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(6.22) What Lays Ahead
(6.22) What Lays Ahead
Paraiso
Zall’s Family Estate
Colonies World of Byssi
August 20th, 1937
The echo of Angel's voice filled the vast space of Master Visst's mind, her voice filled with sadness as if she just received horrible news. Master Visst could feel her pain even though through her voice it was hard to detect. “I...I don't know what to do from this point on. I don't under why it has to be this way. Who will lead in your place?”
Master Visst's own voice sounded almost distant but without the same echo. Even he felt the bitterness of that pain that only comes from a long term separation, “Master Heartman, Angel, you will lead the Jedi from this point on. You will do all that is expected of you. You will excel at being the next Grand Master of the Jedi. Continue my work, continue what we have started. Guard the galaxy against darkness and ensure that the Jedi are ready for the next great battle when The Book frees its self.”
Sadness slowly slipped from her voice as she sighed out the last of the pain. “Visst, you have been and always will be my friend. I will do as you ask. I will make sure that the Jedi will remain ready against the night.” It was clear that closure had come to Angel's pain. With one last sigh, she allowed the last of her sorrow and sadness to slip away. All that remained was a simple peace within her heart. She had come so far and over come so much. And it was time for her to teach and mentor others as Master Visst taught and mentored her.
Master Visst took in a deep breath as he continued to meditate and faresee what the future held. He was not looking for this when he started but the Force guided him here. The echoes of that vision slowly drifted away as another one surfaced. He heard the familiar voice of Alya, “I owed Master Visst a debt. He saved me from who I was. It was the least I could do was be here when he needed me the most.”
Master Visst heard Angel's voice, “What of Zer'ra?”
Alya replied with a hint of sadness, “The taint of darkness ran too deep for her. She didn't survive the first full season. On her death bed, she told me that it was the best choice she made. Coming to Origin. She didn't regret it, regardless of what it cost her.”
There was another voice, one that Master Visst could not identify but it held some kind of familiarity with him. “The last of the dark Jedi have fled in to the low lands. Warlord Birgr and his warriors along with the Inner Light are pursuing them. The battle is over, we have won. Where is Master Visst?”
It was a moment of silence that told Master Visst the answer before Angel spoke up. “He...he gave his life for our victory. Cut down by Daz. I...I saw the whole thing. I.....” Angel trailed off not emotionally able to finish her wittiness to what had happened. There was clearly sadness in her voice.
“Master Visst will be honored among those who rest within the great halls of Defenders of the Light. I am sure my mother and the others would agree he has earned this.” the man said softly out of great respect for the fallen Master.
Angel spoke softly, “I believe it is time to return your father's lightsaber.”
“No Master Heartman, the Védő Lámpa is your responsibility now. When it was first found by Queen Sinya then passed to my father. Now it is yours. I was told by those that judge that the Védő Lámpa comes both great power and great responsibility. I can think of no better person than you Master Heartman.”
Once more the audio vision faded in to the shadows of his own mind. And the sounds of combat echoed around him. “You are beaten OLD MAN! Surrender now and I shall grant you and your followers swift merciful justice.” Visst heard Daz scream out in pleasure as the climax of the battle ranging around them.
Master Visst heard his own voice once more, “Daz, we didn't come all this way to defeat you. We came to save you. Striking me down now will only undo all that you have worked so hard for. This thing you have become, is not who you are. The Daz I know, would never allow what you have done.” Visst heard the tail tale sound of his own lightsaber deactivating. “Daz, striking me down will do nothing for you. It will only force you down a path that you will never return from. It will lead to your own destruction. Please Daz, let me save you. Please Daz, allow me to help you.”
There was that horrific sound of lightsaber hitting flesh. “No fool. Striking you down was something I should have done a long time ago. When you destroyed The Book, you also destroyed my only hope of saving Swip! You might as well have murdered her yourself.” There was a scream from somewhere off in the distance. Master Visst knew it was Angel. A intense lightsaber battle started and once more this chapter drifted off in to the distance. Once more the echoes of the future went silent.
It didn't take long for Master Visst to figure out what was taking place with the vision and how it was unfolding. “Master Visst, with all do respect, we can not sit idle by while this nightmare unfolds for all those people. We have to do something!” Rose said. Her words full of that same passion that he had come familiar with from her.
“Rose, you are allowing your emotions to govern your actions” Master Visst said but she cut him off.
“You are correct, but I am not a Force-user. I do not have to fear my emotions. What I do have to fear, is my conscience. I will not sit by and allow another Jumus happen. Not under my watch” Rose demanded. With each statement Master Visst attempted to regain control of the conversation. However, after the second failed attempt, he realized that she had to run her course before she would listen again. “Master Visst you are most wise and I love you like the father I never had. But I can't turn a blind eye. Not to this. Not any more. We have to act.”
Once her statement was over he took a deep breath, “This was the reason why I discourage Warlord Fiolla from having Azgard join the Republic. If Chancellor Murl will not help those in need, then the Jedi Order shall. I have already spoken with Warlord Birgr and Warlord Fiolla. Their forces are en route as we speak. Take the Maelstrom, and meet up with them. Bring light to this nightmare.”
Rose took a moment as she was apparently speechless. “You let me be believe that.....” She paused, “The whole time you knew....” once more she paused, “You are.....”
“wasting time Rose” there was a bit of humor in his voice. There were not much in the galaxy to bring humor to Master Visst. But there was a since of enjoyment that he gained from his relationship with Rose. “Ranger General, your ship and crew are waiting. Warlord Birgr will be waiting for you to lead this operation. May the Force be with you, Rose”
There was much more respect in her tone and in her voice, “Thank you Master Visst.”
“Daz what are you doing? You can not possible think you can control it!”
“I can control it, and I will finally put an end to the violence and death. It is not us, Visst, it is them. The humans must be brought to pay for what they have done to the Galaxy.” Daz said. It was clear that the communication was over some kind of device.
“Daz, you have to stop this. I can not allow you to unleash this thing upon worlds. Upon the Galaxy.”
“Visst, there is nothing you can do to stop me. Maybe once a long time ago, but not now. You will see, the humans must be brought to pay for the wars they inflicted on the galaxy. The death, the suffering. Her death. They must pay Visst.”
The line went dead as the sounds of others in the room stirred. “Warlord Fiolla, I need the strength of Azgard once more. If we don't stop this thing. It will murder the entire human race. If not the entire galaxy.”
The sound of Talon's voice was clear and personal, “It will be our honor, Master Visst. Shall we move on the Chancellor as well?”
“No Warlord. His time has not come wait. The pieces are not in place for that battle. In time, Chancellor Murl will have to face what he has become. But not here, not now. When it is his time, it will happen.”
“Yes Master Visst.” Talon said, there was sounds of others in the room but only Talon and Master Visst spoke.
“Master Heartman, please come in” Visst said softly as water fell in the distance.
“Master Visst, you asked to speak with me.” Angel said softly. Her voice measured and controlled. She was at piece in her heart and in her emotions.
“Yes, there is something that you need to know. Have you ever heard of the Védő Lámpa?” Master Visst asked softly.
“No Master, I have not” Angel replied.
“It was a powerful Force Crystal that was created long before many of the stars that we see now existed. It might even be older than the Scroll its self. You can find more about the crystal's history from within the Scroll. But what you wont find within it, is what I am about to tell you. The Crystal was found by a gifted Twi'lek. You once knew her, Queen Sinya. It is interesting that a Twi'lek who's name means darkness would find such a rare item. The blade is pure white and looks as if it is on fire with white flames. Queen Sinya used the blade to defend many agents of darkness. When she retired from adventuring, she took the Védő Lámpa and broke a piece off. She gave that piece to her daughter”
Angel broke in, “Lysire!”
“Yes, Lysire's Crystal. The very Crystal that Chancellor Murl has now. The larger piece was laid to rest with Queen Sinya, but taken from the grave by Master Chun to defeat the Sith Queen Rose. It now rests in his gave. There is one more element to the Védő Lámpa that is unaccounted for. The Crystal by its self a mighty weapon against darkness. But when the two pieces are combined with the pure light of an ascended being.”
“Master, you are speaking of the Crystal Lysire gave Biggs and now we have?”
“Yes Master Heartman. Once all three are mended together, it will be enough to destroy Lord Murl once and for all”
“Wont Chancellor Murl simply destroy his crystal before we can combine the three?”
Master Visst took in a deep breath, “No, the Védő Lámpa is not mentioned in the Book. It is unlikely that Lord Murl even knows of it. Daz wont destroy his Crystal because of his attachment to it. When the time is right Master Heartman, you must mend the two shards of Crystal and bring the light of Lysire's life to it.”
Angel took a moment to think of what she was told, “When will I know to do this?”
“I can only hope that when the time is right, we will all be ready” Master Visst said softly.
There was clearly some measure of fear in Ogon's voice, “I can not explain it. We found the Rächer right where you said she would be. But once we jumped out of hyperspace she was in firing range. She had use dead to rights, but she didn't fire. We had problems detecting lifeforms aboard so we bordered her. There they were, at their posts. All of them. I can't explain it. Dead, each and every last one of them. I tried laying my hands on them, I tried seeing through the force. But it was if they simply no longer existed. No connection, no anything. They were just dead. But we did find someone alive. Just one survivor, a Bothan. The rest of the human crew, dead.”
Once more a new audio vision slowly took center stage of his mind, “With the fall of Vandor III and the complete unconditional surrender of the Reich, The First Galactic War is over. Wait....we have Chancellor Murl giving his speech from his mobile command ship, hold on while we patch it over. 'I have just been informed by our Varl allies that the United Human Worlds or as they were known as before the war, the Reich of Humanity, has surrendered. This comes only days after the news of the Dorin surrender. I understand that this war has been long. I feel your pains, I know that this has been a grueling road that we each have traveled. But now it is over. The long night has come to an end and the light of tomorrow is upon us all. Together, we have faced off with one of the most horrific nightmares of the galaxy and have beaten it. Today we wash the blood from our battles off of our hands. Tomorrow we shall forge a new Galaxy where all are seen as equals and all have the same level of respect and basic rights. Thank you, and allow God's light to wash over us all'
“That was the Chancellor, speaking of the news of the Reich's surrender. The darkness is over, and freedom has shine through.”
“Captain Ogon, Warlord Birgr, The Republic needs your forces” Chancellor Murl said with little tone or inflection. “The Reich have dug in on the world of Jumus. To make matters worse, the United Human Worlds forces have been reported on Jumus as well. The Varl can not break the lines. As long as they control the souther Corrilian Corridor, they will continue to push supplies and reinforcements along the lines. We have to break the siege on Jumus and shut the Corridor down. I am ordering your forces to Jumus to break the siege.”
Warlord Birgr spoke up over the holonet communication with his acceptance of the order followed by Captain Ogon. The sound of one side of the link going dead it was Birgr who spoke up once more, “I don't understand why the UHW would betray us. For almost a year we fought side by side together. I still can't believe they turned again.”
Ogon didn't sound convinced either, “It was the damned thing I had ever seen. I had dinner with Field Marshal Model the night before. The next morning his ships and the rest of the UHW fleets had crossed the lines again. But I still think there is more to this than meets the eyes. We had not seen any UHW actions along our front. Have you seen them along your front Warlord Birgr?”
“No, I haven't. Our UHW fleets just disappeared as well. The fact that they have just now turned up on Jumus must be part of the reason for their actions.”
“I will inform Master Visst and the others. Maybe on Jumus, we will find out why the UHW turned on the Republic and went back to their Reich brothers. I guess I will see you on Jumus.”
The sounds of the ships faded as the sound of a man choking filled Master Visst's mind. He heard a dark and vile voice, “Tell me little man. Was your plan to come in here and assassinate me?”
“No” the choking man replied with. Once more Master Visst understand the Reich language perfectly. “We knew we could not defeat you.” There was a sound of something hitting the floor.
“What is this?” the voice said coldly, “Calling for reinforcements? I control the palace guards! Your forces are retreating. You have lost!” the laughter of the dark being seemed almost sadistic.
The choking man laughed as well. “You have no idea what it means to be human, Monster! We didn't come to defeat you. We learned that you are nothing without your puppet. You will never control the Reich now!” Sounds of alert filled the large chamber, “We came to rescue our Empress!”
There was a scream from someone stating that an orbital attack was being conducted. The sinister voice let out a scream of anger as the first explosion was so close that it drowned out the monsters voice, “NOOOOOOOO”
“Master Visst, why ask me about the Védő Lámpa?” Lysire asked in her normal tone and lack of emotions. There was something calming about her voice in Master Visst's mind. Once more he could hear the sounds of water running over rocks and through vegetation. “As old as the Sword was, the Védő Lámpa is older. It was the Védő Lámpa which allowed the Creature to be capture and imprisoned in the Sword. Something tells me, you already know all of this. What is it that you truly seek, Master Visst”
The sounds of a muffled party slowly replaced Lysire's voice. It was some kind of celebration that was taking place. A door opened and closed just as quickly. The sound level increased dramatically. The sounds of someone walking around a room echoed in his mind. He heard the sound of liquid being drunken from a bottle. “I can't become her. I wont become her!” Master Visst her a intoxicated Rose repeating. It was clear that she was filled with fear. Filled with doubt and filled with sadness. He heard a cabinet open and something metal being withdrew from it. He had his ideas of what it was. Once the round was chambered, Master Visst knew what it was and more importantly, what her plan was. Her emotions were running deep and filled with pain. It was a knock on the door which Master Visst hoped would bring her from her dark plans.
“Yes” Rose said softly as Master Visst heard her place the weapon in her shirt.
The door opened and the sounds of the party filled the room once more, “Rose” Xan said softly, “I wanted to thank you. Your plan was right and worked. Not only for my family but for my people. Thank you, I am in your debt” Xan said in a moment of great humility.
Rose sighed, “Xan” she said softly, “you know the person that Rose Sheridan was. A Dark Queen of the Sith. Do you think you could ever trust something like that?” her question spoke volumes to what her emotions were telling her. Something happened that caused her to question who she was. It was a complex question that echoed her fears. Her tone hid her emotions. She put a bit of humor in her question as if to soften it. The act betrayed her intent and gave the wrong impression.
Xan laughed, “No, I don't think so. Rose” he said almost jokingly. “Coming back to the party?” he asked as the door opened once more.
“Yeah, I will be out shortly Sir” Rose said in a complete lie. She had no intention of leaving this room alive. The darkness of doubt was descending on her heart. She held to the idea that the sum of who she was was Rose Sheridan. But the sum of who was Rose Sheridan was much more than who she was. This philosophy allowed Rose to believe that regardless of her origins, she was not the monster of her memory. That she was something else. Something better than that. Now, something has changed and brought doubt in her heart. A single gun shot and the sound of a body falling to the floor told Master Visst a confusing story. It also opened his eyes to a branch future that didn't have to happen.
As the gun shot echoed deeper in to his mind, a argument came to center stage. “I can not believe I am hearing this. We have a working plan Rose. We have trained for this. We are in position and now you just want me to turn my back on this.” Xan said in frustration.
“Yes, that is exactly what I want. Listen, I know that this means giving up our plan. That there is no turning back. But I know this guy. He has a daughter your sisters age. He hates the Dorins and what they are doing here. I know I can turn him. Please Xan, just give me a chance.” Rose pleaded.
Xan waited before replying. “Rose, this was your plan from the beginning. We make the changes you are suggesting. We give up on that plan completely. My family will remain in prison and my sister will be married the day after tomorrow. You want me to support you only because of a feeling you have about him. That is allot of trust, Rose. Even for you”
Rose sighed deeply. “Xan, I know. Please. I can pull this off. I know I can. Please trust me.” There was something in Rose's voice that Master Visst detected. This was more important to her than anything else he felt from her voice. There was no lying or withholding within her voice. He couldn't understand what was driving her but he knew it was something strong. There was also a measure of fear and doubt. They were deeply suppressed but what ever drove them, happened here on this world.
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