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<center><h1>Prologue</h1></center>
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<sup><p> <em><strong>Some time in the Old Republic Era.</strong></em></p>
<p>The room was dank and sombre, but Darth Shadie could sense the presence lurking nearby. She used her anger to heighten her senses. She smiled; behind her and reaching for his lightsaber, snuck one of her former Master’s cronies, one who had defected to Darth Kromus’s New Sith Academy, wherever that was. She did not know where Kromus was hiding, but he couldn’t hide from her forever.<br>
Shadie quickly turned and spread lighting from her fingers towards the Sith in the corner. He bounced back, struck with pain and lightning. Shadie kept on as she advanced towards him. He fell to the ground when she stopped. She laughed.<br>
‘When will you learn? You can’t kill me. You can’t kill Darth Shadie.’<br>
The Sith began to laugh.<br>
‘You will not find him, Shadie. He will find you first.’<br>
Shadie started choking him with the Force. She lifted him, using the Force to hold him in a grip, keeping her hand levelled with his throat, though she stood a good few steps away. He began to croak.<br>
‘Where is he?’ she demanded.<br>
‘He’s…hiding…in the Force… You will never find him. Tell…your…other Sith Masters…he will…destroy them…and you!’<br>
Shadie slowly closed her hand into a fist. <br>
‘I will find Kromus.’<br>
The Sith croaked out one last breath. She slammed him onto the ground using the Force, her rage flowing through her. She would destroy Darth Kromus with all the power of the dark side. </p></sup>
<center><h1><strong>Chapter One</strong></h1></center>
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<sub><p> <em><strong>Many years later.</strong></em> </p>
<p> The <em>Krayt Dragon</em> dipped and bucked, dodging laser fire. Piloting had never been Shadie’s strong point, let alone when making a fast escape, which was why she was in her meditation chamber. If Bastila Shan had been able to practice Battle Meditation, so could she. However, her concentration was wavering. Kromus had not been on Korriban and the Sith had not been as welcoming this time as they had been the last time she had visited her former home. <br>
Since Shadie’s defection to the Jedi Order, most of her former fellow Sith had grown hostile and resentful towards her. Some, however, still believed this was a phase and she would become much more powerful than any Sith alive. Being Dark Lady of the Sith had once whetted Shadie’s desires. Now, calm and serenity reigned. And if the Sith would not help her find her former Master, then others would; hunters would. After all, she’d been born on Mandalore, her blood was as much Mando as it was Jedi.<br>
Shadie opened her eyes and stood, heading for the cockpit. Cockpit indeed, for it was too small and cramped to be a bridge. Brenum was at the controls and Trylia at the guns, switching to co-pilot when necessary, swerving her chair around each time. Both were Jedi, both following Shadie through thick and thin, as any friends would. Brenum, human, was a bit older than Shadie, and Trylia, Togruta, was younger, yet she had been a Jedi since her youth.<br>
‘We’ve taken a few too many hits,’ said Brenum. ‘I’m going to have to make a random jump and hope we don’t run into one of those Destroyers along the way.’<br>
‘To where can we jump? We’re too far from the Core, and we’ve no time to plot a course for Dantooine,’ replied Trylia.<br>
‘Why Dantooine?’ asked Shadie. ‘The ruins of the Enclave won’t protect us from any pursuing ships.’<br>
‘Well, we need to set down and get some repairs done,’ said Brenum. ‘Or we’ll all be dead before we jump into hyperspace.’<br>
The <em>Krayt Dragon</em> bucked again; a big hit to the shields.<br>
Trylia’s lekku twitched nervously. ‘Whatever you do, please do it before Tatooine freezes over!’<br>
‘Hey, I’m hurrying as best I can.’<br>
Shadie smiled, despite herself, at her bickering friends. Brenum was a Jedi Guardian, and a wielder of two lightsabers, one blue, which matched his hair colour, and one yellow-gold. Trylia was a Consular, wielding a staff sabre of marble purple. Shadie had learnt a mix of lightsaber forms, so she had not chosen any one specific form. She had hesitated changing the crystals in her lightsaber to one such as Trylia’s, but it reminded her too much of the former crimson she used to wield. No, now she opted for green; her blade also matched her hair. Her sabre was in fact part staff: it was one single blade when she chose, and became a full staff with the flick of a switch. It was much more practical than the typical staves which ignited both ends at once.<br>
‘Okay, here goes,’ announced Brenum.<br>
The sky stretched to star lines and the glowing blue hue of hyperspace filled the viewport.<br>
‘Let’s try to make a few jumps,’ said Trylia, ‘before setting down somewhere.’<br>
‘Can the <em>Dragon</em> hold together long enough for us to reach Corellia?’ asked Shadie.<br>
‘I don’t think so,’ replied Brenum.<br>
‘Shadie, we won’t even make it to Nar Shaddaa.’<br>
‘Well, I know where we can go then,’ said Shadie. ‘And it’s on my list of planets to visit anyway.’<br>
Brenum looked up from the controls and creased his brow. ‘Where?’<br>
‘Mandalore.’<br>
‘Shadie,’ objected Trylia, ‘the Mandalorian blockade will not…’<br>
‘I was born on Mandalore; I have their blood,’ Shadie said confidently. ‘Plus, going to Mandalore keeps up close to the Hydian Way. They’ve always got a blockade on anyway, so that doesn’t matter. Besides, do they fight for the Sith?’<br>
‘They fight for no one but themselves, Shadie,’ replied Brenum.<br>
‘And I am one of them. They’re bound to remember my parents.’<br>
‘But you’re not a Mandalorian anymore. You’re no mercenary or bounty-hunter,’ said Trylia.<br>
‘Then they can teach me how to hunt. I will find Kromus.’ Shadie’s flicker of lightning passed through Shadie’s fingertips for a split parsec.<br>
‘Careful with that anger, my friend.’<br>
‘Brenum, I appreciate your concern, but my anger should be the least of your worries right now.’<br>
Shadie turned and walked away, back to her meditation chamber. If she was going to deal with the Mandalorians, she needed to be ready.</p>
<p><center>* * * </center></p>
<p>They made several jumps, without incident, and then the blue of hyperspace turned to star lines and into the backdrop of space, which confirmed they were near. Shadie returned to the cockpit.<br>
‘This isn’t the Mandalorian blockade, nor is it Mandalore.’<br>
‘Slight change of plans, Shadie, we won’t make it… In fact, we’ve gone further. I’m not sure what happened there. I must have entered the wrong coordinates.’<br>
‘I told you to stay at the controls just in case,’ said Trylia. ‘Shadie, I told him the ship’s navicomputer took damage, that we needed to double check our jumps.’<br>
‘So where are we?’ asked Shadie, not interested in knowing the why or how, but just the where.<br>
‘Onderon,’ said Trylia.<br>
‘Onderon!’ said Shadie.<br>
‘But Onderon hasn’t responded to our hails,’ said Brenum. ‘And you know as well as I do, land on Onderon without a landing permit and you can never get off planet again.’ He paused. ‘I’m landing us on Dxun.’<br>
‘What!’ exclaimed Shadie.<br>
‘Told you,’ said Trylia. ‘That’s twice now,’ she added in a lower tone.<br>
‘Shadie, there’s that abandoned outpost and with any luck, Mandalorians still occupy it.’<br>
‘There’s also an abandoned Sith Temple and as our luck’s not been the greatest, it’s probably still occupied as well.’<br>
‘We have no choice,’ said Trylia. ‘I tried to find a better solution. I did.’<br>
The ship’s metal squealed.<br>
‘That doesn’t sound good,’ said Brenum.<br>
‘Okay.’ Shadie sighed, resigned to their fate. ‘Land us on the night side. I don’t want us being spotted just yet.’<br>
Brenum started to bring the ship into the moon’s atmosphere.<br>
‘Master Juun Kloh is going to have a field day when he hears about this.’<br>
‘Let’s not worry about that just yet, Trylia,’ replied Shadie ‘He knew we’d be searching for Mandalorians after going to Korriban. I’m sure if anything happens, he’ll be able to send us some backup.’<br>
The <em>Krayt Dragon</em> landed smoothly on the soft soil of Dxun.<br>
Trylia stood. ‘Let’s make sure you’ve landed us in a safe spot.’<br>
‘Or that we haven’t been followed,’ replied Shadie.<br>
Gripping their lightsabers, they walked down the ship’s landing ramp and onto the moon’s jungle surface.<br>
‘Seems quiet enough,’ said Brenum.<br>
‘Doesn’t feel it though,’ replied Trylia.<br>
‘I sense it too,’ said Shadie. ‘Nervous energy.’ She closed her eyes to focus. ‘One human. And a… Devaronian! I know that presence. It’s…’<br>
Without finishing her thought, Shadie turned, igniting her lightsaber as a single blade. It clashed with the crimson blade that met hers, its wielder being one of her former friends: Deejar.<br>
Brenum leapt up and back, while Trylia lunged forward. Sparks flew as the Sith fought all three of them with precision and violent speed.<br>
‘You’re not the only one hunting, Shadie,’ said Deejar.<br>
‘Kromus sent you, didn’t he?’ replied Shadie, parrying.<br>
‘But how did you know to follow us?’ asked Brenum attacking the Devaronian’s rear.<br>
The Sith apprentice leapt up and landed on the other side of Brenum, surprising him and causing him to stagger due to a Force blow. He took Trylia and Brenum both in a Force Grip, choking them and walking towards Shadie.<br>
‘Kromus wants me to bring you to him as a prisoner. Come willingly or your friends die.’<br>
Shadie didn’t think; she needed to save her friends. Before she could control her powers, blue streaks of lightning danced from her fingertips. Deejar flew backwards and she lunged at him, igniting the other half of her lightsaber, and attacking with a flurry from her staff. He was dead within moments.<br>
Shadie powered down her weapon. Kromus had sent him, but he had not sent his most powerful apprentice yet, she knew.<br>
‘I’m sorry. I could not let him kill you.’<br>
‘It’s not the power you use that is light or dark, but how you use it,’ said Trylia. ‘I did not sense anger as you killed him; I sensed urgency. You know, you have the ability to use both light side and dark side powers, Shadie. You must use them. I would gladly use lightning to save you time and again…if I knew to master it as you do.’<br>
‘No chance at that then,’ said Brenum. ‘We’re doomed to have Shadie save our necks every time.’<br>
The three of them laughed.<br>
‘Come,’ said Shadie, ‘there was another presence. We should find Deejar’s ship.’</p>
<p><center>* * * </center></p>
<p>It didn’t take the trio long to find the ship, nor to enter it. And sitting within it, looking bewildered and confused, was a male human.<br>
Brenum ignited his blue blade, pointing it at the man, slightly from the side. Trylia held hers powered off. Shadie stood before the man and crossed her arms.<br>
‘Who are you?’ demanded Shadie.<br>
‘I work for the Republic, I swear.’ He sounded genuinely flustered. He spoke with a very slight accent, though Shadie could not quite place it. ‘I was captured. If I didn’t do as the Sith asked, I would be killed.’<br>
‘That explains the how, not the who,’ said Brenum.<br>
‘I’m a slicer. The Sith hijacked the transport ship I was on, killed the pilot and took me. He said he needed me to slice into Republic ships’ communications.’<br>
‘Another piece of the how,’ said Trylia. ‘Explains a lot. They heard every word we said. So of course they knew where we were landing. Still doesn’t explain…’<br>
‘I swear, it’s the truth,’ replied the man.<br>
Shadie looked at him carefully. He was Force-sensitive, she could tell that much, but just barely. She could sense no deception from him.<br>
‘I’m a slicer, but communications is not my primary work.’<br>
Shadie realised she had not heard Brenum speak his inquiry to the man, though she saw his lips moving. She refocused and listened as the man explained further. His hair was cut very short; he looked clean and proper, clean-shaven, but what drew her attention were his deep-set brown eyes.<br>
‘What do you usually do as a slicer?’ asked Trylia.<br>
‘Coding mostly,’ replied the man. ‘Programming.’<br>
Shadie looked at the others and gave a nod. They could use a man of his skill on their mission. They put their weapons away, clipping them onto their belts. Shadie held out her hand.<br>
‘I apologise. We needed to be sure you weren’t our enemy.’<br>
‘Accepted. Thank you.’<br>
He took her hand and shook it. There was something about his smile that somehow took Shadie aback.<br>
‘I’m Shadie. This is Brenum and Trylia. And you are?’<br>
‘Call me Agent Knarf.’</p></sub>
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<sub><em>“Darth Shadie: Lady of the Force” is written by Celinka Serre.</em></p>
<p><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> <em>The Characters in this Fan-Fiction are new and have original names. The story is an original written work. The story is derivative and consistent of Fan-Fiction since it borrows the franchise world of Star Wars. Certain jargon and places, or concepts mentioned, along with the SW Old Republic universe belong to Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney. No characters or storylines from the films are used. No storylines or characters from the games or books are used. A handful of characters from the games may be referenced, but are not the main focus in this fanfic story. This fan-fiction story falls under FairUse.</em> </p></sub>
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