Chapter 43

"Appreciated, your concern is. The meeting has yet to be had," Master Yaddle told Master Fay

That was when Master Fay noticed that 3 of the seats of the council were empty. But when she saw which 3 were missing, her worries only increased. 

"Wait? Where are Masters Jeht, Devan, and Echuu?" Master Fay asked in a panic

These 3 Jedi Masters were close friends and known as the most reckless of the Jedi High Council. They had acted before decisions were made by the Council on several occasions before, forcing the Jedi to get involved in other matters. If not for their skills and experience, the trio may have been kicked off of the Council several times over. 

If only one of them was not present, she would not have been so worried. But if all 3 of them were gone, she was sure that they had gone to Lok to try and handle the situation themselves.

Master Fay rushed out of the room to get back to her ship with several other Masters right on her tail. They had also pieced together what their fellow Masters were up to and were worried that there may be unintended consequences.

--- Lok ---

Jial was talking with the other higher-ups when one of the soldiers knocked on the door.

"Come in," Jial let them in. He had warned them that they were in an important meeting so if someone was disturbing them, it had to have been important. 

A person walked in with armor resembling Yautja war armor. Jial had all the armor for his units styled this way since he didn't feel like designing his own. 

"Greetings, Lord Jial. We have Jedi here that wish to speak with you," the soldier passed on the message

'Did Master Fay forget to deliver a message?' Jial thought to himself before telling the soldier to let her through. But instead of Master Fay, there were 3 other Jedi that arrived. 2 humans and 1 Iktochi. When he saw that it was not Master Fay but other Jedi, Jial already knew that it wouldn't be anything good. 

"Jial of Lok," the male in the middle called out to him. "I am Master Jeht. We have come to question you about the recent attack on the Black Sun members on Tatooine."

"I already spoke with Master Fay regarding Yautja's involvement. Go ask her if you need any clarity," Jial waved them off, not willing to spare them so more of his time

"We are here to ask you," the Iktochi spoke up, her hand already in her lightsaber. All of the Jedi had their hands on their lightsabers.

"Piss off," Jial ordered while standing up from his seat. He used the Force to grab his helmet from the wall before pulling it over to his hands. "I have already gone along with the interrogation by Master Fay. You all have no evidence of any involvement so I suggest you leave to go gather it."

The 3 Jedi held up their hilts before igniting their blades without saying a word. Their intentions were clear. The other members of the Yautja also reached for their weapons but Jial held up one of his hands to stop them. 

"No need. I haven't gotten the chance to stretch my legs in a few years," Jial was eager to fight another Force-sensitive seriously. The only ones he had fought before were in the Time Chamber while his disciples and the Acolytes never fought with their lives on the line before. 

Jial put on his bio-mask before lifting his lightsaber with his right hand and igniting it. 

"This is your last chance to leave peacefully. Otherwise, we shall consider this an invasion from the Jedi and treat all Jedi with hostility."

"We will be bringing you back to the Jedi Council. You can state your case there, Sith," Master Echuu taunted while her hands clinched her lightsaber tightly

Jial did not say another word before he leaped across the room. When he landed before the Jedi, he swiped his blade in an arc, knocking all of the Jedi's blades back. He then kicked Master Jeht in his chest, sending him out of the room. 

Master Echuu and Master Devan attacked from each side but both attacks were blocked. Jial caught Master Devan's hand while he blocked Master Echuu's blade with his own.

A swift headbutt broke Master Devan's nose and caused him to release his blade before he was thrown toward Master Echuu. Blood covered Jial's metal mask from the Jedi, creating a terrible sight.

The Iktochi leaped over her ally only to be bisected the moment that she landed. Falling to the ground in two pieces. Master Jeht reached the room just in time to see Jial decapitating Master Devan on the floor. 

The Jedi let out a roar in anger as he charged toward Jial with his blade, unleashing a flurry of blows that were each parried by Jial. Unwilling to keep the battle going with such a weak opponent, Jial decided to finish it ASAP.

When he clashed with one of the Jedi's strikes, Jial activated the extension function of his lightsaber, causing the bottom half to extend until it stabbed into the Jedi's foot and pinned him in place. 

"Agh!" the Jedi screamed in pain but he was cut off when Jial grabbed him by the throat and started to squeeze. 

"I'll let Master Yoda know that you died just as your friends did. Pointlessly," Jial told him before releasing Force Lightning from the hand around the Jedi's throat and frying him until he died. 

When he felt no life in the Jedi, he tossed the body to the ground in indifference. Jial lifted all three bodies and threw them outside the meeting room. He then looked to the soldier who stood by the side while it all happened.

"Throw them outside the front door of the building and contact the Jedi Order. Tell them that we have a few dead Jedi here," Jial told him before turning back to the others in the room. "Sorry for the disturbance. We can resume our discussion."

The doors closed to the room with each person inside gaining a deeper respect for Jial. None had seen him battle Jedi before and the fact that he could defeat 3 Masters all on his own was a testament to his strength. Many of those in the room were wondering how many Jedi it would take in order to kill the leader of the Yautja. 

It would be several hours before the other Jedi arrived on Lok. Master Fay and Yoda led the others so they were the first to discover the 3 dead Masters in front of the building. Although they had already been informed about their deaths, they still could not truly feel the reality of the loss of 3 Masters until they saw it with their own eyes. 

"To the ship, you must bring them. To him, Master Fay and I shall speak," Yoda told the others. He knew that if the others came along, there would only be another battle.

Master Yoda and Fay walked up the stairs of the building before walking inside and past several soldiers. They entered the meeting room where Jial was sitting alone. 

"Why?" 

That was the only thing that Master Fay could say. She had known that Jial was no Jedi or saint but she also knew that he wouldn't kill for no reason. 

Jial didn't say anything but played the recording from earlier. He had made sure to have HK-47 send him what he saw so he could play it for the Jedi that would come.

The two Masters saw the way that their fellow Masters behaved and felt sickened. They did not try to be diplomatic or understanding. The 3 acted like little more than simple thugs in their eyes.

"Understand, we do. But what comes next, our control is little. Prepare you must. A storm shall arrive," Yoda warned him

"Have you ever heard this proverb, Master Yoda? The Devil whispered in my ear, 'You're not strong enough to withstand the storm.' Today I whispered in the Devil's ear, 'I am the storm'," Jial informed them of an old saying of his people. "Let the Jedi do what they want. I just want to warn you, I shall also do what I must to protect my people and our honor."