Dree steeled herself with a calming breath and set her mind for battle. Crian needed her help, and Dree wasn't going to disappoint her.
***
Crian Maru, Jedi Knight, sat beside the quiet lake, under the glow of the twin moons. The heavy storm clouds framed the clearing, but the sky directly overhead was crisp and clear. She was calm, at peace. The Force's song vibrated through her, filling her with confidence and power. She was ready.
The shadow stood at the edge of the clearing, partially hidden by the thick clump of trees. She had been aware of the Dark One's presence for a few moments, but she made no move, gave no indication that she had spotted him. The shadow boiled out of the darkness, and in the pale glow of the moons' light, the Marauder was revealed. He moved toward her without a sound, waiting to ignite his lightsaber until the last possible moment. Crian decided not to wait.
The Jedi Knight stood without haste, calmly turning to face the onrushing darksider. He paused, momentarily confused by her unhurried actions. She drew her own weapon and locked her gaze with his.
"Your darkness betrays you, Kaox Krul," Crian said.
"And you deny the darkness within you, Jedi," Kaox retorted. "Reject your Jedi oath and follow me to Lord Kaan's side."
"That will never happen."
"So you believe."
Two lightsabers flared to life. In the distance, thunder rumbled out of the clouds.
The storm was all around them, despite the clear sky above. Lightning flashed over the trees. So much for a good omen, Crian thought.
With the next clap of thunder, Kaox Krul roared. Crian Maru met his charge, lightsaber to lightsaber, dark side to light.
***
Dree Vandap watched the battle between Jedi Knight and Sith warrior erupt, horrified and fascinated. Their energy blades carved intricate patterns in the night, punctuated by frequent sparks as the blades collided, drew apart, and collided again.
The Padawan allowed the Force to fill her, calling upon a battle-enhancement technique. She ignited her lightsaber, drawing comfort from the familiar snap-hiss-hum of the weapon. Then she charged across the open field, rushing toward the lakeshore to aid her Master.
***
The Marauder and the Jedi danced to a life-or-death song only they could hear. It was a dance of violence that reverberated in the Force. The two combatants took each other's measure with the first series of strikes and counterstrikes. One gave ground, then took it back as they sliced and parried. More thunder, and then the wind picked up, swirling fallen leaves around them as they fought. For the Sith and the Jedi, time seemed to ebb and flow, each moment a complex clash of Force-enhanced attacks and blocks that played out in a kind of slow motion.
The Sith warrior launched a barrage of deadly strikes at the Jedi. Crian pulled deeply from the Force and countered each one. She flipped and somersaulted, looking for weaknesses in his defenses. He spun and tumbled, probing her own technique for an opening. For a time, neither found one.
The young Rodian leaped into the fray then, striking at Kaox Krul from behind. He countered this attack, but now he bore an enemy on each side. He let his anger build. This gave him strength, allowed the dark side to blossom within him. His lightsaber twirled from one side to the other, blocking a strike from the Jedi here, parrying a swipe from the apprentice there. What he could not do from this position was launch a meaningful attack at either of them. To do so would be to give the other an opportunity.
Kaox Krul switched to a one-handed grip, leaving his left hand free. He balled his free hand into a fist, squeezing tight and imagining all of his anger slipping down his arm to pool there. He imagined it was a tightly wound spring. Then, when the Jedi's weapon bounced away from his parry, turning her slightly to one side, he opened his hand and unleashed the power that was concentrated therein. The Force spread out like a wave, striking the Jedi and knocking her backward, into the lake.
He called the Force to him again, let it surround him, and then he leaped. He was gone before the apprentice's weapon had barely begun its arc. By the time the energy blade passed through the place he had been, he landed softly behind her. His blood surged with triumph. The apprentice was off balance, just barely, but it was enough. He lashed out, the burning blade of his own weapon skewering the young Rodian.
Crian Maru gathered the Force around her and used it to lift her out of the water. She floated to the shore just as the Force turned dark and cold around her. Dree Vandap was dead. Stunned, she watched as her apprentice slumped to the ground. Sorrow flooded her, and she couldn't hold back its flow. Anger rode in on these waves, as did a hatred the likes of which she could not remember ever experiencing. She had failed her student.
Dree was dead.
The Marauder had to die, too.
Crian saw Kaox Krul smile as she charged toward him. She knew she should control her emotions. She was on dangerous ground. But Dree wasn't supposed to die! Crian wanted to hurt the Marauder. She wanted to make him pay.
Lightsaber blades collided once more.
***
Hours later, the Marauder and the Jedi were still locked in battle. They were too evenly matched for either to gain more than a temporary advantage. They hurled rocks and sticks on tendrils of Force. They sliced and slashed and hacked with lightsabers that hummed angrily at the continued exertion. They taunted each other when they could spare a breath. Punches, kicks, knees, and elbows, they pounded on each other with every weapon at their disposal.
Battered and bruised, covered in cuts and scratches, they both looked ready to drop. Even Kaox's dark armor had fallen apart in places. Whenever Crian felt her muscles weaken, she remembered her beloved student and found the strength to carryon. Where Kaox found such stamina, she had no clue.
The bloated clouds had returned, gathering into a singularly fearsome presence. Jagged streaks of lightning exploded from within as thunder crashed down with a terrible intensity. With every strike and parry, thunder peeled. With every punch and kick, lightning spread across the sky like fiery spider webs.
Crian was beginning to lose ground. S he was faster than the Marauder, better trained, but he was stronger and called on reserves of the Force that were forbidden to her. He was going to kill her. He was going to win.
She knew where Kaox drew his power. The dark side of the Force. He wasn't afraid to let his emotions magnify his strength.
He had no compunctions about using his anger and hatred as vessels to hold more power than his body or spirit could muster by themselves. He was a Sith warrior, trained to harness the intensity of his darker feelings. Crian parried another strike, then leaped out of the Marauder's reach. For a moment he didn't follow. He just stared after her, illuminated by the red glow of his lightsaber and the strobing bolts of lightning.
"I'm sorry, Dree," Crian said, letting the tears run down her sweat-stained cheeks.
Crian gave into her rage then, unleashing her hatred of the man who stood across from her. She let it sing inside her, a melody of unbridled fury that renewed her strength and determination. The clearing around the lake filled with the emanations of the dark side of the Force.
Kaox roared, giving himself completely to the dark side. Crian returned the call, embracing her anger and hatred.
The bloated clouds splattered the ground and the lake with huge drops of greasy rain. In the downpour, Crian and Kaox each called upon the dark side. Invigorated by its power, they launched themselves, one at the other, and their struggle became even more devastating.
Thunder boomed around the two opponents with each punch and kick and lightsaber clash. Lightning danced over the surface of the lake and lanced into the ground around the warriors. Crian slashed, her anger amplifying the force of her attack. Kaox dodged, whirled, and returned with a deft counterstroke. Lightsaber blades cracked and sparkled, bouncing off each other again and again, and still black rain fell from the sky.
The Marauder, hoping to find a moment's respite, wrapped himself in the Force and
hovered over the center of the lake. Crian refused to give Kaox even a moment's respite and followed him into the air.
"Your anger is impressive," Kaox called over the howl of the storm. "Join our Brotherhood of Darkness and renounce the life you have already given up."
"You don't understand, do you?" Crian called back, hurling her anger at him through the Force, thrusting him down toward the churning water below.
He shrugged off the attack and fortified himself with the power of the dark side. Crian did the same.
"Time to die, Jedi," Kaox roared.
Sith and Jedi flew at each other, converging above the roiling cauldron of water. Kaox's lightsaber aimed high. Crian's blade thrust low. A lightning panorama bathed them in harsh light for an instant as each was felled by the other's killing blow.
Then they were gone, lost behind torrential sheets of rain.
***
Salen Toth, a Jedi Knight, stood on the shore of a stagnant lake. It was more swamp than lake, actually. The trees around it were twisted and black, with barren branches that reached like skeletal limbs toward the dark, muddy center. The whole place felt ill, deformed. Haunted.
"I found the Padawan," Salen said, speaking into his comlink. "She was killed by a single lightsaber strike. I haven't found any sign of Crian Maru or the Marauder, but I'm sure there was a battle here."
He looked out over the bleak lake, trying to make sense of what happened. All he found in the Force, though, was darkness and despair.
"I'm done here," he said, switching off the comlink.
This was a dead place. It was time for him to return to the living. He turned, lifted the body of the Padawan, and started back for his ship.
Behind him, the dank wind whistled through the twisted trees, and the shadows grew deeper. For a moment, he thought he heard the hum of lightsabers. He turned back, but there was nothing to see.
Star Wars - Darkness Shared - Gamer #5 Page 3
