Lucyeth
#13700

Please accept my submission for the competition mentioned above. It depicts Lexic testing a prototype cockpit for the first time.

Death of the Wolf...
By Lonewolf

I laid there on the ground of the battlefield, the wound deep into my right lung. The yellow lightsaber blade had found its mark through my armor, piercing through flesh and bone. I gasped for air as I looked up to the red sun as its rays showed through fire and smoke. How did it come to this, I asked myself. My left lung worked to do the work of two, my heart beating against my chest bone. I could feel my organs start craving for oxygen enriched blood, telling my brain to send them more but the body only had so much to give. Give… I have given all I have…

People would say that their life would flash before their eyes but no one really knew how it was until their own end was upon them. My life didn’t flash before my eyes, only the image of my wife and children. I could see them smiling at me as if standing over me. “Papa,” said my youngest, coming over to me. I turned my head to look at her. “Papa, get up, Papa. It’s time to come home.” So sweet and innocent she was.

My oldest looked at my wife, “Mom, what is wrong with Daddy?”

She laughed, “Nothing, sweetheart. He is just on his way to join us.”

“Yes,” the oldest exclaimed. “I have missed Daddy.”

I couldn’t help but smile, a tear falling from my right eye. It gathered dirt and blood as it ran down my cheek. I reached out my hand, stroking the hair of the youngest before turning back to my wife and oldest. “I have missed you all so much.”

My wife came over, kneeling down next to me. “It’s okay, Wolf, it’s okay. The pain will stop. Come, come with us and be at peace.” She took my other hand. “We have missed you.”

Turning my head, I looked passed my wife at the battlefield. Blades swung, bodies fell, blood and flesh covered the ground. So much war and fighting. I looked back at my wife who smiled. “We are waiting,” she said as she slowly faded.

I turned to my daughter as she faded as well then my youngest. “No,” I yelled. “No! No!” I reached out, as if to grab my youngest but I grabbed only the air. “No!” I gathered what connection I had with the Force, a roughly, razor’s edge with both the light and dark side. I summoned it to give me the strength I needed to stand. I took my lightsaber up, the custom handle of a wolf. I rolled to my front, to my knees and finally to a standing position.

The dark Jedi that held the yellow blade that had pierced me stood in amazement that I was even still alive. He had seen me talking to someone but no one was there. He brought his lightsaber up, clenching it in both hands. “Enough of this,” he hissed, coming towards me, ready to strike.

I flipped the switch to my lightsaber, a silver blade coming from the mouth of the wolf at its end. My left arm seemed useless. Only one arm, I thought to myself. I took a step back and parried the incoming yellow blade. I brought own blade up, connecting again to the dark Jedi’s, knocking it away. A step forward, a blow, a step back, a dodge. The Force seemed to work its magic, offering a musical dance in the duel. Side side, swing, block, back side. The dark Jedi was clearly calling upon the dark side of the Force, anger overtaking him because I should have already been dead.

Finally the opening came that I was waiting for. The dark Jedi lunged and I quickly side stepped, my blade connecting with his, sending him off balance and wide. I spun myself, the silver connecting to his back, slicing into his own armor and into the spin. He fell, his legs no longer functioning. My chest was heavy now, gasping for breath with only a single working lung. I walked over, kicking his black handled saber from his grip, the yellow blade spinning away before deactivating.

I knelt down next to him, my knee over his right arm, pinning it. I continued to breath hard. I looked down at him and shook my head. “I’m sorry,” I said. His looked at me, eyes wide as I brought my blade down across the back of his neck, removing head from shoulders. His head stayed on the place, not moving. A twitch of his arm, asking the brain for commands but found none.

Gasping another for air I stood up, walking only a few paces away from the dead man before falling to my knees again. I looked once more over the battlefield. The smell of smoke and death filled my lungs. I turned off my saber, clipping it to my belt where it had been my companion for nearly three decades. My wife and daughters stood before me again.

“Come, Daddy,” the youngest said again, coming over and pulling at my arm. The oldest came over and took my other. I felt my soul leave my body, turning to see my head was bowed and my body was dead. I walked, able to hold those that had been taken from me. I reached my wife, kissing her.

She smiled, “Welcome home.”

I smiled again, holding my daughters in each arm and my wife before me. “Yes… I am home…”

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

Fiction By:
Neophyte Lonewolf (Gray Jedi) / Battle Team Tyrant Sword of House Qel-Droma of Clan Arcona [GMRG: I] [SA: III] [INQ: I]
CFx11 / SoL
{SA: DMPH - DPE - DPV}

Submission in attachment.

The message concluded, and the comlink shut down. Undesirables. The Krath and Obelisk Orders are to be purged, and certain species were to be eliminated from within our ranks. A memory from his upbringing, it was reminiscent of the great Jedi purge, Order 66, which was orchestrated by Emperor Palpatine. The only difference now was that instead of massive amounts of clone troopers, it will be those within the Brotherhood ranks. Another thought that came to mind was the old Imperialist view of species-bias towards those that were deemed undesirable and shunned, and that was something he definitely didn’t want to be seen in that way.

His datapad chimed, foretelling of the new message that was waiting for him. Opening the message, she saw that it was a more detailed description of the Grand Masters plan. It told of what had already been put into motion, as well as what was planned for afterwards. At the bottom of the missive was a list of the undesirable species. He was taken aback by the list of those that were now deemed undesirable. He found that his own Clan had eight members that encompassed six of those species. Half of those were Journeyman and would be easy to dispatch, the rest would be more formidable and not so easily taken.

He knew that it wouldn’t take much to make those Journeymen disappear and make it look like an accident or a grave error on their part. Since they were new to the Clan, they haven’t had too big of a chance to make a name for themselves. But the other four, two Knights, an Augur, and an Adept. All friends, all either in positions of power or been in positions of power in the past.

Walking along the corridor, Armad felt himself looking around at the different species that made up the Clan and Warhost rosters. Every now and then, he would spy a species that was listed, and wondered if he could kill that particular being without raising too much of an alarm. Passing members of the Clan who were on the undesirable list gave him pause, making him question his loyalties.

Could he really do it kill his own friends? I mean it IS a directive from the Grand Master, but killing friends. That is something that he didn’t think he could actually do. But he didn’t want to outright refuse to not follow a Dark Council directive. So what could he do, what would he do? Armad had no clue. He could always start with the Journeymen, but if he were found out then the others could ban together, that would be unfortunate. He wondered whether the rest of the Clan was having the same dilemma that he was facing now. He’d thought of trying to broach the subject with others. But he didn’t know how he would even start that conversation.

Realizing that he definitely needed guidance, Armad decided to seek out a member of the Summit, whether his own House or the Clan’s, to see what their plan was for this new directive. But in the intervening time, Armad was just going to do nothing. He wasn’t going to kill any members of his Clan, other Clans undesirables maybe, but only if they encroached on Naga Sadow’s territory. But if a Sadowan did approach him, he wasn’t going aid them in any way, even if they were looking for help or sanctuary, he would turn them away, offering no assistance.

Lucyeth
#13700