Fiction Gallery

Survivors. Vreva's heart fell into her stomach as she looked to the burning wreck of the starliner. A thousand people could be within the pods littered about the ship. That changed things completely.

"Alright, we're heading in," Vreva said as she made her way down the ramp of the Nighthawk. The frozen air of Gethsemane's winter bit at her cheeks and nose, and whipped her long braids into a frenzy. A part of her was looking forward to the warmth of the hot metal debris. She pressed a few buttons on her comlink and brought up Paumgon's info. "Paum-paum? Relaying you the info on the pods. Think you can get the ship close enough to triage?"

"Haummmm... Not sure. Storm's starting to pick up. Can land, but I'm not sure when we'll be able to pick back up again."

Vreva scowled as she pushed through the drifts of snow. "Don't chance it, then. Keep near the Nighthawk and bring the gear around to me. Gonna need saws to get through all this durasteel." After an affirmative harumph from the herglic, the call disconnected. Time to get to work.

The zabrak picked through the wreckage, careful not to touch the blazing red durasteel. Sweat dripped from her brow as she affixed her goggles and mask. She did not want to breathe in whatever was coming off the ship components. The durasteel was superheated red in some parts, barring her path. She avoided these sections and used an amplified leap here and there to reach the broken core of the ship. The hologram at her wrist led the way to the first pod, a solid monolith among the twisted ribs of the starliner.

With a snarl of effort, Vreva shoved a sheet of alloy away from the pod door. A few tries to key in the code provided no reaction. The lights on the keypad flickered and dimmed before shutting down completely. That was not a good sign.

"Hey Paum, what do I do if the keypad don't work?" she asked as she held her comm to her mouth. Static came in response. No doubt the storm was causing interference. Just what she needed.

She slammed her fist into the keypad and broke off its front panel. The wires inside proved a futile puzzle as she zapped her fingers a few times trying to disconnect them. Okay, Plan C. Brute force.

Kicking the door down was not the best plan, but it was a plan. She regretted it immediately, however. Pain shot up her leg and she swore in Zabraki. Thankfully heavy footfalls signaled the appearance of her herglic companion with supplies. "Umm... Brought tools." Paum lifted the crate between his hands.

The Blood Eagle sped through the space above Nar Shadda like a beam of light slicing through the stars. Amidst a hailstorm of green lasers, the XS freighter swayed, spun, swerved and dashed about, maneuvering just barely enough to avoid being hit. The dorsal turret above the ship fired off an array of its own lasers in response, making impact and destroying one of the six pirate snub fighters pursuing the freighter.

“Nice hit Ajax.” The words of Saal Kesyk rang over the ship’s communication system. “Keep shooting like that and I might give you a raise”

“Like you would pay me anyway,” the IG-series droid responded dryly. “I could at least use a new blaster.”

“That DL-44 you’ve got is a family heirloom,” the Sith responded. “Just be glad it isn’t an E-5.”

“If I could roll my photoreceptors, that’s what I’d be doing right now,” said the droid.

The ship continued to zoom through space, with the enemy starfighters hot in pursuit. It cut to the left, and the X-wings cut with it efficiently, and without losing any space between them and the freighter. A series of beeps and boops emitted from the ship’s cockpit.

“Ajax, R3 says that the hyperdrive is only at 73%,” said Saal. “I don’t see us fixing it in time to escape in open space. There is an asteroid field ahead, I say we cut through the field to split their formation.”

“Are you insane? I don’t trust that astromech to navigate us safely through that field. I know you’re a notorious glutton for punishment, but that’s suicide.”

R3 chirped angrily in response.

“I’ll pilot, I can navigate us,” responded the Sith. “R3 can repair the hyperdrive.”

The IG unit let out a synthetic groan.

“I trust your force magic almost as much as I trust a maintenance spa ran by Jawas.”

“Well you’re going to have to trust it this time because I’m taking us straight into those asteroids.”

The ship zoomed into the asteroid field, followed by the snub fighters. They broke formation to avoid the clusters of asteroids, splitting off until only two were in direct pursuit of the Blood Eagle. Inside the cockpit, the holocommunicator on the ships dash rang, signaling that they were being hailed. Saal answer the communication, and the holocmmunicator sprang into life, projecting a replication of a tall, thin Zabrak.

“Blood Eagle, this is Garas Zyn. You have something that belongs to me.”

“I’m kind of in the middle of something Garas,” responded the Sith. He jerked the ship’s steering component, forcing the ship left to cut around a large asteroid at the last moment. The snub fighter pursuing the ship’s left flank swerved left, narrowly avoiding the asteroid and firing off a volley of lasers. The ship that was following the right was not so lucky, as it made fast impact with the asteroid in a fiery explosion.

“If you don’t return the cargo that was stolen from me,” the Zabrak continued, “my men will burn you in that asteroid field.”

“Tell you what Garas,” replied Saal. “Wire me 100,000 credits, and not only will I spare your mediocre pirates, but I’ll give return half of this spice I took from you.”

The Zabrak arched his brow, grimacing in anger. He opened his mouth to say something, then paused, and collected himself before continuing.

“You can’t honestly expect me to buy my own product back from you. Here is my counteroff-“

Saal cut the transmission and sent the Blood Eagle into a barrel roll, veering to the left as it avoided another volley from the lone pirate in pursuit. As the spin came to a stop, the ship’s dorsal turret spar out three fast shots, each cleanly hitting the pursuing fighter and conclusively blowing it to pieces.

“That’s what, three of them left?” Ajax’s vocoder buzzed and whirred at the trail of his words, in response to which he used the digits on his automated hands to thump it until the buzzing stopped, before letting out a sigh.

Almost immediately, one of the last fighters closed in from behind a small cluster of asteroids to the ship’s left, entering a narrow approach as it entered the ship’s port-side flank. Saal steered the ship to the left in an attempt to force the pursuing pirate to veer into a nearby asteroid. In response the snub fighter soared high over the asteroid before closing back into the pursuing line of the freighter. It fired off three shots that hit cleanly on the freighter’s left side, blowing rocking the ship.

“Shields are at 29%,” rang Saal’s voice over the intercom. “We are nearing the end of the asteroid field. R3, what’s the update on the hyperdrive?”

The droid beeped in response, indicating that the hyperdrive was almost ready.

Another volley of shots came from the Blood Eagle’s dorsal turret, which the snub fighter avoided. The ship’s navigational display beeped an alarm, as seven blips occurred on the grid. Saal looked through the viewport as he cleared through the rest of the asteroids, only to find a cluster of six more snub fighters and a CR 90 Corvette across the field of now open space. The three original pursuers were now all hot on the Blood Eagle’s tail, forming a triangle formation. The ship was now pinned in the middle of two lines of ships.

“R3, man the port-side turret I’ll begin priming the hyperdrive.” Saal remained calm as he began prepping the ship, pressing buttons and turning knobs with a rhythm that was almost robotic in nature.

The droid beeped and buzzed as it took over the turret. It aimed at the ships closing in from the front, setting off a rapid array of lasers which managed to hit a few of the ships. The ship maintained its course, continuing to head straight for the line of ships closing in from the front. The ships got closer, and closer, until at the last moment, the ship jerked up. As the pirates attempted to follow, two of the ships that were approaching from the rear collided into one of the opposite flanking ships, causing an explosion, the remnants of which the other six fighters zoomed upwards through. Ajax let of another volley of well placed hits, with one ship being rocked by the damage and another being destroyed.

Saal pulled down on the steering, bringing the ship back to a level plane, as the final pursuing ships leveled out relative to them.

“Hold on everyone,” shouted the Sith, and with the push of a lever, the ship’s hyperdrive activated, sending the crew flying into hyperspace. The Plagueian let out a sigh of relief.

“Took you long enough,” said Ajax. “For a moment, I fantasized about being in a maintenance spa ran by Jawas. We need to find a new line of work.”

Saal let out a light chuckle, thinking of all the money he had just made by procuring this cargo. He was blissfully unaware of the tracking device that blinked on the hull of his beloved vessel.

https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/character_sheets/21175

A harsh light filtered into his eyes awoke Hector Von Ricmore from slumber. His limbs ached and his head pounded. Anything beyond breathing was a struggle.

The Kiffar forced himself, inch by agonizing inch, to move his head and analyze the situation. He lay on a rocky surface, somewhere on Zsoldos if his memory was correct. His armor lay in tatters. Burns littered exposed flesh. His body lay in the remains of an escape pod. The vessels IFF listed it as a pod from Korvis‘ ship.

Korvis.

Hector remembered now. He had been speaking with his consul aboard his ship when everything had gone wrong.

The group had gone to inspect the Vizsla shipyards refusing to respond to any communication. And then the reactor went critical. Korvis stayed aboard the vessel, delaying the reactor long enough for Hector to escape.

And now he was dead.

Hector couldn‘t believe it. Korvis was indomitable. Willful. Sturdy. He had been a constant presence in Clan Vizsla for the last few years. In a mere moment he was wiped away.

Tears rolled down Hector‘s face as his battered body shook with sadness and rage. He took heaving breaths; trying in vain to calm himself.

He burned with shame.

Shame at his own weakness. Once again unable to save someone close to him.

There would be a reckoning. He would find who was behind the sabotage; it was impossible that the Clan Vizsla mechanics would keep Korvis ship in such a poor state where a reactor meltdown was a natural occurrence.

Lost in his thoughts and feelings he missed the signs of a solitary figure approaching.

The woman wore robes of deep crimson with a pointed hood; the garb of a Nightsister Mother.

She announced her presence, twin voices overlapping, one high and one deep. “You seek vengeance?“

Hector eyed the being warily. He had no idea how the sentient had appeared before him. And Force users could have a variety of motivations.

“We share a common enemy, you and I. As thanks for liberating my temple on Dathomir I now offer you a proposition. Swear yourself to me, and swear that you shall not turn your blade upon me and cause me harm. And in return I shall teach you Magick, the secrets of the Nightsisters.”

The deal had the potential to be lucrative but there was certainly something that Hector was missing. But in his current state, mind clouded by injury and anger, he agreed to the deal.

The Nightsister mother wielded her magick with expertise; sealing his wounds and fixing his armor. Then, as suddenly as she appeared, she vanished.

The Dark Jedi stood and slowly made his way to the spaceport. He boarded his ship and requested aid from the Vizsla military. 24 members of Frostwolf Company responded to his call, armed with blaster rifles and explosives.

The strike team flew aboard Raven Requiem to the planet of Kant. Approaching the planets orbit, the ship landed aboard the Respite repair yard.

The team saw no signs of life. No forced entry but none of the repair yard workers were present. The team collected the jamming devices and proceeded further into the station. They entered the structure’s control room. The station’s cameras had been disabled in the attack and the data gathered had been corrupted. With enough time, hopefully a skilled slicer could fix the data and learn more.

Vreva propped her feet up on the wall of the Nighthawk, braids dangling down past her seat. She watched the others from her topsy-turvy view as they gathered their things for the mission ahead. Everything she needed was with her pack. Her rifle was already cleaned and loaded, her blade sharpened.

She was so bored.

"Blood rushing to your head, yet?" Paum mused as he checked his pack.

"Not yet," she replied, though when she righted herself she felt just the slightest bit of nausea. She exhaled with a deep sigh as she bounced her knee. "When the kark are we getting there? Want to get this cleanup done so we can count the creds and be on to the next."

"On to the next?"

"I need to kill something."

Paum let out a whoosh of air through his blowhole. "Vreva. Not every mission has to be to the death. Creds are creds."

"Not for me." Vreva drew one knee up to her chest and wrapped her arms around it. She stared ahead at the far wall and refused to meet whatever look he gave her.

She could still hear the disappointment in his tone. "Vreva..."

"You knew what you signed up for, big guy. Just let me complain." She dragged her pack closer and started to sort out its contents on the seat beside her. Anything to keep her focus elsewhere. Paum wouldn't understand. He couldn't.

"How about a spar when we get back? You and me, like old times. Get some of that energy out."

"It's not that." Her brow furrowed as she returned each item in the same haphazard jumble within her pack.

"You want a challenge."

"I want to kill something." Vreva's yellow eyes turned on Paum. His own ruddy hues met her intimidating glare with a calmness that stifled her anger.

"What's wrong?" Paum asked.

His words caused her fire to flare again. Her nose wrinkled. "Nothing."

"Just a murderous streak?"

"I'm a paid murderer, Paum-Paum. It's what I do."

"You're more than a killer, Vreva."

Vreva laughed loud at that. Loud enough for others to glance her way. She gave a manic grin, daring them to say anything. This is what they paid her for. A Sith. A weapon.

"Didn't think you'd drink before a mission," she said in a biting snarl. Vreva knew it wasn't the truth, and Paum didn't flinch from her words. They both knew she was deflecting, concealing herself from him.

"If only. Might make this trip go by faster." Paum chuffed, then placed a large hand on the zabrak's shoulder. She shrugged off his touch as if burned by it, and his expression turned to a deep frown.

It hurt her in turn to see him so hurt, though she refused to give up her vitriol. "Let's just focus on the mission ahead," she said bitterly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Get this done, and see what comes next."

Paum remained silent at that and mirrored her stance. It was a quiet trip to Gethsemane.

Caerbannog valley, Kushibah.

It was nine years ago, in 16 ABY, when Wenet first experienced the Force. She had only just turned six a week prior, making her an adolescent for her kind and she was proud of it, as were her parents. It was late in the afternoon, they were just returning home from the market..

“Look at our Wenet, growing up so fast” Nun said to Unas as they pulled the wagon along the narrow path that led to their land. They watched their eldest daughter walking ahead of them with her siblings. She was holding hands with the twins, Tomna and Dashan, singing a song they had heard in town that day. Their brother hopped next to them, singing as well. “Few more years and she'll start a family of her own” Unas replied, but the way he said it made it sound sarcastic just as he intended. Nun looked at her husband “I do hope so. It is time she let go of those ridiculous dreams” she replied. According to them, Wenet was a dreamer, she had her head in the clouds, thinking about what else was out there in the galaxy. But Kushiban rarely left their home world, it just wasn't their way. So hearing their daughter talk about becoming a pilot was a shock, they even felt a little embarrassed about it, “I heard them talk in town, whispering when they saw her” Nun said softly, “I don't want her to get upset” she added. “Don't worry, we're still here” Unas replied and squeezed his wife's hand.

The sun stood low on the horizon, “we better hurry, It's going to be dark soon” Unas said as they continued their walk home. It was then when they heard a screech in the distance. All of them immediately stopped in their tracks, their ears stood straight on the top of their heads as they listened. Again, a loud screech that echoed across the valley. “Xinkras” Nun said, “kids, quiet.. we have to get home fast!” She didn't have to say it twice, they all knew the drill.

The children let go of each other's hands and began to run on all fours, they were faster that way. Wenet looked over her shoulder to her parents. They weren't as fast as they were pulling the wagon with supplies. She had a bad feeling but knew she had to get her brothers and sister back to their home. The sound of screeching became louder, the Xinkra were getting closer.

It took only a couple of minutes until they reached the farm. Unas and Nun brought the kids inside. The twins immediately jumped into bed, hiding themselves under their blanket. Wenet and her brother, Lochtay, stood at the window, looking outside. “Get away from that window” Nun pulled them away just before a large pack of Xinkras appeared. Screeching loudly they moved around the house, the ground trembled as they were searching for their prey hiding inside the house. Unas looked out of the window, “we have to scare them off, they are destroying our crops” he told his wives. In a few weeks the harvest would start, they couldn't afford losing everything now. He grabbed the scythe and walked to the door “there's too many Unas” Nun told him, hoping he would stay. “Listen” he replied, they could hear the bells in town “the people are coming, we just need to hold them off for a few minutes. Or we'll have no crops left” he added and opened the door. “Then I'm coming with you!” Nun replied and grabbed a burning torch, fire often scared them off. “Mommy!” The twins cried when they saw their mom leave. “Watch your brothers and sister, Wenet. Don't come outside.” The door closed behind her.

At once Wenet and her brother returned to the window, watching their parents trying to scare the Xinkras off. At first they seemed to succeed but then all of a sudden another beast appeared out of nowhere. The Alpha, it was bigger than any of the others in the pack and with ease It scooped their father up with its massive jaw. “NOOO!!!!” Lochtay yelled and hugged his sister, burying his face in her fur. Wenet kept looking, she saw how the beast threw their father up in the air and swallowed him whole “Dad!.. no.”

Wenet peeled her brother's arms off her. “Stay here!” she said as she rushed to the door. “Wenet! You can't” but she was already outside and had picked up her father's scythe. Her mother was still trying to fight off the beasts with fire, but the alpha wasn't afraid at all. With its tail it hit the burning torch out of her hands, causing her to fall. The towering beast stepped on her, crushing her to death.

“NOOOOOOO!!!” seeing it happen, Wenet was filled with rage. She began to sprint toward her mom, feeling a burst of energy that made her unnaturally fast. Just as the alpha picked up Nun, Wenet launched herself at him and struck him with the scythe across its head. The beast roared and slammed Wenet with its claw to the ground.

boom!

The last thing she saw was the beast running off with the lifeless body of her mom between its jaws. It was chased away by a mob of townspeople carrying torches and primitive weapons.

Not until much later, Wenet finally learned it was Force that she had felt that awful night. Sparked by the raw emotions she felt, anger, fear and love. It made her faster and stronger and it gave her courage to do what she did. Unfortunately without training or experience even she never stood a chance. She was left with an ugly scar across her face, to remind her every single day of that dreadful night when she lost both her parents...

Aris found himself walking down a small town shopping district, the sound of the townsfolk and merchants filling the air around him. He was in somewhat of a sad mood due to his Master’s passing around this time last year. He decided that his Master would not want him to lose heart or forget his training. He carried on the ways and traditions of the Jedi for his Master.

He became a Padawan just before the establishment of the New Republic. His master taught him to control his feelings just as she was taught by her master before the Clone Wars.

He spaced out slightly, thinking about his master as he made his way back to his ship. He didn’t notice a figure in a black cloak walking towards him. They bumped shoulders but the figure kept moving. Aris stopped for a moment and looked back at the figure. He could tell they were female by the manner in which they moved as well as the long, brown hair moving just past the edge of her cloak as the current of the breeze blew past her.

He could feel the conflict within her. The confusion. The hatred. He wanted to stop her but decided to carry on his way.

The figure in the black cloak looked behind her, revealing her face as she stared at the man she had bumped shoulders with. It was Elaine. Her green and blue eyes lingered on him for a moment after sensing the light side of The Force within him. She wondered what it must feel like to not have conflict. Not carry the hatred that haunted her.

She quickly dismissed the feelings and hope she was feeling for she knew that she could never know that freedom. She was trapped and any curiosity of what the light side held would get her killed. She was a Sith among many others who were more powerful than her.

She carried on with her mission and returned to her bedchambers in the Monolith. She laid there on her bed, in the dark, looking up at the ceiling while she was lost in thought as she doubted her way of life.

Why am I here? What’s the point? She thought. Her line of thinking only made her angry at herself for being so confused. She turned onto her side and closed her eyes then allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

A Few Hours Into The Night

Elaine opened her eyes, looking around what appears to be a town alleyway. Where am I and how did I get here? She thought.

She noticed a shadow that was much larger than her own being cast on the ground in front of her. She turned around and saw a big, white, furry creature that had sharp teeth and two horns pointing towards its mouth.

She swiftly leapt backwards and reached for her lightsaber. Much to her surprise, it was missing. My lightsaber! She thought as she looked for any other one of her weapons.

Where are my weapons?! More importantly, what is a wampa doing in a place like this? She had a feeling of trepidation while she tried to think of what to do next.

Unfortunately this concludes the fiction as I was unable to finish it in the required time. I do apologize and hope you enjoyed reading what little there was.