The Greatest Sith... That Never Lived
Posted by: Darth Danno 12.20.06 12:01am
Previously:

• CHAPTER I: MEDITATION and REFLECTION
• CHAPTER II: SEEKING THE SITH
• CHAPTER III: THE PLOT THICKENS (Part I)
• CHAPTER III: THE PLOT THICKENS (Part II)
• CHAPTER IV: THE LEGEND OF THE MASTER
• CHAPTER V: A PADAWAN FLEES

CHAPTER VI: DEBACLE IN THE DOCKING BAY (Part I)

Birso made his way through the winding sand covered highways and byways that made up the streets of Mos Eisley. Moving quickly, but not so fast as to draw attention to himself. When possible, he preferred the back alleyways as there was less traffic. Every few moments, he would glance over his shoulder to see if he was being followed. Seeing nothing, he moved on. A few times, he ducked into an alcove or doorway and used the Force to see if he could locate the Sith. Was he being tailed? Or had the Sith simply dismissed him as not worth the effort and moved on. He was unable to sense anything, but if this Sith was as powerful as Master Hant had said, he may be able to avoid detection using his own superior knowledge of the Dark Side. Kafforl left his hiding spot and continued on.

Tatooine's twin suns shone down brightly on the surrounding marketplace as the varied species of alien life peddled and hawked their wares. Rodians, Aqualish, Wookie, Twi'lek, Jawa, Droid, and numerous other life forms all went about their daily business. None seemed to pay the Padawan any mind, and that's how he liked it.
He snuck down a nearby alley to his right, pulled his comlink from his belt and activated it.

"T3, come in." Kafforl spoke into the communicator. T3-D8 was the astromech droid that had accompanied the Jedi to Tatooine. It transported itself on wheels located under each of its three legs much like the modern R2 units. Along with the standard functionality, T3-D8 was equipped with light armor plating and upgradeable weaponry. Its programming was modified so that the droid could readily attack sentients if necessary. Though in service to the Jedi, these abilities were only used in self defense. It had formidable fighting abilities coupled with its innate computer slicing and code breaking skills, all contained within an appealing, innocuous shell. The comlink chirped as T3-D8 responded in its trilling, information-dense droid language.

"T3." Birso continued, "Ready the ship for launch. Also, I'm going to need to send a secure transmission to the Temple of Doom when I arrive." T3 whistled and beeped its acknowledgement of his masters orders. Satisfied, Kafforl switched off the comlink and returned it to his belt.

Peeking around the corner, the Padawan breathed a small sigh of relief that the Sith was nowhere to be seen. He continued on his way toward where his ship was parked. As he walked, his mind went back to when they first arrived here two days ago and what had brought them here. A friend of Master Hant, a Besalisk by the name of Ughh Ferhen, said he had acquired a Sith holocron which contained the whereabouts of the tomb of Darth Revan. The Council knew they needed to obtain this artifact to ascertain its authenticity, and be assured it didn't fall into dark hands. They met with Ferhen shortly after landing. He instructed them to come to his Cantina today and he would pass the item on to them. They did as instructed, and the Besalisk was true to his word. Sitting down with them in a booth and passing off the holocron under the table, away from any prying eyes that may be about. They left, and on their way back to the docking bay, were attacked by the lone Sith.

"I wonder," Kafforl thought to himself as he walked. "Did Fehren set this whole thing up as a trap? Is he really in league with the Sith to destroy the Jedi?" Birso shrugged off the thought as nonsense. "Master Hant said the Besalisk was one of his oldest and dearest friends, but still...how did the Sith know, or did he?" So many questions flooded into his brain, his skull began to throb again, in addition to the gash in his knee. He also wondered if the Sith WAS after the Holocron, did he know that Birso had it? Just as he was about to stop and ponder the point, the words of his master came to mind...

"Focus on the here and now!"

The Padawan heeded the advice and pushed all his thoughts and questions to the back of his mind. The Council would know the best course of action, but he had to get word to them first. To do that, he had to get back to the ship and get off this giant sand trap of a world. He quickened his pace through the busy streets.

Shortly thereafter, he reached the long, winding corridor that led to Mos Eisley's docking bays. Proceeding forward, he worked his way down until he reached his destination, "DOCKING BAY 23". Looking around one final time, he punched the access code into the door panel and with a whoosh, the door slid open.

Upon entering, motion sensors picked up his presence and activated the surrounding lighting, illuminating his ship. It was a light freighter similar to the Ebon Hawk. The irony wasn't lost on the Padawan as the Ebon Hawk was the ship Darth Revan used to escape the destruction of Taris, and pursue the pieces of the Star Forge. The ship was mostly brown in color and it was hard to tell if the specific shade was due to the paint used, or if it was just overrun by rust. The Jedi, of course, wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible in relation to their mission here.

Kafforl spun and punched another code into the interior door console, setting the locking mechanism in place. With a whirr and a "chunk", the locks took hold.

"There" he mused, "That should keep any unwanted guests out until we're safely away."

The loading ramp was down and he made his way up it and into the cockpit where T3 was waiting.

"Everything ready?" He asked the droid. "The resounding chirps, buzzes, and whistles told him it was. "Good. I'm going to transmit to the Council, and then we'll be off." T3 beeped his acknowledgement and rolled back into the main hold.

Birso sat in the pilots chair. It felt weird leaving without Master Hant, but he knew he was there in spirit. He punched a few buttons, flicked some switches and the small holoprojector in front of him hummed to life. The miniature image of Quarren Jedi Master R'eogge Cusal appeared. The Padawan switched on the universal translator located on the holoprojector as he could not understand the Quarren dialect.

"Greetings Master," the Iktotchi began. "Master Jona Hant is dead, killed by..."

"We know Padawan, " the Quarren interrupted. "The Force alerted us to his passing. Dark powers are at work here. We also know you are in grave danger. Leave at once! Upon arriving on Coruscant, report immediately to the Council chambers. We will get your report in person, then decide what to do next. Hurry Kafforl! The Dark Side approaches!" The transmission ended.

"Dark Forces?" Birso wondered, "I don't feel anything." Then a chill ran down his spine. "Maybe this Sith is so powerful he can mask his presen...T3! Lock yourself in, we're taking off NOW!"

There was a slight recess in the floor of the main hold that T3 could roll into. Metal clamps would extend and lock his legs in place so he wouldn't roll around and risk damaging himself or the ship if the freighter had to take evasive maneuvers or encountered inclement weather. The droid secured himself in place, then chirped his readiness to his master.

Birso strapped himself in and readied the ship for launch. He was just about to kick in the anti-grav thrusters when he glanced out the front viewport. There, leaning against the permacrete wall in front of him, was a figure clad entirely in black robes, with a dark hood covering his features...


Darth Danno