Darth Vader knelt in front of the hologram of his master, Darth Sidious.
“What is thy bidding, my master?”
“There is a disturbance in the Force, my friend,” replied the gravely voice of the Emperor. “A powerful manifestation of the dark side has presented itself on Felucia. I believe it to be none other than the Sith Lord Darth Tenebrous. You must find him, and kill him.”
“Surely he poses no threat to us, Master,” replied Vader.
“Surely, he poses no threat to me,” Sidious replied, harshly. “But you, he is a rival. Prove your worth and defeat him, and remain at my side. Should you fail to kill him, then I shall have a new apprentice.”
“As you wish, my master.”
The ship landed on the planet of Felucia, and Vader made the slow descent down the landing ramp of the Lambda class shuttle, followed closely behind by a squad of Death Troopers, and a handful of Elite Emperor’s Guards, all of which were Force sensitive.
Vader opened his mind to the Force, reaching out to pinpoint the location of the dark power, of this elusive dark lord.
There he is.
”Commander, we are traveling 2 kilometers north. Gather your men and follow me.”
“Yes, Lord Vader.”
The humidity on the jungle planet would have been nearly unbearable for the armored men, had their suits not kept them refreshed. Nonetheless, the air was so heavy with moisture that their armor was dripping with the condensation.
Vader made no attempt to hide himself in the Force, or to tread quietly. He would face this Sith Lord head on, and prove to his master his worth. After all, he had nothing else.
Finally, the dense brush gave way to a clearing. In the center stood an armored Bith, red lightsaber ignited.
“You should not have come here,” said Tenebrous.
Vader regarded the Bith. His master was correct. This being had great power, power that rivaled his own.
“It is the bidding of my master.”
“You’re still following that old rule? Rubbish. Join me, and we will overthrow your master, and we can show the galaxy the true power of the Sith.”
Vader remained silent for a moment. “There is only one that will help me to overthrow my master, and it isn’t you. Kill him.”
The troopers opened fire, sending a lethal barrage of plasma downrange. As natural as breathing, Tenebrous met their bolts with his blade, using the Force to guide him to evade those that his lightsaber was unable to intercept.
Vader watched one by one, his troops were decimated by their own returned fire, even the Force sensitive Royal Guard being annihilated.
When all was done, Vader stood alone, lightsaber ignited, surrounded by dead Imperial bodies.
“Impressive.”
“There’s nothing I enjoy more than using this,” Tenebrous gestured to his lightsaber.
“If you wish to die by the blade, I shall accommodate.”
And with surprising speed for one so massive, Vader closed in on Tenebrous. Their blades met with tremendous Force. Three chops from Vader, easily blocked by Tenebrous.
Two quick thrusts by Tenebrous, easily parried by Vader.
Tenebrous with a hard overhead slash, blocked and held by Vader. Tenebrous withdrew from the strike and quickly spun backwards, and low, attempting to take Vader’s leg’s out. Vader replied with a low block, and then again with a high block when Tenebrous spun forward and attempted another high block.
Truly, Vader was impressed. The Bith was the greatest duelist he had ever encountered, outside of his own master.
Vader pressed the attack, now. Using his superior strength, he sought to wear out the Bith’s defense, but he was every bit as good of a duelist as Vader. Maybe even better.
“You are good, Lord Vader. Very good. I’ve never seen defense that was so immaculate. I’m afraid I’m unable to get even one strike past you.”
Vader didn’t reply. He was busy trying to come up with a way to catch this creature off guard. However, it seemed like he was ready for every single possible outcome of every strike that Vader delivered. As if his brain were working faster than even Vader’s own Force sense.
“It is, you know. I can process equations at near-lightspeed. And yes, your thoughts betray you.”
Vader growled, deep within. He would never defeat this man with swordplay.
Making sure to keep his thoughts more closely guarded, Vader orchestrated another bladelock. Face to mask with the Sith, he could tell that Tenebrous was trying to figure out Vader’s next move.
He should have expected the telekinetic blast, but he didn’t. It came from Vader, strong enough to overturn the shuttle that he had arrived on. Tenebrous took the blast full force, throwing him back into a large tree. Fortunately, he had thrown up a Force barrier in time to prevent his spine from being shattered.
As he recovered, Vader advanced again, Tenebrous barely moving out of the way as Vader’s saber sliced through the trunk of the tree, cutting it completely in half. Gesturing downward, Vader pulled the severed upper portion of the tree down at Tenebrous, in an attempt to crush him. The trunk was as thick as Vader’s body. The weight of the whole tree would crack open Tenebrous’s skull like a hawk-bat egg.
Instead of landing on Tenebrous, the tree remained in the air, held in Tenebrous’s Force grip as well.
And so the struggle began, with Vader now pulling the tree down, and Tenebrous holding it firmly in place. Neither budging. Victory was close, and both combatants could tell.
Tenebrous reached out, and gave a full reading of Vader. He smiled what only another Bith could determine as a smile, and stretched out his hand, extending a powerful blast of Force lightning. Vader was able to catch the lightning on his blade, but in doing so, lost his concentration on the holding the tree.
With a triumphant roar, Tenebrous took full hold of the tree and sent it toward Vader, never relenting his lightning.
The trunk impacted Vader in the chest, shattering his life support system, his lightsaber flying out of his hand.
Vader was trapped.
Tenebrous took full advantage of the situation. Aided by the dense moisture of the jungle, Tenebrous poured lightning over Vader, giving himself completely over to the dark side of the Force.
Vader screamed as he once again burst into flames, and after a short time, there was silence, as Vader finally succumbed to the lightning, his Force barrier no longer able to sustain himself.
Tenebrous walked over to the lifeless husk that was Darth Vader, and kicked one of his mechanical legs. “Look at that. More machine than man."
Log in to comment