"It doesn't matter to me who you are, sir," Donovan said. "You killed my friend, and you are pursuing Lady Kizhzhara, threatening her with violence and death," he aimed his phrik sword at me, assuming a stance. "Therefore, I will do everything in my power to defeat you! All of you!"
"Now, now, what a naive boy," I chuckled, mirroring his stance.
"No, Donovan! Don't attack him alone," Kizhzhara said. "He..." she didn't get to finish. Celeste closed the distance and attempted to cut off Kizhzhara's legs. But the sorceress was alert. A green flash of magic... Force... radiated from the woman. Right out of the ground, a shield grew in front of Celeste. The lightsaber easily cut through it, but she couldn't continue her attack because Kizhzhara immediately transformed the remains of the shield into spikes and tried to impale Celeste's body on them.
Donovan rushed at me. He was wielding a phrik sword, so I wouldn't be able to cut his weapon with my lightsaber. And perhaps that was for the best, it made things more interesting. I just needed to make sure Kizhzhara didn't leave the battlefield. Our blades struck sparks, repeatedly. Donovan was using something vaguely resembling a love child of Makashi and Soresu. The blades flashed, throwing off sparks... But I was gaining the upper hand because of how I used enhancement techniques. They, just for the record, were improved by me based on Matukai research.
And the Matukai were specialists in close combat, even if they used glaives instead of lightsabers. So, starting the fight with a furious attack, Donovan soon found himself backing up. His comrades radiated disbelief. They were all used to Donovan being head and shoulders above everyone else thanks to his fencing skill. And here he was being pushed back by simple fencing. My combination of "Soresu + Ataru + Juyo," even though its main advantage in my hands came from dual-wielding, and I was only using one blade now, was defeating his archaic style. Though yes... I had already noted that my Force enhancement ability was far superior to his.
I wasn't just winning with fancy feints and pirouettes, which might initially seem like "useless showing off," though they weren't, at least not in my context, since all these feints and pirouettes, the mobility and aggression from Ataru, and Juyo were used as feints. I was also pushing Donovan back with my speed. After a couple of seconds of fighting, it almost ended for him when I swiftly cut his cheek with the edge of my blade. He managed to jump back literally at the last moment... Though he survived also because one of the girls in his squad protected him with a barrier. Such precise use of abilities.
Most gifted ones could use a barrier with their own body as the epicenter. But this girl... I looked at the brunette... I think this was Alia Milara.
"Oh, you bastards!" a cry rang out. Lyla Orkton attacked me from above. She was special, according to Imperial Intelligence reports. She used only knuckle dusters, no other weapons. However, she could infuse her weapon with Force... The runes on her knuckle dusters were glowing, and just one such blow was dangerous, possibly even lethal. "You killed my brother Ers!"
I jumped back a little. The black-haired girl landed right where I had been standing. The ground cracked from the impact of her knuckle dusters.
"Oh, how dangerous," I said. "All brawn and no brain?"
"Shut up, you freak," the girl replied. "This is all because of you, isn't it?" she rushed forward, even too aggressively. Interesting.
"I'll allow myself a little fun," I announced, deactivating and returning my lightsaber to its scabbard, and assuming an Echani stance. I had learned this martial art from Revan. He was very skilled in hand-to-hand combat too. Plus, I had the Matukai research, which, by some accounts, were distant descendants of the art of Teras Kasi, the very same art that the fallen Jedi of the Legion of Lettow had mastered.
"You mocking me?" I wasn't going to block Lyla's strikes. Her knuckle dusters, on a direct hit, could deal monstrous damage. Though I could intercept her arm just above the wrist, and I had done so a couple of times. The girl was punching as if she was boxing. While intercepting her strikes and dodging, I spotted an opening and delivered a swift left-handed punch to her face. Despite my seemingly slight build, my punch was very heavy. The girl staggered back from the unpleasant, fast blow. Her upper body was clad in something resembling a quilted jacket, but her legs, arms, and face had no armor, only ordinary clothing. Although her boot heels had a coating of frikite, just like her knuckle dusters. I jumped at the disoriented girl, swept her legs out from under her, and sent her to the ground. Time to finish her... Igniting my lightsaber, I set my foot on her chest, kicked her in the face once more with my right leg, and then prepared to take her head off with the lightsaber.
"Rest in peace," I said calmly. Her whole body was a weapon, including her knuckle dusters and boot heels. So from that standpoint, I was clean. Two men immediately attacked me—Donovan and Gordon Armir, the one wielding the impressive halberd. They managed to stop me. I stepped back. "One after another. You know, no matter how many of you try to attack me, the final result won't change," I glanced towards Celeste. Kizhzhara and the two female mages were trying to deal with her, but they couldn't overcome the knight, who was perfectly skilled in Soresu. The other warriors and mages of this planet, if they were present at all, kept their distance from our fight and were sorting things out among themselves. "Don't you understand? These are all child's games... And the more you resist, the sadder the outcome will be for you. But I offered you terms for a compromise. Kizhzhara Deyraksa is a well-known criminal in our parts. You are people of justice, who are fighting, by your own words, against the evil and terrible Empire," although this country called "Empire" had far more reasons for war than all the other countries combined. At the very least, the Emperor was legitimately enraged by what was done to his niece. Though there were questions there too... He hadn't declared war immediately. "So why are you protecting a criminal?"
"Shut up," Donovan said through clenched teeth, as I reignited my lightsaber. "You came here, a distant wanderer. You're getting involved in a war that's none of your business!"
"Oh, but it is my business. As long as Kizhzhara is here, it's all my business," I replied. "Alright, come on. Show me your skills and abilities. Let's see what you're good for."
"RAAAA!" Lyla let out a thunderous battle cry and charged into the attack, along with Donovan and Gordon. I vaulted over Lyla, deflected Donovan's attack with my lightsaber. Donovan immediately jumped back and ducked. Gordon was swinging his halberd almost like a club. He had considerable physical strength. I ducked, letting the halberd pass over me; the air currents coming from it even managed to knock my hood off. Lyla, now behind me, barely managed to dodge Gordon's furious strike. She was shocked by my appearance, specifically, my pointed ears. Since they were all gifted warriors, they quickly noticed my peculiarity. Rolling to the side, I flung Gordon away with telekinesis and attacked Lyla. The girl was expecting my attack. Donovan was about to attack from behind, but I deftly maneuvered between him and Lyla, blocking each of their attacks and skillfully counterattacking. Finally, Gordon was ready to strike again. He leaped straight at me, swinging his halberd. I did a backflip, avoiding the damage. Lyla was the first to close in on me. She grinned triumphantly, thinking she had cornered me, which is indeed how it looked, since my lightsaber was far from her fist, and she wanted to punch me right in the face with her knuckle dusters. But...
Everything in our life comes down to the conjunction "but." I deftly twisted away from her attack and summoned a second lightsaber into my left hand. Another second... A precise, cutting strike from below upwards, and Lyla lost her right arm.
"A..." she said in surprise... That was all she said as I, executing a pirouette, cut off her legs with the blade in my right hand, bisecting her thighs.
"Such a pity," I said, watching the warrior girl's body fall to the ground.
"LILA!" the man with the halberd exclaimed.
"Do you need her that badly?" I asked the man rushing at me. "Then take her," I kicked Lyla's body with all my strength. But it looked impressive. The girl's body lifted into the air and flew straight at Gordon. The girl even coughed along the way, so to speak. Gordon caught her in his arms. Meanwhile, another scream rang out. Celeste had managed to reach one of the mages, unfortunately not Kizhzhara, and pierce her leg with a blade. Kizhzhara, by the way, had timely removed the girl from the battlefield using magic and almost impaled Celeste with a spike. At the last moment, Celeste evaded. It seemed she, too, was playing around. Time to put an end to this. Nodding to Celeste, I looked at Donovan and Gordon. "As I've already said—enough playing with you," Heavenly Hand. "Time—to end this," an instant, and both mages, who were the farthest from me, considering they had been fighting Celeste, lost their legs and arms. I had teleported behind them and severed their limbs.
"Teleportation?" Kizhzhara turned towards me. "How did you do that?"
"What difference does it make..." I appeared behind her. "To a future corpse?" Kizhzhara jumped away at the last moment, so I couldn't cut off her legs. The ground beneath me changed and turned into a restraining grip.
"Bastard!" Gordon tried to take my head off from behind, but Celeste immediately attacked him. She cut off the hands holding his halberd, then telekinetically tossed him to Donovan. I, meanwhile, destroyed Kizhzhara's trap with a Force burst.
"You're about to find out, Jedi," Kizhzhara said furiously, "that I'm not just some Dathomirian witch!"
She aimed her hand at me and immediately released a discharge of blue Force lightning. Well, well... How many more witches are going to know this technique? I telekinetically moved the sword in my left hand slightly aside and met her lightning with my own. The Dathomirian's green eyes widened in surprise when she saw a similar technique... A moment later, the sword I had moved with telekinesis flew toward her. She broke off her technique and tried to get away. The lightsaber returned to my left hand.
"Well? When are you going to show me what makes you different from other Dathomirians? I'm waiting. What can you do that another Sister of Night from Dathomir can't? You know, I've seen two Dathomirians before you, and one of them is dead. I killed her with my own hands. So... Are you going to show me something more unique than 'matter manipulation'?"
Green arrows of Force energy formed around her.
"How interesting... Well, go ahead," I invited her.
They shot toward me at incredible speed. The arrows seemed to be made of the Dathomirian's magic, so they were visible, but their speed was almost too high. An ordinary eye would have only seen green flashes, but not mine. I deflected four arrows and dodged the other two. Then I felt a change in the ground beneath me. Was she going to turn the earth into spikes and impale me? No, this attack was much trickier. I jumped back just in time, because literally a couple of seconds later, it exploded, scattering shards of earth in all directions. She managed to create a trap out of an explosion? I threw my lightsaber from my left hand at her, but Kizhzhara summoned a staff... literally from a small knife, transforming it into a long staff made of phrik, and deflected the sword. An interesting ability... How does she do that? I lunged toward the witch, closing the distance, and attacked her. Celeste was dealing with the remnants of Donovan's group, while I attacked Kizhzhara with my lightsaber, striking with a slashing blow. The woman blocked it. The witch's golden eyes were literally burning with rage.
Summoning a second sword into my left hand, I launched a series of attacks. Legs, arms, chest, head... Roughly speaking, every part of her body was subjected to either a thrust or a slash. She defended clumsily — at least, Donovan fought much more skillfully with his phrik sword than Kizhzhara did with her staff. It was immediately obvious she wasn't a close-quarters fighter. She caught one of my attacks in a hard block. I was never a proponent of strength-on-strength confrontations, but here — just a little more pressure and I could land a blow on her shoulder. She understood that too, so she used her trump card for close combat. Flashes of the witch's magic enveloped the staff... An instant later, part of the staff grew into a spike and tried to pierce my head. I reacted in time, jumping back.
"Hmm, bravo," I said, watching the staff return to its normal shape.
"Do you understand now, Jedi?" the witch asked me. "This is why I stand out among my sisters."
"An unexpected lunge, I'll admit, it scared me a little," and it did, I only managed to foresee it at the very last moment. "But it won't happen again."
"Oh, are you sure about that?" the witch asked. "In any case, I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve. But you've clearly already used your trump cards. After all, you're not teleporting. That technique is incredible, but apparently too costly. Plus, you've already used Force lightning. From the standpoint of your abilities, you stand out among the Jedi Knights. But you can't use them constantly. You bet on the effectiveness of your abilities, which is why you can't use everything that shocked me right now."
"That's true," I smiled. "But it's also true that my abilities don't have a very long... let's call it a cooldown. In other words, Kizhzhara. While you're standing here talking, my abilities are preparing. And your only chance to get rid of me is to kill me before my teleportation cooldown is up. Otherwise... you're finished." I admitted it all to spur her into action and make her rush. She doesn't know the cooldown interval, so she might start hurrying and making mistakes. And if she starts making mistakes, the battle will end quickly. And apparently, my words had the desired effect on Kizhzhara. But who would I be if I relied only on those abilities that were on 'cooldown'? She used the arrow attack again, and I rushed forward and jumped, avoiding the arrows. In the air, I fired my grappling hook, making sure the wrist launcher attached to her staff.
Kizhzhara didn't even have time to be surprised when I activated the retraction mechanism. She didn't want to let go of her weapon. She had quite a bit of physical strength, but that was also part of my plan. I was pulled toward her and flew under her staff, hitting her in the stomach with my feet. The woman was thrown back and coughed up blood. Sure, my weight matches my height, but I was moving pretty fast and had reinforced my strike with the Force. She released the staff as she flew back from the blow and tried to rejoin the fight, but immediately got a lightsaber across the eyes.
"AAAAH!" Kizhzhara roared, clutching her eyes. I had destroyed them with a slash of my lightsaber and decided to end the fight there. At least now, blinded, the woman might not pose a threat. Although it's worth remembering that she's Force-sensitive. And for the Force-sensitive, the whole body is a weapon. But even despite the above postulate, you can't just simply and quickly get used to suddenly appearing blindness. Plus, there was a battle going on...
"Lady Kizhzhara!" Donovan tried to break through to me.
"And where do you think you're looking?" came Celeste's voice; she had no intention of letting him go. I looked back... Donovan lay on the ground, a moment later, without arms and with one leg.
"Fucking bastards," he expressed.
"Why are you so harsh?" I asked. "We're Jedi Knights. Knights of justice and all that. I already explained — Kizhzhara is a dangerous criminal."
The witch seemed to try using magic, but I lifted her with telekinesis and slammed her to the ground. She spat blood again, but still got up.
"Hutt," she cursed and swung her hand. I deactivated my lightsabers. She was close enough. Blocking her attack, grabbing her arm, I said, "Last chance, Kizhzhara. Where's the beacon? Where's your ship?"
"Go to a Hutt, he'll fuck you," she spat, then writhed in pain. "AAAAH!" I broke her arm.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked her. "You understand that no one is going to save you. The Alliance army is nothing against us. They're shaking like leaves in the wind themselves, after seeing what we did to your group." I looked over the members of this elite group. We only killed Ersa. Yes, we made attempts on the others. But the way we dealt with the Alliance's heroes turned out to be a telling fact. We didn't even need to kill them here. "Maybe I should break your leg too? What do you think? Or will you finally tell me exactly where you hid the beacon?"
"What will happen to me if I tell you?" Kizhzhara suddenly asked. "I know you're a Shadow, a seeker... A killer of the Force-sensitive. A loyal lapdog of the Jedi High Council... Do they only send you after people like me for elimination? Will you kill me?"
"Hmm... Actually, we could have come to an agreement, Kizhzhara," I said thoughtfully. "You would have given me the beacon from the start, and I wouldn't have had to do all this."
"Wouldn't have had to do all this?" a cold voice suddenly rang out. The people standing to the right, representing the Rakaza Empire, parted. The Emperor appeared on the battlefield in his armor. His left eye socket was exposed to the world. A crystal glowed in place of his eye. "So, if she had given you what you were looking for, you wouldn't have kept our agreement, heavenly wanderer?"
"She was never going to give it to me, Emperor," I replied. "I know these Dathomirians well. You have to give them a good beating first so they understand everything and act properly."
"Like all women," the Emperor snorted ironically, earning a strange look from his daughter. The girl was clad in battle armor. Rumor had it she was a powerful sorceress in the Empire. Though I had almost never seen her in action.
"If I give you the beacon, will you stop supporting Rakaza?" she asked me.
"I will stop supporting the war," I answered her question. "And I will help broker a peace. You have my word, as a 'loyal lapdog of the Order,'" I grinned. "However, you must forget everything connected to the Galaxy and Space. From now on, you will live the life of an ordinary sorceress in this world. I will destroy your ship, and you will also reveal its location. And never come back, Kizhzhara. I'll report that you died."
"Forget everything forever..." she murmured.
"About Tanalorr, about the Galaxy. Live your life on this little planet and never show up anywhere else. How does that price for your life sound?"
"It's quite acceptable," she said. "But how do you intend to keep your agreement with the Emperor?" She turned toward where the Rakazan Emperor was speaking. By the way, there were whispers that he had made a pact with almost demons. A little later, Kizhzhara clapped her hands, and a strange cylindrical device appeared in them. I noticed a place in it for connecting wires... Apparently, it could be connected to a hyperdrive. She threw me the beacon, and I caught it with telekinesis.
"You're conspiring with my enemies behind my back?" Lator asked me. "You deceived me..."
"I never deceive," I snapped harshly, looking at him. "A deal is a deal. And it will be fulfilled. Kizhzhara and the remnants of her squad will come with me. You, return to the castle with your troops. I need to prepare for the final acts."
Too bad I can't contact Jaro to find out what stage he's at... Then, right above the plain, a very familiar hum sounded. I looked up and saw the "Star Trek" flying over the heads of those present. Many of them almost lost their minds. That's it... Now I know what stage we're at. Time to end this saga on this planet...