Sianid Ascendant: Chapter 2

"Going through with it?" Sianid asked incredulously. "I've been working towards this for nearly 25 YEARS. Longer, really."

"I just want make sure all that power doesn't go to your head. One of the things I love about you is how humble you always are, and I'd hate for you to lose that." he said with a sly grin.

The joke broke her building anger. "Yes, it's true, humility HAS always been the key to my greatness." She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"But the time approaches." she continued. "The Trandoshan will play his part, and the technology we recently 'acquired' on Ilum from our friends the Gree will make the distances involved irrelevant. I even have a genetic sample from that Kephess fellow."

"You gonna be okay . . . y'know . . . during?" The look of concern was back.

"THAT will be up to you and the rest of the crew. I trust you can keep the ship safe while we are inside this hyperspace portal?"

"Keep 'er from drifting too far, avoid the weird monsters. I got it. I'll give you one thing, it's never boring around here. What I wouldn't have given to have a hiding place like THIS for the Sky Princess. . . ."

"And so that leaves us with one final step before we can begin."

"Yeah, and along with being humble, I love how patient you are, too . . . ."

--

Dianiss sat down on the grass and took the artifact out of the pocket on her belt. Master Casei sat down in front of her. Qyzen, as he usually did, paced around nearby at a respectful distance, keeping an eye out for danger . . . and, on this particular occasion, witnesses. Master Annanya did the same. The Council had decided that a secluded area outside the Temple would be the best place to try activating the device, to minimize any possible risks to the Padawans and other civilians.

"I kinda wish Dina was here . . . or Ken. THEY were both always really good at this 'seeing' stuff."

"A Knight like Galadina has duties of her own." Casei responded.

"And Pada- . . . Jedi Kendsel walks his own path." Annanya added with just a hint of sadness in her voice.

Casei put a hand on Dianiss' shoulder. "And just like them, YOU are just as good at just as many things. Now let's get started."

Dianiss nodded, then held the artifact out in both hands and closed her eyes. As she began reaching out in the Force to 'see' it inside-and-out, she could feel the warm presence of her former Master surrounding her. It was a familiar, comforting feeling, and helped her to relax.

She pictured the item in her mind and studied it, letting the awareness of everything else around her fade away. Its shape was flat, square, just a few inches wide, less than an inch thick at the center and sloped to four sharp edges in a diamond shape, like two ultra-flat pyramids attached bottom-to-bottom. With her eyes it looked to be made of stone, but through the Force it appeared more like it was made of a cold metal. Seeing inside the outer shell eluded her however, as it seemed to be both hollow and solid at the same time.

She felt Casei's presence rise up from the faded surroundings and had a thought that she knew was not her own. "This object is strong with the Dark Side, so of course it's going to be resistant to peering inside. But it was DESIGNED to be manipulated on the inside using the Force. There must be a way."

Dianiss focused her mind to bring the object into microscopic detail. It had none of the rough edges or wear that the thing in her hand did. Looking at it from all different directions, she noticed a seam at the edge and followed its path completely around. By imagining the seam as brighter and bigger than it really was, it allowed her to take notice that the shape in fact WAS as if two pyramids were attached to each other. "Yes, that makes sense. The Sith are fond of that shape." she--or rather, her Master--thought.

With the new understanding that the shell was really TWO shells, she imagined following the surface of each and the solid/hollow characteristic began to retreat. "There it is." "Yes, that's it." She wasn't certain which of them thought what, but it was not important.

The device, in fact, was mostly hollow, but with a crystal of the same shape wedged inside. It was twisted so that its corners made contact with the flat edges of the outer shell. "That's the mechanism. I know what to do now." she thought. Having found what she was looking for, it took less concentration to maintain the image, as if the device was no longer resisting her. She could even open her eyes now.

Master Casei was still seated in front of her, and the artifact was hovering a few inches above her hands, as she expected it would be. "So if I twist it one-eighth in either direction, it'll line up with the outside shell, with a gap around the whole thing so that it doesn't touch the outside."

"Yes. That has to be it." Casei responded. "Now for the hard part...."

Dianiss reached inside with the Force and found a grip on the center crystal. She imagined the crystal twisting in place, and slowly increased her desire to see the image change to the way she imagined it: suspended inside, lined up with the outer shell. It took a great deal of strength, but the crystal twisted quickly . . . and immediately stuck to the edge like a magnet.

Dianiss pulled at the crystal to keep it away from the edge, and it relented, only to stick to the opposite edge. Pulling it away from that edge, she tried to hold it from leaping right back to the other side, and it responded by sticking to the middle of one of the shell halves instead. "Okay, I see what's happening here now. 'Hold the center' he said. I have to push in all directions at once...like crushing it."

"I think you're right." Casei agreed. "But be careful."

Dianiss reached in again with the Force and imagined the crystal being made smaller on all sides by a microscopic amount. The crystal responded by draining away her willpower and taking on a sort of "glowing" characteristic. It felt, for lack of a better description, like pushing down against water--it simply gives way and floods in around you. She pushed harder and all it did was absorb the energy. She pushed with even more determination (the kind usually reserved for combat), and the crystal began to separate from the shell and float to the middle, but the power was not enough to keep it from slowly drifting to rest against the other side.

"It feels like I'm doing it right, but . . ." She looked up to see Casei and Annanya exchanging worried looks. Annanya nodded and Casei turned back to look Dianiss in the eyes and take her by the hand--a gesture that Dianiss recognized from her days as a Padawan that Master Casei was about to tell her something important.

"Dianiss . . . Annie . . . do you remember . . . the boulder?" Casei asked. The solemn look on her face betrayed her concern that she might be making a mistake.

Dianiss paused a moment in surprise that her former Master would even bring that up.

"How could I forget?!?" she replied. "I almost . . ." Her voice choked up a bit as the memories of what happened came flooding back, and tears began to well up in her eyes. "I've NEVER done that since, just like you instructed me." She realized that she was partly lying, because she had learned to control herself enough to use that power reserve in small doses, in emergencies. But she'd never just released it all as she had done that day. The consequences--both to herself and to those around her--were too much to bear. The one good thing that came out of that day was that she'd dedicated herself to learning control.

"I think you need to tap into that again, and focus it into this artifact. I know you can do it in small bursts--I've seen it." Dianiss was a little embarrassed to have underestimated her master's wisdom as she just had. "Remember: this once belonged to Tulak Hord.  It's gotta be that this device was designed for that kind of power."

"Are you sure?" she whispered.

"Honestly, . . . no? There's a LOT about ALL of this that I'm not sure of. But with the Force, there are no coincidences."

Annanya gave Dianiss that soft, matronly look she was well-known for. "Aw, Sweetie, it'll be okay. That's why we're here: to help you. We always have been. We always will be."

Dianiss turned back to look at the artifact. "Okay, I sure hope this is worth it."

--

All her life, Dianiss had felt this presence inside of her that had no name, no identity, no form, no will of its own; yet it was not HER. As a child, she learned that it would obey her, and as she grew, so did it. She learned that it was "The Force" and it was like an imaginary friend.  It made her whole body feel warm inside for as long as she could remember.

As a Jedi youngling, she learned about the Force, how to feel it, how to touch and manipulate it. She also learned that the Force WAS a part of her, and that this other presence inside her was NOT "The Force" at all. It seemed more like another Force-user within, capable of doing all of the things that she could do, but with greater power and strength . . . and less precision. She even gave it a name, which she never told anyone: "Kallig" . . . just a nonsense word that she thought felt correct.

As a Padawan, she noted that none of the other Padawans around her ever described feeling anything remotely like having a "Kallig" of their own, so she never really discussed it. It was deeply personal, after all, and she had no close Padawan friends--despite her best efforts to make them--that she felt comfortable sharing this secret with. The one true friend she did have wasn't a Jedi at all, and just . . . couldn't understand. The only one who ever did show the slightest understanding was Master Casei, who had an uncanny way of telling her that she was doing it wrong whenever she tapped Kallig for help in her training, no matter what the actual results were.

Then there was the day she lost . . . no . . . relinquished control to it and frightened herself and everyone around her. She felt a rush of exhilaration as it flowed through her and engulfed her, wrapping around her like an unstoppable flame that would consume anything in its path.

And it did. Her friend, the one who was trying to prevent her from doing . . . well . . . exactly what she was trying to do . . . had positioned herself in its path with no idea that it was coming. "Trying to hit Dina" had become an expression around the Temple for something that was so difficult or unlikely that it wasn't even worth trying, because Padawan Galadina had already become so good at avoiding and deflecting attacks, including purely Force-based ones. But this time, she had been laid out so roughly and so completely that she didn't wake up for days.

Dianiss actually thought that she had fallen to the Dark Side that day and that she would be exiled from the Jedi as soon as the Council could convene.

Instead, Master Casei took her aside and explained that she and a few other Jedi Masters knew about the power inside her and that in order to be a Jedi, she HAD to learn never to tap into that power. "You don't need it. You're already very strong in the Force without it."

But reprimand or not, that lesson had been learned the instant she saw the light of Galadina's aura snuffed out by her own command. Kallig would have to be just an observer from then on.

--

Dianiss reached out again with the Force to grasp the crystal inside the device and twist it into the same orientation as the outside shell. Like before, she imagined the crystal being crushed on all sides. And like before, it worked, to a point.

The presence within her was always there, always at the ready, always obedient. It never did much of anything on its own, apart from her, but rather just added its own strength to hers. She asked it to gently assist her, as she had done in emergencies in the past. She could feel its aura rise up from a sleepy, dormant state and take its place occupying the same space her body did, making her feel hot from head to toe. She could feel the visible red glow appearing in her eyes as it tinted everything she saw both in her eyes and purely in the Force. She immediately commanded it to back off.

The familiar sensation of the crystal giving way came back, but this time it had no where to go, the power all around it causing it to seem to harden. It moved away from the edge, but was too unstable. It bounced around inside like a pinball.

She gave it permission to press harder, and the sensation of heat was much stronger, though not hotter. The crystal began to stabilize some, but the power was still being absorbed, rather than filling up the space inside.

For just a brief moment, she gave Kallig the command to push HARD--that is--as hard as it could. Full power, in a burst for only fraction of a second. The kind of power that could launch a several-ton object into the stratosphere. The kind of power that could instantly kill someone not skilled in getting the Hell out of its way.

The crystal let out a pulse of its own, one that rang out in all directions with no perceptible loss of strength as it made an ever-growing white sphere with Dianiss, not the crystal, at the center of it. A flash of understanding washed over her as it did. It wasn't the amount of power, it was the willingness to impart everything you have into it--although the amount of power did pretty much determine the strength of the shield that it formed. This one would be formidable indeed.

She could see the crystal now, stable inside the artifact, surrounded by the energy that reflected off of it, then off the outer shell, then back again in a endlessly repeating cycle. A small amount of energy appeared to seep out of the seams at all edges, but she could easily inject more by imagining the Force as a fluid that presses into the seam to refill it. She would have to do this periodically, but the device was otherwise activated.

And all three Jedi could sense the new white-ish aura that surrounded her and connected to the device.

And all three breathed a sigh of relief. Dianiss would be safe.

"Now . . . we can get started trying to solve your other mystery." Annanya said. "Who is this 'first enemy'?"

--

"The time has come. Andronikos, bring the ship to a full stop and cut all engine power. Watch long range scanners."

"Aye aye, beautiful."

"Ashara, monitor my health and vitals."

"Of course, My Lord."

"Xalek, monitor Khem."

"Yes, Lord."

"HK-51, you are in charge of security. No one must disrupt this mission."

"Statement: All intruders will be eliminated."

"Khem, you know what to do."

"Yes, Little Sith."

"Now then . . . show me where the fun is . . . ."

--

It all came in a flash.

Pain.

Unbelievable pain.

Dianiss screamed out and wanted to lose consciousness, but somehow couldn't. She could feel her heartbeat stop, could feel herself unable to breathe. She could feel every cell in her body burning from the inside out, and knew that death couldn't be far behind.  Maybe she was already dead. She fought to hold on to life, to go on. Even if she had to do it as a Force Ghost, she would go on. She instinctively wanted Kallig to help her, to fight it off.

There was no need. A white-ish light rose up from within and pushed back against the attack, healing her cells, dulling the pain, and in less than a second she was starting to feel better, if a little stunned.

And Kallig sat silent, unresponsive, indifferent.

Instead, another presence welled up from within and Dianiss could feel that Kallig was, in effect, stepping aside to make room for it. This one was different. Hostile. Malevolent. Cruel. And familiar. And comforting.

And the world around her began to fade. Soon, all that was perceptible was the Force, and even that was fading away. All that remained was her, and Kallig, and the other.

And as she continued to fade away, her last thoughts were to beg Kallig for help.

It didn't answer.

--

The Jedi Masters saw the attack and heard Dianiss scream, but then she seemed okay . . . at first. Something had happened. She seemed disoriented. Plus, the attack came--conveniently--just a few minutes after she'd activated the shield device. But with the Force, there are no coincidences.

At first, all she did was laugh as she stood and looked around.

"Greetings." she said, and regarded the Jedi Masters with a contemptuous look.

"Dianiss?" Annanya asked, puzzled.

"You may address me as Lady Sianid." She paused for a moment, as if weighing her options. "But you will not have the chance to do so for long." she added as she began firing lightning bolts at both Jedi, one from each hand.

The two Jedi each responded in their own ways to defend themselves.  Annanya took a deep breath intending to hold it in a way that let her channel the Force to make her entire body resilient to any Force-based attack, while Casei used the Force to simultaneously push the air around her out while pulling the air farther away inward, forming a solid, spherical shell of hyper-compressed air with herself at the center.  Both Jedi's defenses were barely up in time before a powerful physical blast at point-blank range overloaded their defenses, pushing them away and knocking them both unconscious.

Qyzen was already approaching at a full run, shaking off the effect of the blast and still coming. He soon found himself being lifted off the ground and held in place, struggling.

"Qyzen Fess." She looked at him with a devilish smile.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked. The look of horror on his face delighted her as he began to understand.

"You are the First Enemy." he replied angrily.

"Yes, I am." she said in a mocking tone. "I take the form of my . . . property . . . so that you may recognize me. It pleases me that you have shown the wisdom to do so." she added, just to antagonize him.

She gave him a mocking look of disappointment. "You were not supposed to allow this, and now all points are lost."

"You are false Scorekeeper. You lie. You betray." he yelled.

"Oh, no no no no. That's where you have it all wrong. You DID save her life. Without that relic, this ritual I just used would have killed her for sure. And I need her alive, after all." The condescension in her voice was almost tangible. "It really WAS her trust in you that saved her."

All Qyzen could do at this point was growl and scream obscenities in Dosh.

"And lucky for you, I need YOU alive, too." The intensity of the wind and lightning that bound him increased tenfold as she approached and touched his head. His screaming intensified, until he finally passed out, at which point she released her grip on him.

When his eyes opened again, "I follow, Little Sith." is all he said.

"Now then, Khem, we have work to do." She looked down at herself. "Clearly, I'll need a change of clothes, something more . . . modest."

"Also . . ." She activated Dianiss' lightsaber, and regarded the blade with disappointment. "As I expected, we'll be needing a proper crystal. I WILL NOT carry a saber in Zarvell's colour." A pleasant thought crossed her mind. "At least, not unless it is his own, and then only for long enough to plunge it into his face."

"Yes, Little Sith."

"And in the name of the Emperor, STOP PETTING THAT CAT!"