Vala Hati
Jedi Master Dorin Kehl somehow had a feeling that there was more to come when it came to the Sith Empire. With their surprise attack several years ago, they had nearly overrun the Republic in one swift stroke. Surprisingly, however, the Sith had decided to pull back to secure the territories they had conquered. That was unusual.
The Sith Empire had reformed under Revan's rule. There were now people in their ranks who were not only not slaves, no, they were even members of the Sith Council. Was this related to the new tactics?
If the Sith were able to adapt, then the Jedi and the Republic had to do the same. Kehl was not a typical Jedi. He had radical ideas; that among other things, the dark side of the Force would also need to be studied to understand its nature. That a Jedi should not serve the light alone, but be much more in balance, because that is the natural state of everything, in the galaxy.
With these ideas, he did not have many friends in the order. The council even considered it a mistake to have given him master status. But Dorin wanted to explore his theories further. He had learned of a rather interesting colony. The settlers had reported ancient temples and ruins. A sure sign that an alien civilization once lived there. Much more exciting, however, were the reports that whispers could be heard from the ruins, but that no other intelligent life forms had ever been found on the planet.
Dorin wanted to pursue the matter. He hoped that this world might already hold the key to his theories. All in all, it sounded like a Sith burial world, but this planet, Dathomir, was somewhere else in the galaxy. The Sith could never have been here!
Arriving on Dathomir, the settler Dorin Kehl told about a little girl who lived near the ruins. No one knew who her parents were, one day she was just there.
Some settlers believed that the child was the source of these creepy voices and noises, but others reported that these eerie phenomena had existed since the founding of the colony, which was several hundred years ago. Dorin wanted to see for himself, and set out on a journey to the temple.
The temple was unlike anything the Jedi Master had seen in all his travels so far. He could understand why some of the settlers had begun to establish a religion here, and even to worship the builders of these facilities, but he also felt the almost overwhelming power of the dark side emanating from these structures. Much more intense than from a usual Sith tomb.
Here in these ruins there was supposed to be a girl of whom a great number of the settlers were afraid, and who was worshipped by other... almost cultists, was worshipped. He absolutely had to find her!
Vala Hati was the little girl's name. Although her outer appearance was obviously changed by the dark side, no darkness seemed to emanate from her. Dorin was so fascinated by the girl when he first met her that he almost fell victim to a Bane Spider. Vala, however, had managed to use the Force to alert a Nydark to the spider, so that he grabbed the beast and saved the Jedi.
She had not, however, as a Jedi would do, made mental contact, she whispered a few words and thus forced her will upon the apex predator. Even after that, the beast behaved friendly, almost like a tame pet towards the girl.
Dorin wanted to know how she did it, but she just shrugged and said that sometimes words just come to her mind. The Jedi was intrigued. He would be able to learn a lot here, but the cultists who worshipped the girl were a disturbing factor, as was the fact that the planet was trying to kill him at every turn with the help of its flora and fauna. He felt that they did not want him here, he was a disruptive factor that shook the fabric of power, the dark side in this place.
Perhaps he could take the girl with him, show her the ways of the Jedi, and thus create a kind of hybrid with whose help he could better understand the balance of the Force. Promising to show her the wonders of the galaxy, he convinced little Vala to leave her disciples behind. They set off for Coruscant.
However, the Jedi Council saw the situation completely differently than Master Dorin. They found his idea of balance extremely dangerous and actually wanted to prohibit the instruction of this child.
Years ago, when he was still a Jedi Knight, Kehl saved the Chancellor's life during an attack by the Sith. At the time, he was the only one of the Jedi who had expected such a maneuver, having studied both Jedi teachings and Sith records. The Chancellor had wanted to grant him a special request at that time, but Dorin had not claimed it until now. He dressed Vala up, stripped her of her creepy and gloomy outfit, and made sure she looked like a normal child. Then he went with her on the way to the chancellor to present his wish.
He wanted to get permission to train Vala.
The Chancellor was quite happy with the maneuver. He could show in public that even the Jedi Council would bow to his word. He granted Dorin this wish, and so Vala became a Padawan at the age of 6.
Vala showed an incredible inner calm, immediately understanding how to use the power. At times she murmured a few words, which usually led to the fact that the desired effect happened a little differently.
For example, while already skilled padawans could use the Force to speed up their movements, Vala could not only move faster, she could propel herself forward through the air. Along the way, she had a very unique movement pattern of runs, slides, and jump rolls that had her spinning around like a pistol bullet to complete the speed training parkour in just over a quarter of the time.
The other Padawans always switched the powers they used from the Force Jump to amplified attributes and back again. Vala could combine complex maneuvers into one sequence, and then amplify it with the Force.
However, this quickly led to "the new girl" being looked at somewhat askance. Other children were jealous of her abilities, so Dorin Kehl decided not to teach her in the temple - but rather privately on his ship.
But then the truce broke. The Sith had recovered and were once again mercilessly attacking the Republic. The Jedi were once again called to arms, and Dorin Kehl once again took his place in the army, along with his Padawan.
Seeing this child in the war effort angered many members of the Jedi Council. Not only did it undermine their authority, it was also a sign that the council could be wrong in its views.
This time, however, the Hutts did not intend to just stand on the sidelines; they wanted to make a profit. The Republic was too busy to protect all worlds, and so Hutt squads were sent into Republic territory again and again to get new slaves.
Master Pratan organized a rescue mission. Kehl and his Padawan were to accompany him. With a small squad they wanted to go behind the enemy lines and rescue the prisoners from a slave battleworld.
The prisoners on these worlds had to slaughter each other for the amusement of the Hutts. This was to create battle-hardened gladiators who could then be sold for large sums of money.
A mission so far in the enemy's territory was of course dangerous. There was no support if something wanted to go wrong. This was exactly what Master Pratan wanted to ensure.
When the prisoners were freed, aboard the transporters, and the group of ships was on its way back to the carrier in orbit around the planet, he ordered fire on the shuttle in which Dorin and his Padawan were.
The ship crash-landed, and it wasn't long before the Hutt's forces were on the scene as well. Dorin ordered his training droid to follow Protocol Omega, which released him from all the rules of the Jedi Order. He was to keep an eye on Vala. Then he ignited his lightsaber and faced the opponents.
Vala had to watch her master, her only friend, her... father... was struck down by blaster bolts. A Weequey came up to her, pointed the barrel at her and just said "And this one can't even fight, trash!" She screamed so furiously that the soldier in front of her was shredded into green corrosive slag that splattered on his comrades and corroded their armor. She was about to jump on the next guard when she was knocked unconscious with a pommel blow to the back of the head. She heard still quite dull "Hähä, informs Lord Boggo du Hutt , today was not quite a full loss..."
Vala found herself inside the prison from which they had previously freed the Republic citizens. She had been implanted with a slave chip and a neural blocker to suppress her power. She quickly found out how everything worked here, it was a DogeatDog society, everyone was closest to themselves and everyone else was competition. Those who could prove themselves in the fights rose in value, if the value was high enough, they were sold.
Every prisoner played the game, so the Hutts kept their power over everyone. Their goal, however, was revenge. The death of their master, the betrayal by the Jedi, all would feel their wrath. The voices in their head were louder than ever. Through Jedi training, they had all but disappeared, but here, she would need all the Force to survive.
B16-21X had carried out his master's last order, and now Vala had access to the forbidden knowledge that lurked in the droid's databases. The droid helped her implement her plan. He didn't quite agree with the method, but of course had to admit that Jedi protocol was not appropriate in this situation.
Vala had herself presented as the exotic animal of the Hutt. As a slave, of course, she had to be at the disposal of her master's guests, and had also been trained in these services.
She also let herself be raped, put in heavy shackles, by one of the guard officers, but only so that B16 could make records of the poor, helpless and baggy gladiator being groped by such a nothing. If the Hutt found out about it, the guard would be dead - so she had the perfect leverage against him in her hand. B16 assured her several times that this plan was very different from Jedi protocol.
Battle slaves of the Hutts do not have it easy, but Vala devised a plan. She was, wanted to unite the fighting power of gladiators. To do this, she wanted to use the tournaments against the gladiators of other Hutts. As a small child she was not allowed to fight, but she knew a formula to look into the future for a short moment, and was thus able to give the fighters on her side a hint how to win the fight.
Boggo had noticed that since a child interfered in his fights, his gladiators won far more often, and he had gained a lot of wealth and influence as a result. He therefore hired the best mercenaries to train this girl to be a real fighting bitch for war. She was to lead his army of slaves in the arena battles.
Vala, as a teenager, was already very respected by her peers. People, even the roughnecks who had resisted her at first, obeyed her orders. She was interested in protecting the lives of the gladiators, which the instructors didn't care about at all. So, at 16, she became the leader of the "War Beasts".
For her 18th birthday, she was allowed to make a wish as a thank you for all the success she had brought to House Boggo. She wanted her old master's droid at her side, and the wish was granted.
Vala used this leverage to send the Hutt an idea. A large-scale event in which all the heads of the clan would lead their best gladiators into the field, and the prize would be the rare Jedi weapon he called his own. Boggo liked the plan, especially since he was sure he would win. So he invited everyone to the event.
It took a good 6 weeks until the event could finally take place. A long 6 weeks for Vala to prepare. She had prepared the plan meticulously. Many of the combat slaves were in on it. All those who specialized in silent killing were secretly mixed in with the guards.
She had initiated her "bribed" guard. She would break Boggo's rule, and that would also set him free. He agreed and lured several more of his colleagues into her "trap" until the big fight. Thus they had a small but powerful force within the ranks of the guards.
When she was taken out of her cell and entered the area, she was amazed. A cousin of her master had actually brought a Gorax giant to the field. The fellow must have been quite expensive. Groax are big and strong opponents, but also very slow in their movements, and in a tight arena more in handycap than an advantage. Presumably the logic behind buying the Gorax was "a lot helps a lot".
Boggo didn't mind bragging about the event, and of course he showed off the lightsaber his people once took from the slain Jedi Master. While the Hutt was still making his speech, Vala signaled her people. The turned guards would shoot the security room short and small, so that no slave implant could be activated.
When she heard the blaster fire in the background, she gathered her strength, jumped a good 15 meters in the air so that she was on the same level as the VIP box and snatched the sword from the Hutt with the help of the Force.
When it hit the arena floor again, it had connected with the sword via the Force. With a sound that could be compared to a pained scream at best, the once golden colored blade came to life and hummed in a deep tone. The blade was now a deep and rich orange. Time to take care of the Gorax!
As she had already suspected, the Gorax was too limited in the arena to bring all its power to bear. The monster tried to grab, punch, and even kick at Vala, but it kept bumping into the confines of the arena with its long arms.
She used her speed to dash between the monster's legs, inflicting critical hits on its Achilles heel. With a crash and a roar, the beast went down on its knees. Bent with pain and rage, however, the giant's head was now close enough to the ground that it could blind its opponent with a power lightning attack. Again the monster roared.
Meanwhile, Boggo had closed the blast door to the arena. Disgruntled, she glanced at the massive bulkhead. So her master would miss all the fun of slaughtering this monster. She muttered a few words and put a wish into the Gorax's head that something he desperately needed was behind the blastdoor. Immediately, the giant started pounding on the door with all his might. That would take care of the entertainment for the guests, now she had to take care of her own guests of honor. She sprinted off to implement the rest of her plan.
On the central corridor, however, she met her "favorite guard". He was already waiting for her there.
"You know, even if you escape here today, you'll be recognizable throughout the galaxy as combat slaves, gladiators, and sex slaves!"
She slowed down, stopped, and looked over her shoulder.
"Is someone trying to be my master?"
He brought out a chain from behind his back, deep black, shiny lacquer, with gold spikes - the perfect toy for a prestige slave. She found the design quite sexy, turned to him and raised her head so that he could easily attach the chain to her neck ring.
He came closer and attached the chain to the guide ring of her collar, "Very good, with you in my possession I will become rich very quickly," he laughed. He took the lightsaber from her and put heavy handcuffs on her, then turned to the shuttle hangar and was about to leave, but Vala stood firm, anchored like a tree, so that he almost stumbled when suddenly her chain tightened.
"What's wrong, slave?" he asked, annoyed, pressing the penalty button on the remote control of her collar. She didn't even flinch, causing him concern.
Her eyes began to glow green and no flames stood out "never again will I serve anyone against my will!" She shouted angrily. "No one who disrespects me deserves my attention, DISHONOR my loyalty!"
He began to stammer, "um, well... we don't have time for this now, we have to..."
"What's wrong, slave?" he asked, annoyed, pressing the penalty button on the remote control of her collar. She didn't even flinch, causing him concern.
Her eyes began to glow green and no flames stood out "never again will I serve anyone against my will!" She shouted angrily. "No one who disrespects me deserves my attention, DISHONOR my loyalty!"
He began to stammer, "um, well... we don't have time for this now, we have to..."
Her handcuffs blew up and flew at him like projectiles. One of the partial cuffs hit him full force on his stomach, another on his right shoulder, so that it threw him backwards. Then, as the other two pieces were hurled against his legs, it threw him to the ground. She reached out, and her lightsaber returned to her. She ignited the blade, the sound like a bloodcurdling scream. The blade now glowed green and it looked like it was on fire.
The guard was about to reach for his blaster, but the black and gold chain was already wrapped around his neck and squeezing. He almost lost consciousness, but he still saw the blow coming with the sword, which ended his life.
Moments later, she pressed the severed hand of one of Boggo's bodyguards against the door scanner that opened the secure lock to the VIP lounge. All the guests, including the Hutts, were rigid with fear. A slave uprising at the base, and a Gorax that had already put a sizable dent in the blast door, trapped them between these two factions.
Vala flooded the room with poison-green bolts of power that immediately began to cauterize everything they hit instead of burning the flesh. Satisfied, she watched as everyone in the room brutally perished in green flames and acid, while she grabbed her communicator and transmitted the image of horror to her own guests of honor.
The imperial logo appeared on her display. "Lord Malgus gratefully accepts their gift, as agreed we will dispatch landing craft to pick them and their troops up. We welcome the War Beasts to the new Empire!"
Moments later, a Harbinger-class Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace, and immediately began orbital bombardment of the adjacent military installations, while two blockade runners set a course to land at the training facility.
The guards who did not join were mercilessly murdered by the gladiators. The Hunter base lay in ruins and the War Beasts were on their way to Ilum as a mercenary army shortly after. Vala had managed to contact Malgus about the Force months ago under the guidance of B16-21X, after learning of his chipping from the guards.
Arriving on Ilum, Vala was taken straight to the Emperor of the new Empire without further ado.
"Ah, Lady Hati - so you made it, we can now face each other". Some of the direct subordinates in the throne room immediately took a knee when Darth Malgus entered the room, but Vala had enough of kneeling before false masters for now. One of the Inquisitors made a move, but before he could put his hand on her shoulder, Malgus waved it off.
"My units are at your disposal if you are still willing to pay our price, Lord Malgus."
He turned to her, "Ah, right, what was that again? From the existing planetary holdings, it is to be Caladan, and then with sprawling conquest, Dathomir, correct? "
She nods, "That is correct."
He tilted his head to the side, "Why Caladan of all planets, it's such an insignificant world on the edge?"
She nods again "That's right, a class 1 world," she paused in thought "with lots of rain!"
Malgus couldn't help but grin "Ah, the rain. Yes, I imagine that's special when you're from a rocky planet. Granted! We will use your troops as an advance guard to prepare targets for attack. My Master of Shadows will brief you - you can move away."
She nodded and then withdrew from the throne room. Outside, a handsome young man was already waiting for her.
"Lady Hati? I am Darth Jena'tes, and I am told you are my newest plaything?" he asked this with a mischievous grin that seemed surprisingly sympathetic.
"I guess it all depends on the game, doesn't it?" She remained ice cold.
He waved off "Oh, there'll be time for gags and handcuffs once we get to know each other," and grinned. She kind of liked this guy.
"I'm afraid a set of regular handcuffs won't do it there." She still remained cold, but he suddenly grinned and waved a slave over, handing him a large ebony box.
"Well, that's what I thought, so I had these made," He opened the blankets and she looked out, two long bracers, painted glossy black, with dark red accent tones - she was impressed.
"Finest Mandalorian steel, fitted, on the bottom are still, in keeping with Mandalorian tradition, weapons, a thrusting dagger and throwing knives. Oh, and if needed, there's a biometric lock to go with it, in case you want to extend the respect you've shown."
"I'll have to look at those in peace, you wouldn't happen to know where my quarters are on the station?"
He grinned. "The kennel for the fighting beasts is on level 32," making a bow toward the turbolist.
Neither said anything during the ride, but since she was standing behind her companion, she took the chance to study him at length.
In their new quarters they had a little more rest and Vala put on the forearm splints - they fit perfectly. He had to have the data from her archive entry - respect!
He squinted carefully from behind her shoulders "I the gift appropriate for a gladiator of your rank?"
She had to smile, turned around and hurled him across the room directly onto the bed with a power blast. Instinctively, he fired a Force bolt in her direction, grazing her cheek. She licked her lips - this was going to be fun.
A few hours later, the two of them had a good romp. Vala then got ready to leave for Caladan, the new homeworld of her troops. She had her bracers locked. She liked the idea that this Sith had gone to so much trouble to impress her.
She also noticed that the cuffs were magnetically locked when she woke up next to him in the morning, she couldn't separate her wrists. She was about to complain, but saw his grin, "I've been told you kill the people who sleep with you, so I have to play it safe!"
She kicked him and he fell out of bed laughing, said something briefly and the restraints came off.
"You're not like the Sith from the Jedi tales..." she commented as she retrieved her clothes by telekinesis.
"If I were, I certainly wouldn't be here. You're not exactly the spawn of a Jedi either!" he winked at her.
"If I were, I certainly wouldn't be here." She dressed while Jena'tes left her quarters. He paused in the doorway a moment longer, glancing back.
"When you get back from Caladan and get your settlement set up, I'll have something else for you.... if you stay good!"
She just stuck her tongue out at him and hurled a bolt of power at the wall next to his head.
The guy was interesting, the bracers gave her more control to use her powers more purposefully, but still she should stay on guard, every Sith is up to something...
