had become stronger in every aspect.
Out of ten sparring sessions, two were draws; the rest ended in my decisive victories. As Lana noted while watching us, we now had only one full combat unit—she and Kamma were just backup.
I tried to argue, noting that our Pantoran hadn't fully recovered yet. But he admitted she was right; currently, he was no match for me.
Something else occupied his mind far more than saber drills.
While wandering the lower levels of our lair, he had stumbled upon a room entirely covered in some kind of script. I had seen it too, but it held no interest for me. I wouldn't be able to understand a word of it.
But this blue-skinned comrade, with a zeal worthy of a better cause, was trying to decipher those squiggles on the walls.
Of course, he didn't glean much in a couple of days. Something about the temple on this island being either part of a larger temple or just part of something grander. And something about a certain Malachor, either an ancient Sith or someone else very powerful. How he was connected to this island remained unclear.
Lana spent her days trying to pull herself together. It wasn't perfect, but she did look better. Her natural complexion returned, and her leg began to move normally. Though, by her own admission, she still shouldn't overexert herself.
Her hand was worse. Her fingers moved, but not fully, much like the rest of her arm. It was as if a specific nerve responsible for full range of motion had been damaged. I don't know if such a thing exists in our anatomy, but the result was the same. She could handle small tasks, but swinging a blade was out. Definitely not a combatant.
One could only hope that after the trial, it would be possible to fully heal her arm. Lana acted brave, but at times you could feel her terror of being left a cripple.
Though, given how much we still don't know about the Force, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a way to restore even a severed limb.
Regardless, everything ends eventually. The day of our departure arrived.
The first stage of the plan had been discussed several times. We climb to a vantage point, the higher the better, watch the bombardment, and decide our next move based on that.
Several small containers were packed to the brim with berries. Our meager equipment was checked and rechecked.
We set out half an hour before dawn, just in case someone was watching; they'd be unlikely to spot three small shadows scaling the cliffs.
The red sunrise caught us while we were resting on a small flat ledge, having tried to cover the maximum distance beforehand.
Lana sat concentrated with her eyes closed; through the Force, I could feel her doing something to her leg. But it was on a level where I could barely grasp the general sense of her manipulations.
Kamma was tracing a finger through a thin layer of ash, seemingly sketching out more calculations. He would erase them and start over, then, with a look of satisfied realization, begin fervently calculating to the side of his main notes.
I just sat there, squinting at the rising sun. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine I wasn't in this gods-forsaken place where almost everything wanted to kill me. I could imagine a quiet, peaceful place with clean air and no need to look over my shoulder.
But looking at the real world... the landscape below was a portrait of gloom and sorrow. A thick gray layer covered almost everything the eye could reach. Where there was no ash, reddish-black craters from the blasts were visible, and even those were being smothered by the general grayness. Only the cliffs brought any life to this dull scenery.
From this height, it was impossible to distinguish our shelter from the surrounding rocks. If you didn't know where to look, you'd miss it entirely.
"I'm ready."
"Great. Let's move."
We continued our ascent. Thank the Force, there wasn't much ash. I'm sure we would have slipped and fallen several times if we were knee-deep in that kark.
Even so, the climb wasn't easy. The slope was steadily becoming steeper. While we started on relatively even ground, we now had to use our hands to navigate certain sections.
And such sections appeared more and more frequently.
Eventually, we hit spots where the only way forward was to crawl up a sheer cliff face, or else double back and take a massive detour.
In these spots, I had to climb up first and then use the Force to lift Lana. The girl was clearly not thrilled with this method of transport, but she understood and remained silent. Her face, however, said she had plenty to say, but she held it back.
The day passed like that—constant climbing, and occasionally descending when we couldn't find a path forward.
The Dark Side was surrounding us more tightly now. At the edge of my consciousness, there was a persistent urge to spit on everything and bolt toward the unknown source of power. Why restrain myself with these losers?
I don't know what would have happened to me if not for the mental protection I had been taught. Even with it, it was hard to resist the influence of the Darkness—hard not to scream at Lana, who had that annoyed expression again. Or at Kamma, who had led us into yet another dead-end hole.
From their faces, they were feeling something similar. Lana would start swearing through gritted teeth every now and then, glaring at us like a cornered wolf.
Kamma dreamily stroked the hilt of his blade, staring thoughtfully into the void. Sometimes I saw his hand clench convulsively, turning a nearby stone into a pile of small fragments.
But through sheer struggle, we managed to survive the day without killing each other. Although, through the Force, the growing tension in my climbing partners was palpable.
When dusk began to fall, we decided to make camp. We quickly found a flat area protected from the wind by large boulders.
Using the Force to gather ash, we made something like a small mattress out of it. Yes, most of it would scatter as soon as we lay down, but it was better than sleeping on bare stone. Cleanliness was a forgotten concept. Not that anyone cared.
We all looked like we'd been working as chimney sweeps for a year. Trekking to the beach for a swim and back was out of the question, much as we wanted to.
It was relatively warm, and for us, those protected by the Force, almost no cold could touch us. Local beasts, however, were another story. We decided to stand guard in shifts.
Lana was forcibly exempted from duty. By the end of the day, she looked utterly exhausted, though she tried not to show it. A tough girl.
The night passed peacefully; no one disturbed us. However, during my watch, I thought I saw a few crimson dots flash on the peak in the distance. But I probably imagined it. It flashed for a fraction of a second and vanished.
Upon waking, we agreed by silent consent to climb even higher. This spot wasn't particularly good for observation, and the further we were from the enemy, the better. Plus, we could always turn toward that powerful artifact.
Unfortunately, we couldn't start immediately. While we slept, Lana's leg had swollen, so we had to spend most of the day allowing her to recover.
I stayed by her side to cover her in case of danger. I decided to practice my Force control. Kamma, for some reason, moved dozens of meters away and began practicing his fencing.
He wasn't doing well, which made him furious and led to even more mistakes. At one point, he took it into his head to simply shred a rock. Only when a heavy boulder had been turned into finely chopped gravel did he calm down a bit.
We were silent almost the entire time. Lana focused on healing, and Kamma and I tried to start a conversation a couple of times, but we nearly spiraled into an argument every time.
Then the climb began again. Difficult, grueling, but not that long. We had covered a good distance yesterday, so we didn't have to worry about being late for the evening show.
Only three hours later, we were almost at the very summit. We had some time to spare, so out of curiosity, I decided to run up and see what was on the other side of the mountain.
I wish someone had stopped me. Peering over the edge, I nearly tumbled down the slope. The Dark Side slammed into my shoulders, pinning me to the ground.
In the mountain's slope lay a massive basin, in the center of which stood a temple. It looked as if someone had taken an Egyptian pyramid and, with two careless strokes, shortened it by a fifth, then sliced it in half and pulled the pieces apart.
Primal Darkness radiated from it so strongly I felt an urge to bow before it and serve it forever. It felt like the only possible path.
I thought I saw a colossal human figure in armor forming over the top of the temple. Burning red eyes stared directly at me.
A black plate covered the lower half of its face, crawled over by the same strange script I had already seen. The body, wrapped in a burgundy robe, seemed to consist of many different pieces, as if a mad scientist had first dissected a living organism and then stitched it back together with invisible threads.
I stared wide-eyed at the vision before me, and the monstrous figure loomed closer every second, gradually blotting out everything around it.
It seemed invisible lips were moving under the mask, repeating a single summons that I couldn't quite catch. But any second now, I would hear its voice. But I don't want that! It's dangerous! The Force swirled before me, creating—not even a shield, but a thin film invisible to the eye.
The entity struck it, but it didn't stop the unknown horror. Black, skeletal hands reached for my head, pushing through the shield, approaching slowly but inevitably.
When only millimeters remained between us, the creature growled dissatisfiedly and dissolved into the surrounding gloom.
It was nearby, gathering strength and waiting for me to lower my guard. I couldn't lose focus for a second, or it would consume me.
"Set. Set!"
A distant shout reached me, and the hallucination broke. I was looking at the temple again, but without any ghosts or the like. Just a place with an incredible concentration of the Dark Side. And the center of this structure was the heart of the murk. That must be the artifact.
"Yeah, what is it?"
Turning around, I saw Lana slowly climbing up to join me. Aside from her damaged arm and a limp, the girl looked quite good, just tired. Out of our group, she seemed to handle the influence of the environment most easily.
After all, as I'd read, Dathomir is also a nexus of the Dark Side of the Force. This atmosphere was, in a way, familiar to her.
"Why are you spacing out? You've been staring into nothing for minutes. Admit it, you're fantasizing about the first thing you'll do when you get back. Right? Come on, admit it. I bet you've imagined all sorts of debauchery."
"Yeah, the most terrible thing I could think of. Want to hear it?"
"Nope, spare me the details."
Sigh. And I was just about to vividly describe eating ten portions in our wonderful cafeteria.
"Oh, so you have a taste for the finer things. You nerf-herder, now I want some too!"
A light punch to the shoulder wasn't long in coming.
I was so thrown off that I only felt it coming at the last moment. Despite my seemingly normal state, that ghastly figure was still burned into my vision.
"Let's go, the genius is waiting for us. It's about to start."
"Yeah, yeah... I'm coming."
Looking back over my shoulder, I saw nothing suspicious. But the sensation of someone watching my back wouldn't leave me.
"Where in the Force have you been?"
Kamma didn't look well. His skin had turned a pale blue hue, and his eyes darted around as if searching for something. His hands couldn't stay still, constantly in motion.
Emotions were leaking through the permanent Force shield he used to wall himself off. They were indistinct but very bright—emotions I had never seen from him before.
"Otherwise, we wouldn't have seen anything from there anyway."
"Shut up and watch closely. We'll compare notes later."
In the evening sky, distant rows of bombers appeared, moving into battle formation. The still-distant drone of engines announced the imminent opening of a branch of hell on earth.
From our vantage point, we could see the ships circling our island in a perfect ring. The first ring approached close enough that the general outlines of the black machines could be distinguished.
They passed the coastline, the second sector of fire...
A deafening explosion robbed us of our hearing for several seconds. The dark ships, guided by the steady hands of their pilots, dropped their lethal payloads. Then, in a single surge, they climbed vertically to take their turn for a second run.
They acted with such coordination it was as if they had rehearsed this scenario countless times. Perhaps they had.
Enormous pillars of ash, earth, and stone rose at the impact sites. A first volley, a second... just like last time, it ended after seven circles.
And once again, the result was the same—only chaos and destruction, claiming several lives.
We couldn't see from here, but I felt that if we had stayed in that house, we would surely have lost our lives.
Lana doubled over again from the sensation of the deaths of Force-sensitives. We moved a few meters away from her so she could at least feel a bit better.
Kamma's eyes glowed feverishly in the light of the setting sun. A smile like a budding maniac's played on his lips.
"Just as I predicted! You saw it too, right? They didn't bomb the districts they already covered. Only a new sector was destroyed. That means we can safely move into the coastal regions. I don't think many people figured that out, though we're unlikely to be the only ones. See, my predictions came true! Your thoughts, Set?"
"I agree. You've been proven right again."
"As usual, as usual. I'm rarely wrong in general. Don't be upset; not everyone is granted as much talent as I am."
I had a powerful urge to remind him of every wrong turn he'd taken while we were climbing up here and to knock out a few clearly redundant teeth. But by some miracle, I managed to restrain myself. Only my fingernails dug into my tightly clenched fists.
"Let's head down. The sooner we leave, the better."
"Of course, though I'd like to study... well, check something here. You understand, something important, I feel it's important. I need to know for sure and see it in person. I promise I won't take long; an hour, maybe a few hours. There and back, honestly."
"We're leaving as soon as Lana recovers."
I really didn't like the direction this conversation was taking. We needed to get out of here as quickly as possible before it was too late.
"How do you not understand?! I need to go there! You saw it too, the power hidden there? If I can understand its nature, my strength will grow. This knowledge will help us all."
"No, it's too dangerous; we can't linger here. This place is affecting all of us."
"I'm not going anywhere." The Pantoran's eyes filled with molten gold. "You don't want to give me that power. You saw what it's capable of and you want to claim it for yourself, don't you?! You want to take it for yourself just to be sure you stay above me."
"You're wrong. I don't need that power; it's dangerous and can enslave its master. And I want to be free for the sake of my revenge."
"Liar. We were practically equals when we came to the Academy. But you were always ahead of me. You were looking down on me, weren't you? Oh, I see it in your eyes right now. You think I'm pathetic for seeking this power. Well, so be it, but I won't allow anyone to treat me like that."
His blue hand convulsively gripped the hilt of the blade hanging from his belt. Hutt it all! I had to try and calm him down before it was too late.
"No—"
"Liar! You always looked down on me, even now. You think you're better than me, that you're stronger than me. Well, you're wrong. You're not the only one capable of being a combat unit in our group!"
In the last second, I felt the threat and dropped where I stood. I literally collapsed like a felled tree; otherwise, I would have lost half my skull.
A red blade whistled over my head, shearing off the top of a small stone.
Because of the argument with Kamma, Lana's condition, my own emotional turmoil, because of so many things, I only just sensed them. Seven figures were approaching us from the direction of the temple, with Darkness radiating from them in pulsing waves.
The crimson blade returned to its owner's hand, this time nearly taking my legs off.
"Well, hello, nobodies."
A half-growl and a surprised exclamation merged into one phrase.
"The First!?"
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