Zaxen's Quest

Part 1
The summer sunset of Tarthos cast a unique hue through the windows of the spire which acted as the resident Dark Librarian’s quarters at Ragnos Cathedral. The twin suns’ combined light made for a stunning visual effect as they began to slip down towards the horizon. Orange, purple, and teal all clashed and melded into a brilliant display of light. Zaxen took the rare few hours of calm between the violent storms on Tarthos to take in the view.
Opening himself to the Force Zaxen reached out across the landscape and out into the sky and felt the connection with the violent currents of the Orian star system. His appointment to Dark Librarian had opened a door of opportunity to learn more than any other journeyman in his House Marka Ragnos. The ancient tomes and scrolls of the Library had shown him new skills and powers his normal education had denied him. This he used to his advantage to gain even more power and influence within the House and the Clan.
Zaxen practiced his new found skills as his ethereal touch danced about the celestial bodies of the Orian system. While his powers were still relatively weak they grew exponentially nearly every day. He smiled to himself at his rapid success and his devious methodology. He knew he had turned heads and he knew he had gained both respect and resentment from his fellow Dark Jedi. They would come for him eventually. “But all will fall before me.” He mused to himself.
As the twin suns sank below the horizon a whisper flowed through the Force and touched his presence. He recognized the distinctive scent of his Mistress as it filled the air though she was not in the room. The dark whirlwind of Jade Atema’s mind caressed his own and gave a very distinct, unspoken, command. “Come.”
Zaxen turned from the window as the last hint of Orian Minor slipped from view and night settled over the Cathedral. He made his way to the turbolift door collecting his outer robe. Ten minutes later he stood before the door to his Mistress’s chamber. As his hand rose to knock the door opened of its own accord.
“Come in my apprentice. No need to knock.” The eloquent voice of Jade resonated and echoed creating a heady seductive effect but Zaxen during his tutelage with the vampiric Dark Jedi had learned to resist the influence. This did not mean that he didn’t appreciate its effects. He allowed himself only a moments worth of guilty pleasure before squashing it down with his iron will.
He strode into the chamber pulling back his hood to his half smiling mistress. She rose from her seat and walked around her desk with her usual dancer’s grace. Zaxen stopped in his traditional place in the middle of the room where he always stood to receive his next task. Jade continued to walk forward allowing her unseen Dark Force tendrils to slither about enhancing her overall presence. Her slender, two piece, black dress flowed unnaturally in the windless chamber as she approached her apprentice.
As she stepped up to Zaxen, Jade eyed him from head to toe and began to circle him like a hunter sizing up its prey. Zaxen stood unfazed, his face a stone visage of calm and confidence. He clasped his gloved hands behind him as Jade continued her inspection.
“You called Mistress.” Zaxen spoke using a technique similar to Jade’s own to carry his voice in the Force. Jade’s smile broadened as her eyes gleamed clearly pleased with her student. “Indeed I did.” She replied. “Your training is near its conclusion Zaxen. The time for your trials has come.” Zaxen made no physical show of his excitement but his aura exploded around the room.
“MMmm, excited I see.” Jade spoke as she rounded Zaxen and came face to face with him. “Good. You deserve to be. You have brought great honor and distinction to the House and the Clan. You should be proud.” She glanced down at his belt and empty d-ring clasp. “You do not carry your issued lightsaber?”
Zaxen looked down at his hip and then back up. “No mistress. I destroyed it.” Jade’s face turned into curious amusement at his response. “Destroyed it? Why?” she said. Zaxen quickly responded. “Because it is a base weapon hardly worthy of being called a lightsaber, to me it is an insult to your teachings and the traditions of our Clan.” Jade began to circle Zaxen again. “Oh please do explain.”
“The lightsaber is as much a work of art and an extension of its user and its creator as it is a weapon. Only a power monger Sith would accept such a shortcut to power without understanding the subtle intricacies and beauty that is a true lightsaber.” Zaxen paused for a moment before continuing. “I have no wish to wield any lightsaber but my own Mistress.”
As Jade rounded her student once more she stopped at his side turning her head slowly, as if sizing him up again. “Well spoken my apprentice. You have learned well and I am very pleased with you.” Zaxen’s face flushed slightly at the rare praise from his Mistress. Jade raised her hand up to brush Zaxen’s face as if examining a sculpture. Zaxen did not react and kept his face stoic however his heartbeat began to quicken and he knew Jade’s vampiric senses could hear it. A mixture of fear and excitement coursed through his nerves releasing adrenaline into his blood. “Another test...” He thought and quickly worked to regain his composure.
Jade smiled again flicking her eyebrows up. “Yes, you have grown very strong my dear Zaxen and very wise.” She circled back around again and walked back towards her desk. “It is only right then that you begin your first trial. You will build your lightsaber. You will find all materials yourself, including the crystal and will construct it without help from anyone. When you have completed it, bring it to me. I expect nothing less than a thing of beauty and perfection.”
Zaxen’s eyes gleamed as he bowed saying.”As you wish Mistress, it shall be done.” Jade returned to her seat. “Go now Zaxen, I already grow tired of waiting.” Without another word Zaxen bowed again and left the chamber.
Two hours later Zaxen sat in the cockpit of a small freighter preparing for launch. He had procured several texts on alchemy, crystals and lightsaber construction from the library and began to skim over them while he waited for his clearance to launch. He knew he would have to go well out of his way to find a suitable crystal to power his blade and in preparation he had exchanged his typical Krath style robes for a simple black garment and a hooded tunic. He had also packed small foodstuffs and some survival equipment. He took no weapons however, as he wished to further test himself and his abilities.
“You are cleared Lieutenant Commander Dauketrenal.” Came the D-SOG operators voice of the comms system. “Take heading two seven zero for ascent and release at one hundred thousand meters and assume own navigation. Have a good day sir.” Zaxen keyed his mic in reply. “Roger two seven zero for ascent, release at one hundred thousand for own navigation. Thank you.” A few moments later the freighter was speeding towards the upper atmosphere.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Part 2
Zaxen had spent the last several days simply traveling from system to system along the Hydian Way. As he traveled through hyperspace he spent his time pouring over texts and instructions on lightsaber construction, crystals and their attuning, and geologically suitable places to look for what would be the heart of his new weapon.
A great debate went on inside of Zaxen as to what sort of crystal would be housed in his lightsaber. He had read stories of very rare crystals, Dragonite, Luxum, Adegan, even the Krayt pearls from the great Krayt Dragons on Tatooine. Ultimately he decided that obtaining a corusca gem was both rare enough to be considered noteworthy yet still within his abilities to obtain.
“The Yavin system…” Zaxen sat back from his study table and thought about his destination. The Yavin system had previously been the home to the famed Jedi Praxeum however it had recently been destroyed during the Yuuzhan Vong galactic invasion. Zaxen expected the Yuuzhan Vong still continued to hold the system and specifically the Yavin 4 moon which housed the legendary massassi temples which the Jedi had desecrated for their training.
Zaxen pulled up what intelligence DSOG had on the system and glanced over it. He sat back and sighed. It was as he had suspected, the reports suggested that it was highly likely that the Yuuzhan Vong still held the system and was likely the sight of a shaper compound. “Damn.” He leaned back as the console hummed and beeped as information continued to scroll past. He sighed deeply slightly frustrated but his mind was fixed on his goal.
Rising he went to the cockpit to plug in the coordinates for the Yavin system but set it so that he would revert near the outer orbit of the system. From there he would do a thorough scan and decide best how to approach. He made a few more adjustments and set the ship back to auto.
Zaxen made his way back to his small work area where he had begun construction of his lightsaber’s hilt. He had stopped off at Taris several days back for supplies and had found himself wandering the upper streets of the ecumenopolis. Street vendors had set up shop for the day and one couldn’t walk two meters without being solicited from everything to jewelry, medicine, clothing, foodstuffs and weapons. As a small Rodian was attempting to talk him into purchasing a lifetime subscription of “Swooper Weekly” Zaxen spotted something which did nothing less but allure him.
Cutting the Rodian off midsentence Zaxen pushed him out of his way and strode over to a small wooden kiosk which displayed various strange artifacts from various origins. What had caught Zaxen’s eye and what was now nearly screaming at him was a simple, ordinary looking Talusian saber. The Ithorian behind the counter nodded at Zaxen’s approach but said nothing. Zaxen reached down and touched the old weapon and new why it had called to him. The blood history of the weapon’s victims was immense as it sent visions of war, terror, and death through the Force into Zaxen’s mind.
The Ithorian had begun to explain the weapon’s history to Zaxen in its clunky, muffled language but before it was finished Zaxen had already paid for the saber and was walking away with his prize. When he had returned to his ship he immediately began working on disassembling the weapon. He had removed the blade from the hilt and began to hollow out the interior of the metal handle using a laser knife from his tool kit. He then divided the handle into two parts and created threading on each piece so that they could be reassembled in the future. The blade itself was also cut or melted down in the furnace of the engine interior for components.
The various pieces now lay strewn across the work table. Scraps of wiring, small sheets of transparisteel, and a spare power cell had also been collected from the various nooks and crannies of Zaxen’s freighter. As the plan to approach Yavin began to take shape in Zaxen’s mind, he began to work on calibrating the flux aperture, tightening its opening. He worked diligently but slowly as he knew he would have a great deal of time to perfect his creation. As he worked the pieces of his plan fell into place.
It was simple. Enter the system at its extreme border; scan it like he had originally planned. If it was clear, great if not he would set his engines for a quick hyperspace jump followed by a sudden blast from his conventional engines upon reversion into realspace which would send him hurling towards Yavin 4. He would then shut down all but the most necessary functions in the ship and simply drift into Yavin 4 like a piece of space junk. Of course the calculations had to be perfect or he would find himself crushed by the gravity of Yavin Prime. “Shouldn’t be a problem” Zaxen mused to himself.
His work continued for the better part of the rest of the day. By the time he decided to retire to sleep he had completed the emitter matrix and tested it with positive results, aligned the lens assembly, and tested the power switch and power cell all with success. As he slept Zaxen was troubled with his dreams once more. He had grown used to the visions which plagued him almost every night since he had begun his training but only rarely did his body receive full rest. This sleep however was different as the visions of war and destruction ended with Zaxen seeing himself standing over mountains of corpses and when he finally awoke to the beeping of the realspace reversion alarm he was actually refreshed.
Zaxen entered the cockpit just in time to see the star lines form into the normal pinpoints of light of the eternal night of space. It took a moment for his eyes to get a fix on his position. He spotted the distant orange speck that was Yavin Prime and the larger bright yellow spot that was the system’s star. He quickly ran his hands over the control consoles to power down all his main systems and ran a burst scan. The information from the scan took a moment to process but his original fears were confirmed as the imprint of several large vessels came back including the beginnings of a possible battleship analog.
Though he had expected this outcome Zaxen still cursed at this turn of events. He sighed deeply and set about configuring the ship for the drift as he had come to call his plan. He spent eight hours computing the trajectory needed for his ship to achieve orbit of Yavin 4 which would then decay for a soft planet fall. When it was completed, he powered up his ship for the quick hyperspace jump. As he pulled back the levers he almost immediately pushed them forward again. Starlines had barely formed before they reverted again and the conventional engines fired a full burn for a split second and then quiet.
Yavin Prime was much larger now and filled the better part of his view screen. Zaxen could also make out the tiny green speck which made up the fourth lunar orbit of the gas giant. He did a quick calculation, a small adjustment to his trajectory, and then powered down all but basic life support systems. So began the drift. By his calculations it would take about seventeen standard days at his current speed to reach Yavin 4.
Zaxen spent the first eight days studying the nature of corusca crystals, specifically the methods for detecting useful ones and the retrieval of the same. He also made some finally touches on his lightsaber hilt casing. He made a point to reuse all the material from the original weapon in its new incarnation which proved difficult but in the end was worth it.
The remainder of the trip he spent in a deep hibernation trance. Zaxen had never attempted such a long trance but it did him wonders as his mind was a clear slate. No dreams plagued him and his body received all the benefits of restful sleep and deep muscle relaxation.
A week and a half of quiet darkness passed before a whisper came to Zaxen’s senses. Ever so slowly did the thing that made Zaxen who he was claw itself back to the perpetual surface of consciousness. The whisper had turned out to be not a whisper at all but the blaring of a proximity alarm.
As Zaxen’s eyes adjusted to light for the first time in over a week he saw what had caused the alarm to sound. He was still a day’s drift from Yavin 4 but a large hulking mass of uneven organic molding loomed ahead. His sensors had not lied for before him was a battleship analog. It was not as large as a world ship but it looked ever so much more deadly. “Perfect…”

To Be Continued Further...

Part 3
The great Yuuzhan Vong war vessel looked much like a giant space crustacean. Multi tiered levels and spires stuck out but the vessel itself had no discernable central core. It was as if a mass of sea creatures found their way into space and threw themselves together to form the golobulation that now blocked Zaxen’s path.
Zaxen’s initial reaction was to power up, turn tail and run but as he calmed his mind and watched carefully he noticed that the fact that the ship was even there was coincidence. It made no move to intercept nor did it give any sign that it had noticed him at all. It was still a rather good distance away however and there was still a chance that he would not be spotted. Intelligence had not gained any useful information about the detection capabilities of the Yuuzhan Vong so Zaxen simply sat and waited.
An hour passed and the giant war ship was all but on top of him and still no sign of detection. As an added bit of camouflage, Zaxen gave his ship a little nudge with the Force and caused it to have a slow rotation giving it more of a space debris look.
Another hour ticked by and the tension was nearly overwhelming. Zaxen sat with his hand near the emergency cold start activation switch. He had already punched up an emergency jump point via his datapad and was ready to plug it into his navi computer. The rapid engine strain from a cold start would likely crack the engine casing setting him adrift but it is a risk he would have to take if he was detected.
Zaxen attempted to pass the time by looking over some of the old books he had brought with him. He had read most of them cover to cover and the ones he had not he knew the most notable passages from. In short it did little to relieve his anxiety. The great sleeping beast that was the Battleship analog still sat there, unmoving, unflinching. It was so unnerving that Zaxen nearly kicked the engines into full gear to make a run for Yavin 4 just to relieve the monotony.
Yet another hour passed without incident though Zaxen’s ship nearly scraped the surface of the Vong ship and it took everything within his will power not to veer off course. But he had slipped right by and still no signs of detection. He sat back and took a deep breath and started to relax again. Just as his eyes began to close however a glint caught his eye. He sat up quickly scanning the view outside. Suddendly there it was again. A small moving glint and then another appeared. A dark hollow pit formed in Zaxen’s stomach. Corral Skippers.
He waited a moment to see what would happen next. His hand was tense over the cold start activator. Then suddenly the Force screamed at him and a sudden insight flooded into his actions as he flung the switches to the internal lockdown hatches in the ship. He then bled the air out of all the compartments but the cockpit. Just as he had finished doing this he saw distant glares start to expand as if a new star was being born and then he began to see the glares come hurtling towards him.
The first several volleys missed but one made impact and Zaxen had to slap his hands to his ears to stop the screeching of tearing metal from destroying his hearing ability. Because of his quick thinking there was no rush of atmosphere out of the ship and no subsequent course alteration that was so severe that it could not be corrected. Zaxen had gambled and his gamble seemed to have worked. The Corral Skippers flew past and after several tense minutes made no other pass. He let out a sigh of relief and began probing the ship with the Force in an attempt to ascertain his damage without activating any of the systems.
He grumbled as he realized about one third of the ship was nothing but floating shrapnel. He continued to stretch out his senses and feel his path among the stars. He needed to make a minor course adjustment and did so with an invisible hand in the Force. Once he had settled back and decided all was as well as it could be he drifted back into a Force Hibernation.
In the blissful, quiet darkness Zaxen floated as his body’s systems came to a near halt. He felt the passage of time but barely perceived it as his consciousness seemed to simply drift as if on a river in summer on Corellia. When it was time he simply opened his eyes and Yavin 4 was there before him. Almost too close infact as he needed to make a small adjustment with the Force in order to ensure a safe planet fall. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for what would surely be a true test of his telekinetic abilities.
The fires of atmospheric entry burned at the outer hull of the freighter as it tore through the sky of Yavin 4. Adrenaline pumped through Zaxen’s body as he worked through the Force to guide the ship to a suitable landing spot. He aimed for a large lake near a mountainous region in the northern hemisphere and just seconds before he crashed into the deep waters he gripped the ship with the Force and held it aloft just long enough for it to splash down into the shallows and skid to a sandy beach and finally burying it in the thick brush of the jungle moon.

To be Continued once again

Part 4
The first thing Zaxen could remember was pain. Piercing, crimson, pain blasting its way through every nerve connected to his brain. It hurt to move. It hurt to not move. It hurt to breath, to blink, to even exist. It was then that he remembered his first lesson. Pain is also knowledge. use it, learn from it, understand it, and embrace it. Once this is done pain can not control you. He let the words flow into a focused vision and he made it manifest when he stood up and made his body strong as the pain reminded him that he was alive.
He took inventory of himself, stretching and moving his muscles, searching for open wounds and broken bones. He was pleased to find only small gashes and several bruises and a general ache of having gone through the stresses of a crash. His ship had not faired as well as he had however as he looked around. The ship was turned up on its side half of it buried in the sand and the other half twisted and exposed to the elements of Yavin 4. He felt a mild wash of panic as he raced from the cockpit to the rear work area. He shoved the door open and found the contents of the small work shop strewn everywhere. He quickly found the nearly completed hilt of his lightsaber and set about checking its various components to see if they all still functioned properly. To his relief he only had to make a small adjustment to the flux aperature and all was well.
Next order of business was to discover his situation. Zaxen made his way to the engine room and was pleased to see that almost everything was in working order. He continued out into the common area of the ship and found where most of the damage had been done. The common area simply did not exist. The immediate areas that had once surrounded the common area were torn and twisted and deformed in such a way that no manner of patch job would ever cure. He also realized that within that twisted mass once housed his cargo bay which had contained a good portion of his food stuffs and survival equipment. That was all gone now too.
Zaxen sighed heavily at his fortune or lack thereof and made his way out of the large rift in his ship and up on top of it to get a clear view of where he was. The sky was bright and fresh. The distinct crispness of morning pervaded the jungle and the various creatures within had already begun their daily rituals of lounging, hunting, mating, and lounging again. Zaxen took a moment to stretch out his senses within the Force and feel the life around him. It was vibrant and vivid and yet he could feel where the taint of the Far Outsiders had made their mark. He could feel the uneasiness of the general wild life and knew that the Yuuzhan Vong had not been kind to the world.
Zaxen's eyes scanned the horizon and let his mind drift on a sea of possibilities in the Force, listening for a hint of where he should go and what he should do. When his eye caught the base of a small rocky peice of geological thrust his senses flared into life. He almost exploded with excitement. Whatever the outcome of his situation what ever he needed would be found there.
Making his way back below he packed what supplies he had, carefully wrapped his nearly completed lightsaber in a cloth bundle and placed it in his backpack and before the sun had reached its zenith Zaxen set out for the stone landmark that just barely stuck above the jungle canopy.
The first day went with out incident. The second was slow going as Zaxen found himself in a bog. It was not until the third day when nearly in sight of the large rock formation that he heard the distinct yet subtle sound of dovin basal operation. He stopped for a moment and then hid himself just in time to see two Yuuzhan Vong swoop analogs fly past not one hundred meters from his hiding spot. He was being hunted.
Zaxen must have stayed crouched behind the patch of foliage that was his hiding place for an hour. Several times he heard the Vong vehicles fly near his position but did not stop or gave any indication that he had been spotted. He waited until nearly dark when the shadows grew longer and deeper before he decided it was time to move on.
He climbed the nearest tree and decided to make his way forward within the upper canopy of the jungle branches. Using the Force he leapt from tree to tree with pinpoint accuracy making no more sound than the rustling of the wind. It took the remainder of the night to reach the rock formation but just as the light of the morning cast itself over the treetops and sent slashes of brilliance through the leaves Zaxen had come to his destination.
The excitement of finally making it this far was short lived however as he made his way up and around the formation he saw nothing. No crystals, no cave, no sign pointing to anything important, nothing. Staring up at the top of the stone finger and up towards the sky he grumbled in frustration. With nothing better to do he made his way to the top of the rocky spire.
When he had reached the summit he was nearly overwhelmed as he saw the panorama of Yavin 4 and in the distance the Yuuzhan Vong compound and the twisted, grotesque tumors he had come to associate with Yuuzhan Vong technology.
He continued to scan the horizon for anything that he could see that might be useful to him. At this point he cared little for his mission and only wanted to get off this moon.
As if on cue the ground beneath Zaxen's feet gave way, crumbling and falling away. Zaxen reached out barely in enough time to grab hold of the ledge. He looked down as the rocks fell and hit the side of the mountain and tumble away. As some of the dust cleared he saw that a large opening had revealed itself as a piece of jagged, slate like rock was broken off by the falling boulders. Suddenly the rush of excitement flooded into him and he let go and let himself fall from the precipice and free fall into the opening in the side of the mountain. He fell into darkness trusting his connection to the Force to guide him to a safe landing. He concentrated on the wind and making his body lighter and visualized himself as a feather. He landed relatively smoothly considering the height from which he had fallen. The shock from the impact of the ground sent waves of stinging pain up through his shins and thighs but his bones did not break as the Force pushed back against the hard surface acting as a cushion.
As his eyes adjusted Zaxen saw that he was in a rather expansive, natural atrium. He unshouldered his pack and dug out a small, hand held lamp, switching it on. The sight before him nearly took his breath away. Before him lay a large, glittering rock surrounded by steam and a bubbling pool of geothermically heated water. Not far behind it he saw what looked to be something not of the mountain or even natural. As he approached he could make out a large metallic frame of some sort.
Casting the light over the object he could make out more of the shape as its rusted contours seemed to merge into the light. Excitement nearrly overcame him as he came to the realization of what it was he was looking at.
The ship was certainly old. Corrosion had chipped away at the out layers of durasteel and paint but all in all the craft was intact and largely untouched by the elements. As Zaxen approached he felt a stirring in the air and with a sudden release of compressed air and magnetic locks the ship came alive and a boarding ramp lowered near him as if the ship itself had sensed him.
Zaxen cautiously made his way towards the boarding ramp and the inner lights buzzed and hummed to life inside and it was then that Zaxen saw just how large the ship really was. It was easily larger than a freighter but smaller than a dreadnaught class. The inside of the ship was surprisingly clean and sparse though dust had settled on every flat surface and kicked up with every foot fall. He made his way around exploring the interior and soon found the bridge of the ship.
He set his things down and headed over to a control panel. The language was familiar but at the same time very alien. He looked around for something that hinted at being an "On" switch. With in a few minutes he had successfully activated what looked to be the navigation and engineering stations. Several visuals came up but the language might as well had been gibberish though the he could not shake the sense that he had seen it somewhere else before.
Shrugging it off he decided that it was something he would work on after a meal and some rest. As he headed over to his pack to dig out some small fruits he had collected in the jungle he caught the glint of something out of the view port. A new wave of energy and excitement coursed through his body as he immediatly rushed back outside and down the ramp. He caught the glint again upon the large rock at the center of the steaming pool. He rushed to the water's edge and waded out in the pleasantly hot spring water and out too the rock and as he got closer he smiled to himself as he could feel the tiny vibrations in the Force the told him of several corusca gems that would be suitable for his lightsaber.
He pulled himself up and with a lover's touch he gingerly caressed the stone allowing his finger tips to feel carefully around jagged edges and rough stone. His skin tingled with energy as he felt himself get closer to his goal. He felt several of the gems vibrate but he continued on until at last he came to one that nearly pulsated with energy. He began to work at the gem loosening it from its age old prison. It took the better part of an hour and the loss of some skin on his finger tips but when all was said and done a bright, sparkling star of a gem feel into his eager palms. The corusca pulsed within the Force and the all to familiar rush of power flooded into his being as his goal was in sight.

Zaxen made his way quickly back inside of the ancient craft and set up a makeshift workshop. His hands shook with anticipation as he sat down at the table he had made his workbench. He placed the lightsaber hilt on the table, attached the power cell and ensured once more that everything was aligned. He took the crystal, closed his eyes and saw it through the Force. It seemed to hum as he channeled his thoughts into it feeling it pulse anew. As energy flew around its edges and points the corusca spun and hummed with a life of its own. As Zaxen opened his eyes he saw the crystal burn with light and with his invisible fingers in the Force he carefully placed the crystal within the hilt. He carefully brought the top half of the hilt and mated it with the grip. He ensured that seal was secure and that the activation switch was wired to the power cell.

Hefting the hilt of his new weapon Zaxen felt as if he were floating in a dream state. He felt the weight of the weapon. Touched the history of its former self. Felt the cool titanium and durasteel under his recently ravaged fingertips. Then finally he thumbed the activation lever and a bright orange blade shot into life with a growling snap-hiss followed by the low hum of a true lightsaber.

Zaxen tested the weapon, waving it about, feeling its nature. Satisfied he closed his new lightsaber down and slipped it into his belt. He was not sure whether it was the touch of the Force or the work on the Lightsaber that jogged his memory but as he made his way to the control center of the ship the symbols all seemed to come together in a cohesive and intelligent pattern. Enlightenment hit him full force and a smile crept across his face. The language was ancient Sith.

Within an hour Zaxen had fed power into the main systems of the craft. Surprisingly everything was so well preserved that it took only moments to assess that the craft was not only space worthy but able to defend itself. Weapons systems hummed to life along with shields, engines, and repulsors.

The Universe had finally decided that all had gone too well. As if on cue Zaxen could make out figures moving within the dark corners of the cavern through the view port. When he reached out his senses he felt nothing but a void in the Force. Rising he made his way to the ships exit ramp walked out slowly.

He let his eyes adjust to the light and moved slowly from beneath the ancient ship. He let his hand move up and take the hilt of his lightsaber. Holding it out horizontally to his side Zaxen activated the blade and the cavern was filled with the light of sunsets of a thousand worlds. He saw the Yuuzhan Vong warriors approach and stop suddendly as they realized who their prey was as they whispered "Jeedai!"



Zaxen smiled. It was now time for his weapon to taste the flesh of its first victims.



THE END.