Blaster fire flashed through the jungle as frantic orders in Mimbanese were given. The rebels never saw the black Inquisitor's transport approach in the haze, until they heard its cannons clear an area for the Night Dagger to land. Ready to protect the sacred site, Iasento commanded his men to confront the intruders. When they saw the three Inquisitors descend from the boarding ramp, the soldiers were confident the temple would remain secure. The sight of their red energy blades reminded the veterans of the Jedi who once had come to their aid during the Clone Wars, and they feared what would happen if they had to engage them.
What followed could be better be described as a massacre. The dark figures moved with the swiftness of shadows and struck with the lethality of several platoons. Blaster bolts bounced off their blades, many taking out the very men who fired them. Grenades froze in mid-air, detonating among friendlies, and broken logs and splinters from explosions became missiles. Things ended fast the moment an Inquisitor got close to a cluster of men, tearing through them with his burning swords.
Addia and Ilum came out when they heard the commotion. The shock of the carnage they found paled in comparison to the fear they felt when they spotted the Inquisitors. Neither of them was in a position to face them. The First Sister spotted the Jedi running inside the temple and shutting the heavy stone door with the Force.
"Take care of the natives," said the First Sister, killing two Mimbanese by deflecting their blaster shots back, before heading to the temple.
"She lied to us," Ilum said.
"Yeah, well, that's what we get for trusting a dark-sider," Addia said. "That door is not going to stop them for longer than a second, and I can't face three Inquisitors by myself."
"Then what are we going to do?"
"We take our chances with the unknown." Addia grabbed her lightsaber and ran to the portal.
"Are you sure?" Ilum floated beside her.
"I'm sure that's better than staying here." Addia vanished into the portal with Ilum.
The First Sister slammed the door open with the Force and entered the temple with her lightsaber buzzing. The sight of the shrine radiating with energy made her take pause. It was the vergence she felt in the Force. She approached the Splinter of the Mind's Eye and prodded the black archway with her sword, watching it disappear within. Reaching with her hand, the Umbaran confirmed the phenomenon caused no ill effects.
So, this is what you were looking for. The First Sister approached the shrine. Let's see what kind of ancient power you're trying to keep to yourself. She stepped through the portal.
"Where are we?" Ilum wandered inside the strange dimension.
"I can't believe this..." Addia marveled at the mystifying celestial landscape, forgetting their precarious situation for a moment. "I think we are in the World Between Worlds; a mystical plane within the Force containing door and pathways in spacetime. The Chronicles of Brus-bu contains a theory of its existence called the Chain of Worlds Theorem, which is associated with certain ancient Jedi temples. This is amazing."
"Look. Over there."
They spotted the Fourth Sister far away on another pathway above them, talking to what appeared to be a Togruta who was flanked by an Inquisitor and a Jedi Temple Guard.
"What is happening?" Addia said. "What is she doing?"
"I don't know."
The noise coming from a radiating portal—a circle inside a triangle—caught their attention. Addia recognized the ancient symbols for the Ashla, Bogan, and Bendu, inscribed on its edges. A battle raged on the other side.
"What are we looking at now?" Ilum said.
Addia reeled back in surprise. "The past..." She remembered what Qui-Gon told her.
"Addia." Ilum alerted her, sensing the First Sister passing through the portal into the Vergence Scatter.
A predatorial grin flashed on the Umbaran Inquisitor when she spotted the Mirialan.
"What are we going to do?" Ilum said.
Addia powered her lightsaber. "Trust our instincts."
The First Sister watched the Jedi and a floating crystal disappear into a portal. Before she could go after them, an echoing female voice called to her by a name she thought she'd long forgotten, "Karabra." The sensation accompanying it compelled her to follow a different path, ending at a glowing gateway consisting of a triangle inside a circle. The scene taking place on the other side, stirred emotions buried deep inside the First Sister.
"Master, I came as soon as possible. Is everything alright?" said a younger Karabra, wearing Jedi robes and with irises as blue as the sky. "I heard Master Kenobi has killed General Grievous. Is that true?"
"It is," Saesee Tiin said. The laconic member of the High Council seemed more distant than usual.
The news overjoyed the Umbaran. "So, the war is over."
"Not yet. Soon. There's one more thing left to do, I'm afraid."
"Master?"
"I don't need to read your thoughts to know what you're thinking, Padawan. I promise I will tell the Council you're ready to undertake the Trials when next we convene."
"I understand, Master." Karabra felt ashamed her intentions were so apparent. "What do you think is going to happen now?"
Tiin took a moment to answer. "It's hard to see, but we must trust the Force to guide us. One thing is for sure, the Republic is going to need every available Jedi Knight to restore peace in the galaxy. You're impulsive and perhaps a little too zealous, but you're guileful and resourceful, and only the very best can ever hope to match you with either saber or starship. You'll make a fine addition to their ranks."
"Thank you, Master." Karabra bowed. "What is it that you require of me?"
"I have docked the Sharp Spiral in a space port in the city. I need you to bring it to me."
The request confused Karabra. "Master... you never let anyone fly your starfighter. What's going on?"
"Master Windu asked me to accompany him and a few others to arrest the Chancellor. Master Skywalker is already in his office."
"The Chancellor? But... why?"
The answer weighed on the Iktotchi. "We have discovered he's the Sith Lord we've been looking for."
"How is that possible?"
"There's no time to explain. I must take my leave. Bring the Sharp Spiral to the temple and wait for me here."
"Yes, Master." Karabra bowed again. "And Master? May the Force be with you."
"With every one of us." Tiin hastened his step.
Karabra never saw her Master again. He died at the hands of Chancellor Palpatine—revealing himself to be the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious—along with Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, and Agen Kolar. Karabra escaped the ensuing slaughtering at the Jedi Temple by the will of the Force. Per his orders, she was fetching her Master's prized starfighter when it occurred. The Umbaran considered using it to flee the planet, but her sense of loyalty and need for justice, compelled her to take matters in her own hands.
Taking advantage of the ensuing chaos following the abrupt end of the Clone Wars, she lay in ambush on a stormy night, when the self-proclaimed Emperor returned to his apartments in his Theta-class shuttle from the Grand Medical Facility. Rather than being appalled or surprised, a gleeful Emperor watched as the young Umbaran cut through his security detail of eight shock troopers and four Imperial Guards with her cyan lightsaber. When she got to him, the Emperor froze her in place with the Force.
"How beautiful and skilled you are, young one," the Emperor rejoiced.
"You're a monster!" Karabra spat through clenched teeth.
"I'm afraid the lies you were fed from childhood have clouded your mind, my dear. I am what the Jedi made me."
"Liar! I'm going to kill you! Let me go, coward! Fight me like you did my Master!"
Palpatine expression became pained. "Another casualty of your Order's grand deception, I'm sure. Such a shame... I sense much pain and anger in you, child. They make you strong, but you have much to learn."
"If you're not going to fight me, then kill me."
"So much passion... such great potential... No, I will be merciful, for you're not truly mindful of your actions. I cannot bare seeing another innocent person fall victim to the Jedi's schemes."
"You're the only conspirator here, Darth Sidious."
"I can only hope I can make you see the truth, my dear." Bolts of Force lightning shocked Karabra unconscious.
When she came to, the Umbaran had been shackled and kept in a cell. Karabra had no idea where she was or how much time had elapsed. She was fed, and was allowed to exercise and bathe. Once the general alarm blared, breaking the monotony, Karabra could hear the uproar of battle outside her cell. But for the most part, no one talked to her, except when she was brought in the presence of Darth Sidious inside a large office with a generous view of a barren landscape of jagged snowy mountains. The Emperor always uncuffed her during their talks, and went out of his way to make sure the young Umbaran was comfortable.
"What do you want from me?" Karabra said. "Why do you keep me alive? Why don't you end this?"
"End what, a life full of potential because you were brainwashed since the time you were born?" said the Emperor from his ample chair. "All I want is for you to understand the truth, so you can choose how to pursue your future."
"You really expect me to believe I get to decide my fate?" Karabra scoffed at the thought.
"Why not? We all do one way or another. The only difference is your abilities in the Force allows for a chance at redemption."
"As your apprentice?"
Palpatine chuckled. "No, as a true peacekeeper. Isn't that what Jedi were supposed to be? Yet, how quickly they turned into commanders and generals. How much they enjoyed mingling with senators and politicians. Those are not the actions of guardians and diplomats... and neither is regicide." He pulled his hood back, so she could better appreciate the scars deforming his face into a frightening sight.
"You tricked us. You played everyone for fools, so you can rule the galaxy unopposed."
"My dear child, maybe you were too young to remember, but I was democratically elected to my position. Even my emergency powers had to be approved by the Senate. Everything I did followed the rule of law. It was the Jedi who took matters into their own hands, believing themselves to be above the very Republic they claimed to serve.
"It was they who commissioned a clone army without the knowledge or approval of the government. It was they who tried to keep the galaxy under one rule, and when the Separatist tried to secede, they unleashed their secret army on them, plunging the galaxy into the greatest war it has seen in centuries. How many lives were lost? How many planets devastated?
"Even among their ranks there were those who could see through their treachery. But those few voices of reason were cast away or imprisoned, if not executed."
"That's not true."
"No?" the Emperor covered his head again. "Count Dooku had seen the corruption within the order. That's why he wanted the Separatists to secede. He was killed in cold blood by Anakin Skywalker after he surrendered. His former Padawan, Master Qui-Gon Jinn, always had issues with the dogmatism of the Jedi. He died because the High Council didn't believe him when he warned about the return of the Sith. Master Pong Krell took issue with the use of clones in warfare, and he was executed by a group of them in his cell. Barriss Offee saw the error of their ways and was driven to extreme measures that landed her in prison. When Ahsoka Tano investigated this, the High Council turned their back on her, and didn't think twice about kicking her out of the Order and throwing her in jail. When her Master, Anakin Skywalker, learned of the Jedi treason, he tried to bring balance to the Force as it was prophesized by standing up to them. He nearly succeeded but found his ignominious end at the hands of his own Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Can you see a pattern here?"
Karabra knew those names well. The Jedi had given different accounts of the events, but the idea they could have bent the truth to favor their narrative germinated in the Umbaran's mind. After all the Order had kept their involvement in the creation of the clone army secret from the Senate.
"The Jedi could have arrested me and have me stand trial after they won the war," Sidious continued, "making their righteous case at court in front of the Republic. But they didn't have one, did they?"
Karabra became angry. "That's not true, my Master was with them. They were going to arrest you and you killed them."
The Emperor sniggered with bitter sarcasm. "Like they did to Count Dooku and General Grievous? No, my dear child. The Jedi Council knew with the end of the war, their position of power within the Republic they had plotted for years to achieve, was over.
"Four of their members barged into my office, claiming I was too dangerous to be taken alive. I was forced to defend myself, and with the help of the clone army, prevented the Jedi Order from seizing power. I saved the Republic from the brink of collapse.
"When the corrupt and conniving Senate tried to make their move, I had no choice but to turn the Republic into an Empire or risk another war."
Karabra was confused. Sidious' words rang true—she couldn't deny any of his claims—but she knew better than to trust a Sith. "You're lying. You did this for yourself."
"Did I now? My dear, what kind of megalomaniac hands over the run of his empire to career politicians? The Grand Vizier oversees the Empire, not me. And he does so with the help of regional governors and the Senate, which I could have easily dissolved if I were the tyrant you believe me to be. Instead, I chose to spend my time helping where I could be the most useful; amicably conversing with enemies of the state." He smiled at his attempt at levity.
"You're just trying to turn me."
"By telling you the truth? I'm not looking for an apprentice. This is not about what I want, but what the galaxy needs after this terrible war, real peacekeepers. Someone who can help the galaxy from the fugitive Jedi, who plot in the shadows to undermine the tenuous peace I had work so hard to achieve."
"You want me to help you hunt down my own?" Karabra derided the idea.
"I want you to choose your fate with your eyes wide open. Not with your head buried in the sand by the lies you were fed. Do you want to know the secret to the Jedi Order's success?"
"I'm sure no matter what I say, you're going to tell me." Karabra looked away into the icy peaks.
Sidious ignored the comment. "Control. One of the first things I found when I searched their former temple, was a veritable treasure trove of knowledge tucked away from its members. 'Secret knowledge,' they called it. 'Forbidden lore.'" He laughed. "The High Council chose who can learn what at their pleasure. Did you ever question why some Jedi possessed certain knowledge, even some that was deemed to belong to the dark side?"
Karabra turned to him, bothered by the truth in his question. "You mean like Vaapad?" Despite being one of the top Padawan duelers of her time, Master Windu had turned her down for Form VII training—an irrational and unfair slight from which the Umbaran never recovered.
"That's a good example, but just one of many. If there's no value to Sith knowledge, why keep it hidden away? If the Jedi are so much stronger, why fear the Sith? There are always only two of us against thousands of Jedi. If the light side of the Force is so great, why do so many Jedi 'fall' to the dark side? Or is it that they become enlightened?"
"I often wonder that—" Karabra stared back at the frigid landscape.
Sidious smiled. "Because you know it's true." Nothing in the universe gave him more pleasure than seducing others to the dark side. "There are no greater chains than the ones we choose to shackle ourselves with, my child. That's why the Jedi were thousands in numbers, by controlling their ranks with ignorance and lies seared into their minds.
"What is the first lie they asked you to memorize? There is no emotion, there is peace. But sentient beings are brimming with passion. It's what give us the strength to achieve everything in life. The Jedi claim there is no ignorance, but knowledge. Really? Then why keep hidden this simple truth? Because, through strength you get passion; then you gain power. Yet, the Jedi asks you to forgo that and instead strive for serenity. They did this to deprive you of the privilege of achieving victory."
"Victory over what?" Karabra was intrigued.
"Your self-imposed chains. The Jedi compel you to seek harmony and fear chaos, because they know if you disrupt their order, they can't subjugate you. Look at the cold manner in which they treat their own. No attachments, correct? It makes having an army of disposable drones that much easier. You think it was a coincidence their grand army was comprised of clones? 'There is no death, there is the Force,' or so they claimed. But the Force—the true Force—is an instrument of liberation, not mindless sacrifice."
Karabra let the words sink in. Her pale eyes hardened with determination. "What are you offering me then?"
Sidious was pleased with her reaction. He stood and ambled to the window as he spoke, "To break the chains imposed on you by learning the true path of the Force. And help me rid the galaxy from the poisonous, corruptive influence of the Jedi, by hunting down the remnants of their tyrannical order. Only then, will the galaxy be safe."
"How can I do that?"
The Dark Lord faced her. "By proving your commitment. Come, my child. There's something I want to show you."
Sidious guided her down to the cellblocks, uncuffed, and with no armed escort. A Pau'an in dark armor stood by the door of a cell at attention, his hands crossed behind his back. He smiled when he saw the Umbaran approach in the company of the Emperor.
"Master," he bowed with deference.
"Grand Inquisitor," Sidious said. "This is Karabra Lobrajj. She is eager to join our efforts."
"Pleasure to meet you." The Grand Inquisitor bared his sharp teeth and unlocked the cell.
It took a few moments for Karabra to recognize the Mirialan prisoner, due to her capped, orange and white jumpsuit. Jedi Council member Master Luminara Unduli sat in the cold metal bunk in the cell, with her hands restrained. Her large blue eyes stared at the familiar Umbaran with a mixture of pain and resignation.
"So, this is how it will happen," she said.
"Master Unduli." Karabra didn't expect this.
With a nod from the Dark Lord, the Grand Inquisitor offered Karabra her lightsaber. "This Jedi is a fugitive of the law, a conspirator against the Empire and our Master. Do what you must."
"Free yourself, my child," Darth Sidious said.
Karabra grabbed the lightsaber and entered the cell.
Unduli stood. "Remember, Karabra. The greatest lies are those which ring closer to the truth."
"That is no longer my life." Firing up the lightsaber, Karabra killed the Jedi Master in a single stroke. The Emperor smiled.
"Well done, sister," said the Grand Inquisitor. The blue plasma blade reflected on the Grand Inquisitor's delighted eyes.
"Are you ready to hunt down your former oppressors?" Sidious said.
Karabra faced him, her face twisted by ire, and her eyes turned yellow. "Yes, Master."
The memory gave way to a figure composed of mist and stars. Two of them shone brighter, representing the being's eyes.
"You seek the power to destroy your enemies, Karabra," the voice called as if formed by the void of space.
"Who are you?" Karabra said,
"I've been known by many names throughout the centuries, but my purpose remains the same: to bring death and destruction to the galaxy."
"Can you help me kill the Emperor?"
The being laughed. "Not only that. I can grant you power beyond his mortal comprehension. With my help, the Sith will lay dead at your feet as you sit upon his throne."
"Why would you help me?"
"You entered the shrine and your heart voiced your desire. The Splinter of the Mind's Eye does as the supplicant wishes. I answered your call."
Karabra wasn't sure why—was it the voice? The star for eyes?—but she trusted the being. "In exchange for what?"
"Freedom. Help me escape my prison, just like I will help you leave this place, and there will be no one able to stop you."
Karabra looked around at the strange place she found herself. "What would you have me do?"
"Touch the portal. I cannot leave my prison, but we will be able to create a telepathic bond."
Karabra placed her hand on the portal. A chill gripped her body as if her life had left her, and the Umbaran's eyes flashed, matching those of the being.
###
Outside the Splinter of the Mind's Eye, the Eleventh and Thirteenth Brothers had routed the Mimbanese Liberation Front. When they entered the temple, the First Sister was standing in front of the shrine, when the Fourth Sister emerged from it and the portal closed.
"What are you doing here?" Virra said.
"Our job," Karabra said. "What happened in there?"
"I chased after the Jedi, but I lost her inside."
"What was inside?" the Eleventh Brother said.
"A bright light. I think the shrine rejects dark side adepts. I couldn't follow them, but I managed to get the book." Virra showed them the tome.
Karabra knew Virra was lying, but wanted to keep that information for her, hoping to capitalize on it when the time was appropriate.
"We'll ger her when she comes out," the Thirteenth Brother said.
"Be my guest, but I think that's a one-way trip," Virra said. "Only light side adepts can activate the shrine. Anyway, it's nice to see you still breathing. New arm?" She jutted her chin towards the cybernetic limb she assumed hid under his armor. It occurred to her that his maimed body had become a reflection of what little was left of the boy she once saved.
"You left me to die, you treacherous witch."
"You obviously didn't. Be careful, Lord Vader might start seeing you as competition, if you keep going like this."
"Let me widen that smile for you." The Thirteenth Brother fired up one of the blades of his lightsaber.
"Don't be an idiot," Karabra said. "The Master is waiting for the book and I don't want to be the one having to explain to him why we're short yet another Inquisitor." She said this while looking at him, assuring the Thirteenth Brother she meant him. "Let's get out of here. The Master is waiting for his prize."