CHAPTER FOUR
This isn't happening, Jato thought as he ran towards the shuttle he and the other Jedi had arrived in. It can't be. It must be some horrible nightmare...
But he could deny the reality of the situation as he reached the ship and turned to see his master duel Zavar Rarnok, whom Jato was now sure was a Sith Lord. How is it possible?, he wondered. His fellow Jedi Knights Kyle and Remker had mention their encounter with two Sith Lords on Zegris more than twelve years ago, and they managed to escape with their lives.
And yet here, a Jedi Master and his apprentice had already fallen, and Marrab was most likely about to share their fate.
Jato blinked away a tear as he climbed onto the ship. First he had lost his brother, and now the person who he had looked up to as a father was close to being killed. He stayed and watched as the duel continued, clinging onto the hope that just maybe, his master could make it out alive.
That hope was soon crushed when Rarnok slashed the Jedi Master across the torso and pushed him into the sea below. Knowing that crying out would be helpless, Jato started up the ship's engines and rose off from the platform, blasting off into Skustell's sky.
* * *
Darth Ravage gave a satisfied smile as he watched the Mon Calamari Jedi's body plunge into the ocean below. Now that all four of the Jedi were out of his way, he could now approach the Ongree as 'Jedi Master Rarnok' and sow their distrust in the Jedi. Soon, once nearly all of the Republic's remaining worlds had lost faith in the Jedi and have denied them of their assistance, Coruscant would be vulnerable to the Sith's attack.
As he approached the military base, a male Ongree in the outfit of a commander came out and his fanged mouth gaped open. "What happened here?!" he exclaimed, gesturing at the two corpses which laid on the platform. "And who are you?"
Ravage gave a forged frown. "I am Zavar Rarnok, former Jedi Master. The Jedi are plotting on taking over the Republic."
The Ongree's elongated eyes widened. "What? They are? But why?"
"Their belief is that they are better fitted to lead the New Republic than Valorum," Ravage lied. "They think that the Old Republic only became corrupt when the idea of Jedi Chancellors was abandoned."
"And is that true?" the Ongree asked.
Ravage shook his head. "No, which is why I left the Order and have made it my mission to prove how corrupt the New Jedi Order has become."
"Well, thank you for letting us know," the commander said with a bow. "I'll make sure word gets out to the Republic."
"Please do," Ravage said as he turned to leave. "You would be doing the galaxy a great favor."
* * *
"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Toah asked Raj as he sat down in one of the Millennium Falcon's passenger seats, placed behind the co-pilot Neelo.
"Ask away!" Raj replied.
"How did you acquire this ship?"
Raj scratched his chin as he leaned back in his seat. "Not so long ago, I met a former Imperial named Titus Klev on Nar Shaddaa," he said. "He said that he had just escaped from Bastion, where he mentioned a bunch of Sith Lords attacked. He sold me the ship for a very cheap price, and, I gotta say, this hunk of junk was worth every credit!"
"I see," Toah muttered. "I was just asking because...a friend of mine had a ship that looked exactly like this."
Raj glanced at Toah and smirked. "Was his name Titus Klev?"
"No, it was Han Solo."
The ship suddenly tilted to its side as Raj accidentally let go of the controls. After setting it back to autopilot, he turned and gave Toah an incredulous look.
"No way," he said. "The Han Solo? The guy who made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs?"
Toah nodded. "So you've heard of him."
"He owes my dad a thousand credits," Raj grunted. "And since I apparently owe him his ship, I guess that makes us even now."
He leaned towards the ship's navigational computer and made the calculations needed for hyperspace travel. "We'll have give him his ship back later, though," Raj continued. "'Cause we're gonna need it if we want to bring down the Empire."
Toah nodded again, slowly and silently this time. As the stars began to elongate, he wondered if Han would indeed get his ship back...
* * *
"Are you sure about this, my lord?" asked the Miraluka Sith Lord Jerec, whose holographic image shimmered before Darth Vorath. Having been in Vorath's order for two decades now, Jerec had recently been appointed to be Vorath's liaison with the Imperial Army.
"Yes, I am sure," Vorath replied, slightly irritated. "I have decided to proceed with the attack on Coruscant ahead of schedule."
"But you yourself informed us to wait another year or two," Jerec protested. "And didn't you send Lord Ravage to sow distrust amongst the Republic during that time?"
"Indeed I did. However, it appears to me that I underestimated Valorum a bit. The Republic has already lost the Mon Calamari Shipyards. Without further production of their fleet's ships, they are now vulnerable to our attack."
"I see..." Jerec muttered. "Very well, I shall inform Admirals Zavos and Pellaeon to organize the Imperial fleet and armies."
With that, the Miraluka vanished from Vorath's projector, leaving the Dark Lord in solitary. For a split second, he could have sworn he saw a cloaked figure hover in a nearby corner. Although he saw nothing when he turned to look at it, he still heard the voice of Darth Trayus faintly ring in his head.
Fool, was all it said.
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