All Parts

Part 1

Written by DJK Kelvis, Thu May 28/98

On a remote planet, tucked away in an unimportant corner of the galaxy, a cloaked figure stands alone over an unmarked grave. As the figure glazes down,memories of a long gone childhood play in his head. Two boys, brothers who were inseparable, playing with one another on a lush jungle planet. His life was better in those days. Back then he was happy. Back then, he was allowed to be happy.

The man turns around to look at the surroundings he has come to. The place to where he once called home. Now it is nothing more than tomb. A resting place to all that he once was. A reminder of betrayl!

It was time for him to finally go, and to leave behind everything that he was. The shadowy figure peered down to the nameless grave and asked it's resident, "Why?" The cloaked wanderer gathered his belongings and supplies. He suddenly stops. He turns to the grave and ignites a lightsaber. He slowely carves into the rock above the unmarked grave. Once finished, he returned to gathering his belongings and boarded his personal shuttle.

Two curious spectators wait for the shuttle to lift off before venturing to the markings the cloaked figure left. "Well?" pushed the one man. "What does it say?"

As requested the other man read the inscribed epitaph. "Here Lies Frelix." "Who's Frelix?" asked one of the men. Neither man knew.

"I am!" called a voice from behind. The men turned around stratled, only to be uneasied more at the sight of no one behind them. The two men returned their gazes to one another. "Let's get out of here!" offered one, "Good idea!" the other replied.

The two men run as fast as they can. After awhile they stop. Out of breath, and far away from anyone or anything, one of the men asks, "Did you bring a blaster?" The other man searched his pockets, attempting to find the answer. Finally, the man's hand brushes against the blaster. Seeing this, the other man says, "Here, quickly give it to me!" The man, being the other's friend for lifetime, gives it to his trusted friend. *BAM* The man falls dead to the floor. The man standing looks at his newest victim, and let's out a horrible laugh. A laugh that doesn't fit that of man standing over his frriend. A laugh that was killed before. It was the laugh of Frelix. He had returned.


Part 2

Written by KP Sirrus, Fri May 29/98

Four-thousand light years from the cemetary where the spirit of Frelix had supposedly been laid to rest, the dead moon of Eos quietly spinned around in its orbit, the thundering noise of silence shreiking over the steel hull of the Dark Hall of the Brotherhood of the Dark Jedi, like a live creature screaming to be let in from the cold. Inside, it was a much different scene. A pair of Guardians sat around a table, sharing a round of Corellian Tonsil Toaster, laughing and singing battle hymns they knew by heart. A Novice was reading over a chapter of the Compedium, munching on a Quelion ham and fiffinhager sandwich, unwitting the next victim of a prankster who had placed a crude whoopee cushion on the Jedi's seat. The mood was one of merriment, joy, and relaxation, a rare scene among those who were known for their anger and hate, but a nice break from the constant lectures and instructions drilled into them by the various Dark Side experts.

But in a remote corner in the deepest, dankest pits of the lowest floor of the tower of shadows, a field of emotion and feeling wrapped around a cloaked figure, its legs crossed over each other, hands closed, eyes shut. Through it's minds ran images of creation, destruction, rebirth, corruption, change, and ultimate victory, the endless cycle of the galaxy, and in this constant spiral was a secret, some truth that would reveal a piece of enlightenment sought after by countless scholars, students, masters, a meaning to the stars, life, everything...

But before that could happen, a light switched on, clouding the figure's mind and dashing his concentration.
"Hey," Dark Adept Menacer said, strolling into the room, as non chalant as could be.
"What you doing down here, man?" Krath Priest Sirrus did his best to harness his fury at the rude interruption, called on a demeanor of calm, and replied, "Nothing."
"When did you get here, anyway?" Menacer inquired, as Sirrus rose from his spot.
Looking the priest up and down, Menacer arrived at the conclusion that the mercenary had looked better; his auburn hair was unkept, his usual gaunt, spotless body was bruised and stained, and he had an air about him that reeked of someone who had been living out of his ship for a month. The only things that looked good about him was his goatee, which was shaved and cut fine, and the robes he wore, which looked like they had just been taken back from the cleaners.
"The details of me being here are not revelant," Sirrus said, sighing as he passed Menacer abruptly and headed for the door, stepping into the corridor. "What is important is that a great and powerful force has been released and has led to an influx of necromantic powers, and I must inform the Dark Council at once."
Menacer chased after his old comrade, a step behind. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, man," he said, pondering if this was another one of Sirrus odd jokes. "Want to run by that me again...you know, in Basic maybe?"
Sirrus sighed heavier. "Some bad stuff happened and now a dead person or dead people are roaming around, so now I got to tell the Big Dogs so we can nip this thing in the bud. Do you get it now, man?"
"Oh," Menacer said, taking a moment to reflect on what he had just heard. Suddenly, a issue of prime import rushed into his mind.
"Erad Revbor isn't coming back, is he?"
"Doubt it. He was an over-used character anyway. He signed up for a two-plot deal with us and we've met our deal. His agent tried to land another agreement with me, but I crunched his throat."
"What?"
"Uh...never mind. I've been out of sorts lately."
Menacer could understand that. After going insane (more so than was usual for Sirrus), hi-jacking an EH commissioned ISD and then making an attack on the EH, which resulted in a show trial that had barely let Sirrus squeak out of the door of acquittal, he would be "out of sorts" too. All of that combined with him nearly losing all of his credits to the government and his career pretty much down the toilet, Menacer was surprised Sirrus hadn't gone on a three-month binge and ended it all. But he wasn't complaining; he was a good Krath member, a very skilled writer, and a potential recruit for CSP...
"So, where are we going?" Menacer said, still trailing behind. Sirrus, who obviously had not planned on there being a "we", spun around and said, "I'm going to the the Krath Lore Chambers to see what I can find in terms of Jedi relations to necromancy as well as what sort of impact this could have on us." A grin made its way onto his whiskered face. "Then, I have to look into a certain little group of fellas...a certain little over-clan.."
Menacer narrowed his eyebrows and stood on one foot. "You don't mean the Star Chamber is involved, do you?"
Sirrus only smiled, nodded, and began to walk down the hallway, as Menacer stood there, dumbfounded.
Out of no where, a large weight dropped from the ceiling, a mere precious amount of inches from where Menacer stood. Startled, he jumped back, and looked up. There was nothing, save for a tiny 6 inch-by-6 inch vent, which was currently blowing in some whisks of air.
Menacer considered the state of affairs for an entire ten seconds before he filed it as one of Veelon's practical jokes, and also resolved it would be better to get away from the locale as fast as he could, which he promptly did, his steps echoing as he trotted after Sirrus.
A shrill laugh followed behind him, and, just as the weight had appeared without warning, so did a darkish, tanned man, with a long nose and beady eyes, wearing a flowing black tunic, a dagger tucked into the belt he wore round his waist. He peered around, saw a very angry Novice with Quelion ham and fiffinhager on his robe, chasing after a giggling Jedi Hunter, and then disappeared into the shadows, his haunting cackle filling no ears but his own...


Part 3

Written by KP Sirrus, Fri Jun 05/98

   The warm summer winds blew through the rows and rows of trees that flourished brightly against the blue skies, the green leaves catching onto the breezes, tossing them back and forth, gently rocking, like children in their cradles. A few lost their hold on the limbs and fell to the ground below, in the worn dirt path that had been smoothed out of a green meadow. As gravity brought them down, wavering, they were crushed under a pair of leather boots.
   The boots tightly fit the feet of their owner, a tall muscled man, with a mane of red hair that was put into a ponytail and hung over his neck. A short beard was trimmed around his thin lips, and his nose, long and gaunt, snorted slightly. His cold, icy blue eyes were buried into a book he was reading, which he held with one hand. A knapsack was in the other, bulging with its contents. He paid no attention to his surroundings. He simply proved himself happy to read and stroll on, and did so until he arrived at the nearest spaceport, where he hitched a ride on a transport headed for a group of planets in the Outer Rim.
   As what would seem a mere conicidence, those same trees, their leaves, the path, and green meadows all went up in smoke with the rest of the planet it belonged to, when it exploded a few hours after the transport's departure. The sudden destruction of a world for no apparent reason would boggle scientists and scholars for many months, before they would finally throw up their hands, label it a phenomenon, and find some other mystery to puzzle over.
   Also a seemingly unrelated event, the transport reached its destination, dropped off its cargo and passenger, and then set course for the Corellia system. However, it never reached that point, never came into contact with its headquarters, and was later presumed to have been destroyed due to some fluke that no one could truly explain.
   At any rate, when a tall, crimson-haired man stepped out into the busy downtown of New Imperial City, no one much seemed to notice. They did not bother him, nor did he bother them. He seemed happy to just stroll along, reading a book...

   The book came down with a bang as it was slammed on the furnished desk that stood in the center of the Main Krath Lore Chamber in the Dark Hall on Eos. With eager fingers, Krath Priest Sirrus flipped through the pages. Dark Adept Menacer, standing off to the side, looked at the text and Sirrus with a curious face. It had been a good 30 minutes since Sirrus and him had started their searching of the shelves of ancient Krath documents, and it seemed Sirrus had finally found what the book he was looking for. Now it was just a matter of time before the eccentric priest discovered what he sought inside it...
   "Aha!" Sirrus shouted. He pointed to an image inside the book; on it, there were crude inscriptions of a language that Menacer recognized as being thousands of years old, considered dead now, and a picture of skeletons apparently dancing around the outline of a human being. The outline was dark, without detail, but it was obviously shaped like a humanoid.
   "Do you know what this is?" Sirrus asked Menacer, pointing to the inscription.
   "Yeah, that's Y'lanrit, used by the elder prophets of the Sith Empire. I remember...I did a report on them for the Shadow Academy."
   Sirrus nodded, somewhat impressed. "True. But do you know what it says?"
   Tracing a finger over the words, Menacer spoke aloud what he could translate. "'...And there shall come a time of great turmoil and revelation, when the Endless One shall arise, and he shall spread anarchy and chaos across the stars, bringing with him death and much destruction, laying waste to the souls of those at peace and forcing them from their graves...it shall be a time of trial for the Dark Jedi and the Force, for only them united in opposition will defeat against the Endless be possible...'" Menacer suddenly stopped. "Here," he said, pointing to a line of figures, "I can't read that. I'm not familiar with the dialect."
   Sirrus closed his eyes, and slowly, his lips parted. "'...This shall be Judgement Day.'"
   "Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen," Menacer exclaimed, his spine becoming quite stiff. "You mean this foretells of the end of the the Dark Side?"
   Shaking his head, Sirrus spoke again, gruffly. "No. The end of the galaxy."
   "Oh," Menacer said, finding little comfort in that answer.
   "Come," Sirrus said, taking the book up and walking back to the volumes behind him. "We must prepare."


Part 4

Written by SW DragonXX, Fri Jun 05/98

The Grand Master, Lord Khyron, listerned to what Krath Priest Sirrus, and Dark Adept Menacer had to say. He listerned very closely, but didn't let a single hint of fear, amusment, or even disguist. It was like his face was carved of the hardest type of marble stone in the Galaxy. The only thing that ever moved was his long blond hair, which was just even so slightly moving in the cool, lite breeze that was coming from an unknown source in the Throne Room.
   As Sirrus finished, Khyron moved his head, and looked to the side, and said, in a low tone, "Y'lanrit...". Sirrus and Menacer had to use almost every bit of their Force powers to make sure they even heard him.
   Lord Khyron turned and looked at them, and said in a much higher voice, but in a very dark and colder tone, "You must understand that if you know this, then you might not even live to see the blackness of night again. The Star Chamber, will hear this, but if I were you, I would find a place and hide there for a while. Dark severnts of this Y'lanrit, will be coming for you." He pause, and it almost seemed that he didn't want to tell them something, but then he went ahead, and said it anyways. "You might also want to find Kelvis. His live might be in danger as well, if his brother is somehow intrangled in all of this."
   Sirrus and Menacer both looked at each other and then back at their Grand Master, and Menacer said, "But sir, we didn't say anything about Frelix!"
   "I know." Lord Khyron turned, and walked away from the two, and disappeared in one of the many dark corners that were in his Throne Room. Sirrus and Menacer stood there, wondering just what to do. They were some of the best, if not the best, the Dark Brother had to offer, and if the Grand Master of the Brotherhood, had told them to hide, then what was it, that was coming after them that was so dangeous. What could this Y'lanrit really send that would be so powerful. They both knew that this Y'lanrit was powerful, but how powerful was its followers?

   Meanwhile, in the New Imperial City, a red haired man reading a book, took a seat in a back alley. One of the few slums still in the city. He just sat there, as people outside the alley walked on. Some where highly dressed civilians, some were off-duty Imperial personal, most were Imperial Stormtroopers. But the man with the book paid them no mind, he just went on reading.
   As the day turned to night, and less of the public elite were roaming aournd, a few drunks came out, looking for a good time. They spoted the man reading the book in the alley, and went over there to have some fun.
   As they got closer to him, he turned a page in the book and went on reading. One of the drunks turned to another, and said something and then he, and the other 2 drunks grabed the book from the man and started to push him around. The man just looked at them, and seconds later, he was walking again, with his book, knapsack and his long red-crimson hair flowing behind him. He just kept on reading, as the blood of the three drunks which were once human oozed down the wall of the building...


Part 5

Written by DJK Avian Blackbird, Sat Jun 06/98

The tromp of leather boots on the polished steel of the chamber's floor echoed throughout. But not a soul in that crowded room turned their heads at the noise. The owner of the leather boots glanced up for a millisecond and promptly buried his nose back into his book, which he was reading rather intensely. He gradually made his way to a secluded corner of the Library, and stood there, leaning against the wall. Waiting. And reading.

At the Imperial Data Library, there were many citizens enriching their minds, learning new ideas, and checking out hot babes. Avian Blackbird was engaged in the latter. Not openly, of course...he had an intelligent looking tome in front of him which he was looking at with a thoughtful look on his face. The book was upside down, but how was he to know? Either way, the mission seemed to be failing. Nothing to look at except books, and a bunch of SA students studying for their exam. Rather homely looking Apprentices at that. In the silence of the Library, a slow, steady tromp of leather boots could be heard, but Avian payed it no heed. A few minutes passed, slience resumed as the footsteps ceased. Avian started for the door when it opened of it's own accord. He stopped in his tracks as a Phyle of Krath glided in, their royal purple robes flowing behind them. A rather silly looking way to make an entrance, especially in New Imperial City, but he couldn't help but sense the power eminating from them. He quickly sped back to his intelligent looking tome, left forgotten on the floor. In a Krath Phyle, there were bound to be a few lovely ladies there, he had not known otherwise in his experiences. He picked up the tome, rightside up this time by a coincidence. He then went through his "gallery" of thoughtful, philosophical looks and glances at the book while turning the pages periodically. Soon a flicker of wind against his face alerted him of a Krath Priest next to him. He started for a second, then regained his composure, looking slowly up from the tome. The gaze of the Priest was, to say the least, contemptous. His voice in which he addressed Avian matched that.
   "Sith, we have need of that tome that you are...and I use the term loosely, reading."
   Avian suddenly became indignant, "And what makes you think that I'm not reading this?!?"
   The Priest slowly took the tome, turned it rightside up and placed it back into Avian's hands. "This might give you a hint. Now I need that tome and I need it as soon as possible, I am...."
   "Hold it. Why is it suddenly all "I" and "me"...I could've sworn that before it was a community "we" sorta thing before..."
   The Priest's face contorted into a mask of frustration and rage and he grabbed Avian by his lapel, "Listen to me, flyboy. YOU, are a DJK....I am a Krath Priest. My orders are to bring THIS tome to KP Sirrus. What I say, you obey, got it? Now give me the book and get the freakin hell out of here before I decide to blast you out of existance with a glare...."
   Dumbly, slowly, Avian handed the tome over with a suspicious look at the Priest. The Krath Priest took it and gestured to his phyle with a nod. The Phyle filed out with hardly a noise...Avian noticed a rather good looking female member near the back as they went out. He got her attention through a series of wild hand gestures and a whistle, then smoothly winked at her. She looked away and passed through the door. Hmmm....must not have noticed me, Avian thought. He looked back at the bookcases, seeing out of the corner of his eye a muscular man tromp his leather clad feet towards the doorway that the Phyle exited. The man looked up from his book long enough to smooth back his crimson hair which had gotten in his eyes. He then strolled out the doorway. Avian Blackbird stood looking for another book when a series of screams reached his ears. A sizzle, then a dying scream. Then all was silent. Except for a few footsteps. The crimson haired man re-entered the room, nose still in his book. but it was not the same book he had entered with. It was Avian's tome, from which the Priest had taken from h im a moment earlier. But then that had to mean...
   Avian ran out of the Library and saw a sight that revolted him, but not unexpected. The Krath Phyle were slaughtered, lying in the street while pedestrians ogled in horror. Avian sprinted right back into the library, igniting his lightsaber, searching for the crimson haired man. Nowhere to be found. No trace could be found of him. Questioning the Apprentices was useless, they were too busy studying to be any help. The lightsaber vanished back into it's handle, and Avian went back into the creeping night. Who could be of help in this case? The Krath Priest mentioned Sirrus. It's always possible. But where would he be at this time of night?....


Part 6

Written by KAP Voranyen, Sat Jun 06/98

   "Necromancy, you say?" asked the Head Scribe of the Brotherhood Archives on Eos.
   "Yes."
   "Seems to be a popular topic lately," the scribe said as he began to lead Archpriest Voranyen towards the section on necro- things (Which you can imagine is fairly important in a dark brotherhood such as our own).
   "I heard from the little whispers in the walls that something big was happening involving that stuff," Voranyen said. "I'd bet my paycheck that half of the Jedi on Eos have spy gear set up around the Dark Hall," the scribe said with a wry face. Presently the two came to the Necro- section.
   Voranyen picked a book at random. "Necrophilia and You," he said, grinning as he imagined Menacer trying to smuggle the book out of the archives. Vor put it down and glanced at the books under 'Arts of the Undead.' "Read it, read it, read it," he muttered for a while. "Ooh, haven't read it." The Archpriest picked up a book entitled The Methods of the Y'lanrai.
   "That's not an actual Y'lanrai piece," the scribe said from behind Voranyen. "It's a copy of the original."
   Voranyen flipped through the pages. He looked at the scribe. "Have you got another copy? This one's missing a page."
   "Arrg, that's the diagram of the Y'lanrai death dance," the scribe moaned. "That's the theme of the entire book!"
   "Well, do you have another copy? I'd like to get a look at this."
   The scribe looked nervously at him. "Well, there's one- the original, actually- that's locked up in a vault. Expensive stuff, ya know. Only the Star Chamber and myself have access to it." Voranyen reached into one of his many pockets, and showed the scribe the corner of a 5,000 credit bill.
   "Untracable," the Archpriest whispered. The scribe looked around nervously and grabbed at the bill. Voranyen pulled it out of his reach calmly. "Not until I see that document." The scribe shrugged and led him into the darkness towards the back of the archives. Hidden- kinda- by a few looming bookshelves was a small portal. It must have been keyed to the force, because it opened just as the scribe was about to bump into it. Voranyen stepped through into a dimly lit room. Around the room were various artifacts, mostly presumed destroyed. There was an assortment of holocrons in one corner, as well as tomes of ancient lore, pieces of art, and other junk. The scribe bent down and picked up a volume just sitting in the middle of the floor.
   "How did this get here?" the scribe muttered to himself. Voranyen saw that it was The Methods of the Y'lanrai. Voranyen picked it up and flipped through to the picture of the death dance. It was missing. "No!" the scribe gasped.
   "Where is it?" Voranyen said hurriedly.
   "It's gone. It's the original, the only one with power over the undead! It's gone!" the scribe nearly yelled. A brief sweep of the scribe's weak mind showed that the hysterics were genuine.
   "And only the Star Chamber has access to this," Voranyen muttered. "I'd better see Sirrus about this."

   "Thank you, Master, for bringing me this document," came a voice from the darkness.
   "My pleasure," said the figure in the cloak. He turned and was escorted to his shuttle by a pair of officers. One would have thought the escorts were Imperial, but for the reddish tint their uniforms had. The dark figure looked down at the picture of the Y'lanrai death dance. The only thing different about the original was the inscription that translated into, "To the conquerors, the bones."


Part 7

Written by KP Sirrus, Sun Jun 07/98

   Sitting in the Dark Hall's tiny lounge of relaxation and rest, Sirrus sipped slowly from the glass of Nonnel wine in his hand, watching as the small waves rocked back and forth, smashing against the sides and then rolling back, like a minature ocean in his grasp...He often found himself distracted like that, especially after a few glass of Nonnel wine.
   He looked up from his refreshment to see the antsy faces of Avian Blackbird, the Dark Jedi Knight who had came to him, ranting about some episode at the New Imperial City Library. Next to Blackbird was Archpriest Voranyen, Quaestor of House Senryaku of Clan Aquillas, who had in much the same way came raving about an equally odd occurance at the Lore Chamber. He had fought their requests for information quite amusing, and was in no hurry to disclose anything he knew right away. He had gotten Blackbird to buy him a drink, and Voranyen had donated the credits for Menacer to go off and flirt at the gambling tables not too far off. Apparently, the Council had found that the despair of those who lost were a source of Dark Side power...
   "Well?" Voranyen asked, anxiously.
   "Well, what?" Sirrus replied, playing stupid. People had a hard time telling if it was playing sometimes, or if he was honestly ignorant of his situations. Most suspected him of posing that way to learn more about affairs than he had any right to know, and were cautious about him, often playing along with his "act", usually at a very careful pace.
   "Well, what do you know about all this?" Voranyen stated bluntly. "Why are Krath Priests, apparently in your service, requesting books from fellow Dark Jedi..." He made a motion towards Blackbird, and went on. "...suddenly dying, apparently in relation to scarlet-haired literary fans? And what is the connection to this strange death dance and the Y'lanrai?" By the time he had finished, Voranyen had worked himself into such a fever that he was on the brink of shouting and causing an unsavory scene right here in the middle of the lounge.
   "Ease yourself, Archpriest Voranyen," Sirrus said calmly. "I will explain to you both what this mind of mine is aware of...though I may not, sadly, reveal everything you wish to understand."
   Blackbird and Voranyen glanced at each other, sighed, and said nothing, waiting for Sirrus to go on.
   "It may interest you to know, Voranyen, that the replica of the death dance page is in my possession, though I am unable to tell you who has the original, though my estimation would be the Star Chamber. But the fact that the Y'lanrai are involved tells me something that makes it not at all surprising that the Over Clan would involve themselves..."
   "Just who are the Y'lanrai?" Blackbird inquired. "I tried looking them up, but there is no listing..."
   Sirrus grinned and, reaching into his robe, removed some papers. Plopping some wire-thin reading glasses on his long nose, he said, "I took it upon myself to discover more information on the Y'lanrai -- besides their language, which I am quite fluent in and is basically all of I know of them -- and found, buried beneath a mountain of history, tall tales, and legends, the planet on which the Y'lanrai once occupied, Kal'rai, which, by the way, in Y'lanrit, means 'dark omen.' The world had been largely ignored by both the Empire and the New Republic, and hence, is not well documented, but I did find some interesting information about those who currently live there."
   "Who?" Blackbird and Voranyen asked with baited breath.
   Sirrus smiled as he pointed to a paragraph in the papers in front of him, and, reading, said, "'The population of Kal'rai is divided into two distinct factions: those named Lamia, and those named Augustia. The Lamia are imperialistic, bent on interstellar rule. Augustia is a peaceful society based on scientific pursuit and athletic sports involving water.'"
   Scratching his head, Blackbird turned to Voranyen, you said, "Is that all?"
   "No," Sirrus said. "It goes on to say that both Lamia and Augustia are the size of amoebas and are barely sentient, and spend most of their time talking about all the stuff they're going to do while munching on imported cheeses brought in by the Corporate Sector. Overall, not related to the Y'lanrai in the least."
   Blackbird and Voranyen sighed in unison.
   Picking up on the despair of his audience, Sirrus pulled out another paper. "Thankfully, I did not give up, friends. I picked up on the 'omen' clue and searched under the keyword of 'prophecy.'" He stopped speaking, and his pair of companions looked at him, impatient for more.
   Sirrus went on. "Ages before history was first written down, the Sith Empire had expanded its horizons to new planets, where the Lords of the Sith hoped to find new resources of anger, hate, agression, where the Dark Side thrived...Kal'rai was such a place, and a group of Jedi wise men settled there, and meditated. If they found anything of any importance, they were to report to their seniors at once. Indeed they did find something, and it was very important.
   "Long ago, the prophets of Kal'rai foretold of a time when great anarchy would enter upon the universe, and order would be devoured by rebellious insurgents. Despite this time of turmoil, however, there would also be unity among the Dark Jedi, the most powerful coming into houses they would share in the shadows. But even these bonds of brotherhood would be torn by the test of a force greater than any revolution, any man, or any artifact of power, but rather a part of the Force itself...not a tangible figure, but something beyond that, a personification of death and destruction.
   "This creature will rise to destroy the entire galaxy and claim the souls of those who make their homes upon it. Only those strongest in the Force will fight it and survive, and only the strongest of the strong can defeat it. If they cannot, all the stars shall melt and the universe shall come to an end."
   There was a long silence, and then Voranyen spoke low and grim. "So this incarnate of death and destruction...is that what killed the Krath Priest? Is that what's making the dead rise from their graves?"
   Sirrus nodded absently and gulped down the rest of his drink. "I imagine so. It's a popular belief that those who have been murdered, killed, will rise from their resting spots and behold the revelation, when some sort of divine power will bring about a final judgement that results in the desolation of all and every thing. I guess that's what's happening now, with Frelix..."
   "So what are we going to do now?" Blackbird asked, looking up from the floor, which he had been staring at blankly.
   Sirrus waved his hands, and in the back of the lounge, they could see someone heading towards them. "I called Kelvis a short while ago, and he's agreed to help us. What we're going to do," he said, making signal to Menacer, who was losing most of his savings in Sabacc, "is try to find this red-haired man and see if he really is this Doomsday creature as I suspect him to be."
   "And then what?" Voranyen said.
   Sirrus smiled at him. "Try not to get killed, of course."


Part 8

Written by SW DragonXX, Sun Jun 07/98

   Two Strike Cruisers on recon duty of a dead planet launched a pair of shuttles, each, to investigate four different parts of the planet, to find out what all of the weird readings were that were coming from it.
   As the first shuttle, a Sentinel-class Landing Craft, touched down. A pair of Stormtroopers, freash out of Hammer Fist Boot Camp, followed by a pair of techs with high tech sensor equipment walked down the ramp, just before it finished setting down, and began to scan the area. They didn't even last 10 whole seconds out of the landing craft. The crew of the space ship never had a chance to even think about it.
   Soon all four shuttle left the planet. But not with just the crew, and passengers that they had when they went down, but with so many more, and soon, whatever these things were, the crew of the Strike crusiers would soon become one also.
   Soon, the whole galaxy, would become like them.

   Sirrus, Voranyen, Blackbird were standing outside the doors to the Grand Throne Room. They could all hear the Commander of the Guard, Master Blazer; the Knight Commander, Dark Adept Kaerner; Deputy Grand Master, Dark Side Adept Jammin and Grand Master Khyron, talking, and sometimes shouting, about what had to be done about the deaths of many Krath and other beings that lived in New Imperial City. They had been waiting for some time. They didn't even noticed the elderly dark-skinned man that was behind them, until he had finished his seventh smoke, and was now walking in-between them, and opened the doors.
   "Who in the Empire dares to open the doors to the Grand Master's Throne Room!" Shouted Blazer, who was stunned to even miss something like that before it was right on top of him.
   "No one to see you. Some one to see the Grand Master, though." The old man spoke in an old dilect of the Old Republic.
   The high ranking Dark Jedi turned to look at their Grand Master, who up to this point, wasn't saying much at all about what to do about the deaths. Now he was smiling, and have a very hard time from keeping form laughing.
   Just then, a pair of Guards-men came runing in. One was Valkyrie, an elite warrior, who many had trouble trying to even keep par with in combat. The other was Imp22, who was just as good as Valkyrie, if not better. Both men stood there with their lightsabers on, waiting for the chance to use them against the intruder.
   "Your services will not be needed my dear Guards, but I must say that you two have had one of the best react times that I have every seen. You two must have a find control over your ability to sense what is in your surrondings. I see that my Commader of the Guard picks his warriors well." The Grand Master said, as he turned to shake the hand of his dear and old friend. "Warco, long time. I am glad to see that the little action on Nar Shadda didn't do much to you."
   "Well that Fesl character was a real good Jedi, but no one, and I mean no one, can detect me though the Force. These two," he said as he pointed to the guardsmen, "just happen to pick up something from their Commander. But you are right, they did have a great react time."
   "Warco," Khyron said pointing to the group standing outside the Throne Room. "I would like you to meet some of my best Jedi."
   "I already know them. They were standing out there for hours, waiting to get in here."
   Sirrus walked over to Warco, and reached out with his hand, to at least try and feel this person. Nothing.
   "So, you are the famed Intel Officer, Warco, who Fesl use to talk about. He thought you were dead, but now I see how, and why, you let him think so." Sirrus said as he looked over to the Grand Master, who was now back to his perfect stone face again.
   Warco only smiled.
   "Well, I would hate to break it to you all, but I think there are some important things that need our attention, and I think we need to get it down right away." Menacer said as he worked into the view, drinking on a mug of '54 Votex Wind Ale.
   "We were just getting to that." Jammin said, as a holo, made up of both electroic equipment, and the use of the Force, appeared in the middle of the room. "The Star Chamber, had just informed us of some very helpfull data. And, it is at the request of the Grand Master, that you four, go, distract the red-haired monster, while Warco gets behind him and takes him... alive." He saids at the last moment.
   "Oh, goodie. Talk about fun." Blackhawk says, as he pulls out what seem to be a data-card with his will on it.


Part 9

Written by SW DragonXX, Thu Jun 11/98

   They stood there, as the shuttle set down, on the landing ramp, Sirrus, Voranyen, Blackbird, Menacer, the two guards men, Valkyrie and Imp22, and Warco, who was standing far off in the background. They all stood perfectly still as the ramp of the shuttle came down, and a lone figure came walking down. Sirrus similed as he reached out a hand to the robed Jedi.
   "Kelvis. Stang, it is good to see you!" Menacer cryed out, as he walked up to his old friend, and bear-hugged him.
   "Mee-nnaaa-ceer, let me go men!" The Dark Jedi Knight cryed out, as he was being squeezed to death.
   As Menacer put him down, Kelvis went around, and either said hello to someone he knew, or he meet someone he never knew, for the first time. As he was finishing up, he saw Warco in the background, and was suprised. He could have sworn that there was no one there. He reached out with the Force. Nothing.
   "Is that who I think it is?" He asked to Sirrus.
   "I am afriad so. Warco the Intel Officer."
   "I heard stories about him from Fsel. I am suprised that he is still alive, but then again, having lived though 3 governments, you have to be good, even with the fact that he can't be touched by the Force." Kelvis said.
   Warco walked over, and shook the hand of the great Jedi Warrior, and said to the whole group, "I do believe that it is now time for us to get going, don't you?"
   Kelvis nodded his head, and asked, "So, what is the plan?"
   "The plan is that these four-" and he pointed to V, Sirrus, Blackbird, and Meancer "-are going to distract him, while you and the two guards men, Valkyrie and Imp22 will be with you, making sure you don't get killed... again. It is the hope, and will, of the Grand Master, that once this Thing knows that you are near, it will go after you like wild-fire. I don't know why, but then again, I have never questioned a Master of the Dark Side, and they have never questioned me." He lit himself a smoke, and blew the dark gray smoke into the Dark Jedi faces. "It seems that all of this is contected somehow with your brother, who seems to be alive, but then again, I don't know that, I just do and listern, to what I hear." He turned and walked away.
   Kelvis stood there, as the other Dark Jedi followed Warco. Kel' grabed the arm of Imp22, and asked "And what is he suppose to do?"
   "He is suppose to get in behind him, and knock him out. It is the hope that this think won't know he is there cause he can't be touched by the Force." Imp22 said, as he turned to look at his fellow guards men, Valkyrie ( who Kelvis couldn't understand why he was using a female name. He knew that he was once ShadowXX, and sometime recently had picked his name and future, but wasn't telling anyone what that was. ).
   "Oh goodie. So I am bait, you guys are bait protecters, and the others are all canon fodder, while he gets all of the fame and glory." Kelvis shook his head, and the Dark Knight, began to walk, knowing that this plan was really stupid.

   Sith Warrior Arckon Pal DragonXX walked down the streets of New Imperial City. He didn't see many civilians walking around today, and just took it up to either do with the rumors that there was some kind of really "evil" thing out there killing people, or some werid holo-report which was on, while he was dead-asleep. Oh well, it didn't bother him. It was a perfectly pitch black night, and he didn't want to waste a single bit of it.
   He looked up into the beautiful night sky, and sighned. His old master from the Deep Core would have loved this. He always told him that the Emperor's Hammer and the Dark Brotherhood were the best, and that anyone who fought for them, would get the best. He sure didn't lie, but then again, he promised him that the Emperor would be back too, and he hadn't seen that happen yet.
   He took a turn around a corner, and bumped into a men with red hair, who was reading a really big book. DragonXX took the anger that was building up within him, and buried it, deep down inside of himself. He would call upon it when he needed to. It would be a terrible waste if he just used it here, on this poor sap.
   "Get out of my way." The red haired freak said.
   Well okay, not such much a poor sap, DragonXX thought, as he started to call upon some of the Dark Powers that were within him. He was about to use the old Dark Jedi trick, Inflict Pain, when he was thrown back. He must have gone at least 20 feet, cause the red-haired fur-ball was a short distance away now.
   "Woh!" He said as he got back up, and looked over at the freak. "Okay, pal. You asked for it." The Sith Warrior began to pull all of his dark Engery into one massive attack of Injure/Kill, when he began to feel his body to begin to feel crushed.
   "Arr-ggg-hh.... I cannn-'tt brr-eaath!" He mouthed as he feel to the ground.
   The last thing he heard was a war cry, and some fighting, as he passed out.


Part 10

Written by OBM Imp22, Thu Jun 11/98

   All was queit on the streets of New Imperial City as night fell upon the land. One particular street was completely empty, minus one red haired, scruffy looking, old man with his nose intently in his book.
   Movement... A door opened suddenly, and out from it came one Sith Warrior. He stepped out onto the street quietly, trying not to disturb the man who was reading his book. All of a sudden, the hum of a speeder rumbled through the hair. The Warrior looked up and saw it was headed on a suicide path straight for him. He panicked and dove to the other side, slightly bumping the red haired man, as the speeder narrowly missed.
   The Warrior stood and brushed himself off, apoligizing to the man, and trying to get away without a hassle, but the stranger wouldn't let it happen that way...
   After a quick struggle, the Warrior was knocked unconscious. The last sound he heard was the sound of swift moving footsteps and then the clash of lightsabers before he passed out completely. He still had a lifeforce, but it was very little.

   Obeliskan Battle Master Imp22 reached out through the force trying to detect anything strange, such as a very powerful entity with red hair. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his back and turned around hastily. It was the tap of his fellow guardsman, Valkyrie.
   "I feel somethin' Imp. It's in the next street... We can run through that alley up there and cut him off, let's go in..." Valkyrie said.
   Kelvis replied, "Oh great, time for the prey to nibble on it's bait... I'm ever so excited."
   The three Dark Jedi veered towards the alley to cut off the red haired man as they heard some loud yelling and a choking sound.
   The sound came to a halt as they exited the alley, and the red haired man left his prey lying in the pile of trash cans and turned around to see DJK Kelvis standing before him...
   Imp bum rushed towards the red haired man, not wasting time to ignite his lightsaber, which could waste precious time needed to save the dying Warrior, and Kelvis, as well as himself. Imp got the red haired man into a hold as the rest of the crew (V, BB, Menacer, Sirrus, and Warco) arrived to take him out.
   As the 2 guardsman struggled to contain the red haired man and muffle his forces, Kelvis ran to the Warrior, and recognized him to be Sith Warrior DragonXX. He detected there was still life force in the Porconsul of Clan Aquillas. He must, and could be saved...


Part 11

Written by KAP Sirrus, Thu Jun 11/98

   With the busy street full of racing speeders and massive cargo ferriers at one end, and a damp, blank wall at one end, it seemed that Sirrus and his comrades had found them in a hard situation to get out of. And with the Doomsday creature engaged in battle with them, he wished he was somewhere else.
   He hadn't endorsed this fool-hardy plan to track down the creature and somehow defeat it. The pure nonsense of it was overwhelming; you couldn't "take out" something as powerful as the manifestation of destruction by a military search and destroy mission! Not only did the stupidity of the objective baffle him, he wondered just what the Councilors and other authorities had been thinking when they had sent them out here to handle the task. Figuring it out would have to wait; he had to somehow help his brothers before they were demolished by this -- thing.
   And, for the first time, he saw it. He been researched it for quite sometime; the predictions of the Y'lanrai had always interested him as a boy, and he spent many hours up late in the Library during his time at the Shadow Academy studying every aspect of the apocalypses that the Y'lanrai said were coming. He had always accepted their beliefs with tongue in cheek, but with this, now, he had been forced to believe. He had pondered over and over what the henious beast that would cause the end of the stars would look like. Something 16 feet tall, with horns, giant fists, burning eyes of fire, an evil cackle and one purpose in existance: to wipe out every race and envelop all in his grasp of devastation.
   Needless to say, he was disappointed.
   No horns, no mammoth fists, no burning eyes. He looked like an average humanoid, with fair red hair, a dirty face, a beard that was shaggy, and green eyes that, despite his vagrant appearance, made him look warm and gentle. If anything, he resembled the friendly bum on the corner, panhandling to feed his wife and sick kids. Nevertheless, it was clear to see that he was not happy with this disturbanced due to his narrowed eyebrows that were drilling into his skull, plus the grimace splashed on his face like a jolt of ice water. He wasn't very fearful at first look, but he had a shield of intimidation behind him, and he started to step back. By him, Menacer, Blackbird, and Voranyen were doing the same.
   Suddenly, a mad cackle erupted from the creature's lips. It was something along the lines of what Sirrus had expected, but more hardy, like a grandfather would laugh, if a grandfather was the sum of all evil.
   "An excellent use of your powers, Jedi," the Doomsday said. The voice was deep, gruff, but like everything else, had a kind quality about it. He reached over, picked up Imp22, and lifted him the Jedi up by his neck. Doomsday had moved too fast, too quickly for Imp22 to coordinate a response, and was helplessly grasping for air, as the oxygen left his throat. "I do not like to be disturbed when I am napping." He looked over at DragonXX, who was moaning and bleeding in a bag of trash. "I have already taught that one a harsh lesson in that matter. I would hate to have to waste my strength on someone as feeble as you."
   Valkyrie, who had been standing off to the side, cloaked in the shadows, sprung into action. He lept through the air, snapped on his lightsaber, and was about to detach the creature's head from its neck when a well-placed boot landed in his stomach, sending him reeling backwards, a splurt of crimson rocketed over his lips as he landed hard on his back on the concrete. Doomsday only shook his head and sighed.
   Not wanting anymore needless violence, Sirrus stepped forward. "What do you want? Why are you doing this?"
   "I," said the creature, his ponytail swiveling from side to side, "am doing my job."
   "Your job?" Sirrus asked, confused.
   "Yes. I am not like you mortals, who can do nothing in life until you die. I cannot die. How can death take a toll when I am death? I am the Endless One, forever surging through the universe, the harbinger of change, destruction, a release from pain, a bane to joy. I do not take pleasure in what I do, but I do not feel any remorse at all. Even as we're talking, I'm there for old and young, innocent and guilty, those who die together and those who die alone. I'm in speeders and transports and starfighters; in deserts and jungles and tundras. For some, I am freedom and for others death is an abomination, a terrible thing. But in the end, I'm there for all of them. Regardless."
   There was an eerie silence. Then, Menacer, who, during the Doomsday's discourse, had creeped up behind it, had ignited his lightsaber and was beginning to slice at it. "Die! C'mon, you cheap nerfherding son of a gundark! I'll rend you limb from limb! I'll wash myself in your rotting flesh! I am bad-ass! I am state-of-the-bad-ass art! Die die die die die die die die die die!"
   After Menacer had chopped away for a good minute, his berserking rage settled down, and he looked at what he had done: nothing. The red-haired man, no more hurt than he had been before, was staring at Menacer like he was an idiot. "Just what are you doing?"
   Menacer found himself moving slowly backwards. "Me? Oh, uh, I, gee, um, well, I was just going to walk over here and lie down." And with that, he fainted.
   The Doomsday let out a laugh, and smiled broadly. He looked in his right hand, and noticed Imp22 had passed out. He plopped the guardsman on the floor, leaving Sirrus, Blackbird, and Kelvis still standing.
   "What are you going to do to us?" Kelvis asked.
   Cocking an eyebrow, the Doomsday glared at him. "You shall die. As shall everyone else. You are no more special than anyone else in the galaxy, and are not free from my grasp. And don't give me any pleas of sympathy. The prophets told you all that this was coming. If you didn't want to die, you should have prepared for my arrival than just this petty mob."
   "But we didn't know it could be real!" Blackbird shouted.
   "Oh?" the Doomsday said. "You didn't? Where's your faith, Knight Blackbird? There used to be a time, a long time ago, when people believed the stuff they heard, they saw, they had gut instincts about. But these days, everything is material. If you don't have tangible proof of something, it can't be considered real. A cigar, a glass of wine, a handkerchief, a piece of plastic dog feces. No one would disbelieve those things. But when it comes to the important stuff, like the end of the world, there's always an element of doubt. Frankly, you all may blame it on lack of evidence, but I think it's more along the lines of simply not wanting to believe it."
   More silence. Then Sirrus spoke again. "So that's all? The whole kit and caboodle? Utter and total destruction of the galaxy? Death to billions upon billions?"
   The Doomsday nodded. "When the first living thing existed, I was there waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights, and lock the galaxy behind me as I leave. If anything's left, anyway. That's all and everything I do." Well, the thing about having no other purpose had hit a bullseye as well, it seemed.
   Another couple of seconds passed. Nothing was said. The sun, Solaria, headed a little more to the horizon. Aurora rotated. The people of New Imperial City bustled in their buildings and homes, oblivious to this fragmented conversation. Having absolutely no idea that they were on the porch of galactic armageddon.
   A shadow passed overhead. No one looked up. But then a voice entered Kelvis' head. It was Sirrus. Telepathic communication?
   "Warco. Above us. Let's see if Mr. Intel Fantastic can come down do any good to us now." There was slight mocking in Sirrus' voice, more so than usual. Kelvis looked at him. Was he siding with the red-haired man? Was he joining with the creature who had brought back his dead brother?
   Before he could give another thought to it, Warco did indeed come down -- but landed on the floor flat, unmoving, perhaps dead. He was followed by another figure...
   Blackbird made a noise like he was going to retch all over his robe. Standing tall, dressed in formal clothes that didn't seem like they belonged on the decaying corpse they were on. With a nose running down his face, the zombie in front of them gave off a scent of an open mass grave, exposed muscles gray and ratty, hanging off in shreds...Horrific did not do the scene justice.
   "I assume you remember Frelix. He's come to assist me as I tidy up here. Don't bother to speak to him; he's unable to, as well as have any ideas of independent thought. He's more or less my slave. Isn't that right, Frelix?" The Doomsday smiled, and didn't even wince at the sight.
   "Frelix..." Kelvis whispered.
   Sirrus could understand the reaction. This wasn't just a stupid idea anymore; it was a certain way to become the first tallies on Doomsday's list. How could Khyron lead them here? Or maybe...Maybe Khyron wasn't at fault here. The Dark Council, a red herring...
   Then he remembered it. What had Jammin said? The Star Chamber had helped them plan the attack. Yes, the Over-Clan...shrouded in mystery, perhaps they were actually helping the Doomsday...But why?
   Before he could reach an answer, the red-haired man smiled, and without any evident reason or explanation, the Jedi vanished, leaving a tall, red-haired man and a dead man with all the galaxy to bestir.
   "Oh, and Frelix?" the Doomsday said.
   The late admiral looked at his master.
   "Don't forget my book."


Part 12

Written by KAP Voranyen, Thu Jun 11/98

   Unnoticed by all, Voranyen slipped off into an alleyway during the confrontation. It wasn't a matter of cowardice... more one of self-conservation. The Archpriest probed the Doomsday's mind- but found his own mind being penetrated, much deeper than he had done the original probe. He then gave a tiny, nearly unnoticable amount of pain into the creature's arm, only to recieve a magnified amount of pain in the same arm of his. Voranyen carefully filed the observations away in his memory, and crept back towards the area in which Sirrus, Blackbird, and Kelvis were being held up. As he neared the area, the Doomsday walked away, with a rotting body at his side. Voranyen found the decomposing minion amusing, and began chuckling. Sirrus shot him a dark look.
   "Help us with the others," Sirrus said, pointing to the battered bodies of DragonXX, Menacer, Imp22, and Valkyrie. Each of the remaining Jedi shouldered one of the injured ones, Voranyen carrying DXX. He resolved to tell the Warrior to cut down on the donuts.

   After depositing their burdens in the Fleet Medical Facilities, Kelvis, Blackbird, Sirrus, and Voranyen were meeting yet again in a dingy bar. Sirrus was the first to speak up. "Voranyen, while we were in sick bay you muttered something about the Doomsday that I didn't quite catch."
   Voranyen looked up from his drink. "I think that the Doomsday both reflects and magnifies force. Look what happened to Dragon. I tried a couple smaller powers on the creature, and the results backed up my idea."
   Blackbird discontinued his staring at the waitress's legs. "This means what?" Avian muttered.
   "That all we can do is harness the monster," Sirrus replied.
   Voranyen finished his line of thought. "We have to get the Y'lanrai script, the original."
   "But someone stole that from us," protested Kelvis. "All we have is a copy."
   "Then all we can really do until we figure out who has the original is go to Kal'rai, the Y'lanrai homeworld," Voranyen mused. "I'll take Blackbird and Kelvis to Kal'rai. Sirrus, you stay and wait for the others to recuperate." The others nodded, and the trio headed for Kal'rai left to go pack.

   In orbit of Kal'rai, Voranyen was making a final inventory. "Lesse, hand-held scanner, plasma drill, sonic land-disruptor, four glowrods, lightsaber, blaster, rifle, concussion grenades, and exo-skeleton. That makes Vor a happy boy," he said, talking in the third person as he does whenever he's in a good mood. Voranyen looked back at BB, who was loaded down with packs. "Got all the food, and your weapons?" Blackbird replied in an annoyed tone, "Yes. I still don't think you should get the exo-skeleton."
   "My ship, my exo-skeleton," the Archpriest said as he began strapping all the gear to the labor-class exo-skeleton. He already had his food and water stored in its various compartments. Kelvis Xavier stared out a viewport at the barren land of Kal'rai. "Kelvis, you got your gear stowed away?" The Knight patted the large hiking backpack he was sitting on and said nothing. Voranyen moved towards the cockpit of his ship, the Dastur , and motioned for Blackbird to follow him. "Man the sensors, Blackbird, while I bring us down." Blackbird nodded.
   Within a minute, Blackbird excitedly said, "Vor, I'm reading a massive cave system! It goes miles underground, and it's completely uniform." He looked at the pilot wildly, "I think we found the stronghold of the Y'lanrai."


Part 13

Written by SW DragonXX, Thu Jun 11/98

   DragonXX walks softly though the dark room, full of tanks. Each tank had a light green gel in it, and floating within that gel was a man. A human man, with dark skin. He looked old, but deadly.
   DragonXX stopped to look, and then said, "Soon my friend, you will be back, again. You always seem to get killed, but not this time. This time, when I finish with you, you won't be killed. They always try and kill you off, but I won't let them, I can't let them. You were a good friend, to me, and my master of long ago. The fact that the Force can't touch you is so, well, werid, but that is what makes you so very intresting.. with all the attempts to clone you with the ablitity to be at least touched by the Force, I have failed, and I have tryed so hard. Oh well."
   DragonXX turned and walked out of the room, which went on, and on, and on, and on...


Part 14

Written by DJK Avian Blackbird, Fri Jun 12/98

   Voraynen swiveled his head around sharply and looked at Avian, then at the barren landscape of Kal'rai.
   "How far away is it, Avian? I don't see anything here..."
   "Vor, it's right below us, just go straight down."
   The Dastur stopped it's downward course immediately. Vor looked at the Knight strangely.
   "There's nothing but rock and more rock below us, Avian. You know how to read sensors?"
   Blackbird drew himself up haughily in his seat. "You deal with ancient lore and gods, I deal with fighters and warfare. I know what I'm talking about."        A muted mutter came from Voryanen, then he spoke. "Fine, but if ONE scratch gets on this thing, your head will be permanently nomadic, got it?"
   "Right, right, now lower 'er down."
   The engines of the Dastur glowed brightly as the ship desended towards the rocky crags of the Kal'rai desert. Voryanen looked at his display much more often than usual, with a face full of anticipation, and a hint of worry. Dark Jedi Knight Kelvis kept silent, a thoughtful look written on his features. Avian Blackbird gazed at his sensors intently, as if looking at it more would help the ship land. Every so often, he glanced at the lightsaber hanging from Vor's belt with a nervous look. The Dastur inched downwards, at a rather good speed, but seemed sluggish to those inside. The crags, which looked more dense and than ever, rose up a little too quickly for Voryanen's taste, and the ship gave a lurch as he cut the throttle drastically. Kelvis broke out of his reverie and snapped at Vor harshly.
   "The bird's right, damnit! Just land the thing!"
   Vor's temper, which had previously been on edge anyway, and focused on Avian, now quickly and suddenly turned on the DJK who had just spoken out. The snap-hiss of a lightsaber being ignited echoed throughout the large cockpit. Vor rose from his seat and stared at Kelvis. As he rose, his hip hit the throttle. He opened his mouth...his words were cut off, though, by Avian's yell as he leaped for the pilot controls that Vor had left. Too late. Without a steady hand to guide it, the ship veered wildly and began to plunge in the low atmosphere...straight down. The crags jolted upwards into the display monitor, the ground rushed upwards to meet the ship... The sound of the Dastur still screaming through the air startled Avian back into alertness. With a few moments of thought, he pulled the ship out of it's dive, and brought it upright yet again. When he looked back at the display, he screwed his eyes in disbelief. They were in what seemed to be an immense cavern. His thoughts slowly rearranged themselves back in his head. This was the same one that he had picked up on the sensors. But how had they gotten through the rock? The plunge had thrown Voryanen against the far wall, bruised, but apparently not badly. He staggered to his feet, his previous quarrel with Kelvis apparently displaced by the throbbing headache that was now his main concern. Avian Blackbird looked around, and voiced the unspoken thought. "How the smeg did we get down here?"
   Kelvis, his previous thinking apparently giving him insight into this, answered it clearly. "The crags were a force illusion. Rather realistic ones at that, but easy to penetrate. You had never bothered to use your gift of the Force, you only relied on your technology, which gave you a half-view of the situation. But it is now positive that there are Jedi here, but if all are as weak as the strength of the illusion, we should have no trouble."
   Voryanen nodded, then procceded to kick Avian out of his pilot seat. The Dastur was still hovering over the cavern floor, the smooth wet rock glistening from the ship's lights. Soon the Dastur moved it's bulk through the cave, Vor's steady hand guiding it. The 3 Jedi were nervous, but expectant. How many people had ventured through this cavern of the ancient Y'lanrai? Kelvis retired to his seat and slipped into a Jedi Meditation, face serene. Avian Blackbird gazed at the cavern walls, and ancient geology lessons sprang into his head. He pointed out stalgtites and forms of gneiss, while Vor expressed his opinion on Avian's lessons by repeatedly hitting him with heavy, blunt objects.
   After a half hour of flying, Blackbird finally stopped the geology lesson. Mainly because they had come to a mammoth titanium portal, but also because the luggage being thrown at him was beginning to hurt. Voryanen looked at the portal, and promptly fired 2 concussion missiles. The dust and chunks of rock dislodged by the blast slowly settled down, and the 3 looked for signs of damage. None. That portal couldn't be made of titanium or anything like that, or it would be in pieces. But the portal moved. A slight shudder, then the 2 massive doors slid apart, revealing an inpenetrable darkness. Vorsuddenly jerked upright, grabbing the throttle, and struggling with it. But the ship didn't move. Not the way Vor wanted it to move, anyway. Despite his efforts, the ship glided towards the darkness, like a desceased soul resigned to it's fate. But the 3 inside the ship were not calm, or resigned. Kelvis manned the weapons and fired twice into the darkness, hoping to blast the apparent tractor beam. But nothing happened. No sound emerged from it. Avian attempted to run a sensor scan on it, but nothing. Voryanen struggled with the throttle uselessly. The enveloping darkness enclosed them...all activity stopped within the ship. The massive doors slid shut. The cavern walls, enshrouded in gloom yet again.


Part 15

Written by KAP Voranyen, Fri Jun 12/98

  Voranyen flicked on the Dastur's exterior beacons, flooding the immense cavern with light. "Everyone ready?" he asked. Kelvis shouldered his large pack, and Avian began whining about the exoskeleton as he picked up his own burden. "Remember, there's no telling how long we'll be down here for." The Archpriest hit the access button on the ramp and climbed into the humanoid-shaped exoskeleton. Avian and Kelvis went ahead of him, and he kept a constant vigil on the handheld sensors. The three Dark Jedi followed the largest passageway in the cavern, which was also the only one that could fit the 10-foot exoskeleton.
  "Anything yet, Vor?" yelled back Avian.
  "There are some bones," Voranyen replied with a wry face. "It doesn't seem like the Y'lanrai died very peacefully." As the light from the Dastur faded, Kelvis turned on his glowrod.
  "Hey Vor," Kelvis said with a certain amount of satisfaction in his voice, "It looks like the ceiling's getting a bit low."
  "Shit," muttered the Twi'lek Archpriest. He managed to ease the exoskeleton down maybe 100 meters of passageway before having to abandon it. Avian turned around and laughed as Voranyen shut down the exoskeleton.
  "Shaddup, Blackbird," came Vor's surly voice. He began to strap the sensors and mining tools (they were underground, after all) to his belt, as well as a blaster and a pair of concussion grenades. From a compartment in the exoskeleton he brought out a small dayback (Boy Scout motto- Be Prepared :-P) and put a pair of canteens and some rations into it. Once he was done the group began hiking forward again. They had gone perhaps a mile when Kelvis once again noticed something.
  "Guys, look." The Knight flashed his glowrod onto the spot he had seen. It was a crude image- a humanoid figure surrounded by skeletons. Voranyen moved forward to dust it off, but as he made contact with the stone a catch was triggered, and the wall slipped away. It revealed a huge chamber, in the middle of which was a large statue of a body, lying on its back. Surrounding it were twelve hundred-foot high skeletons. Lit candles were in each of their eyes. A large altar had been placed between the head of the body and the feet of the skeleton by the head. As the last of the group stepped in, the door though which they had entered slammed shut. The impact of the door crushing together caused hairline cracks to cover the area of wall directly above the door. Voranyen, living up to the Krath reputation, began inspecting the altar. On it he found only a clean knife, and a pair of lit candles. "It's being maintained," he muttered.
  Blackbird glanced at him. "What's that, Vor?"
  "This temple is still inhabited."
  Kelvis meanwhile had been looking in the shadows. "There're bones over here. Pile's of 'em."
  Voranyen glanced down at the knife on the altar, then at the bones. "Ten to one this is a sacrificial temple, guys," he said quietly.
  "Indeed, Archpriest Voranyen," a voice boomed from the darkness. "Welcome to my... 'home,' if you will. We get so very few visitors these days, now that the Y'lanrai are gone. But you're here, and that's what counts!" A robed figure stepped out from the shadows behind the first skeleton, and eleven others did from other skeletons. "We haven't met before, Archpriest, but I believe your friends know me," said the first figure, as it pulled back its hood to reveal a mass of red hair. Voranyen went for his blaster, but was in such a panic that he didn't aim. His shot went wild, and hit the cracked area above the entrance. A rumbling started, and suddenly a small avalanche covered the only door. A glint of daylight could be seen from the area where the rock had fallen. Kelvis, realizing how futile resistance was, yelled, "Run!" and began scrambling up one of the skeletons, trying to reach the daylight. Voranyen and Blackbird followed suit, and the Doomsday creature began laughing as the twelve figures began to follow the Jedi.


Part 16

Written by OBM Imp22, Fri Jun 12/98

   After their recent encounter with the Doomsday Creature in New Imperial City, the wounded Dark Jedi were recouperating. Once almost nursed back to complete health, they convened at the nearest Krath Temple to discuss what to do next in an attempt to delay the ultimate fate of the universe. Krath Archpreist Sirrus brought forth from his robes a dusty volume, which he slammed to the podium in the front of the temple. He opened up the book to a page which was ripped out and held it up for all to see.
   "This, my fellow Jedi, is the key to saving the universe. The ony problem: this one missing page. If we can figure out who stole this page, we could stop this crazy red-haired doomsday creature. We assume that one of his undead minions broke into the library, but the only thing is, the head scribe and the star chamber were the only people who had access to this volume."
   "I suspect Doomsday went to the planet of Kal'rai... if he is an old myth originating from the Kal'rai planet, that'd be the only logical place he'd be, I'll bet he's got that page... He's bound to know that that's the only thing that can stop him..." suggested Valkyrie.
   "You realize what kind of odds we'd be facing to send you knights over there?" asked DragonXX.
   Imp then answered, "You realize that we're gonna die anyway if we don't stop him? I say we go after this S.O.B. I'm gonna go regardless... who's with me?"
   All of the congregated Jedi agreed to go fight for the good of the galaxy and headed for their ships. (hey... who ever said Dark Jedi can't be the good guys? :P)


Part 17

Written by SW Bull, Fri Jun 12/98

   Kelvis, Voranyen, and Avian Blackbird scrambled blindly up the gigantic skeletons in the ancient Y'lanrai temple. Doomsday's dark minions took up a brisk and steady pace behind them. No matter how fast the Jedi climbed, their pursuers never faltered, nor did they lose any ground.
   Kelvis called to his companions, "We can't keep this up for much longer. We'll never reach the top of these skeletons. They're huge!"
   "I'm getting tired!" Avian puffed. Suddenly, the cavern was plunged into darkness. The Jedi, unable to see, were forced to stop. However, the eleven cloaked figures did not stop. The lead pursuer was only a hundred or so feet behind Voranyen, who was the lowest of the climbing Jedi.
   Of course, the Jedi, being struck basically blind by the darkness, couldn't sense any of this. The three were quietly whispering.
   "What do we do now? Boy, Blackbird, great idea coming down here. Now we're stuck a few hundred feet in the air and can't see anything. We're probably going to die down here. Maybe we'll even be sacrificed!" Voranyen muttered.
   "What, you're blaming this on me? You're the one that got all huffy and almost crashed us. You should be thanking me! I saved your little Twi'lek butt!"
   The angry Twi'lek was about to respond, when Kelvis shushed them both. "Quiet you two. There's no point in arguing over this. We're in a bad position, and you guys aren't helping."
   "Well, do you have a better idea?" Voranyen and Blackbird cried in unison.
   Kelvis closed his eyes to slits and gritted his teeth. "Did you ever think of using the Force? Remember, we are Jedi."
   The two bickering Jedi started to argue, but then thought better of it. Kelvis was right. The three of them reached out with the Force, combining their powers to greaten the extent of their sensing abilities. Unfortunately, it seemed that Doomsday has effectively nullified their ability to use the Force.
   Before any of them had the time to respond to this, the lead pursuer reached Voranyen. He stuck out a thin, bony hand towards his foot. Voranyen felt the hooded figure's hand grasping for him and let out a womanly shriek. His attacker got a firm grip on his ankle and tugged hard. Voranyen fell, but managed to reach out a hand and clung to the side of the skeleton fifty feet below the cloaked figures..
   Kelvis and Blackbird were not aware what made Voranyen scream like he had. "God, are you scared of the dark or something? What's wrong with you?" Blackbird taunted. When there was no reply, the two Jedi got a bit more nervous than they already were.
   "Voranyen? Are you there, Vor?" Kelvis asked. Suddenly, two of the eleven pursuers reached Kelvis and Avian and threw them down towards the bottom of the pit. Blackbird, limbs flying, tried to get a purchase on the skeleton. Unfortunately, he missed the skeleton and grabbed Voranyen. The three Jedi plunged towards the hard, stone ground.


Part 18

Written by KAP Sirrus, Fri Jun 12/98

   Out of all the planets in the world, the one that is considered the loneliest, most barren, and depressing one is the planet of Jafincraw VIII. Dead, cold, and incredibly deserted, the world spins around in an empty solar system around a star that's almost as cold as Jafincraw itself. There, of course, had been seven other plants in the Jafincraw system, but the people there had grown so melancholy with their existences that they resolved to commit global suicide by blowing up their homes, and, in doing so, blew up their worlds. With the exception of the people of Jafincraw VIII, who were so cynical and sad that they didn't think suicide would make them any happier, just refused to eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom, and slowly died out. Now, Jafincraw VIII is all but forgotten, save for when the infamous Dr. Veet Valingrad opened up a clinic which offered a release from those who suffered from terminal diseases. However, the atmosphere was so dreary that Dr. Valingrad turned his machines on himself not too long after.
   The most lonely, barren, and depressing dimension in the known universe is Limbo. Being a state where you are totally alone, surrounded by an empty void that goes on forever and forever in all directions, blank and hollow, boring and dull as can be. And it just so happened that Limbo is exactly where Kelvis, Voranyen, and Avian Blackbird found themselves after falling miles and miles to their deaths while attempting to elude their undead foes by scrambling up some dead skeletons. All and all, they were not impressed.
   "You know, I was hoping the afterlife would be something a little more interesting than this," Kelvis griped, sitting down on nothing. He placed a hand under his jaw, put the elbow on his knee, and kicked with his other foot what he estimated was a rock of nothing. Neverwhere, he could he hear the nothing rock crashing into a nothing window, sending shards of nothing in every direction.
   "I agree," Blackbird said, leaning against what he reasoned was a large pillar of nothing. "I expected something along the lines of beautiful women fawning over us, putting crowns of flowers in our hair, feeding us Zarbanian grapes as we reclined on a bed of cushions, teasing us with darting kisses and dancing fingers...This, this, this is..." He found himself at a loss of words.
   "Nothing?" Kelvis offered.
   "Yeah."
   Voranyen sighed. "Well, guys, I don't think that this is the afterlife, anyway. I don't think we died."
   "Uh, right," Kelvis snapped. "We didn't smash into the stone floor with an intense momentum and splattered into a thousand gory pieces, mixed with bones and rivers of blood. What did happen was that we landed on mattresses full of feathers and fur, placed there by the nice, simply misunderstood, Doomsday creature who acts like he wants to destroy the galaxy, but really wants to give us a comfortable sleep and good night's rest, just because, underneath his death and destruction exterior, he's a real swell guy."
   Blackbird thought about this for a minute and said, "If that's the case, why aren't I dreaming of those beautiful women, but instead dreaming about you two guys?"
   Kelvis and Voranyen thought about this too, and coming to the inevitable conclusion, started to scoot slowly away from Blackbird.
   "Anyway," Voranyen said, scratching an over-sized lobe, "Kelvis's sarcasm not withstanding, I remain confident that this is not a state of the afterlife, due to the lack of population or a greeting of some sort of deity. Nor a dream. Something else..."
   "Krath are always so much more perceptive than others," a voice said. It was loud, powerful, a little omnipotent. There came some chuckling.
   "Who is it?" Kelvis said, rising to his feet and shouting. "If it's you Doomsday beast, free us from this prison, and face your enemies like a man!"
   "Were this the Doomsday creature, which, may I point out, it is not," the voice said, colder, more callous, obviously now that this was not the warm voice of the Doomsday at all, "he would not do so, since he is not a man...and which is something you all have yet to realize, since you continue to treat him like one!"
   Voranyen looked around, anxiously. "So...who are you then?"
   "Who are we?" another voice said, different, yet still possessive of that note of icy inhumanity. "This is not the place to discuss such a matter."
   Suddenly, Kelvis, Voranyen, and Blackbird were nowhere no longer, and were somewhere. The dunes of the top of Kal'rai, to be specific. They could see some small mountains to their west, with a hole that had been the entry to the cavern that had took them to the temple. More important in their environment was a group of seven robed figures. Unlike the zombies that had chased them, these were tall, cloaked fully, and appeared officious and also very strong and authoritarian.
   "We are the Star Chamber," the head one said, his voice not at all unlike the one they had heard in Limbo.
   For a while, there was just the sound of the winds tossing sand into the air, blowing it around in swirls, like an artist moving his paintbrush in random and jeeling movements, coloring the blue sky with grains of whitish brown. Then Voranyen spoke.
   "Excuse us, please, lords of the Darkness," he said, trying to sound penitent but not too much like a sycophant. "How may we be in service to you?"
   "You have done well, Archpriest Voranyen. As have you, Knight Blackbird, and you as well, Knight Kelvis. Your determination has been evident in your pursuit of this Endless One who wishes to bring this galaxy to an end. While his mission does not surprise us like it did you, it is not in our best interests to bring all to an end. Our wishes have not been satisfied yet, and we would rather the countless worlds spin still, and stars shine as bright as they have. As well as let our shadows grip more and more and bring us to our final victory. That is all that has kept us from allowing the Force to end this cycle." The robed Star Chamber said nothing more, though it seemed as though it hadn't just been the one talking at the time, but instead, them all...
   "But how do we defeat it?" Blackbird asked.
   The robed man -- if he could still be termed that -- reached into his pocket and withdrew a stone. He held it up in the air, and the sun glinted off it; a green, shiny jewel, it was flawless in every way.
   "Facets, my Jedi, facets."
   There was a long pause.
   "Each facet of this stone catches light in its own way," the Star Chamber lord said, stretching it out towards them in his hand. "It glints and sparkles and flashes uniquely. It would almost be possible to believe that the facet was the jewel; not just a tiny part of it. But, then, as we move the jewel another facet catches the light...We see but only aspects of the whole. The facet is not the jewel."
   There was much confusion among the trio of lowly Jedi, but then they heard a familiar voice behind them.
   "It's a metaphor for the universe, friends. The jewel represents everything, everything in every single planet in every single system in every single galaxy in the universe...but like there are alternative plains to our reality, there are different aspects of the universe, just like the facets. In other words, and in relation to our current situation, that while this galaxy is coming to an end, that does not mean that this galaxy, though in some ways different, will not continue to exist in a different aspect of the universe." Sirrus patted the three Jedi on the backs as he walked up to them, and smiled. He looked the same as he had before...but less dirty. Less messy, less chaotic. He seemed to be orderly, deeper, and his eyes, though still twinkling, had an odd depth to them...
   "Sirrus? Why are you here? What are you doing..." Before Kelvis could finish, a member of the Star Chamber piped up.
   "Archpriest Sirrus has been following you since you left him. Knowing that you three were inexperienced in your knowledge concerning the Doomsday creature, he "tagged along" as an impartial observer. We intercepted him before he came to Kal'rai, and told him our plan."
   Sirrus nodded in confirmation. "We're going to allow the Doomsday to do what he has to do."
   "'What he has to do'?" Kelvis shouted. "But 'what he has to do' is lay waste to the galaxy!"
   "So we change galaxies," Sirrus said, matter-of-factly. "Another facet. Part of this reality -- the jewel -- but another point of view."
   "We've done our best to make it more like this current one," a Star Chamber member said. "As much as we could. We're confident that everyone alive here will be alive there, in whatever states of health we are now. The current affairs are as they are here. We predict any changes that we may see there will be minor, slight, in such ways that they would not interfere with our own goals."
   "I don't understand," Blackbird said. "If you have the power to do something like that, why don't you just make it so the Empire rules again, and we're not fighting the rebels anymore?"
   Sirrus shook his head. "It's not as simple as that. How can you write a story about Corellian wheat fields if you've never studied Corellian wheat fields, much less been to Corellia or seen what in the first place? The Star Chamber, as wise as they are, can only make things the way they were and know for sure about, not what they can only speculate on. Besides, something as risky as forming your own reality instead of manipulating one is pretty dangerous."
   "Like this isn't?" Kevlis said. "What if we do this and I end up with plants in my hair due to this bloody facet?"
   "Stock up on manure," Sirrus answered. He grinned.
   And, with that, seven members of the Star Chamber (for they were not the whole of it, nor were they less than it) raised their arms, and, with a bright flash of light, nothing remained by the hand of an artist still blowing sand around, unaware that his canvas would be removed before he was finished.

   Meanwhile, in the temple inside the large amounts of Kal'rai rock, the Doomsday creature removed a knife from his side and promptly used it to cut off the legs of a baby Bantha that he held in his arms. Before the last one went off, it went into the Doomsday's forehead, drawing a touch of blood. It had been the first time the Doomsday had bled in centuries, from the red birth that he had had when the union of Time and Space had conceived him...He smiled at this blood for blood, scooped out the heart of the Bantha, and tossed it into the circle he had made with the dusts of Destiny he had brought with him.
   As the heart touched the floor within the circle, the floor erupted in flames -- flames that reached towards the ceiling, an inferno that spread from one end to the next, and up up up up until the flames dared to ascend for the stars themselves. And within the walls of the fire circle there one could see the souls of a million tortured beings, killed, cut short somehow from their rightful lives...but they were not mourning, crying, weeping. Instead, they were being avenged. All that had treated them unfairly, done them wrong, crossed them and forgot them as just another person or creature left to be the nameless victim -- they were joining them. And after years for some, days for the others, they would have revenge. Killers, murderers, villains, cold and unfeeling bastards who had drawn blood and had gotten away with it got away no more -- for they were dragged into the hand of destruction, who squeezed them until the pain was so horrible they screamed through cracked ribs to be free, and, in granting their wish, Doomsday placed them in the very heart of the bedlam, in the merciless embrace of those who had died, been victimized -- and in the dark hour of the souls, there came a laugh. Not one of hate, or happiness, but vengeance.
   There was terrible silence among the stars.
   There was a terrible noise among the stars.
   There was terrible silence among the stars.
   Until the laugh itself rose again and faded out, and then it was over.
   All over.

   And on a planet somewhere in the Outer Rim, Kelvis yawned as he woke in the dawn of a whole new day.
   When he came back to his senses, he was startled to find that he was not on Kal'rai, though he could not remember a place called that. He was also shocked that he couldn't see Blackbird, Voranyen, or anyone else he knew anywhere, though he had no idea why he would expect anyone to be inside his bedroom. And yet there, not at a not surprise him for some reason, Sirrus was standing before him, looking at him, arms folded.
   "D-Did it work?" Kelvis asked. "Is this another galaxy -- another facet?" Kelvis touched himself, to make sure he was real. He was, as was his bed, the walls of the room, and the orange and red hues of twilight coming in through the window and making a gorgeous mess all over the floor.
   "As far as I know, yes," Sirrus said. Kelvis couldn't tell what it was, but the shift hadn't made all that big a change in Sirrus, but Kelvis couldn't really see something wasn't right either. His own eyes didn't reveal anything, nor did his mind dictate anything out of the ordinary...but there was a difference there, and Kelvis' gut was sure of it.
   "So does anyone remember? Besides us?" Kelvis asked, trying to avoid what was bothering him.
   "No," Sirrus said. "Just you and me. Possibly the Star Chamber. If we went around not just knowing we were from a different galaxy -- acting like it too -- we could create some sort of paradox. But we're allowed to remember. For now."
   Kelvis rubbed his head and sighed. "But why? Why us? What makes us special?"
   Sirrus shrugged. "How would I know? Perhaps it's because I'm not like most people. And maybe it's because this all started with your brother, so you can recollect it, since you were involved, more or less, from the start. Or then again, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's just a fluke. Anyway, I know we aren't going to remember in a few seconds, so we must not be that special after all." He laughed lightly.
   A yawn escaped Kevlis' lips. He felt like a good shower. He thought it strange he was having such normal cravings and routine notions after going through one helluva experience. "Just what did the Star Chamber do to you when you were with them, Sirrus?" he found himself saying.
   "Nothing important," Sirrus said, himself yawning loudly. "And certainly nothing happened because I'm special or anything. They just took me with them for awhile. It was like being somewhere else...kind of like being in a waking dream. I saw and heard things that I never saw or heard before, and it was if I was transported into a realm where nothing was everything and everything was anything and it was so clear, as if you could reach out and touch an idea as if it were touchable. I was set free...but I think I kinda lost myself in it too. But then again, I've never felt more...whole. It's hard to explain."
   Kelvis curled his upper lip. "Never been 'nothing is everything and everything is anything.'" However, I was nothing for a time. God, Limbo sucked."
   "Uh...yeah. I kind of sent you there," Sirrus said. "Sorry."
   "What?" Kelvis replied. "But how could you? You don't have the power --"
   But before he could finish, he forgot what he was going to say, as well as pretty much everything that had gone on in the last few days. He passed it off as just being too tired to think, and plopped down in his bed to get some more sleep. He put his hands behind his head, until he was comfortable on the pillow.
   Then, his hand touched something...slightly stiff, but soft, and when he squeezed it, it broke, and snapped, falling on the pillow. He moved his hand around to find it, but instead touched his hair...and felt some more long, soft, firm things there. He grabbed some, and, in terror, pulled them from their spot and looked at what he held.
   They were the stems of plants, with little flowers at the end. He screamed.
   Later, after screaming and running around for a good 15 minutes, Kelvis will look in a mirror and see that he really did not have plants in his hair, though he never could understand why it had struck him as being so scary at the time. He would also go back to his bed, find a pot full of dirt and torn stems, with a note attached, reading, "Hope you're stocked up in manure. - Sirrus". When later confronted, Sirrus will claim that he doesn't know what the hell Kelvis is talking about, and that he doesn't even know where Kelvis sleeps, much less lives. Kelvis will later get back at Sirrus for it, when, during the latter's wedding day, the honeymoon suite at the Bespin Ritz Hotel will have a bathtub full of eels. Sirrus will curse for a good hour, and then a few hours later, be so preoccupied that the entire concept of revenge leaves his mind.
   Also, a hundred billion years later, a red-haired man, tall, and carrying a knapsack, will arrive at Coruscant, reading a book, not bothering anyone. He will laugh when he comes to the part about Menacer trying to kill him with the lightsaber, and then move on, whistling a tune.
   And then it will be over, as it is now.

The End