Star Wars: Slave Of Darkness

I smiled as both ends of Garsh's lightsaber winked out as the hilt was cut in half just slightly off-center. That my lightsaber just happened to separate an arm in the process was simply a lucky bonus.

And as the Quarren's scream filled the air, a shiver of…something went down my spine. I didn't know if it was satisfaction or pleasure. Or maybe some combination of the two.

Here was a Jedi -a Shadow-, beaten and broken. For all his high-minded ideals, he was little better than what I was once stripped of his vaunted serenity. A deceitful little creature, twisting others to do his bidding. Willing to call on any power he needed to accomplish his aims.

Pity he hadn't thought to cheat like I had.

I wasn't going to gloat. Not only was it stupid, it would also just be a waste of time. His hearing had been shot by the sonic grenades I'd set off earlier. He hadn't heard a word I had said since then.

But I wasn't done yet. After all, he was still breathing.

My power crashed through his weakened barriers, seizing his maimed body in a crushing grasp and forcing the last of the air from his lungs.

From here, I could do so much. Inflict so much pain with but a flicker of a thought and a wave of a hand.

I could toss him onto one of the walls, let him get entangled in the webbing before pulling him off, again and again until the skin and muscle were ripped from his bones.

I could break his bones, one by one like I'd threatened that looter with so many months ago. I'd start with the smallest. Probably the fingers or toes.

Well, the ones he had left, anyways.

Or I could get creative. Turn him inside out or something. Pull his organs out through his mouth, one at a time. After all, the only thing I needed intact from him was his heart. Everything else was fair game.

There was no insidious voice whispering temptations into my ear. No urge pulling at me that was not my own.

It was me alone making the choice.

There was nothing. Only me.

What I had was anger. Anger at him abandoning me, discarding me. Anger at him never even hinting that maybe, just maybe, there was another way aside from my now blood-soaked path.

That I could have been something else other than a murderer. Something closer to what I used to be.

And then, on top of everything else, he fucked with my head.

I wanted to break him for that.

Oh, I hated Darth Rictus for similar reasons and more. But Rictus was beyond my grasp for now. Garsh, on the other hand, was not.

I took a breath in and let it out slowly. The anger didn't abate, but it became more controlled. The heat cooled.

Loathe as I was to admit it, such cruelty served no end other than to satisfy my desire for petty revenge.

I could just end it quick with a neck snap and get it over with. But somehow…that felt too lenient. Let him get off too easy.

I glanced up. My smile widened further.

That would work.

Raising my offhand, I reached for the ceiling and pulled down. The sound of flesh tearing echoed in the chamber as the undead Tu'Kata was torn from the webbing, leaving a large chunk of rotting skin behind.

The beast hit the ground on all fours, undeterred by the drop, and pulled itself to its feet.

"Bite him." I commanded.

The anger and pain rolling off the Quarren intensified as the creature approached. He was deaf, not stupid, and knew what was coming.

But I kept my iron grip on him, preventing him from moving and shutting down his attempts to break out.

The tu'kata's massive jaws clamped down around his torso, injecting him with the curse.

Garsh screamed as it tore through him, growing louder and less intelligible as seconds passed.

After a minute, the Quarren went still, his eyes open and unblinking. But it didn't last.

Slowly, the now-corpse began to twitch and the pervading wrongness of Sith Magic filled the air. From the quartz, a new whisper joined the chorus of dead voices.

I then released my grip on Garsh, allowing it to drop to the ground.

He stood quietly at attention, like a good little soldier.

I looked him up and down for a moment, making absolutely certain that there were no surprises waiting for me.

"Tear out your heart and present it to me." I ordered, my voice made harsher by my helmet's speakers.

Without hesitation or question, the zombie raised its single arm and plunged it into its own chest, shattering both its sternum and hand in the process. Its prize was retrieved in a spray of blood and held out to me in broken fingers.

I didn't say anything as I grabbed the organ, pulled a bag from a pocket of my robe, and dropped it in. Nor did I say anything when I used the Force to hurl both Garsh and the tu'kata across the room and onto a web-covered wall.

I only paused to retrieve the two halves of the Jedi's lightsaber and to drop the control quartz at the doorway, silencing the whispers crawling in my skull.

After that, I left the dead to rot in their new tomb.

...

Caleb was the first I found. Or rather, he found me.

I raised an eyebrow behind my damaged helmet, "What hit you? A cargo speeder?"

The marauder grinned, showing off that blood was leaking out of his mouth, "That Jedi girl put up a hell of a fight."

He didn't seem too concerned about his injuries, so I didn't dwell on it much. If he lived, he'd be useful. If he died, oh well.

"She's dead?" I asked.

"Stabbed her right in the brain stem. In my experience, people don't get up from that."

"Just being sure." I assured him, "Where's the body? I need to collect…proof."

The other acolyte led me to the corpse. She was surrounded by a pool of blood, most leaking from almost a dozen stab wounds on her front. And just as he said, there was a single stab at the base of the skull.

Rolling her over, I got to work, ignoring the look of terror and pain on her face.

Once the heart was secured, it was my turn to lead the limping berserker away. There were still three more to collect.

...

I found Gaarurra near the chamber where the battle began. He laid limply against the wall, his eyes half-open.

But he wasn't dead. His chest rose and fell in short, gasping breaths. It wasn't hard to figure out why.

I glanced back to my still-mobile companion. Caleb took the nonverbal cue to go ahead.

Gaarurra was alone, with no other bodies near him. But in the chamber, a pile of empty clothes and a cyberarm lay on the stone floor.

I stared at them for a long moment before turning my full attention to my…my…

What was he to me?

Was he a friend? Or had he just been a tool?

As I knelt beside him, I pulled my helmet off with bloodied hands, allowing cool air to brush blistered skin. Brown eyes struggled to look up and meet mine.

I forced my burned eyelids to open.

The Wookiee didn't move for a moment. Then, his left arm slowly rose, revealing a heart clutched in his grasp.

I took it from his hand and helped him lower his limb, rather than allow it to just flop to the ground.

Neither of us spoke for a minute, but eventually, I broke the silence.

"You could have left a long time ago." I commented, my voice even, "Just snuck onboard a transport and gone anywhere in the galaxy. With your abilities, you would have had an easier time than Qiv."

Gaarurra didn't say anything. I didn't think he could at this point.

I could have left too. But I didn't.

And so, here I am.

"I am sorry." I said honestly, "And thank you. Your loyalty will be rewarded. I promise you that."

The corridor was bathed in red with a snap-hiss.

I made it quick.

...

At the entrance of the tomb, sunlight and sand streamed in. Held in place between two columns on invisible thread was a headless female corpse.

Blood was splattered on the ceiling and adjacent walls and bone shards were embedded into stone.

It wasn't hard to figure out who she was. The fresh electrical burns across her skin were enough of an indicator.

As Caleb started to move forward, I held up a hand.

A jolt of electricity forced the webbing covering the entrance to contract, releasing the body and removing the obstruction.

Another heart soon joined my grisly collection.

Before stepping out into the sun, I keyed my comm.

"Captain. It's done."

"Very good, milord." Cormun's voice filtered through, "Is there anything else you need of me?"

In the distance, I saw a shape dressed in black stand up and shoulder a rifle.

"No. Return to the academy and wait for my next communication." If there was a bit more coldness to my voice, I didn't acknowledge it.

As I clicked the comm off, a hand briefly patted me on the shoulder. Caleb stumbled past me and towards where we had parked the speeders, likely on his way to the medical ward.

"Damn good fun, Aldrex." He grinned, "We should do it again sometime."

I didn't reply. Instead, I watched the empty desert for a few more seconds before silently following.

As ever, the blackened heart of Korriban continued to beat, fueled just a bit more by the lives snuffed out on its surface.

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The first book of this fanfic has been completed on Patreon, you can look it up in the collection alongside the second book. You can visit Patreon if you want to read in Advance.

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