FORSAKEN - Target: Zero

CHAPTER THREE

"The Jedi is still here." The Fourth Sister looked around.

"You monsters." The headwoman dug her fingers in the dirt.

"I knew it." The Thirteenth Brother stepped close to the crowd, frightening them. "Let's burn this place down."

"I know who to go after next." The Fourth Sister folded her arms behind her. "I just need a destination. How many of your people are you willing to sacrifice before I get what I need? And how are you going to look at their families in the eye after you sacrifice them, for what? To harbor a child-stealing traitor?" She played to the popular belief that the Jedi Order turned against the Republic, and the myth that they kidnapped the younglings who used to fill their ranks.

"Tell them, Orien," said a man in the crowd to the headwoman. "Tell them or I will."

"Shut your mouth, Yuann." Orin looked back at him. "You don't know what the pfassk you're talking about."

"No?" the Fourth Sister said. "Perhaps another example needs to be made?"

The little girl from before hovered out of her parent's embrace toward the Inquisitor. The Thirteenth Brother watched with sadistic glee.

"Hi, dear." The Fourth Sister held her tear-covered face. "Let me see what little thoughts run around that pretty head of yours."

The Twi'lek Jedi leapt from a rooftop ready to strike with his lightsaber. The Fourth Sister repelled the attack with a Force-push, while the Thirteenth Brother pounced on him, unleashing a barrage of attacks.

The Twi'lek matched the Thirteenth Brother's every blow. The human's fury compensated for his slight lack of ability compared to his opponent. When their lightsabers impacted, the Jedi got a better look at his aggressor. It took him a few seconds to recognize him. The Twi'lek's eyes widened in surprise. "Kennan?"

The Thirteenth Brother's face twisted in ire. The second blade of his own lightsaber ejected and the weapon began to spin. The Inquisitor shredded anything in his path, overpowering the Jedi. When one of his blocks faltered, the Inquisitor sliced the Twi'lek in half at the waist. The Thirteenth Brother stood over his mutilated opponent, catching his breath.

"Who was he?" The Fourth Sister came over.

It took him a few breathes to answer, "His name was Jinx. He was a Padawan the Jedi Order rescued from Wasskah during the war." The Thirteenth Brother picked up the Jedi's lightsaber.

"Should we slaughter the rest of the village?"

"Let's see." The Fourth Sister walked back to the captive.

"Onderon." Orin hung her head. "The man you seek, he went to Iziz. Now that you have what you came for, I beg you to let my village go."

"Not a chance." The Thirteenth Brother's reaction prompted the purge troopers to aim their blasters.

"We don't have time to waste." The Fourth Sister signaled the troops to lower their weapons. "Not if we want to catch our real prey. Back to the shuttle," she ordered.

"We need to make an example of them."

"Then, you'll have to explain to Lord Vader why we failed to recover the compass."

"Fine. You deal with them." The Thirteenth Brother jerked his head toward the farmers and stormed back to the shuttle.

"What are your orders, sir?" said the commander of the purge troopers.

"Stand by, commander." The Fourth Sister said.

She found the home of the old man, where Jinx had been lodging. Guided by feeling, she used the Force to move away a heavy trunk, and uncovered a hidden compartment in the floor, under an old rug. Inside lay a single item, locked within a small chest. The Fourth Sister picked it up and sliced the lid off with her lightsaber, revealing the object she had seen in the old man's memory; a pyramid etched with hieroglyphs and arcane symbols, a Sith Holocron. These repositories of dark side knowledge were considered the most dangerous artifacts in the galaxy. The Fourth Sister begin to wonder what would a Jedi be doing with such an item.

The holocron glowed red and hovered over the Fourth Sister's hand, as she used the dark side of the Force to access it. The vertices of the pyramid turned and hovered a few centimeters from the core. A hologram of the gatekeeper—the avatar of device's author—appeared above it; a robed man wearing a closed helmet under his hood.

"I am Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith. Those who use the dark side are also bound to serve it. To understand this is to understand the underlying philosophy of the Sith. The dark side offers power for power's sake. You must crave it. Covet it. You must seek power above all else, with no reservation or hesitation. The Force will change you. It will transform you. Some fear this change. The teachings of the Jedi are focused on fighting and controlling this transformation. That is why those who serve the light are limited in what they accomplish."

The Fourth Sister deactivated the holocron, which lowered to her waiting palm. "Well," she said. "Isn't this interesting?"