Gray Jedi Ch. 8

Gray Jedi Ch. 8

“There’s the hangar,” Malik said, peering through his electrobinoculars. “A couple of patrols, nothing too bad. The entrance is still sealed up, so I bet they think nobody can get in that way.”

“Now we just gotta figure out how to get in unnoticed,” Serra muttered.

“Sir, I’m back!” Rex said, walking up behind them.

“What did you find, Rex?”

“Nearby sewer line leading directly from the Jedi Temple. We should be able to get into the hangar that way.”

“Perfect. Lead on.”

The Jedi followed Rex as he turned down a back alleyway, spying a grating on the ground ahead of them. Malik and Rex lifted it open for Serra, slipping into the sewer and closing the grating behind them. The stench was foul, but the tunnel was just large enough that they could hunch over and walk, rather than having to crawl through the muck. After a few minutes, Serra found another grating in the ceiling, pushing it up a bit to peek into the room.

“All clear,” she said, popping up onto the floor of the hangar.

Rex and Malik soon joined her, finding the hangar deserted and undisturbed from their last visit.

“Huh… that’s odd,” Malik said. “We were under attack when we escaped from here, but it looks like they haven’t so much as touched this place since that day. I wonder why?”

“Don’t know, but I think we need to focus on Blut,” Rex replied. “As Serra said, we’re on the clock. The longer we stand around, the more likely we are to get caught.”

“Agreed,” Malik said. “Let me think… if I were Blut, where would I hide?”

“I’d say in a location easy to fortify for long periods of time, somewhere with immense security even in the days of the Order,” Serra mused.

“Hmm… by that logic, I think I know where he is: the holocron vault.”

“Of course! With the right defenses, it could take the Empire weeks, even months to penetrate it!” Serra agreed.

“Where is it?” Rex asked.

“In the center of the basement floor, under the main spire. This way,” Malik said, marching down a nearby hallway.

The trio crept through the Temple as quietly as they could, checking for Imperials around every corner, yet they encountered none. For all the fears they harbored of being captured, the entire structure seemed abandoned. Before long, they reached the end of a hallway, a large circular door standing ahead of them.

“Here we are,” Malik said.

“Now how do we get in? Only the Jedi Council has access,” Serra reminded him.

“Hmm… I’ve got an idea. Rex, keep a lookout for trouble.”

“Got it.”

“Ok, see how much you can do with the Force access, Serra.”

Serra stretched out her hand and concentrated, attempting in vain to gain access to the vault. As she struggled, Malik did not seem worried. She intensified her focus, and Malik stepped forward to try the next part of his plan. Drawing on the power of lightning, he released a small amount of electricity from his hand into the main security panel, overriding the circuits that prevented Serra from gaining access. After a few seconds of this action, the panel turned green, and the vault door began to open with a hiss.

“Nice!” Serra remarked.

“I doubt Yoda would mind; he did proclaim us Jedi Masters, after all.”

“HAH!”

The sound of a lightsaber powering up startled the pair, and Malik drew his weapon on instinct. Within moments, he found his blue blade clashing with a bright gold one, the owner a Pau’an male that Malik recognized right away.

“Topal! Topal, it’s me! Malik!”

“Huh? M… Malik Ran?” the Temple Guard asked, backing away and into the vault. “I… I’m so sorry. I thought you were…”

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it. Serra and I got your message.”

“Oh, I’m so relieved,” Blut sighed, collapsing to the floor of the vault.

“Topal, your message mentioned that you were being hunted. Who was hunting you?” Serra asked, stepping into the vault with Malik.

“Hmm? Oh yes, that… I do not know who was hunting me, but I believe I have managed to elude them. Tell me, are there more Jedi survivors, or is it just the two of you?”

“Only us that we’ve found,” Malik answered, deciding to keep Yoda’s location a secret for the time being.

“Ah… well then, I suppose there is no reason to delay,” Blut said.

“What?” Malik asked in confusion.

Before either Malik or Serra could react, the vault door was flung shut by the Force, latching itself into place. They were trapped.

“All too easy,” came a female voice.

Serra spun around, exclaiming, “Barriss Offee?!”

“You remember me… what an honor,” she replied.

“How could we forget a terrorist like you,” Serra seethed. “Detonating a bomb in the Temple, framing Ahsoka Tano for the crime… you disgust me.”

“Good to see you too, Serra,” she smirked. “Blut, seeing as our plan has worked to perfection thus far, shall we?”

“It would be my greatest pleasure.”

Simultaneously, they drew their weapons, Offee a pair of curved-hilt crimson lightsabers, Blut a gold saberstaff, the traditional weapon of the Temple Guards.

“Your fall… will be my rise,” Blut hissed as he approached Malik.

Malik activated his weapon to block, soon finding himself locked blade-to-blade with Topal Blut. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Serra engaged in a furious bout with Barriss Offee, her twin green lightsabers whirling in every direction to defend. Malik still couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

“Topal… why?”

*****

Two days earlier

Barriss Offee sat alone in her prison cell, pondering her solitude. It mattered not that the Jedi Order had fallen, as she had heard from the guards; she was still branded a terrorist. She would remain imprisoned for the rest of her life. Some nights, she wished they would simply execute her instead. Still, she regretted nothing she had done. The Jedi had become the evil they swore to defeat, and had to be stopped… by any means necessary. As she sat in meditation, she was startled back to reality by the door to the cellblock opening. She heard footsteps approaching, slow yet powerful, as well as a terrifying breathing sound.

“Barriss Offee…”

Offee sat in awe at the figure before her. Well over two meters tall and clad in fearsome black armor, she could only guess at whom she was now speaking to. The guards had talked of him, but the real thing was far more intimidating than any of their descriptions.

“Are you… Darth Vader?”

“I am indeed.”

“Wha… What do you want?”

“To offer you… an escape.”

“Escape? You’re saying I could be released?” she asked eagerly.

“It is possible, if you fulfill certain conditions.”

“Of course! What must I do?”

“The Emperor has seen the tremendous potential within you. A powerful Jedi you once were, and powerful you can be again. You were among the first to see the corruption inherent within the Jedi Council, and you were the first to do something about it. Those actions tell me all I need to know. If you will serve me, if you will learn the ways of the Dark Side of the Force, then I will raise you up to such power. In time, you may become… my apprentice.”

“Dark Side? No, I don’t use the Dark Side!” she protested.

“Are you quite sure? Shall I remind you of what you did to Letta Turmond?”

Before Offee could respond, she began to feel her throat contracting around her and her airway being blocked. She was being choked… with the Force.

“This is what you did to Letta Turmond to prevent her from identifying you as the bomber. You showed no mercy, the ends justified the means. As she stood in the very spot you now occupy, you ended her life… and in doing so, became stronger than you ever had before.”

Vader at last released Offee, and she collapsed to her hands and knees, gasping for air as she reoriented herself.

“Do you still claim you do not use the Dark Side?” Vader asked her.

“No,” she admitted with resignation. She looked up into Vader’s helmet, unable to detect any emotion from him whatsoever. “If I serve you… you will teach me? You will help me become more powerful than ever before?”

“If you will but follow my every command, yes.”

“Then I am yours, Master. What must I do?”

“The Jedi have been wounded, but a few individuals still persist.