Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order "Hearts of the Inquisitors" Episode 1

Chapter 10

"Do you see the majesty before you?" Barriss announced, gazing skyward to the massive machine rising into the stars. Her chilled voice resonated through the stones, as if tuned instruments aligned to vibrate with her malicious energy.

Shan did not speak a word. His body remained motionless. Kneeled on the uneven ground, lost in meditation, unmoved and unshaken. Barriss could feel her dark magic locked tight around his frame, yet the sensation of the grip had nearly become numb; a result of two tremendous energies converging. Seas of ice cast over eternal flames. When she realized Shan was deliberately unresponsive, she turned to him and lowered her head to his eye level. Sure of her death hold, Barriss smiled in satisfaction, her teeth gleaming in the reflection of Shan's visor, unable to peel her eyes from the dominance she asserted. "Even if you decline to respond, I am still pleased," she said. "It matters not what words you speak now. I would rather you listen. And learn. This is what you are made to do."

She could feel pure rage smoldering in Shan's heart. Refined hatred. Though he was not responding with cuts of the tongue, his Force energy was so vibrant that Barriss could sense waves of heat radiating from his body, as if she were standing beside the mouth of a boiling volcano. "Look upon this, my lord," she continued. She stood straight once more, lifting her hands toward her creation. "For those who said death was the end, look upon me. These souls, my souls, they are given new life. Reanimated from eternal graves to serve a greater purpose. The future of this galaxy is set before your eyes. Ancient power risen from the ashes of the Sith temples. Constructed by the brilliance of the Infinite Empire. Resurrected by the black magic of the Bando Gora. Breathed into existence by fate and faction. A vision realized by a new Queen." She turned to Shan once more, folding her hands in front of her delicately. "Yet you will never know me. You will never understand me. You will not live to see these days. And most important...your Empire will never see me coming." Her voice was a haunting whisper.  

Yet still, Shan remained immobile. Willingly at rest and silent. Calmly withstanding the insults, madness, and lies thrown in his face. Barriss could sense Shan was deep inside himself. So much so that she wondered if her words had even entered his mind. His state of meditation had cast a deep quiet over the entire chamber. Water trickling from the walls was now as clear as the rhythm of a drum. The heartbeat of the cave sounded in her ears. Shadows around them began to creep and crawl. Small vibrations rattled through the cracks in the walls. The still air began to breath. Now Barriss could sense a new energy. A darkness which was unlike any other she had felt, and it was creeping into her. 

High above the heads of their masters, feet relentlessly pounded the black rock of Kohlma, as The Second Sister remained in pursuit of her four enemies. She had chased them through the upper passageways of the mountains behind the temple and out across the desolate landscape of the moon once again. Thunder, lightning and rain crashed around her as she leapt across endless crevasses, leading toward the giant crater the ship was rising from.  

In front of her, she could barely make out the blurry images of four black cloaks striding through the haze of violent rainfall. When they reached the edge of the crater, all four jumped in unison, landing safely on the side of the ship, holding onto the surface and ascending with it. Shan's final words rang through her head over and over, often louder than her own pounding heart. This was her chance. This was her moment to prove herself. Not simply to the Empire, but to Shan himself. This situation was a gift--an opportunity to display her true strength to the Emperor and his monumental law. 

Without hesitation, she called upon every drop of Force energy she had, hurling her body forward through the rain against the wind. The burst of power was so strong, the sheets of rain falling around her exploded outward as she flew forward across the last stretch of land. With one final push of her leg, she thrust her body upward and off the edge of the cliff, slicing through the air like a demon ascending to the heavens.