Endor – two days previous.

I growl aloud, the defenses of my stronghold informing me that the perimeter has been breached - by humanoid beings, according to the computer display before me. And shifting slightly in my chair, I close my eyes and allow myself to drift along the currents of the Force, reaching out to the minds of those who had dared to trespass into my domain. Humans ... it would figure. They spread like a virus, searching for new planets to plunder and infect with their filth…their kind. Yet this time they are accompanied by aliens. However, they will not easily find my home – a home that had been my beloved's creation for when he desired utter solitude…and when he wished to be alone with me without interference or interruption. And they will never take this precious planet and make it theirs. The Darkside tells me this, along with many other things.

"K'leva…sch'aliva…dom'iva…kerv'en," I whisper under my breath, my mind touching those of the humans and aliens who continue to advance upon this hidden Sith stronghold. "You see nothing...you know nothing…you are nothing…forever."

A prayer or a curse.

My husband taught me this only days before he departed on the last mission his Master had sent him on…the mission on which his life was stolen from him – from me. And those whose minds I touch hear my voice, hear my prayer and they tremble with fear. It is the effect I so wanted.

Slowly I rise from my chair, slipping myself from the tide of the Force and back into my body, as I set out to watch the unwanted and unexpected intruders. Dressed in the black garb that had been my beloved's, I watch from the safety of a high platform hidden in the canopy of the trees, veiling myself in the Darkside, as a group of ten humans and humanoids appear and approach my sanctuary home.

And then…

"Sir! Look at this!!"

A male voice speaking in Basic, hidden from sight, his voice echoing slightly due to his distance from the group and to the thick forest surrounding us…and coming from the direction of the Sith stronghold. Quickly the group disappears, headed toward the male voice.

I growl in anger – they have discovered my home, but they will find naught but a place filled with useless things, things they would not understand, things they would not dare to touch. And I am pleased that I happened to land Scimitar, my consort's Sith Infiltrator, in a very well hidden landing bay.

Then it occurs to me…let them find it! They will see all things Sith and they will hastily contact the Republic and Jedi, informing them of their discovery. The Jedi will come! They will want to see for themselves the most unexpected discovery of a Sith stronghold on the Forest Moon of Endor. I grin viscously. Yessssss, let them come and I shall take my revenge upon any Jedi who encroaches upon me, then more Jedi will want to investigate the loss of their comrades, wanting an explanation. I will kill them – kill all Lightsiders who come! Kill them until the one I seek to take my full revenge upon, shows his face on my planet. And just as I had thought, the survey team quickly contacted the Republic, then immediately being ordered to leave the planet…for the Jedi are coming to investigate.

**********

Present.

"Endor. A planet almost completely covered in thick rainforests, abundant plant and animal life…and Ewoks," Jedi Padawan Kerri Vexa exclaims as the bright ball of blues, browns, yellows, greens and whites begins to grow quickly before them in the viewport of the Jedi ship called Talon's Fyre.

Obi-Wan makes a small sound of mild humor as he pilots the ship into the atmosphere – the calm before the storm. And within minutes, the ship sets down, landing.

"The sun will be setting in a few hours – should be enough time to start spying about and see what we can find," Obi-Wan remarks as he looks at the sky the moment he steps from the ramp on Endorian soil. "But we will make camp first, we are staying here for a few days."

Obi-Wan hears the sigh Kerri unsuccessfully tries to hide as he looks at the lush green forest, unlike anything he has ever seen before. Then he moves to the ship and presses a series of keys upon a keyboard on the side of the open doorway, a serious of clicks being heard moments after.

"Master Kenobi, I don't get it – why did they send us? Anakin is your padawan – he should be with you, not me. You didn't have to leave him with Master Gallia."

"I did not wish him to be harmed during this mission. Sith planets tend to be quite dangerous and full of hazards."

"He is your padawan, Obi-Wan!" Kerri raises her voice in slight irritation, her hand on her hip as she glares haughtily at her companion for a moment before turning and working on unpacking a container she had carried from the ship.

"Kerri, is that all you do?" Obi-Wan chuckles softly as he begins to unload the camp supplies from a compartment of the ship, placing the supplies on the ground at his feet.

"Do what?!" Kerri shoots back, turning quickly toward Obi-Wan with the beginnings of a fiery Zabrak temper fit, holding the pieces to a small eluminator in her hands.

Obi-Wan does not say one word, letting a grin cross his face as he continues to remove supplies and equipment from the ship.

"Do what, master Kenobi?!" Kerri raises her voice and throws a bound up blanket at him unexpectedly.

The Jedi Knight turns, sporting an amused smile and catches it in mid air before it can hit him.

"Answer me!"

But just as he is about to answer, his back straightens and dropping the blanket, his hand slowly moves to take hold of his lightsaber, his eyes scanning the forest about them, his senses warning him of a presence nearby. Kerri, despite her temper, on reflex, grasps hold of her lightsaber as she too scans the forest about them. A disturbance in the Force.

"Where is it?" Kerri whispers through the Force, slowly turning about in place, as a sudden shiver racks her slender form as if a blast of cold air blows about her, but she ignores it – her mind and body set to do battle at a moment’s notice.

"I don't know, I cannot get a location – like my senses are in a haze and I can't see through the haze," Obi-Wan returns, his face intense with concentration, his hands wrapped about the hilt of his lightsaber.

"I don't like this master Kenobi… I don't like this at all."

**********

I sense them the moment they arrive – Jedi. And there are two. Sitting in my meditation posture, I slowly open my eyes to the darkness and the single burning candle before me upon the small altar I had created in remembrance of my beloved consort and I take a slow deep breath. The time of vengeance is at hand, the Darkside of the Force speaks to me, caressing me, touching me and I feel its power within my body. Wait for the night, then take them…make them yours…take your revenge. I grin evilly, wishing my beloved could see with his own eyes the vengeance I will take on those pathetic believers…those protectors…those followers of the Lightside.

"They will see what is the Darkside. And they will never live to see the next rising of the sun – I swear it!"

**********

Night falls on Endor, and the night creatures can be heard singing their alien symphony. A fire burns in the center of the Jedi camp, having taken them hours to set camp and unable to search out the supposed Sith structures the Republic planetary surveyors had reported in finding. The two Jedi sit on either side of the fire, watching the flames dance and move before them, seeming to entrance them…until someone breaks the long silence between the two of them.

"Master Kenobi…can you tell me about your master, Qui-Gon? I had always wanted to meet him but I had never had the chance. What was he like?"

Obi-Wan raises his eyes from the fire and looks at Kerri over the dancing flames, a sadness slowly appearing in his blue eyes and a hatred she had never seen before. He takes a slow breath and tightens his control of his emotions at the memory of his lost father, brother, best friend, teacher and Jedi Master.

"Master Qui-Gon Jinn was a great man. He was a good Master, a wonderful Jedi, even if he didn't live up to his potential. Uhm, I meant that he had his own way of looking at the Force, and we didn't always agree..." Obi-Wan sighs with a bit of frustration. "Qui-Gon was complex. I loved him, but I never quite understood him."

Kerri did not know what to say, though she could sense the sorrow that lay hidden beneath the surface. She remembered hearing from another padawan that Obi-Wan had watched his master fight against a Sith Lord while unable to join in the battle. Watched in horror as his master was impaled and collapsed to the floor as the Sith then turned his attention to him. After killing the Sith, all Obi-Wan had been able to do was hold his master in his arms as he died and joined with the Force.

Silence fell between the two once more as Kerri thought over what Obi-Wan said and the conflicting emotions that she sensed coming from him at her question and his remembering of his old master. She can understand the hatred she saw in his eyes – the hatred for the Sith that had slain his master. But as she sat upon her rolled out bed, she could not help but wish to console her companion, help to make him feel better, take his pain and sadness away…

"How sweet, the little padawan wants to play nurse maid!"

Instantly the Jedi are on their feet, lightsabers in hand and ignited as they hear laughter echoing through the shadows of the forest around them, their eyes moving quickly as they scan their surroundings visually and through the use of the Force.

"Your master was a weak old man – he fought well but died in the end…and rather pathetically I might add."

Kerri feels a surge of anger from Obi-Wan as he absorbs the words spoken in that dangerous voice. The Jedi move closer together, back to back, prepared for whatever lurks in the darkness beyond their sight and the light of their fire, ever vigilant of the danger they sense all about them.

"And now, I shall have my revenge!"

Suddenly a dark figure emerges from the darkness, stepping into the light of the fire and instantly the Jedi gasp aloud at what they see…

"NO! It can't be! I killed you!!" Obi-Wan cries aloud, unable to believe what his eyes and dazed senses tell him, shifting his weight upon his right foot as he prepares to fight a ghost from his past.

"Believe what you will Jedi, but now…you are mine!" The black robed figure raises its left black gloved hand to chest level.

Instantly, the two Jedi find themselves unable to hold their lightsabers, finding themselves growing in weight and unable to stand upon their own feet. They fight vainly to remain standing, but their knees give way and they collapse to the ground on their knees. Kerri lets out a soft moan, then falls forward onto the ground, her lightsaber slipping from her hands.

Then, with the last bit of strength, Obi-Wan raises his head and looks upon the ghost before him, seeing the crimson blade of a lightsaber. Then his vision fades…and he falls into the black of sleep…fighting the entire way.

Continued in Part III

*****