Hi! Here's the second chapter... Dedicated to ronderu, my first fan! <3 <3
Oh in the previous chapter Darth Vader used Sith lightning, which in fact he's not able to use.... So don't worry he's not going to use it ever again! ^^
Kimmy (AKA DarthKemberli)
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CHAPTER 1: STEPS DOWN THE DARK PATH
“Forced into the dark side one is not; choose that path one must.”
- Yoda, Jedi Grand Master
It took me a long time to decide what to do after that fateful day on Aetheria.
I was alone, the sole survivor of all the Jedi that had been multiplying on this planet. Vader's words echoed in my mind, eating me up day and night. There was not much I could remember of those days. I only knew that I was crazed with grief, anger, and confusion. I didn't know what to do. I wanted so badly to avenge my mentor's death, but something inside me urged me to comply with Vader's words. Part of me would have rather died than affiliate myself with the Sith, but another part of me longed to gain the same strength that Vader defeated me with. I knew that if I didn't become stronger, I couldn't avenge Master Yurlon's death... And the only one I knew who could nurture my skills was Vader.
I was tortured.
But finally, after many sleepless nights and fevered days, I made up my mind. And that decision brought me to the edge of the galaxy, searching, as I had been searching for many weeks, for Lord Vader, the Sith who I had decided to take as my master. I found it hard to believe that I had actually been risking my life looking for the most feared Sith in the entire galaxy. I remembered clearly the fear that had completely paralyzed my body when he had grabbed my arm and looked at my eyes. I shuddered, imagining the steel grip of his hand, and that deathlike glare of his helmet visor. But when I remembered his promise of power, and the way he had been so sure about the tattoos on my body, my fear stabilized a little.
For my entire life of seventeen years, I had been needing to know more about who I was. Like who had been my father... Why had I been born with markings like these... Why I was so strong in the Force. Master Yurlon had taught me well... But, even during his life, I had felt as if he hadn't told me everything he happened to know about me. He had promised to tell me more once I was better trained, but he had died... And Darth Vader seemed to know about my tattoos. That knowledge could only mean that he knew who I truly was, and I had to admit to myself that that is but one thing that attracted me to him. Not to mention a better mastery of the Force, even if I would be learning in the dark side.
Thinking about these dark things began making me uncomfortable, so I stood up from the chair I had been sitting in for the past three hours. I was immediately reminded of my predicament, and I almost growled aloud with impatience. I was in Cloud City above Bespin, a gas giant in the Mid Rim. I had come to this bar, the Vapour Room, expecting to meet a certain stormtrooper with whom my last contact hooked me up. What frustrated me was that he had promised to meet me here at six, and it was already nine. I was losing precious time, and I risked catching unneeded attention from the Imperial Senate's agents. Nothing could be more suspicious to them than a Jedi apprentice searching for Lord Vader... Which is why I had killed my last contact.
The things I had been stooping to made me uneasy when I thought of Master Yurlon. I knew for certain that he would tell me that I was behaving more and more like an agent of the Sith. What bothered me more, though, was that I... didn't feel that bad about it. In fact, when I was honest with myself, I didn't know if what I really wanted was to avenge Master Yurlon. As time passed, I found myself thinking more and more about the power that I would gain from training with Vader, and less and less about avenging Yurlon. I loved feeling the Force mold itself around my consciousness and hearing its silent voice offering itself to me to direct as I will... It was a sensation that I never told Yurlon about, and I was certain that he didn't feel it himself. Strangely, I felt as if I could tell Vader about it, even though I still feared himfrom the very depths of my heart. All I knew was that I would have to be very careful around him if I was to gain his favour.
It was taking my contact far too long. I was beginning to draw curious looks from the other people in the bar, and I shifted uneasily. I had learned that it was not easy to hide the fact that I was a Jedi apprentice, especially among such people as these. It had not been very long since the Empire ridded Cloud City of Jedi guardians and sentinels, and I assumed that these people remembered the bearing of a Jedi. I didn't like this... The Senate would be very interested in me and would likely go to all distances to make sure I fought on their side, and if they found out that I was looking for Vader instead, they would be sure to have me killed. On the other side of my dilemma, if the Empire discovered that I was aiming to become Vader's apprentice, they would kill me as well.
A motion at the door caught my eye. I looked up to see a stormtrooper walk in. Finally! My muscles clenched involuntarily at the sight of his white trooper's armour, but I forced myself to relax when I saw that he was unarmed and carried his helmet in one hand. I sat back down at my table and waited for him to seat himself across from me. We were both silent for a while, measuring one another up. He looked younger than most of the contacts I had previously interacted with, and his golden hair was surprisingly long for a trooper. It hung down over his eyes and covered his ears, making him look even younger. I wouldn't have been surprised if he was about my age.
I wanted to berate him for making me wait so long, but when his eyes met mine, I decided against it. His eyes were an intense green, the greenest I had ever seen, and they were so enticingly interesting that I found myself wanting to be as friendly as possible, even though I knew I would end up killing him once I had secured my information from him.
Neither of us spoke. I tipped my finger at the Rodian bartender, who sent a human maid my way. Her eyes sparkled as she noticed my companion.
"Two pints," I said curtly, ignoring her glances between me and the trooper. I knew that she and the other maids had been joking about me in the kitchen, wondering if I were waiting for a lover. Unwanted attention... I became even more edgy, but I masked my discomfort under an expression of indifference.
"You realize that I don't want word of this reaching either the Senate or the Emperor," I finally said to my companion when the maid tripped off to the kitchen.
"Of course." He looked at me with his green eyes. "I'd be dead if the Empire knew that I was helping you this way."
"I'm glad we both understand this."
I leaned back in my chair, feeling the hard angles of the lightsabers strapped under my tunic. I had with me both my purple lightsaber and Vader's red lightsaber, which he left with me after abandoning me on Aetheria.
The maid came back, not a moment too soon. I pressed an extra tip into her soft fingers and pulled her down to speak into her ear. Keeping my voice low, I warned her to keep her mouth shut and pressed another few coins into her hand. Her face lit up. She blew a kiss in my direction, winked at my trooper companion, and skipped off once again to the front.
I reached for my tanker and took a sip of the frothy ale, of which I had already drunk two pints earlier. The trooper didn't move. His eyes were locked on my face, and I noticed a few beads of sweat on his forehead. Amused surprise struck me as I realized that he was afraid of me. I smiled, shook my head, and pushed the other icy pint towards him.
"Relax."
A hint of a smile touched his lips. As his shoulders went limp, I dug into the pocket of my tunic and pulled out a few bills. When he reached for his ale, I slid my hand over to his in a smooth movement and slipped the money into his clammy hand. I rested my hand on his for a few moments.
"You don't have to be so tense... I pay well," I said, blinking at him a few times. Guilt and repulsion welled up in my heart as I realized that I was making use of such unfair manipulation, but I managed to suppress it while keeping a straight face. The trooper's smile became real, and he dipped his head to take a deep draft of his ale. I followed suit and let the crisp, musky liquid wash its way down my throat.
"Your friend Troy on Corellia told me that you know the coordinates of Vader's hideout." My voice became serious.
"He's telling the truth," my companion replied from behind his tanker.
"How did you come across this information?"
"Troy and I were patrol buddies on Alderaan when Vader landed there some weeks ago. He had... business... there with Senator Organa, and we were put on guard duty in the shipyard."
He paused to take a swig of ale, wiped his mouth with the back of one hand, and continued. I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table.
"I have to admit... Troy and I were goofing around. We had a drink before our shift."
His eyes twinkled beguilingly as he smiled at me in apology. I couldn't stop myself from smiling back.
"Because of that, we weren't paying too much attention, so we didn't notice until too late that a kid had run past us towards Vader's gunship. When I saw him, he was climbing into the cockpit, so I ran after him and grabbed him out of the ship. That's when I saw the coordinates on the computer screen."
I cocked an eyebrow and closed my eyes, thinking. His story seemed believable enough, and I needed to grab at any information I could receive. So far my contacts hadn't been wrong, and I had read on the HoloNet that Vader had landed at Alderaan some time earlier. But I had to be completely sure that the coordinates were for Vader's secret hideout and not the Emperor's. When I reopened my eyes, I caught the trooper gazing at me with obvious desire in his green eyes. His tanker was empty, and clearly he was finally and completely relaxed. I didn't smile, however.
"Are you sure it was Vader's hideout?" I pressed, sitting back to put some distance between us. "I need to be certain."
"I'm positive. It said the 'Executor' above the coordinates... Which is definitely not the Emperor's space station. It's the next best thing."
"All right. Thanks..." I leaned over the table, close to him again, and placed my hand over his a second time. "Hey, you never told me your name..."
Grinning, he flexed his hand to grab mine.
"Devon. I'm Devon. And you are?"
"Kemberli." Again, a flash of sudden remorse stabbed me. Master Yurlon... He would never have approved of such base manipulation. Especially since I planned to kill Devon... But! I was following the path of a Sith... And there was no turning back from that path.
"I love your name..." Devon put his other hand on my cheek. Smiling to stifle my deceit, I swam in his gorgeous green eyes and opened my mouth to him when he pressed his lips against mine. As we kissed there, on the table by the door of the Vapour Room, I ran my free hand through his shaggy blond hair. Suddenly I stood up and yanked him playfully by the hand to the door. Laughing, Devon followed my drift and grabbed my waist, passionately kissing me as we pulled one another out the door and into the dark alley to the left of the bar. Once we were hidden by the dark, Devon caressed my back.
"Haha, you were right, you do pay well for information!" He laughed again, unlatching his lower body armour. He pulled me in close again, his hands wandering to the front of my tunic. Biting gently at his chin as he pulled open my outer tunic, I lifted a hand to his and squeezed it.
"Yes..." I murmured. "I pay very well."
Suddenly, in a swift movement, I shifted my hand and flicked my red lightsaber on. It roared alive, slashing right through Devon's chest before he had the chance to cry out. With a muffled thud, his limp body dropped to the ground. I swallowed hard, shutting off Vader's lightsaber with a whoosh of energy. Tears threatened to fill my eyes as I knelt beside Devon's body to retrieve the money I had given him, but I forced the tears down. This was the path I had chosen myself, back on Aetheria... I couldn't change my mind. Fixing my tunic, I walked silently away into the impending darkness.
My eternal path lay before me in the darkness, and there would be no turning back.