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Chapter 3

The Rogue Sun's sublight engines revved smoothly as the new pilot deftly operated the controls. The apprentice watched him closely as he worked, assessing his capabilities and other qualities of the boy as well. It was the first time she had worked with a male pilot. He was his age and very handsome, yet he behaved like a professional in the pilot's seat. He conveyed security and precision; he moved as if he had been born in a cockpit.

When she had made sure she and SPIKE were in safe hands, the apprentice focused on the details of the mission.

"SPIKE, show me the target".

The purple and green droid, who had been her only companion for most of her life, sat in his seat at the back of the cockpit, buckled up. The usual distortions appeared on his metallic skin as he activated the holoprojectors that made him unique. The droid assumed the appearance of a slender, unflappable, warrior human woman with white skin and green, blue, and pink hair. She was dressed in the classic white robe of the hated Jedi She had high cheekbones and a prominent nose. Her light purple eyes were impenetrable and did not reveal her thoughts.

"According to the official files of the Empire" said SPIKE in a deep and authoritative voice that was not his own "Master Jedi Celestia was a respected general during the Clone Wars".

"The Clone Wars?" Flash spun from his seat at the controls as he readied the ship to jump into hyperspace. His expression was as serious as that of the woman who was occupying the place of SPIKE "You're hunting Jedi".

The apprentice had not realized that he was listening.

"What I do is bring Darth Midnight's enemies to justice" she clarified "and now you're going to do the same".

Before he could reply, the apprentice said:

"Continue, SPIKE".

"Of course. Master Celestia was a military genius, but she believed that clone troopers were unfit for combat. She selected a small battalion from among the troops that she herself had trained. That was the only thing that prevented her execution when the Emperor discovered the Jedi plot against the Republic".

Flash nodded.

"In her battalion there were no clones that could kill her".

"That's right, Captain Sentry. She disappeared after the issuance of Order 77. Actually, in the imperial archives she is listed as deceased".

Celestia's hologram blurred and SPIKE regained her usual look.

Flash still seemed more interested in the mission than making the jump to hyperspace.

"And why does she suddenly appear to attack the Empire?"

"Celestia wants her to find her".

"So we're heading straight for a trap" he looked at SPIKE and back at the apprentice "How many pilots have you lost before I arrived?"

"To ten".

"Fabulous..." he flicked a switch on the Rogue Sun's complicated control panel. "Nar Shaddaa coordinates entered. Ready for light speed".

The apprentice took hold as the stars elongated into lines and the familiar unreal tunnel opened around the ship. With a buzz, the Rogue Sun and her passengers jumped into hyperspace.

Nar Shaddaa, also called the Smugglers' Moon, the Vertical City, or even Little Coruscant. The apprentice had never been there, but she had thoroughly investigated the place by consulting historical and educational holograms. Its criminal gangs and extensive underground networks were famous across the Galaxy, and tens of thousands of underworld characters flocked to the satellite in search of ill-gotten fortunes. Despite its small size compared to Nal Hutta, the corrupted planet it orbited, Nar Shaddaa outshined the other worlds in the Y'Toub system in every way. Dozens of different species called it home.

The apprentice couldn't help a sneer as the Rogue Sun approached the satellite. This crime capital, famous for switching sides according to its interests, was trying to win the favor of the Empire by inviting (or tolerating) the presence of a construction facility of TIE fighters in the upper atmosphere. The apprentice could well imagine the reasons behind the special leave: more money and resources for the system, a new way of offering legal work to the few who needed it, and the arrival of potentially corrupt officials willing to be bribed. Unfortunately for the natives, the station's crew was entirely human and security was in the hands of an entire legion of Imperial stormtroopers.

The apprentice frowned as she remembered Lady Midnight's words: "Leave no witnesses". She was more concerned with that order than with her first confrontation with a fugitive Jedi. Despite the fact that, according to her Master, these people wanted to defy the Emperor and take power from him, she saw no sign of treachery in the troops and officers working in the service of the Empire. if they did not break any laws or plot plots against her Master, she should act against those whose only crime had been to cross her path. Was it a test to see how far she was capable of going to reach her destiny? If so, she swore that she will not disappoint her master. She would obey his orders and would trust his instincts. She was not going to fail.

Sometimes she believed that she would never be able to gain absolute mastery of the Force and thus earn her master's respect, but she knew how to harness her desperation to fuel her anger and increase her lust for power. In time, she would get it. There was nothing she couldn't do if she tried with all her might.

Her unease increased as she observed Flash piloting the ship to the station. What did she know about him? Actually, nothing. He was an almost perfect example of the Imperial officer: precise, efficient, and humane. Her Master was not concerned that the boy had no hair in the lagoon, so she should not be concerned either. She would entrust him with the controls of the Rogue Sun while she fulfilled her missions and the Emperor would take care of him if she failed.

The TIE fighter factory was much larger than it appeared. It was a column made up of round saucers that hung above the Vertical City. What at first looked like lights flashing across the surface turned out to be explosions, she could see as she drew closer. Huge balls of yellowish gas shot at irregular intervals from shattered viewing windows, smashed cargo doors, and burst access pipes.

"That station has been seriously damaged" Flash observed casually as she searched for a place to land.

"Don't tell me" The apprentice stood next to her. Former General Celestia had wasted no time "Come closer".

The Rogue Sun glided nimbly through the flames. The apprentice couldn't help but admire the Flash's dexterity in manipulating the controls. As the ship rocked and trembled, he clenched his jaw with hardly any tension.

The apprentice overcame the turbulence calmly and confidently, reveling in the currents of the Force. There were people who needed peace and quiet to withdraw from the Galaxy; she had learned to isolate herself in any situation. In fact, the noise favored her. Her conflicting environments helped her meet the Dark Side. Violence was the perfect meditation.

"There" she said, pointing "It looks like an open hangar".

He nodded energetically.

"It is protected".

"There is no time to talk about security" Nor to explain that she had been forbidden to make herself known "Come in. I'll take care of circumventing the defenses".

With well-trained movements, she activated the ship's weaponry and aimed at the cannons guarding the open hangar. She waited for the automatic sensor to detect her presence and spun them around to target the Rogue Sun. She then she destroyed the cannons with two precise shots and cleared the way for the landing.

Flash wasted no time. He streaked through the hangar and parked in a debris-free spot. The apprentice jumped out of her seat before the Rogue Sun's thrusters shut off.

"I will infiltrate the main computer and guide you through the facilities" said Flash, placing a small headset on his right ear "Your friend will help me".

The apprentice did not try to dissuade him, although she knew his efforts were unnecessary. She sensed the dazzling presence of the Jedi like the sunlight that pervades everything after a snowstorm. It was true, Celestia wanted them to find her.

"Just protect the ship" she told Flash "and get everything ready for take off as soon as I get back. You'll have to be quick".

"It's my specialty" he replied through the apprentice's wrist communicator, which was heading towards the open exit ramp. The air smelled of smoke and spilled blood. That smell, coupled with the Jedi's presence, made his heart race. She narrowed her eyes and jumped out of the ship.

She activated the lightsaber before her feet touched the ground, prepared to dodge the shots from the contingent sent to investigate her landing. The Force guided her arm... no, the Force was her arm. That's how she felt. At times like that, she was a carrier of the Dark Side. She flowed inside her like wine slides down the neck of a bottle, reveling in her freedom and the promise of being poured out again. Her sword drew luminous lines in the air, from which shots ricocheted and were returned to their emitters in a shower of sparks.

A dozen hooded men and women dressed in brown combat uniforms, identified by the apprentice as Celestia's rebels, appeared in the hangar access corridor and blocked the door behind them. The apprentice lunged at the group, showing her teeth, wanting to attack. A single push was enough to scatter them like tin soldiers. The first one she attacked with an electric shock. The second she strangled him until he lost consciousness. She got rid of the third by jamming it into the nearest cargo door. She dismembered the others with graceful gestures, ignoring the screams of panic and pain.

The door rose, and both the rebels and the Imperial soldiers withdrew.

"All Imperial patrols keep the offensive" ordered a thunderous voice over the intercom "All Imperial patrols keep the offensive".

The apprentice smirked and ran down the hall to chase her welcoming committee.

"Do you hear me?" Flash asked him over the communicator.

"Yes".

"The Celestia rebels have reportedly taken over the command bridge".

"That's where I'm going".

She stepped on the bodies and followed the pilot's instructions to the letter.

Her calm voice guided her step by step into a huge chasm that led to the upper end of the facility. He couldn't see her, so he wasn't afraid of asking her for explanations about the carnage he was causing among her supposed allies. Lady Midnight would take it upon herself to update him on the situation, if she deemed it necessary. For now, Celestia was his top priority.

"The intruders may be using the TIE fighter assembly lines for defense" Flash told him. "Also, my sensors have detected explosives. Be careful".

She assured him that she would, even as she dodged a trap that Celestia's rebels had set up in the turbolift shaft. The voice she boomed over the station's intercoms sounded increasingly alarmed.

"Threat status updated. Eliminate all unauthorized personnel".

"The use of excessive force is allowed".

"All K-tier battalions report immediately!"

"Send reinforcements to the security posts immediately!"

There was an explosion so close by that it shook the walls and probably blew out all the loading doors on that floor. In her mind the words of Flash were repeated incessantly: "Then, we are going straight towards a trap". But she was the one who got into the wolf's mouth while he remained on the ship, safe from the BlasTech E-11 rifles and the mediocre weapons of the rebels.

"Another squad of stormtroopers has reached hangar number twelve" Flash informed him "It seems that we will have help to reconquer the station".

"The station is not our problem".

"But the Imperial High Command won't be happy to lose TIE fighter assembly lines".

"I'm not under the command of the High Command. And now, shut up. I'm trying to concentrate".

She stood atop a fighter-mounting platform, head up, lightsaber pointed forward. A prick to the back of her neck warned her of a new danger just as a magnetic cannon fired to her right and she sent TIE fighter pieces in all directions. She managed to dodge the main blast, but couldn't stop small pieces of shrapnel from digging into her right hand.

"Surrender!" the rebels shouted "We have the factory!"

"Who is she?" one of them asked "Some kind of shadow soldier?"

"It doesn't matter, attack her!"

Anger grew inside her, eliminating all worries. She jumped over a pile of dislodged solar panels and sent a whirlwind of scrap metal toward where the shots were coming from.

There were a few screams muffled by the crash of falling metal parts. The Celestia rebels abandoned the TIE command cabins they had used as shelter. She received a few shots from all kinds of weapons, which showed a lack of organization, limited resources, or both at the same time. She dodged all the shots with a controlled rage and fought back with all the anger that she was able to accumulate. There was no need to hold back. Those anti-imperialist rebels deserved the maximum retaliation.

When the last of the rebels was buried under a pile of titanium alloy helmets and radiation shields, she took a closer look at their equipment. Along with their motley weapons and mismatched armor, the Rebels wore timers for explosives, and had been distributing charges throughout the plant. The apprentice told herself that she should hurry before the station was blown up.

Right at that moment, another explosion much stronger than the previous one shook the structure. She managed to balance herself on the platform, but a wave of TIE fighters and parts fell around her. Flash was saying something to her, but the roar of the intercom did not allow her to hear the entire message.

"...the stabilizers or the repulsion motor, I don't know what it is. It's not working well".

"As you say?" she asked "Repeat it".

"I have said that the insurgents have severely damaged the facilities" she summarized "So, whatever you are doing now, finish soon, or we will die along with the station".

"Got it" The rig was still moving under her feet when she started to leave the assembly area, blocking access with a bunch of ejection seats and dismounted engines "Where did you tell me the control center was?"

Flash guided her through the unstable station. Any wretch in her path was ruthlessly shoved away by telekinesis. The doors were closed and the weapons were locked. He didn't have time to play.

"To all available squads" the intercom announced "immediately defend the security posts!" And then he added: "They are invading the security posts!" And to finish: "Command bridge to all squads, we need help..."

The last warning was interrupted by a burst of blaster fire. Then a relative calm washed over everything.

Gravity was slightly less when he reached for the doors that, according to Flash, led to the control center. That meant the station was falling apart faster than she had calculated. She paused for a moment to recover and wrap an iron will around her burning heart filled with rage, preparing to face the Jedi whose presence she could sense through a few inches of durasteel.

Then she waved a finger and the heavy doors slid open.

On the other side was a room like many others in the Galaxy: cold and metallic, with red screens that kept the crew informed on the status of the station. A long elevated bridge led to the command post, where General Celestia stood with her back to the door, in a posture that revealed both confidence and contempt. She hadn't even drawn her lightsaber, which she hung diagonally between her shoulder blades in a custom-made sheath. She wore a white cape pinned to two metallic shoulder pads that reinforced her physical presence. She was a warrior to the core, and she proudly wore her darling scars.

The apprentice had burst into the room ready to attack, but she had a moment's hesitation. This was not what she expected. Jedi were weak because they led privileged, old-fashioned, worn-out lives. She didn't expect to find a soldier.

Celestia's voice, when she spoke, was deep and authoritative, just as SPIKE had imitated.

"I've finally forced you out of hiding" She turned "I ordered my men to lower the containment field when you approached and ..." She stopped when she saw the apprentice and her face reflected surprise.

"A girl?" She with a swift movement she drew her lightsaber, which glowed green in her hand "After so many months attacking Imperial targets... Midnight sends a girl to confront me?"

Serious and silent, the apprentice crouched preparing for combat. Her trap was not directed at her, but at her Master. If Celestia was disappointed, the apprentice promised herself that it would be the last emotion she would ever feel.

She raised her left hand and attacked the renegade Jedi with a volley of Sith lightning, unleashing the power of the Dark Side.

Celestia just laughed. She raised her left hand in a motion identical to the one the apprentice had made and deflected her discharge back to her place of origin. The impact of the energy knocked them both back.

The apprentice aborted the attack and blinked the smoke out of her eyes. Her anger increased. She was the first to touch down after the recoil and she broke into a run as soon as she had regained her balance. She felt light and very fast, like a spear flying toward her target. Her red sword left a luminous trail in the air and aimed at Celestia's neck.

The Jedi general crouched down and swung her green sword up and down, trying to intercept the enemy in her path. It was a move that the young woman had learned to avoid a long time ago. It consisted of lowering the head towards the center of gravity and rolling in the air. Then, she would approach her opponent again by propping her foot on the nearest wall and pushing herself off her. She launched a telekinesis attack trying to take Celestia down before she had time to swing her sword.

But Celestia again intercepted the Force energies and struck back. Both women were separated again.

More cautiously, the apprentice circled around her, ripping chunks of chairs as she walked and throwing them at her enemy's head. Her anger made her impatient, but she knew better not to rush. She had not been humiliated. She had successfully tested Celestia's defenses. She now she knew that a direct attack would probably fail, she had to find another way to get close to the woman. Or to get the Jedi to get close to her.

Suddenly, Celestia moved, attacking with astonishing speed and a repertoire of furious blows. The apprentice backed away, gritting her teeth. "Keep it up, girl!" Green and red lights collided as she parried blow after blow, and Celestia continued to approach, trying to outmaneuver the young woman with her determination and speed. The apprentice took four steps back and stopped. She brought the sword close to her body to form a solid defense, deliberately mimicking the Soresu style that Rainbow Dash was always a fan of. Realizing that she was not going to break the fence, her Celestia stepped back and tried another way: slow and deliberate, with sudden and devastatingly fast movements. The apprentice also managed to dodge them, attacking in turn as the old woman seemed to let her guard down.

The duel dragged on in the control room, which shook and vibrated as the station crumbled around them. The apprentice was ignorant of everything - Flash's voice, the sudden fluctuations in gravity, the endless explosions, the rise in temperature downstairs - and she was concentrating all of her attention on this life-and-death match. Celestia wouldn't defeat her, but could she defeat Celestia? She must. She would rather go down with the station than run away and have to admit her failure. Darth Midnight's secret apprentice knew the fate that awaited her if she failed.

The general was strong and cunning and practiced movements the apprentice had never seen. But she was older and she was unaware of the Dark Side of the Force.

She tried to attack two more times, hoping that her opponent would make a mistake or begin to show signs of fatigue, however, it was she who began to notice the effects of the duel and it was she who took the blows. After a while, her cloak was tattered and one of her metal shoulder pads had turned red.

The apprentice pressed her with renewed energy. She sensed the proximity of victory and her absolute power. Soon enough, the lightsaber and the head of the Jedi would be his. So... she would be worthy of her master's praise!

She began to strangle the General and kept the pressure on her neck, despite the Jedi returning it to her and strangling her in turn. She was prepared for that eventuality, she had filled her lungs with air. However, the General held her neck with one hand, while she with the other tried to free herself from the pressure of her opponent. The apprentice felt her lungs burning. Her thirst for victory redoubled. The darkness threatened to blur her vision, but she kept throwing all kinds of objects at Celestia's face and legs, attacking her indiscriminately.

In the end, a smoking piece hit the General's knees. With a cry of frustration, she staggered and fell. Her face was bruised and her eyes bulging. The apprentice eased the pressure a bit so they could both take a breath, but before Celestia reacted from her she pounced on her. The lightsabers collided and crossed, sizzling just millimeters from her faces.

Celestia pushed to push the red sword away from her body; she could not. The apprentice searched her purple eyes for hatred and found only regret. Celstia held onto her Jedi methods until the last moment.

"Midnight thinks she has changed you" muttered the old woman "But I have seen your future... and Midnight does not appear in it".

The apprentice brought the swords even closer to Celestia's face. The Jedi Master's forehead was covered in sweat.

"I just... I only perceive..." A shadow of surprise and confusion changed the expression on her face. "To me?"

The apprentice thrust the swords into Celestia's eyes.

And suddenly, as if it were a vision from another time, just the kind of vision that the apprentice was looking for in the red light of her sword, Celestia's face became that of another woman. Hers He had dark blue hair and her marked features, much like her.

The General uttered a cry of pain and the apprentice thought she heard a woman screaming:

"Run!"

She flinched back, blinking in anger and thought that perhaps Celestia, desperate, had used some insidious Jedi mind trick as a last resort. But in her mind there was no trace of alienation and the general did not seem to be thinking of attacking.

Blind and dying, she crawled back. Her lightsaber slipped from his fingers and fell to the platform with a thud. The Jedi used telekinesis to smash every viewing window in the command center. The apprentice went flying through the air. A violent gust of wind penetrated the room, sucking up the smoke and shrapnel from the duel. Celestia was also sucked into the current and fell into the atmosphere with a gasp. Or had she jumped?

The apprentice was carried away by the gale into the hole that had once been the viewing window. Holding onto a crooked prop with one hand, she cautiously peered out and scanned the empty space below the station, her lightsaber poised to avoid a last-minute surprise.

Celestia's body was already far away, her arms legs spread wide, disappearing into the air lanes of the Vertical City. A large transport ship crossed her path, and then her body disappeared. The apprentice guessed that she had been crushed like a mosquito on a transparisteel windshield and she forced herself to feel the satisfaction of the mission accomplished.

But she didn't make it.

General Celestia was blind and seriously injured. She probably wouldn't cause any more trouble. However, the apprentice could not assume that she had died until she saw with her own eyes the corpse of the old woman, and at that moment it was impossible to find her.

Besides, she didn't want to acknowledge her failure to Darth Midnight either.

What could she do?

"This place will collapse at any moment" Flash's voice said through the communicator "Have you finished yet?"

"I'll be right away".

Determined in her eyes and her heart empty with triumph, she turned away from the viewing window and headed for the exit. She only stopped to pick up the lightsaber from the defeated Jedi Master.

Author's Note:

What did Celestia mean about Sunkiller's future?

And who was the mysterious dark blue-haired woman Sunkiller saw in his vision?

We'll see.

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