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saintheartwing · 22 days

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May the Force Be With You, Pt. 15: The Big Lie

“Teach me how to tap into the Dark Side.”

Mara Jade was surprised to hear these words as she stared into Kendall’s blue eyes, the two red-heads looking at one another as Zack was currently on his hands and knees, and looking up at her, pleadingly.

“You’re SERIOUS.” She said quietly. “You want to…why would you want to do that?”

“I need to pretend to be a Sith lord. I’ve talked to Omarosa and she’s agreed to help me out. I’m going to be the Master, and she the Apprentice.” Zack explained. “We’re going to get rid of the Dyad by impersonating Sith and invoking a rebellion against them.”

“Why not do it as a Jedi?” Mara Jade wanted to know as she gestured for Zack to stand up, shaking her head back and forth. “Why do it as a Sith?”

“Nar Shadaa has been told for years and years now that the Jedi are bad, stupid, ineffective, doomed the galaxy, and never did anything good for anybody and they’re just a legacy of failure. ALL they’ve known is Sith. And despite how much many of them hate the Dyad for how blatantly authoritarian they are, well…they also have gained a fondness for Sith. That much is really, really clear. They may fear and hate the Dyad…but they also respect them. I can tap into that respect. I can give them a…lighter shade of black…a shade of grey, if you will.”

“Fair enough.” Mara Jade Skywalker sighed. “I understand what you’re getting at. But you will tell Nar Shadaa what you truly are eventually, right?” She asked.

“Yes. And if need be, I’ll let myself be arrested. But not until the Dyad are stopped.” Zack insisted. “I can look like a Sith easily enough with the right attire. What I need…is to be able to demonstrate Sith powers so that I can really look the part. Just having the appearance of a Sith can be faked easily enough, but if you can actually shoot lightning from your hands, or Force choke somebody…then nobody’s going to deny what you are. And I’m already halfway there.” He held up his lightsaber and turned it on.

BBBRRRZZT! It thrummed with power as his face was illuminated by the glow in the soft light it gave off, the night sky overhead empty of all stars as his eyes blazed with determination. “I’ve got this going for me. Jedi never use red lightsabers, it’s an unspoken taboo. So that’ll add to people thinking I’m a Sith.”

“You need to understand.” Mara Jade paced back and forth in front of Kendall, biting her lip. “The Dark Side isn’t simply about tapping into your darker emotions. On their own, things like anger or aggression or hatred aren’t inherently a problem because there’s nothing wrong with being angry at injustice or cruelty, or hating to see others in pain. The issue is letting those feelings get too far. You have to be like a river flowing over a stone. Let it just…pass by you. It touches you…but does not move you.” Mara intoned as she stopped, turning abruptly to face Kendall. “The Dark Side’s like a drug. You can maybe use it once or twice or the like and you’ll not experience many symptoms. But the more you use it, the more addicted you become. The worse off you become. And it’s damn seductive, Zack. INCREDIBLY seductive.”

Mara hesitated, then she wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes becoming far off, her tone becoming quieter. “When you use it, its as if you can hear it whispering in your ear. Its fingers at your spine. The Force’s Light Side…it’s “voice” is…it’s like a mixture of a bonfire and a candle. It’s both a roar and yet a soft whisper at the same time. But the Dark Side starts off as a whisper that gets louder…and louder. And LOUDER. Until it’s all you hear, screaming in your ear again and again. And you can’t ignore it without the most extreme of measures. I was so close to falling into its clutches completely. I would have been lost had I not met Luke. But remember, as powerful as Love is, that alone won’t save you from the influence of the Dark Side. It has to be your will…and your willingness to embrace the Light side of the Force.”

“Does…the Force have a “will”?” Zack found himself asking. “Because from how you talk about the Dark Side, you make it sound like it has its own will.”

“It does. It very clearly does. I believe the Light Side has its own will too. They both want different things, both want to spread their own teachings, as it were, their own tenets. The Force itself is about balance between them, between the Light and Dark. Neither side meant to fully overpower the other. Always kept at bay.”

“What would be so bad about the Light Side being the only side?”

“The best way to put it would be that without any real comparison on what not to be, the Light Side would become its own antithesis. You’d start punishing people for minor things. Thieves or the like would start being treated like murderers. You’d value Order over everything else. You’d start taking away people’s freedoms, or you’d become the law unto yourself. The Dark Side is a cracked reflection of the Light, but we need the Dark as a reminder of what not to become, and the Light side to tell us what we should try to become.” Mara suggested. “Of course, that’s just how I’ve come to understand it. You may think differently…and that’s fine.” She shrugged. “People have been arguing over the purpose of the Light and Dark sides for eons. I doubt we’re going to figure out the truth of things in an evening. But let’s see if we can get you to master the first, most “basic” of Dark Side moves. Emitting lightning. All we need is a spark and we can go from there.” Mara told Zack as he nodded his head and stood up, dusting himself off.

“Okay, so I need to tap into my darker emotions to reach through to the Dark Side, and…then what?”

“Visualize the spark in your hand.” Mara told him softly, walking behind him, a hand on his shoulder, patting it gently. “Visualize it clearly in your mind. And take your rage, or your sorrow, or your hatred and let it flow out through that spark, and it’ll spread as true lightning. Hand up.”

Zack held his hand up so that it was aimed up at the sky, and took in deep, long breaths, focusing intensely. Tap into his darker side…tap into his more extreme emotions. Tap into the sick, twisted, foul part of himself.

Tap into…

Pain.

Yes. Pain. That night. That night he was lynched. He had been awoken after falling asleep on the couch for a nap to find himself being dragged out of bed, screaming, yelling. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

“We’ll teach you, f--got!” He could hear before somebody kicked him in the head. A horrible KRACK noise seemed to ring out, he was sure he’d broken something as he felt something being wrapped around his neck, tight and heavy, it was getting harder and harder to breath as he was being pulled up, up into the air.

Then he managed to break free. His sweaty neck made the noose limp, and he flopped to the ground, trying to run, scrambling desperately, barreling for the house, to get to the attic, to get a weapon, something, ANYTHING. But then somebody dived, and grabbed him, ripping his jacket off, bringing him back. He yelled in pain, his body colliding with the front steps as he was forcibly tugged back. He was being hung all over again, the noose tighter than before.

Couldn’t breathe…

Couldn’t…breathe…

It HURT…oh FUCK, it hurt, and…and why was it so much hotter in the air around-

A fire. Somehow, a storm had formed, a bolt of lightning had fried the nearby tree, and one schmuck who’d been holding onto the rope had gotten sizzled as well. The smell of roasting flesh was sizzling in the air, people were screaming and hollering and all Zack could think of as he heard this was perhaps the last time he had ever invoked a higher power…

“It serves you all goddamn right.”

KRRRRZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAP!

Raw, potent, thick bolts of lightning crisscrossed from his hand, Zack and Mara Jade flopping back, Zack barely holding his hand up as it sparked and sizzled. The blasts of lightning barreled forth from his fingertips and palm alike, shooting up into the sky, Zack’s eyes wide with amazement as Mara Jade felt a big smile spread across her face. It wasn’t even a LONG stretch of lightning, it only went about a yard or two, but…

Still…

Lightning. Lightning from his hands.

“Whatever you tapped into…it worked well.” She said. “That’s some impressive lightning for a first time.”

“Wow…really?” Zack blushed. “Thanks. That means a lot, coming from you.” He admitted. “But we need to go talk to your husband. I’ve got an idea for how to REALLY boost my “Sith” bona fides. It’s gonna be positively crazy though. Not sure he’d be up for it.”

“What’s it involve?”

“Well…him, dead.”

“…go on…”

…

…Darth Raize and Darth Furiosa were currently relaxing in their suite, turning on the news as Rey fed her beloved some grapes. “Grapes are fun!” Rey said cheerily as she tossed the grapes through the air, Furiosa snatching them up with her mouth alone. BOP! One bounced right off her nose as Rey giggled.

“Drat.” Darth Furiosa sighed as she shook her head back and forth. “Waste of a good grape.” She commented dryly as they took notice of the news. “Hmm, this is odd. I thought for sure the guy who sat next to the Rodian woman in “Nar Shadaa News” was that native from Naboo? That nice, tall drink of hot chocolate?”

“I didn’t know you were bi-curious.”

“Oh, I’m not, but if I was…ROWR.” Furiosa chuckled. “Now they’ve got a gungan working for them?”

“Hey, the gungan ain’t that bad-looking either, he clearly does some REAL advanced pilates.” Rey remarked with a raised eyebrow, looking at the gungan in the sleeveless shirt as he sat alongside a female Rodian announcer on the news broadcast. “I hope they address the hostage situation soon.”

Indeed, there had been reports of teachers at a school being taken hostage. The Dyad had sent guards to deal with the hostage-takers and now they were eagerly waiting for results. PREFERABLY in the form of the hostages’s foreskins being delivered to them. They were feeling up for some Biblical judgment.

“We’re just getting word that a hostage situation has been seemingly resolved…albeit unusually. The guards found the hostages had been released, and the criminals gone. The criminals did, however, leave behind what appeared to be a recording that said that they would be broadcasting on all channels within two minutes.” The rodian newscaster informed the audience. “They said that “You’ll know us when you see us”, and to “listen to the TRUE words of the Sith, not those of pretenders who know nothing of the ways of the TRUE power of the Force”.”

Rey stiffened. Furiosa’s head snapped away from looking at her beloved’s face to glare darkly at the vid screen as everything went static-y and a dark room began to manifest. A man with a horrifically scarred body, his eyes covered by a white cloth, his hair all white, wearing black pants and wielding a red lightsaber stood there. He had his lightsaber embedded in the ground as if he was a “King Arthur” type addressing his round table, and by his side stood a young woman in dark robes. She had dark dreadlocks, a visor over her face, and wore dark grey and black clothing underneath the robes, with dark gloves as she held a purple lightsaber up to illuminate what was apparently ANOTHER prisoner-

Oh.

OH.

It…it couldn’t be.

It couldn’t FUCKING be.

But it was. LUKE SKYWALKER?!

“We’re here to speak to the Dyad. My apprentice, Darth Omarosa, is almost as eager as I am to show Nar Shadaa what a true Sith is. I…am Darth Mendax. You’ve been led by pretenders for far too long. The Dyad are poor imitations of what a Sith is. It’s time you put your trust in TRUE Sith who can show you a better way. The Sith Code teaches you that through victory, your chains are broken…that the Force shall free you. Indeed…it will. For you ARE in chains. All of you! Chained to the authority of the Dyad, who decides your every right. There is no DEBATE over whether they are right or wrong. There is no standing up to them. Outright protest or rebellion is not just outright discouraged, but quashed. Any economic rivals of theirs mysteriously end up dead. Their political rivals are…removed. They are cruel and abusive towards their workers, and will callously use force over mere slights. Even literal Force. I’ve heard several stories of how they electrocuted guards over jokes they didn’t like? Poor taste cracks about one of their dead mother’s? And because they ARE the law…who could stand up to them? Well, we…are your answer. We are the future.”

“I’m going to hack into their broadcast!” Rey proclaimed as she raced over to her desk, and began to swiftly type away onto a nearby laptop she had, her fingers flying. She was much more technologically savvy than Furiosa when it came to issues like this, and the fact that these new Sith were broadcasting the signal to EVERY channel that carried the news or entertainment in Nar Shadaa meant it wasn’t too difficult. Soon, there was a distinct “screen-in-screen” on display on the vid screen as Furiosa stood behind Rey, scowling along with her at the two other Sith. “The fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Ah, we were hoping you’d call in.” said Darth Omarosa. “Wassup, giiiiirls?” She asked cheerily. “Guess who’s the new head bitch in town? That’s right. Me. You’re lookin’ at her. And I just took a DNA test. Turns out I’m ONE HUNDRED PERCENT that bitch.”

“If you turn up to our tower and BEG us not to kill you, MAYBE we’ll ONLY beat you to a pulp.” Rey snarled darkly. “You’re no Sith!”

“Sure we are. Who are you to say?”

“US!” Furiosa snapped. “We’re descended FROM Sith!”

“Big deal, so am I. My family goes back centuries. I’m the third Darth Omarosa.” Darth Omarosa bragged.

“Besides, all you need to be true Sith is to follow the Dark Side of the Force, to use its power, and to have a master and an apprentice. A simple requirement. You only fit half the bill.” Said Darth Mendax with a small smile.

“WE were here before you! We, as the last Sith, get to decide what a Sith is!” Rey snarled.

“No you don’t.” Darth Mendax snorted. “What an asinine argument. If there were no more doctors in the galaxy except one, and that person decided a doctor meant “somebody who cleans your plumbing”, he’s not a doctor anymore then, is he? The galaxy has an idea of what it means to be a doctor, common sense says a doctor is somebody with a doctorate, or who uses medicine to make people better, something like that. Somebody who fixes your plumping isn’t a doctor. It’s a plumber. Just because he says he’s a doctor doesn’t make him one. Much like how…” Darth Mendax hesitated, before he spoke up. “To belong to the faith of the Sun God, Sude, you need to actually believe he was God. You can’t call yourself a Sudean if you don’t believe he was God. That’s a basic tenet to adhere to. Without it, you’re not a Sudean.”

“Yeah, we fit what this galaxy has decided is a Sith better than you do. Can I?”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“Don’t-” Luke now spoke up, before he began to be cut off, his voice gargling and gurgling being raised in the air, gripping his throat as Omarosa leisurely held her hand up…and then flicked him back, and forth, back and forth, hovering him behind them as Darth Mendax turned around.

“Now we’ll make this super clear. Your reign is over, Dyad. Turn yourselves in to us, or leave the planet. Or this…will happen to YOU!” He proclaimed as he held his hands up.

KRRRRZZZAAAAAAAAAPPPP! A horrifying crackle of lightning struck Luke, and he twitched, spasmed and shook, screaming like a madman before THA-THWUMPHF. He hit the floor, moaning and groaning as Darth Mendax frowned. “…oh. He’s not dead yet. Well, I can fix that easily…” He walked on over to Luke’s fallen, prone form, and forcibly lifted Luke up, holding a knife to his throat as Darth Omarosa got behind the camera they were clearly using, and zooming in. “I want you all to watch this. Don’t…fool around with us!”

SCHAA-PLOOORSCHHH! Blood splattered as a knife cut through the neck…

And the video cut out. Rey gasped, mouth agape, Furiosa pale from shock…and fury as she balled her hands into fists. “…they made us look like fucking FOOLS.” She hissed out. “We need to find them. And DESTROOOOY them!” She snarled, kicking a nearby chair right into the wall with such force it broke apart, as Rey wiped her brow, nodding.

“I agree, I agree. But…” She frowned a little, rubbing her chin. “That…that Darth Mendax…he sort of looked vaguely familiar. You don’t think that…I mean…”

“The LOGOSIAN? That was my first thought, but…look at him!” Furiosa went back to the laptop, replaying the footage. “His hair’s the wrong color, there’s no noose scarring around his neck, his voice was totally different, and…well, the Logosian was a freakin’ TWINK. He was a wimp who could barely hold a lightsaber up. This guy’s…ripped!” She said, gesturing with a hand at the screen. “He’s too athletic! I think he’s even taller than the guy was! And there’s no way that Logosian who fancies himself a Jedi would ever try to kill LUKE SKYWALKER. He just iced him in cold blood on live television!” She proclaimed. “No WAY is it him. It’s too stupid and too insane for him to do something like this. And he doesn’t look or SOUND anything like the Logosian.”

True. Darth Mendax didn’t look or sound anything like Zack.

…because Zack had put in a lot of time to ensure he looked much better. He knelt down by Luke and then reached his hand down, focusing as he grunted. He’d made sure that his legs had been covered by those dark pants…and now he took his pants off, showing off his bare skin, revealing…he’d clearly pulled off a big chunk of his own legs and skin and muscle and blood vessels. All of that had been attached to a “package” of skin he’d carefully attached to Luke’s throat for the little performance they’d done, a fleshy “blood balloon” that, when sliced open, would bleed aaaall over just like he’d hoped. Luke moaned as Zack put the skin and everything back upon his own body, slowly reattaching it, cringing slightly as he then got out a big, fat bottle of Bacta to apply to Luke as Luke began rubbing it into his wounds.

“Damn…I’d forgotten how much it hurt to be struck by lightning. Guess they’re wrong about it never striking twice.” Luke chuckled. “…oh, wow. I’m SMOKING.” He held up his arm. Yes, sure enough, his clothing was actually smoking! Hot damn. “And that was quite the Force Choke.”

“Just like we practiced.” Omarosa said with a grin as she coughed a bit. “Hoo boy, yeah, you’re REALLY smoking. I think you might have overdid it, Zack.”

“Sorry. Sorry. I’m still barely able to control it.” Zack confessed nervously. “But our plan worked. They think you’re dead and they think I’m a Sith.” He said as he reached up to his throat and rubbed his chin, focusing intensely upon his throat muscles and his tongue, taking in some deep breaths. Logosians had total control over every single piece of their body…and that included the necessary parts that laid out how their VOICES came out. He’d never thought he could use his abilities to change his voice box, but…

Weeks of practice and it had all fit together perfectly. The Dyad had bought it. Hook, line and sinker.

“Now I can operate in Nar Shadaa with everyone thinking I’m dead, and YOU can operate openly as a Sith.” Luke said to Zack as he blew some smoke off of his arms, as it finally dissipated away. “It was a pretty clever plan.” He confessed.

“Listen, Luke, I’m…I’m still REALLY sorry I had to electrocute you and have Omarosa choke you.” Zack confessed. “I feel terrible about it.” He murmured, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing down and to the side. “I know it was necessary for the plan but…still…”

“I’m glad to hear you say that. It means you’re not a Sith.” Luke said with a smile. “Because a Sith wouldn’t have cared. Any means necessary. Remember….don’t become like that.” He said as his smile faded and his voice became solemn. “Don’t you EVER lose sight of your moral compass. No matter how difficult it may be. You’re going to have to step into the darkness to save the light. Don’t step in too far.”

“I know. I’ve got something I think is an easy win.” Zack offered. “The Dyad has been hyping up a potential Mandalorian attack. They always went on and on about Mandalore being a threat. But the thing is, it’s been years since Mandalore attacked. I don’t think they ARE a threat. I think they’re exaggerating what’s going on up at the moon base. And if I can expose it…”

“Can you get up TO the moon base without being seen?” Luke inquired.

Darth Omarosa grinned. “Gee. Can a Dark Side force user who’s been on the run for years sneak into a military base without being seen? Boy, that IS a tough one!” She laughed. “Just you watch. It’ll take all of ten minutes. By the time we leave, they’re gonna be screaming about where did all their rims go and what happened to their wallets and who ate all the pecan sandies.”

“PECANS?” Zack said, sticking his finger in his mouth. “Ew, GAG!”

“This from a guy who drinks pickle juice?”

“Yeah, well, Luke likes that green milk stuff!”

“Heyyyyy! You promised to never talk about that!”

“Oh, shit. S-sorry! Sorry! My bad. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll buy you some new robes.”

“That’s good. Because since our Jedi temple burned down, I can’t afford to get new ones anyway.”

“You can’t just ask L’ezz for some money?”

“He said “I’m already breaking my bank to rebuild your temple, don’t ask me for funny money for clothes”.” Zack confessed. “He’s not wrong, it’s gonna take millions of credits to find a new spot for the padawans and everyone else…and we’ve got to find somewhere with really improved security.”

“Well I hope he finds a place. And soon.” Luke admitted. “Because I need to be honest, I’m kind of tired of crashing with my sister, Han AND Chewie.”

“Does Chewie snore?”

“No. HAN.” Luke confessed. “And through his nose. It’s like this loud whistle-snore that sounds like a Rardarian Skunk Beast in the middle of heat.” He remarked, cringing. “And he always sleeps in the nude.” He added as he shook his head back and forth.

“Believe me, I know what it’s like to sleep close to a guy who snores too loudly and sleeps in the-”

“Don’t you DARE finish that sentence!” Zack insisted quickly. “Or I’ll tell Luke about the thing in your locker!”

“You wouldn’t DARE.”

“Omarosa has a picture of Mon Mothma in her locker.”

“…really? Mon MOTHMA?!” Luke asked, sounding rather stunned.

“I can’t help it.” Omarosa confessed. “Some older women really turn me on. Better tell your sister to stay away from-”

And both Luke AND Zack groaned at once.

#star wars #may the force be with you #fanfiction #fanfic #science fiction #Sith #Jedi

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