Darkness Rises

[Julian Orspach]

Another restless night, the ship was on autopilot and everyone was asleep. There was his father, Ashlin and of course Erril. He kept a wave of peace about him but he was still dressed in those damnable black pants that he had worn for so long as the Dark Lord Kaini. His mind was far from at ease, Jedi Knight or not, he could not help but dwell on the oh so recent past that was destined to follow him and taunt him for the rest of his natural life. Might it have been better had Ashlin killed him? What would have become of him then, his soul dying in torment trapped inside the mind and body of a monster. Would he have been set free or would he be sent out to suffer in the abyss for all eternity. What would be his fate now, could he ever fully redeem himself for what he had done. He paused, his purple eyes scanned the room and took in Ashlin at first, not an easy kill but as Kaini he could have, then there was of course Arty, he respected his father, but he knew he was in a different league than his father and thus he could have killed him. Then his eyes looked to Erril, it would have been close….too close for Julian’s comfort. Could anyone truly have taken him down with a blade? Nomi could have, he knew that beyond any doubt. He nodded quietly to himself knowing that if it came to it she would have destroyed him if she had to and that it would have been a clear victory. Nomi always used to win, occasionally Julian had gotten the upper hand but it was more rare, Nomi was talented.

He walked towards the refresher and shut the door behind him, the light automatically clicked on but flickered ominously as he looked at himself in the mirror, the face that had been hidden away behind the mask for so long stared back at him, but it was not the same as the one he remembered from his time at the temple, he was Zeltron and generally up beat, but the joy and youthful naiveté was complete absent from his expression.

He sighed and filled the sink with water, he took a deep breath and splashed it on his face and shook his head, breathing out through his nose and then his mouth he spit the excess water into the sink, some of it hitting the mere. He slapped his cheeks lightly but enough to try to make him focus and then out of the corner of his eye towards the shower he saw a pale blue light begin to glow.

He squinted and took two steps closer and the light exploded with a blinding brilliance that caused him to shield his eyes and take two steps back, Nomi’s lightsaber was already in his hand and it’s beautiful blade sprang from it’s hilt but sounded muffled as if he was under water….He stood there and took a defensive ready stance ready for whatever had just happened to attack him and then he saw it….

[Johnathon Lynd]

A dark hooded figure emerged from the brilliant flash of light and then all at once the lighting in the room returned to normal, the yellow eyes of the man glowed ominously and the dark side of the force could be felt nearly pulsating from him, it ran like blood through the room and slowly but surely enveloped everything but Julian.

“Kaini my friend, you look unwell. Sleepless night? Your thoughts dwell on your service to me and the things you did in my name. Oh and do not bother crying out that cannot hear me or sense me nor am I really here, so you might as well put your weapon away it is useless. We need to finish our conversation.”

He took a step closer to Julian and opened his mouth to speak again and then….

[Julian Orspach]

The adrenaline dump Julian felt in his system was not inconsequential his eyes narrowed to slits when he saw the figure step out of the light, he recognized that form, he recognized those eyes, they sent a cold chill down his spine and for a moment he felt anger in his own aura until he silenced it.

Why should I believe a word you say?

In a flash Julian lunged at Johnathon as he ad taken a step closer and sliced the lightsaber through the figure’s neck only for it to do nothing at all but pass through the air in a rather unsatisfying whoosh and hum. He sighed and extinguished the blade.

”I have nothing to say to you so you might as well leave me alone…”

[Johnathon Lynd]

“Ah but you have everything to say to me my young apprentice, once you hear what I have to say of course.”

Johnathon had merely smiled as the lightsaber had passed through the air harmlessly. He reached out and waved his hand in front of Julian menacingly, evil dripping from his aura. He looked deep into the purple eyes of the younger Zeltron.

“So different from the eyes you had when you were first delivered to me my boy. So innocent back then, so dutiful and righteous and now look at you. You’re a shell of what you were when you served me and a shell of what you were before ever met me, but you’ll rebuild. I know you will, the same cannot be said for all those lives you cut short…but there is one more problem that I need your help with.“

He opened his palm, something shiny was in his hand, he let it fall to the floor with a metallic clang

“I came across this yesterday and thought it might interest you…”

[Julian Orspach]

Julian’s narrow eyes glared at the man before him, how dare he show his face this soon or ever again for that matter. Julian swallowed hard knowing there was nothing he could do about it and he had to control his emotions, as a Jedi he was good at it, but that was the Jedi he was before, not the redeemed former Sith Jedi. He balanced himself slowly but surely as Johnathon continued speaking and held his hand out. As the shiny object hit the floor with a clang. Apparitions didn’t make clangs, they simply didn’t exist so whatever he had dropped was real and had been past to him through the force. Julian extended his left hand and the object flew into it. He hesitated taking his eyes off of Johnathon for even a second, but if he was going to kill him then so be it, so long as no one else was hurt.

Julian opened his pink and slightly scarred palm and his eyes widened as the beautiful necklace stared back at him. There it was, he had recognized it instantly he had carved it and shaped it a wooden locket with gems carefully inlayed around a family crest that he and his father had carefully designed. He opened it slowly, his thumb careful with the latch. Inside was a picture of him as a Padawan with his arm around a much younger clearly Zeltron girl, beautiful hair and a strong smile that seemed to come from her father but she had her mother’s eyes. The two looked so happy in the picture and it had only been taken months before he had been abducted, he had made the locket for her as a birthday present in his nearly nonexistent free time.

Julian grit his teeth and closed it gently, his hand closing around it and his knuckles cracking. He raised his head to meet the yellow eyes of the man before him.

”You unimaginable bastard, you leave my sister alone. She has NOTHING to do with any of this! She isn’t even anything but mildly sensitive! What is wrong with you?”

[Johnathon Lynd]

A sinister smile formed on the dark figure’s face as he felt the anger brewing in his former apprentice. Anger in a Jedi was a feeling Sith yearned for, it was like that first sip of coffee on a cold morning, it was utterly and deliciously satisfying. He of course knew what Julian’s reaction was going to be before it had even happened, he watched with satisfaction as his visions played out before his eyes indicating the infallibility of his visions.

“But she joined me of her own accord my young friend. Her goal is the same as yours and mine, to make the galaxy a better place.”

He pulled a datapad from his robes and pressed a few buttons before clearing his throat and taking a slow breath in. He began to speak, slowly at first, letting the words have their appropriate impact.

“First Lieutenant Helena J. Orspach. First in her class in marksmanship, first in her class in leadership. Enlisted about six years after you disappeared which means she lied about her age. Tisk tisk. Selected for officer training just a few years later and once again graduated first in her class. She’ll be promoted to captain in a month. Three tours of duty and forty seven…

He raised his eyes to look Julian squarely in his.

“…confirmed kills. Must run in the family, you racked up an impressive total if I remember correctly. Current assignment is classified, but you used to have clearance so.” He swiped up and then over. “Special Forces Unit Nine, which…well you worked with them before so you know what they do. Looks like she is scheduled to undergo special interrogation training next week.”

He paused again and small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Do you think she could withstand the same forge that made you….? Being basically a non-sensitive I don’t think she possibly could, but I’m curious as to what you think, you know her better than I of course, if I personally oversaw her training how would she do Kaini?”

[Julian Orspach]

JThe redeemed Jedi Knight stood there for a long moment letting every last word that the evil man before him spewed from his disgusting mouth sink in. He closed is eyes as he imagined his sister pushing herself to her absolute limit just as he had done in training. She always looked up to him and he had personally taught her hand to hand combat skills at a young age. The Temple wasn’t always safe and she had to know how to defend herself so he had allowed the clones to train her with a blaster so that she could defend herself in the midst of an attack. He adored his little sister and he had longed for the day where his father could return at get to know her. He grimaced as he thought of the potential evils she may have been made to do under the guise of making the galaxy a better place. He stared down at the floor for another moment before raising his head to address the man standing before him, the very man who had taken everything from him and now threatened to do it all over again.

”Why are you telling me this? To torment me and push me over the edge and into the darkness again? If you want me dead, that’s between us, but she has done nothing to deserve this and is in fact one of the innocent people you swore to protect.”

He glanced down at the locket in his hand and then back to Johnathon.

”You know perfectly well as strong as she is she won’t be able to endure what I did. She’s innocent Johnathon, she’s not me. Your fight is with me and me alone, if you want to fight me, come find me and I’ll fight you and if I die I die, but leave her alone.”

He closed his fist around the locket again.

”Nothing I say is going to stop you from doing what you’re going to do, she might be my sister and I love her of course, but you aren’t going to use her to get me to return to you. I’m not that man, I’m not evil like you and my emotions don’t rule me as painful as it might be if you end her, it won’t stop me from being me.”