[Short Stories] - Rise Of The New ...

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STAR WARSThe Sith SystemBy Brendon J.WahlbergIn the aftermath of the fall of the Empire, the ancient Orders of the Jedi and the Sith were reborn. Now the new Dark Lords desire a truce with Master Luke Skywalker.But Luke must not face the Sith alone. At his side stand a rival from his youth, and in his hand will lie a talisman of unfathomed power.For the Jedi Master, ahead lies the challenge of forging a new peace between ancient enemies, if he can survive the wrath of the vengeful Dark Lady�PROLOGUEThe Emperor was dead. Darth Vader was dead. That news took little time to spread across all of Imperial space. It signified something different to all who heard it. To members of the Rebel Alliance to Restore the Republic, it meant victory, revenge, freedom, or hope. To some within the Empire, it meant defeat, or despair. To others, it meant opportunity, relief, or redemption.To Lord Flint and Lady Lumiya of the new Sith, it meant that the treacherous Emperor who would destroy them was himself destroyed, and that the Dark Lord of the Sith who would rule them was gone forever. It meant that the time of Sith ascendancy had begun again at last.Piloting their stolen assault shuttle through the acid storm clouds of the barren world of Vjun, Lumiya turned to her gruff companion with a patronizing smile. "You see Flint? It's just as I said. The Dark Lord's troops and guards have deserted his castle, now that they don't have him to fear any more. When the Devastator left orbit, it took everyone from Bast Castle with it.""Hmm. Perhaps you're right," mused Flint. "I'm not picking up any scanning or tracking signals from the castle. And I don't sense the presence of anybody skilled in the Force, either. It would seem to be safe for us to go in and get what we came for." He placed a gauntleted hand on his cyborg companion's metallic gray shoulder from where he stood behind her, looking out the rain spattered viewport. Lumiya tolerated the contact, and even seemed to draw strength from it.She turned back to look up at him, her long red hair falling away from her deeply scarred face. "Always the cautious one," she said, slightly mocking. "Even if Bast Castle was full of troops, they couldn't stop us from walking in right under their noses, and back out again, too. Only Lord Vader could, and he's as dead as everyone thought we were for all these months.""You sound almost pleased that our old Master is dead," Flint said."I'm pleased with the freedom this gives us, to start fresh, and recreate the Sith our own way. The passing of a Dark Lord has always meant the rise of a new one, or, in our case, two new ones. That's already one departure from the past. And we have so many plans." Lumiya turned in her seat and put one gleaming finger in the middle of Flint's armored chest. "Plans you dreamed up and made me believe in. Plans we could never have made real if the Emperor hadn't been destroyed. And if Vader had survived the battle of Endor, there might still be an Order of the Sith, but it would be his, not ours. Don't get me wrong, Flint. I know we owe him a great deal, but I also enjoy being in charge.""It still bothers you, doesn't it, that Vader refused to let you go after Skywalker?" Flint asked, looking steadily into her eyes. He saw a spark there, always burning, flare slightly at the mention of that name. Flint frowned. He had hesitated to bring this up, but now that they had come to an important juncture, he had to know. "Now that you're free of him, is that what you're going to do?"Lumiya looked away and faced out the wide viewport. She began piloting the shuttle towards the high stone spire on which the Sith castle was perched. She was silent as they approached, until the dark structure, a replica of the lost Sith monastery of Horuz, loomed out of the storm. "I've thought about that..." she said quietly, "and I've decided that my commitment to the Sith is stronger than my need for revenge. Luke Skywalker's death can wait for the day when our order is secure."Flint knew she could sense his relief at her answer. He simply let the matter drop and sat down next to her in the co-pilot's seat. Without talking, they maneuvered the Gamma class shuttle to a gentle landing on the empty platform next to the deserted looking, helmet shaped complex. After suiting up in protective gear, they crossed the acid lashed landing area and entered the Castle, unobserved and unmolested. The inner halls were equally deserted. It did appear that, after Vader's death, the keepers of his private sanctum had quietly abandoned it, taking anything of value with them. Flint and Lumiya walked the long corridors of durasteel-reinforced stone in silence, haunted by memories of their year-long training in this place. Well-remembered Sith carvings and heavy statues remained, as did the great domed hall with its painted parade of Dark Lords of the distant past. Now, no one would be there to paint Darth Vader's image onto that ceiling. This place would be left behind as a mute testimony to a long history, whose continuation would belong to another future time and place.Once past the central hall, the Sith climbed a spiral staircase that led to the castle's single high tower. They paused at the sealed entryway to Vader's own private room. Flint keyed in a recognition code on the door's control panel, and it slid smoothly aside. Inside, they crossed to the gleaming black meditation pod, ignoring the brooding Sith statues that inhabited various alcoves around the room. Lumiya opened a panel on the side of the meditation chamber, and entered a code that she and Flint had been entrusted with a year ago by their Dark Lord. She and Flint stood back. There was a deep mechanical groan, and instead of the top and bottom halves of the chamber separating to open it, the entire pod rose towards the ceiling on a black cylindrical column. On the face of the column was a magnetically sealed door, with no visible controls.Flint looked at Lumiya. "All right, this is it. Are you ready?" She nodded, a hungry expression on her face.Both of them closed their eyes, and opened themselves to the Force. Through the Eyes of the Force, they could see past the closed door to the opening mechanism behind it. With a combined push from their minds, it grudgingly shifted into position and the door swung smoothly open, revealing a large storage compartment within the column. It was what the Sith had come for.Lumiya immediately knelt beside the opening and began to pass the contents to Flint. These included a number of thick leather-bound books, obviously of great antiquity, an ornate dagger with a glowing yellow jewel set into the hilt, a collection of scrolls, several medallions, and a purple box made out of crystal and inscribed metal. Flint held up the latter."Here's the greatest treasure," he said reverently. "The Holocron of Exar Kun, given to Lord Vader by the spirit of Kun himself."Lumiya passed him a long gray sword and began to get up. "That's everything," she said. "Not much after so many millennia, but it'll have to do. Then a tiny gleam caught her eye, deep in the shadows of the hidden compartment, where she had almost missed it. "Wait a moment--there's something else here." She reached in a slim metallic arm and withdrew a small box lined with dark velvet. It was open, and nestled in its soft interior was a deep red crystalline sliver. The fragment glowed softly, a rich light that seemed to dance on the crystal like red sunlight on water. Lumiya handed the box to Flint."What's this?" he asked, taking it. "I've never seen it before. Is it new, or did Vader hide it from us?""I have no idea," she replied, "but whatever it is, it's attractive. It makes me want to touch it..."Flint removed one gauntlet and carefully lifted the splinter from its box. He was moving to pass it to Lumiya when a startling shock pulsed through him from his hand. He recoiled and dropped the crystal to the floor."What's wrong?" Lumiya demanded. "Did it burn you?""No...no, I'm all right," said Flint, recovering. "It isn't hot at all. It was more like...a sudden rush of the Force, pouring into me. I was just surprised, that's all. I think it magnifies the Force, somehow."Lumiya bent to pick it up. She held it in her prosthetic palm and frowned in disappointment. "I don't feel anything...well, no matter--we'll take it with us for study." She snapped the small box shut with the sliver inside, then swung the compartment door closed. When the secret door's seal was restored, the column descended again, lowering the meditation chamber to the floor.Flint looked at the tooth-shaped closure of Lord Vader's pod, somehow expecting it to crack open, rise apart, and reveal the Sith Lord glowering at them within. But of course it never would again.Lumiya was looking at the small pile of Sith artifacts. "This won't be enough," she said thoughtfully. "We'll need more knowledge to accomplish our goals.""Then we'll just have to find it out there somewhere," said Flint. "We'll sift through what we have here, study the Holocron. Maybe we'll find clues, lost trails to follow to the places of old Sith power...""Let's get out of this heap of cold stones and head for space then," said Lumiya impatiently. "It's just full of old ghosts anyway."The Sith returned to their ship and lifted off without looking back. Behind them, Bast Castle crouched like a crustacean huddling alone in the pounding rain. Darth Vader's lofty house was empty, for now...* * *Eleven Years Later...Yavin Four...Master Skywalker stared disconsolately at the huge, empty chamber at the heart of the decayed Palace of the Woolamander. The ceiling stones had recently caved in and tumbled to the floor, allowing dusty light to invade where it hadn't been... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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