Chapter 28

--- Repaara ---

Darth Dire appeared on the planet and was making his way to where his apprentice was staying. He was in a bad mood after hearing news from his spies that the two girls he was planning on recruiting had escaped from his grasp. 

'Those fools could not even keep track of a single girl. Is everyone around me useless?'

Dire was feeling more and more irritated the more he thought about it. He had found two teenagers with Force potential, combat abilities, and a strong emotional bond he could use to bring them to the Dark Side, and they had just fallen through his fingers.

Darth Dire was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not notice the shadows all around him. But when he walked onto an empty street that should normally be bustling, that was when the older man realized that he may have walked into a trap. 

3 Jedi appeared in front of him with another two behind. All had their lightsabers ignited and looked ready for combat. 

"Sith, we know you are. Surrender, we insist you must," Yoda attempted to end the meeting as peacefully as possible. Although Dire normally hid his aura well, the disappointment and anger within him led to him losing control of his aura. The Jedi did not even have a hard time trying to find him with the evil presence he was giving off. 

"How did you Jedi know where I was?" Dire did not deny that he was a Sith or attempt to surrender. Instead, he wanted to know if it was his apprentice or spies who had betrayed him.

"You don't need to know that, Sith. Surrender now and we won't hurt you," a Togruta male warned him

"So be it, Jedi!"

Darth Dire ignited his lightsaber before leaping backward and bisecting one of the Jedi behind him. The other tried to strike him from above but was able to block the strike before using his free hand to fire off Force Lightning and kill the woman. 

After killing those two, Darth Dire planned to escape but the other Jedi were right on him.

Yoda led the charge and was the first that the Sith had tried to strike down but the small alien was able to jump over his head and appear from his other side. The Togruta and his apprentice attacked from one side while Yoda attacked from another but the Sith was holding his own. 

"While you Jedi grew weaker, the Sith have only grown stronger!" Dire shouted while swinging his blade in a circle and knocking all 3 away. The Sith then leaped through the air while beheading the Togruta's apprentice. 

"You bastard!" the Togruta shouted

"Patience!" Yoda yelled but the Togruta did not listen. Instead, he rushed ahead without waiting for Yoda to catch up only to end up with a lightsaber sticking through his skull.

Yoda looked at the Jedi around him and felt pain in his heart. He had never seen so many Jedi fall in such a short amount of time before. 

"Do you feel that, Jedi? That is fear. What the Darkside has always instilled in those too weak to accept its powers!" Dire shouted, rushing in to clash with Yoda.

Dire had a very aggressive form of combat, never halting in his strikes or hesitating as he slashed about. On the other hand, Yoda was an acrobatic fighter who utilized his small size to jump around his opponent and systematically disable them.

Yoda was silent as he engaged in battle with the Sith. The humor that he usually had in battle had completely disappeared. With each slash that he dodged or ducked, Yoda felt emptier and emptier. 

'Anger, I must not give in to. In Force, that I place my trust.'

The battle was reaching its climax as each side moved faster and faster, neither giving in to the other. But eventually, Yoda saw his opening. 

The Jedi jumped above the Sith and cut off his left arm, effectively disabling him. With no lightsaber in hand, Dire fired off a blast of electricity that Yoda caught in his free hand forming a ball of energy. 

Unable to unleash the energy anywhere else, Yoda had no choice but to send it back at the Sith which sent him flying through the air and crashing through a building wall. 

Yoda rushed over to check on the Sith and see if he was still alive but when he arrived, he felt no life in Dire's body.

"Apologies, I must give. Your life, I did not mean to take. Be one with the Force, you must now be," Yoda gave his sympathies to the Sith before lifting up his body and bringing it to where the Jedi had fallen. When he got there, he saw 2 other Jedi present, each one grieving over the Jedi that had been killed. 

"Mourn them, it is too soon to do. Finished, our mission is yet," Yoda told the others. "The Apprentice. Captured, was he?"

"No, Master Yoda. He managed to kill Knight Golow and escaped before the others could arrive. We have no idea of where he could have gone."

"Find him, we must. The secrets of the Sith, he may carry," Yoda made it his mission to find the apprentice. He had to know how the Sith had returned, and how many there were left. 

"What about the informant? The one that Master Fay mentioned," one of the other Jedi asked

"Question him, we shall. On the way to see him, several Master are," Yoda was grateful for the tip but he also needed to know how Jial found out about them. Did his information network simply come across them... or was there a civil war amongst the Sith. That was the question that bothered him the most.

--- Lok ---

The twins had just landed back on Lok when Jial appeared before them and grabbed them both in a hug. Everyone around was surprised to see him do that.

"Master?" the pair asked at the same time, sensing the unease coming off of their master. Each one hugged him back tightly. 

"Don't worry, Master. We will always come back safe and sound," Hash assured him

"She's right. And if you don't believe it, just train us a little harder," Nott joked, for once asking for more training. 

Jial couldn't help but laugh at her words. Even he didn't understand when or how he formed a Force bond with them in such a short time but he knew that if the Sith or anyone went after them, he would unleash his full wrath upon them. 

"Of course. We will start training in the morning. But tonight, you both can rest. You've been working hard these past few months."