Star Wars: Skywalker's Rebellion

Chapter Ten - Temptation

Cade had heard stories about the Sith, but he had never seen one in person. They were terrifying. The sight of the two red lightsabers made Cade tremble in fear. Cade knew he should stand up to the Sith and challenge him to a fight, but Cade was way too weak for that. He couldn't even take on a single Vong in the state he was in, much less a Sith.

Nevertheless, Cade drew his lightsaber and the room changed from a red glow to a red-green glow. But the Sith only laughed, a deep, cold sound that escaped the mouth place under his helmet.

"Do you know who I am, boy?" the Sith boomed.

Cade didn't say anything, because he didn't know who the Sith was. "I know enough!" he shouted back.

The Sith followed Cade's gaze to the blade of his lightsaber and he laughed again. "Do you really determine your enemies based on the color of their lightsaber? That will not get you very far, I'm afraid."

"You're a Sith!" Cade shouted.

"Correct," said the Sith, "but I am now so much more than that. I am Darth Krayt, the new Galactic Emperor."

"No, you're lying," Cade replied. "The emperor is Roan Fel, and—"

Cade noticed a smile forming under the Sith's mask and he stopped mid-sentence.

"Very soon," the Sith said calmly but firmly. "I will march into Fel's palace, kill that old man, and sit down in his place on the throne. And my first order of business will be to exterminate the Jedi. That can include you, but it doesn't have to."

"You'll never... wait, what do you mean?"

"You're a Skywalker," Krayt said. "And I can sense the darkness within you. I can see in your eyes that you already know the truth about the Jedi. They're not the people you want to believe they are."

Suddenly, images passed through Cade's head. A single Jedi, murdering dozens of padawans. A group of Jedi, condemning an old, defenseless man to death. An old Jedi, holding a lightsaber over a sleeping padawan. Cade's own father Kol with a woman, about to give baby Cade up into the hands of the Empire.

"No!" Cade screamed, shaking his head and trying to get the images out.

"I was friends with an ancestor of yours," Krayt continued. "A strong man, with undeniable power. He realized the truth, too, and was strong enough to accept it. Only, he wasn't strong enough to finish what he'd started. But you, young Skywalker, have the same potential. I see it within you. You make quick, impulsive decisions and you don't let anyone talk you out of anything. You see, everything that the Jedi are trying to change in you are things that make you strong. The Jedi only seek to weaken your resolve, to control you."

"And you think you're any better?" Cade retorted. "I've heard of what the Sith have done, things much worse than the Jedi."

Krayt just shrugged. "Maybe, depending on how you look at it. But how about we put our past behind us, something you've always desired to do. My team, the One Sith want what all Sith have really ever wanted. Not to destroy, but to create. Things have to get worse before they get better. And the end result of the Sith's work, that's what really scares the Jedi, not how we get there. We would create a perfect society, and that would ruin the Jedi. When all is said and done, the Jedi exist because of helpless people, and getting rid of helpless people would get rid of the need for Jedi."

Cade thought about this, and it scared him when he realized that he thought the Sith was right. Cade suddenly felt another tugging sensation, on the opposite side of his gut. The new sensation was tougher and more painful. The two sensations began pulling away from one another, trying to gain control of Cade's body until Cade couldn't take it any more. Cade screamed and raised his lightsaber, thrusting it at Darth Krayt.

Krayt easily dodged the blade and Cade struck out again and again toward Krayt. The Sith avoided every one of Cade's strikes easily, without raising either one of his lightsabers. Cade ran forward and lunged at Krayt, with his lightsaber outstretched, but when he finally made contact with Krayt, he went straight through and tumbled onto the hard cave floor. Cade got up shakily and saw that the image of Krayt was flickering.

"You're not real," Cade muttered in awe.

"I may not be real," Krayt said. "But you'll figure out soon enough that I'm right."

And then Darth Krayt was gone. Cade stumbled forward and reached out, touching the air where the Sith had been moments earlier. Cade barely had time to consider Krayt's words before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fainted.