The durasteel corridors of the orbital dockyard would probably be like labyrinths for most people. Luckily, not for us and not just because we had the Force to rely on, but because I could easily find my way around here. The only issue was that HK-O1's footsteps clanked with a loud, mechanical rhythm, trailing just behind our group. It wasn't the best for stealth... but oh well, what could we do?
For a moment, I thought he maybe did it purposefully... wanting me to tell him to go back or wait somewhere else and then interpret it as me setting him free. Anyway, that won't happen, and I have to concentrate on the task ahead of us. The Sith we felt were in hiding... but using my natural gift, I could get a sense of their direction. Focusing, I slowed, my bare hand resting lightly on the wall as if I were trying to sense something resonating via the walls and floors. It wasn't wrong, though; I was simply looking for resonance in the Force, trying to feel the feelings of others.
"You've got something?" Master asked, noticing a slight shift in my expression and the twitch of my brows.
Hearing him, I didn't answer immediately. My eyes remained closed, my brows furrowing even more as I probed deeper. The faint, somewhat fear-filled mess of Dark Side energy was there, and whenever I felt it slip, I had to stop and retrace its owners' steps. But, this time, it wasn't fading; no, it was stronger than before. So much so that I could get a direct reading of them.
"Two," I murmured. "They are hiding well. But we are close now, and I can feel the edges of their consciousness."
"Wouldn't they notice you?" Vila asked.
"They are too preoccupied," I opened my eyes, sharp with focus. "They're trying to leave, and they are afraid... They sensed you." I added, glancing at my Master.
"I am not surprised." Ben nodded calmly. "Let's go... We stop them here. If we can take them, it will be easier to find Vestara."
A moment later, we moved swiftly through the station's lower service levels, heading towards the underbelly, where freight and maintenance vessels were shuttled in and out without much fanfare. HK-O1, remaining silent so far, scanned for motion, tapping into local feeds and low-level patrol chatter, while Master Katarn quietly disabled surveillance sensors with a flick of his wrist or a careful overload.
Eventually, we finally reached a wide service stairwell that fed into Docking Bay Twelve without alerting anybody.
"I can sense them," Master stopped us, stretching out with the Force, "This is it. They're inside."
"If you can, they can too," Master Katarn added, and I agreed, so we headed forth, not wasting much time trying to sneak up on them.
The blast doors to the hangar were half-open, and security sensors were offline—odd. But not if you knew they were trying to escape. As our group stepped through it into the hangar proper, we were met with the sight of chaos barely ending beneath the routine hum of departure, the resonating sound of repulsor-lifters being powered up.
Inside the cavernous docking bay, several old ships—bulk freighters, a rust-streaked Lambda-class shuttle, and some repurposed starfighters—were being stashed away, probably forgotten about. But one of them was being audibly powered up. What was troublesome was that the maintenance droids all were cut apart by lightsabers, lying on the ground, still glowing a little where they were separated into multiple parts.
As for humans, at least, they weren't present. So no actual casualties... Yet.
"There," I said, pointing toward the rear of the bay—near a matte-gray transport ship with no visible markings on its surface. It wasn't hard to find them. The two were in the middle of preparations, probably cursing themselves for disabling most of the droids because now they had to do it manually, which caused enough slowdown for us to catch up.
"They have the aura, alright," Master Katarn's eyes narrowed. "They're cloaking their presence, but I have killed enough of their kind to sniff out Dark Side energy when I feel it."
"They know we're here," Vila added confidently, her hands hovering near her lightsabers, ready to fight at a moment's notice.
Across the hangar, the taller of the two Sith straightened and finally turned towards us. His hood slipped back just enough to reveal a pale face. He wasn't like the Sith in the stories I read. Yes, he was a bit ghostly at first look, but he wasn't scarred or distorted. His eyes were also simple, greenish in color, and not sickly yellowish. Were they... actual Sith? Had to be... I could feel their energies and thoughts, and they were nothing akin to how the others felt back home.
"Jedi Master Kyle Katarn," the one who looked at us growled. "And Jedi Master Ben Skywalker."
The shorter figure, masked and wrapped in tighter, more tactical garb, immediately dropped the tools he was holding. Reaching for his side, he brought out his lightsaber without hesitation, igniting it at once and taking up a defensive formation.
No more hiding.
"Just come with us peacefully," Master Katarn said, slowly pulling out his own lightsaber while Vila and I were already standing with ours, ignited, facing the two.
"We won't hurt you," Master added, but then... HK-O1 had to speak up, didn't he?
[Observation: I can't make the same promise.]
I don't know if it was the trigger or not... but the Sith struck first after it.
A wave of kinetic Force energy surged toward us all. It was akin to a howling storm of pressure and malice taking physical shape. Vila and I threw up our defenses instinctively, gritting my teeth as we were shoved back several steps. Damn... it was the strongest type of Force-push I have yet to face. It also made me realize we were still Padawans as Master Katarn met the blast head-on with one hand raised, his body braced like a wall of stone, dispersing it with ease. Beside him, my Master did the same; his lightsaber ignited in a fiery snap-hiss of blue.
"Tsk..." The taller Sith's saber followed a heartbeat later, crackling red with an unstable edge, but he said nothing more, getting into a stance that I identified as Form V.
"You two are not that well trained...." Master Katarn gave a faint smirk. "Don't make this hard on yourselves."
"You won't take us without a fight!" the masked one shouted back at us, his voice distorted because of it. Then... to my surprise...
Master Katarn stepped aside, and so did Ben.
"I will. Because they will fight you, and we will just watch."
I don't know if this was something they planned for us or if it was born from the fact that they thought our two opponents were a good training opportunity. It was probably both. Still, neither of us questioned it, and Vila and I took the initiative from our enemies.
The taller Sith, clearly the more senior, made his decision just a moment later as he lunged at me with a vicious overhead strike—powerful, aggressive, but controlled. Djem So it is... Recognizing the movements within my enemy, I braced myself and turned his attack aside; my counter was precise and with just enough strength I needed for it.
In the meantime, from the corner of my eyes, I could see Vila clashing with the second Sith, whose masked face hid all of his emotions, only meeting Vila with the same form she was proficient in as the two were battling like a whirlwind of orange and red.
Even amidst our battle, I could hear that in the background, HK-O1 began complaining.
[Statement: Oh good. Another chaotic melee with poorly defined rules of engagement. You Jedi should start learning to shoot people. It is much more efficient.]
What I didn't hear was our Master's conversation happening at the same time.
"They're holding their own," Katarn said. "Kael reads his opponent very well, and his form is one of the best amongst the Padawans. It is hard to notice points in his stance where I could make him panic and force a mistake."
"He is a good student." Ben smiled and answered him similarly. "And Vila's tempo is excellent. She's guiding the flow, forcing her opponent to overcommit. She managed to interrupt all of her enemy's attempts at changing the tempo and dictating their fight."
Of course, we didn't have the luxury to know that. In the heat of the moment, we could only trust in the Force and do everything to stay ahead of our enemies.
It was so that the hangar became a blur of light and motion. Crates shattered under our stray blows, and the fuel lines burst in sparks as I redirected one strike right through it, causing the fire to spread backward, blowing a fuel capsule behind us. If nobody realized the fight so far, now they did for sure as alarms began blaring throughout the whole station.
But it was no time to stop as I stepped backward as my opponent pressed forward. His red blade crashed into mine once again with a deafening force that I redirected before it could affect me. Each of his strikes carried venom, not just in his saber's bite but in the words that followed, insults that were probably said to disrupt my flow and make me commit to something that would give him an advantage.
"You have no place in the Force," the Sith hissed. "You should have stayed hidden. Weak, discarded... as most Jedi."
"I see." I smiled and didn't flinch. "Yet you sound threatened."
Then, I sidestepped a lunging blow, pivoted, and scored a shallow cut along the Sith's side. He made the mistake of falling for my trap, expecting me to keep redirecting his attack... Unable to be ready for a different counter. Still... It wasn't enough to drop him—but enough to shift the momentum of our duel as it was my turn to go on the attack.
To my right, I could sense through the Force that Vila's fight turned brutal. The masked Sith adjusted tactics, suddenly switching to vicious feints and low sweeps meant to cripple. Vila rolled under one, came up with a flourish, and elbowed the Sith square in the ribs—followed by a Force push that slammed the opponent into a grounded shuttle. It was loud and bone-crunching.
And unlike my opponent, she didn't gloat. She advanced. It was then I heard it as I could feel she was going in for the kill.
"Vila," Katarn's voice cut across the chaos. "Remember, this isn't about dominance. It's about clarity. Let the Force speak."
"Yes." Ben added, his voice calmer but no less firm, "Don't match their hatred. Make them confront themselves."
I don't really know what Vila's reaction was, but I heard the words, and they settled deep inside me. So, my saber's blade spun, smooth and fast, not with fury but with the demanded focus of my Makashi. Seeing it, my Sith opponent's rage only deepened—now laced with great anger, thinking I was taking him lightly. I wasn't.
"You're no Jedi," the Sith spat.
"No," I agreed. "I'm just a Padawan... I am still learning."
Then, our sabers clashed again—but mine easily slipped past his defenses, grazing his arm. It wasn't cutting it off, but it went deep enough to make him drop his lightsaber before I forced him to kneel, holding my blade against his jugular. It was then I managed to give myself a moment to look towards Vila.
Her masked opponent hurled another crate at her with the Force at that moment, yet she batted it away mid-air—and leaped straight into a flying kick that knocked the Sith back down once again, stepping onto his chest, holding her lightsaber towards his face.
[Observation: They should have been killed. With the incoming visitors, there is a high chance they will be freed.]
I wanted to ask what visitors he meant, but then... I felt it. From two directions... One felt like my eldest brother and the other... That was my father.