Master and Apprentice

Actually the following story is about Corwin and Sylar...

Shortly after the Corellian Incident

"A Royal End" Part One

"Corwin, there's a message from General Craken on the holo reciever for you. He's asking for a favor." Sylar says to Corwin who's currently swearing as he's attempting to re-engineer/re-assemble the White Witch.

"Okay, I need a break anyway. This is truly frustrating and will take a LONG time to fix..." The White Witch is horribly battered from his encounter on Boonta, when we saved Alec.

The holo awaits Corwin on the bridge, General Craken is tapping his foot to some unheard tune.

"Yes, General, what can I do for you?" Corwin asks

"Good work on Corellia. Things are really coming together after they passed the Militia Act. However, I have a favor to ask of you." Cracken says

"You can always ASK, my friend." Corwin responds cheerfully

Cracken wrinkles his brow, and looks back at Corwin and says "It's just a comm relay station. No more than two days out from your current position. It was an Imperial listening post and we have intel that suggests there is some valuable intel to be had from the place. It's supposedly abandoned, with its systems on automatic and had recently received a transmission from somewhere in the outer rim. I want you to check it out if that's not too much trouble."

"Certainly." Corwin Says

"AND General Amber, you have been re-instated into the New Republic Military, officially as of today." Cracken adds

"really, I thought I resigned." Corwin says with a smile

"No, I never sent the paperwork in." Craken smiles back just as brightly

"Okay, Topper and I will look into it" Corwin says and the transmission ends

Two days later

"Corwin, I sense a lot of life signs on the station. For an abandoned listening post... That's simply strange." Sylar says

"Perhaps the Empire beat us to the message. We'll find out shortly. Jeeves drop us and cut out, find a nice place to set the Ace down and wait for us to signal for pickup."

"Gotcha Corwin" Jeeves says uncharacteristically, taking some true joy in commanding the Ace once again

After drop off, Corwin and Slyar are observing the base with binoculars.

"Yeah, just as I suspected. Imperial Troops. We should get down there and find out what this data is." About a dozen Stormtroopers are posted outside the entrance.

"That's odd" Sylar says scanning the Landing pad for the facility

'What's odd?" Corwin asks

"They have no shuttles or ships on their pad, and we neither sensed nor detected anything with your superior sensors on the way in..." Sylar adds

"Yes, that is odd. This is feeling more and more like a trap to me. Be mindful of what you sense while we are here." Corwin says

"I feel cold." Sylar Remarks

"Yes, I feel it too. The presence of a darksider..."

Less than ten minutes later Corwin and Sylar have made short work of the Stormtoopers guarding the entrance and still no call for general alarm goes up.

"Looks like they were expecting us." Corwin remarks

"I sense that too" Sylar says

"No, I meant the data panel on the door" Corwin chuckles "It says, welcome General Amber"

"What?" Then Sylar looks at it "How more bizzare can all of this get?"

"I think we are barely scratching the surface on the weirdness and danger." Corwin says opening the unlocked door

"Once inside, lets use our duet saber routine. I think we're going to have to act as one to survive this." Corwin says with a distant look on his face

"Have you seen the future?" Sylar asks

"No, it is simply a VERY strong feeling of mortal peril."


Corwin and Sylar walk into the station, largely devoid of equipment. Finally finding their way to the command center that had been cleared largely. They both walk up to the sole active data terminal. Several doors on either side of the grand circular chamber ring the two Jedi. The holo transmitter suddenly explodes into life and em its the towering image of the Emperor.

"Ah, General Amber, It is so very nice of you to come." The Image of the Emperor says

"Ah, Imperial Impostor." Corwin says boldly "I don't know who you are..." He pauses, sensing a presence he had felt once before, then continues regarding the image with more scrutiny "How did you find my cupcake to taste?"

"I have never..." Then the image grows angry, realizing it had been baited into a trap of social parlay

"Yes, it is as I had known all along. You are NOT the Emperor. For I sent him a cupcake, prior to the battle of Endor." Corwin chuckles

"You DARE to mock me! Do you know who I am!!!" The image asks

"I have a good idea. I have briefly encountered you before, when we stole the location of the Second Death Star from the Imperial Data Grid. You appeared when we stole the intel on ship deployment and lingered to acquire more. Even resisted a Blaster bolt..." Corwin remarks sizing his adversary up

"Soon, you smug sonuva*****, you will lean the true meaning of all my planning that has been set in motion." The image says angered

"You are, indeed, no Emperor. I would not be able to rouse him as I did you. Besides, Luke Skywalker confirmed that he was destroyed on the Second Death Star." Corwin says confidently

"Skywalker is dead, you could not have..." Pausing to size up the Jedi in Corwin "Perhaps, I underestimated you."

"Whoever you are, know that you are dealing with no novice in the Force. I, like my friend Skywalker before me am a fully trained Jedi and the Force is my ally." Corwin says bodly, for one of the rare displays of his confidence in his ability. He was not one to brag, but this was more a threat than mere braggery.

"I see you have brought your little padawan." The Image turns to regard Sylar

"He's not little and assuredly, his skills are more than a match for any of your lackeys" Corwin snaps back

Sylar beams, even in the cold emitting from the darkside image

"WE SHALL SEE!!! General Amber, I welcome you to your demise. BEHOLD!" The Image says as all the doors to the circular room open as one and a Royal Guardsman emerges from each entry as one in perfect unison. All in the signature red armor, all with Force Pikes, all but two... Two have dual bladed, wicked staffs. "Enjoy your end, this shall be entertaining to watch."

Indeed, it was a trap. The "New" Emperor had sent the entire retinue of Royal Guardsmen to this station and set it up to bait Corwin here. The Royal Guard were of the last, unwaveringly loyal troops that could identify his deception masquerading as the Emperor, as they could only confirm this in person, the holo image commanded the to attack. "Kill them slowly for my pleasure. HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH!!!!" His wicked laughter filling the chamber.

Corwin nods to Sylar and receives the confirming nod in return. The two Jedi, Master and Apprentice, draw their lightstaves in unison whirling them out in a precise motion. It is such a precise maneuver as bring their unlit staves up into a salute to their enemies, as they move back to back, that the only way you would ever know they were not one person in two places would be by facial identification as they were attired in nearly identical garb.

The Royal Guardsmen closed, and the Master and Apprentice waited. The were surrounded, and the Master and apprentice waited. The first wave of combatants closed to strike and they burst into harmonious motion. Their dual bladed lightstaves igniting in perfect union, spinning in a ballad of deadly light. Rather than seeing two combatants working in unision, it was like observing the SAME blademaster in two places at once.

Master and apprentice seemlessly flowed from one position to another. Whirling blue luminescent death flollowed in their wake. The were unmatched, as they cut a swath through the Royal Grardsmen. Toyal Guardsmen... Loyal, fanatically so, to a dead man.

"Don't you see the shift? You Emperor was dead by my hands for weeks before he "re-emerged", open your EYES. See the truth, I do not lie." Corwin stated easily in a voice that carried over the cries of the dead and dying Royal Guardsmen.

Only two did not engage, the ring leaders perhaps? Corwin thought to himself

"What are those two waiting for?" Sylar asked as the two rolled apart facing one another for a brief moment

"They're the best of the Emperor, and there's a conflict between them... And perhaps what I just said is sinking in." Corwin says between alternating rotations of his lightstaff.

"Well, then, that's you're party." Sylar comments with a grin as he dispatches the last of the Guardsmen "I want no part in the battle of that magnitude. NRI briefings say that one is Karnor Jax and the other would have to be..." Sylar pauses to think

"Kir Kanos" Corwin finishes for him

"Yeah... Out of my league, boss, that's your party." Sylar says seriously

"Understood, at least I'll have a witness to this debacle." Corwin says smiling over his shoulder at Sylar

"What are you planning? Oh, oh no, not the fizzy glug bottle..." Sylar starts shaking his head

"Oh yes, I think so" Corwin smiles "Just to be sure" as he pulls out his fizzy glug bottle

Corwin closes his lightstaff, but not his concentration on enhancing his abilities with it. Before him stand the two most lethal Royal Guardsmen ever known to have lived. One with warped force sensitivity of the dark side and the other... The other, Kir Kanos, was just too damned good.

Waving to the holo image with one hand, without breaking stride and looking directly at Kanos (or who he thought was Kanos, the non force user). "Behold, your false Emperor. He is a pupeteer, and I think both of you are well aware of this." Corwin comments

You can hear Jax Spit "Ah, the famous Corwin Amber. A terriroist of the highest order. The Butcher of Kulari."

Laughing "Ok, so let me get this straight, for the record." He looks at Kanos chuckling then back to Jax and is almost completely consumed by the humor of the situation "You, a man at the top ranks of the Imperial structure never figured out that the Empire Created that Lie. I USED that lie to strike fear into the hearts of your own troops. I used your OWN propaganda against you. It's humorous that you can be that stupid. But what could I have expected from a Darksider."

The rage was visibly building in Jax, it was evident. It was also evident in the force surge of hatred as he attacked. Spinning his dual bladed vibro blade staff he exevuted what should have been a manuver that would have cut corwin in half from crotch to skull.

The light staff came to life at the last possible moment, striking down, deflecting the cortortsis woven weapon. Then Corwin "Broke" his staff, swinging his second blade down and around trapping the weapon, and with a surge of focused force ability he neatly severed the staff in half. The process of which, shut down both of his lightsabers. Accustomed to this, unlike any other jedi (from sparring with Tengi), Corwin abruptly released both of them and caught Jax in his off balanced momentum. Spinning him, he jammed his fizziglug bottle up underneath the breast plate of Jax's armor, using force enhanced strenght, he lifted Jax in the same motion and threw him into a side corridor. He threw him so hard, that Jax flew through an opened blast door and thudded against the wall on the other side of it. With a flick of his wrist Corwin closed the door.

A blade was immediately present at his throat, but he was prepared. Almost imperceptibly he moved, Kanos's traning kicked in immediately, instinctively. And he matched the movement, blade still at Corwin's throat.

"By your own admission you killed my Emperor. Why? Shoudl I allow you to live?" Kanos Asked, removing his helmet with the other hand

"You and I" Looking right at him "Are not enemies. Perhaps, at one time we might have been. But no more. I have no ill will tward you. It is not our destiny to die here together." Corwin says in a level, unflincing tone.

Kanos studies him "You are an interesting man, not afraid to die at all..."

"No, not at all. When it is my time, I will die like all men die." Corwin responds "But it is not your or my time."

"You speak the truth of the Emperor. You and I are not anything to one another." The blade dipped down

Corwin stepped back, collecting his lightsabers and to Sylar's suprise holstered them

"What? You're just going to let him live?" Sylar Asked

Corwin looks at him and says "Yes, he is no more an enemy of mine than Ackbar ever had been. I just gave Akbar more hell for his costly tactics..."

Looking at Kanos "I suggest you get out of here now" Corwin says with concern

"What? Why? Would I..." The door to where Jax was thrown opens. Jax is standing there, pulling, laboriously, the bottle of fizzy glug out of his armor. Then Kanos looks to Corwin who is pulling out a comlink

"No... You wouldn't... Ok, I'm leaving" And he spun and ran.

Jax looks over to Corwin "AMBER!!! DIE!!" as he begins drawing a blaster with one hand and is still tugging at the bottle

Corwin and Sylar begin to move with Jedi Speed and Jax's curses begin to drag out as if time was slowed. Corwin moves to hit the button on the comlink...

Jax's danger sense flairs, he recognizes the danger, and rips off his breast plate tossing it into the corner with the bottle that breaks as it hits the floor. Sighing, thinking at a safe distance "It will take more than..." And he realizes that the warhead of a Proton torpedo is lying on the floor... It was the last mistake the darksider ever made... As the torpedo detonated so did the rest of the base, as it had been wired to wipe out Corwin, Sylar, and the Royal Guardsmen...

Later...

"Where do you think he will go?" Sylar asked

"I don't know, but I think he's got some soul searching to do. I got that much from him in the exchange. His heart's not in this anymore. He's still deadly, just time... In time he will find his place. Perhaps, we will be adversaries, perhaps allies, perhaps I will never see him again."

The End