Jedi Knight Fiach Dubh’s Missions

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach pushed the throttle as mush as she dared as the speeder bike wove through the forest. Navigating between these massive trees demanded keen instincts and sharp reflexes – Jedi reflexes. But she could not let up, the Darksider would be coming after her, and she was not ready for a fight. She had been shaken up by the crash and hurt in a few places, though she didn’t think she had suffered anything more severe than deep bruising.

As the speeder completed a complex series of twists and turns and settled back onto a more-or-less straight course, Fiach risked a glance over her shoulder. Startled, she almost lost control of the bike. The Darksider was right behind her. He must have cloaked himself in the Dark side, because Fiach didn’t seem to have noticed his proximity. He was moving with Force-boosted speed and was almost upon her.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach pressed the footpads that regulated the thrusters until they wouldn’t move any further, and the speeder shot forward. That had to be enough, Fiach thought. Hoped. There just wasn’t any more for the speeder to give.

The Darksider’s face twisted with rage as he summoned even deeper reserves of energy to bring himself within a few scant metres of the bike. Even with the Force, could he really keep up with her? His lightsaber flared to life and he swung at the speeder. The stroke made him lose his balance, and he tumbled feet over head and hit the ground hard.

But the Darksider had struck his mark, the tip of his Iightsaber blade sliced into one of the bike’s power cables. The damage didn’t prove immediately fatal, but the speeder would run out of power at an increased rate. Fiach saw the immediate impact of the damage in the gauge in front of her. Could she reach a relatively safe location before the fuel ran out?

Fiach looked back once more, but the Darksider didn’t seem to be pursuing. Perhaps his resolve had finally given out?

She doubted it.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

The dark clouds that had crept over the horizon earlier now filled the sky. Night was coming, and with the cloud cover it would be almost completely dark. The storm, when it hit, promised to be spectacular – and for Fiach, terrifying. She reached out into the Force. The Dark presence was still there, but it wasn’t close. At least not for the moment.

She had abandoned the speeder bike an hour earlier as its energy gauge dipped toward empty. Ditching the vehicle at the bottom of a deep ravine, she started running and kept her fevered pace until she had put a few additional kilometres behind her. When she reached the rocky hills that distinguished this part of the forest, Fiach decided to stop. She found a small cave, partially hidden by undergrowth, and settled inside it to rest.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

At best, she was able to slip into a fitful half-slumber. Most of the time, she simply closed her eyes and tried to find some calm within the Force.

She ate rations from her survival pack and drank water from a canteen. She spent her waking time bracing for the battle to come. The storm loomed threateningly but refused to spill its contents. The clouds above were dark and painfully bloated.

Time passed.

The Darksider drew closer.

And the storm waited with sinister anticipation.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach remained steadfast in trusting in the Force. But she was not naïve enough to believe that her faith would endure indefinitely. She held significant doubts as to whether she was ready to face Jasih Paxt. He was insane, powerful, full of the Dark side, hungry for the kill. Rage had made him strong, fearless. Could she do it? Could she defeat him?

Yes, Fiach thought. But her best tactic would be to avoid a simple one-on-one duel until the time was right. As she mused these thoughts, the Jedi Knight slipped out of the cave, into the cloud-shrouded night. Before she could face the Darksider, she needed to confront her fear of thunder.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

For almost two days, Jasih Paxt tracked the Jedi through the forest. After trying to disable the speeder bike, he had lost his balance and fallen with a bone-jarring crunch. It was a sloppy miscalculation, the result of moving too fast to stop his momentum. The wind had been knocked out of him. He swayed in and out of consciousness for several long minutes before he was able to resume the chase. By then, the speeder was gone and he didn’t have the energy to attempt another burst of speed. So, he started walking, maintaining a casual pace as he let his body recover from the extreme effort of running in the Force.

It took more than a day to reach the place where the speeder bike was hidden. It was half buried in a mountain of dead leaves and branches at the bottom of a scar-like trench. He almost strode past the ravine and probably would have missed it entirely had he been moving faster. This Jedi was certainly hard on their vehicles, Jasih mused.

He dropped into the ravine to examine the speeder. The Jedi wasn’t nearby, and Jasih hadn’t expected something as mundane as a crash to hinder her. It appeared that the speeder bike had simply run out of energy.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

He spent the next day following her trail into the forest. What began as a simple matter turned daunting as her trail suddenly disappeared. Jasih plumbed the dark side, urging it to illuminate the path the Jedi had taken. His prey had somehow masked their course. The Darksider could do nothing but wander the forest, looking for physical signs of their passage or wait for the Force to betray her.

Or for her to betray herself.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Jasih hid himself from detection as the Jedi had clearly done. The Knight was clearly wasting valuable energy to mask herself. Just another sign of weakness, Jasih thought. Just another indication of why the Dark side would eventually triumph over the Light.

More time passed. Jasih Paxt took a few hours to rest and meditate on the Dark side.

When he was ready to move out again, he became a tireless predator, a relentless stalker. He paused, sniffed the air, and opened himself to the Force. There it was. A tingle, a subtle vibration. It wasn’t much, but he had found his quarry. With a smile that was both disturbing and hateful, the Darksider moved in for the kill.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach Dubh slid through the forest like a quiet breeze. overhead, the clouds parted just enough to reveal a patch of clear night sky. The planet’s moon shone through the break, painting the forest in a pale, ghostly light. Her senses tingled like live wires as the Force coursed through her, but she couldn’t locate the Darksider in the Force. He was hiding, though she still had a vague sense of being watched, even if she couldn’t pinpoint the source of her trepidation.

She pressed her search, eventually stepping out of the trees into a large clearing. In the moonlight, she saw that a calm, still lake filled the open space. The orb above was luminously reflected in the water. Fiach noticed that the clouds were tearing apart, and now she could see stars in the deep blue expanse around the moon. Perhaps the storm was dying.

If so, it was a good omen.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach Dubh, Jedi Knight, sat beside the quiet lake, under the glow of the moon. The heavy storm clouds framed the clearing, but the sky directly overhead was crisp and clear. She was calm, at peace. The Force’s song vibrated through her, filling her with confidence and power. She was ready.

The shadow stood at the edge of the clearing, partially hidden by the thick clump of trees. She had been aware of the Dark One’s presence for a few moments, but she made no move, gave no indication that she had spotted him. The shadow boiled out of the darkness, and in the pale glow of the moon’s light, the Darksider was revealed. He moved toward her without a sound, waiting to ignite his lightsaber until the last possible moment. Fiach decided not to wait.

The Jedi Knight stood without haste, calmly turning to face the onrushing Darksider. He paused, momentarily confused by her unhurried actions. She drew her own weapon and locked her gaze with his.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

“Your darkness betrays you, Jasih Paxt,” Fiach said.

“And you deny the darkness within you, Jedi,” Jasih retorted. “Reject your Jedi oath and follow me.”

“That will never happen.”

“So you believe.”

Two lightsabers flared to life. In the distance, thunder rumbled out of the clouds. The storm was all around them, despite the clear sky above. Lightning flashed over the trees. So much for a good omen, Fiach thought.

With the next clap of thunder, Jasih Paxt roared. Fiach Dubh met his charge, lightsaber to lightsaber, Dark side to Light.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

And so the battle between Jedi Knight and Darkside warrior erupted. Their energy blades carved intricate patterns in the night, punctuated by frequent sparks as the blades collided, drew apart, and collided again.

The Darksider and the Jedi danced to a life-or-death song only they could hear. It was a dance of violence that reverberated in the Force. The two combatants took each other’s measure with the first series of strikes and counterstrikes. One gave ground, then took it back – as they sliced and parried. Fiach, for her part, was now becoming proficient in the third Form and allowed the Force to guide her actions.

More thunder, and then the wind picked up, swirling fallen leaves around them as they fought. For the Sith and the Jedi, time seemed to ebb and flow, each moment a complex clash of Force-enhanced attacks and parries that played out in a kind of slow motion.

The Sith warrior launched a barrage of deadly strikes at the Jedi. Fiach pulled deeply from the Force and countered each one. She flipped and somersaulted, looking for weaknesses in his defences. He spun and tumbled, probing her own technique for an opening. For a time, neither found one.

Jasih Paxt let his anger build. This gave him strength, allowed the Dark side to blossom within him.

He switched to a one-handed grip, leaving his left hand free. He balled his free hand into a fist, squeezing tight and imagining all of his anger slipping down his arm to pool there. He imagined it was a tightly wound spring. Then, when the Jedi’s weapon bounced away from his parry, turning her slightly to one side, he opened his hand and unleashed the power that was concentrated therein. The Force spread out like a wave, striking the Jedi and knocking her backward, into the lake.

Fiach Dubh gathered the Force around her and used it to lift her out of the water. She floated to the shore just as the Force turned dark and cold around her.

Fiach saw Jasih Paxt smile as she covered the ground between them. She knew she should control her emotions. She was on dangerous ground.

Lightsaber blades collided once more.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Hours later, the Darksider and the Jedi were still locked in battle. They were too evenly matched for either to gain more than a temporary advantage. They hurled rocks and sticks through their control of the Force. They sliced and slashed and hacked with lightsabers that hummed angrily at the continued exertion. The Darksider taunted Fiach when he could spare a breath and Fiach stoically ignored him. Punches, kicks, knees, and elbows, they pounded on each other with every weapon at their disposal.

Battered and bruised, covered in cuts, burns and scratches, they both looked ready to drop. Even Jasih’s dark armor had fallen apart in places. Whenever Fiach felt her muscles weaken, she knew she had to simply put her faith in the Force and somehow found the strength to carry on.

Where Jasih found such stamina, she had no clue.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

The bloated clouds had returned, gathering into a singularly fearsome presence. Jagged streaks of lightning exploded from within as thunder crashed down with a terrible intensity. With every strike and parry, thunder peeled. With every punch and kick, lightning spread across the sky like fiery spider webs.

Fiach was beginning to lose ground – and perhaps because of the thunder. She was faster than the Darksider, and when it came to her knowledge of Soresu, better trained, but he was stronger and called on reserves of the Force that were forbidden to her. He was going to kill her. He was going to win.

She knew where Jasih drew his power. The Dark side of the Force. He wasn’t afraid to let his emotions magnify his strength. He had no compunctions about using his anger and hatred as vessels to hold more power than his body or spirit could muster by themselves. He was a Darksided warrior, trained to harness the intensity of his blacker feelings. Fiach parried another strike, then leaped out of the Darksider’s reach. For a moment he didn’t follow. He just stared after her, illuminated by the red glow of his lightsaber and the strobing bolts of lightning.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach almost gave into her rage then. It would have been so tempting to unleash her hatred of the man who stood across from her. She felt it sing inside her, a melody of unbridled fury that renewed her strength and determination. The clearing around the lake filled with the emanations of the dark side of the Force.

But wheras Jasih roared, giving himself completely to the Dark side, Fiach denied them and pushed away her anger and hatred.

The bloated clouds splattered the ground and the lake with huge drops of greasy rain. In the downpour, Fiach and Jasih each called upon the Force. Invigorated by its power, they launched themselves, one at the other, and their struggle became even more devastating.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Thunder boomed around the two opponents with each punch and kick and lightsaber clash. Lightning danced over the surface of the lake and lanced into the ground around the warriors. Fiach slashed, her calmness now amplifying the force of her attack. Jasih dodged, whirled, and returned with a deft counterstroke. Lightsaber blades cracked and sparkled, bouncing off each other again and again, and still black rain fell from the sky.

“Your control is impressive,” Jasih called over the howl of the storm. “Join me and renounce the life you must know is flawed.”

“You don’t understand me at all, do you?” Fiach called back.

“Then it's time to die, Jedi,” Jasih roared.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Sith and Jedi flew at each other. Jasih’s lightsaber aimed high. Fiach’s blade thrust low.

But before they connected, Fiach had deactivated her saber and dropped to the ground. With her last vestiges of energy, she reached out towards the lake and a deluge of water engulfed the Sith. By the time he landed and regained his feet, the Jedi was nowhere to be seen.

Exhausted, he flopped down to the ground – so tired, he no longer had the energy to be angry.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach had seen the signal from the trees and reacted. Once reunited with her R2 unit, she tapped him gratefully on the top of his chassis. “Am I glad to see you,” she said wearily. “I guess you showing up means you’ve found us a route off this planet?”

She listened to his bleeps and whistles as they moved stealthily away from the Sith. “Don’t mind him, he’ll keep for another day. I suspect I’ve given him plenty to think about. Now, to find this ship you’ve located and get back to the Order.”

 

[Fiach Dubh]

SOMEWHERE IN THE OUTER RIM

“For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.”
– Yoda

Fiach heard the door slide shut behind her. The locking system clicked and whirred. She stopped short as a wave of helplessness overwhelmed her. She had succeeded in only part of her mission. She had retrieved the needed information. But her fellow Jedi in the venture had been left behind. She needed to return – yet knew the chances of simply walking in were now next to impossible.

Fiach spun around and gazed quickly down the dark street, searching every shadow. Here there was always someone that could arrange transport – and she thought she’d found the perfect solution. The only trouble was that the ship she’d identified was apparently run by known cowards, who no doubt would not want to get involved in Jedi business.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

She’d learned through an informant that someone was looking for a large shipment of black-market weapons – and that someone was the same person who was holding the Jedi captive. She’d tracked down the weapon dealers. Now she just needed to get the dealers to agree to smuggle her inside along with the shipment. So, she headed for the warehouse where she believed the weapons were being loaded.

The warehouse was a dingy metal structure that tilted alarmingly to one side. The foundation was sunk deep into the mud. The planet’s constant cloud cover made for frequent rain, and Fiachhad to slog through ankle-deep mud to reach the entrance.

As Fiach pushed open the door, she heard voices.

“These weapons are old. Couldn’t you have found some newer models?”

“Oh, of course, why didn’t you say so? Let me reach into my deep pocket full of credits and pay for them.”

Fiach groaned aloud. She recognised the voices – from a mission when she was still a Padawan – and one where they left her to the clutches of a slaver. Just then, one of the smugglers caught sight of Fiach. “My friend!” Divad cried in a warm voice that did not disguise his nervousness.

“Jedi Dubh!” Creft echoed as Relo slid behind him to hide. “We did not expect you!”

“Why?” Fiach asked, walking toward them. “Because you thought I was a prisoner?”

“Well, no,” Creft said, shifting his feet nervously. “I wouldn’t say that’s why.”

Relo peeked out from behind him. “We are on your side, Fiach.”

“As long as you don’t have to risk your own necks,” Fiach observed.

“Well, of course,” Creft said. “But we are like that with everyone!”

“Wait, let me think. Did we ever say we were brave? I don’t think so!” Divad pointed out.