The arrangement of visitors on my ship had changed. While BB and HK-47 didn't need much space — they stayed inactive in the hangar, or if active, HK in the kitchen (which was very small and located between the cockpit and two main cabins) and BB in the cockpit — Jaro and Celeste, being sentient, required a slightly different approach. I put Celeste in the second cabin, keeping the captain's quarters for myself, as usual. And Jaro had to make do with sharing the storage room with two droids. Honestly, within the first day of flight, the Lasat was complaining about HK-47. He rightly believed that "that crazy droid wants to kill him.".. All that was left was to ask: "How did he figure it out?"
I really did intend to use something as cruel as HK-47 in the Padawan's training. But much later. Right now, Jaro would die faster than he could do anything to HK. He needed to pass at least my training, but ideally many times more. Because he didn't have my talent for understanding the Force; lacking knowledge of a possible future, he hadn't trained as persistently and fiercely as I had. And his training was one-sided. Jaro was and is a rebel who wants to become a Guardian Knight. In his mind, that's a blade-swinging guy who rushes to the front line and solves most conflicts single-handedly... cutting everyone down with a lightsaber.
It was precisely this approach — acting without a shred of a plan — that I intended to root out of him. Even if you charge at someone in a "one sentient army" style, you still need to have some kind of plan. And Jaro, judging by his file, rarely thought things through. So I curbed his enthusiasm by making him engage in intellectual work, though we didn't forget training. But here, too, I showed creativity, demanding he fight Celeste. My pedagogical method slightly disappointed the girl because "she didn't want to waste time on a weak youngster." And Jaro himself wasn't particularly happy because I was his master, not Celeste.
But for Jaro, I justified this decision by saying it would be useful for him to fight Celeste, a Shadow who was good at all sorts of dirty tricks. I was too, but I was far above the girl in level, though her Force potential, by her own admission and the data sent to me, had increased incredibly. Probably due to Karness Muur's influence. And unlike Jaro, Celeste resisted my instructions much less. Still, I didn't intend to completely shirk my duties, watching the two of them fight and studying the Shadows' database on Veina City. Meanwhile, Celeste was wearing Jaro out, almost mocking him. Jaro's strikes were powerful, I won't argue, but he put too much into them. That would be more suitable if he were using a steel sword, not a lightsaber. He was just exhausting himself... What about body balance? Shouldn't our trainers have prioritized that stat for him? With such a stupid use of the fifth form, how wasn't he cutting himself? Finally, Celeste gracefully knocked the lightsaber out of Jaro's hands, and I sighed as I walked over to them.
"Okay, that's enough for now. Let's analyze the fight," I looked at my Padawan. "Your swordsmanship... is terrible," I declared. "Form Five, Shien, and in a duel — Djem So. You correctly assessed your size and physical power. But the way you move, even in the context of this form, is just awful."
"I was the best among everyone in swordsmanship," Jaro said importantly. "I even beat some Knights!"
"Which Knights did you beat, you didn't specify? Rekso Uldan is a Consular, a negotiation specialist. A practitioner of Niman. Or are you proud of beating Dani Nogha? That Twi'lek is a professional in droid construction and programming, not combat. You haven't fought real combat Knights who specialize in direct confrontation. Where does this pride come from? Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. And direct combat is not the strength of those two or the others you've fought. You're arrogant; that's bad. It's a direct path to nowhere, to the Dark Side. Still, it's good you got me as your Padawan. I can bring you down to earth. And not just me. Look, Celeste could have finished the fight in the first ten seconds, but she toyed with you for a whole minute..."
"I wanted to see what he could do," the girl said calmly, standing next to me. "But I was disappointed. Listen to your master, big guy. He's telling the truth."
"I suspect," I continued, "that you focused on physical form. Lasats, due to their physical body structure, are already many times stronger than other races in terms of physical strength and endurance. And you developed even more in this area, even excessively. Because of this imbalance, you've become too physically strong. And that's a problem because you swing a lightsaber ignoring its features — namely, that it's light, only the hilt has weight. You swing it like a drunken sentient, using it like a steel sword. At least, those mistakes dominated your style. You have no body balance or understanding of your own weapon. Further — you barely use the Force in battle, besides the standard enhancement of physical capabilities you try to use to overpower your opponent... And it seems like a real surprise for you to encounter someone who knows the concept of a 'sliding block.' I suspect when you were a Youngling, you never faced anyone who could use it in a fight, not just know it exists."
"So what do I do?" Jaro asked. "I have Form Five manuals... Will you teach me?"
"I master every form except the fourth and third at a basic level," and except Vaapad, also known as Juyo, also known as Form Seven. It simply doesn't exist yet. "Third and Fourth — Soresu and Ataru — are my primary forms. So they're much better. Plus, I use Jar'Kai. At a certain stage, I can help you with the fifth form. And after that, I'll probably introduce you to a Knight I know who understands the specifics of the fifth form better than I do."
Also, Jaro Tapal from the game used a staff, a double-bladed lightsaber, to put it more simply. And I'm curious: did he come to such a weapon as a Padawan, or already as a Knight? Because right now he had a classic lightsaber with a blue blade. Except he had Pontite in it, which indicates some potential. What should I do if he starts practicing that kind of swordsmanship? In that weapon, I'm a layman. On the other hand, I can introduce him to one of the Temple Guards. They, after all, fight with just such a weapon.
"On top of that — I'll train you in Force techniques. As I already noted, you use the Force sparingly. Which is fundamentally wrong. The Force is more than just energy for enhancing physical characteristics and predicting enemy attacks. The main weapon of any gifted being is precisely the Force. Yes, I love lightsaber combat more than you, I dare say, but using the Force as little as you do in a fight is an insult."
The Lasat even made an offended face.
"I think these tricks don't help much in combat..." the Lasat said. Celeste chuckled loudly. Well, who better than Morne to know what 'tricks' are capable of? She certainly experienced them firsthand.
"That's a rather fringe delusion for Guardian-style fighters," I noted.
"Didn't you say there are no bad Jedi, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses?" Jaro asked.
"I don't know who raised you and how you turned out this way, but we'll be re-educating you. The main weapon of a Jedi is the Force, as I already noted. You could attack me right now, and I wouldn't even need to fight you in swordsmanship or hand-to-hand... I'd just wipe you out with Force techniques. And it doesn't matter what a particular Jedi is strong in — the Force is their main weapon, their main tool. You haven't shown anything beyond standard physical enhancement and prediction. You even tried to use telekinesis clumsily... That's not the level of someone who wants to 'fight on the front line, playing the role of a Guardian.' That's something else we'll fix. I will teach you not only swordsmanship — more precisely, to set the right balance and improve your style — but also Force techniques."
"And you can do more than an ordinary Knight?" Jaro asked. I shrugged and threw a Force Lightning at him. An emerald bolt washed over his body, knocking him to the floor of the ship from the unexpected strike.
"As you can see, I can do much more than many 'ordinary' Jedi," I smirked. "My understanding of Force techniques is anomalous, many have noted that. It's all due to my training and talent. You don't have as many midi-chlorians as I do, but that doesn't mean training can't get you good results," Jaro stood up, looking fearfully at my right hand. "That was also a kind of demonstration of ability. I've already beaten you in direct combat, and now I've shown you something that clearly goes beyond your ideas of a Jedi's power, hasn't it? You were taught, if you weren't asleep, that Force Lightning is more of a dark technique, yet here I am, a Jedi who can use it. If you show enough persistence and prove your abilities, I will teach you this technique, even though lightning belongs to the 'alteration' techniques and it's not advisable to teach it to Padawans. But denying its usefulness would be foolish. We'll do this: at the beginning of each standard week, I'll give you an essay assignment on a specific question. You'll need to use sources to create reports that you'll deliver at the end of the week. The essay reports will be on both Jedi topics and general ones," because I came from a world where Star Wars was a fictional story I studied, I had almost no gaps. That was the root of my dismissive attitude toward theoretical subjects, which I preferred to practice. This resulted in a severe imbalance — by my graduation, I was a strong combatant, but in some theoretical points I could be shaky. Though not in all. Jaro had a pronounced imbalance too, but he didn't have any knowledge of the Star Wars universe like I did. And I didn't want to share my knowledge with anyone, not even the closest. His imbalance was caused by his idea of Jedi and his initial physical strength, greater than ordinary sentients. Considering that Lasats are almost as strong as Wookiees — the way he grew up, even with the Temple's upbringing, was almost justified. "Every day, in the morning before lunch, we'll focus on training Force techniques, and after lunch, you'll fight me, Celeste, or HK-47."
"With that crazy droid?" he asked me.
"Yes."
"Hey, don't sign me up to babysit this big guy," Celeste replied to me. "I have much more important things to do!"
"That doesn't matter," I waved her off. "A standard 'teacher-student' pair can only achieve variety in opponents on different missions. Our situation is unique. We can train Jaro better without involving him in 'different missions.' After that, I'll take you to a certain planet. But for now... HK-47 is an assassin droid, a ranged combatant. Celeste Morne is a standard Jedi Shadow, focused on agility and speed. I, too, focus on speed and agility, but I'm much faster. Plus, I can use all available fencing styles, so I can provide you with an even more unique experience."
"You're deciding for me?" the girl asked.
"And for me..."
"Because you are my mission," I said, looking at Celeste. "Consider this an opportunity to get used to your new abilities. Given your circumstances — they've changed. And you're my student — I know better how to train you. We'll patch up your deficiencies first, then focus on what you do best. And your best is Form Five... I'll talk to Drallig then — he was the best at using it in my group. He was the best Wookiee overall, but he left the Order long ago due to certain circumstances. But after we shore up your fundamentals — frankly, I'm disappointed. It's not like they pawned mediocrity off on me. Jaro did show something and he had potential... But he knew far less than I thought and hoped. And that's what I have to work with... On the other hand — I have no option to refuse. After all, I'm a Jedi, one way or another, and I have to live up to my rank as a Knight, not just talk and think smart things with a wise face. So — Jaro Tapal is my student, the first in this world. And I'll make a knight of him, the best I can."
* * *
We arrived on Veinay a couple of days later, not stopping anywhere along the way. My task was to track down the Primordial, as he called himself. And I wasn't dismissing the possibility that it was the original Set Harth, the one the clone had been hunting. Thankfully, this character had drawn attention to himself. After the rout I'd handed Set on Royiss, all his structures had split into three types. Those that were only formally dependent on him — firms and corporations — had been sold off. Those who were completely loyal to him — like Rosamunda Atkari and some of the servants from his estate (not all of them were droids, after all), as well as some of his top corporate managers — were mostly imprisoned. And those who'd managed to slip away into the shadows, without losing their functionality.
Specifically — a pair of Dark siders served Set. Nothing extraordinary — my Shadow colleagues had cleaned them up. But it was during that cleanup that they managed to find a thread leading to the so-called "Primordial." Set Harth had been hunting him. Cross-referencing the information from Harth's records that the investigators had managed to extract and pass on to me, along with the "nickname" the late Set himself had given him — I concluded that the sentient on Veinay was the original Harth. And the one on Royiss — a separate, rogue clone... Though that's just one hypothesis. It's entirely possible I might be met by some deranged collector who loves hoarding artifacts connected to the Force.
Or another dark Jedi. There've been too many of them lately. They managed to track the Primordial when they learned an next Force artifact was being delivered to him — someone's lightsaber, apparently. Using the Order's connections, specifically the Shadows, we were able to find out the delivery location at the spaceport on this tropical paradise planet. The Primordial had bought it at an auction in the Tapani Sector — sometimes incredible items came up there, and the Jedi participated in that auction, pulling Force-user artifacts out of circulation. However, this time it came down to treason, plain and simple. A Consular Knight who took part in the auction, while mingling in high society, blew through the funds allocated for his mission and ended up unable to secure all the planned lots. I'd have simply confiscated the Force artifact, explaining that matches aren't toys for children. But the ill-fated Consul couldn't do anything about it — the buyer had arranged delivery of the artifact and it left the auction. At least our people managed to piece together where the artifact was headed. Of course, sometimes purchases like someone's lightsaber at an auction didn't get much attention. There aren't that many truly unique lightsabers left, after all. Still, even a saber would do for me — if only I knew whose it was.
The Veinay spaceport was a complex of buildings where ships constantly arrived and departed. It was daytime on the planet, so it was fairly warm. We arrived about a day before our target was due. The Primordial, our objective, was of interest to the Order because Set Harth had been hunting him, and the Council wanted to know what kind of sentient he was. There was also the uncovered fact that the Knight from the auction had repeatedly lost artifacts "due to insufficient funds.".. He'd already received his just punishment... To catch the Primordial, or his subordinates, red-handed, we set up an ambush. Hangar 41, where the meeting was supposed to take place, was a spacious rectangular room with a landing pad for a ship. According to the plan, I positioned myself in a suspended walkway for hangar workers. It was used to access the ship's hull. Jaro, whom I had only just begun teaching to conceal his presence, was sent to guard the entrance to the spaceport itself. Celeste Morne was hiding behind racks of empty fuel barrels. The girl had almost vanished from perception, using Force distraction around herself. If not for my skills, I'd have lost sight of her long ago. HK was on the same level as me, taking a sniper position.
We finalized our positions and plan a couple of hours before the enemies' arrival. There was enough time to prepare properly. So when a completely ordinary shuttle landed and completely ordinary smugglers got out, and several armed sentients entered the hangar, we were ready. The smugglers were unremarkable and tense, while the "Primordial's" subordinates acted relaxed.
"Did you bring what we ordered?" the Nautolan asked without ceremony. A green-skinned, wiry man with a raspy voice. He had holsters with pistols on his hips.
"Your master need not worry," the male smuggler snorted. "The Galdini Auction House honors its agreements."
A case with the contents floated out in front of him. The plan was to apprehend the Primordial's subordinates upon receipt of the artifact and interrogate them. We could try to follow them, of course... But the problem was this was my first visit to Veinay. I didn't know the planet that well. So tailing them would be inconvenient. Much better to grab them, dope them up, add some Force Suggestion, and interrogate.
"We'll see about that," the Nautolan sniffed, opening the case. I peered closer. Inside lay a classic lightsaber, polished to a shine. The hilt was made of electrum, but the feeling... The Nautolan winced, which didn't escape my notice. A Force user? The saber radiated such darkness that even I found it unpleasant. It was like an all-consuming abyss.
"Light," came Celeste's voice in my earpiece. "What the hell is that thing? It reeks of the dark side so much that... I've never felt anything like it, not even from Karness."
"I understand," I cut her off. The trail of such an artifact could be sensed from anywhere on the planet. But how the hell had the Jedi who could have come into contact with it not sensed it? Or why did that moron let it through? Had he been promised so much that even the feeling from Karness pales in comparison to this saber? And what were they shielding that case with to hide something like that? And whose saber is it, anyway?
"Well?" the smuggler said arrogantly. "Does it meet the stated requirements?"
The Nautolan turned the hilt over in front of his eyes, then put it back in the case and closed it.
"You have earned your reward," the sentient said in his raspy voice, nodding to his subordinates. "Your money..."
He didn't get to finish, because the hangar door suddenly flew off its hinges with incredible force. It was literally hurled. The Primordial's subordinate managed to dodge at the last moment, but the standing couriers were knocked off their feet by the door. Telekinesis? A figure stepped inside. A mighty figure clad in black armor. A crimson blade ignited... The dark side of the Force could be felt from him... No, something in between, something unique. But still, we were faced with a Dark sider... Mostly.
"What the Hutt is this now?" several sentients exclaimed at once.
"Good day," the man greeted. His voice was cruel and cold. "You didn't invite me, so I invited myself."
I looked at the sentient's face and was stunned. A fucking Sith! And I don't mean the Order — I mean a sentient of the Sith species! Red-skinned, a pure-blood Sith with the characteristic tendrils hanging down like a beard... His dark armor was imposing. He was quite tall, and his crimson eyes promised nothing good...
"And who are you supposed to be?" the Nautolan asked, and was immediately pulled toward the Sith, along with the case carrying the lightsaber.
"I have no time to talk to nobodies," he tried to kill him, but I appeared beside him, having quickly closed the distance between us, and shielded the sentient. "A Jedi. How predictable."
"Your appearance here, however, is not," I noted, shoving the Nautolan aside and getting him out of the danger zone. "Who are you? And what are you doing here, Sith?"
"Does it really matter?" he asked. "If you don't get out of my way — I'll kill you," he pointed his saber at my chest. "Or do you think you can defeat me?" he released the Force, readying for battle. Damn... He's far stronger than anyone I've ever met... The only one comparable is Plagueis, whom I noticed when he contacted Shilazh. And even that's conditional. I'm not ready to tangle with a monster like this yet.
"Depends on your motives," I noted. "I might not fight you."
"So you don't want to fight me," he noted. "That's wise. Neither your toy sniper, nor you, girl," he blocked Celeste's attack as she tried to circle around and get behind him, "nor even you — are a match for me. I'd prefer not to draw too much attention from your Order. All I need is to take the lightsaber. Or does your Code forbid you from handing it over? Killing you would draw unwanted attention to my person. I've already failed to account for certain circumstances and compromised my anonymity, but I had no other choice."
"What do you need that saber for?" I asked him. "Because of its power?"
"You're trying to learn more than you should," the Sith noted. Meanwhile, the Nautolan tried to make a run for it, pulling the saber toward himself. "STOP!" I said, and the Sith said it at the same time. With my left-hand saber, I blocked the strike the Sith intended for the Primordial's subordinate, then immediately cut off both of the messenger's hands. Meanwhile, Celeste Morne lunged at the Sith. After two or three moves, he disarmed her and put her in the line of fire of HK, who opened fire on the Sith. As if in slow motion, I saw the blaster bolt approaching Celeste. I had to act fast. I used two charges of the Mystic Palm Technique at once, swapping places with Celeste, then, leaving a grenade in my place, which I guided into HK's line of fire as I moved aside. An explosion rang out...
"Ready?" Celeste asked.
The smoke from the explosion cleared, revealing the Sith's figure. Part of his armor was warped. If it weren't for HK's shot going straight for Celeste, I'd have attacked him with my lightsaber — the situation could have been advantageous.
"That was even decent," the Sith commented. "Well then, I'll have to kill you."
Who the hell is he, anyway? How could the Order have missed him? A pure-blood Sith, clearly a Dark sider. And he came for an artifact like this... I sensed several auras approaching. Security responding to the chaos? Shots rang out — HK was working on the Primordial's subordinates.
"HK, don't kill them, we need at least someone alive!" I ordered, focusing on the Sith.
Suddenly, I felt the case open again. One of the Primordial's subordinates had taken advantage of the situation and decided to make a run for it. The Sith noticed him, and so did I. Running into the spaceport corridor after the man, I encountered the spaceport guards.
"Stop!" the guards ordered. "You have violated the law..."
He didn't finish. A strange sound came from behind. I ducked, along with Celeste, letting a whip strike fly over our heads. The Sith blocked the strike and nearly lost his life — because it was a lightsaber in whip form. The crimson blade nearly slashed his belly open. Another one of the Primordial's subordinates? Meanwhile — judging by the aura — Jaro had tried to detain the subordinate at the entrance, but also ran into a Force user. How the fuck many more of them are there going to be here? They were professional enough to hide from me or Celeste and interfere in my operation! The whip's wielder turned out to be a pretty girl with light brown hair. She was a Dark sider. What an unusual weapon. And I'd used up my charge, and Jaro was clearly weaker than his opponent — plus he'd lost the Primordial's subordinate... The man had reached the speeder section.
"Hutt take you all," I spat, dashing to the side.
"Oh no, little knight," the woman with the whip said. "I'm not letting you go anywhere!" her lips on her pretty face curled into something resembling a smile. "You really want me to play with you a little, don't you?" she swung the whip.
"Go fuck yourself," I said bluntly, pointing my right hand at her. The girl was literally swept away by telekinesis and hurled a good ten meters.
"Not bad," the Sith praised me. "Very not bad."
I assumed a stance, readying for a fight with him.
"No, you cannot defeat me," he noted. "Even as a team. But I am not your target, either. You want to track down the boss of these failures who bought the saber, and I want to destroy this artifact."
"Destroy? A Sith? A dark artifact?" I smirked. "I wasn't born yesterday."
"Perhaps," he agreed. "But that is how it is for now. My name is Scourge, and what your target purchased — once belonged to Tenebrae."