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For the Love of Garani 2002 short story by Mark Newbold Twenty
years before Episode IV – A New Hope My name is Yyfekk Talaihin. I am a Jedi Knight… And I murdered my best friend. Are you shocked?
Not as shocked as I when I struck with my sabre, slicing through my
friend and compatriot Notami De’Athe.
Not as shocked as I when his face contorted into a mask of pain, or as
shocked as when he stared at me in horrified disbelief, cut down as we fought
in the midst of heated battle. I had always known my destiny as a Jedi. I was meant to follow in the hallowed
footsteps of one of the greatest of the Jedi, my ancestor Kraal Talaihin, who
defended the galaxy seventeen generations ago. Every generation since, at least one of my
bloodline became Jedi; I was but the latest.
My father was a Jedi of influence in the Setnin Sector, fighting for
peace and justice the only way he knew how – with wisdom and diplomacy. And also with devastating skill at handling
a lightsabre, a skill I was fortunate enough to inherit. Or perhaps that should be unfortunate enough. But I digress. My
story is simple. I murdered my best friend. Allow me to tell you how, and more importantly, why… Notami and I arrived on Gista undercover of darkness,
fully aware that our movements were being monitored by our adversaries. As ever, my mission was clear. Observe the actions of Garani Allafson and
her dark side associates. This was a
job I was more than eager to carry out.
Garani was evil, a threat to the natural order, who
had slain Jedi during the Battle of Salutarr and been hunted down ever since. As a Jedi I had seen enough strangeness in
the last decade, since the reappearance of the Sith on Naboo, to know that
situations like this needed to be swiftly neutralised. Notami knew this, only too well. He had been banished from the Jedi order
for misusing the force, learning about the ways of the Sith so as to expand
his knowledge of the force and counter the growing evil some in our order
felt was lying in wait. At least, that
is what he told me. I was always
unsure about that explanation. We were
men hungry for knowledge, and despite my abhorrence of the dark side I could
understand his eagerness to learn about it, but not at the cost of his place
in the order. Master Windu himself had
stripped Notami of his hard-earned title as a Jedi, and banished him from
Coruscant to start a new life. But
Notami, ever a man of conviction and self-determination went his own way and
started that life with his new love, a former Jedi trainee named Seranomi.
She was the woman who had swayed him from the path of the Jedi. She was also Garani’s younger sister. I’m certain this was what made Notami furrow his brow as
we walked side by side through the busy narrow streets of Gista the evening
after we had landed, streets hewn from honeycombed rock untold years ago in
the hunt for spice. He knew that as
much as he loved Seranomi, now his wife and mother of his infant son Blake,
he would have to help me bring down Garani and her subordinates. She was a threat, a dangerous threat to the
stability of not only Gista but the Setnin Sector as a whole, and in these
days of Setnin worlds choosing alliances with both the Republic and the
Separatists we could ill afford anymore distractions. Despite leaving the ways and life of the
Jedi behind him, Notami was still big enough to stand by me when I asked for
his help. Truth be told I wasn’t
surprised. We had been friends for
many years as we trained, first on Coruscant and then as Padawan learners to
a Jedi brother and sister who guarded the same sector. He knew only too well that had the roles
been reversed I would have done the same for him, and more. Perhaps he would have to kill a member of
his extended family, but the light side of the force had to prevail, and that still meant so much to him. He was a man of honour. I miss him… I nodded ahead as we reached a crossroads and motioned to
the left, but Notami paused and shook his head, pointing right. I followed, my dark Jedi robes wrapped
tight around me, protecting me from the cold and the tangy sting of Gista
dust as I inhaled. I used my powers to
calm myself and felt control return to me.
It frightened me sometimes how so much money could be made from people
wanting to lose control, the way Gista spice could take it. Setnin, if nothing else, was always the
strange dichotomy of forces wishing to gain control and forces wishing to
lose control. I assume that’s what
makes her such a unique region of space. We both noticed how empty the streets had become, how the
wind was whistling through the pits in the walls. It was always dark on Gista, a place of
shadows, and I began to understand why such twisted souls could be attracted
to a place like this. I gripped the
hilt of my lightsabre and prepared myself for action. The rigours and battles of the Clone Wars
had seen me travel to many, many worlds over the last three years. I had fought long and hard in the Battle of
Salutarr, seen things I didn’t think possible, and yet here beside me was a
man who had been turned away from the order.
I knew why; now was not the time to have a man interested in the ways
of the Sith fighting alongside Jedi, especially with so many young and
impressionable Padawans pushed to the front line before they were ready. Master Windu had done the right thing, but
as I eyed my old friend, my spare lightsabre in his grasp, I couldn’t help
but think of the unfairness of it all. Notami’s keen eyes spied it first, a brief shuffle of
shadow and a skitter of feet. Someone was thirty metres ahead of us,
spying on our movements. I had spotted
it too and slowed my steps accordingly.
We had a well-prepared battle drill, which we slipped into easily. Notami took the forward position with me on
his shoulder two metres back, both arcs of attack covered. He ignited the blue blade of the lightsabre
and held it in front of him, the illumination glowing off the dark brown
walls. I checked the doorways for more
people, but we were clear. For now
there was just the one ahead, but he wouldn’t be for long. We picked up our pace, covering the
distance with ease and followed at speed through the twisting streets. Our man stayed ahead of us, always just out
of sight or turning the next corner. We were aware that we were being led
somewhere, that this was bait for us to follow, and like hungry Nexu’s we
followed. How else would we be able to
watch and observe Garani? It may well
have been a trap, but we were Jedi. We
could handle anything. The street opened up into a wider plaza that appeared to
have been torn from the rock around it.
Shop shutters were etched into the walls, all closed, and the dim
sunlight seemed distant. We had
clearly run downhill, and were far away from the main streets and areas. I preferred that, and I know Notami did too. What we did wasn’t always for the public
eye. After all, we were protectors of
the peace, not Holovid stars. On
occasion, the things we did were less than pretty, and having the locals
watch us at work was not the
publicity we needed. We came to a running
stop and surveyed our location. From
flat roofs we could clearly see maybe ten of Garani’s followers. Our records indicated that they were a
varied group of mixed species, but there was no sign of the woman
herself. I paused, furrowed my brow and
concentrated. There, she was still a distance away but travelling to our
location by swoop. Notami just glanced
sideways at me and nodded. This was
our welcome to Gista, and a message that Garani would not come easily. If at all. I blinked and cleared my senses as a wave of Gista spice
dust breezed past. Visitors to Gista
often wore protective masks to lessen the impact of this natural phenomenon,
but in my haste to secretly collect Notami I had forgotten. To my shame, Notami had remembered his and quietly
slipped his on. After closer
inspection I saw that all ten of our friends wore theirs. What
a fool, I chided myself. The only fully-fledged Jedi and I’m the one who
forgets. No matter, I was still battle ready and fortunately so
because just then six of our assailants leapt down and launched an
attack. Notami was in flight
before they hit the ground, intercepting them in mid-air and slashing out at
two attackers. I stood my ground and
faced the other four, who formed a loose semi-circle in front of me. They wore evil grins as dark as their
robes, and I too had a smile on my face.
Despite their numerical advantage I wagered that none of them had ever
stood toe-to-toe with two Jedi as accustomed to each other’s style as Notami
and me. We fought as one, swift and
economical. I foresaw a bloodbath, and
none of the blood would be mine. How right I was… Notami backed towards me and we formed a tight battle
stance, keeping our opponents at arms reach.
I glanced at Notami. “What should we
do? We could keep this up all night.” “Attack. It’s the only language evil understands.” He was right. We
knew it, and the six around us knew it.
I pushed myself forward off Notami’s back into the nearest three and
swung around in a death arc, slicing down two and depriving the other of her
arm. I turned to assist Notami, but
whatever he had done he had done quickly because all three of his were
steaming, cauterised carcasses on the floor.
“The other
four?” Notami asked, the eagerness in
his eyes clear to see. I squinted
through the haze, the coppery tang of blood mixing with the Gista dust. It was an intoxicating brew and I once
again had to assert myself. “Garani is
almost here. If she wants these fools
to keep us occupied, I say let them try.” Notami grinned, and I saw an edge to that grin that I had
never noticed before. An almost
twisted, gleeful grin that positively reeked of danger. I remember frowning to myself; hearing
voices in my head tell me things I would have never consciously thought.
I shook it free again and focused on the remaining four, putting my
unusual thoughts down to a mixture of Gista dust, adrenaline and anticipation
of the coming fight. I knew I was
tired, and Notami and I hadn’t stood side-by-side in battle for a while. I convinced myself that was the explanation
and forged on. We engaged the other four, and all the while I could feel
the dark cloud that Garani emanated seeping ever closer. These ten were merely the appetisers for
the main course that would be our encounter with Garani, and as this battle
continued I craved that meal. Notami
felt the same, attuned as I was to his feelings and emotions and him to
mine. Many things had changed since we
last carried out our duties as Jedi together, but right then it felt like
nothing had changed at all. We were
closer than brothers, closer than blood.
I would have laid my life down for Notami De’Athe and him for me. And I still would, if it would change what happened. I slammed my attacker away with a heavy force push and
accelerated towards her, twirling my sabre in a complicated succession of
moves before parrying and sweeping down to remove her legs from the knees
down. The female Entallian howled as
she fell, and I swiftly put her out of her misery with a beheading that spun
into a slash across my next attackers’ stomach. Notami was using his most powerful Jedi
skill; planting false images in the minds of his enemies. I don’t know what they saw, but it halted
them long enough for Notami to end their dark side influenced lives with a
flash of the blade. All fell silent.
We faced each other, satisfaction clear on our faces, and in the far
distance I could hear the sound of swoops as they approached through the
porous rock mountains that surrounded the town. Shutting down my blade I turned towards the
sound in anticipation. I drew a deep
breath, steadied myself and waited.
Something wasn’t right, something felt wrong, but I couldn’t place my
finger on what it was. Notami seemed
calm, ready, bigger than before, more prepared, and
I wondered again just what it was he had learned from that Sith Holocron in
the Jedi library. Was he still the man
I had come to regard as a brother, or had the Sith taken another for their
ranks? Garani dove into view, bursting through the growing Gista
dust, and ignited a plume of it with her retros. We watched in silence as she landed twenty
meters away from us, four of her acolytes flanking her on their own swoops,
and dismounted from her vehicle. She
was as sensuous and beautiful a creature as I had ever seen, supple and
graceful with an air of elegance that belied her savage dark side
nature. Her skin was pale, her hair
black like tar, and her lips were a deep red, like congealed blood. I had met the like of her before, and always
treated their manipulative beauty with the distance and respect it deserved… And yet I drank in her beauty like a drought stricken
lover, and I could see Notami do the same.
She approached us, and I tensed to alert, my senses ready. She smiled. “I smell
fear. Good, I like that.” She turned to face her brother-in-law. “But you, dear brother, I sense nothing. Why is that, I wonder?” She walked around us both, and I turned my
head to watch her movements. A smile
played across her lips as she eyed me.
“Yyfekk, really. After the time
you’ve tracked me, do you honestly think I’d let it end with a stab in the
back?” “I don’t
know. I don’t care. You’ve trodden a wayward path Garani. We’re here to put an end to that.” She stopped and pulled an amused face. “Really? And how do you intend to back that up? My followers outnumber you. Your odds are slim at best. And Gista can get awfully hot this time of
year.” She motioned towards the sun
that was finally setting at a leisurely pace over the horizon, its heat still
radiating towards the rocky world.
“And you, without your mask.”
She smiled again and slipped hers over her mouth as a cloud of Gista
dust floated by. “Careless, for a Jedi.” “Perhaps he
knows something you don’t.” Interjected
Notami, turning to face Garani. She
frowned at him, cocking her head in thought. “You’ve changed
brother. What has my sister done to
you? You used to be a Jedi, something I could hate. But now…” She let her voice trail off as
she looked at him, as if for the very first time. “Now I don’t know what to make of you.” “Well make your
mind up. Neither of us intends to be
here long.” Garani smiled, and I sensed the psychic command that
alerted her men. My inner alarm bells
began to ring and I prepared myself, although I remained calm to the
exterior. Still, something didn’t feel
right. It wasn’t the Gista dust, or
Garani, or even the uneasiness I felt about Notami. Perhaps it was all three, perhaps none of
them. Whatever, something was wrong. Notami furrowed his eyebrows and turned to look at
me. I don’t know what it was,
something in his eyes, but I knew that he was about to do something…unexpected. We’d been in this situation a million times
before on innumerable different worlds, but every time I felt a tingle of
electricity. I gave a silent signal of
reply and waited. He’s about to betray
me. By the gods! Those were my thoughts running through my head, but I didn’t think them. I drew a sudden breath, tried to catch
Notami’s eye, but he was walking towards Garani. He’s in league with
her. I began to panic.
I was losing control, losing my mind.
Now was not the time to succumb to the intoxicating effects of the
Gista dust. Control, control. Remember
what Master Yoda taught, I chanted to myself like a mantra, but a
sabre-like flash of anger cut through my mind. Fool! Don’t just stand there, stop him! It was insanity itself, but those bitter, hateful words
seemed to make perfect sense, even as I turned to look at Garani, a wicked
smile on her face as Notami approached her, took her into his arms and kissed
her deeply. I recoiled in horror. Windu
was right to banish him. The dark side
had taken his soul! Now’s my chance. Stop him! I brandished my sabre and ignited it, twirling the blade
in my hands and taking a battle stance.
I shook my head to clear the voices, but there were three distinct
trains of thought hammering at me, and as my vision wavered I could see
three…realities? In one I was still
standing next to Notami, sizing up Garani.
In another I was moving to attack Notami as he kissed the dark side
witch deeply. In the third I was
preparing to engage my old friend in combat as he stood, unprepared for my
move. But which vision was the reality? Which was the truth? What was happening to me? Remember your
training! Indecision is death! Stop them now! Somewhere in my mind I knew it was madness, and I swear on my fathers grave that I
tried to stop myself, but the sabre felt warm and ready in my hands, and I
squinted at Notami… And then Garani’s men attacked. Blessed mother, I said to myself, turning my
attentions to the four acolytes, my sabre a twirling, twisting flash of
death. I force jumped high into the
air, travelling over their heads and landing behind them. I kept my eye on Garani, and on
Notami. In whatever reality I was
witnessing, Notami was attacking his opponents, driving two of them back
towards the wall. I parried my now
lightsabre wielding enemies, shaking my head and blinking hard. I could see two Notami’s, blurring into
each other. One was swinging his sabre
towards me in an attack. The other was
slicing an opponent into pieces. But
again I asked myself, which was real. Defend yourself; he’s
making his move! But which was the reality? I couldn’t tell. Choose you fool! Shut up!! My mind was collapsing in on itself, I could feel it, but
I had no way of knowing what was real or unreal, or how to stop it. It was confusing to tell, but more
confusing to live. So I followed my
training, my instincts, my heart. It was the worst decision I ever made. Suddenly I was back-to-back with Notami, vision swimming
like a heat haze, Notami as big and imposing as he had ever appeared. He was real enough, to me at least, and as
we bumped into each other I turned and smiled at my friend, my brother. Kill him!!! Forgive me… Somewhere in my mind a decision had been made and I
wasted no time with showy histrionics.
I slashed at him in an economical attack as our two foes moved towards
us. I can’t get his face out of my
mind. Crumpled and contorted in
disbelief as he folded to the floor, his sabre tumbling out of his
grasp. I could feel my face gripped in
a grimace of anguish, even as I sliced down again and again, ending his life
in a flurry of attacks… It was over so quickly, and now all I could feel was the
numbness of incomprehension. I
staggered away from the scene of the crime, reality still a haze. Garani was there, satisfaction apparent on
her beautiful face. And, as ghostly as
a Jedi apparition, I swear I could see Notami. What have I done? I screamed at the other insistent voice in my mind. But wherever the voice had come from, it was gone. I tried to take a deep, cleansing breath, use my Jedi
techniques to steady myself, but my powers failed me and a wave of remorse
hit like a rampaging Reek. Merciful mother, what had I done? I could see no other option, and as
I looked down at my sabre, preparing to turn it upon myself and swiftly end
the torment I knew I would bring upon my soul, for just one moment everything
became clear. …no… That’s when I passed out. I was woken by the shrill cry of a bird that had perched
itself on an outcrop of rock a few metres away from me. I was awake almost as soon as I opened my
eyes, my senses clear and alert. I
frowned and raised myself to a sitting position, looking down at the ground
beneath me. It had rained in the
night, a clean patch of dusty ground marking the spot where I had slept during
the darkness. I rose to a kneeling
position and glanced around, but this quiet dead end was deserted and I was
alone. I paused for a moment, falling
in to my powers, trying to sense Garani and her followers, but they were
gone. Probably off planet I surmised, back
to whomever it was that she herself served.
As twisted as she was, I knew she herself was only a part of the
choking vie of evil that we Jedi were fighting during the Clone Wars. I stood to my feet. Something terrible had happened the night before,
something profound, but I didn’t know what had driven me to it. Were my actions of my own volition, or
forced upon me by more powerful adepts?
I wasn’t sure. Certainly, in
her own corrupted way Garani was a talent, as was Notami. His ability to manipulate the force, his
subtlety and guile far surpassed mine.
I had always envied him that skill, as much as he had envied my
prowess with a lightsabre. And, as
much as envy was no emotion for a Jedi to have, I envied him his choices in
life. Perhaps I had killed
him, willingly, with intent, but was too traumatised to realise it or believe
it. First and foremost I was a Jedi,
but my friend had left that life behind for the love of a woman. I still wasn’t sure who was the more foolish and who was
wise, even as I left Gista in my vessel, bound for the Outer Rim and a life
of anonymity. I knew that I couldn’t continue
my service as a Jedi; the shame of my actions would surely lead me
astray. In many ways I was saying
goodbye to more than just Notami De’Athe and my life as a Jedi. I was also saying goodbye to myself. Yyfekk Talaihin, Jedi Knight, lived no more. For the Love of Garani 2002 short story by Mark Newbold Twenty
years before Episode IV – A New Hope Histories – Set a
year on from the Louis Turfrey tale Notami, this Mark Newbold
story tells of the great deception of Notami De’Athe, which he perpetrated at the
cost of his friend Yyfekk
Talaihin. Leading
in to the story of the Worldship Rinsome and her flight away from the
galaxy, this is just a small chapter in a series of stories that chronicle
the Setnin Jedi during
the Clone Wars era and their
unique ways of dealing with crime and the dark side in Setnin. Cast
of Characters Yyfekk
Talaihin Garani
Allafson Notami
De’Athe Kraal
Talaihin |