Chapter 8: Endgame

Cyprixxia Outer Rim Brigia

Kaesar moved through the corridors of Cyprixxia, not hurrying. He could feel his prey up ahead, and so he hunted, seeking the paths that would lead him there. He emerged into what seemed to be a large holding pen. He saw three emitters, meaning the shields would be triple layered when active, and with a flash of insight he knew they were in the Terenatek holding pens.

“Where are you pets, Darth Tremar,” Kaesar called into the gloom.

“Sadly we were forced to leave them on Dantooine. Your arrival left us no time to collect them from the surface, nor for me to modify my last commands. Any Force Sensitive on Dantooine is their prey now. They will ignore those who do not feel the Force.”

“Why would you focus them on those who are Force Sensitive, and not let them rampage?”

“What good would a rampage do me? I have no quarrel with the farmers of Dantooine, only with the Jedi,” Tremar replied, his voice strong and confident. With a snap-hiss, one end of his lightsaber came alive, illuminating him in its ice-blue glow, humming with anticipation.

Kaesar plucked his lightsaber from his belt and flicked it on, and with a snap-hiss identical to Tremar’s, its emerald green light illuminated him.

Hangar 12

Iliyana spun backwards, sweeping her bronze lightsaber around and knocking aside Koyi’s thrust. Iliyana lunged in with the momentum of her spin, slashing down, but Koyi simply wasn’t there. Instead she had darted to the right, getting a bit of distance to re-assess her opponent. Iliyana was faster than Kaesar had told her, and a bit more ruthless with her lightsaber as well. Koyi’s tunic had several slashes in it, and the first slash of Iliyana’s had opened it on a diagonal, revealing one of her pale green breasts.

Iliyana’s clothes showed no marks, but Koyi had been close. Now she jumped back in, swinging her lightsaber in a broad arc, and Iliyana swung her lightsaber up to block, but not quite soon enough. Koyi’s strike marked Iliyana’s left shoulder, and Iliyana drew a sharp breath and turned into the slash, pushing her lightsaber into Koyi’s, then shoving it back and thrusting to her side as Koyi jumped back, pricking a hole in her pants, and tapping Koyi’s right thigh.

The Twi’lek pressed the assault, ignoring the flick of pain from her leg, thrusting and slashing, blocking and parrying, but one thrust snaked past her guard and sliced the top of her right forearm. She ducked and rolled backward to avoid losing the hand, and came to her feet in the Makashi stance. As Iliyana jumped in, Koyi flicked and knocked her lightsaber aside, then slashed. Iliyana turned and thrust, and caught Koyi on the left hip and Koyi’s slash marked Iliyana’s right hip.

Both women rolled away from each other and began to circle, slowly, warily. They drew deep breath, each in the Makashi stance, each watching the others eyes.

Holding Pens

Tremar threw himself at Kaesar, his ice blue lightsaber whirling in the air, and Kaesar rushed to match. The blades connected with blinding speed, once, twice, three times and they spun apart, and then back together, eight, nine ten strikes this time, moving with a speed, ferocity and skill that only those who can give themselves to the Force can match.

Kaesar’s overlong lightsaber slapped Tremar’s blade aside and slid across his left bicep as the back end of Tremar’s saber activated and lanced across Kaesar’s left bicep. Both men spun away from each other, and Kaesar dropped into Vaapad. Tremar ticked one eyebrow up.

“Vaapad, a most intriguing choice.” He dropped into Vaapad as well, and the fight was on again. The two of them moved around the holding pens in near blurs, augmenting themselves with the Force, striking carefully, never overextending. Every move they made was countered by the other almost instantly. Tremar spun his double-headed saber around himself and opened a small wound on Kaesar’s right bicep. Kaesar reversed the deflection and opened an identical wound on Tremar’s left bicep.

Despite these new wounds, the two battled on, bounding over the uneven floor. Tremar suddenly pushed an aggressive attack, his double-headed saber whirling and pushing Kaesar back. Kaesar’s heel caught on a piece of rubble, and he stumbled back, and then fell backwards, which may have saved his life and Tremar slashed, and opened a minor wound along his chest.

Hangar 12

Iliyana and Koyi spun away from each other, whirling their lightsabers in deadly arcs. Iliyana started to circle Koyi again, weaving her lightsaber back and forth, and Koyi followed, both of her breasts now visible since Iliyana had sliced her tunic away, almost playfully Koyi thought. She took a deep breath, pushing her amazement at Iliyana’s amazing increase in skill, and opened herself deeper to the Force.

Koyi lunged in, sliding from Makashi to Ataru, and then she began to move. Enhanced by the Force, she bounded from floor to wall to bounce in and slash at Iliyana, who moved into Makashi herself, sweeping her lightsaber around to slap aside Koyi’s blade, whirling backwards, moving more than she deflected, more in touch with the Force than ever before. She watched Koyi, noted a pattern in her movements, and waited. She blocked once, dodged out of range for the next attack, and then, with a deep breath and moments thought, she threw a compacted blast of air under Koyi’s feet just before she touched on the side of the boarding ship.

Koyi sprawled to the ground as Iliyana leapt through the air, whirling her lightsaber and dropping on the stunned Jedi. Koyi rolled aside just before the blade connected, and received a long slash across both her shoulders as she rolled to her feet with fluid grace and a stifled whimper.

Iliyana pushed her advantage, and the Master had a harder time defending herself with the wound across her shoulders. Iliyana struck, and Koyi swept her lightsaber up to block. Iliyana reached out with one hand and roughly yanked on one of Koyi’s nipples, getting a startled gasp out of the Twi’lek before letting go and whirling backwards.

Koyi took a step back, and then swung her free hand forward. A loud screech caught Iliyana’s attention, and she raised one hand to stop the metal girder Koyi had torn free and thrown like a javelin at her. For a moment they contested for control of it, and then Iliyana rolled to the side, and let it flash past her to impale one of the remaining fighters.

Holding Pens

Kaesar rushed Tremar again, drawing on his enjoyment of battle with Vaapad to slash, strike and try and keep the Sith Lord off balance, whirling his over-long lightsaber about himself to create a deadly offensive and defensive shield. Tremar slid backwards, gliding more than moving, moving his lightsaber only to block the attacks that came close. Kaesar ignored the burning of the slash on his chest, jumped high over Tremar’s head and lashed out in mid-air.

Tremar swung his lightsaber up and caught Kaesar’s, serving as a fulcrum for the Jedi to move over his head, and yet he wasn’t there when Kaesar slashed out. Tremar faded into the shadows, his lightsaber hissing away to make him truly invisible. “Why bother fighting me Jedi? Shouldn’t you be worried about your friend? By now, Iliyana probably has her tied down and stuffed by now.”

Kaesar closed his eyes and took a deep breath, lowering his lightsaber to touch the ground in front of him, drawing deep breaths to regain his energy. He could feel Koyi, even through this much rock and steel, and he knew that while she was in trouble, it was from her combat skills, not because she was being raped. “She is fine. You have taught Iliyana some new tricks it seems.”

“I have not taught her anything,” Tremar’s bodiless voice called out, “This is simply her natural talent, freed of her fear and self-consciousness.”

Kaesar took another deep breath, and then deactivated his lightsaber. He slid into an old stance, hilt by his left hip, his body almost folded around it, with his left hand on the emitter. He drew on the Force, waiting, preparing. This technique he had learned from an ancient holocron, mastered through decades of hard training, and had never been able to teach another Jedi to do it.

“If you activate your lightsaber like that, you’re likely to slice off your fingers,” Tremar said, almost scolding him.