Star Wars Jedi Knight IV: Sith Empire

Chapter 23: Bastion

"Still...still spouting the wisdom of the Jedi, I see. Maybe there is more truth in their code than I ever believed. I...I cannot help but wonder, Revan. What would have happened had our positions been reversed? What if fate had decreed I would be captured by the Jedi? Could I have returned to the light, as you did? If you had not led me down the dark path in the first place, what destiny would I have found?"

―Darth Malak

Darth Krayt watched the intercepted transmission Vestara had sent to the Jedi. He had tasked her with finding a way to kill both Abeloth and Luke Skywalker. She had certainly done so. Project Stars would eradicate both Abeloth and the Jedi in one fell swoop. And she had captured the Jedi Queen. But something seemed...off about the message. The Dark Lord couldn't quite shake the sense that something was amiss.

He watched the holo repeatedly. What was it? He could call down lightning on beings, see into the future, summon the spirits of dead Sith from centuries gone by, and cheat death with the Force. But he couldn't find the nagging problem.

Krayt furrowed his brow and stared into Vestara's holographic eyes. Her image noiselessly pointed her flickering red saber at his face in seeming defiance, with Allana bound and on her knees at Khai's side. And suddenly he realized the problem.

He knew her past, and she had even admitted as much. She was too much of a Jedi to truly be a Sith. The eyes are the windows to one's soul, and her eyes didn't burn with the passion and hate of a Sith Lord. Perhaps the meditation sphere had been mistaken in it's assessment of her.

She may have been able to deceive the Skywalkers, but she would never deceive him.

***

Jaina peeked around a pillar at Ben's yacht sitting on a starpad. It had already been breached. Two stormtroopers stood guarding the boarding ramp, which had been lowered.

An Imperial engineer in a soiled brown uniform stepped off with a datapad, no doubt full of information about where the vessel had been and what it had sent and received.

Jaina waited until the worker was out of the view of the guards. As he was walking to his shuttle, she stretched out her arm.

It came so easily. The Jedi harnessed her anger and hate for the Empire for killing her mother, and made a fist with her hand. The engineer stiffened up mid stride and grabbed at his throat.

Jaina squeezed harder. His head tilted to one side. She let go, and he collapsed onto the tarmac. Ahsoka watched from behind another pillar in silent horror.

But Jaina wasn't done. In a flash she leaped out of the hangar at the first stormtrooper, bringing her purple saber down across his armored body and cleaved him in two.

As the second trooper turned to face Jaina, she sliced the barrel of his blaster off, then brought her saber back and severed his head from his shoulders. His armor-clad mass fell to the permacrete with a metallic racket. The only sound left was the hum of Jaina's violet blade.

Ahsoka hesitated to follow the Jedi master up the boarding ramp. So this is why attachment was forbidden, She thought to herself.

The Sword of the Jedi had already strapped herself into her seat's restraints as Ahsoka made it into the cockpit. As she strapped herself into the copilots seat, Jaina was busy checking the base model SoroSuub's systems in a pre-flight checklist.

As they lifted off the planet, Tano couldn't help but wonder if she was flying into an Imperial blockade with the next big threat to the galaxy.

***

Kyle waited with Jag on the starpad as Jaina and Ahsoka stepped off the shuttle. Jaina and Jag immediately ran to each other and embraced in a long hug before they kissed. Ahsoka merely passed the couple and made her way to Kyle.

However it was Jaina that Kyle noticed. She wasn't wearing her Jedi robes and her saber was no longer on her hip. Something was wrong.

"Master Katarn," Ahsoka said, standing in front of him. Kyle set his jaw in suspicion before facing the Togruta Jedi.

"I'm sorry," Kyle said. "Ahsoka isn't it?"

"Yup," Ahsoka said with a smile.

"Skywalker speaks very highly of you," Katarn remarked. "I'm glad you've chose to help us with our situation."

"I don't feel like I've been much of a help," Ahsoka said. "I told Master Luke already...the Monolith is gone."

"I heard," Kyle replied. "Even something like that helps. If we didn't know it was gone, we'd still be wasting time trying to find it."

"Kyle," Jaina called. "I need to speak with you."

Kyle took a breath and stepped over to Jaina and Jag. A tear had left a wet streak down Jaina's face. "What is it Jaina?"

"I...I can't do it. I'm sorry," She said as another tear dribbled down her cheek.

"You can't do what Jaina?" Kyle asked, hoping she wouldn't say what he thought she was going to say.

Jaina held out her Jedi robes rolled around her saber hilt. "I can't be a Jedi anymore. Not after what happened on Hapes."

Kyle was aware. Luke had told him on the comm call. He still had trouble absorbing it. "I understand," He replied, taking her robes and weapon, just as Luke had done for him all those years ago. "May the Force be with you Jaina."

"It hasn't been so far," Jaina quipped as she turned and embraced Jag again, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Master Katarn, we're going to the Sartinaynian system. We'll get the Empire out of your hair," Jag said. "But could I ask a favor?"

"Sure," Kyle said, fully aware of what the Sartinaynian system held. "What do you need?"

"I'd like to take Ahsoka with us to Bastion," Jag said. "If she truly is from the Clone Wars, her experience with Order 66 will be invaluable."

"Well Ahsoka isn't a Padawan. She can make her own decisions," Kyle replied. He turned to Tano. "Do you want to go?"

"Master, as I understand it you don't want the Jedi to leave Ossus," Ahsoka stated, confused. "Why do you want me to leave?"

"Because quite frankly I'm not sure," Kyle said, uncertainty creeping into his voice. "At any time these Star Destroyers in orbit could start working over this planet. And if all the Jedi were here at a given time, that would make an abrupt end of all of us. So follow the will of the Force, whatever you do."

"I will," Ahsoka replied. "I'd be honored to help you...um," She wasn't sure how to address him.

"Call me Jag," Fel replied. "In that case, let's get out of here."

***

Ahsoka followed Jaina and Jag into the yacht and strapped herself into the navigator's seat as they took the pilot and copilot seats.

"So Jag," Ahsoka said. "What exactly is our plan of action here?"

"You remember Order 66, right?" Jag asked, simultaneously taking care of a pre-flight checklist. "The Chancellor in that case sent a command to wipe out the Jedi, and the Clones did just that. But there was another order. Order 65. That was the order for the Clones to destroy the Chancellor should he be unstable. Those orders are still law in the Empire. And once we get to Bastion, we're going to use Order 65 to get rid of this Darth Krayt."

Though Jag seemed nonchalant about Order 66, the blood drained from Ahsoka's face at the thought. She was beginning to wonder what she had gotten herself into. A feeling of dread gripped her stomach as the yacht lifted off.