CHAPTER NINE
Luke opened his eyes only to quickly close them again when he found two scarlet suns shooting light into his eyes. He slowly got to his feet, felling the burning sand in his hands. When he finally opened his eyes again, he could not believe what he saw.
Lying before him were the ruins of the Lars Homestead.
For a long moment, Luke did nothing but stand there, old memories of his childhood resurfacing. Finally, he slowly walked towards the charred homestead. As soon as he reached it, he felt a strange presence pass over him, as if he was not alone. He stopped in his tracks and looked around. No one was there.
Suddenly, Luke heard the low roar of a landspeeder. He turned around to see a modified XP-38 landspeeder hover towards the Lars Homestead, carrying three passengers.
"Hey!" one of them, a burly, armored man, shouted. "What are you doin' here?"
The speeder came to a stop and its passengers immediately climbed out. Luke instantly recognized them as the Snatchers Dengar, Zuckuss, and Embo, who were among the bounty hunters that Luke had encountered on Dantooine six years ago.
"This is our scavengin' site!" Dengar exclaimed. "Get your butt outta' here before I shoot it!"
"Lets not be hasty, Dengar," said the short Gand known as Zuckuss. "I believe this is the Jedi we encountered not so long ago. I think we owe him a bit of respect for being one of the only beings to escape the Snatchers."
The tall hunter named Embo studied Luke carefully. "Koo faise too ee-ow?" he asked in a language Luke did not understand.
Noticing Luke's confusion, Zuckuss translated for him. "He is asking why you are here."
Luke shrugged. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I just sort of...woke up here."
Dengar barked out a harsh laugh. "Ha! That's a good one, eh, Zuckuss? Never heard that one before!"
The Gand showed no sign of amusement. "Hilarious. I apologize, Skywalker, but I'm afraid we'll need to take you to Gorga the Hutt. There's a bounty for a certain Jedi, and I think you fit the bill."
"Fine, take me in," Luke said. "I have no where else to go."
Surprised by this, Zuckuss eyed the Jedi Knight suspiciously before placing a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. Turning to Dengar, the Gand said, "Stay here and get what we need. I'll have Tarr-Nar come to pick you up."
The burly man sheepishly nodded as Luke was forced into the speeder with Zuckuss and Embo.
* * *
"Toah! Wake up!"
Toah's eyes flew open to see Kyle standing beside him. "Valan says we've arrived," the Jedi Knight said. "Come on, he's already heading for Master Soral's place."
Toah quickly got to his feet and hurried out the ship, trying to keep up with Valan. The three of them walked across the flat, desert-like surface of the nameless planet they had arrived on. After a whole hour had passed, they finally reached a lone temple in the middle of nowhere.
Valan gently knocked on the temple's door, which instantly opened to reveal a tall, almost menacing Zabrak. Noticing Toah and Kyle, the Zabrak seemed to chuckle.
"Shall I inform the master that you were...successful?" he asked.
Valan nodded. "Yes. Tell him I'll bring them to his chamber."
Toah and Kyle exchanged wary glanced but nonetheless followed Valan into the temple. Within the palace were ancient stone walls and old drawings of past history. Although Toah assumed they were simply drawings of old Jedi, he couldn't help but feel aura surrounding them.
They had reached a chamber shrouded by darkness when Valan came to a stop. "Master," he called into the darkness. "I have returned with the Jedi."
Slowly walking out of the darkness was a humanoid being covered in dark robes, his face completely hidden save for the faint glow of two red eyes. "Welcome, Toah Jarsan," the being said, his voice as dark and cold as the chamber. "I have been waiting for you."
"How do you know my name?" Toah demanded, his hand reaching for his lightsaber.
"I know many things," the being said. "I don't think I need to explain how I know them."
"So are you Master Soral?" Kyle asked skeptically. "And is this a Jedi Temple?"
"Yes, I am Soral," the being said. "But this is not a Jedi temple. This is the Temple and Fortress of Valtheran."
Toah raised an eyebrow. "But...Valan-"
"He lied to you," Soral interrupted. "It was simply a ruse to get you here. Which, of course, was successful."
"So you are a Sith!" Kyle snapped angrily, activating his lightsaber.
Soral chuckled. "Yes, I am a Sith. Dark Lord of the Sith, to be precise. And my true name is Darth Vorath."
This finally prompted Toah to turn on his lightsaber. "If you want me to turn to the dark side, you can just forget it!"
Darth Vorath laughed quietly. "Don't flatter yourself. You are not worthy enough to serve me. All I want from you is to access this..."
The Dark Lord reached into his cloak and pulled out a cubical-shaped object. "This is the Tedryn Holocron," he said. "In order to access its deepest knowledge, I need a Jedi to do so...which is where you come in."
Toah glanced at the holocron, blue energy glowing from its corners. He turned back to Vorath. "Do I have any other choice?"
"You could try to escape," Vorath replied. "But I highly advise against that if you do not wish to die today."
Toah considered for a short moment before turning off his lightsaber and stared into Vorath's eyes. "Fine," he said. "I'll do it."
Kyle gave his friend a shocked look but said nothing. Vorath smiled through his eyes as he handed Toah the holocron. Toah took the holocron and examined it carefully. In the center of the cube's surface, he noticed a uniquely shaped panel. Pressing it, the Tedryn Holocron burst with energy, forming an emerald-colored figure.
"Jedi!" the hovering figure said, its voice sounding wise and ancient. "May the Force be with you! I am Bodo Baas, at your service. I know all the probable futures, from my time until a time lost in mists and shadows. How may I help you?"
Toah glanced at Vorath, asking wordlessly what it was the Sith Lord required. In a low voice, Vorath said, "Ask for the Prophecy of the Apocalypse."
Turning back to the image of Bodo Baas, Toah told it, "Can you recite the Prophecy of the Apocalypse?"
"I can," said the gatekeeper. "Though I can not guarantee this recitation will be accurate, for it has changed many times over the years...but no matter."
After pausing for a couple of seconds, Bodo Baas began. "'When the leaders of both sides fall... A man will come from the Unknown...And will start and finish...All we know.'"
At that moment, Bodo Baas' hologram ended and the holocron absorbed the energy back into itself. For a long time, the room was silent until Kyle spoke. "So I take it we can leave now?"
"Yes," Vorath said quietly. "Starkiller-- or Valan as you know him-will lend you a shuttle that you can take back to Telos. He will provide you coordinates as well."
As Toah and Kyle turned to follow Valan, Vorath called after them. "But don't think this will be the last time we'll meet, Toah Jarsan. I assure you that we will meet again."
Toah turned around briefly to look at Vorath, but the Dark Lord had already retreated into the shadows.
* * *
Green and red blaster bolts went back and fro as the Millennium Falcon and Rogue Squadron fought through the swarms of TIE fighters to reach the superweapon. Not far behind them was the Defender, firing at the Imperial Star Destroyers along the way. Said cruisers were still remaining immobile, shrugging off the attacks.
"This is crazy," Wedge Antilles muttered to himself. "Why aren't those Destroyers even trying to stop us?"
Just then, Wes Janson's voice buzzed through Wedge's comlink. "Holy Bantha, Wedge!" the Rogue pilot exclaimed. "It looks like that weapon thing is absorbing our shots!"
"Absorbing our...?" Wedge's voice trailed off as he gaped at the superweapon. "How in the Nine Chaos Realms of Corellia is that possible?!"
Before Wes could reply, the unexpected happened.
The superweapon slowly aimed at the world of Empress Teta, lights blinking on the sides of its barrel. From the barrel launched a projectile the size of a Star Destroyer and it headed towards the planet. As soon as it hit its mark, it unleashed a powerful shockwave that spread across the entire planet. Buildings crumpled to dust, plants withered to death, and men and women were all wiped out in one, single strike.
Empress Teta, once known as Koros Major long ago, was now nothing more but a barren rock floating in space. Wedge could only watch as that rock broke apart.
And now the Galaxy Gun was slowly moving the face the Republic fleet....
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