Sianid Ascendant: The Final Chapter

"Dina!" Dianiss shouted. She couldn't help but think back to the last time she'd seen Galadina taken down like this--and by her own doing then, too--many years ago on Tython. All the regret and worry came rushing back.

Denevee was also kneeling in front of Galadina, desperately examining her to figure out why everyone in the room had been revived except the one person who most deserved it . . . the one who'd given her life to protect Denevee herself. As she used the Force to examine Galadina's body down to the sub-cellular level, she was horrified at what she discovered.

"Zarvell, it's . . . it's just like Ilum. There's no life in her body at all, and her midi's are fading away. That big vivi your daughter did slowed the decay, but that's all. We . . . we HAVE to save her!" Denevee was on the verge of tears.

Zarvell looked genuinely worried. "That was the Death Strike that Kallig used. It was deliberately created so that it's finality would be absolute, at a time when the exiled Sith Lords were obsessed with immortality. Only Tulak Hord himself knew how to undo it, and never passed on that secret. All that remains of that knowledge was his relic, which must be activated beforehand."

The mention of Ilum caught Kari's attention. "HOLD ON a minute. You said that you two were there on Ilum when we fought that psycho Sith lady and then later got our butts kicked by Annie, or . . . her mother, . . . or old dead Lord Scarypants . . . whoever. What were you actually DOING there?!?"

"We were observing." Zarvell answered. "At the time, I was uncertain whether it was purely Sianid or someone else pulling Dianiss' strings, so I had instructed Zedemm to protect Ashara and to provoke Dianiss to use her power. That intelligence was vital to the subsequent research into a workable process to reverse what had been done to her."

Ashara reflexively rubbed her head, remembering the painful--but otherwise completely harmless--blow that Zedemm had used to knock her unconscious.

"Speaking of observing," Violet shouted down from above, "is it alright to come down now?" Then, whispering into her microphone so that only Zarvell would hear it, she added, "I've been on my stomach here for quite some time for you, when I'd much rather be on my back."

"Yes, Violet." Zarvell shouted back.

Kari was encouraged by his answer. "But, Denevee, you said 'it's just like Ilum.' And now you say you 'were observing.' So . . . back on Ilum, Master Casei did SOMETHING that worked. Did you happen to 'observe' what she did?"

Zarvell closed his eyes and thought back to what he had seen, with Denevee's assistance, that day.

Dianiss hadn't actually been a victim of the Death Strike then; it had been Kallig using the trauma of the ship's crash landing to allow Dianiss to die, which allowed him to push away Sianid's control. The symptoms, and the end result, were remarkably similar. And yes, the Jedi healer had managed to use Tulak Hord's defensive device to revive Dianiss . . . something he wasn't aware was possible, particularly after-the-fact.

"This Master Casei..." Zarvell asked, "...did she have reason to have a strong bond with Dianiss in the Force?"

"Master Casei was my Padawan Master." Dianiss answered. "She's the one who trained me."

Kari's lekku were wiggling ever-so-slightly, a sign Dianiss recognized to mean that she was concentrating on something. "So what I'm hearing, then, is that we need someone who has a bond with HER. Right?" Kari pointed at Galadina. "Like a Padawan Master, right?"

Kari looked over at Zedemm.

Zedemm looked stoic as ever, but with the slightest hint of regret. "I fear that I must disappoint you. I have always been fond of Master Galadina, and I shan't minimize her importance to me. I did train her, true enough, but I trained her the way *I* was trained--the way the Sith are trained. There has never been any scarcity of respect between us, certainly, but it has never risen to the level of becoming what you are describing. For that matter, I am quite certain that my 'condition' leaves me quite incapable of forming such connections." He looked over at Zarvell and Denevee. "Besides, such things are usually the domain of you inquisitors."

Kari didn't want to give up. "Okay, but Annie has always said that she and I share a bond, and I'm not a Jedi."

"We do. I feel it right now." Dianiss interjected.

"And . . . yeah . . . so do I." Kari admitted. "I guess I never really believed it until I felt what it was like when it was gone. So, Zedemm, it is still possible, isn't it?"

Zedemm's expression did not change at all. "I'll grant that it's possible, though unlikely, but you're forgetting the next step . . . the work of an exceptional healer, which I am not."

Now Kari was starting to get discouraged. "Annie, what about you and Dina? You've known her just about as long as you've known me."

Dianiss shook her head. "She and I . . . never really got along. I wish we had."

Drellik suddenly remembered something he'd read. "Captain, if you please, might I make an enquiry?"

"Go right ahead, Cute Blond Guy."

Drellik stammered a bit, distracted by Kari's unexpected flirtation. "Yes, . . . well . . . ah, Miss Dianiss, what bonds do you feel through the Force at this time?"

Dianiss closed her eyes a moment and reached out to feel the presences of those closest to her. Kari was there, very nearby. Master Casei was also off in the distance, and feeling better after having done something extraordinarily difficult and dangerous. Dianiss wondered what that was. Maybe it had something to do with what they were just talking about.

Kallig was there, as he had always been, a burning flame of power ready to engulf Dianiss if she would only just allow it.

But there was another presence that she could feel strongly--nearer than Casei, farther than Kari. This one was angry. Hostile. Malevolent. Cruel. Familiar. Comforting. The connection she felt to her mother Sianid was surprising in that she was sure that she had never felt anything like it before this day, and that it felt every bit as strong as any bond formed over the course of years of close contact.

As if reading her mind, Drellik asked her, "Do you feel a strong connection to the Lady Sianid?"

"Yes. It's eerie." Dianiss could feel a great deal of hate directed at her father coming from Sianid, too.

"As I suspected." he said, while furiously searching for something on a datapad he must have been carrying in his backpack. "Ah, here it is." He continued reading something to himself.

"In Tulak Hord's account of his encounter with Aloysius Kallig, he wrote that Kallig's attempt to steal his power resulted instead in a combining of their power, making each one stronger. It also left them inextricably linked together in the Force. It was because of this link that Hord was always aware of Kallig's presence and vice-versa. This is why he needed to send the Dashade assassin Khem Val to kill Kallig rather than doing it himself. He knew that any direct confrontation would be a stalemate and that he himself could never take Kallig by surprise because of the bond they shared."

"So, why is that important?" Kari asked.

Zarvell was beginning to piece it all together. "He's suggesting that a bond could be forged, now, and that we already have everything we require to do it. Denevee, do everything you can to sustain what little life remains in our friend. Annie, I have a great deal of explaining to do, and very little time."

While Denevee went about the impossible task of using the Force to slow the decay of Galadina's life, Zarvell walked up to Dianiss and took her by the hands, looking her directly in the eyes. For about 30 seconds, they just stood there holding hands with blank expressions on their faces.

Then, abruptly, they seemed to snap out of it. Both of them went from blank to deadly serious expressions.

Dianiss went over to the altar to collect the artifact that Sianid had brought, then took it to where Galadina's body still lay, and knelt down next to her. "Dina," she whispered, "I'm going to try to make this right."

Dianiss held the relic in both hands and closed her eyes. As she reached out in the Force to find it, she projected a stream of healing energy from herself to it, through it, to Galadina (and deliberately NOT making use of Kallig's power to do it). As the stream of energy touched the tiny bit of Galadina that remained, Dianiss could feel the world all around her fading away as she was being pulled into the darkness. It was oddly reminiscent of the recent memory of being attacked back on Tython--which seemed like it happened less than an hour ago.

There was something of Galadina still there, just the tiniest wisp, and it was difficult to concentrate on, like something you just barely see in the corner of your eyes that disappears when you try to look directly at it. It was a vague sense of determination, a desire to protect another no matter the cost, and a conviction that doing so was important enough to pay the ultimate price.

Little by little, Dianiss could feel her strength being pulled away from herself, being used to feed and nurture that lingering bit of warmth that otherwise threatened to become ice cold.

The drain on her strength was becoming frightening. But through it, Dianiss was beginning to have a greater perception of the Force around her. The darkness was still there, all around, but new things were emerging into view--things like the people around her, especially Denevee, Zarvell, and Zedemm (though oddly less so in Zed's case); and a handful of objects like the relic she was holding.

It occurred to Dianiss that this might even be a sign that the process was working, if she was starting to perceive the Force in a more direct way . . . the way a Miraluka would.

Thinking back to Zarvell's instructions, she went ahead with the second phase of his plan. She reached out in the Force to find Tulak Hord's defensive device, and easily found it nearby. The last time she had done this, it was with Master Casei nearby (although she did have vague, confused memories of Master Casei doing it on another occasion, as well as she herself having done it, long ago as a young child?). Back on Tython, Master Casei was connected with her, watching over her and encouraging her. This time, she instead had connected with Galadina . . . or what was left of her . . . and instead of encouraging her it was pulling her down into Death's cold embrace.

As on Tython, she felt for the crystal inside the relic and turned it so that it lined up with the outer shell, and used the Force to compress it on all sides. As before, she could feel her power being drained away rapidly by the combination of the relic's energy demands and Galadina's siphoning of her life force.  At this point Kallig was even applying his considerable power--without Dianiss' orders or consent--to keep Dianiss alive in the face of the abyss that she was rapidly becoming a part of.

Dianiss tried to imagine Galadina's face, but couldn't. She tried to imagine Galadina in combat, battling those around her, but the image simply eluded her.

With the last of her life slipping away, the only thing she could grab hold of was a single thought, expressed in a single word.

And then with a simple, singular effort, she commanded Kallig to compress the crystal with all his power, while she held that word in the forefront of her mind, and all else faded away to nothing.

"Protect"

--

Zarvell could feel that Dianiss was dying, and knew that the crucial moment had come when he saw the outward pulse of white Force energy. More importantly, he knew that Dianiss had been successful because the pulse had originated from Galadina, not Dianiss. As Dianiss collapsed from her seated position, Zarvell was there to catch her in his arms and lay her down on the floor gently. She had stopped breathing. "Denevee, quickly."

Denevee had just begun reviving Dianiss when she was startled at the sight of Galadina's body suddenly jerking with a spasm, followed by two more.

Then her mouth opened to take in a long, deep, gasping breath.

"Dianiss, no!" she called out, her heart suddenly racing in a panic.

But Drellik was on hand to administer some sedatives which got her to calm down and fall into a restful, peaceful sleep. "She'll feel much better after a few hours of rest." Drellik said. "We should get her back to the residence as soon as possible and monitor her condition."

"Did I miss anything?" Violet asked as she entered the room.

Denevee spoke up, but not really to answer Violet. "Dianiss is breathing again. She'll be out for quite a while, though." She couldn't suppress a yawn. "I could use a week or two of sleep, myself."

Zarvell turned to Violet. "Violet, we need to return to the residence. Since you're here now, I'll take that to mean the way is clear?"

"Mostly." she answered. "Nothing that a couple of well-aimed shots can't correct."

Qyzen was already picking up Dianiss to carry her. "I will carry Herald. It is duty."

"And I shall gladly bear Master Galadina." Zedemm said.

--

Back at the residence, Zarvell was watching over Dianiss as she slept when Violet came in the room.

"I have three questions for you, Z."

"I trust that none of them are related to . . . 'intimate relations'." he responded.

"Okay, two questions then. I'm a little rusty on my Trandoshan growly sounds. What DID you say to that Qyzen fellow? I'm finding myself doubtful that a 'growly-growl growl-growl' tradition is an actual thing."

"Ah, well, the translation is rather inexact, since the vast majority of the language is constructed from metaphors of hunting. I originally asked him to 'threaten me if the prey is in the trap', . . . then later 'the time is right for the hunter to strike'." Based on what we observed on Ilum, I was almost certain that the real Qyzen was biding his time, stalking the prey within, waiting for the best time to emerge. When he bared his teeth, I had confirmation. During our confrontation, I gave him that opportunity."

"Clever boy." she said with an admiring look. "But the second question . . . I've uploaded all the holo footage to the computer. WHAT was all that for? There were quite a few times I could have helped, you know."

"Well, my dear, you may think that you played no role in today's activities except that of a passive observer, but you could not be more wrong. What YOU did was the most absolutely crucial role of all, and will allow me to put an end to this war between Sianid and I, once and for all.

"As I've said," he continued with a grin, "...power does not defeat a Sith, only betrayal does."

She gave him a puzzled look. "Are you joking? After that display of power that your girl here put on? You're telling me that meant nothing?"

"It meant the end of a battle, but not of the war. Sianid's success today changed things to her favour, so we must be prepared to change them to ours. And predictably, she has already given us all we need. In the end, she will be betrayed--and defeated--by her own ambition."

--

Galadina woke up, MANY hours later, to find Zedemm sitting by her bed. "Are you quite finished with all this lying down on the job?"

"Where am I?" she asked.

"We're still on Dromund Kaas, but back at the residence. In fact, when I was a boy, this was my room."

"Denevee . . . is she okay?"

"Quite well, thanks to you, and currently serving as your attending physician. She seems to feel that she owes you a great debt."

"Did we win?"

"If you were to ask my father that question, you'd get a four-hour dissertation on foundation vectors and inevitability constrictions. Fortunately for you, you asked me instead."

He gave her a rare smile. "Yes. We won."

"Ugh . . . but I feel . . . awful."

"Well you should. You've been a Sith Apprentice for less than 24 hours and proven to be a such a spectacular failure at it that I fear songs will be sung about it throughout the Empire for millennia. It would probably be best that you remain a Jedi rather than board the shuttle for Korriban."

Most Jedi didn't appreciate Zedemm's dry, often dark humor. Dina found it comforting right now.

"Zed?"

"Yes, Dina?"

"I'm not sure how to put this. Did something . . . happen . . . to the Force?"

"An odd question. And no, nothing of which I'm aware. Why do you ask?"

"It's just . . . everything is, I don't know, brighter now...."