Cold radiated from the brilliant white durasteel walls, their gold-trimmed panels gleaming with a sterile menace that felt like a throne room turned prison. The Prime Echo Relay hummed with an alien presence, its pristine surfaces etched with holographic glyphs that shimmered like liquid kyber, pulsing in a rhythm that clawed at my senses. Frosted panels cast a clinical glow, like a star trapped in ice, their gilded circuits weaving a royal decree of captivity. Lehon's jungle seeped through hidden vents, its humid rot carrying the distant shrieks of unseen predators, a wild pulse clashing with the Relay's opulent chill. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and circuitry, a tension that pressed against my montrals. I knelt on the polished floor, breath slow, reaching through the Force for the discordant anomaly I'd felt since our capture. It was a massive kyber crystal screaming under pressure, corrupted and wrong, whispering of secrets older than the Sith, beyond even the Rakata. The glyphs' aquatic flow, like waves under stormlight, hinted at a deeper purpose. Korrin, I thought, my chest tightening. His presence had vanished in the Force, a void where his sharp resolve once burned. Captured? Dead? Or something worse?
Tayra slept fitfully against the wall, her cloak pulled tight over her orange-red skin, montrals drooping with exhaustion. The young Togruta's shivers betrayed the toll of our capture, her bright curiosity dimmed by this royal crypt of a cell. Shadows from the gold conduits danced across her face, their cold light mocking her vulnerability. I ached to see her so worn, a Jedi learner too young for such weight, yet her resilience echoed my own. A faint rustle of jungle vines, curling through a cracked vent, carried the scent of sap and decay, as if Lehon itself whispered defiance. Stay strong, Tayra. We're not done.
A soft chirp broke my meditation, sharp and familiar. My eyes snapped open, blue-green irises catching the cell's cold glow. In a shadowed corner, BD-1 peeked from behind a gilded vent, his white-and-red frame scratched but spry. His optics blinked rapidly, projecting a hologram of the cell's stasis field controls—circuits and glyphs flickering like a storm trapped in glass.
"Cal sent you, didn't he?" I whispered, a dry smile tugging my lips. "Trouble follows you, doesn't it, little one?"
BD-1 trilled cheerfully, bobbing in confirmation. Cal Kestis, always watching out, had slipped his droid aboard Fulcrum's Dawn as a silent guardian. A spark of warmth pierced my worry, but the Relay's hum, sharp and regal, drowned it fast.
Tayra stirred, rubbing her amber eyes. "…Master Tano?"
"Up, Tayra. We've got a way out." I motioned to BD-1's holo. "Maybe."
She shuffled over, curiosity outpacing fatigue. "Those glyphs… they're not Rakata. Some tech that could be older!? They move like waves frozen in light." Her voice tightened, a scholar's awe battling fear.
BD-1 warbled, his scan flickering red—interference. He tried again, optics narrowing. Nothing.
"Layered," Tayra muttered, kneeling beside the droid. "Like a shield within a shield."
I crossed to a wall panel, its white surface seamless but for a faint seam. Channeling the Force, I drove my fingers into the edge, muscles straining as the gold-trimmed durasteel groaned. The panel popped open, revealing a maze of circuits pulsing with unnatural light, like a living mind resisting my touch. The conduits glowed like veins under the white panels, their gold sheen reflecting the cell's sterile opulence, a royal trap woven with alien intent.
Tayra leaned in. "There—see the flickering glyph? It's overloading the inner field." She brushed away dust, revealing a holographic symbol that shifted under her touch. "It's… alive, almost."
"Then we move fast," I said, voice steady but urgent. "BD-1, try a charge."
The droid extended a probe, delivering a spark. The field sparked—and held, its glyphs flaring defiantly. BD-1's trill turned frustrated, his probe sparking uselessly against the Relay's unyielding tech, its circuits a labyrinth beyond his reach.
I knelt, palm hovering over the circuits. The Force revealed a rhythm, erratic but timed, like a heartbeat warped by forbidden power. "I can match it. BD-1, again—on my mark."
He chirped, readying another charge. Tayra gripped a loose conduit, her hands steady despite the tension in the air, thick with the jungle's rot and the Relay's cold hum.
"Now."
BD-1 zapped, and I pushed through the Force, bending the rhythm. The field stuttered, but a silent alarm triggered, bathing the cell in crimson pulses that danced across the gilded walls. A blast door slammed shut beyond the outer field, its gold accents glinting like a royal wax seal, locking us in.
"They're going to box us in," Tayra said, voice tight.
"Not yet." I braced against the inner field's console, its glyphs resisting like a living thing, their patterns swirling as if guarding a throne. "Tayra, find a weak point."
She scraped at the panel's base, uncovering a corroded glyph that flickered erratically, its light dimming under the weight of Lehon's humidity. "Here—it's unstable!"
BD-1 zapped again, synced with my Force push. Tayra yanked the conduit free. The field collapsed with a shriek, but the blast door held, its durasteel surface unyielding. I wedged my hands into its seam, the Force surging through my arms as the metal groaned. My muscles burned, the Relay's hum clawing at my focus.
A thud of metal boots echoed—enforcers of some sort, two of them, halberds glinting in the crimson light. Tayra grabbed a circuit shard from the floor, hurling it down the corridor. It clattered, drawing one enforcer's gaze. I shoved harder, the door sliding open just enough, its gold trim scraping like a warning.
"Go!" I commanded. Tayra slipped through, BD-1 zipping after. I ducked as the second enforcer's halberd swung, grazing the wall, sparking against the white durasteel. BD-1 sparked the door's controls, sealing it with a clang that echoed through the gilded maze.
"That won't hold," Tayra panted, clutching BD-1. A shimmering force then rippled from beyond the door, bending the durasteel with a glowing with unnatural energy, screech of tortured metal that reverberated through the corridor. My montrals twitched, sensing a power unlike any Jedi or Sith, alien and cold. "Run—they're tearing through!"
We sprinted into the Relay's depths, the white-and-gold corridors closing around us, their pulsing glyphs watching our every step. The Relay's corridors twisted like a monarch's labyrinth, their brilliant white durasteel walls reflecting gold conduits that flickered with cold light, as if the facility judged our every move. Gilded conduits pulsed like veins under frosted glass, their holographic glyphs flowing like rivers under stormlight, alien and unyielding, as if guarding a secret throne. The Relay's tech mocked our efforts, its circuits an enigma, their glow casting shadows that clung to every corner, heavy with unseen malice. The jungle's presence grew stronger, its damp breath beading on the white walls, a wild defiance against the sterile grandeur.
We reached a narrow passage, its floor etched with glyphs that flared underfoot, their tidal patterns shimmering like a sea trapped in glass. BD-1's scan faltered, his projection dissolving in static—the Relay's superiority humbling his systems, its tech a labyrinth beyond his reach. Tayra knelt, tracing a glyph's wave-like curve, her fingers brushing the cold durasteel. "These patterns… like tides etched in light. Not Sith, not Rakata—something different."
"Keep moving," I urged, sensing a trap. The glyphs pulsed red, and vents hissed, flooding the corridor with acrid gas that burned my throat, its metallic tang mingling with the jungle's rot. I raised a Force barrier, the effort straining my focus as the gas pressed against it, the white walls gleaming like an execution chamber. "BD-1, find the controls!"
The droid's probe sparked against a panel, shorting out in a shower of sparks, overwhelmed by the Relay's unyielding circuits, their gold sheen mocking his efforts. Tayra coughed, her hands fumbling to rewire the panel manually, fingers trembling but precise, her breath misting in the humid air.
"Got it!" she gasped, yanking a wire. The vents snapped shut, the gas dissipating, leaving a faint jungle scent—wet leaves and distant decay. BD-1 trilled in relief, but his optics dimmed, drained by the attempt, his frame dwarfed by the corridor's regal menace.
"You're tougher than you look, little one," I said, steadying Tayra, her orange skin stark against the white durasteel. "Both of you."
We pressed on, ducking into a dim alcove beneath a gilded stairwell to avoid Varnis's operatives. Their boots clanged on the polished floor, voices muttering about "the Headmaster's wrath," their words echoing off the frosted panels like a decree. A vine curled through a cracked vent, its sap glistening like blood, and a distant roar vibrated the walls, Lehon's jungle clawing at the Relay's heart. I leaned against the durasteel, the Relay's hum a weight in my chest, sharp as the jungle's predatory calls. Korrin's absence gnawed at me, his capture a failure I couldn't shake.
Tayra's voice broke the silence, soft but steady. "I'm scared for him, Master Tano. Korrin… he's family."
I met her amber eyes, seeing my own fear mirrored. "Fear will keep you honest, Tayra. Use it. We'll bring him home."
BD-1 nuzzled my shoulder, chirping softly, his frame warmed by the humid air. I nodded, "Let's move."
The central chamber loomed like a royal vault, its white-and-gold durasteel soaring to a domed ceiling where holographic glyphs swirled like a captive sea, their tidal patterns shimmering like stormlight trapped in circuits. Arches of frosted durasteel rose like a throne room's spires, their gold conduits weaving tapestries of forbidden power, casting cold light that danced across the polished floor. Lehon's jungle pressed closer, its humidity thick as a curse, beading on the white walls, where faint cracks revealed vines pulsing with sap, their roots trembling with the distant roars of unseen beasts. The air was heavy with rot and circuitry, a dread that clung to my montrals, the Relay's hum a command echoing through the chamber. A platform hovered at the heart, suspended by humming repulsors, cradling Korrin's carbon-frozen slab. The frosted carbonite glowed faintly, like a frozen star, his youthful features locked in stillness, twisting my gut with guilt and resolve. I swore to protect you.
Tayra darted to a console, its circuits pulsing defiantly under a canopy of gilded conduits. "It's glyph-locked—encrypted." BD-1's probe sparked uselessly, the Relay's tech overwhelming his systems, its gold sheen mocking his efforts.
I hovered a hand over the slab, the Force whispering Korrin's faint life, his aura dim but present, a flicker against the chamber's sterile menace. A medical scanner in BD-1's hip slot flared to life, its readouts grim. "Cellular strain, weakened vitals," Tayra read, voice trembling, her words echoing off the arches. "Prolonged freezing's taken a toll over these few days. Unfreezing without a medical pod risks heart failure or neural shock."
"Then we move him," I said, scanning for a cart. Tayra found a repulsor trolley in an alcove, its core flickering red under the slab's weight, the durasteel floor trembling faintly with Lehon's distant roars. The cart groaned, tipping left. BD-1 squealed, rewiring the stabilizer in a shower of sparks, but the cart wobbled, its hum drowned by the Relay's pulse. "It's not built for this," Tayra muttered, steadying it, her orange skin stark against the white-and-gold vault.
"Do it anyway," I said, helping her secure the slab, the carbonite's glow casting shadows like a drowned star. The cart collapsed mid-chamber, metal screeching against the polished floor. I reached through the Force, lifting it with a grunt, my arms trembling under the strain, the Relay's hum clawing at my focus. Hold, Ahsoka. Tayra tapped the console, her fingers faltering over encrypted glyphs, their patterns swirling like a sea under glass. "Slate's logs… trade orders. 'Client asset secured… awaiting retrieval from…'" She froze, eyes wide, the gold light glinting in her amber gaze. "Thrawn?"
The name hit like a blaster bolt, echoing through the chamber's arches. Thrawn—the warlord whose shadow I'd faced on Lothal in 1 BBY, his cold brilliance a specter in my Rebel days, his strategies a dance that nearly broke us. In 29 ABY, I'd found Korrin in the ruins of a Chiss outpost, his mother dying in my arms, begging me to hide his heritage—Thrawn's blood—from Cal, from the council, from everyone. A promise I'd kept, even as it burned, a secret that now twisted my gut with guilt for failing him. Tayra's shock mirrored my dread, her voice cutting through the jungle's faint roars. "Thrawn? The warlord? How's he tied to Korrin?"
"Later," I said, voice tight, the weight of my promise heavy as the carbonite. "Keep digging."
She nodded, hands shaking as glyphs flickered, their gold light casting shadows across the vault. A holo flared—Headmaster Varnis, his smug face filling the chamber, his image framed by the gilded arches like a royal portrait. "You're persistent, Tano, but too late. Your padawan opens doors you'll never understand."
Anger surged, but I shoved it down. "You're using him as currency. What does Thrawn offer!?"
Varnis's smile twisted, his eyes glinting like the glyphs. "To awaken what sleeps, Tano." The holo snapped off, leaving a chill heavier than the carbonite, the chamber's hum a royal command echoing through the walls.
BD-1 whistled—proximity alert, his trill sharp against the distant jungle roars. Tayra paled, her gaze darting to the cracked panels. "Operatives—closing in."
"Move," I said, gripping the cart, the frosted slab glowing like a star against the Relay's gilded menace. "We're getting out of here, all of us."
We pushed through an arched hallway, its white panels pulsing with the Relay's core, their gold conduits curling like veins under glass. The space opened into a chamber like a drowned cathedral, its frosted durasteel walls soaring like coral reefs, tipped with glowing nodules that cast cold light across the polished floor. Lehon's jungle felt closer, the air thick with rot echoing through the Relay's sterile grandeur. Holographic glyphs shimmered like a storm-tossed sea, their patterns swirling as if guarding a royal secret, the hum sharp in my montrals like a kyber crystal screaming under pressure. The chamber's opulence was a trap, its white-and-gold surfaces flickering with menace.
Tayra clutched the slate, glyphs reacting to her touch, their gold light glinting in her amber eyes. "This isn't in the Ossus archives," she breathed, her voice nearly lost in the jungle's distant roars. "These symbols… depth, pressure, wardens of the deep. Something about guardians?"
A hologram burst from the center of the slate, starfields whirling in blue light, converging on a nameless world of endless seas, its storms swirling like living tides, whirlpools gleaming like eyes under the chamber's gilded glow. I studied the hologram, its storms a warning, their patterns echoing the glyphs' aquatic flow. "A world sealed by tides, lost to the stars."
The slate flickered, revealing a signature, the gold conduits casting shadows across the durasteel floor. "Orders signed… Veiled Covenant?" Tayra's voice faltered, her gaze darting to the vines breaching the walls. "Who are they?"
The Relay pulsed violently, the hologram shuttering, its storms fading like a drowned dream. Glyphs glowed red, and the chamber shook, as if waking from a long sleep, the jungle's howls rising with the Relay's royal hum. BD-1 whistled urgently—operatives closing, their boots echoing like a royal guard.
"We can't stay," I said, the information settling in, its weight heavy as Lehon's humid curse. "We've learned enough. Korrin comes first. There, that way!"
Tayra nodded, steadying the cart, the frosted slab glowing against the chamber's gilded menace. "For Korrin."
The tunnel opened into a pristine metropolis, its white durasteel spires piercing a twilight sky of glowing panels. Gold conduits pulsed like veins, holographic glyphs shimmering like a sea under starlight, their tidal patterns whispering secrets older than the Sith. Sealed vents leaked humid air, Lehon's roars muffled by durasteel, the sterile scent heavy with jungle rot—a predator's curse haunting the cave's vast scale. Recyclers hummed like a royal pulse, the Relay's kyber-like scream clawing my montrals, a corrupted power judging our defiance.
I pushed Korrin's carbon-frozen slab on the wobbling repulsor cart, its grav-plates straining, each jolt a knife in my chest. His face echoed my failures, a promise to keep him safe I couldn't break. Tayra scouted ahead, amber eyes scanning the glyph-lit plaza—an agora of white arches where we'd once dodged mechs, now gleaming with cold menace. BD-1 perched on the cart, optics darting, a loyal spark in this sterile crypt.
A glyph flared red underfoot, an energy net surging, its heat engulfing the slab—a faint crack sparked, risking Korrin's vitals. "It'll compromise his stasis!" Tayra yelled, lunging to shield the cart. I reached through the Force, lifting the slab with a grunt, muscles burning. Tayra's fingers traced a glyph, dimming the net, but a stasis field flickered ahead, its runes cycling encrypted sequences. She decoded another, sweat beading, as the cart's repulsor sparked, nearly collapsing. I steadied it, ribs aching.
"Sentinels," I warned, sensing ever encroaching footsteps. Four figures emerged from an arch, their liquid-metal armor rippling, gold-black Eye emblems glowing on chests, purple energy flaring at their joints. A shimmering force bent the air around their halberds, alien like no Jedi or Sith power I've ever known.
"Left tunnel!" I snapped. Tayra spun the cart, BD-1 trilling as he mapped a path. A sentinel's halberd slashed, shattering a conduit, gold sparks bursting. I hurled the durasteel shard, staggering one, its liquid armor rippling. We stumbled into a sterile hall, sealed panels humming. "Close one," Tayra panted, checking the slab's crack. "You okay, Master?"
"Been through worse," I lied, breath ragged. "How is Korrin?" She snorted, steadying the cart. "This place won't break him. We need to get him home and to Master Tionne now." BD-1's optics flared, scanning the slab—stable, barely. The corridor stretched to a glowing alcove, glyphs pulsing, the Relay's hum sharpening as if sensing our defiance.
The guard post's shadows cloaked us, Korrin's slab wobbling on the cart, its grav-plates whining under the Relay's sterile hum. Tayra crouched beside me, her breath shallow, eyes darting as Lehon's muffled roars bled through sealed vents, the air thick with humid rot. Recyclers pulsed like a royal heartbeat, durasteel walls glinting pristine, their gold conduits flickering like veins under the cave's twilight sky. Two sentinels patrolled ahead, liquid-metal armor rippling, purple joints flaring. "Secure the vault's relics before the Headmaster's return," one ordered, voice low. I signaled Tayra—wait. Timing their steps, I crept behind a conduit, its chill biting my skin, heart pounding. The word "vault" burned. Sabers, ours, somewhere close.
I trailed a lone sentinel, skirting glyph-lit traps, their tidal shimmer pulsing like a warning. I hate this violation, but Korrin's life hangs in the balance. Pinning the figure silently, I plunged into its mind, shattering a cold wall of resistance. Pain seared my skull, its scream echoing as I ripped the armory vault's location—a rune-locked safe, one level up. It slumped unconscious, purple joints dimming. Tayra's eyes widened, drinking in the Force's edge. "Focus, Tayra," I whispered, voice low.
We slipped to the armory, a durasteel sanctum, its rune-lit walls humming. The commander stood alone at a glyph-lit desk, busily working on a sleek data pad with holo-glowing alien runes. I stepped from shadows, voice steady. "The prisoners have breached the plaza—send your guards." His eyes glazed, mind bending. Swiftly turning about face, he walked to where his unit was gathered. "Check the plaza now," he shouted, and four sentinels marched out. I waited, watching them disperse, Tayra's breath catching beside me.
I approached again, eyes locked on his. "Open the armory vault." His mind resisted this time, hand darting for the intercom to call back his units. No time—Korrin's life, Tayra's future. I've spilled blood before. I Force-pulled the data pad, ripping it from his hands, its runes flaring, and pushed it using the force with lethal precision. It then met its target, crushing his skull, bone splintering, brain matter spraying, durasteel thick with the gore left over—a silent death before any sound could be made. Tayra froze, eyes wide, trembling, then nodded.
Picking up his head and steadying the body, I pressed his eye to the rune-lit scanner, its glow piercing the corpse's glaze. The vault's shimmering pulse like a tidal storm, burning the air—flared, threatening to sear us. "Tayra, steady your mind," I urged, guiding her Force sense to counter with a force barrier. It faded, the vault slowly opening. My white sabers leapt to my palms, their kyber singing defiance. Tayra's purple saberstaff then to her grip, Korrin's blue blade clipped to her belt, a beacon of our family's resolve. The Relay's hum roared, as if enraged, but we'd claimed our blades from their prison.
The corridor stretched to the lift tower, gold conduits pulsing like a royal command, we made our way aboard and shot upward. The lift tower rose over the underground city's heart, its white durasteel trimmed in radiant gold, runes spiraling like a royal command. Gold conduits hummed, tidal patterns pulsing under a false sky flickering with the Relay's surge, recyclers whining like a royal pulse. Sterile walls hummed, jungle howls trapped beyond pristine durasteel, the humid air sharp with Lehon's distant roars. The docking platform stretched wide, a white durasteel plane suspended above Lehon's jungle canopies, where that epic waterfall's mist churned, its roar a primal hymn under the Relay's twilight sky. Glowing panels flickered overhead, casting a sterile sheen over rune-lit spires that framed the traffic control hub—a glass-walled tower piercing the false firmament, its conduits pulsing like veins under a tidal storm. Korrin's slab wobbled on a repulsor cart, its grav-plates straining, the frosted carbonite glowing like a star caged in ice. My montrals twitched, the Relay's kyber-like scream a royal command judging my failures. I swore to protect you, Korrin. I won't break that now.
Tayra crouched beside me, saberstaff clipped, amber eyes fierce yet shadowed with fear. "Master, we're trapped unless we free the Dawn," she whispered, glancing at the slab. Her orange skin was stark against the white durasteel, a youngling bearing too much. My gut twisted—Korrin's capture, my fault; Tayra's safety, my vow.
"Stay sharp," I said, voice steady, though fear clawed at me. "We need to find where they control these docking bays." I scanned the platform, spotting the traffic control tower, its rune-lit gate pulsing. Sentinels patrolled its base, their liquid-metal armor rippling, gold-black Eye emblems glowing, purple joints flaring. One's voice cut through static: "Headmaster's inbound—secure the Chiss asset."
BD-1 zipped toward Fulcrum's Dawn, its slate-grey hull nestled at the platform's edge. "Get Huyang, little one," I signaled, trusting his loyalty. I crept forward, sabers unlit, white hilts cold in my palms. The lift loomed, I counted eight sentinels and a towering mech, its pale alloy curved, purple veins pulsing, halberd poised like a vow.
"Tayra, guard the cart," I whispered, skirting a glyph-trap, its tidal shimmer pulsing. I hugged a spire's shadow, glass walls misted by the waterfall's roar. Two sentinels patrolled near the lift, their shimmering force tridents distorting the air like rapid tides. The mech's pulse trembled the floor beneath our feet. I Force-threw a durasteel shard, clattering against a console. The sentinels turned, but a third spotted me, trident flaring. "Intruders!" it roared, purple joints flaring.
No time. "Tayra, with me!" I snapped, igniting my white sabers, their kyber singing defiance. She leapt, purple saberstaff flaring, slicing a sentinel's throat mid-air. Flesh charred, smoke curling, the wound cauterized instantly, the acrid stink of seared meat infected the air. Tayra froze, eyes wide, a warrior's first kill a scar she'd carry forever. "I… had to," she choked, tears glinting in the gold light.
"Stay focused," I urged, voice firm, my heart aching for her pain. I twirled, sabers carving two sentinels as they attempted to cleave at me with their halberds, their liquid armor splitting, charred flesh radiating through the air. The mech charged. I Force-leapt, sabers slashing its arm to remove the claw-like threats, alloy sizzling, purple veins sparking. The mech roared, grazing my lekku with it's other claw, pain searing like Malachor's scars.
Tayra Force-pushed a sentinel, its body crumpling against a wall, armor rippling. The slab wobbled, grav-plates sparking, but she steadied it. "Korrin's safe!" she shouted. Five sentinels rushed, tridents resisting my blades briefly, before shattering in a display of my saber's authority.
Huyang burst from the Dawn, bronze plating chipped, yellow optics blazing. "Mistress Tano, oh dear, what's happened to young master Korrin!?" His limbs whirred, clamping a stabilizer to the cart, its grav-plates steadying. He retreated under fire, a sentinel made haste getting to him, halberd crashing to the ground, missing it's target, sparks flying. Tayra unleased a force push like a wild fire untamed, sending the sentinel through a window over looking the jungle's canopy. "Insolent foes!" he snapped, hauling the slab toward the Dawn, BD-1 trilling cover.
I Force-shoved the mech, its alloy buckling, purple veins bursting. Tayra's saberstaff sliced through the final sentinel, her breath ragged, trauma etching her face. The platform lay silent, strewn with charred flesh and shattered tridents, Lehon's roars deafening. "We're clear," I panted, nodding to Tayra. "To Traffic Control, now."
We sprinted to the lift, its rune-lit gate hissing open. The ascent was swift, the tower's sterile hum biting my skin, gold conduits pulsing like a royal command. The hub's glass doors parted, revealing a pristine sanctum, white durasteel walls gleaming, tidal glyphs shimmering. A holo-terminal dominated the core, its readouts focused on a particular ship lock—Fulcrum's Dawn, red and defiant.
A lone elite sentinel stood at the terminal, liquid-metal armor rippling, gold-black Eye emblem blazing. His trident hummed, air bending, as he barked into a comm: "Headmaster, prisoners in the control tower!" Varnis' voice crackled: "Kill them all—secure the Chiss."
No hesitation. I swung one of my sabers into the air, its blade met the sentinel's chest, his armor rippling as he slumped, charred flesh smoking from my saber's precision. Tayra gasped, eyes wide, but nodded, her resolve hardening. "For Korrin," she whispered, fingers trembling over the terminal.
The holo-terminal flared, glyphs swirling like a tidal storm. Tayra's instinct kicked in, her scholar's mind syncing with the alien tech. "There—a disengaging sequence!" Green filled the screen, an unlocking animation rippling across the holo, the lattice of slender alloy arms releasing whatever hold they had upon my ship.
"Now we get out of here," I said, pushing Tayra toward the lift, my shoulder throbbing, guilt burning—Korrin, Anakin, my failures. The lift hummed, descending, glass walls misting like tears.
The lift doors parted, spilling us onto the docking platform's white durasteel expanse, misted by the churning waterfall, its roar a primal hymn under the Relay's twilight sky. Five shadowy figures loomed in front of us. Glowing panels flickered overhead, casting a sterile sheen over rune-lit consoles pulsing red. Fulcrum's Dawn hummed at the platform's edge, its slate-grey hull a beacon of hope. There he was, Varnis with that smirk I've grown to loathe, flanked by four of his elite guards, their tridents poised, ready for blood, that odd distorted air surrounding their combat stances, their liquid-metal armor rippling, gold-black Eye emblems glowing, purple joints flaring. My white sabers flared, their kyber singing defiance, as Tayra gripped her purple saberstaff, amber eyes haunted but fierce.
"You're a minor annoyance in the Covenant's storm, Tano!" Varnis sneered. I twirled my hilts, stepping forward. "I've fought more worthy foes in my nightmares," I shot back, voice steady, rallying Tayra. Her breath hitched, but she nodded, saberstaff ready. The platform's mist swirled, rune-traps flickering, the jungle's roars a curse against the Relay's sterile pulse.
The guards charged in pairs, their liquid armor flaring purple. I leapt, Ataru spins dodging trident pulses that warped the air, stinging my lekku. Tayra's Niman strikes glanced off another guard's armor. "Keep on the attack!" I shouted, hurling a console shard with the Force, piercing one guard's barrier. I then jumped to slash his armor's weak joint, cauterizing his chest, smoke curling, flesh charred to ash. Tayra ducked a trident, her saberstaff grazing another guard, sparking uselessly against his armor's faint purple shimmer.
The third guard targeted Tayra, unleashing an unnatural pocket of air—an explosive wave that missed her head by inches, dazing her, her montrals trembling. He pinned her against a console, trident poised to strike a final blow. "Tayra!" I shouted, slashing at another guard, his barrier holding. Tayra's eyes flared, trauma battling resolve. "I… I won't break!" she gasped, Force-pushing him into a rune-lit console. It exploded, sparks showering, exposing his armor's joint. Her saberstaff coming down in a stabbing motion, through the weakness in his armor to his chest, cauterizing flesh, the stink of seared meat remaining heavy in the air. She staggered, standing, tears streaking her orange skin.
I spun, sabers slicing the final guard's joints, his barrier shattering, charred limbs piling on durasteel. Varnis' smirk faded, his hand flaring with that foreign power that keeps escaping any reason. A blade materialized, glowing purple with an orange core. "Enough!" he roared, charging, his blade clashing equally with mine, sparks flaring, the hum stinging my palms. His free hand unleashed a shattering shockwave, slamming me against a wall. Tayra struck, her saberstaff grazing his defenseless leg. Varnis snarled, turning on her. He lifted her in the air with that unknown force, Tayra soaring upward, then trapping her in that same strange statis that had us trapped when we first arrived, this time though the force crushed her ribs, her gasp and pain filled cry sharpening my senses.
"No!" I roared, leaping between them, white sabers flaring like twin suns. The air trembled as I unleashed a Force surge, a tidal roar from within, slamming Varnis back. His strange blade flickered, its alien glow stuttering as he stumbled, the platform's mist swirling in his wake. Tayra collapsed to one knee, her gasp ragged, ribs creaking from his crushing energy. Her amber eyes ablaze, her hand shaking on her saberstaff, trauma warring with defiance. "Get to the Dawn, Tayra—go, with or without me!" My voice was durasteel, my stand a fortress, shielding my ward from his wrath.
Tayra hesitated, saberstaff dimming, her gaze fierce yet fracturing, then nodded, acceptance hardening her resolve. She limped toward the Dawn's distant hum, each step a battle, her orange skin stark against the Relay's sterile gleam. Varnis rose, his hand flaring with that foreign power again, summoning his blade anew, its purple-orange light parrying my sabers with unnatural strength, a strange force holding my blade at bay. His strikes were relentless, warping the air, forcing me to weave through raw skill, my senses clouded by static where the Force should guide. A trident shard grazed my shoulder, pain searing like Malachor's scars, but I spun, sabers slashing at his chest, sparks showering.
"You stole the Chiss from his kin, Tano—his blood heralds our awakening!" Varnis spat, his smirk a venomous blade, eyes glinting like the glyphs pulsing red around us. The platform quaked, jungle roars piercing the Relay's hum, a primal curse against its dying pulse. His body convulsed, the white and gold-trimmed suit splitting as his form warped—an alien transformation, skin slick with scales, webbed claws flexing, purple eyes glowing like cursed kyber. His strange blade flared brighter, its orange-purple light humming with a force that defied my sabers, parrying them as if alive.
I ducked an invisible surge that could have proved fatal, mist cloaking my leap, and struck, my white sabers slashing at his scaled chest, he parried. Varnis roared, faster now, his claws raking the air, grazing my lekku, pain searing like a blaster's burn. His blade met mine again, sparks showering in a light show through the jungle's mist, its alien strength holding firm, forcing me to twist through raw Ataru skill, my senses still blind to his next move. The platform's durasteel groaned, glyphs flaring like a storm's heart, mist swirling as jungle howls drowned the Relay's pulse. A trident shard pierced my thigh, flesh charring under its strange heat, bloodless but agonizing. I staggered, sabers flaring, and lunged, carving a gash across his shoulder, smoke curling from cauterized scales.
"You will bow to the great ones!" he growled, voice raw. His claws slashed, faster, stronger, driving me back, his alien eyes narrowing with predatory glee. I spun, sabers arcing, but his blade parried relentlessly, the clash a scream of light. The mist thickened, glyphs pulsing like a dying star, and I dove, rolling past a claw swipe, my saber severed clean through his left arm. It fell to the ground, scales sizzling, blood pooling on durasteel as his blade vanished into thin air. Varnis screamed, collapsing, as more shadowy figures surged in from the mist, their golden emblems flaring, tridents raised, that unknown force ablaze within them.
"The Covenant's storm will drown your galaxy, Tano!" he choked, defiance unbroken. I raised my saber, torn between ending him and Tayra's fading steps. Her voice echoed—"Master!"—and I chose the light, sprinting to the Dawn. We boarded, the slate-grey hull sealing, Lehon's jungle fading quickly as we embarked toward the black sea of stars. Tayra gripped my hand, her whisper raw: "We made it." I nodded, our bond forged in blood, a shadow still lingering like mist. At least we now have a name. The Veiled Covenant.