Star Wars - Darkness Shared - Gamer #5

by Bill Slavicsek

  When it was over and his lightsaber's blade was powered down, Kaox Krul would return to Lord Kaan, triumphant and ready to carryon the next phase of the Brotherhood's rise to glory. The Jedi and her apprentice were simply appetizers before the bountiful feast of darkness to come.

  The Marauder was hungry. He increased his pace, letting the dark side flow through him and increase his endurance. He replayed the scene he had imagined as he ran. T he Marauder was very hungry.

  ***

  "We have to go," Crian Maru said, leaping down from the crumpled transport. "We have to go now."

  Dree Vandap, a survival kit slung over her left shoulder, landed in the moist grass beside her Master. "Shouldn't we just go and face him? Get this over with?"

  "The Marauder is powerful, Dree. Don't underestimate him. He knows that we've been following him since Harpori, and we've both felt his hatred - his darkness - through the Force. Something tells me that this isn't the place to confront him."

  The Jedi and her apprentice ran to the back of the transport and examined the cargo bay door.

  "The servomotors won't open that door. It's too badly mangled," Dree said.

  "Then I'll have to improvise," Crian replied, drawing her lightsaber and igniting it with a practiced motion. Gripping the lightsaber with both hands, Crian sketched a rough circle in the durasteel door. The metal glowed white hot as the lightsaber sliced through it, then the portion Crian had cut away fell inward, granting access to the cargo compartment.

  Crian jumped easily through the opening. "Keep watch," she called back. "We won't be alone for much longer."

  ***

  The Marauder watched the apprentice from his perch among the trees. He sensed that her Master was nearby, but Kaox couldn't see her. Was she still inside the wrecked transport? Or was she somewhere in the forest, waiting to strike at him while he went after the Rodian? Would the Jedi use her apprentice in that manner, as bait? He didn't think so, but sometimes the followers of the light surprised and confused him. He let the dark side swell inside him, using it to mask his own presence while simultaneously enhancing his senses to stay alert.

  He glanced to each side, even though the Force revealed that he was alone in the trees. Then he unhooked his lightsaber from his belt and held it at the ready. He didn't like that he had lost sight of the Jedi. It made him uneasy. Had she anticipated his arrival? Was she more powerful than he had dared imagine? No matter. The dark side was his ally. Kaox would strike fast and strike hard. He would take no chances.

  The apprentice would die. Now. Without warning. It wouldn't be as satisfying as the game he had imagined, so he would just have to amuse himself later, against the Jedi.

  ***

  Dree felt her heart beat fiercely in her chest. She was scared, and she couldn't help it. Her own ability to see into the Force, to feel its vibrations and read the patterns in the flow, was woefully inadequate compared to Crian Maru's. Even so, her intuition told her that there was a storm coming. A literal open-the-sky-and-Iet-Ioose-the-flood storm, full of lightning and wind and thunder. It would crawl across the sky like a great beast. She knew that before the first drop of rain hit the ground, the Marauder would be upon them. Her teacher sensed this, had warned her to be ready, and Dree tried to find her calm, her peace.

  The Rodian slid her lightsaber from beneath her robes. It wasn't her lightsaber, not really. Someday, hopefully in the not-to-distant future, she would set out to build her own. She wasn't ready to take on that test, however. Not yet. Until then, she would use this one - a gift from her mentor. Crian had given it to her the day she had accepted the young Rodian as her Padawan learner.

  "Learn to use this well," she remembered Crian instructing her. Since that day, she had practiced with the weapon during every spare moment. She wanted to show Crian that she was serious about her studies, about her commitment. Dree wanted to prove that she had what it took to be a Jedi Knight.

  Dree caught movement out of the corner of her eye. It was as though a shadow had disengaged itself from the forest and was moving toward her at lights peed. She turned toward the dark blur, reacting with Jedi reflexes but still feeling like she was standing still. There was a loud hum as the shadow's lightsaber flared to life. Dree brought her own lightsaber up in a defensive position while extending its energy blade to its full length. She didn't think. She didn't run. Dree stood her ground and held her lightsaber before her.

  The blur took shape. It was a large human with hair cropped so close to his scalp that he was practically bald. His powerful form was covered in black padded armor that stung her eyes when she looked at it. The symbols etched into the armor resonated with the dark side. She had only seen him from a distance, but there was no mistaking this giant of a man.

  It was the Marauder, Kaox Krul. He didn't say a word. His hatred screamed at her with words of dour silence. It clung to him like a shroud. Dree was aware that somewhere, in the distance, a dagger of lightning cut the sky. Her multifaceted eyes, however, were locked upon his lightsaber's blood-red blade. He held it high, its hilt almost too small for his huge hand. The blade cut a rainbow through the air as it arced toward her.

  Dree was dead. For a moment, she was as sure of that fact as she was of her own name. But then her training took over. She caught the Marauder's energy blade on her own, sending sparks flying in all directions. Then, before he could counter her defense, Dree tumbled to the side, closer to the open cargo compartment and momentarily out of the Marauder's reach. She regained her feet in one fluid motion, drawing on the Force to lend strength to her arms and legs.

  "Even Jedi whelps can surprise me," Kaox growled, taking a cautious step toward her. "But in the end, it's always the same.

  The Jedi whelp is dead, and I score another kill."

  Dree tried to steady her voice, but she knew she was no match for the Marauder. "You have a lot of deaths to answer for," she said, keeping her lightsaber's blade in front of her.

  "Perhaps, Jedi whelp, perhaps." He took another step toward her. "But I won't be answering to you."

  Crian Maru exploded from the cargo compartment astride Dree's repulsorlift speeder bike, bounced across the open field, and made a sharp turn back toward the combatants. Gunning the thrusters, Crian let the bike lunge forward. She sent a command through the Force, mentally ordering her student to leap onto the bike as it passed by. Then she turned her complete attention to operating the speeder. She wasn't as good a pilot as Dree, so she had to try a bit harder.

  Kaox Krul watched the speeder bike race toward him and smiled. Now he had both of the Jedi in his sights. He readied himself, preparing to strike as soon as the bike was close enough. Perhaps this will be a challenge, he thought.

  ***

  As soon as the Marauder turned his attention to Crian and the speeder bike, Dree began to move. She was midway through the tumble that would place her behind the dark-sider when she felt Crian's voice enter her mind.

  "On!" the voice shouted.

  Dree would obey, but she had to buy time. She finished her roll, bunched her legs beneath her, and leaped. Her jump carried her past the Marauder's exposed back. She slashed with the lightsaber, hoping to at least wound the dark-sider. Kaox Krul responded quickly and perceptively. Instead of slicing into the dark armor, Dree's blade bounced off the Marauder's ignited lightsaber.

  The Marauder had to spin around to protect himself, so he wasn't able to avoid the speeder bike. It sideswiped him, knocking him prone.

  Dree finished her leap, landing perfectly behind Crian on the moving vehicle.

  Crian didn't slow. She turned the speeder away from the wreck of the Golden Song and pushed the thrusters to full. As they raced toward the forest, away from the Marauder, Dree could sense that Crian sought every advantage. She, not the Sith warrior, would choose the battleground. She would dictate how the conflict would be waged. The Rodian Padawan could sense that her Master wanted to frustrate their adversary at every turn.

  Dree hoped that was enou
gh of an edge.

  ***

  Kaox Krul rolled with the impact, rising instantly to his feet. He glanced around, saw that his lightsaber had fallen near the wrecked transport, and reached into the Force. He immediately found the invisible line that stretched between the lightsaber and his open hand. With a gesture, he plucked that line and the lightsaber returned to him. A few seconds had passed, but when he looked up the speeder bike was already disappearing into the forest.

  "No!" Kaox shouted, his rage building. "I will not be denied this kill!"

  Gathering the Force around him, the Marauder ran. Like a stroke of black lightning, he dashed across the clearing and into the depths of the forest, following the speeder's path. The Force-powered burst of speed might not catch the Jedi's vehicle, but it would keep him close.

  He opened himself to the dark side, impossibly increasing his speed even more.

  ***

  Dree held on to her Master as the speeder bike wove through the forest. She should be piloting the speeder. She was a better bike pilot than Crian, and navigating between these massive trees demanded keen instincts and sharp reflexes. There was no time to stop and switch places, however. The Marauder would be coming after them, and neither of them was ready for a fight. They had both been shaken up by the crash. Dree hurt in a few places, though she didn't think she had suffered anything more severe than a deep bruise. Crian might have more serious injuries.

  As the speeder completed a complex series of twists and turns and settled back onto a more-or-Iess straight course, Dree risked a glance over her shoulder. Startled, she almost let go of her grip on her Master. The Marauder was right behind them! He must have cloaked himself in the dark side, because Crian didn't seem to have noticed his proximity. He was moving with Force-boosted speed and was almost upon them.

  "He's here!" Dree shouted, her words whipped away by the roar of the speeder bike as it cleaved the wind.

  Crian had sensed her student's anxiety a flickering instant before Dree spoke. She pressed the footpads that regulated the thrusters until they wouldn't move any further, and the speeder shot forward. That had to be enough, Dree thought. There just wasn't any more for the speeder to give.

  The Marauder's face twisted with rage as he summoned even deeper reserves of dark-side energy to bring himself within a few scant meters of the bike's mortified passenger. Even with the Force, could he really keep up with them? His lightsaber flared to life and he swung at the speeder. The stroke made him lose his balance, and he tumbled feet over head and hit the ground hard.

  The Marauder had struck his mark, the tip of his lightsaber blade sliced into one of the bike's power cables. The damage didn't prove immediately fatal, but the speeder would run out of power at an increased rate. Dree sensed Crian's concern and shared it. Could they reach a relatively safe location?

  Dree looked back once more, but the Marauder didn't seem to be pursuing them any longer. Perhaps his resolve had finally given out, as well.

  ***

  The dark clouds that had crept over the horizon earlier now filled the sky. Night was coming, and with the cloud cover it would be almost completely dark. The storm, when it hit, promised to be spectacular. Crian reached out into the Force. The dark presence was still there, but it wasn't close. At least not for the moment.

  They had abandoned the speeder bike an hour earlier as its energy gauge dipped toward empty. Ditching the vehicle at the bottom of a deep ravine, they started running and kept their fevered pace until they had put a few additional kilometers behind them. When they reached the rocky hills that distinguished this part of the forest, Crian motioned for them to halt. They found a small cave, partially hidden by undergrowth, and settled inside it to rest.

  "Will the storm come soon?" Dree asked.

  "No," Crian replied, hearing the Force's song. "It's waiting."

  They took turns keeping watch while the other tried to sleep. At best, they were able to slip into a fitful half-slumber, troubled by dark dreams and images of the Marauder. Most of the time, one or the other simply closed her eyes and tried to find some calm within the Force.

  They ate rations from their survival packs and drank water from canteens. They didn't speak much, but each of them braced for the battle to come. The storm loomed threateningly but refused to spill its contents. The clouds above were dark and painfully bloated.

  Time passed.

  The Marauder drew closer.

  And the storm waited with sinister anticipation.

  ***

  Crian remained vigilant as Dree slept, apparently, at least for the moment, unfettered by nightmares. Crian wondered whether she would have held her ground had her Padawan learner not been with her. She had faith in Dree, but the young Rodian still had much to learn. She wasn't ready to face the Marauder, not yet. Their survival would almost certainly fall to Crian, but she held secret doubts as to whether she was ready to face Kaox Krul. He was insane, powerful, full of the dark side, hungry for the kill. Rage had made him strong, fearless. Could she do it? Could she defeat the Marauder?

  Yes, Crian thought. But it would be better if she didn't have to worry about her Padawan.

  "Sleep well," Crian whispered, gently touching her student's forehead.

  The Jedi Knight slipped out of the cave, into the cloud-shrouded night.

  Behind her, in the cave, Dree Vandap rolled over and moaned. Her nightmares had returned.

  ***

  For almost two days, Kaox Krul tracked the Jedi through the forest. After trying to disable the speeder bike, he had lost his balance and fallen with a bonejarring crunch. It was a sloppy miscalculation, the result of moving too fast to stop his momentum. The wind had been knocked out of him. He swayed in and out of consciousness for several long minutes before he was able to resume the chase. By then, the speeder was gone and he didn't have the energy to attempt another burst of speed. So he started walking, maintaining a casual pace as he let his body recover from the extreme effort of running in the Force.

  It took more than a day to reach the place where the speeder bike was hidden. It was half buried in a mountain of dead leaves and branches at the bottom of a scar-like trench. He almost strode past the ravine and probably would have missed it entirely had he been moving faster. These Jedi were certainly hard on their vehicles, Kaox mused.

  He dropped into the ravine to examine the speeder. The Jedi weren't nearby, and Kaox hadn't expected something as mundane as a crash to hinder them. It appeared that the speeder bike had simply run out of energy.

  He spent the next day following their trail into the forest. What began as a simple matter turned daunting as their trail suddenly disappeared. Kaox plumbed the dark side, urging it to illuminate the path the Jedi had taken. His prey had their own lifelines to the Force, however, and they had somehow masked their course. The Marauder could do nothing but wander the forest, looking for physical signs of their passage or wait for the Force to betray them.

  Or for them to betray themselves.

  Kaox hid himself from detection as the Jedi had done. No, not both of them, he realized. The apprentice wasn't experienced enough to have such fine control over the Force. It was the Knight who was shielding them, wasting valuable energy to mask herself and the young one. Just another sign of weakness, Kaox thought. Just another indication of why the dark side would eventually triumph over the light.

  More time passed. Kaox Krul took a few hours to rest and meditate on the dark side.

  When he was ready to move out again, he became a tireless predator, a relentless stalker. He paused, sniffed the air, and opened himself to the Force. There it was. A tingle, a subtle vibration. It wasn't much, but he had found his quarry. With a smile that was both disturbing and hateful, the Marauder moved in for the kill.

  ***

  Crian Maru slid through the forest like a quiet breeze. Overhead, the clouds parted just enough to reveal a patch of clear night sky. The planet's twin moons shone through the break, painting the forest in a pale
, ghostly light. Her senses tingled like live wires as the Force coursed through her, but she couldn't locate the Marauder in the Force. He was hiding, though she still had a vague sense of being watched, even if she couldn't pinpoint the source of her trepidation.

  She pressed her search, eventually stepping out of the trees into a large clearing. In the moonlight, she saw that a calm, still lake filled the open space. The twin orbs above were luminously reflected in the water. Crian noticed that the clouds were tearing apart, and now she could see stars in the deep blue expanse around the moons. Perhaps the storm was dying. If so, it was a good omen.

  ***

  Dree sat up in the cave, instantly awake and clear-headed. Crian was gone. She was alone in the small hollow. Crian had left her behind, had gone out to face the Marauder on her own. Did she think so little of me, of my abilities? Dree wondered.

  Part of her wanted to stay right where she was, safely hidden in this cave. She couldn't do that, though, not if she wanted to be true to herself and her Master. A Rodian hunter wouldn't cower, afraid, hidden in a cave. Certainly a Jedi Knight wouldn't. However, Dree was neither a Rodian hunter nor a Jedi Knightnot yet. Fear, though, led to the dark side. She wouldn't take that path-not willingly, at least.