After the Jedi were all but wiped out, the survivors scattered
throughout the galaxy, living as hermits, avoiding people to save
themselves, changing their names, and trying to start a new life in
paranoia.
It was a shameful way to live.
But it was the only way to live.
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Blackness
by John Genoni
pencilled: July 2000
typed: August 2000
Disclaimer: Star Wars and it's concepts aren't mine, it's the product of
Lucas Arts and anyone else involved. This is non-profit and written
under the influence of annoying family members.
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Blackness.
That's all I see in my dreams nowadays. Not a lack of dreams, but just
blackness. It's hot though, almost burning. I was hiding then as I am
hiding now. The darkness of my hiding spot spared me the sight of the
sin but not the sound.
They fought bravely.
They died silently.
Jedi do not fear death.
They do not fear at all.
I am thus no longer a Jedi knight. I do fear death, I fear my enemy, I'm
afraid of so much. I don't want to be afraid, it makes me angry I could
be so weak when my brothers and sisters in arms were so strong. My anger
gives way to hate, hate for the monster who embraced the Dark Side and
slaughtered us.
My Master's words of warning come back to me, reminding me that hate is
the path of the Dark Side. I can feel it and despite all I have been
taught, it is almost pleasant. It promises of peace and an end to my
fear. I feel it reach for me, I become afraid, I run, and the cycle
repeats itself.
He contacts me every now and then.
I feel him through the Force as he taunts me, hunts me. It's all a game
to him. He brags about how easy some fall while others he toys with
before ending their lives. He gives me all the details of the battles.
Perhaps he hopes that I will use the information against him when he
decides to find me.
I try not to answer, because I know what he is doing.
He's not taunting me alone, he mocks all who use the Force, waiting for
one of us to reply. Then he'll swoop in with his armada for the kill.
He's a smart man; he has patience. He waits for a mistake and
capitalizes on it. I try to ignore him... but the Force can have a
powerful effect on the mind.
I am amazed I escaped Couresant. The blockades and checkpoints since
then have proven just as difficult. I was able to make it this far by
the Force and luck.
Luck... pheh.
Luck would've been that I died in that accursed city/planet. With the
rest of the Jedi. With Hen-ree Quai.
My heart aches for my lost beloved.
He promised we would always be together, but I am afraid to join him
now. I'm alone, I try to find his essence in the Force, but I can't.
The loneliness eats me from the inside out.
The Blackness took yet another life today.
I refuse to think of him as a man anymore. It helps to dissociate him
from my species. Lessens the pain a little.
It gloats about the victory.
Pride is of the Dark Side too.
It's pleased that there are fewer of us Jedi. That it's task near
completion. It says it's getting easier to find us stragglers. One of us
cannot take the tormenting anymore. He taunts back that it is the
Blackness and its Master that have not long to live.
Within the week, the Blackness is gloating again.
The Blackness has claimed hundreds now. Perhaps thousands. Millions.
Billions. The numbers only elevate his position. Lord of Sith, Darth
Vader as he now calls himself. He told me this himself through the
force.
He says he knows where I am.
I remain silent.
He says he hopes I will challenge him.
I remain silent.
He says he is on his way.
I cry.
The Darkness has stopped taunting me now.
Perhaps it has given me up for dead. Perhaps it tires of its game.
Perhaps it is so close that it needs not search.
Not knowing is worse than knowing sometimes.
But the Force tells me it has stopped momentarily. That it needs to
rest, before hunting again. But its ships have not stopped. I can feel
them draw near.
I am running again. I will the transport and its pilot to hurry away
from the planet. My skills served me well when the shock troops invaded.
But the troops that died by my hands surely have alerted their Dark
Lord.
I feel the Darkness coming.
It is much swifter this time.
For the first in a long time, I smile.
Imperial fools.
A Jedi's spirit stays within the body for as long as there is one. One
of the many mass graves has been set ablaze by a crashed fighter.
Hen-ree's essence has found me.
He comforts me. Tells me not to fear the one who betrayed us. That he is
just a man like any other but also that he is strong in the Force.
Incredibly so.
I trust my Love.
I ask him a question that I have asked myself countless times.
He answers.
I shall be with him soon, I say.
He tells me that he wishes I not rush.
I smile again, sadly this time.
At the next planet I shall take an Imperial Shuttle back to Courresant.
I send a message to Vader to meet me there.
I tell him I am not afraid and will run no more.
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Author notes:
Ask if you want, critique if you want, nod your head and continue with
you life if you want. This thing was written while on vacation
originally as something else, but that's irrelevant. Obviously my Star
Wars trivial knowledge is lacking, but that's why I wrote this just
because I haven't really done anything outside of the usual medium.
Comments, questions and concerns:
jgenoni@mail.wsu.edu
(
geocities.com/rick_spiff)