Star Wars: Enter the Real World

Chapter 17: The Final Battle

Jason pushed the double-doors to the main office wide open and walked through, the other invisible Jedi following suit. The room was circular with desks along the walls, the middle of the room surprisingly bare. Jason figured that Mortem had purposely arranged it this way for this meeting. On the far side of the room, Jason could see two chairs behind a larger desk, both with their backs to him. Upon hearing Jason enter the room, the chair on the left turned around slowly.

“Welcome, Jason,” Mortem said as he turned towards Jason. “I've been expecting you.”

“Where's Michelle?” Jason asked.

“Ah, getting straight to the point, I see,” Mortem said. “Very well. She is right here beside me.”

Mortem used the Force to turn the other chair around, and Jason's eyes widened by what he saw. Michelle was bound and gagged, her arms tied behind her back, her entire body tied to the chair.

“Mmm-mm,” she said, her eyes widening as she saw Jason.

“Let her go, Mortem,” Jason said, staring directly into Mortem's yellow-red eyes. “This is between you and me.”

“Now, why would I do that?” Mortem asked, standing up from his chair. “I need her here to make sure that you cooperate.”

“What makes you so certain that I will cooperate with you?” Jason asked as both he and Mortem walked towards the center of the room. “What makes you think for one second that I'll join the Dark Side again?”

“I know you, Jason,” Mortem replied. “I know your strengths. I know your weaknesses. I know everything there is to know about you. After all, you're the one who came to me each and every day, asking for help and advice. It is because of this that I know you would never do anything to put Michelle in danger, and you and I both know what will happen if you refuse my offer.”

“Actually, I think you're mistaken about that,” Jason countered.

“How so?” Mortem asked as they began walking in a counter-clockwise circle, always equidistant from each other.

“I know the truth,” Jason said. “I mean, how much sense would it make for me to join someone whose apprentice tried to kill me?”

“What are you talking about?” Mortem asked.

“I know Darth Solvas was truly your apprentice,” Jason replied. “I know because she refused to tell us who you were before she was struck down. If she truly wasn't your apprentice and you really weren't aware of her existence, she would have said she had no idea what we were talking about, rather than saying that she'd never talk.”

“So, you saw through her lie?” Mortem said. “I wouldn't expect any less of you. Yes, it's true that Mikayla was my apprentice, but she knew what she was getting herself into. She knew how strong a Jedi you were, and she knew my true intentions. You see, she didn't expect to be able to kill you. In fact, she was expecting you to kill her.”

“What?” Jason asked, surprised.

“That's right,” Mortem said. “Mikayla knew you were stronger than her. She expected to die by your hand, but she didn't care, so long as she was able to help bring you to the Dark Side. She knew I wanted you as my apprentice, and she was fully ready to accept her fate, whatever it may be. She was ready to die, if that were the case, but she knew she had to fight her hardest, regardless. Of course, a part of her hoped that, by fighting with all her strength, she'd be able to kill you and keep her place as my apprentice, but she was ready to accept her fate, all the same.”

“So you used her,” Jason said. “She was nothing but a tool to you.”

“Precisely,” Mortem replied.