I Will Finish What You Started

[Wolf]

Mechis III was a harsh and unappealing industrial planet. Mostly populated by droids, the factory world was hot, polluted and volcanic. Wolfgang Krieger still bore a grim admiration for the efficiency and productivity of the planet however, as his TIE fighter entered orbit and he viewed the surface beneath. Mechis City was visible from space, its vast sprawling architecture and closely packed skyscrapers a testament to the planet's hard-nosed attitude of brute efficiency and cost-effectiveness rather than any thought given to aesthetics or visual appeal.

Wolf was not planning to land in the capital however, as his TIE fighter made its way across the volcanic wastes and deserts. His TIE fighter creaked and groaned under the rising temperature and winds that buffeted it, more an indication of how old his starfighter was, passed down through his family, rather than a damning verdict on the planet itself. Wolf stared at the control panel in front of him, a beeping noise growing louder as he flew over the red sands. Wolf smirked as he saw a grey speck in the distance. As he approached, it became clearer that this grey speck was a starfighter, and one that had found a place to land in this wasteland by finding a small relatively flat rocky outcropping that stood out from the sand.

Wolf shifted his control stick and began to descend as the rocky outcropping drew closer. Finding a spot next to the parked starfighter, Wolf's TIE fighter, Veteran, descended, the engines quietening down to a low hum as it touched the ground next to the other starfighter. The beeping inside the cockpit was now very loud, as Wolf finally shut off the engine and climbed out of the vessel. He stood at 6'4", and wore a black uniform, which probably was not the best idea given the hot climate of Mechis III. Wolf walked to the starfighter he had parked next to, his hand running along its side, before his fingers found the tracking device that had been placed on it. Wolf smirked, giving the hull a thankful slap before walking to the edge of the rocky outcropping.

He was on the tail of a thief. This thief in particular had the audacity to have travelled all the way to Avalonia, steal from the First Order, and then run back to this faraway industrial world. Wolf had been in the Citadel of Ren while it had all occurred, while the Imperial security chased the culprit. One resourceful Imperial officer had managed to attach a tracking device to the thief's starfighter before he made his getaway. The starfighter clearly had some advanced stealth system as it managed to evade the naval patrol fleet and quickly enter hyperspace to be long gone, but no stealth system was good enough to evade the trusty tracking device. Wolf was roused from his meditation and ordered to give chase, a mission thought more worthy of a Disciple of Ren, rather than bothering one of the fully fledged Knights.

What was of interest was what the thief actually stole, and explained why it was a matter given to the Order of Ren to begin with. The thief had managed to sneak into the archives and hack into them to access vast amounts of confidential and secret data. But rather than acquire confidential fleet designs, military positions and future expansion plans, the thief had instead delved into whatever information the First Order held on the Knights of Ren, and specifically that of the Knights of Ren and the First Order that existed in the first century ABY. In particular, the thief had taken files relating primarily to one of the most earliest and prominent Masters of the Knights of Ren. The grandson of Darth Vader, Kylo Ren.

Why the thief would steal information relating to a figure that lived eight centuries ago was a puzzling mystery to Wolf, but the Order of Ren had sent him to find out. Much like how the legendary Darth Vader himself still has many fans to this day, perhaps this was another example of some sort of fan following, or even worship, of a historical figure. Wolf knew many of his colleagues could be reverent to the extreme when it came to the great Emperor Palpatine, some going as far as to worship him. Wolf would not object to such practices, himself having a deep admiration for the mythic Emperor, but stopping short of outright worship.

The thief's starfighter was still warm, and so Wolf could not have arrived more than half an hour later than the thief's own arrival at the planet. Wolf stared out at the red horizon, the yellow sun glaring down at him in the distance. Plains and hills of rust-coloured sand could be seen for miles, there was not a plant or hint of life in sight. Wolf's gaze turned to the ground as he scanned the sands around the outcropping for footprints. Sure enough, directly below the outcropping could be found the repeated indentations that indicated someone had walked there. Much of the footprints had already been filled up again by the sands, carried by the wind. Their vague outline could still be seen however, and Wolf jumped down from the outcropping, which stood out a couple of metres from the ground.

Beads of sweat were already beginning to form on Wolf's forehead as he followed the trail. He could feel his black clothes soak up the heat of the sun, and he grit his teeth as he was buffeted by a gust of sandy wind. He raised his arm to shield his eyes, his hair and beard speckled with rust-coloured sand as he continued to follow the trail, the tail of his coat blowing in the wind. He had never been to this planet before, and despite the harsh conditions he still felt a sense of wonder at being somewhere new, and while doing work for the Order of Ren no less.

After walking for about half an hour, he was stopped in his tracks. The footprints had suddenly disappeared, and Wolf's sense of wonder soon turned to one of frustration as he looked around for any indication of where the thief might have gone. As he took another step forward, he felt his foot land on something hard, no longer sinking into inches of sand. Looking down inquisitively, he swept his foot across the hard surface to remove the sand, to reveal a metal trap door. Unsure of what he was getting himself into, Wolf crouched down to remove the clasp of the trap door and open it. A ladder was revealed within, that stretched down into darkness. No doubt the thief would have come down through here. But who built this, and why? There was only one way to find out, as Wolf grabbed the ladder and lowered himself into the hole, before shutting the trap door above his head and climbing down into the darkness.

 

[Wolf]

Wolf found himself in pitch blackness as he descended. He could hear only the sound of his own movements as he climbed down the steel ladder. His mind was full of questions, and there was a creeping feeling as he descended that he might be in over his head. A single thief did not build this. Then who? Perhaps people who came before? But for what purpose, and why out here, in the middle of nowhere? There seemed to be no industrial or economic advantage out here. Wolf was beginning to get the impression that this thief did not work alone. He refused to go back to the First Order empty-handed however, and certainly not with an excuse that his enemy was too strong or numerous for him.

The ladder must have stretched down for a good thirty metres before Wolf's feet touched solid ground. He breathed a sigh of relief, though was still with very little light. What little light was available however was coming from the distance, and what seemed like a doorway, although it was very far away. Closing his eyes and calming his mind, he called upon the Force as he had practised in the past, tendrils of the Dark Side snaking forward to feel around him so he could have a better awareness of his surroundings. His hand reached to the side to feel the warm rock walls that surrounded him, and through the Force he could surmise he was in some sort of manbuilt tunnel that ran underneath the wastes. Using the Force to first probe that the ground in front of him existed and was safe to walk on, Wolf began moving towards the light in the distance.

The air was humid, and felt worse than when he was on the surface in the full glare of the sun. No doubt they were close to some geothermal or volcanic point of activity. Wolf wiped his forehead with his sleeve as he trudged on, the light in the distance gradually growing bigger as he drew nearer to it. His mind continued to snake its way in front of him, using the Force to search for any potential traps or danger. He also extended his mind through the walls either side of him to see if there were potentially neighbouring tunnels, but it seemed that this was the lone one.

Wolf came to a halt as he heard noises coming from ahead of him. The light in front of him was clearly now coming from a doorway, and beyond that doorway he could hear what seemed to be people talking. His right hand instinctively came around to rest on the hilt of his vibrosword as he cautiously continued onwards. He reached forward hurriedly with his mind, tendrils of the Dark Side rushing forward to the doorway. He knew how to use the Force to sense his surroundings, but he was certainly no master, and his mind could only reach so far, stopping short of the doorway.

Finally coming within a few metres of the doorway, Wolf pressed himself against the walls of the tunnel as he approached, and his mind was finally close enough to snake around the corner and delve into the room beyond. Wolf could not make out much with the Force, but could clearly sense multiple Force signatures. He pressed himself up against the side of the doorway as he now could make out distinct voices. One voice was elderly and well-spoken.

"You have done well, Nuro. The information you acquired from the heretics will help us greatly in piecing together more the life of our great Master Kylo Ren and finding his body. Then the legendary true Order of the Knights of Ren will return."

Their Master? Kylo Ren is long dead. What is this, some depraved cult? Wolf's mind was racing, desperately trying to make sense of what he was hearing.

"Thank you, Elder," came another voice, and one Wolf presumed was the thief's, "And through his resurrection, we will-"

"Wait," interjected the Elder, "I sense something."

"What is it?"

"We have a guest."

Wolf widened his eyes at the words, his hands gripping tighter against the rock wall he pressed himself against as if it would make him less easy to spot beyond the doorway.

The Elder spoke again, this time towards the doorway, "Please, join us. Don't be rude."

Wolf grit his teeth and swore under his breath. His right hand firmly placed on the hilt of his vibrosword, he stepped out from the wall and through the doorway, into the light. He squinted as his eyes adjusted, and were greeted by a large, rectangular room that was at least as big as a sports field. The walls were of stone, and lit by flaming torches dotted around it. Towards the end of the room was a staircase, that led to a large set of wooden double doors. What really stole Wolf's attention, however, were the black-clad figures that were stood around the room. The Elder was standing in the middle, and was tall, thin and slender, most of his body robed in black, but his pale, long face exposed. He had a full head of silver hair, and his lips were curled into a smirk as he watched Wolf enter. Nuro, the thief, stood next to him, and was a young-looking man with raven black hair, standing at about 5'9". In addition to these two stood six other figures, dressed in black and their faces obscured by masks. They stood spread out at the peripheries of the room, and had stopped whatever they were doing to now face the newcomer who had entered the room.

"Welcome. I gather you would have followed Nuro here," said the Elder, who shot a quick glance of irritation at the thief, before continuing, "You must be awfully confused, young heretic. And let me guess, you must think yourself a member of the Order of Ren? Well you believe a lie. I once believed it myself too. For the true Order of Ren is here, waiting for the return of our Master Kylo Ren and-"

"Sad, deluded cult." Wolf unsheathed his vibroblade, clearly outnumbered and outmatched. He should have returned to Avalonia and informed them of the existence of this cult, rather than try to take it on by himself. It was too late now, however. The Elder was irritated that Wolf had cut him off, and motioned to Nuro and the others in the room.

"Deal with him."

"So be it. Come, thief."

The one known as Nuro at once charged at him, drawing a vibroblade. Wolf got into position, his hand right arm forward as he pointed the vibroblade towards him. He maintained an aura of calm and self-confidence, but inside his mind screamed at him to run in the face of these insurmountable odds. He steeled himself as the thief approached and swung his blade towards Wolf's head. Wolf lifted his vibroblade accordingly, the two clattering together as Wolf pushed back against it. Sidestepping, he withdrew his blade from Nuro's, and offered a strike to his belly. Nuro parried it, and they were soon engaged in a rapid bout of fencing.

Footwork was key as Wolf duelled the thief, but he could not focus all his attention on him as the other figures in the room approached with their own weapons drawn. Wolf had to end this duel quickly. Extending his left hand forward, palm outstretched, he quickly used the Force to pull Nuro towards him. It caught the thief unawares as hoped, providing a momentary and fatal lapse of concentration. As the thief was pulled with the Force towards him, Wolf held his blade out and thrust it forward. His opponent was helpless as he was impaled on Wolf's blade, screaming in agony. Wolf pushed Nuro off his blade, letting his body crumple to the floor. The approaching figures stopped in shock, and the Elder growled in fury.

"Enough!" came the shout of the Elder. Wolf felt himself lifted off the ground and sent flying across the room. He struggled desperately as he was sent through the air, trying to free himself as the Elder used the invisible chains of the Force to fling him across the room. He was flying through the room at a terrifying pace, and Wolf closed his eyes and yelled as he knew impact with the stone wall would be coming at any second.

Wolf's body collided with the wall with an audible crack. Wolf yelled out in pain as his body fell to the ground, his left arm feeling his side to find two of his ribs were broken. He clenched his jaws but could not hold back the cry of pain, his right fist banging against the ground in hurt and anger. He ripped off the top of his uniform to reveal the point of impact and his broken ribs. It was bruised badly, and Wolf held his hand to it, pressing against it, anything to numb the pain. He looked up to see the black-clad figures approaching again. Growling with frustration, he got to his knees, and willed himself to stand up. Standing in only his trousers and boots now, his vibroblade had clattered across the room and he had to hold his hands up to fight unarmed.

Adrenalin pumped through his veins to numb the pain, as the six other cultists surrounded him in a circle, armed with blunt truncheons. He panted heavily, his muscles weary and his mind numb. The first cultist came for him with a truncheon, and he sidestepped his attack. And then the second came, and Wolf ducked the horizontal blow, before swinging out with his left arm and striking him across the head, making the cultist grunt in pain. There were too many of them however, as the next two cultists co-ordinated their attacks, one aiming a strike to his chest while the other to his legs. Wolf growled in pain as he was brought to the ground, and the men surrounded him. He held up his hands to shield his face as the wrath of multiple blunt weapons were brought down on him. He felt consciousness slipping away with each blow of the cultists' weapons, his body battered and bruised. The pain was unbearable.

And then all went black.

 

[Wolf]

Wolf woke up in shock, gasping for air. The cultists had thrown a bucket of water over him to wake him up, and he found himself hanging from the ceiling by ropes tied around his hands, his feet hovering a few inches off the ground. He could only see out of one eye, the other black and bruised, his beard stained with blood. His muscles throbbed with pain, and he looked down at himself to see his bruised form. His athletic frame bristled with sweat, the humidity of the underground lair not helping to alleviate his pain one bit. He stared apathetically at the blurry figures in front him, his mind slowly trying to make sense of its surroundings.

Wolf's senses were suddenly wrenched into focus as he heard the snap-hiss of a lightsaber blade. His vision blazed to life as a scarlet blade materialised an inch from his neck. His eyes travelled down the length of the blade and settled on its owner. The leader of this mad cult, the Elder. He smiled at him with a sadistic malice. Wolf looked him in the eyes resignedly. His body throbbed with pain, his ribs were broken, this was a humiliating defeat. He winced as he felt the heat of the lightsaber blade on his skin.

"It is a great mercy that you are not dead, heretic. And there is still yet time to repent," the Elder paused, studying Wolf's face before continuing, "Give me the locations of all the bases of your Order of Ren. Nuro's work was valuable, but it seems the Avalonia Archives have their limits. I should have known your wretched Order would keep anything of value to us close to their chests."

Wolf said nothing, his mind was numb as he stared blankly at the man with one eye. The idea of actually revealing any information about the Order of Ren to this insane cultist was abhorrent to Wolf, and would not even cross his mind.

"What happened, forgotten Basic? Perhaps this is a language you will understand."

Wolf cried out as the side of his neck exploded with pain, the Elder's lightsaber blade brushing against it. The old man smirked, before adjusting his wrist slightly and removing the blade from contact, letting it stay beside his neck again. Wolf felt sick as he smelled his own singed flesh. The Elder continued to speak.

"Still no words?"

So is this how it ends? came Wolf's thoughts.

"I can do this all day, heretic," continued the Elder.

My life brought to an end on this wretched planet by some unknown insane cultist.

"I have no problem giving you a long and painful death."

I never even became a Knight.

"Tell me the locations!"

I could have done so much more.

"Very well, if silence is your answer, then I will end it."

No. This is not my end. Not today.

Wolf's eyes, including his bruised one, suddenly opened wide, his lips parting to let out a guttural roar of defiance. His body shook and trembled, his very being crying out for survival. He began desperately pulling on the ropes with his arms, trying to break himself free. He would not die today. He refused to. The Elder hesitated for a moment, then smiled again. "You struggle in vain, heretic." No, not in vain. Wolf cried out again, calling out to the Force, to the Dark Side, to empower him, to give him the strength to survive.

Like a rush of cool water Wolf suddenly felt the Force flow through him, numbing his pain and focussing his vision. He felt the power of the Dark Side ebb and flow through his veins, and his lips curled into a grin as he felt power flow to his muscles. With one confident and self-assured pull, Wolf yanked downwards with his arms. He felt renewed strength, in fact, he felt stronger than he ever had before as the Dark Side energies flowed through his muscles. And in one fluid motion of his arms, the ropes snapped, and Wolf found his feet landing on the ground. The Elder was startled, and brought his arm back to swing his lightsaber at him. Wolf instinctively outstretched his hand, using the Force to push the Elder off balance.

Wolf clutched his left side where his ribs were broken, and he turned towards the exit, desperate to leave this wretched place. His escape route was blocked, however, by three cultists. Wolf let out a pained sigh, he could not get through all of them, at least not in this state. He wearily turned around, looking for somewhere he could run to. The only other exit was up the stairs and through the large wooden double doors. Wolf had no idea where it would lead to, but he did not have much of a choice, and immediately darted for the stairs. He could sense the cultists running behind him, urgently trying to prevent him. He could hear the Elder shouting behind him,

"He is heading to the sanctuary! Stop him!"

The Disciple of Ren clumsily clambered up the stairs, his body tired and broken. The wooden doors at the top of the stairs swung open as Wolf barged his way through. He hurriedly closed the wooden doors behind them, picking up a long wooden length that was left beside the doors to serve the purpose of locking them. The cultists were nearly up the stairs, and he grit his teeth as he quickly inserted the wooden length through a slot along the middle of the two doors, keeping them together and effectively locking them. The cultists barged into the wooden doors, but to no avail, as Wolf gave a faint smile. It would not be long, however, till the cultists would break through the doors.

Wolf turned around to see where these wooden doors had taken him. He groaned with frustration as he found himself at a dead end. This was no alternative passage of escape. He found himself in a small room, with an old wooden chest on the floor at the back of the room. He slowly ambled to the chest, his breath heavy and wheezing after his burst of speed to the room. He collapsed to his knees in front of the chest, his mind was still tinged with curiosity at what they had stored in here, despite the pain in his body. Unclasping the latch at the front, he lifted the lid open.

He was immediately struck by the palpable presence of the Dark Side as he revealed the contents of the chest. Lying inside was a black lightsaber hilt. Rather than one hole at the top from which the lightsaber blade would presumably materialise from, there were three, in a cross shape. From the design it was quite reasonable to conclude the horizontal blades would act as a cross guard. Wolf was transfixed by the hilt, and by the fact it was rich in the presence of the Dark Side. Wolf could hear the cultists banging on the doors behind him frantically. It would seem they did not want him anywhere near this lightsaber.

Curious, Wolf reached his hand out to touch it.

 

[Wolf]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3MUCZH1R-Q​

He looked on as his Knights scoured the Jedi enclave, looking for any last remaining survivors. The 'New' Jedi Order had been destroyed, he had made sure of that. His old Master, the Grandmaster of this Jedi Order, was powerful, but even he could not save them while he was indisposed lightyears away on another planet. He smirked behind his mask as the Knights of Ren laid waste to the enclave. The Supreme Leader had shown him the true way to live, the path of the Dark Side that the Jedi had forsaken and distorted to mean something undesirable. He toyed with the lightsaber hilt in his hand, its crimson blade signifying his new identity. No longer a slave of the Jedi, his chains unshackled and broken by the liberating power of the Dark Side.

The surroundings suddenly faded to black, clouds of darkness enveloping the environment as the scenery changed. The darkness cleared and the masked man now sat in a small metal room, facing something on the table that was obscured from view. He spoke, his voice distorted to a deep tone by the mask he was wearing. "Forgive me." His emotions were mixed, a deep conflict stirred within him. "I feel it again. The pull to the light. Supreme Leader senses it." His voice was tinged with humiliation, his mind furious with himself for being so weak. "Show me again, the power of the darkness, and I'll let nothing stand in our way. Show me, Grandfather, and I will finish, what you started."

The darkness receded and exposed the object on the table he was speaking to. A charred and distorted helmet, though its infamous design could be recognised by near anyone across the galaxy as belonging to the legendary Darth Vader. The surroundings faded again as clouds of darkness enveloped the man, and the flashes of different scenes appeared quickly and were gone in a second. There was a clash of lightsabers, crimson on blue. A flash of white, a group of Stormtroopers. There was a YT-1300 freighter twisting and turning through the sky. And there was a girl in simple robes, locked in saber combat with the masked man. There was blaster fire, and screaming. And then all went dark.

Now he was standing on a metal bridge in the middle of a large reactor chamber. He stared for a few moments at the old man in front of him, his thoughts conflicted as they stood together on the bridge. He felt a great burden upon his shoulders, and could only think of ridding of it once and for all. His heart was a flurry of different emotions. A nagging thought crept into his mind to embrace the man in front of him and go with him. No, he could not be weak, he could not give into his vulnerability. He knew what he had to do. It was time to end this conflict within, to end this raging battle between the light and dark that roared on inside of him. It was time to take hold of his destiny with both his hands, and not be pushed to and fro by the winds of emotion and sentimentality.

"I know what I have to do but I don't know if I have the strength to do it," he said to the man, holding out his lightsaber hilt with both hands, "Will you help me?"

"Yes. Anything."

He watched as the old man reached out his hand took hold of the lightsaber hilt. His own grip on the lightsaber tightened with both his hands however, and he stared into the man's eyes with his own. He steeled himself, mustering up his strength as he looked into the eyes of the man who raised him. He began to turn the lightsaber hilt so that it would point at the old man, and he could see the man's face begin to turn to one of confusion. His muscles were urging him to stop what he was doing, trying to fight back. It was a simple motion of the wrists, and yet it was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. In all of his training, nothing could prepare him for this. But he must continue, he had to end the conflict within himself. His hands trembled as he finally pointed the hilt at the old man's chest.

His thumb flicked the ignition switch, the distinctive snap-hiss of the lightsaber echoing around the huge chamber they were in. The crimson blade shot out from the hilt's depths, piercing through the old man's chest and out the other side. The man's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, his mouth agape at his betrayal. He pulled out the lightsaber to see the old man's eyes look at him with sadness. He watched as his father fell from the bridge to his death.

 

[Wolf]

Wolf fell back in shock, wrenching his hand back from the lightsaber hilt. It was evidently steeped in the Force signature of its previous owner, given the visions of the Force that Wolf had received. Had he been given a glimpse into the life of the ancient dark warrior Kylo Ren? It felt surreal to have witnessed events from centuries ago, and his mind was still reeling from what he had experienced. He had to take a few moments to recover his breath, and it was only when the pain from his broken ribs and bruises started to return that Wolf was reminded of where he was, and the knocking at the door that signified he needed to get out of here, otherwise he was done for. The wooden doors behind him were creaking and shaking, it would not be long before they were blown off their hinges by the cultists.

He reached forward again to pick up the lightsaber hilt. The Force was drawing him towards it, the Dark Side urging him to pick it up once more. This time, however, he sensed the effects would not be as severe. And indeed he was correct, it was cold to the touch as he picked it up and weighed it in his hand. The room suddenly shook and rumbled however, and Wolf hurried to his feet. The lightsaber had been booby-trapped, probably put in place by the insane cultists who had been storing it for who knows how long.

By lifting the lightsaber from the chest, it had activated a pressure switch, which in turn began pushing stone bricks out of the wall from the back of the room. What was it doing? Behind the bricks was a bright fiery orange light. Wolf suddenly understood why this underground lair was so hot and humid. They had built it next to a lava flow, which served as a last line of defence for anyone foolish enough to try and steal the lightsaber. He stared in horror as molten lava began spilling out from the newly created gaps in the back wall. He had to get out of here, quick.

It was just then that the wooden doors behind him blew off from their hinges, the cultists finally managing to break through into the room. Wolf was already running at the door as fast as his bruised legs would carry him, and the cultists cried out in horror as they caught sight of the lava spilling out into the room. The Elder and the other cultists ran out of the room, apart from one who stood frozen in fear. Wolf had ran past him, and growled with irritation as the cultist just stood there as the lava spilled out towards him. Wolf stopped, and turned back to grab the cultist by the back of his shirt, pulling him out with him and throwing him down the staircase. Wolf could not outrun the lava that was behind them himself, and instead moved to the side of the doorway, crouching beside it and watching as the lava spilled past him and down the staircase.

Why in the world did he save this wretch? Wolf could not explain it, and neither could the cultist, who had scrambled to his feet at the bottom of the staircase and stared at him in bewilderment. If he had left the cultist to die he could have outpaced the lava and be running out through the tunnel as he saw the Elder and the other cultists doing. Wolf had no problem cutting down the cultists with his own hands, why was leaving them to be consumed by molten lava any different? He sighed, and refused to make eye contact with the cultist at the bottom of the staircase. The cultist said nothing, and turned and ran to follow the others out through the tunnel.

The back of the sanctuary burst open completely now as the lava gushed out. Wolf could not stay beside that doorway forever, and watched as the lava began filling the room below the staircase. The lava by the doorway began to spread outwards and towards Wolf. He swore under his breath, standing up and wondering how he was supposed to get out of this one. The staircase and much of the surrounding ground was now covered in lava. What if he were to jump forward onto the ground in front of the staircase that had not been covered by lava yet? Wolf scoffed at his own idea, he would have to jump a good ten feet forwards to make the distance, and not only that but then land safely from the five metre drop that separated the top of the stairs from the floor.

If ever there was a time to learn, it was now. Calling upon that same desperation he had experienced when being hung from the ceiling, he felt the Dark Side surge and brim within him, calling upon it to give his muscles strength. He crouched down low, bringing his arms in front of him as he prepared to leap forwards. He grit his teeth and cried out as he leapt forward as hard as he could, and felt the Force empower his muscles to propel his body forwards. He felt a thrill, even in these dire circumstances, as his body leapt further through the air than should be possible for a normal Human. He landed in front of the lava flow into a forwards roll, he got to his feet and began to run. The lava was fast on his tail, its flow quickening to a frightening pace. The Dark Side surged in his muscles, propelling his legs as he ran, and Wolf laughed as he felt himself run faster than he ever had before through the tunnel. An ordinary man would have been consumed by the molten lava by now. But the Force pushed Wolf onwards, still clutching the lightsaber hilt he had acquired from the sanctuary. Wolf breathed a sigh of relief as he reached the ladder, and hurriedly climbed up it.

He squinted as he opened the trapdoor at the top of the ladder, back into the Mechis III sunlight. He climbed out and closed the trapdoor behind him. He stood up, amazed that he was still alive. And then he collapsed backwards, his body exhausted and in pain. He laughed as he lay there, and at what he had just been through. He felt like he had aged ten years in those last few hours. His face and beard was a mess of blood and sweat, the pain of his broken ribs increasing as his adrenalin levels began to wear down.

Wolf's laughter was stopped abruptly as a figure overshadowed him. "Thought you would get away with our Master's lightsaber that easily?" The Elder had returned, and ignited his blade as he stood over him. Wolf exhaled a breath of resignation. He had no strength left in him, and watched as the Elder lifted up the lightsaber blade over his head to strike down and finish Wolf once and for all. The Elder suddenly cried out in pain however, twisting around and falling to the ground. A dagger was lodged in his back. The cultist Wolf had rescued earlier stood in his place. The two held eye contact for a time. There was no need for words. The cultist then turned and walked away. Wolf rested his head back as he stared at the polluted purple sky. He raised the lightsaber he had acquired to his face, inspecting it as he lay there on his back. He recalled the visions he had experienced when he had first made contact with it. He spoke softly to it, his voice raspy from exhaustion and pain.

"I will finish what you started."