I groaned as my eyes slowly opened. Once I was fully awake, I glanced around to see not only myself stuck in a containment field, but Maya, Jinx, and Areria stuck as well. I then scanned the area, seeing us stuck in what appeared to be a cave.
"Glad to see you've finally awaken." Jinx mentioned.
"I see you're still bitter." Areria commented.
"Don't start." Jinx warned.
"Will you two please stop this. This is not the time to fight. We need to escape." Maya advised.
I then raised an eyebrow. "And how will we do that? We're stuck in containment fields."
"How observant of you, Stormy." Asajj's voice reached my ears.
I sighed. Great...we're not alone. At that moment, Asajj, Vorlega, Darc, Sey, a female Dathomirian who I later learned was called Saato, and a female Chiss, who I later learned was called Sev'rance Tann all approached us. My face fell as I saw another figure emerge from the shadows. It was Tobkai Mintros, my old friend who was a Jedi Shadow alongside Nova, Vinor, me, and several others. Tobkai wore a sinister smile as he greeted me. "Hello Storm."
"You know him, Master?" Areria asked.
I sighed. "...I did. He was a Jedi Shadow like I once was before deciding to become a Jedi Guardian."
"I was once weak, but now I'm stronger than I've ever been." Tobkai mentioned.
"What happened to you, Tobkai? You out of all people would never turn." I protested.
Tobkai scoffed. "That was before I was...enlightened."
I narrowed my eyes. "What has Dooku done to him?"
"Dooku?" Vorlega repeated, rather confused. "No, Tobkai turned on his own will."
"We merely implanted a few ideas in his head." Sey said, letting out a laugh. "Not literally, of course."
"What are you guys? Apprentices of Dooku?" Maya asked.
"Not exactly. We are the Dark Acolytes." Saato said.
Jinx snickered. "Dark Acolytes? That's a lousy name."
Vorlega glared at her, nevertheless she took over, explaining the Dark Acolytes. "Dooku created a group of Dark Jedi which he called the Dark Acolytes."
"No wonder the name's lousy, Dooku came up with it." I retorted.
Areria and Jinx snickered, while Maya shook her head, mentally begging me not to do something I'd regret.
"Relax, what's the worse that could happen?" I inquired, speaking in her head.
"We could end up being tortured, spaced, or even brainwashed, do you want me to continue?" Maya retorted.
Jinx rolled her eyes. "Maya, you worry too much. We'll get out of here like we always do."
"I worry because I care about all of our lives. And your reckless plans don't always work." Maya shot back before her face softened. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to insult you or your plans, I just don't want anyone being left behind or dying."
I nodded, letting her know I understood. Vorlega then made her way towards my containment field. Her face had turned into a grin. "We are the enforcers of Dooku, so if Dooku wants you dead..."
"We'd be the ones to kill you." Tann added as she leaned against the wall of the cave.
"But as much as I'd like to, we aren't going to kill all of you." Asajj intervened.
"We can kill the padawan, but as for the Ca'ana sisters..." Vorlega trailed off as she scanned us from head to toe.
"Dooku would be proud if we turned them in. He's been dying to get these three on his side." Sey reminded them.
I knew Dooku wanted us on his side, believing together he'd be able to defeat the Republic. I'd never fight for the Sith, let alone be on the same side as Dooku. He may be related to me, but he'll never be my grandfather.
"We will never work for Dooku!" I spat.
"Not willingly you win." Asajj mentioned.
"You will never force us to work for Dooku!" Jinx exclaimed.
"We'd rather die." Maya added.
"I say we take them to Rattatak as slaves to break them then once they're broken we can turn them over to Dooku." Tann suggested.
I noticed great discomfort in Asajj when Tann mentioned Rattatak. Asajj crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow to mask her discomfort. "And what if something happens to them? Who will answer to Dooku if one of them is killed?"
"Tann, you know how much Dooku prizes his granddaughters, especially Storm." Saato chimed in.
At Saato words, Vorlega spoke up with a look of frustration. "Enough! If you cowards are all done, I will take Storm to Rattatak."
"And the others?" Darc inquired.
Vorlega glanced over at Areria for a mere second before turning back to the others. "Kill, torture or do whatever you wish with the padawan. As for Maya and Jinx, make sure they are broken before taking them to Dooku. I will personally deal with Storm."
"I don't think you want to dismiss Areria." Sey intervened.
Darc scoffed. "And why not? She's just a youngling?"
"I'm right here, you know!" Areria exclaimed.
Jinx, Maya, and I all exchanged horrified looks, knowing where Sey was going to say. Areria's face paled as she noticed our looks. She then immediately turned back towards the others, yelling out Sey's name. "Kadrian! Please don't tell them...you promised to never tell anyone!"
"Because she's half Vahla." Sey informed them, ignoring Areria's pleas.
A wicked grin grew on Vorlega's face. "That changes things..."
"You promised!" Areria yelled out, looking distraught.
"Things happen, Areria. We are on opposing sides, you are no longer my friend." Sey retorted.
I watched as tears filled Areria's eyes. Vorlega then turned me, knocking me out with another blow to the face.
•••
As soon as I woke up, I found myself in a cell. I glanced down to find a shock collar around my neck, no doubt to prevent me from escaping. Just great...I looked around to find Areria lying on the ground of the cell. She also had a shock collar around her neck. It wasn't long until she woke up, confused and terrified. Her eyes lit up when she saw me. "Master, where are we?"
I shook my head. "...I don't know."
Areria took one last look before turning away. I let out a sigh, knowing she was still upset about our discussion earlier. I'm going to have to fix this sooner or later.
"Look Areria, I'm sorry...I should've brought it up as soon as the Council told me." I apologized. "But the Council shouldn't be afraid, because we've spent nearly a year together, and I know you won't turn to the dark side. I want you to know that I trust you with my life."
At my words, Areria turned to me as her eyes lit up. "You mean that?"
I nodded. "I do, Areria. Being a Vahla doesn't define you who are."
Areria wore a grim look as she nodded. "Yes...but now I see why my mother kept her identity a secret."
I furrowed my brows. "Your mother?"
"Tyra, my mom, she was a full blooded Vahla. She escaped from her people, not wanting any ties with them. She lived most her life on Savereen, and there she met my father, Jankris, who was a full blooded Trailian." Areria clarified.
"What happened?" I inquired.
Areria hesitated. "...Four years ago, my parents moved from Savereen to Trailia. But it wasn't long until they wanted to move to Alderaan. They wanted to live closer to Coruscant, so they could visit me. However, the villagers discovered my mom was a Vahla, afraid of the stories they heard, they set out to kill her."
"My father tried intervening, begging them not to kill her, but they insisted that my mom would one day kill them all. And unfortunately, my dad was killed while trying to protect my mom." She continued as tears filled her eyes. "They then blamed my mom, believing she had my dad wrapped around her finger under some sort of trance. And they proceeded to kill her...That's why I've been so careful who to tell about where I'm from. People will look at me differently..."
"We'll I don't. To me the outside of a person means nothing. It's what's inside a person that counts, Areria." I mentioned.
Areria gave me a smile as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you Storm. I'm glad to have you as my Master and friend."
"And I'm glad to have you as my padawan and friend." I replied, returning her smile.
At that moment, we saw a few Rattataki guards throw in a teenage boy around the age of fourteen into the cell next to us. The Rattataki had chalky white skin and bald heads. They were quite similar to the females on Dathomir. Once the guards left, I glanced over at the boy to see he had short light blonde hair with silver eyes. He looked like an Echani. The boy's eyes then met mine. His eyes lit up at once as he rushed over towards the edge of his cell that touched my end of the cell.
"Storm!" He exclaimed. "Is that you?"
I furrowed my brows. "Who are you? And how do you know my name?"
"Storm, it's me. Alotren." He clarified.
My jaw dropped. Alotren? I looked at him in awe. Was it truly him? I reached out to the Force, and as soon as I touched Alotren, I knew it was him. My eyes widened. "Alotren! Oh by the Force...It's been four years since I've seen you."
"I know, it's so good to see you." He replied with a grim smile.
"How did you get here?" I inquired.
"The Nightsisters to avoid conflict sold me off to a mercenary, who took me here, to become a gladiator." Alotren explained. "What about you?"
"Dooku's enforcers, who are dark Jedi took us here." I explained. "We tried fighting them off, but there were too many of them."
"Master, who is this?" Areria asked.
"This is Alotren, my younger brother. Four years ago the Nightsisters kidnapped my brother, taking him to the Nightbrothers." I informed her. "Alotren, this is my padawan and friend, Areria Skikea."
Areria was taken back to hear that he was my brother. I didn't mention to many people about Alotren. Only a few of my friends from the Council knew about Alotren, and that included Kina, Nova, Gida, Tarom, Anakin, Obi-Wan, along with a few others.
"Is Maya and Jinx also here?" Alotren questioned.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's just Areria and me." I replied.
Several Rattataki guards appeared right in front of our cells. I began to panic as they opened our cells, heading inside. I whipped around towards Alotren. "What's going on, Al?"
"It looks like we're going to fight." Alotren said.
"Fight? Like in an arena?" I inquired.
Alotren nodded. "Yeah, I did just tell you I was left here to become a gladiator."
I mentally groaned. Great...now I'm being dragged into another arena. Areria tried fighting against one of the guards, however he activated her shock collar, causing her to scream out in pain.
"Areria, I know you're a fighter, but now's not the time to resist." I advised. "You'll only end up in pain."
Areria sighed. "I hate to say it...but you're right."
With that the guards dragged us out of our cells. As they dragged us all out, I glanced over at Alotren. "Where are we exactly?"
"We're on the planet Rattatak in the fierce gladiator arena called the Cauldron." He explained. "It's one of the most deadly arenas of the galaxy."
"Great...just our luck." Areria muttered.
It wasn't long until the guards took us to several medium sized pits which was surrounded by a spire of rock. There were already a few gladiators within the pits. The guards then pushed us, ordering us to stand in an empty pit. Areria, Alotren, and I stood in three different pits, which were all side by side to each other. I glanced over to see above the pits in a huge cavern, there were people in wealthy attire, sitting and looking down at us.
"Raise the walls!" One of the guard yelled out.
Walls on the outside of the pits that I didn't even know existed rose, separating us. Areria looked at me with a worried look.
"It'll be fine, Areria." I assured her. "Remember your training."
Areria gave me a nod as the walls finally rose up to the top of the ceiling. I took a deep breath as I looked at the other end of my pit to see a giant cage.
I heard a deep masculine voice coming from where the wealthy people were sitting. "Welcome to the Cauldron fellow gentlebeings. Behold the brave gladiators prepared to face the most vicious and feared beasts in the entire galaxy. May the strongest survive and prosper."
At that moment, the cage unlocked, revealing a Mantessan panthac. I mentally groaned. This is one of the most dangerous predators in the galaxy. It had a large brown mane, a slender and tall body with tan colored fur, two fangs in the front of his mouth filled with sharp teeth, five sharp claws on his paws, and a long tail covered in brown fur.
Without thinking twice, I placed a hand around my waist to find my lightsaber gone. Right...no doubt it was taken by Vorlega before she dropped us off here in this miserable rock. It let out a mighty roar before charging towards me. I quickly jumped up and over him, landing behind the panthac. It grew frustrated as it whipped around. Its glowing orange eyes locked with my silver eyes. I took a deep breath as I raised a hand, using the Force to make a connection with the creature. I've never used this trick on an animal that is fierce and dangerous like the panthac. I sure hope this works...
It let out a snarl as I slowly made my way towards him. I continued to let my guard down as I reached out, gently touching his nose. The panthac growled for a few seconds before it finally allowed me to keep my hand on his nose. He began to purr, nuzzling himself in my arm. I smiled as I let out a relieved sigh. Looks like I still got it. I then saw the walls finally lower. I glanced back at the panthac. "Go back in your cage, quickly!"
The panthac gave me one last look before running into the cage. Once he was inside, the walls finally fell into the ground. I glanced over to see both Alotren and Areria still alive and in on piece. We exchanged smiles, relieved to see one another. However our moment was ruined as the guards grabbed us, taking us back to our cells.
•••
Days had slowly turned into weeks, everyday we had to face dangerous beasts and creatures from the galaxy. As time went on, Alotren and I told Areria about our childhood in Corellia, and she was fascinated to hear everything.
One day, I had heard from Alotren that war barons, generals, warlords, and anyone of the sort would attend these gladiator contests, to search for their soldiers for their wars. Areria began to panic when she heard this, but I assured her that I would let nothing happen to any of us, I'd make sure that all three of us will get off this desolate rock.
One day, while I was mediating, I felt a presence coming towards us. I could sense his anger, hatred, and hunger for power. The man finally approached our cell, surprising Areria. "Tala, there's someone here."
After our first fight, I spoke with Alotren and Areria, informing them that this place cannot know that Areria and I are Jedi. They'll either become more intrigued or wish to kill us to avoid issues. So Areria and I decided to give each other names.
The man had blue skin, yet he looked like no Chiss, Pantoran, or any other blue alien species I've ever met. The man wore black markings on his face with purple eyes. He wore a curious look. "Tala, what an interesting name for a woman who can control and manipulate animals without touching them. Now that's fascinating."
I then narrowed my eyes. "Who are you?"
"I am Ronan, the Accuser." He announced with a wicked smile.