Coruscant... It seemed nothing could disturb the usual peaceful morning on the Republic's capital planet. The great upheavals that threatened Coruscant were in the past. A measured life had long since consumed the upper levels of this planet. However, the other levels also lived relatively peacefully. Master Yoda, as usual, began his morning with meditation, but something was bothering him this morning. Something strange – something he had overlooked before, but now it appeared before him clearly and distinctly. The old Grand Master of the Jedi Order suspected something was wrong when Master Dooku, his former student, burst into his room.
"Master Yoda! Master Yoda!" Dooku exclaimed, too loudly for such a noble aristocrat. He wouldn't raise his voice for no reason. "A Sith..."
"A Sith?" Yoda asked in surprise. The feeling that had visited him during meditation finally had a primary cause.
"A Sith on Royse-VIII," Dooku said, regaining his composure. "The broadcast is being transmitted across the HoloNet. Someone from the Shadows is fighting him right now."
"You say, from the Shadows he attacked?" Yoda asked. "But, like real shadows, they should be invisible. Why did he attack openly? Hmm? And he started broadcasting on the HoloNet. Bring it up."
Dooku approached the holoprojector, and after about five seconds, a holovideo appeared before them, broadcasting the fight between two: a Jedi and someone who could truly be called a Sith. The Jedi used the Ataru form. His green lightsaber twisted like lightning around the crimson blade of the Sith, who used... Something between Makashi and Soresu. At the same time, the Sith did not shy away from Force Lightning and other Force techniques, trying to kill his enemy as quickly as possible. Then the elderly Master was drawn to the Shadow's clothing. He had seen it before...
"Is that Light?" he asked. "Did we not consider him dead?"
"That's right," Dooku said, putting his hand to his chin. "Master Jonnal listed him among the dead last week. It was reported that he encountered a dark-sided Force-sensitive and heroically died while carrying out his mission."
"A strange matter, hmm?" Yoda looked at his student. "The one declared dead is fighting a Sith alive."
"Or perhaps it's not Light?" Dooku asked. "There are many Jedi among the Shadows with green blades, using Ataru and wearing such a costume? Jonnal Ezar himself wears one. Some say he even sleeps in it."
"It is Light," Yoda closed his eyes. "He is alive, and it warms my soul. He has good potential."
"Good potential," Dooku snorted. "That's why you gave him to Lorm Decer, then to An'ya Kuro, and finally to the Shadows? To a corps where he will simply be engaged in assassinations..."
"Do you want to discuss my decisions?" Yoda asked, looking questioningly at Dooku. "Why did I do what I deemed necessary? Hmm? A student learns from his Master. Light lacked confidence in his abilities, and he gained it by undergoing training."
"You simply turned him into a murderer," Dooku said coldly.
"No," Yoda replied, "I only gave him a choice. Light himself decided what to become."
Dooku remained silent. Sometimes arguing with Yoda is simply unbearable. The old Master can sometimes find a justification for even his most illogical decisions that convinces almost everyone around him of their correctness.
"We need to inform the other Masters," Yoda said. "And send a message to Evan Piell – let him prepare for departure to Royse-VIII," Yoda said. "By the time he arrives there, everything will be over. But there will be consequences. And he must deal with them. Have they identified the Sith's name?"
"Yes," Dooku said, pressing a few keys on his datapad and displaying the image on the holoterminal. "It's Seth Hart."
"That's impossible," Yoda said unexpectedly loudly.
"Why?"
"Seth Hart lived nine centuries ago," Yoda replied.
"But the facial recognition system gave exactly that result, look for yourself," he nodded at the Sith when he stopped in the middle of the fight and his face became visible.
"He looks similar... But how did he survive?" Yoda asked. "It's impossible! He's human, not long-lived."
"According to archive records, the Order sent missions to Royse several times in search of Seth Hart. It was assumed that he had stolen some Sith holocron. However, the Seth Hart found on Royse, according to Jedi reports, turned out to be 'the bastard son of Padawan Hart, whom he had on the planet and who was not Force-sensitive at all.'"
"Did one of his descendants become Force-sensitive? But then we would have known about him and brought him to the Temple... Perhaps he found some knowledge in a Sith holocron?" Yoda said. "Seth Hart's longevity is interesting. We need to figure this out, regardless of how the fight ends..."
With Dun Moch, as I thought, we really finished. I used everything I knew about Ataru against Seth. Was it paying off? So far, neither of us had a significant advantage over the other. His main past advantage was precisely in his "developed body." However, the mind transfer technique in the case of a clone has a significant flaw, and its name is habituation to the clone's body. Reflexes, reaction, motor skills of body parts: hands, legs – these are not things that can simply be transferred. This is what I bet on, and I wasn't wrong. Seth indeed had some problems in this regard. He had just transferred his consciousness into a new body and hadn't gotten used to it yet, hadn't fully recovered all his strength. This was directly reflected in the fight: although the Force techniques were executed by Seth excellently (as well as timely and deadly), his lightsaber combat faltered, which I took advantage of without remorse. I'm not a stupid idiot – to ignore the opponent's weaknesses in the name of some honor. Sometimes, of course, you can show off... But that should also be planned, not just a pompous improvisation for its own sake...
On the other hand, when pompous improvisation is the plan... But that's not always the case, is it? We acted at speeds almost imperceptible to the naked eye. Crimson and green blades flashed like lightning. Seth kept trying to push me with the brute force of Soresu. In general, his style combined the power of Soresu and the precision of Makashi, thanks to which his attacks were incredibly precise and powerful. He struck precisely at the points that were my weak spots, either with a targeted thrust or a powerful chopping blow. I dodged one of the chopping blows, slipping right under the sword – the blow was delivered horizontally, at the waist – and then, appearing behind him, I swung my left hand, into which the second lightsaber instantly jumped. Shiak right in the back... I thought I would end the fight with such an elegant move, but Seth saw through me and ducked, simultaneously performing a "dragon's tail," in fact, a sweep. Unlike Seth, a Master of Makashi like Dooku would almost always act only with the blade, because a true Makashi master is focused precisely on lightsaber dueling. On the other hand, there are only a few like Dooku in the entire Order. And only one of them is most famous – Dooku himself. Others can weave elements of not only Makashi into battle, but also other styles, as well as hand and foot strikes. I recall studying material about Dooku, where it was said that he considered all these hand-and-foot techniques superfluous, and if he used them, it was very rarely. Here, it's not classical Makashi, but its peculiar combination with Soresu. And during his life, Seth has undoubtedly developed and refined his style.
I didn't dodge the sweep, but simply put my hand forward, and Seth was slightly thrown back by telekinesis. Following him, a small fireball created by pyrokinesis was directed. Seth moved aside. Dodging it, I tried to close the distance, but he used Force Lightning, which I met with my crossed swords, on the blades of which I additionally concentrated the Force. Here it behaved like a river flowing along my blades, allowing me to better defend against lightning. And then with a sharp movement, I repelled the discharge to the side. The lightning hit a table with food, which, unable to withstand such abuse, fell apart with an unpleasant sound. I immediately approached Hart and used both my swords... Now I was much faster than then... Training is training, but during a real fight, you can best test your assumptions and developments. One fight with Seth and its reflection was enough for me to understand some of my mistakes and draw certain conclusions. So Hart had a harder time this time, because I was fully realizing the advantage of two swords, attacking much faster than in our last encounter on planet Cai, and from all sides.
Nevertheless, he managed to attack, and quite dangerously – if not for the modification of my suit, I would have been killed by now. At least, his thrusts were accurate, and it was very difficult to escape them with ordinary dodging. Seth kept pressing, trying to push me. I dodged, counter-attacked, but still retreated. Taking a blow on my crossed swords, I jumped back. Seth again used Force Lightning. Landing and immediately doing a somersault in the air, I jumped to the left, avoiding the lightning directed at me, while simultaneously concentrating the Force... Tables, chairs, other furniture, cutlery, and dishes floated in the hall... A moment, and I sent several pieces of furniture at Seth. He dodged everything, though he cut some things with his sword, and with a powerful jump, he escaped the lightsaber I threw at him from my left hand. In the air, he jumped onto one of the tables, and then rushed at me. I used the Force and returned the sword to myself, and a couple of moments later, I met his blow on my crossed blades. He put his, albeit small, weight into the blow, and also jumped, strengthening himself with inertia. Thus, Hart managed to pin me to the floor, landing on me. I threw him off with my leg and immediately tried to decapitate him with my lightsaber, but was thrown back by telekinesis. Using my lightsabers for stabilization, I looked at Seth with anger... This fight was enjoyable, yes, but the enemy seemed unkillable. Neither of us could gain an advantage over the other. And if the fact that Seth couldn't gain an advantage doesn't sadden me, then the fact that I have to fight for so long doesn't please me. My strength is not infinite, and he is much more experienced. If I don't end the fight in the next few minutes, things could turn out not in my favor. And I can't escape...
Not now. I need to move, fight, until the outcome of the battle is clear. After all, an escape attempt is even worse than defeat or death. No, I must fight to the end. All or nothing... He who does not overcome difficulties achieves nothing at all. A difficulty on the path becomes the path. Spinning my swords, I rushed into battle again. Collision, exchange of blows... I had to retreat a couple of steps – Seth was still suppressing me with precise and powerful blows. Realizing that my chest was covered by something that excluded a lightsaber kill, he began to deliberately strike at my head. A couple of times he singed my hair, and once almost destroyed my eyes. I performed a series of Ataru jumps around him and also almost killed him with one of the lunges. Hutt... I could try to use that technique I was thinking about, but it's still not perfected. Use it in battle before I fully develop and master it? I am, of course, a rational being with cockroaches, but I still dare to hope, relatively normal. The technique I was thinking about is my variation of teleportation. According to Kuro, I cannot master her teleportation, because for that she would have had to take me as a Padawan immediately. She said there was some wise complication.
Therefore, I decided to develop my own technique and studied everything that could tell me about the instantaneous transfer of matter from point A to point B. I even came up with the so-called logic of abilities – I felt that my idea was feasible, I just needed to thoroughly study all the unclear moments... But now it's foolish to risk and use what I've invented. No... There's no time to think about experiments. I need to defeat Seth with what I have now.
"You've gotten on my nerves!" Seth suddenly said and raised his hand. I prepared my swords. What was he going to do? A wave of telekinesis swept through the hall, and blasters, which Seth had taken from the royal guard, rushed towards us from the edges of the hall. Suddenly, blasters also rolled out from the walls of the hall. What the hell? I took a stance, understanding what was about to happen. Seth clenched his fist, and the blasters fired... All of them. Blaster bolts of varying power rushed at me from all sides at different speeds. I gritted my teeth and began to defend myself, trying to ensure that the shots did not hit civilians. Alas, excesses happened, though the civilians and the military not participating in our battle were not fools and found cover, thankfully I had scattered a lot of furniture around the hall while throwing it at Hart. Suddenly, Hart drew my attention... The sword in his right hand disappeared... Where was it? Another second, and I would have lost my head – he threw it at me in a strange trajectory. I leaned back, letting the dangerous weapon pass over me...
But a second later, hellish pain pierced my body, and the force of the blow threw me back. Even the armor sewn into my suit couldn't fully protect me from the Force Lightning. So he used blasters to force me to deflect shots, and then threw his sword at me, after which he immediately struck with Force Lightning? Bastard, he did it almost simultaneously! I lacked the speed and reflexes to react to all his attacks at once, which is why I'm now lying on the floor, writhing in pain.
But the "noble" Seth Hart did not plan to prolong my agony – a moment, and the blasters fired again. I, tormented by lightning, reacted too late.
I also applied Tutaminis to absorb the lightning too late, so some shots hit me, including unprotected parts of my body. The armor sewn into the clothing was not complete: it covered my back, chest, elbows, and shins. I decided not to cover the other parts largely because I was afraid – afraid that more armor would affect my movements. And my fears were not unfounded – Mandalorians move quickly in their armor... For armored warriors. I am many times faster than any of them. My advantage is speed, so an abundance of armor would only hinder me. One of the shots hit my right thigh, another knocked the sword out of my left hand when I was distracted by the pain. Well, at least I dodged hits to the head. But there's no time to think about the pain of the blaster shots that hit me.
Pain is a lie... There is only the Force... Using Crucitorn, I tried to suppress the pain and rushed into attack. Seth got his sword back and prepared to defend himself. Suddenly, for him, I fell halfway, and then my lightsaber flew out from behind me, which I dropped the moment a shot hit its hilt. If it had hit my hand, there would have been big problems, but at the last moment, I changed the position of my wrist, and the shot hit the hilt, made of beskar. So a direct hit did not affect the sword's functionality... Seth, surprised, deflected it... Now! Cat! The device instantly fired at Seth, and I immediately pulled myself to him – too fast for Seth to perceive and too unexpected... He didn't have time to react – with one movement, I applied Sai Tok, separating his upper body from his lower body. A strange smile froze on Seth's face, and both his parts fell to the floor.
"Ha... Ha..." I was breathing heavily, my right leg was burning, I felt burns on my head, my body felt like it was burning with fire from the Force Lightning that hit it. "I won..."
And almost fell to the floor where I stood, but still remained on my feet… I returned the second lightsaber, which I used as a decoy, to my left hand. Suddenly, a strange dark silhouette rose from Seth's body and rushed towards my head. The world changed, and in the same instant, I found myself in the middle of a cliff towering over a boundless ocean.
"So this is your inner world? A reflection of your spirit?" Seth's voice asked me. He appeared before me. Last time, this place looked different. "It corresponds to the character of each sentient being."
"Hmph," I snorted, "you didn't come here to negotiate, did you? You need my body. And quickly, because you don't have much time."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! What a perceptive Jedi!" he exclaimed loudly. "Your body isn't like the bodies of those damned clones I have to order. This is the body of a fully Gifted one. How many midi-chlorians do you have? Fourteen thousand? Excellent… excellent… With your help, I'll be able to deal with him… And become one!"
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" I asked. "With 'him'? Become 'one'?"
"Oh," Seth said, crossing his arms. "I'll show and tell you everything if you surrender voluntarily. Understand one thing, boy—I have experience confronting the minds of enemies."
"And whose mind did you confront?" I asked sarcastically. "Was it the maximally castrated minds of the clones you had custom-made for you?" I asked. "Show-off," I pointed my hand at him. Several lightsabers instantly appeared around him, piercing his body.
"Bastard!" his face contorted with rage.
"Oh, what's wrong, Hart?" I asked innocently. "When it comes to confronting the castrated minds of clones, it's easy as pie, but when you run into a real sentient being, you start screaming? Honestly, at first, you were really terrifying, especially on the planet Xai. I considered you almost a Sith Lord. And, to be honest, I barely survived your attack. But now it's different," I looked at Seth and smiled. "It's time to unburden my soul. Tell me everything. What did your words at the beginning mean, and, most importantly, who is the traitor among the Jedi who covered for you for so long?"
"A traitor? Among the Jedi?" Hart suddenly burst out laughing. "The only being he betrayed was me. He tried to use me as a threat to your Order, and not just me. He threw Shadows at me like stray dogs."
"So, it is after all…"
"You understood correctly, Jedi!"
"And what about your words at the very beginning?"
"Gha… Ha-ha-ha-ha! Why should I tell you? If you want to bury a bastard in your Order, bury him, if you have the strength, and as for those words... Jedi, go to hell. I won't say anything!"
"I thought you decided to take as many sentient beings down with you as possible…"
"You didn't understand anything," Seth replied, beginning to disintegrate. "I will survive. I may not capture you, but I have three more clones! I will be able to…"
"Three clones? Why do you think I hired mercenaries to start shelling your mansion?" I asked him. "Out of whim? No. The reason is precisely to eliminate the possibility of you using the ritual, Seth. You can say they are well hidden, but again—it doesn't matter. And do you know why? Because a matukai familiar to you came with me. A Gifted one… You radiate darkness from a kilometer away when you don't hold back. And your clones must radiate darkness too. So... Sheyjen will handle it, I'm sure of it."
"You are deeply mistaken!" Hart roared. "I will activate the transfer ritual now, this time into a clone…"
"Useless. Even if you succeed—I will find you in a clone's body. Or, if I can't, someone else will. And you are not Darth Andeddu—you can't possess a clone on the other side of the galaxy from one edge of the galaxy. I've already told you, Seth Hart. It doesn't matter at all who emerges victorious now. I have exposed you to the entire galaxy! You have lost in any case."
"Fucking son of a bitch," Hart croaked. "What did you do to my clones? Why can't I sense them?"
"I've already answered that question. Goodbye, Seth Hart. You were an interesting opponent," right before his head, another lightsaber appeared, its activation piercing it through.
Year fifty-three before the Battle of Yavin-IV. Seth Hart—a dark gifted, a dark Jedi, or perhaps even a Sith, given his experience and knowledge—lost to me. The joy of victory filled my mind, though I shouldn't get too arrogant. I still have to face the reality that will reign after the battle…