Chapter 14: Chapter 28: A Dam around the Ripples
Outer Rim Territories: Hyperspace: En route to the planet Bosthirda
Year 6 After the Battle of Yavin
Carnor Jax, once a member of Emperor Palpatine's Royal Guard and now secret Sith apprentice Lady Lumiya had to remove his crimson red helmet once his head had stopped spinning.
Then he rubbed his eyes, blinking hard as his eyes adjusted back on the present but he was still reeling at the abrupt headache that had made him bite his lips and bleed.
"By the Emperor's bloody bones..." He swore, breathing hard. "What the hell was up with that vision?"
He shook his head, processing what had happened while remembering what he had been doing right before the a sudden disturbance in the Force had provided him with some insight of the future.
Then he nodded, recalling that he had just finished a conversation with Kir Kanos, his old brother-in-arms back when he still served Palpatine as a member of his Royal Guard. He remembered his comrade saluting and expressing relief at being able find a way to get ahold of him after the two had gotten separated on Coruscant after the Battle of Endor. Then, Kanos explained that they had a member of the Imperial Ruling Council that managed the remnants of Imperial Authority, Sarcev Quest, to thank for giving him the details of his fellow guardsman's holotransmitter so that he could get ahold of him. And finally, he proceeded to revel the awes-trucking news that the Sith Emperor they had devoted their lives to protecting had returned from the dark abyss itself, with his spirit being able to possess the clone bodies he had stockpiled in his secret throne world of Byss.
And then Jax remembered feeling glad that he had actually been expecting Kanos to call him because that meant that he had been able to hide his lack of obvious surprise at such a huge revelation...had it in fact been a surprising revelation to himself.
As rehearsed, he told his old comrade that those were the greatest news he had heard in years and that if his Emperor had been reborn, then he would certainly answer the call and head to Byss as quickly as possible. As planned, however, he added that he was in the middle of hostile territory for a mission to the Outer Rim by order of the Imperial Ruling Councilor that had provided him with the means to contact him, so, it was going to take him longer than he would like to extract himself from that situation and head to the Deep Core of the galaxy to rejoin the Royal Guard with honor.
Kanos nodded in understanding and provided the classified coordinates, unaware that he had have them stored in his navcomputer's database for the past year and biding him farewell.
Jax remembered shaking his head and trying to decide if it would be more appropriate to chuckle in amusement or scowl in disgust at the situation. But then, before he could make up his mind and head to the bridge to report to Lady Lumiya, he was blindsided by the strongest Force vision he had ever felt. And now that he thought back on it and centered his thoughts on the surroundings of the vision, the aspiring Sith Lord realized that his initial instincts were correct.
And that raised plenty of questions, because he had foreseen a duel with his former peer in a battle to the death...and at the Squall, the training arena of the Royal Guards...which apparently would become a crumbling ruin in the near-future as well.
Jax clenched his fists, thinking hard and deep. His uniform may have been a different color in the vision, with the black additions to his ceremonial regalia seemingly indicating that he would be promoted to the most elite rank of the Imperial Royal Guard and earn the title of Sovereign Protector after continuing with the plan to rejoin Palpatine service while secretly advancing his own goals as he continued to learn from Lady Lumiya. Besides, while he has only been able to successfully produce and sustain Force-lightning for a little over a month, if only for a few seconds, he instantly recognized his own feat of Dark side power in the future duel with more than just his eyes.
All in all, it didn't look all that bad. Clearly there was a possible future out there were Kir Kanos was able to learn that he was secretly sabotaging Palpatine's stock of clones so that his malignant and stubborn Sith spirit would burn through his already unnatural bodies even more quickly than it would have happened as it was. And the double agent had to admit that, being able to weaken the high and mighty emperor further by accelerating the cancerous growths that his possessions already put the hosts through was made even sweeter by the knowledge that he was able to dupe him, of all beings, in the process.
But Jax had been careful in recruiting one of the key clone scientists of the whole project to his cause and instructing him to sabotage the clones slowly and in ways that would only accelerate symptoms the essence transfer was going to inflict upon the clones because of Palpatine's volatile and vastly destructive powers. Thus far, the easily explainable cover story appears to have held and with Palpatine finding a way to claw his way back from death, the vicious old ruler was even more arrogant than ever. Which only helped disguise his efforts to sabotage his most invaluable resource even easier.
So, taken all of this into account, the secret Sith apprentice had to assume that the ghoulish flesh-droid that called himself Emperor Palpatine would die sometime in the coming years, for he would never have allowed the Royal Guard's arena at Yinchorr to crumble into a blasted ruin if he could have at all helped it. This would therefore imply that Lumiya and him were also able to purge most of the remaining Palpatine loyalists within the Royal Guard, so that they could continue to spearhead the Imperial Ruling Council of the Remnant and preserve the Sith legacy of the Rule of Two in the face of this living, breathing, and naked betrayal of the Banite doctrine that was hiding its's third face back on Byss.
Kanos may have survived yes, but he had always been able to best him in the Squall before and that was before his Sith training started, so he had no reason to be truly concerned. He knew all of this and while he lacked details, he felt it should have been more than enough reason to pour a cup of expensive Coruscantine wine to toast to a promising future.
So why then, did he felt nothing but dread when the vision went dark and unfinished right as Kanos started chasing him down a tunnel? And...why did he felt the Light's side's self-righteous and suffocating hand on his inability to sense the future further?
He blinked rapidly and tried again. Then again. And again. But nothing worked and it made him shiver. True, he still lacked much experience with voluntary far-sight but even when he was not able to peer into the future during his training attempts, he had always been able to sense the stormy currents dark side just ahead, if currently out of reach. Back then, it felt like an intoxicating reminder than if only he kept pushing to fulfill his ambitions and dive deep into his training, eventually he would be able to delve into darker mysteries than ever before and emerge victorious in the ways the truly mattered.
But now...nothing. A dam had been erected around that power and potential somehow. The Light side or one of its agents had somehow conspired to cut off his access to the chaotic but insightful motions of the future.
And that made him want to kill something slowly with his newly acquired and electrifying skills...
But eventually, he took yet another deep breath, and enough coolness returned to his head. He still had absolutely no idea how this happened or why, but he needed to consult with his master now to see if she had any clues. Because now he couldn't help but wonder with a stab of uncertainty if, maybe, just maybe, they were going to have to heavily alter their plans.
The aspiring Sith Lord glared at the void of space beyond his starship's windows at the mere thought and swallowed his disgust along with the last of the blood in his mouth before marching to the bridge, all the while vowing to himself that he shall not fail.
---
When Carnor Jax entered the bridge, his first impulse was to tell his Sith Master the news he had to share. But his words stopped on his throat when he saw that Lady Lumiya had stood up from the pilot seat while they were still in hyperspace, given herself some space, and then ignited her rare lightsaber-like weapon: her light-whip.
Then he blinked in confusion again, wondering if the Light side was playing tricks on him as he stared at the tendrils of energy from the obviously NOT crimson-red plasma emanating from the kyber crystal.
He froze when his master turned to him, catching him staring with her piercing, yellow-green eyes. Her stare was all but impassive, but he could still feel a sense of cold rage emanating from her, and it made her cybernetic form look even more menacing than usual. Before long, however, she took a deep breath and started checking her wrath.
He dared not interrupt as she centered herself. While he waited, however, one of Lumiya's first lessons echoed in his thoughts. One that she claimed to have learned from Darth Vader, who in turn learned it from Sidious, and on and on until the founder of the Rule of Two: Darth Bane himself.
"A Sith knows when to unleash the fury of the Dark side, and when to hold back," He recited in silence. "Patience can be a weapon if you know how to use it, and your anger can fuel the dark side if you learn how to control it."
He turned the words around inside his head for a moment, and then nodded slowly. Maybe now, with this unexpected surge of Light side energy saturating their senses, was in fact the time to be patient.
And then, his master locked her gaze with his for a long moment before inclining her head.
"There has been an awakening," She finally said. "Have you felt it?"
Jax met her stare head-on from behind his crimson helm and nodded.
"I have," He responded without hesitation, as he knew exactly what she meant. "The self-righteous presence of the Light side has seemed to grow in strength from one moment to the next at the expense of the Dark side. And exponentially, too. I...I must admit that I am at a loss as to how to explain it, Master." He admitted, his words measured.
The former Imperial Guardsman was glad that he had put his helm back on before entering the bridge, because he wasn't sure he wanted Lumiya to read his face at that moment. After all, it was only prudent to tread carefully when broaching a topic of the Force or aspects of his training that his Master did not know all that well, or even at all. Just because her own Sith training was interrupted by the devasting blow inflicted upon their order at the Battle of Endor does not mean she likes to be reminded of that, especially by someone with even less mastery of the Dark side than she does.
As expected, Lumiya's glint of cold rage in her eyes felt hotter as she struggled to find an answer to the unexpected disturbance in the Force, but her silence was telling.
"Or is it deliberate, and she is just not interested in being honest with you?" The sudden thought crossed his mind as he thought back on her no longer red blade.
The aspiring Sith Lord took advantage of the silence to contemplate it, but the moment of abrupt frustration did not last long. Soon, they would undertake a dangerous mission together to the planet Bosthirda, and this massive disturbance in the Force had clearly rattled the two of them. And while he knew that a wise Sith Master does not reveal all their secrets at once, he felt like Lumiya was reasonable enough to share in this situation.
It's not like he was anywhere near ready to take the mantel of Sith Mastery from her cold, dead corpse, after all, and they both knew it.
The former Emperor's Hand took a deep breath, the cybernetics in her throat making a rasping sound in the process, but not as loud as the frequent sound of Vader menacing breathing, if his memory was any indication. Then, she glared at the void of space beyond the transparisteel window of the cockpit gripped the hilt of her light-wip more tightly.
"The possibilities are narrowing," She finally said.
Carnor Jax blinked behind his helm. "I am...not sure I understand, Master."
The Sith Lady scowled as she looked at him up and down. "What is the future?" She asked him with a steady gaze.
He stiffened at her tone of voice, but soon recalled the lesson Lumiya had shared with him about her research on Force visions from her own studies and from the lessons of one of the holocrons that had come into her possession. So, Jax raised his head and stared. "A never-ending stream full of possibilities...and the ocean in which we drown if we are not prepared."
Her eyes softened slightly at his reply, and she nodded in approval.
"Quite so, my apprentice," Lumiya responded, unblinking. "But streams eventually flow into the ocean. So, what would happen if a dam were placed around this river of cause and effect that feeds into the sea?"
The aspiring Sith Lord's eyes widened when he realized what she was trying to teach him. "The range of possible futures that are caused by the choices of sentient beings would get smaller," He said slowly. "At least for a while."
The double agent within the Imperial Guard locked his gaze with his master's as they contemplated the implications. "So...some crucially important possibilities are coming together, and the chances of them taking place with almost prophetic certainty have risen significantly. Is that it?"
"I believe so, yes," Lady Lumiya went on to say after a pause. "What concerns me is that this disturbance in the Force seems to have not only strengthened the Light side but also negatively affected the senses of the servants of the Dark side this galaxy has left. Thus, given the unexpected circumstances, it may be best to speak plainly and without reservation, my apprentice," She added, a piercing look in her gaze. "So, tell me, were you also in the middle of a Force vision that got abruptly cut off by this shift in the Force?"
Carnor Jax swallowed briefly as he remembered the sense of dread that he still could not explain, which had reverberated across every cell in his brain once the vision of his duel with Kir Kanos was interrupted. Still, he hesitated at the idea of confessing his newfound inability to reach out into the Force to even try to access the wild currents of the future. What if his master found him wanting and decided she needed a new apprentice to replace him?
"Then, all the more reason to push yourself into becoming worthy of your title," Came the sudden thought as it crossed his mind.
The aspiring Sith Lord steeled the gaze behind his mask and nodded, the motion almost imperceptive.
"Unfortunately, yes, my master," Carnor Jax admitted, grunting out his outrage. "And when I tried to reach out into the Force as you have taught me, it has felt...like how you phrased it actually. Like a dam, blocking the flow of the Dark side," He said slowly, realization dawning across his face.
The Sith Lady was quiet for a long moment as her eyes bore into him. All throughout, it was hard to read her expression, especially due to her cybernetic implants, but she must have appreciated his honesty because Jax could still sense her emotions through the Force, and right then, she seemed pleased.
"I appreciate your candor. And what you say aligns with my own experience with this disturbance as well, so I am inclined to believe that this pattern cannot be a coincidence. This cosmic dam, or whatever it is, is affecting our foresight...and perhaps the heretical clone of Sidious as well," She added, her tone contemplative.
The Imperial Guardsman blinked at that. "Now THAT would make the ghoul of our former Emperor frustrated to the point of murderous rage, I am sure. His ego was always well-fed by his impressive talents for voluntary farsight, as I recall."
"Indeed," Lumiya said in distaste. "And with Force-sensitive clones being unstable enough as it is even without the discreet sabotage that our agents are putting his host bodies through, I am inclined to believe this walking violation of the Rule of Two is experiencing this block to our senses as well and feeling disgust at the fact. I suppose that's at least one benefit to come out of this unexpected disturbance in the Force."
"True enough," The aspiring Sith Lord acknowledged, his tone slow and measured. "But this sudden influx of the Light side has not only impacted our ability to sense the waves of the future, has it, Master?"
The cyborg Sith Lady's right hand tightened around her weapon. "No, it is not the only consequence," She admitted. "The flare of light beaming from the future reverberated so strongly into the present that even my kyber crystal was affected, with its blade turning yellow through the saturation of Light side energy, as you were able to see when you came in."
Jax simply nodded in silence while his Master seethed, understanding perfectly why she sounded so outraged. Lumiya had not shared as much of her past as a secret apprentice of Darth Vader as he would have liked, but she had revealed the story behind the creation of her light-wip. After enlisting the aid of a Mandalorian armorer willing to practice their secretive craft for the Empire in exchange for securing his early release from prison, she had forged the hilt of her lightwhip out of nearly indestructible beskar iron. Then, she had powered it with shards of the Kaiburr crystal, an ancient Force relic in the form of a kyber crystal, gifted to her by Darth Vader himself. And, eventually, she had poured her raw emotions and growing Dark side power into the blade so as to bleed the color of her crystal crimson, after coming across an obscure Sith reference that explained how to perform the dark ritual.
The Sith apprentice clenched his fist reflexively, since recalling the memories had made him join his master in her outrage. To have the Light grow strong enough to sabotage her efforts to make the blade her own was nothing short of a desecration, especially given the fact that her energy shards were part of a Sith relic given to her by the legendary Vader.
He could feel Lumiya studying every inch of his body language with her gaze as his anger grew, and then she tilted her head in approval. "I can feel your fury at this affront to our order, my apprentice. And that's good, since I would be most displeased if I couldn't. The Light side has spat in my face and this insult shall NOT stand," She vowed, her glare turning to the transparisteel widow, as if daring at the cosmos beyond it to contradict her.
The aspiring Sith Lord's eyes followed hers as they narrowed behind his helm and he clenched his fists. "And you will have my support when you retaliate, my Master. You have my word."
Taking a deep breath, she turned back to him in response. "Good to hear, because there is a very short list of Jedi left that could have triggered a disturbance in the Light side of the Force on this scale. And of those few enemy champions, one stands above all others when it comes to leaving a mark in the galaxy wherever they go."
He held his breath then, watching in real-time as the Sith Lady's cybernetic expression grew so laden with cold rage that Jax could easily imagine its temperature competing with that of the vacuum of space.
"Which begs the question, what in the universe has Luke Skywalker done now?"
He blinked rapidly behind his vizor, then scowled as sense and outrage merged in his mind. "Ah. I should have known that the poster boy for the Rebellion and the nearly extinct Jedi would have had something to do with this."
"Indeed," His master replied in a more even tone. "But don't be so quick to dismiss the Jedi yet. At this point, the true Sith are not that far off from the edge of extinction either, even with the heretical flesh-droid posing as Darth Sidious still drawing breath back on Byss like a disgusting, walking corpse. And with the New Republic growing in strength and unity while the Imperial Remnant continues to fracture, the time may come where their Senate formally asks Skywalker to rebuild the Jedi Order."
"Be that as it may, however," She continued, "I can feel it in my still organic bones that he has somehow found himself at the center of this shift on the Light side. My senses are still clear enough in that regard. And we will have to investigate that later. We must know what happened and what his role in this disturbance was, so we can find a way to counter the possible futures that are coming together...for I believe I don't have to tell you that if run unopposed, the stream of cause and effect will benefit the Jedi more than the Order of the Sith Lords."
Carnor Jax shook his head as he remembered the self-righteous glare of the Light side blinding his senses when the disturbance hit him with full strength. "You do not, my Master."
He was silent for a long moment after that, contemplating the sudden turn of events and what they may have to do to adjust their strategies for the sake of accomplishing their ultimate goals. Eventually, however, he took a deep breath and decided to address the Zillo Beast in the room.
"We will reach distant Bosthirda in about 15 standard hours, my master," Jax remarked. "Should we still continue with our mission to destroy the surviving members of the Prophets of the Dark Side that are hiding on that planet, as we originally planned?"
"Good question, my apprentice," Lumiya responded with a firm nod. "The answer will depend on what Supreme Prophet Kadann has to say in the wake of this disturbance. These prophets were among the most talented Force users in the galaxy when it came to visions of the future, before they chose to break away from the Empire after Darth Sidious disregarded their warnings about the Battle of Endor. I get the sense that if any Darksiders can still access the myriad of possible futures for guidance, it will be Kadann and his ilk. We might as well try to learn how this tidal wave of light has affected their senses as well, before we finish what the Dark Jedi Azrakel started."
"Agreed," The Force-sensitive Imperial Guardsman said as he thought of the collision course that they had placed the Prophets and the Dark Jedi that wanted revenge against them a couple of days earlier. "Azrakel will be able to thin the herd, but it's unlikely that he will manage to wipe them all out by himself. Once they are weakened by his assault, we can attempt to find out what Kadann and any remaining survivors have learned of this before we make any permanent decisions."
Despite everything, Lumiya gave him a small smile. "You are learning more and more quickly, my apprentice. Now, leave me. We should meditate before reaching the battlefield that awaits us."
"As you wish, my master." He said with a brief bow before turning around.
And as he left the cockpit, he took a silent oath, declaring that even if the odds were now stacked against him, he will find a way to rise to the top...even if he had to accomplish what his Master could not and slay Skywalker himself.
The Sith Lady watched as her apprentice left her be, and she couldn't help but stiffen, the newfound silence and solitude in the cockpit giving her time to focus on her own Force vision that was suddenly cut short as well. She turned back to the window, examining the void of space as they travelled through hyperspace, and swallowed, unable to stop herself.
"Why did I feel so happy?" She whispered. "Almost like...like how a mother must feel when she is immensely proud of her son?"
Then she involuntarily shivered, her sense of dread growing. "And why did I feel grief, of all things, jumping from my gut as the vision ended?"
The silence that greeted her words was deafening, and she didn't think she would be able to snatch them from the future's tightening grasp anytime soon. Still, she forced herself to sit down on the pilot's chair and double-check the ship's systems again before allowing herself to close her eyes in meditation.
She couldn't shake the feeling, however, that something had gone terribly wrong...or perhaps, that something WILL go terribly wrong for her.
"Jacen," Lumiya said softly, the name searing into her memory. "Who are you?"