The Greatest Sith... That Never Lived
Posted by: Darth Danno 01.24.07 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)
• CHAPTER VI: DEBACLE IN THE DOCKING BAY (Part II)
• CHAPTER VII: CONUNDRUM ON CORUSCANT (Part I)
• CHAPTER VII: CONUNDRUM ON CORUSCANT (Part II)

CHAPTER VII: CONUNDRUM ON CORUSCANT (Part III)

What parts of the ship that could be reached were searched, re-searched, and searched again, to no avail. The few hidden compartments that were still accessible revealed nothing. No one hiding anywhere in the ship, no remote devices used to pilot the craft, and most importantly, no concealed explosive charges or bombs. There was evidence an escape pod had been jettisoned shortly prior to the crash, so Masters Dexxx, Nesoj, Elon, Issew, Lleyjo, and Belac were sent to scour the surrounding area for the missing pod. The two bodies were off-loaded and transported to the morgue for further analysis, and to give the Jedi time to prepare the proper funeral pyre arrangements. It was now getting dark, so the rest of the Jedi returned to the temple to await news of the search.

Upon arriving at the temple, they received word from Master Dexxx that he and Master Issew had located the downed pod, but if there was anyone inside it, they were long gone. It was too dark to look for tracks, so they and the other search parties returned to go over the days events.

Their session went long into the night, with far more questions being raised than there were corresponding answers. Master Cusal had reported their findings to the senate. Extra patrols were added throughout the city, but everyone knew basic Republic security teams would be no match for a Sith. So that put all the more pressure on the Jedi to uncover this mystery. Since nothing else could be done at present, the Council retired to their separate rooms to meditate, or get some much needed sleep.

It was now the next day, but the city was still covered by a blanket of night. Millions of lights blinked throughout the city, Starships arrived and left as they always had. Aside from the heightened security, things moved as normal on Coruscant. No one paid any mind to a lone ship that came out of space, made its way through the winding city skyways, then veered off and headed toward the crash site. It landed about fifty meters from the downed wreck, shut off its engines, and sat quietly in the approaching dawn. About five minutes after landing, an explosion was heard far away, coming from the heart of the city. Shortly thereafter, a speeder could be seen rushing toward the waiting starship. A hatch opened on the ship, and a solitary figure stepped out and down the ramp to meet the approaching speeder. It slowed and came to a stop, and the rider dismounted and made their way toward the craft.

"Everything is ready per your instructions, Master." The figure from the ship said. "I trust everything went as planned."

"It could not have gone better," the rider replied. "How foolish the Jedi will feel once they realize what has transpired. My little...diversion should give us ample time to get away before they even know you've been here. Prepare the ship for take-off, we leave immediately!" With that, the rider turned and gazed at the rising cloud of smoke from the heart of the city.

"The pilot turned and retreated back into the ship. Within moments, the engines started to come to life with a dull whine. The rider raised his hand toward the speeder and using the force, flung the bike into the crash site. The speeder exploded upon impact with the downed freighter, creating a small cloud of smoke of its own. The mysterious rider just calmly made his way toward the loading ramp. Halfway up, he stopped, slowly turned, and gazed into the sky that was now showing flecks of color as the sun was barely visible over the horizon. He punched a button on his wrist communicator, then spoke. "It seems I was mistaken. Kill the engines, we're about to have company." He then strolled down the walkway, and waited patiently at the bottom.

A speck became visible in the approaching dawn, heading in their direction. As it drew nearer, one was able to identify it as a Republic shuttle, a Jedi shuttle. Before it even came close to landing, a side hatch opened and four figures emerged. Halfway into their descent, they ignited their lightsabers and touched down a short distance from the craft, ready for battle.

"HOLD, SITH!!!" Master Cusal shouted. "Whatever game you thought you were playing here has ended. Surrender, and we will show you mercy."

"Which is more than we you offered Master Hant and Padawan..." Master Nesoj said, but a look from the Quarren Jedi Master silenced him.

"I sense no other life forms aboard the ship." Master Elon added. "It looks like it's four against one."

"Looks can be deceiving," Master Dexxx cautioned. "We must use caution. Especially...against THIS Sith."

"Agreed," Master Cusal stated. "You have much to answer for...Dark Lord"

The Sith simply raised his hands and removed his hood, revealing his pale, scarred face. "The only thing Darth Danno has for you is DEATH!!!" With amazing speed, he reached down to his belt, unhooked his twin mini dual bladed-lightsabers, activated them, then jumped high into the air and landed within a few feet of Master Cusal. The Quarren was more than ready for him and deflected his first set of attacks with ease. The other three Jedi rushed to his aid, but this Sith was quite adept in parrying their blows as well. The Jedi dug in their heels and prepared for what could be a long battle. Crimson clashed with blue, then green, then back to blue. Flipping, then diving, then jumping, followed by spinning, twisting, and all sorts of bodily contortions. Watching this spectacle, it was hard to keep track of who was where. Just when you were able to get a bead on someone's location, they were gone, and reappeared someplace else. No one seemed to gain the upper hand. The light beams of energy crackled and hissed upon impacting with each other. Somebody, somewhere, had to give sometime.

Then, a shot rang out, and everything proceeded to move in slow motion.

Master Elon looked down at the gaping hole now protruding from his chest. He stared wide eyed in amazement at the surrounding group, before falling face down to the ground. Master Nesoj turned his head for an instant to watch the grotesque spectacle unfold. Master Cusal shouted a warning, but it was too late. Taking his eyes off the Sith allowed the dark Jedi to step in and slice Master Nesoj from left shoulder all the way down to his right hip. This move however, left the Sith's back unprotected and open to an attack by Master Dexxx. Dexxx raised his blade to deliver the killing blow, when he heard another shot ring out from behind him. He immediately spun to deflect the blow, but wasn't quick enough to control its direction. The blast ricocheted off of his saber and directly toward Master Cusal. R'eogge raised his lightsaber to parry the blast, but his judgement of the trajectory was a hair off, and the blast ended up hitting him square in the head. The Quarren dropped his blade and fell limply to the ground next to Master Nesoj. Dexxx was quick enough to snap out of it, and deflect his Sith attacker's blow from the front, but Darth Danno spun around, brought his second double-blade to bear, and stabbed the Lepi through the back. Dexxx fell backwards and landed looking up at the Dark Lord standing over him.

"I see my distraction back in the city kept the rest of your lot from joining in the slaughter." Darth Danno said as he gloated over his fallen foe. He shut off his lightsabers and re-attached them to his belt. "Never fear, they will all meet their end soon enough." He then raised his hands toward the Lepi, and pummeled the dying Jedi with bolts of dark side energy, laughing all the while...


Darth Danno