The Jedi and the Beast

Chapter VI: A Creeping Unease

A cold sweat prickled Xon's skin as he hunched over his console in the lab. He couldn't shake the feeling of unseen eyes burning into him. With a practised flick of his wrist, he opened the hidden compartment, revealing the figure submerged in the pulsating green liquid. Data readouts displayed an encouraging rise in vital signs.

Leaving the panel ajar, Xon turned to grab a datapad containing the recording of Zane and Krieger's duel. As he plugged into the terminal, a flicker of movement in the tank caught his eye. He spun around, his heart hammering in his chest. The figure lay motionless, bathed in the eerie green glow. Was it his imagination? Or had something shifted?

Unease gnawed at him as he closed the compartment and exited the lab. The sterile white corridors of the Venator seemed to press in on him. The overhead lights flickered momentarily, plunging the hallway into an unsettling darkness before sputtering back to life. Xon quickened his pace, a tremor running through his hands.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. As he passed two passing officers, he overheard a snippet of their conversation. "Headaches... like a drill in my skull," one muttered, his voice laced with exhaustion. "Can't seem to catch a decent night's sleep either." The other officer nodded in weary agreement.

Xon reached the training room just as another argument erupted between Zane and Krieger. "Disembodied?!" Krieger roared, his voice echoing in the vast chamber. "Do you have any concept of the dangers you were courting with the Dark Side?!"

Zane, her face pale but defiant, countered, "Master, you don't understand! It wasn't a choice. It... pulled me in."

Krieger scoffed. "The Dark Side doesn't 'pull' you anywhere, Padawan. It promises power, but its grip tightens with every indulgence. And instead of resisting, you followed its lure?"

Zane opened her mouth to retort, but the words died on her lips as she spotted Xon standing by the doorway. His expression was unreadable, a mask hiding a storm of emotions.

Before anyone could speak further, the lights in the room flickered once, twice, then plunged them into complete darkness. A tense silence descended, broken only by the rhythmic hum of the Venator's engines. Then, with a groan and a flicker, the lights sputtered back to life.

Just as quickly, a ship wide announcement crackled through the intercom. "Attention Command Staff. Report to the bridge immediately."

The bridge hummed with a frenetic energy as Xon, Zane, and Krieger joined a throng of worried officers. Naval personnel in crisp uniforms exchanged data pad readouts, their faces etched with concern.

"Power fluctuations are escalating, General," a harried lieutenant reported, his voice barely audible over the low hum of the ship's engines. "We're experiencing severe spikes, but can't pinpoint the source."

As if to punctuate his words, the bridge lights flickered ominously, then plunged them into darkness. A collective gasp rippled through the room. Emergency backup lights sputtered on, casting an eerie red glow on the tense faces.

When the primary lights flickered back to life, Zane's gaze met Xon's directly. Her aqua eyes held a flicker of something... was it suspicion? Knowledge? Xon's heart hammered against his ribs. What did she glean from her strange experience?

Krieger, ever the pragmatist, strode towards a holographic display depicting the ship's internal systems. "Sitrep," he barked, his voice tight with suppressed urgency.

A young captain, his face etched with worry, stepped forward. "General, we're seeing severe power spikes originating from an... unidentified source deep within the lower decks. Engineering is scrambling, but they're blind."

Krieger's jaw clenched. "I'll head down to the reactor and see what I can do. Xon, you stay here and analyse the incoming data. Try and pinpoint the source of these fluctuations."

Krieger's departure left Xon alone with Zane. An awkward silence stretched between them, broken only by the low hum of the bridge's failing systems. Xon turned, a knot of unease tightening in his gut, and started towards his console. He needed to analyse the data, find the source of the power spikes. But before he could take a step, Zane was beside him.

"The dark side," she said, her voice barely a whisper but laced with a strange certainty. "It surrounds your lab, Xon."

Xon froze, his blood turning to ice. How much did she sense? Panic clawed at his throat, but he forced himself to remain calm. "Come with me," he said abruptly, a sliver of hope flickering within him. Perhaps Zane's untarnished spirit, untainted by years in the Order, could help him contain the chaos he'd unleashed.

They hurried down the corridor, red emergency lights strobing eerily. The air crackled with a raw, primal energy that sent shivers down Xon's spine. Then, with a deafening roar, an explosion rocked the entire ship. Alarms blared, drowning out Zane's startled gasp.

"All hands to your stations! This is not a drill!" a disembodied voice boomed over the PA system. Adrenaline surged through Xon, momentarily pushing aside his dread. He grabbed Zane's arm, his voice tight. "Come on!"

They sprinted down the corridor, the stench of burning metal and ozone filling their nostrils. Reaching the lab, Xon found the scene in disarray. The blast door, once a formidable barrier, lay crumpled like a discarded toy. Inside, chaos reigned. The kolto tank lay shattered, its emerald fluid spilling across the floor like spilled blood. The control panel sparked and sputtered, a testament to the raw power that had coursed through the lab. And most terrifying of all, the chamber was empty.

Dread, cold and suffocating, washed over Xon. His creation, the one he'd poured years of work and hope into, was gone. But where? And what destruction had it unleashed upon the Venator?