681. Earning Their Title - Trychon and Raezyr

When they arrived at the bridge, they raised the ship only a few more meters before maneuvering it to the edge of the oasis to tractor their speeders into the bay.  As they moved over the various buildings, they felt the natives become agitated and frightened again.  Their repulsors and thrusters would be wreaking havoc on duracrete buildings at this height, the structures below them now couldn't be faring well.

After the speeders were on board, Trychon rose the Stalker up enough that they didn't have to worry about the various hills and opened up the thrusters, blasting them towards the horizon.

"Do you want to go back to the medbay and patch up a bit?"  The older Sith asked.

"Not enough time."  Raezyr responded, staring out through the viewport as his brother made minor adjustments to their course, insuring that each village they had visited got an earful or more as they passed.  "I'll be fine in the speeder."

"Wasn't doubting it."

The journey that had taken them a week on the sauren only took them a fraction of an hour as they tested the limits of the atmospheric capabilities of their ship.  It had likely been centuries if not more since this planet had witnessed anything similar to the roar that their engines produced along the way.

They 'parked' the ship just outside the capitol city where their cake-walk journey had gone south.  Without a word, they headed back to the speeders, Raezyr leaning on his brother's shoulder for some support.  After a quick check, it was obvious that Reed and Schyrt had loaded plenty of munitions for them into the vehicles.

After dropping to the surface, Trychon tapped on his datapad, sending their ship on a high-speed low-altitude loop over and around the city, finally coming to rest, hovering over its center. Beyond the structural damage the ship's repulsors had caused, the Sith brothers could feel the panic and fear among the inhabitants.

"Let's go," Raezyr said, hanging onto the mini turbo-laser rifle which either Reed or Schyrt had mounted on the speeder. Trychon hit the accelerator and the land-speeder shot forward into the city.

The two raced down the city streets, both main avenues and side alleys without any heed to pedestrians. Raezyr fired randomly into crowds of aliens not caring whether he hit anyone or not while his brother piloted the vehicle and lobbed thermal detonators into open doors and windows of buildings. An added bonus of the attack was that the sauren had gotten loose and at several points the brothers could see a reptile which had turned on it's master, eating a Meisosian right out in the streets. The combined effect everything was utter fear and sheer panic amongst the Sith's enemies, and the two Sith drank it in like a fine ale.

Finally they made it to the city center, just outside the arena where the gathering had taken place and where Seiress had been assassinated. There, hanging from two freshly erected poles, was all the evidence they needed. Reed and Schyrt's crimson tunics hung, tattered and bloody, from the very top. On the wall behind the posts in huge letters was some sort of graffiti written in the alien's lanuage. The lettering was bright red and the brothers needed only one guess as to what medium the message was scrawled in.

Their mission had switched from one of hopeful rescue, to one of definitive revenge.

Trychon and Raezyr surveyed the scene. All around the capital city, fires raged out of control and rubble lay strewn about. Smoke drifted about them occasionally obscuring parts of their view when a dense patch rolled in. Screaming, shouting and wailing could be heard all around. They could sense many of the natives gathering around, blanketed in a sense of fear and panic, but a undercurrent of curiosity was also present. Neither sibling felt the slightest bit of pity for the mass destruction they had caused. These being had brought it upon themselves when they chose to jump to conclusions. Now they'd pay for what they did to Schyrt and Reed.

At the same moment, the two Sith warriors peered into a nearby building, having sensed a familiar presence. Trychon punched a few commands into his data pad, then tossed a comlink to Raezyr.

The big man was still standing behind the mounted turbo-laser. He took the com and shouted into it. "Gavrik!" he yelled, his voice booming over the external audio system on the Stalker still hovering several meters above. Aliens who had gathered the nerve to show themselves scurried for cover like vermin.

"Gavrik!" Raezyr yelled again. "Show yourself... NOW!"

A few moments passed and finally Rodas' assistant emerged, bowing low as he came. His actions belied his demeanor, though. With him came nearly one hundred Meisosian warriors, all armed to the teeth. The Sith could sense their fear, but one would never know by looking at them.

"What more do you wish of us, Wahnri Rahz?" Gavrik asked above the dull roar of the ship's repulsors. "Have you not brought enough pain and suffering to us?"

Raezyr chuckled as he looked at the incredulous expression on his brother's face. "Does this ben tiansheng de yi dui rou actually think they are the victims here?" Raezyr said just loud enough for Trychon to hear.

"Apparently," Trychon replied.

Raezyr spoke into the comlink again. "You murdered Seirrus. You blamed us for it, murdered our friends and tried your damnedest to murder us as well; all of it was according to Vathka Rodas' design."

A murmur went through the warriors behind Gavrik. Apparently some of them spoke Basic and were now not only translating for their comrades, but beginning to glare at Gavrik. The situation was not lost on Gavrik as he began to squirm uncomfortably.

Raezyr let his words sink in a few moments more before he continued. "Everything we have done since the moment we slew Rodas up until now was nothing but payback for the two of us. Now you will pay in blood for what you did to Schyrt and Reed."

He grabbed the stock of the turbo-laser rifle to open up on all standing in front of him when suddenly a warrior stepped forward. "Wait!," he called. "Mighty Wahnri Rahz, wait!"

Suddenly he drew his sword and swung it, not at the Sith, but at Gavrik, cutting his legs from under him. Gavrik screamed in shock and pain, dropping onto his face, clawing at the dirt. The warrior swung his sword again and removed Gavrik's head, ending the screams.

He turned to face the Sith again. "Please! I have removed the villain who wronged you! Please, go now! We humbly apologize for wronging you!"

Raezyr looked at his brother for a moment, then back to the warriors standing in front of the speeder; He then opened fire. In seconds, the proud alien warriors which had once stood before them were reduced to smoking corpses.

"Apology accepted," Raezyr stated flatly.

680. Earning Their Title - Trychon

There was a pause as Trychon held his lighsaber out as an open challenge to the entire village.  Then the silence dissipated and murmurs began to emerge as a growing buzz throughout the crowd.  Then, without directly addressing the Sith, the crowd dispersed.

A few of the native Meisosian warriors took a minute longer to turn away, clearly unsure if they should throw their lives away in a mad attempt to revenge their fallen master.  When the first of Rodas' guards looked away and then walked presumably towards his home, the others followed.

The Sith stood over his battered brother for several moments waiting for him to stir.  His life Force did not wane, meaning that his body was fighting for consciousness, but was not in terminal danger.

After a few gentle mental nudges through their brotherly bond, Raezyr's eyelids finally began to quiver. 

He gently repositioned his body so he could be sitting up but without putting pressure on his knee or his shoulder.  Reaching down into his emotions of anger, which were not hard to come by, he did what he could for his physical condition.

While Trychon watched him recuperate, he tried to clear the fog from his own mind.  He found that while he was able to make some small difference, concentrating on clearing up a jostled brain was harder than it sounded, especially while still keeping an eye on his surroundings.

His caution was rewarded though, as one of the natives did finally approach them, albeit very slowly, and with fear emanating from every pore of his being.  He did not have the build, nor did he carry himself properly, to have been a soldier of any sort.  His body was trembling ever so slightly, including his lips which began to let out some very broken basic.

"Please.  We hear what you do.  We know of Seiress, and we see of Rodas.  We know don't want you here.  We not fight though.  Take and go."  The man emphasized the last phrase, allowing some of his anger to mix in with his fear.

Trychon waved the villager off and he was quick to turn and sprint away.

Raezyr pulled himself up with the help of the elder Sith's outstretched hand.  He did not put any weight on his destroyed knee.  "You feel that?"

"Yeah."  Trychon responded as he allowed his brother to rest some of his weight on his shoulder.  "Rodas must have been hiding the crystal's signature in the Force.  It's obviously buried in there now."  Together, they began to move around to the side of the rubble that gave them the closest access to the artifact that now shone brightly in their Force vision.

"20 creds says the bu huihen de pofu stored our belongings with his other treasures down there."  Raezyr noted as he was sat down on a level rock near their target.

After a few hours of moving rubble at a pace that fit their conditions, they found that they were right.  Underneath the small mountain of walls, pillars, and ceiling, they found sacks that contained all of the weapons they had surrendered as well as Trychon's datapad.

Rodas had likely been lying about having several of the crystals that they'd been sent after.  They found the one very easily due to its strong aura, and they felt nothing similar anywhere within several klicks.

Trychon wasted no time in dusting off his datapad and calling the Stalker down to pick them up, right in the middle of the village.  He disabled normal safety protocols and had the ship hover at five meters above ground.

679. Sith Hunt III: Revenge of the Fish - Raezyr

"Please, don't do it, Nal," came the calm voice of the Chiss Jedi Knight Val. He spoke just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the crashing waterfall. "Our orders were to bring them in."

"Not dis one, Val!" the green-skinned Nautolan female replied, holding her lightsaber inches from the neck of the blond Sith woman. "Mastah Taisun only said it was important dat da others were captured alive."

"We were to bring them all in if possible... and right now that's still possible," the big blue Jedi replied calmingly. He lowered the unconscious body of the Sith male from his shoulder to the ground and walked slowly and carefully across the small clearing. "We're supposed to be bringing all four of them to justice."

"No!" Nal raged."Dis one will be brought to justice here and now. She's murdered hundreds dat we know about and probably more. She murdered Nylan!"

"If Nylan were here, she'd be the first to tell you that she wouldn't want this," Val reminded her. "Search your feelings... you know this to be true."

"Nylan isn't here. Dat's da whole point," the Nautolan said, tears beginning to flow. "Dis one murdered her before my eyes, and I was helpless to stop it!"

The Chiss put his hand on Nal Talla's shoulder and looked down on the pitiful human. Anya Tachi was curled up, holding the stumps where her fingers used to be, wimpering as tears flowed down her face. "It's not justice for Nylan you seek, it's revenge for yourself.

"Killing her may be what she deserves, but that is not for us to decide," Val said, continuing. "But if you do, you'll have started down the path of the Dark Side. And the Dark Side will be the only thing you have to fill the empty hole left by your revenge."

He waited several heartbeats before he continued. "She isn't worth it, Val. Your soul is to valuable to be sacrificed for the likes of her."

Several more moments went by before Nal looked away from the cowering Sith and down at the object touching her arm. Val was handing her a set of energy binders. Finally, she switched off her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt. She reached down and roughly snapped the binders on her prisoner, then yanked Anya to her feet.

"Tanks," Nal said.

Val smiled. "I knew you'd do the right thing... Come, the shuttle should be waiting for us at the mouth of the canyon by now," he told her, picking Tyr up once more and slinging him over his shoulder.

She looked at him as she shoved the Sith prisoner in front of her. "You're not going to tell Mastah Taisun, are you?"

"I won't need to."

----------------------

A few hours later on the Republic Hammerhead-class star cruiser Unity, the two Jedi sat in Captain Wash Moklam's ready room just off of the bridge along with the Captain and his First Officer. "Captain, I know the crew is elated to have captured these two Sith, but shouldn't we put an end to the celebration? There are still two more out there that we're looking for, and they're the more elusive of the four."

"Let them have their momentary victory, Lieutenant," Moklam replied. "It may only be a small victory, but it's still a victory, and we haven't had many of those lately."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, Jedi Nal, Jedi Val, I think we owe you two a big thanks as well," the Captain continued. "Without you two, we may never have been able to capture these two alive so they can stand trial for their crimes."

Nal and Val glanced at each other, hesitating before Val spoke up. "I'm afraid we have some bad news in that regard, Captain."

Moklam raised his eyebrow. He had a bad feeling about where this was going, but he kept silent and allowed the big Chiss Jedi to continue.

"Our orders are to bring these two to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine," Val informed him. "Once you check in with your superiors, you'll find that your orders will coincide."

Moklam closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Typical Jedi nerf goh-se is what this was turning into. Instead of standing trial in a Republic court of law for their murders, thefts and crimes against not only the Republic, but against Moklam and the Unity itself, these two villains were going to be cubby-holed away by the gorram Jedi. Instead of the reply he wanted to give, he suppressed his anger, burying it deeply. "I don't suppose you'll be able to tell me why, can you?"

Nal and Val had anticipated this reaction from the Moklam. They knew he was a good man, but like most non-Jedi, he didn't understand the ways of the Order. Nal did her best to explain. "We have come to suspect dat dese two are merely decoys, pawns to keep us running around instead of looking for da other two," she explained.

"We also suspect that they know where the other two are hiding," Val continued. "No Republic interrogation is going to break a Sith. At least they never have before."

"I guess that makes sense," Moklam agreed. "But Republic Intelligence is relatively positive the other two have teamed up with Diana Kingsdoom and her pirates. She was with them when we unknowingly captured them some time ago, and during the hijacking of the aurodium shipment, several ships matched the description of those known to belong to the Kingsdoom Pirates."

"Except dat da Republic doesn't know where her base of operations are," Nal pointed out.

"Worst case scenario, Captain, is that we don't break the Sith and they are turned over to the Republic to stand trial," Val explained. "The best case scenario is that we break them. Then not only will we have the other two Sith responsible for the Coruscant Massacre, but we put Diana Kingsdoom behind bars as well."

Moklam smiled. Maybe this wasn't bad news after all.

678. Earning Their Title - Trychon

Trychon managed to make it out of the building just as the structure gave way seconds later, despite having to haul his brother.

Raezyr had managed to roll out of the way of the pillar and instant before it crashed to the ground, but Rodas had not been quick enough to avoid being trapped under it.  The ceiling was very quick to follow, so the older Sith didn't even bother to look at the shouting alien on their way out.

He looked around now that he had time and saw that the entire building was now complete rubble, collapsed on the 'real Sith' and not moving.  He then noticed aliens still lined up in the street, just standing and staring at them.

He laid his younger brother down, who was currently grumbling about how he was fine and didn't need or appreciate the help.  It took some insisting, but Trychon was able to get his sibling to hold still long enough for a quick inspection.

There was no real structural damage that he could feel by touching it.  Raezyr didn't flinch or say a word when Trychon squeezed it, but the reaction was plain through their Force bond.  The shoulder was likely fractured, but not a complete break.  Painful, but manageable.

"Yep."  Trychon nodded with a wink.  "That's going to have to come off."

He stood up and ignited his weapon with a sharp snap-hiss.


Behind him, the sound was echoed by another snap-hiss. He spun around to see Rodas standing there holding an ancient looking lightsaber emitting a bright crimson blade.

"You try my patience, imbeciles," the red-skinned being said. His face was twisted in anger and he had a bloody gash across his forehead.

Trychon chose to respond with action rather than words and sprang to the attack. His hope was that the old alien would be at a disadvantage from attempting to wield a weapon he was unfamiliar with. He briefly wondered where the old Sith had acquired it and his thoughts flashed back to the body in the cave.

He focused on the present, and soon his previous hopes were dashed. Not only was Rodas not at a disadvantage, he was actually quite good with at lightsaber combat, better even than Raezyr. They exchanged a flurry of blows when an unnoticed kick connected with Trychon's jaw, launching him backwards several meters as stars exploded inside his head.

By that time, Raezyr had rolled to his feet and ignited his remaining lightsaber. He held it with both hands and stood his ground as the ancient alien approached. Gone was his hunched and frail appearance from when they had first met him. Now all Raezyr saw was a powerful Dark Sider and ferocious warrior. He flooded his body with the Force to block the pain in his shoulder.

The blades crashed and hummed as the melee ensued, Rodas driving the young Sith backward. He tried the same kick with which he had struck Trychon but Raezyr ducked and sidestepped. Rodas gave a Force push which sent the big Sith sailing into the pile of rubble which had been the alien's home. As he landed, Raezyr felt and heard his ribs crack.

Trychon struggled to his feet and re-ignited his weapon; standing wobbly on his feet. He made a clumsy slash at the alien, but despite drawing heavily on the Force it was really hard for him to focus. Rodas swatted aside the attack and punched the elder brother in the face, sending him staggering backward with the sheer power.

The alien quickly closed the gap and kicked him the stomach. Through the fog in his mind he wondered why Rodas hadn't cut him down instead. Seemingly from a great distance, he realized the alien was smiling and laughing once more. Oh, he's having fun again, Trychon thought as he took another punch which sent him sprawling back into the dirt.

Raezyr summoned all his strength. He tried desperately to channel the pain into energy from the Dark Side, but despite his training, it was too much. Still he knew he had to get to his brother soon, or Rodas would kill him. He lurched forward and, ignoring the pain in his shoulder and swinging with all his energy, attempted to slay the Meisosian.

Vathka Rodas easily caught Raezyr's wrist in his off-hand and wrenched the young Sith's injured arm backward. Despite himself, he grunted in pain through clenched teeth as his weapon fell from his numb fingers. The alien then landed a vicious kick to Raezyr's injured knee eliciting another sharp grunt as the ligaments in the joint finally finished tearing apart, rendering the limb completely useless.

He nearly crumpled to the ground, with one leg folding in on itself from his weight, and too off-balance for the other to compensate, but Rodas pulled him upward.

Holding him by the arm, the old alien slammed his fist into Raezyr's face several times. Blood spurted from his broken nose and ran freely from his lips and mouth. Still holding Raezyr by the wrist, he turned to the other aliens in the street. "These two Wahnri Rahz walked on you like the desert sands. See how easily I defeated them, and remember!" he yelled.

"It ain't over until I say it is," came Trychon's voice from behind Rodas.

Rodas tossed Raezyr's unconscious body aside like a doll and slowly turned. Trychon stood there blade in hand. "Oh, but it is over," the alien replied.

In a flash, the ancient Sith Lord crossed the distance. Still in a fog, Trychon tried to bring his blade to bear, but to little avail. Rodas slapped the lightsaber from his hand and seized the human warrior by the throat, lifting him easily off his feet.

Trychon hung there, choking and gurgling, struggling for breath as Rodas slowly tightened his grip around the human's neck, cutting off his air. The Sith tried in vain to pry open the alien's hand and quickly gave up. He looked over to the crumpled form of his half-brother and although he wasn't even sure if Raezyr was alive, he desperately hoped his brother would rouse before it was too late. As a final, desperation move, Trychon raised his arm and, pointing his fist at Vathka Rodas' face began to draw on the Dark Side.

The elderly alien began laughing when he felt the Force well up inside the smaller being. "My knowledge of the Weave far exceeds your own. As your breath gives out, just what do you hope to accomplish with a paltry Force trick?"

Trychon's sleeve suddenly slid aside, revealing the ancient Sith lanvarok still attached to his wrist, it's muzzle mere inches from the red-skinned alien's face. Rodas' brow crinkled in confusion, then his eyes widened. The Sith Warrior could only assume it was because the alien recognized the device. Trychon activated the triggering mechanism with the Force, and hoped to the ancient Sith Lords that the device still functioned.


For a moment, nothing happened. Then the gash across Rodas' forehead began bleeding excessively. The alien's eyes went blank as his body crumpled to the ground. The disc had caught the ancient Meisosian in the head and passed completely through.

Trychon had fallen to the ground with Rodas, and now he got to his knees, then to his feet. He rubbed his neck, swallowing a few times and breathing deeply. "Now it's over."

He looked up and around the street at the Meisosians still standing and watching. There was no guessing how they might react. He reached out and his lightsaber sprang to his hand from where it had come to rest several meters away.

The fog in his head was finally beginning to clear as he walked over to where his brother lay and stood over his body protectively, igniting his weapon once again. Trychon raised his weapon as he looked around at the aliens again. Still they hadn't moved, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"Alright people... line up or bunch up. I don't care... just come get some."

677. Sith Hunt III: Revenge of the Fish - Raezyr

Anya Tachi augmented her sprint with the Force and covered as much ground as she could. A myriad of questions was running through her mind: Where would she go? If she got away, how would she get off the planet? If should couldn't leave, how would she survive? She'd spent most of her life in cities. She wasn't prepared to rough it in the wild. And one of the biggest questions of all... why in the name of the Ancient Sith Lords would Tyr sacrifice himself, especially if he had shaken her influence? No matter, she decided. The important thing at the moment was to get away. She could figure the rest out later.

She traveled along the base of the mountains looking for any kind of break in the steep rise. After several kilometers, she came across a stream flowing out of a small canyon. The stream had cut deeply into the bed and the banks were sheer on each side, dropping straight down almost two meters from the edge of the banks to the water's surface.The stream was wide, fast and violent. With a strenuous jump she might be able to make it across, but she was more concerned with the canyon. It's walls were sheer but it led up into the mountains. Tyr had seemed confident that the mountains somehow held the key to their escape, either in a cave or elsewhere, and she had no better plan.

---------------

Nal Talla came across the stream less than ten minutes later. She nearly leaped across to continue on, but something made her pull up and look around. Had the Sith murderer jumped into the stream? The Nautolan female surveyed the swift and rocky stream. It would be certain suicide for anyone. They'd be bashed against the rocks and would have no way to climb out due to the sheer banks.

Nal began to panic, afraid she'd lose the trail. Refocusing, she sensed her quarry's presence somewhere up the canyon. She calmed down and a moment later she noticed a footprint heading in the same direction, confirming what she already knew.

She sprinted up the canyon as quickly as she could for nearly two kilometers when Nal noticed she was rapidly gaining on her prey. The Jedi could sense her prey standing still just up around the bend in the canyon so she slowed to a walk.

As she came around the corner she saw why the blond human had quit running. There in a clearing stood the Sith staring at the sheer wall which marked the end of the canyon. From a deep cut in the wall issued a twenty meter waterfall which landed in a deep pool almost twenty-five meters across. Just as the rest of the stream, the surface of the pool was nearly two meters straight down from the banks around.

Nal smiled. Now she would see justice done. Justice for her dear friend Nylan whom this monster had murdered and justice for the hundreds of innocents this Sith had injured and murdered before and since. The only escape was through the Jedi Knight and her blade.

The tell-tale snap-hiss wasn't audible over the roar of the waterfall and stream, but the Sith's head snapped around anyway. The blond girl slowly grinned and drew her own weapon, flicking the switch and igniting the crimson blade. "Just as well, Fishy. I was tired of running anyway."

"I will give you one chance to surrendah, Sith," Nal told her as she walked forward, closing the distance.

"A powerful Sith such as I would never surrender to a lesser being," Anya sneered.

"I was so hoping you'd say dat," the Jedi replied and launched herself forward into a run, her green blade arcing through the air.

Anya met the attack and the blades crackled as they clashed several times in quick succession. She spun to one side and made a clumsy swipe at the Nautolan's legs forcing the Jedi to leap into a back-flip. Deep down Anya could see the Jedi was a better swordswoman but her pride would never let her admit it. Taking advantage of her initial momentum and charged her opponent.

Nal had chosen to flip back out of range of the attack, rather than parry and thrust. The girl had left herself too wide open and the Jedi had assumed it must be a trap. She had time on her side and chose to play it safe, especially knowing how devious and cunning the Sith were. Chances were, the blond would continue to bait Nal by leaving herself open. The trick was going to be figuring deciding if it was a trap, or if it was to take advantage. Nal easily parried the incoming attack on her blade and tried a Force push, hoping the tactic would take the Sith off guard. She was shocked when it actually worked.

Anya flew backward several meters and slammed into the rock wall of the box canyon. She felt her breath leave her as she hit, but scrambled to her feet, struggling for breath. The Jedi bitch had hurt her, but she couldn't let on. The good thing was that it allowed her to slide her vibro-dagger from her boot and conceal it with the Dark Side.

The Jedi Knight was sure something was going on. She could feel the Sith Warrior channeling the Dark Side, permeating the area like a foul odor. The problem was Nal couldn't discern any changes other than the sudden sly grin which had appeared on the visage of her opponent.

Wary of the inevitable trick Nal circled to her left as did her enemy. Just as her back was to the pool below the waterfall, the Sith flicked her wrist. At first there was nothing but the triumphant gleam in the blond girl's eye. Suddenly Nal knew. She threw herself backward to avoid whatever object had been thrown and heard it pass mere centimeters from her head.

On the edge of the pool, the Jedi looked at the water below and flailed her arms as she struggled to keep her balance. Nal felt a hand on her chest and then she was falling. The last thing she saw as she hit the water was the hideous grin of that Sith standing on the bank, watching.

The water was icy cold as was to be expected from a mountain stream, but her amphibious physiology compensated. She struck out for the bank, but when she reached it, there were no hand-holds. She continued to swim along the edge, looking for hand-holds, anything to allow her to climb out. She couldn't drown as she could breath in the water as well as the air, but this water was colder than her body was used to. Eventually it would shut down. When it did, she'd either die of hypothermia, or her body would be swept downstream to be dashed to pieces on the rocks.

The laughter from above wasn't helping. "Oh, how ironic! The fishy is going to die in the water! Here fishy, fishy, fishy!"

Nal could feel her blood boiling. She dove deep down below the surface, partly to escape the taunting, but also to think. She was fast in the water, but not nearly fast enough to propel herself high enough to reach the edge of the bank. She could use the Force to shove off from the bottom, but the water was so deep that her momentum would be slowed by the time she reached the surface.

She looked down at her legs, wishing they could swim faster, when it dawned on her: Her prosthetic leg! They had installed a jet propulsion into the cybernetic limb, and she had only ever used it one time. It had been so long since she had been in any kind of deep water she had nearly forgotten about it.

She kicked it on with a thought and shot to the bottom of the pool, then shoved off, putting the water jet into high gear. She rocketed toward the surface and beyond. The shocked look on that girl's face was priceless as she watched the Nautolan Jedi soar overhead.

Nal flipped and landed in a crouch, re-igniting her lightsaber. It was her turn to grin sardonically. "And now you pay for your crimes wit your life, Sith."

The Jedi rushed at Anya, and it was all the Sith could do to block the incoming blows. She could feel the hate burning inside the Sith and she knew this was it. She also knew her only way out. "Yes!" She cried backpedaling, struggling to stay alive. "Use your hate and strike me down! We aren't so dissimilar, Jedi!"

"I'm nutting like you, Sith worm!" Nal screamed.

"Oh, but you could be a powerful Sith Lord!" Anya pleaded. "Feel how powerful your anger has made you! You could use that power to fight the injustice in the Galaxy... Please Jedi, forsake the Order and I will swear loyalty to you and be your apprentice! Together we could right the wrongs of the Galaxy!"

For a moment, Nal hesitated. The offer was tempting. But in the end, she decided that killing this Sith villain was enough. She thrust her blade at the face of her enemy. The parry came, and as expected it was sloppy. This time the look of fear in the face of the Sith told her it was no trick. She countered and cut the lightsaber hilt in two, removing the fingers from the right hand of the human at the same time.

Anya dropped to the ground, sobbing. "Please... you're a Jedi... you... you can't kill me when I'm unarmed."

Nal held the emerald blade inches from the vile Sith's neck. Her teeth were clenched in a snarl. "Go to Hell, bitch."