The Sith Empress – Part 3

The Sith Empress

By AJ Marks

Part 3

Gaia watched as Luke stopped next to her.

“Kyle tells me you did a remarkable job out there,” he said to her. She felt unsure what to say next except for a quick thanks.  She felt she had not done much as her style of fighting would hinder anything rather than help.  She looked on blushing slightly as Kyle came up to them.

“You fight pretty well, a defensive style but it suits you,” Kyle said to her.

She knew she was fighting a losing battle with a blush and tried to recover a bit to say something back. It wasn’t often you had to Jedi Masters offer you their praise, perhaps she wasn’t as weak as she thought she was.

“She uses her wits and skill first rather than her lightsaber,” Luke said looking at Kyle then back at Gaia. “I have a feeling you’ll make a great Jedi.”

“But I’m not that strong in the Force,” Gaia replied knowing there were several others better than she was, and most of the great masters, like Yoda, had been strong in the Force.

“If you are wise, then you’ll grow in the force and allow it to flow though you. You’ll use what you have to the greatest of your abilities, that’s what makes a Jedi great,” Luke said to her gently.  “Unlike the Sith, the Jedi prize wisdom as well.”

Gaia nodded having heard it several times. However this time, along with the praise of how she actually performed maybe she might actually fulfill what they were saying.  She might actually be a help to the Jedi order.  She would have to work hard to live up to that potential Master Skywalker said she had.

She wondered if she should say anything about what happened during the battle, the strange person who she felt was different. It was something she had not quiet experienced before and was still unsure about it all.  She had no experience in such things and wondered if the person was very strong in the Force?

As she considered what to do next she thought about the two strange woman she had seen earlier when she passed out. There was something about them that pressed her forward, but she had no idea where to go with this.

Finishing her task and helping out she headed back to her quarters to make sure nothing had been damaged in the attack. She didn’t have much, as she came from a poor family and it had been one of the many reasons she decided to train to become a Jedi, she could find something worth living for and not the streets.

Gaia had parted on good terms with her family, promising to return home to tell them how she was doing. Her father had tried to remain stoic, but she noticed the tears in his eyes when she had hugged him good-bye.  Her mother told her how proud she was of her younger sister hoped she found some happiness in her path.

Before leaving her mother had presented her with a package which had been sealed. Her mother did not know what was inside only that it had been passed down from mother to daughter with the promise when the time was right the package would open.  No one knew what was inside yet despite several trying to figure out.

Walking into the room she quickly looked around seeing that the fighting had not disturbed her room, and the package was still there and unopened. She had also tried to open it a few times but something prevented anyone from opening it short of destroying the box.

Settling down, cleaning up her room a bit from the ness she made and went back out to help finish clean up. She returned hours later tired and weary and quickly changing clothes and fell asleep quickly.

*****

The ship settled down in the landing back in the only city on the planet. Most of the people in the city were thieves or mercenaries looking for jobs, a tough town on the outskirts of civilization where the law was local.  The ship attracted some attention as it was not a normal ship landing down.

A few of the mechanics glanced around to see what type of person might emerge from the ship and get the gossip first. They were surprised when a dark armored clad figure came walking out.  No one could make out the gender, or species due to the armor and mask.

The closest mechanic watched as the figure made its way towards him. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up with each step the figure took towards him.  He could feel fear seeping into his soul despite the fact the figure had yet to say anything.

“You,” the figure said, its voice distorted by the mask.

“Y-Yes?” he managed to reply.

“Watch my ship,” the figure said to him, then moved quicker than he thought one should and grabbed him by the throat. “If anything happens to it, you’ll die very slowly,” the voice said drawing out the last part making him shudder in fear.

All he could do was nod his head before he was released and the dark figure began to make it way into the port and towards the city. Down a corridor another figure walked up to intercept with a mission.

“Now wait a second, I don’t care who you are, but there is a docking fee,” the man said standing in the doorway blocking the figure’s exit. The figure paused, and seemed to look at the man for a moment.

“I’ll spare you your life, how’s that?” the figure replied calmly.

“Oh, a joker, yeah, really funny. Listen, I’ve your types before, now pay the 200 credits and nothing will happen to your ship,” the man replied, s smile coming to his lips.

Before he could move a red lightsaber flashed to life and his belt buckle was cut off causing his pants to fall down and pool around his ankles. He backpedaled a bit looking at the figure who still held the lightsaber with every indication of knowing how to use one.

“All right, I’ll let you go this time,” the man said moving away and pulling up his pants even as the figure put away the lightsaber and moved out into the city even as the man watched him go. He knew whoever that person was if they had wanted to he would be dead right here.

“Well, you sure showed him,” one person said nearby who had watched the entire scene.

“Shut up Tyi,” the man said to the person while regaining his composure. “Just wait, I’ve seen all types and never felt such power from one person before.  Marks my words, don’t mess with that person, in fact, I wouldn’t deal with him.”

“Whatever,” Tyi replied, watching the dark clad figure head down the street before making his own way out. His decision was easy to make and quickly put his plan into action.

*****

Jessica made her way down the street amused at how people reacted to her imposing figure. Many almost went running to get out of her way and yet she had no intention of killing any one at the moment.  Doing that would only draw more attention to herself which she wasn’t ready for.  On her way out she thought about killing that person just for fun, but knew it would cause headaches in the long run.

She spent several seconds wondering what she might do with the person and several came to mind including different ways to kill him. But she finally decided on not doing anything rash until she completed her work first so went with humiliating him instead.

Her largest problem came not in getting here, but the fact she was never told where to go by the figure who called himself Darth Zarius. Taking a look around she formulated a plan which might help her figure out where to go first.

Looking around the street she noticed a small bar. There would probably be people inside who had information of local areas and legends she might need.  Next she would need a place to stay while here.  A bit further down the road was a hotel and realized it could provide her a place.

Walking down the street she felt the excitement of fear of those she passed before entering the bar. Once inside the hotel, it was the normal establishment, off white colored walls, and a look of someone trying to keep it from being run down.  The desk had two people behind it, both staring at her in shock and fear.  One male the other female and both human.  Not removing her helmet she made her way to the desk, her footsteps echoing off the tile and in the silent room.

“A room,” she said to the man putting some distain in her voice.

“Uh, yes sir,” the man replied, stammering like the coward he was. She cared no to correct the man on her gender knowing it might serve her purpose later as he handed her a card with shaking hands.

Jessica held his hand amused by the fear in the man’s eyes as he tried to jerk away from the touch but she held firm.

“This is a good room, right?” she asked watching his eyes go wide and she had her answer even as he stammered a reply.

“How g-good a r-room?”

“You’re best room,” Jessica replied. She watched as he seemed to struggle with the request.  Sweat formed along his brow as she waited for his answer.

“It’s o-occupied,” he finally managed to squeak out. Jessica knew something else was up and she wanted to know.

“What number is it,” she asked amused by this interaction as she looked over at the female who was to terrified to even move.

“Number four zero one,” the man finally said after a few moments of silence.

“It was occupied,” Jessica said smirking to herself as she moved away to the elevator and head to the fourth floor and the room in question. She wondered what type of person was occupying the room right now.  The elevator door opened allowing her out and into an empty hallway with a few rooms.  Making her way down the hallway until she reached the room in question and knocked and waited.

The door opened to reveal a large Twi’lek standing there and looking down at her. His face showed a bit of shock to see someone standing in black armor in front of him.  She easily read his emotions ranging from fear to anger, an interesting blend in her mind and not like the typical cowards she had encountered so far.

“What do you want?” he finally asked.

“This room, now,” Jessica replied walking past the man and into the room knowing she surprised him with her strength.

“Hey,” he yelled to her rushing forwards but she used the Force to push him away and crashing into the wall.

Looking around at the room she noticed it had a sofa, table, and a monitor currently on some sports event. From the looks of things she noticed it was being used for deals of all sorts and probably was the local gang using the room as their headquarters.  An interesting position now as she looked on seeing here doors, one she came in from, the other probably a bedroom and the last one a bathroom, probably.  The group inside seemed a bit stunned by what happened and looked at the black clad figure in their midst.

“I’m only going to say this once, get out of my room now,” Jessica growled.

Her words were met with an uneasy laughter as the group seemed to border on different emotions. Some felt she was crazy for attempting this, others were rightfully afraid and only going along with the others.

When no one moved Jessica took the nearest person and flung him through one of the doors landing on top of a group in there as the rest of the group froze at the move.

“What’s going on out here?” a blond haired man said rushing through the door and into the room obviously agitated. He looked at the door, the man, the Twi’lek who was still on the ground and finally at her before saying anything else.  “Get out,” he said pointing at her and then the door.

Jessica realized this blond haired man was the one in charge, and the one she would have to take care of.

End part 3

Continued in part 4

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