Arrichit: Champion of the Force

[Mr. Blue]

"Who could do something like this?" spoke a solemn Jedi Knight, as he walked with a master through a decimated tree-top village of Wookies.
"These are lightsaber wounds," replied the human Jedi Master.
"But Master Jervin, the planet is blockaded by Republic ships. No Sith could have gotten this close to base."
The Jedi Master thought for a moment. Suddenly a shape caught his eye. "Look, over there. Does that look like a starfighter to you?"

The two raced towards the shape, soon proving to themselves Jervin's claim. It was a Sith starfighter, black, the cockpit hatch ripped completely off. The pilot laid dead several feet away, no doubt ripped apart by Wookies. He then noticed an emblem on the side of the fighter. It was an orange lightsaber in front of the skull of a Kel Dorian. The Jedi then noticed several yards away several broken tree branches and scorch marks from another fighter crash.

"This ship belongs to Purge Squadron," spoke Jervin in a grave voice.
"You don't think Mallus is planet-side, do you?"
"Feel the area around you, my old Padawan. You sense it as well as I do."
"Then we must warn Master Skywalker!"
Jervin grabbed his comm. "Master Jervin to Skywalker."
"Yes Loreck?" a voice replied from the device.
"Kalen, I think Darth Mallus is on the planet. He might be headed toward the command center."
"I think you are right, Loreck. I felt a darkness enter the planet not too long ago. I will head to the command center."

Loreck shook his head slowly, studying the piles of Wookie bodies strewn about. He then heard a cry from a hut not ten feet from him. He headed there quickly, finding a young Wookie cub latched on to the body of a female Wookie. The child was crying quietly, the bodies of three other cubs cut down all around him, as well as a burn hole in the adult female's chest.

"It's alright, youngling. I won't hurt you," Loreck spoke softly, trying to sooth the Wookie cub with the Force. "Who are you?"
The cub growled, but did not make any phoenic noise resembling the Wookie dialect.
"Shhh. It's ok young one," he spoke, approaching the child. Jervin then felt something unusual. "You're an amazing creature."
The Wookie's grip lessened on his mother. A flicker of trust shown in his eyes as he allowed the Jedi to scoop him up.
"A Force-sensitive Wookie," he said to the cub, as he lifted him up. "There hasn't been one like you in generations."
The Wookie growled softly, tears still draining from his eyes. Loreck carried him out from the hut and was met by the Jedi Knight.
"Master," spoke the Knight, looking at the cub for a moment before returning attention to Jervin. "A full retreat has been ordered by Master Kantos."

Suddenly both men felt a ripple through the Force. A lump developed in Loreck's throat as a swell of sadness overcame his thoughts.
"Master?" said the Knight, unsure of what he felt.
"I think," spoke Loreck solemnly, "Master Skywalker has been embraced by the Force."
He turned to the cub in his arms. "We must get off of the planet while we can."

Both men returned to the gunship that had carried them there. "Pilot, have you heard the order?"
"Yes General Jervin! I've already plotted a course for the nearest battlecruiser."
"Very good."

Jervin took a seat, the cub now asleep in his arms. The younger Jedi looked at the cub, and spoke. "Does it have a name?"
"I honestly do not think he knows. He's still young enough not to speak Wookie. The poor little cub's mother was slain, as were all his siblings it appeared."
"Well, what are we going to do?"
"Offer him to the council for training. I don't believe a Force-sensitive Wookie has been seen in quite some time. I feel that this one will do many great things in his life."
The Jedi Master looked down at the cub, who was twitching and growling in his sleep.
"You will be a mighty warrior one day, young one. A champion of the Force," he spoke softly. "I once encountered a mighty Wookie warrior. He fought proudly against the Sith when we liberated your planet. You will bring his name much honor, Arrichit."

[Mr. Blue]

A floating orb hovered in front a now tall, seven year old Wookie, small puff noises shooting from it as it moved side to side. The Wookie wore a helmet over the top of his eyes, and held a green lightsaber in his hands. Surrounding the Wookie were several other children, all very much shorter than him. It wasn't that they were abnormal, by any means, but that Arrichit had grown far more than any of the younglings his age. He stood a solid foot and a half above the rest of the students, who also held out their lightsabers whilst wearing blinding helmets.

"Yes, very good," spoke the Bothan Jedi Master standing before the younglings. He shifted to stand in front of a small human boy, who just cried out from a shot to his shoulder from his orb, and spoke softly. "You must stop trying so hard to find the orb, young one. Concentrate on visualizing ALL of your surroundings. Only then will you be able to know where it is."

The boy's orb shot again, and he quickly absorbed the attack with his sword. "Well done," smiled the Bothan, as he started to walk away.
"Thank you, Master Kantos," the boy smiled.

A flash came from the orb adrift in front of Arrichit, a bolt striking him in the arm. He cried out, growling in frustration as he slashed wildly at the orb. The Bothan swiftly came up on the Wookie, issuing a small and soothing hush. "You mustn't let your frustration get the better of you, Arrichit. Your ability to remain calm while being taunted in any form is a sign of a truly great being."

Another Jedi walked into the classroom, whispering something in Ryden Kantos's ear, and he turned to his class. "Younglings, I am afraid today we must cut today's teachings short. Please, take to heart what I have said, and meditate on it. You have all done well today," he concluded with a smile, and walked out of the room with the other Master.

As the children started to place their equipment away, one of them started chuckling and making growling noises while pointing at Arrichit. Several of the other children began to giggle as they started joining in, mocking the feral noises that Arrichit had made moments before. Arrichit bellowed at the them, growling fiercely. The children just laughed more.

"What's that, Arrichit? I don't understand what you're saying," spoke the human boy.

The Wookie hung his head and quickly started trying to put away his equipment, as the children continued their growling and roaring combined with laughter.

"Shut up!" the voice of a small girl chimed. "Leave him alone!"
"Ooh, little Neiria is gonna stand up for the ugly fur-ball?"
Arrichit turned to see a small Mirialan girl standing in front of the human boy, staring him down, back turned to the Wookie.
"Whatever," spoke the boy again, seeing the girl wasn't going to budge. He and a group of three others turned and walked out of the room. The young girl then turned to the Wookie with a smile. Short black hair framed her cute face, her skin a very pale green, lips dark and eyes a brilliant violet. A bar of diamond shaped tattoos was laid across the bridge of her small nose, connecting her two soft cheekbones. Her white teeth shown as she smiled at Arrichit. "I'm sorry about them, they're really mean sometimes. They don't mean it."
Her voice was a sweet melody to the Wookie's ears, and he could do nothing but smile at the young girl.
"You should talk more," continued the girl, looking up at him. "They're just scared of you 'cause you never say anything."
"Unfortunately he can't do that, dear," interrupted a Jedi Master, who was entering the room. Both Padawans turned quickly, discovering the rest of the children had left.
"Master Jervin, I didn't see you there," said the girl quickly.
"You're fine, young one," he replied, before looking at Arrichit. "And how are you, Arrichit?"
Arrichit smiled even greater, running and embracing the Jedi Master.
"Haha it's good to see you too, Arri," Loreck groaned under the pressure of the strong Wookie's embrace. "Master Kantos said you were making quite a bit of progress since I left for that mission on Nova Calamari."
Arrichit released Loreck and nodded affirmatively.
"Excuse me, Master," Ne'iria spoke again. "Why can't he speak?"
"Wookies can't speak basic, unfortunately, and Arrichit was unable to learn his native language before he was saved from Kashyyyk. Because of that invasion we weren't able to get him an instructor to teach him Wookie, either."
"That's terrible," she replied, sorrow in her voice.
"He understands basic, though," Loreck smiled, looking at the Wookie.
Ne'iria turned to the Wookie with a smile, "That's ok, I like talking anyway! I'll do it for both of us!"
The Wookie chuckled with her.
"Alright, well I'll leave him with you, then," smiled the human. "I have to go to a debriefing now, but I will join you both for dinner this evening."
The Wookie shook his head with excitement as Ne'iria responded, "Yay! Sounds like fun!"
She then grabbed the Wookie's hand. "Come on Arrichit, we need to go meditate."

Loreck could only laugh as he watched the large Wookie being dragged away by the small girl.
"Younglings are such wonderful creatures," smiled Loreck, as he started to exit the room.

[Mr. Blue]

Arrichit grumbled a little as he deactivated his lightsaber. He extended a hand down to the human boy laying in front of him. The human batted away the Wookie's hand and got up on his own. "Fantho, show respect!" the instructor quickly snapped as he watched the events unfold. The human groaned and bowed to Arrichit, who returned the bow. Both then returned to the line of students that stood opposite of the instructor.

"He's just mad cause he can't beat you," whispered Ne'iria as the Wookie took his place next to her.

"Ne'iria, why don't you step up here?" spoke the instructor, noticing the Mirialan girl whispering. "You can spar Danen."

The Mirialan and another human boy both stepped from the line and faced each other. They bowed silently, and removed lightsaber hilts from their belts. Ne'iria activated her yellow lightsaber, holding it in reverse, while an emerald blade jumped from the boy's hilt. "Begin!"

Both Padawans circled for a moment before the boy rushed at Ne'iria, slashing his saber at her. She quickly met his blade with her own and pushed him away, spinning to slice at his stomach. The boy jumped back, dodging the slash, and swung his lightsaber down at the Mirialan. She quickly blocked the blow, and both backed away from each other.

"Very good, both of you. Ne'iria, I am impressed. You have been practicing."

Arrichit smiled as the two Padawans engaged once again. For the past several weeks he and Ne'iria had been practicing the very moves she was displaying at this moment. It took every bit of his will not to accidently hurt the small Mirialan with his unmatched size when they sparred, but it was worth it. It gave her an opportunity to fight someone of much superior skill and strength, and it gave him some time to spend with her. The two padawans had grown very close in the past four years. Around her Arrichit was happier. He didn't have to worry about feeling freakish or different. She wouldn't tease him about his indistinguishable grunts and groans. In fact, in the past few years the two had learned how to communicate very well. Both had developed an almost telepathic communication, Ne'iria learning to pick up Arrichit's strongest thoughts through the Force.

The boy dropped to the floor as Ne'iria held a lightsaber to his face, and then she deactivated the yellow sword, helping Danen back to his feet before bowing to him once again. "An excellent day today, class. I am very impressed by your progress. Class dismissed."

"I can't believe I beat him, Arri!" said Ne'iria as the two exited the sparring room. "Thank you for helping me."
Arrichit nodded with a smile.
"You did really good too. Fantho didn't stand a chance."
The smile from Arrichit's face faded a little.
"Don't worry about him. He's just a jerk. He doesn't like the fact that you beat everyone in the sparring room."
Arrichit forced his smile to come back once again.
"After dinner I wanna work on that form again, if you don't mind? Then I'll help you with your history again?"
The Wookie nodded affirmatively, the smile on his face as wide as ever.


The next day Arrichit was pulled from his classroom with Ne'iria and Fantho. The three were escorted by Jedi Master through the temple.
"Excuse me, Master, but what's going on?" asked Ne'iria as they walked.
"You three have been chosen to be placed with a Jedi Master as a Padawan. You will be joining some of the older students in a choosing session."
"Finally," spoke Fantho.
"It is a great honor to be considered at such a young age, Padawan. You must show respect," sternly spoke the Jedi Master.
"Yes, master."

They soon met several of the older Padawan standing in front of their saber combat instructor, Master Ryden Kantos, Master Loreck Jervin, and several other Knights and Masters.
"Welcome, younglings," spoke Kantos. "We have an unusual event today. As many of you know, the Republic has liberated Ithor from the Sith. It was a great victory for all of us. This also means that the twelve of our Jedi have just been freed from fighting on the planet, and many of them have not taken a Padawan in quite some time. So, instead of presenting all of you to each Master individually, we have invited several Masters to observe your skills and abilities together. So use all that you have learned here at this temple, and perhaps you will be leaving soon, to continue your path as a Jedi elsewhere. May the Force be with you all."

The lightsaber instructor then began to spoke. "We will begin with examples of your lightsaber combat. First up will be Arrichit and Ne'iria."

Arrichit's mind flashed through several emotions as he and Ne'iria approached the ring. He couldn't just beat Ne'iria to show off how good he was with a lightsaber. He could hurt her, and her chances of gaining a master. He couldn't go easy, though, because then he would hurt his own chances of getting a master. The two Padawans bowed before each other, and suddenly he felt a presence within his mind. Be calm, Arri, he heard Ne'iria's voice almost as clear as day. Don't hold back. I won't.

Ne'iria winked and grabbed her sword hilt and activated the yellow blade in reverse. Arrichit smiled as he removed the hilt he carried on his bandoleer. "Begin!"

[Mr. Blue]

Arrichit activated his green training blade and lunged at Ne'iria. His first strike was already planned. With her odd fighting style, he immediately slashed at her neck on her left side. In all of their sparing, it was the most difficult place for her to defend, and he had to exploit that if he didn't want to hold back. She leaned back and the blade passed over her head. She then shot forward, running past the Wookie to slice at his midsection. He quickly met her blade and defended the attack, shoving her away. He then went for another attack at her torso, while she was at range. With her smaller size, and the Shein form of Form V, the Mirialan was at a great disadvantage of range. It also meant that she was quick to strike whenever he attacked, so the further away she was, the longer he would have to react. Ne'iria backed away from the attack, and assumed her beginning stance again. She waited, knowing Arrichit would make the first move. His abilities with Ataru were phenomenal, but they also made the young Wookie very predictable. With such an aggressive style of combat, he wouldn't wait long.

Arrichit growled and dashed forward, feinting an attack at her weak spot again. She fell for the feint, and dodged the attack. Arrichit quickly moved, using her slight imbalance to pull her feet out from under her with his own leg. She hit the floor hard, and he quickly spun to find a victory blow. She blocked one attack while on her back, and then rolled away. The Wookie quickly followed, and attacked again, knocking her saber from her hand, and then holding his own blade to her face. She smiled as the Wookie deactivated his sword and helped her up.

Good job, Arri, he heard.
"You both fought impressively," smiled the lightsaber instructor.
"Thank you, Master," spoke Ne'iria, as both Padawans bowed toward the Jedi Master.
"Danen, you and Kurs will be be next," spoke the instructor again, gesturing to two other students.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later the large group of Padawans exited the session, several of them smiling.
"I hope I get chosen," smiled Ne'iria, as she joyfully walked next to Arrichit.
Arrichit looked off, worried thoughts clouding his mind.
"Don't worry so much," smiled the girl. "Master Jervin is going to pick you for sure. He didn't take his eyes off of you the whole session."
Arrichit agreed halfheartedly.
"I just hope I don't get Master Olan or Hurof. They seem kind of mean. Maybe Master Marent will pick me. He seems really fun."

The two broke off from each other and started heading to their separate dorms. As soon as Ne'iria disappeared from sight, the Wookie heard a voice call his name.
"Arrichit," spoke Master Loreck Jervin, "you know she's right."
A smile grew across the Wookie's face.
"Yes, Arri. I mean it. I have a matter to attend to on Iridonia, and then I will be back to gather you for your training."
Jervin observed the puzzled look on Arrichit's face. "The system is mired in combat, young one. It's no place for someone your age. Don't worry, I'll be back soon enough."
Arrichit smiled and raced off towards his dormitory

[Mr. Blue]

Arrichit tossed around recklessly in his bed, growling and groaning harshly. Beneath his eyelids, within his mind, hell was breaking loose. He saw Loreck Jervin kneeling in front of three men, all holding crimson laser swords. Loreck jumped and impaled one of the men with his sword, as the other two drove their swords into his body. Loreck fell, and as his last breath escaped, his body disappeared.

Arrichit awoke with a fierce roar, waking up all of the other boys within his dorm. They quickly yelled for the "fur ball" to shut up, and Arrichit laid his head upon his pillow, tears soaking into his fur.

"Excuse me, Master Deecon?" spoke Ryden Kantos, as he entered a classroom the next morning.
"Yes, Master Kantos?"
"I apologize profusely for the interruption, but I need to borrow Arrichit for a moment."
"Of course, Ryden. Whatever you need."

Arrichit rose from his deck, the holoscreens deactivating as he left, and walked out of the room with the elder Bothan Jedi. As soon as they were out of the room Ryden addressed Arrichit's concerned look.
"Arrichit, there's no easy way to tell you this," began Ryden.
A look of horror washed over the young Wookie's face. He knew.
"I was afraid you already knew. I can feel the angst within you, Padawan."
Arrichit cried out in agony. Ryden quickly embraced the Wookie.
"Loreck was a great man, Arrichit. Do not mourn his death. All we can do is rejoice that he has become one with the Force," he whispered, holding the whimpering Wookie.
The door behind them slid open long enough for Ne'iria to exit the classroom.
"I'm sorry master," the Mirialan spoke softly. "I felt Arri's emotions through the Force."
"Your empathy with the Force is an ability far beyond your years, young one. I am afraid Master Jervin was slain on Iridonia."
"What?! No!" the Mirialan stood in disbelief. She quickly came up on the Wookie and wrapped her arms around Arrichit.
"He will need your friendship more than ever, Ne'iria," spoke the Bothan yet again. "You two are excused from class for the day. He will need the time."
Neiria nodded at the Bothan, and waited for him to walk away. "Come on," she whispered, "lets go to the gardens."
Arrichit broke the embrace and growled.
"I know it's hard, bu-"
Arrichit let out a deep growl, interrupting the girl.
"I'm not patronizing you, Arri. I'm only here for you."
Arrichit snorted and then turned his back on Ne'iria.
"Arrichit!" Ne'iria called out.
The Wookie growled again, and walked away.
"Arri..."

[Mr. Blue]

Snow swept across the tundra of Ilum, the barren landscape covered in ice. Below its icy scenery void of life, buried by both the snow and the frozen ground beneath a different world existed. With white sterile halls spreading like tendrils beneath the surface of Ilum, the training grounds for the Republic’s finest soldiers and commandos teemed with life. The complex was now centuries old, at first a secret temple for the almost extinct Jedi Order after the rise of the Sith Empire, and now, although its age would have suggested the existence of an abundance of outdated technology, the base occupying the soils of Ilum was the most sophisticated secret still held by the Republic.

The Sith hardly knew of its existence before the revolution on Corellia, and after the liberation of the Republic’s new capitol, it had developed defenses so heavy not even a Death Star would be able to attack the system. The base itself was hidden from any scanners, and the entire planet was littered with massive ion cannons capable of halting any cruiser even twice the size of the Sith Imperial Fleet’s flagship the Bloodlust with a single shot. Following the liberation of Corellia, it was, in fact, attacked by the Sith fleet, and its defenses managed to cripple the Imperial Fleet so heavily that the Republic was able to launch a massive offensive that gained them a quarter of the galaxy’s most valuable systems.

It was here, several years following the death of Jedi Master Loreck Jervin, Arrichit was now living. Following the Jedi Master’s death the emotional response of the Wookie had been so great that most of the Jedi in the Order were cautious to train the Wookie. Arrichit had gained a large attachment to the Jedi Master, and his outrage following the Loreck’s death had successfully destroyed half of the main gardens within the Yavin 4 temple.

In the weeks following the incident his Mirialan friend Ne’iria had been chosen to train with a Master, and another piece of Arrichit’s attachment could be seen. From here the Wookie had felt abandoned and cut off from the rest of the order. He was forced only to communicate with Master Ryden Kantos, the only Jedi who seemed to be able to understand the Wookie’s Force telepathy without flaw besides Ne’iria. This forced a massive introversion of the Wookie's personality. Arrichit alienated himself further from the members of the order as he focused on improving only his combat skills. His ferocity reached such a level that soon he was banned from dueling other younglings, and he soon found himself studying techniques to bolster his strength in combat, accessing holocrons of the greatest duelists in the Order's past.

When the Wookie’s thirteenth birthday arrived, Arrichit still found himself not chosen to be a Padawan, and it was deemed his brutal self-determination would best serve the Republic in the Force-sensitive Commando Corps. When Arrichit arrived at the training base, he was immediately sent to be tested for training in hand-to-hand combat. To no one’s surprise, the Wookie surpassed the skill of any other teenager sent for training in close quarters combat. He nearly tore the tester in half.

“Specialist Arrichit, you’re next!” a sergeant screamed with authority.

Arrichit stepped forward from the line of soldiers, the largest of who only rose to the Wookie’s shoulders. “Ready,” shouted the sergeant again, hand hovering over a touch screen. The Wookie nodded, and strode forward; ready to engage the training droids springing to life as the human sergeant tapped his fingers against the touch screen.

Arrichit rushed forward, dodging the force pike held by an attacking training droid, and drove his fist through the first training droid’s torso, pieces of metal clinging to the Wookie’s dark brown fur as he ripped out essential mechanics within the droid’s chest. The droid’s photoreceptors dimmed as the Wookie tossed it to the side, his attention now turned upon the two remaining training droids.

Whenever they had training sessions, the trainers were forced to make Arrichit engage in the drills last, as the Wookie provided the droid mechanics with a steady stream of broken droids. Arrichit had started developing a strength surpassing that of even the mightiest Wookies of Kashyyyk. It was his ability to manipulate the Force to increase his strength that made him so formidable. That was a product of the training he received on Ilum, and his extensive studies on Yavin 4. Usually with the normal humanoids brought through the training strength was developed over a period of years, but the training combined with the natural vigor of a Wookie and his previous knowledge, Arrichit had become a powerhouse that could easily rip any organic or droid in half. Arrichit was also one of the few commando’s who’s former lightsaber training had been put to good use. All those in the close-quarter combat program were also trained with vibroswords (as lightsabers were still only the weapon of a Jedi).

Arrichit roared as he withdrew the sheathed sword on his back. The Commando Corps didn’t have armor developed for a humanoid of Arrichit’s size, and so he only wore the wristguards of a commando and a bandolier - with a sword sheath attatched - common among Wookies. When offered later in his training he declined wearing armor, which the GLA was happy to oblige, saving them a few thousand credits in development. The Wookie’s vibrosword blocked and sliced through the second training droid’s force pike, and sliced vertically through the droid’s head. Arrichit then released his sword, leaving it in the second destroyed droid in order to dodge the third droid’s attack. He then grabbed the shoulders of the droid, the metal collapsing underneath his grip, and he proceeded to tear the droid in half, dropping to mangled halves of the droid to the ground as he retrieved his sword.

Following the training session Arrichit found himself marching in front of a swarm of teenagers sweaty from training towards the barracks. The Wookie stuck out like a sore thumb in the group of armored soldiers, but they had embraced him as a brother no less. Upon his arrival to Ilum he had received the same taunting names that his fellow Padawans had inflicted upon him in the temple, until the first sparring session, when the boys fought in a tournament style training session, with the winner receiving the rest of the day for R&R. Arrichit won every sparring match he was in within 15 seconds, and soon found himself becoming the friend of whoever wanted the Wookie as an ally should a fight arise.

Arrichit enjoyed the respect, and found himself intimidating anyone who challenged his position as top of his squad. He had quickly been promoted to Specialist, leading the group of trainees. This was a strange occurrence, as the Wookie was still unable to verbally communicate, but he had developed a style of hand gestures that helped him lead the group of students. He derived his respect from strength and fear of his power, and it was intoxicating.

[Mr. Blue]

“ETA 2 minutes, sir,” yelled a pilot above the roar of the dropship’s engines.
The wookie nodded and placed a helmet upon his head. Arrichit didn’t usually wear armor, but this was a special mission. Arrichit had been placed in charge of a special unit of commandos, with one specialization: infiltration. This time they were being sent to a mining facility in order to infiltrate, sabotage, and hopefully capture one of the Sith Empire’s main sources of raw minerals used in the production of capitol ships.

“You ready for this, Commander Furball?” asked Captain Zerrak Fornan, chuckling as he patted the wookie’s shoulder pad.
The wookie let out a small growl before letting out a small laugh.
“Good,” answered the captain. “I’ll let ‘em know what’s up.”
“Alright boys and girls,” started Fornan, as the zabrak turned from Arrichit and to the troupe of soldiers lining the inside of the dropship, “as you know, our little trip to the Anoat sector isn’t to visit the beautiful beaches of Hoth. We have located a large Sith mining operation in one of the more stable sections of the Anoat Asteroid Belt. Our job is to either capture this lovely source of minerals for our glorious Republic, or make sure that place is reduced to the equivalent value of a pile of bantha shit. Helmets on! We’re going for a jump!”

The soldiers cheered in unison before all donning their helmets, pressurizing their suits for the zero gravity drop. Soon after, the lights in the ship dropped from normal to a deep red, as the pilot began opening to airlock. Then the room’s illumination changed to green, and two-dozen armored soldiers raced toward the open airlock, launching themselves into space, and toward a large asteroid littered with gray buildings.

Rocket thrusters activated on their backs as they descended toward the surface. Arrichit watched droids poured from the doors leading to the subterranean facility. Many of the droids took cover on the surface and began firing at the commandos plummeting toward them. As the commandos activated their signature energy shields, some of the droids deploying below them activated rocket boosters, launching them toward their attackers.

Groans of pain splashed over the comm as several of the commandos collided with the defending attack droids. Arrichit himself sliced through one droid approaching him with his vibrosword before another latched on to him, wrapping its legs around him. The droid immediately attempted to depressurize the wookie’s suit, and Arrichit hastily fought off the robot’s attacks. He then grabbed hold of one of the droid’s arms and ripped it from the socket. The droid remained unfazed as it continued attacking the wookie, until Arrichit was able to remove the droid’s head with his ridiculous strength.
As the soldiers began to land the droids on the ground greeted the landing soldiers with a volley of blaster fire. The soldiers grouped as they landed and blocked the incoming fire with their shields until the majority had landed. “Phalanx 2 to dropship. Phalanx squad has landed,” spoke Fornan over the comm. “Looks like we’ve had 2 casualties!”

The last to land was Arrichit, whose figure was even more menacing in armor. As he landed, he maneuvered his hand in a signal to order the troops to engage the enemy. They began to move forward as a group, blocking themselves from the incoming fire until they were feet away from the attacking security droids.
The shields dispersed as Arrichit and Fornan dashed forward, Arrichit slicing through droids with his vibroswords while Fornan unloaded scattergun blasts into droids. With help from the squad, the two warriors had the droids mowed down in moments.

The troops proceeded forward, and one headed straight for a control panel, slicing it open in order the blast doors. Within minutes the squad entered through the freshly opened doors. They went down a short hallway and found themselves in front of a set of turbolift doors. The slicer attempted to activate the elevator. “Sir, looks like they cut the power to the turbolift.”

Arrichit nodded and displayed several more hand signals. Two attached thermal detonators to the doors, and the whole squad rushed out as they were blasted open. Phalanx headed back into the hallway and systematically jumped into the elevator, dropping at the slower gravity until they used the rocket thrusters on their back to slow at the bottom.

They left two commandos to guard the turbolift as they continued onward, through the main mine shaft. The place had been built around tunnels burrowed by a now hunted exogorth. From the large tunnels the giant worm had made they branched out to collect as much ore from the asteroid as possible.

“Sir, according to scans, the main control center is down this hall, just half a click,” one trooper quickly spoke to Arrichit. “And the main laser drill is that way.”
Arrichit nodded, and signaled for half of the squad to head toward the drill, led by Fornan. The other half followed Arrichit to the control center. They trotted for a bit before coming up to closed blast door, and a hulking man with a fine droid accompaniment.
“You’re done now, Republic dogs,” laughed the large man armed with a large mining laser. He activated the red laser, which began burrowing into the ground in front of his feet.

Arrichit growled and rushed forward, watching the droids that surrounded the hulking man drop to blaster bolts fired by his squad. The man raised the laser, the continuous red beam flying across the room and slicing through a couple of the Republic troopers. Arrichit lunged forward at the man, arms bared, and removed his head with a powerful swipe right before the mining laser could cut him down. The laser deactivated and Arrichit snorted as he watched the decapitated body drop to the ground.

Noticing the man had not been wearing a pressurized suit, Arrichit and the squad members removed their helmets as the slicer found a way into the control room.
As they entered the rom they found the familiar controls for laser drills, and also a wide array of monitors showing workers in the mines. “Wow,” whispered one of the squad members, “the workers, they’re organic.”

Arrichit ignored the soldier as he analyzed the controls. He signaled the slicer, who proceeded to hack into the computer, gaining data on collection rates, mineral compositions, and prospecting records for nearby asteroids. As the slicer finished, Arrichit’s comm lit up.

“Perseverance to Phalanx Leader, acknowledge.”
The wookie growled into the comm.
“Incoming Sith capital ships. Abort capture. Collect all vital information possible. You are authorized to destroy the facility. Evac ASAP.”
The wookie acknowledged the order, and turned to another soldier, who fired up his comm before the wookie could even offer an order. “Phalanx 7 to Phalanx 2, acknowledge.”
“Phalanx 2 here,” Fornan spoke quickly.
“Abort capture,” began the soldier, and then turned to Arrichit, staring first at the monitors and then to the wookie. The wookie gave an affirmative nod. “Begin demolition protocol Seven-Alpha-Alpha.”
“Acknowledged.”

The squad members began planting charges around the room as the slicer finished downloading information. They quickly evacuated the room and met back up with the rest of Phalanx squad, who looked like they had suffered a couple casualties themselves.

Without a hitch they rose back up through the turbolift, and were picked back up in their dropship as the Sith capital ship exited hyperspace. The ground on the asteroid shuddered as the detonators went off, and Arrichit let out a small growl of success as the dropship entered hyperspace, fleeing the scene before the Sith could even scramble fighters.

[Mr. Blue]

Blaster bolts flew over Arrichit’s head as he took cover behind an overturned lab table. The wookie watched as blaster bolts tore through one of his squad members, leaving a smoldering stump where the soldier’s head had been. No one had told them they were going to be dealing with this level of defense. These anti-personnel turrets were completely destroying his squad. If he had known they were going to encounter this level of opposition, he would’ve brought more than Fornan and four other troops. Hell, he might’ve brought all of Phalanx squad, and just left the entrance fortification duty to the Republic soldiers reinforcing them.

Arrichit smiled as he watched Captain Fornan jump from cover and sprint in a blink of an eye toward one of the two turrets. Where Arrichit had the zabrak beat in strength, Zerrak Fornan was the quickest man in the Republic army. He was one of two Force-Sensitive commandos on Phalanx squad (Arrichit being the other), and he had trained for years to augment his speed with the Force, making him quicker than most skilled Sith or Jedi. That coupled with his proficiency with a scatterblaster meant that anything he was quick enough to get close to was dead. The turrets were no exception to this rule. As they clumsily followed him with their auto-targeting system, the captain was on top of the first one, blasting it to pieces. He then circled around and led the fire of the second turret for several seconds before pouncing on it and ending it in a similar fashion.

Arrichit left cover as the final turret was disabled, and directed the three survivors to follow him as they continued onward. “I didn't think this place was supposed to be under this heavy of guard,” commented Zerrak as they moved down a dimly lit hallway. Arrichit nodded in agreement.

Outside of the small facility helmeted troops gazed through the haze of Felucia’s atmosphere, staring at the jungle for any sign of Sith reinforcements. Their job was to make sure no one went into the facility until Arrichit and his company were done with the mission. They were also there to ensure that evacuation was possible. This compound was a research facility, meant to produce some of the deadliest bio-weapons the galaxy had seen. Phalanx squad had been ordered to infiltrate the facility and recover or destroy any data on these bio-weapons before they could be used on Republic troops.

The five proceeded down the corridors, guided by a sensor held in the hand of one of the troopers. It wasn’t long before the lights of the facility were cut out. “Looks like they finally got to the power,” Fornan commented again. “Hopefully they weren’t able to radio for help first.”
The building had been incredibly void of defense after the auto-turrets. Arrichit began growing uneasy as they continued silently through the facility. Suddenly a voice filled the facility, “You shouldn’t have come here. You are not welcome in my home.”
"Looks like they still have power, then," commented Fornan, attempting to undermine the voice's attempts of intimidation.

The halls filled with the sounds of hissing as the five of them quickly moved to put their helmets on. As Arrichit strapped on his rebreather to his face he watched a blast of toxins collide with one of his troopers who had not quite put on his helmet yet. Within seconds screams of pain and agony dropped into an eerie silence, as the soldier writhed on the ground, his respiratory system liquefying as he inhaled the toxins. “That’s not the only trick I have,” the voice laughed as it filled the halls once again. “You will not leave this place alive.”

Arrichit made a single command: run.

The four dashed down the hallways, running through clouds of varying neurotoxins and weaponized diseases. It was not long before one of them dropped. It appeared the ventilation system of the trooper’s armor had malfunctioned. He died to a neurotoxin before he even fell to the ground. “We have to get out of here!” yelled Fornan as they continued on. Sprays of more toxins guided the three survivors as they ran through the labyrinth of tunnels making up the facility. The last trooper carrying the scanner tripped as they rounded a corner. A blast of orange gas sprayed him as he scrambled to his feet, and Arrichit and Fornan watched in horror as the man’s armor began to disintegrate. He screamed and begged his gods to spare him as he fell to the ground. The flesh-eating toxin ignored his pleas for mercy and began ripping into him. Another blast of poison interrupted his last moments and forced the two to continue onward. They were being led somewhere and all Arrichit could hope was that it would be an opponent he could actually combat.

They ended up entering a large laboratory, filled with varying chemicals and chemistry implements. It was a dark doppleganger to the laboratories belonging to mad scientists on terrible HoloNet dramas. The door slammed shut behind them, preventing the poisons from pursuing Arrichit and Fornan. As they recovered their breath, a man dressed in black robes entered the room, followed closely by a younger human. The man himself was pantoran, his blue skin barely showing through behind a mask that forced breath in and out of the man’s lungs. “As I said, you are not welcome here,” he greeted the two, slowly pacing toward them. The young human, no older than his early twenties, eyed both of the Republic commandos with lethal hunger. Arrichit growled in response.

“Unfortunately it appears I will have to personally put an end to your actions,” the Sith spoke with a sick smile.
Arrichit’s feral roars were met the activation of the pantoran Sith’s crimson lightsaber. The human’s lightsaber also sprang to life, and the apprentice rushed at Fornan, who dodged the red energy blade only barely. Fornan pulled out his scatterblaster to end the apprentice, but it was cut down in his hands as he dodged another one of the human’s attacks. Fornan quickly went to disarm his opponent, and as he succeeded, he found himself in a fist fight with the young Sith.

While his captain engaged with the apprentice, Arrichit pulled his vibrosword from his bandolier and charged at the pantoran master. The Sith dodged the wookie’s stampede, and quickly went for a counter attack, nearly decapitating the wookie. Arrichit responded by attacking again, and the two continued dodging and attacking each other with their swords.
Zerrak then managed to land a punch to the apprentice’s head, knocking the human back a few feet. The apprentice responded by delivering a kick to Fornan’s head, knocking the zabrak’s helmet from his head. Fornan dodged the apprentice’s next attack as he grabbed the human’s shoulders and delivered a strong headbutt to the apprentice’s face with his own horned forehead. As the human stumbled back in agony, the pantoran dodged another of the mighty wookie’s attacks and activated a button on his wrist. Gas began to fill the room, and Fornan ran quickly to retrieve his helmet. As he placed it back on his head, he watched the apprentice Sith cry out in rage at his master’s betrayal before gasping for his final breath. Fornan then began coughing uncontrollably, as his lungs tried to fight off the small bit of poison he himself had inhaled.

Arrichit roared in anger and charged the pantoran again. The Sith reacted quickly, dodging the wookie’s attack and slicing through the blade of Arrichit’s vibrosword with his lightsaber. He next attempted to deliver the killing blow to the wookie’s head, but was stopped as Arrichit caught his attacking hand. The pantoran watched in horror as the wookie’s clawed hand closed tighter and tighter around his own. Soon his screams were only muffled by his mask pumping clean air in and out of the Sith’s lungs as he began hyperventilating. The sounds of the Sith’s lightsaber breaking echoed in unison with the symphony of crunching that his hand created under the wookie’s strength. Arrichit then used his other hand to grab and rip off the Sith’s mask, pulling it off with a loud rip, removing a tube from the Sith’s throat. The pantoran dropped to the floor, attempting to cry out, but was only muted without his mask. Within seconds the toxins spread into the Sith’s body, and he joined his apprentice’s fate.

Arrichit then turned to see Fornan dropping to the ground, the coughing growing worse, until the zabrak passed out. He scooped up Fornan and headed to where the Sith had appeared from. He searched around for a moment, grabbing a data disc, and then found what he had been hoping would be there. As if by a miracle the Sith had an emergency exit built in. Fornan, if he was conscious, would undoubtedly be furious with Republic Intelligence at this entrance’s existence. As they exited the poison-filled lab, Arrichit laid the captain on the ground, removing Fornan’s helmet. Fornan drifted back into consciousness as Arrichit roared into a comm. Fornan coughed, blood dribbling from his mouth as he lazily tugged at the wookie’s arm. Arrichit handed him the radio, and he coughed out a request for immediate evacuation.
“But sir, the others, they’re being overwhelmed by Sith troops.”
Fornan looked at Arrichit, who roared. The captain knew what that meant.
“We are,” he coughed, "priority.”

[Mr. Blue]

Zerrak delivered two quick jabs to Arrichit’s stomach before the wookie roared and swung for the zabrak’s head. Fornan jumped back, thanking the Force for his accelerated speed as he dodged the powerful swing. As the two continued sparing, cheers from a gathered crowd of soldiers filled the small training room. It was a rare treat for Phalanx Squad to watch their captain attempt to wrestle down the mighty wookie commander. While no one in the Republic army had managed to beat Arrichit in hand to hand combat, the one man who had been the closest was Zerrak Fornan. His speed matched against Arrichit’s strength had almost won him a couple matches.

Zerrak watched his commander carefully, waiting for him to make the next attack. It was never a long wait, as the wookie was far too aggressive to let his opponents take too long of a rest. Suddenly the wookie’s attention was diverted, though, and Zerrak took the opportunity to deliver a hard kick, almost knocking the wookie back out of the ring. Arrichit returned from his minor detour of attention and dove at the zabrak, wrapping his strong arms around Zerrak. This was it. When Arrichit grabbed hold of a man, the fight was over. Arrichit flung the large man from the ring, and roared in victory. He then began searching the room for a presence he thought he had felt. That was when he saw her, smiling and clapping with the rest of the soldiers. She was shorter than most of the men by nearly a foot, but the instant she was noticed the soldiers snapped to attention. Ne’iria smiled as she told the men to ease up, and she began to approach Arrichit. The wookie roared heavily and the men quickly left the room. As soon as the last one was out of the door, Arrichit dashed forward and wrapped the Jedi up in a mighty embrace.

“It’s good to see you too, Arri,” Ne’iria smiled and groaned under Arrichit’s strength.
“Master Va’tes,” Fornan greeted the Jedi with a bow. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”
“And you too, Zerrak,” she smiled, as the wookie released her.
“So what brings you to the frigid wastes of Ilum?” Fornan asked. “I don’t think you’d make the trip just to see this old furball.”
The wookie growled and laughed.
“Unfortunately, no, the busy life of a Jedi doesn’t allow me pleasure trips like that. But I did come to talk to you two.”
The two looked at the Jedi inquisitively.
“I need your help. Republic Intelligence has located a high level target on Ryloth. Reports are indicating he is currently in the process of establishing a small Sith Academy on planet. A large number of Force-Sensitive children have already been reported missing.”
Both of the men looked concerned. “So where does that put us?” inquired Fornan. “The Hutts will never tolerate a military presence on Ryloth. We barely gained the right to recruit Force Sensitive twi’leks there.”

“I need you two to accompany me on a covert mission to stop and hopefully capture Embra. The Jedi are spread thin, and we can’t spare any more to take care of this mission. I had to enlist the help of people we could depend on. People like you two. I can't capture a Sith Lord alone.”
After a moment of consideration, both commandos agreed, and the three began preparing for the mission.

Within a week the three were landing in the twilight terminator of the planet Ryloth. The planet itself was tidal locked, stuck in orbit around its sun with one side perpetually illuminated, and the other in darkness. The information Ne’iria had gathered about Embra suggested he was in the Ryloth capital Kala’uun, hiding in the slums of the underground city located in the twilight belt. The slums themselves were difficult to gain access to, especially as non-twi’leks, so the three were forced to go incognito. Captain Fornan would pose as a slave trader, while Arrichit would be his slave, and Ne’iria would play the part of his slave consort.

The three wandered the upper levels of the city, entering various shops and gazing at various tourist attractions. Fornan even made it a point to consider purchasing a twi’lek dancing girl, before he turned down the deal. The slave trader was disappointed that the Mirialan was “lovely enough” for the zabrak. The day was full of groans from Arrichit and Ne’iria as they doted upon their loving “master.”

Soon enough it came time for the three to meet their contact. While it was easy to get into Kala’uun, gaining access to the lower levels of the city was a bit more of a feat. They had to arrange heavy payment with a Republic sympathetic twi’lek resident in order to access the slums in the lower levels. The twi’lek, a dirty looking tan-skinned male, met with them on one of the mid-levels of the city, and, with his residency access, brought his guests to the lower levels for a “dinner party” he was throwing.

“You’re going in rather unarmed,” commented the twi’lek as they rode the turbolift to the lower levels.
“Our weapons were smuggled in about four days ago, actually,” replied Fornan. “It makes us look a lot less suspicious to port authorities when I’m only carrying a blaster.”
“Speaking of which,” began Ne’iria, but stopped speaking as Fornan pulled the blaster from his hip. He pressed a button on the side of the blaster and separated the gun from its barrel. Ne’iria smiled as she removed the casing of the barrel to reveal her own lightsaber hilt.

As soon as they hit the slums they were set. With a lack of cameras examining the area for anyone out of the ordinary, the three could finally drop their act. They quickly made their way to a small house, vacant, save for an unmarked crate. While Fornan could not get into his normal Republic armor, he did wear his normal shielding unit once again, and a light armor underneath his mercenary looking clothes. Arrichit put back on his bandolier, which had been smuggled in with the rest of the group’s weapons. Ne’iria donned some clothes a little more modest than her slave-girl outfit she had been forced to wear the whole time they were in the upper levels of the city.

“The academy is this way,” the twi’lek said nervously, leading them down a few alleyways into the heart of the slums. They came upon a larger building, a ryll den that must’ve been very profitable at the time. It was right near the wall of the mountain that Kala’uun was enclosed in. “This is the secret entrance to the academy. A human inside will let you in. I will not go any further,” the twi’lek spoke quickly. Arrichit nodded, and Fornan handed the twi’lek some credit chips. “We’ll give you the other half after we succeed,” he said, as the twi’lek quickly took the credits and left.

They then proceeded to enter the ryll den, filled with several beings enjoying the potent effects of Ryloth’s most exported spice. All eyes focused on the newcomers, who were all out of place in the primarily twi’lek populated room. The wookie growled at anyone staring too closely at them, and soon most of the patrons returned to their spice, uninterested in angering a wookie. One man, a human, kept staring at the three, though. He motioned at them for them to join him at his sabacc table. He closed a curtain around them as they sat, and smiled. “I take it you’re the ones Qas was talkin’ about?” Fornan nodded affirmatively. The man then flipped a switch under the table, and the wall opposite the curtain slid open, revealing a large empty room with a door on the other side. “Just go through there,” the human smiled. “You’ll find what you’re looking for.”

The three left the table and entered the room, all three highly alert. Arrichit growled softly.
“I know, I have a bad feeling about this too, Arri,” responded Ne’iria as her hand wrapped around the hilt of her lightsaber.
As the wall slid back shut, the three continued through to the door on the opposite of the now almost completely dark room. Suddenly the room illuminated in a dull red, and they found themselves surrounded by four men, all dressed in black robes, activating their red lightsabers. Arrichit growled fiercely as Fornan readied his scatterblaster and Ne’iria activated her own yellow sword.
“You know, I was really hoping that guy wasn’t trying to betray us, too,” laughed Fornan. “Force be damned, why doesn’t anyone ever prove me wrong?”

The four men charged, as two clashed with Ne’iria and the other two attacked the commandos. Fornan easily dodged his attacker’s slash with a lightsaber and delivered a fatal scatterblaster shot to the man’s face. Arrichit grabbed his attacker’s arm and quickly won in a match of strength, snapping the man’s arm and impaling him with the lasersword he held. Ne’iria fought the other two with similar result, dodging both of their attacks and removing the arm of her first attacker before decapitating the other in a quick fluid motion.

As their attackers fell, Ne’iria quickly grabbed the man whose arm she had removed. “Where is your master?!” she demanded, removing the man’s hood and illuminating his face with her yellow sword. He didn’t reply, and soon foam began to bubble from his mouth. He was dead in seconds.

Fornan raced back to the wall that they had entered through and knocked a couple times. The wall opened and a look of horror washed over the human’s face as he was greeted by the zabrak. Fornan grabbed the man and headbutted him while he pulled him from the booth and tossed him into the dark room. Arrichit grabbed the man’s ankle and held him up in the air.

“Where is your master?” Fornan growled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” screamed the man as tears drained from his eyes.
“Where is Lord Embra?!” Fornan asked again, holding up his scatterblaster.
The man began sobbing as a moist spot expanded on his pants. The wookie growled in disgust and dropped the man as urine trickled down his body.
“He’s telling the truth,” Ne’iria spoke with almost a whisper.
The man nodded quickly, trying to regain his composure.
“Tell us where to find your friend, Qas,” Ne’iria waved her hand.
“He’s in a house two roads down, waiting for me,” he uttered in a monotone voice, shifting from erratic to a state of stupor. “I was supposed to shoot him after these four were done with you.”
“Show us,” she ordered, and the man stood, leading them out of the room.

They followed him down the streets of the slums, quickly happening upon the twi’lek’s hiding place. Suddenly a door burst open a little ways down the street from them, and Qas dashed out of the home. “Captain, would you be a dear and fetch our friend?” Ne’iria smiled.

Zerrak dashed off, quickly catching Qas in a dead sprint, tackling the twi’lek. Ne’iria turned to the human and waved her hand again. “You want to go home and reconsider your place in this galaxy.”
The man nodded. “I want to go home and reconsider my place in this galaxy,” he said as he turned and walked away.
Arrichit and Ne’iria then headed toward Fornan, who was helping the twi’lek back to his feet. As they approached, Arrichit let out a feral roar, smiling as the man trembled.
“I’m so sorry,” he trembled, dropping to his knees. “They have my son! They said they’d let him go if I helped them!”
Arrichit snorted in disgust.
“Just tell us where they are,” Ne’iria soothed the twi’lek. “We’ll help you get your son back.”
“The academy is outside of the city, a few kilometers into the Nightlands,” he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “I’ll take you there now.”

A speeder blasted through the eerie silence of the Nightlands. Qas drove the four-person speeder, while Arrichit squeezed into the passenger seat and Ne’iria in the backseat. With his gun out, Captain Fornan sat on the back of the speeder, legs dangling off, watching for any signs of being followed. After driving a few kilometers into the Nightlands, a discernable shift in temperature was noticed by all. While the twilight band of the planet rested at a relatively normal temperature, the Nightlands were considerably colder in their perpetual darkness. The Nightlands also crawled with hundreds of predators, all evolved into wide-eyed monstrosities usually only reserved for the dark, deep seas of Kamino or Glee Anselm. It was a fitting place to train Sith in the dark ways of the Force.

It wasn’t much longer before the speeder slowed to a stop, and the twi’lek, shivering with fear, told them that the rest of the trip was on foot. “We’re lucky if they didn’t see us coming already, with the noise the speeder makes. The last time I made the trip they captured me half a kilometer from the academy.”

Ne’iria shook her head in disgust. “You were lucky to get out alive,” chirped in Fornan, who was preparing his gear for a trek.
“They released me after I promised to identify potential recruits,” shame laced Qas’s words. “And, well, with my son there-“
“It’s ok,” Ne’iria spoke quietly. Arrichit could feel a wave of calming radiate from the Jedi as she soothed the twi’lek.
Arrichit growled.
“He’s right,” replied Fornan. “We should get moving.”

The four of them quickly started down a footpath, the three Republic warriors easily keeping pace with the already panting twi’lek. Qas led them to a dark cave. The Wookie easily saw in the low light scorch marks where the Sith students had undoubtedly been sent to clear the entrance from predators. Qas made a silent shushing movement with his finger against his lips as they proceeded into the cave.

“The entrance is right ahead,” he spoke in a whisper. “I can’t bear the thought of going any further.”
As the other three nodded in agreement, a voice rose in reply. “Were we not good enough hosts for you last time?”
All color drained from the twi’lek’s face. “L-Lord E-Embr-ra!”
“I see you have brought more friends this time. You know how much I dislike having to cater to unannounced guests.”
The wookie snarled as a human Sith turned the corner of the cave, followed by a teenage male twi’lek. Lord Embra was tall, with broad shoulders. He was obviously a man of strength, although he did not have nearly the body mass associated with Captain Fornan. His face was handsome and strong, with fair skin. He was surprisingly attractive for a Sith Lord. The only thing that gave his occupation away were his sick yellow eyes.
“I must say, however,” the Sith continued, “your blundering through the Nightlands was hardly unnoticeable. It announced your arrival adequately enough. But where are my manners? I am Lord Embra, and this is my academy.”
Ne’iria spoke softly. “Leave this planet, now. This is your chance to let this end peacefully, Sith.”
“Oh dear, I am afraid I will have to reject your offer. I’ve already made this my home. I cannot simply abandon my home, or my students.”
Qas was eyeing the young twi’lek, who was staring back.
“Ah, yes, and this is my star pupil, Paren.”
“Son, we’re here to save you!” Qas finally finding his ability to speak again.
“Save him?” Lord Embra acknowledged the boy’s father. “Paren, were you in need of rescuing?”
Paren smiled. “No, my lord. This man must have mistaken me for someone else.”

Arrichit growled. This conversation was going nowhere, and he had a job to do. His claws extended as he pulled the vibrosword from his bandolier. Ne’iria placed her hand on Arrichit’s arm in a last ploy to prevent combat.
“You have this last chance. Leave, now.”
“No,” the Sith Lord answered, his voice taking a menacing turn. “And I’m afraid you’ve outstayed your welcome. Paren, please, escort our guests to oblivion.”
“With pleasure, master.”

Embra smiled as the young twi’lek rushed forward, driving a crimson lightsaber blade through his father. As Qas stared in horror at his own son, life draining from his eyes, Ne’iria activated her own yellow blade, but it was a quick slash of Arrichit’s sword that decapitated the younger twi’lek.

“What a mess,” Embra commented. “I suppose I will have to help you depart, then.”

A storm of blue lighting surged from Embra at the three Republic warriors, laughing as the zabrak’s scattershot missed him. Only Ne’iria defended the attack, with her lightsaber, while the two soldiers fell to the Sith’s onslaught. As he finished the attack, Ne’iria jumped forward, striking at the Sith Lord with her sword. He brought his own crimson blade to defend her rush, and immediately went on the offensive, attacking the Mirialan harshly.

Arrichit growled as he clawed against pain and gravity to rise back to his feet. He watched Embra crushing Ne’iria in the duel, his swordsmanship far superior. When finally the restraints of agony released the wookie, he jumped forward, claws extended. Embra flashed to defend against the wookie’s unexpected attack, but a large paw connected with his shoulder, sending him tumbling away.

Arrichit pounced again, grabbing the Sith’s lightsaber, and held Embra down as he held the crimson blade to the Sith’s throat. Embra stared his attacker in the eyes, almost daring the wookie to finish him.

“Arri, stop,” Ne’iria spoke, still slightly dumbfounded at the wookie’s unexpected aid. “He's more valuable to the Republic alive.”
The wookie growled, moving the blade closer to the Sith’s neck. Skin began to singe as the blade came closer to ending the Sith’s life.
“Please, don’t!” Ne’iria pleaded.
“You’re pathetic,” Embra smiled. “Victory dangles before you, and you are letting a girl take that from you. Such a waste.”
“No!” Ne’iria spoke, trying to sooth the wookie’s aggression through the Force.
Arrichit eased the sword back a little.
“Do it!” Embra smiled. “You know the truth of power. Mercy is for the weak.”
“Please, Arri, don’t.”
The wookie snarled and pulled the sword away.
“And the Republic calls you warriors,” Embra scoffed.
Arrichit roared and swung the sword toward Embra.
“NO!” Ne’iria screamed as she dashed forward, blocking the wookie’s attack.
Arrichit snarled as Ne’iria’s blade blocked the fatal blow.
“I see the Republic still breeds weakness,” laughed the Sith, coughing from Arrichit’s earlier attack.
Arrichit roared again.
“I can’t let you do that. Please, Arri. Don’t do this,” Ne’iria pleaded again.
“Are you truly going to let this girl keep you from victory?” Embra spoke.
Arrichit roared again, and swung his sword at Ne’iria, rage guiding his blade. Ne’iria slid back as she defended the attack. “Arri,” she spoke quietly, tears streaming from her eyes, “Please don’t do this. I love you!”
Conflict raged within the wookie’s mind as he held his sword against hers. Then Arrichit heard a gun power on behind him.
“Commander,” Zerrak spoke forcefully. “Drop the sword.”
The wookie snorted. Ne’iria attempted to sooth his aggression more. His hold on the lightsaber lessened as he began to think more clearly.
“Ah,” Embra feigned revelation, “So this is how the wookies were so easily enslaved.”

Arrichit bellowed with fury. He quickly shoved Ne’iria away as he spun and slashed through Zerrak’s scatterblaster, the gun sparking as the zabrak attempted to fire. Arrichit's open claw smashed into Fornan, sending the zabrak tumbling like a ragdoll. Arrichit then turned to the injured Embra, hatred brimming behind his eyes. Embra returned the glare with a smile.

The cavern began to rumble as Arrichit released another feral howl. He charged at Embra, swinging at the Sith Lord with all of his might. Ne’iria dashed in front of the attack, bringing her sword up to defend the fallen Sith. Arrichit swung downward, and as the blades connected with a loud clash, the Mirialan was broken under the sheer power of Arrichit’s swing. Both her defending blade and his were driven into her body, cutting her down in front of the smiling Sith.

Arrichit stopped cold. As her body crumpled in front of her, he deactivated his blade. A slight whimper escaped from him, as he scooped up the Mirialan. She barely clung to life, but was slipping with every second that passed. “I… I loved you,” she gasped as her last thread of life was severed.

Arrichit’s cries reverberated throughout the cave as he held the girl to him. His cries died after a moment, and all was quiet.

“I am truly sorry,” Embra broke the silence.
Arrichit turned and glared at the Sith, who struggled to his feet.
“No, truly, I am. I had no intention of harming any of you, other than that traitorous twi'lek. I merely wanted to show you your potential, once you had broken the Republic’s chains.”
Arrichit growled lowly.
“And now, I’m afraid, I’m your only chance for survival. Join me, Arrichit. You will never be enslaved to anyone again.”
The wookie laid Ne’iria’s body upon the ground. He approached the Sith with lightsaber in hand. Embra stared at the wookie, making sure any hint of apprehension was invisible. Arrichit stood in front of the Sith Lord, hesitating for a moment before offering the saber hilt.
“It is yours, Arrichit. I cannot wield that sword as you have, and I am unworthy to activate its blade again. Please, let me train you. Let me help you become a true warrior.”
Arrichit kneeled before Embra, bowing his head. He heard a shuffle as Zerrak began to flee the cave. He looked toward Embra.
“As I said, it was not my intention to harm any of you. He is free to leave.”
Zerrak gave Arrichit one last look, and as disgust at Arrichit's betrayal washed over the zabrak’s face, he left the cave.
“I know your pain is immense, Arrichit,” continued Embra, “but soon that pain will be replaced with strength. It is time you leave your old life behind and become a champion of the Force, so that you may become an instrument of change that this galaxy so desperately needs. All shall respect your power, Darth Lothus.”