The Dark Siders Chronicles

A smile crossed over the face of a pretty girl running up the two flights of stairs to her room in the boarding house. “Authority units!” the blonde yelled down the stairs. “Don’t come up! I’m running an illegal spice trade out of my bedroom!”

The two below laughed at their boarding student, not knowing how close to the truth her jest was.

“All right, Kelaa,” the older lady said with a laugh. “She is such a joker. I really am going to miss her.”

In the upstairs room, “Kelaa” packed her things. Three blasters, a half dozen knives she wasn’t carrying on her person, a vibroblade, and a wicked electro-stunner. She stripped off the white shirt and long skirt that she’d worn to school that day and replaced it with a skintight black jumpsuit. She slid black gloves on, smiling evilly.

Everyone lined up, ready for their long awaited graduation. With the background of the class with their diplomas, Kelaa stood up to give a short speech before the main speaker. “My fellow students, trust no one. Even those closest to you may not be what they seem. Now, I as I go...” She rubbed her hands over her eyes like she was wiping tears from them. When she removed her hands, a mask lay over her eyes. The crowd of students surged backwards as she threw off the graduation robe and revealed the black jumpsuit and shook off the wig. Now everyone recognized the dreaded figure, especially when she performed one of her infamous lightning quick draws. Her voice changed timbre and hummed through the room. “The Hawkbat has a few things for you.”

The weapon released its deadly charge, and a red beam sizzled into the Dean of Education’s chest. Only one was necessary, but the woman threw off two more snapshots, hitting the man in his hands. She had no reason for doing this except to torture him. The Hawkbat was not known for mercy.

She felt the guards before they were close enough to fire, so with her longer-ranged weapon and three clean shots, she killed them as they ran. A Jedi parent of one of the students let himself sink into the Force to try and prevent this dangerous woman’s next move. What he felt caused him to softly exclaim, “She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

His wife smiled at him bitterly. “She appears to have things well under control.”

“No.” He moved from a normal voice to a deep, pondering voice. “She has a more direct link to the Force than any I’ve ever seen. She calls on it automatically... almost like most people talk. I would say she has no conscious knowledge of it.”

“What does that mean?”

“Maybe she can be saved,” the Jedi hoped. “She isn’t really a dark Force user in the sense that she’s conscious of it.”

“I don’t think she can,” the wife shook her head as the woman disappeared. “She’s gone.”

“You’re funny!” Seijoutai Priire laughed. She and Nagareboshi were touring the planet of Noquivzor. Boshi was trying her best to control a rather temperamental riding beast. Priire’s was docile as a tamed nerf.

Boshi’s antics as she tried to keep her seat made Priire laugh so hard that she fell off onto the savanna-like grasslands. “Aiiieee!” she yelped. Priire’s startled animal took off like a shot. “Come back here!” the downed blonde yelled. Unfortunately, she scared Boshi’s beast, and it unseated the violet-haired girl, landing her next to Priire.

“Oops.”

“ ‘Oops’ is right,” Boshi sighed as she watched the two animals gallop off beyond the horizon. “I didn’t know they could move that fast.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Priire seconded. “I guess we ought to start heading back... did you bring anything to eat?”

Boshi threw a chunk of grass at her.

“Hey, look at those two girls.”

Ariel turned her bored red and yellow eyes out the window to look. The black dressed girl was visiting Noquivzor trying to find a good training place. She was very surprised to see the two females walking. It was odd to see anyone out on the deserted grasslands, especially in the middle of the day.

“I think we should pick them up,” the guide said.

Agreeing, the driver pulled over.

“Hi!” the blonde said. “My name’s Priire, and this is Boshi. Thanks for picking us up.”

“What were you doing out?” Ariel asked, her voice a smooth purr.

“She started it!” both chorused, pointing at each other.

The guide shook his head. “We’ll be heading back to town now, Miss Ariel.”

Ariel shrugged. She’d seen all she needed to.

Boshi grabbed Priire’s hand and pulled her into another store. “Wow! Look at these great prices!” she gushed, reaching for a pair of earrings.

Priire was less than impressed. She liked shopping, but six hours straight was a little much for the normally tolerant blonde. With an expressive sigh that Boshi ignored, she wandered toward the back of the store. “Wow! Look at these prices!” she exclaimed, mimicking Boshi, who was out of earshot.

Her hand reached into the display case in front of her and pulled up the most beautiful H40 Long Range blaster she had ever seen. It was perfectly balanced and felt made for her hand. She checked the safety and made sure it wasn’t loaded before tossing it from hand to hand. “Sweet,” she purred.

“Like it?” the girl behind the counter said with a smile.

“It’s nice,” Priire said, feigning disinterest. “Could be a little longer.”

The girl nodded. “We’ve had quite a few people say that. Would you like to try it out?” Then, as if remembering something, she introduced herself. “By the way, I’m Mirri.”

“I’m Priire.”

Mirri lead Priire through the back of the store to a firing range. Priire thanked her, charged the blaster, and found herself a firing station. Cool, calm deliberation settled over her as she lined up her blaster at the humanoid-shaped target in front of her.

“Fire at will!” came over the loud speaker.

With the lack of emotion that made the Hawkbat infamous Priire snapped out three quick shots at the head, then two at the chest.

She turned to Mirri. “Not a bad weapon,” Priire remarked. The blonde was about to ask how much, but Mirri’s ashen face stopped her. “What?”

“You’re a murderer... you’re a dark sider.” The fear that transmitted itself across the space between them confused Priire.

“Excuse me?”

Mirri composed herself. “I have a strange talent in the Force that lets me recognize creatures of darkness and those of light by the Force aura they project. Your aura is light tinged with darkness.” Mirri closed her eyes to tune herself into the vision that had told her about Priire. A young girl at a happy time... and then suddenly, she fired on a leader. Blood poured out of the wounded man’s head, and the girl fired at his hands, only to wound and torment the man. She shrank from Priire... right into Boshi.

“Look at these great earrings!” Boshi exclaimed. “They are so perfect... what’s wrong?” Her last sentence transformed into a question.

Priire shrugged. “Mirri here thinks I’m a dark sider. Someone who uses the Force for dark reasons.”

“You?” Boshi laughed. “That’s crazy.”

Mirri shuddered. “Maybe to you it is, but not to me.”

Ariel stared at the store. She needed the weapons inside of it. With a twirl of darkness she transformed. “Dark Murder Power! Make Up!” she hissed. Then a flamboyant movement of her hand brought Black Fire on the door to the shop.

Asking nicely never occurred to her.

“Sabacc!” Priire grinned. “Again,” she added for effect.

The man sitting across from her scowled. “How can one girl be so sithspawn lucky?” he snarled. “That’s the sixth hand in a row!”

Priire smiled easily and gathered up her winnings. “You’ll have to pardon my leaving such wonderful...”

“And now poor,” the man muttered.

“...company,” she continued. “But my destiny calls.”

Literally. Boshi had signaled her on the communicator. “Yes?” Priire asked quietly as she walked along.

“Trouble, Priire! I think there’s a Sailor Sith at that shop we went to earlier!” Boshi exclaimed.

“I’ll be right there!” she told her.

“The pretty Sailor Jedi of Light and Sparkle; I’m Sailor Shooting Star!”

“The starbred Sailor of Stone, Defense, and Redemption; I’m Sailor Asteroid!”

The two girls posed, looking very dangerous in the fading sunlight. Sailor Shooting Star had on a sea green skirt and accents, while Sailor Asteroid’s had a black torso and a dark blue skirt and accents. Her black gloves and Shooting Star’s white ones made them look deadly.

Sailor Sith Ayameru looked at them, the fire in her eyes gleaming. “So? Why should I care about two Jedi wannabes?”

“We’re here to stop whatever fiendish plan you’ve got hatched,” Shooting Star explained. “Hey, I like that word! Fiendish!”

Asteroid went straight to action without pausing to speak to her enemy. “Asteroid Gravity Force!” she called. The crushing force rushed toward the Sailor Sith. Side stepping it, Ayameru responded with her black fire.

Shooting Star stopped it with her attack. “That’s not very nice!”

A stream of black fire jetted at the shorthaired girl. Asteroid reached out her hand and pushed the other Sailor out of the way.

There was a snap-hiss that made the three turn. Mirri stood there staring them down. “Sith, dark sider, Sailor,” she said, taking all of them in with her glance. “Whatever evil you have come here with, must depart. Who will die to prevent it?”

The Sailor Sith scoffed at her. “Jedi,” she spat as if the word was poison. “Leave or die.”

“Mirri, careful,” Asteroid warned.

“I don’t need you to warn me, dark sider!” Mirri said.

Shooting Star sighed. “She’s not a dark sider!”

Ayameru took advantage of the pause in their defense and knocked the two to the ground, shouting, “Black Fire Surround!”

Anger welled up in Asteroid’s green eyes. “Hawkbat Anger Release!” she screamed. A ball of blue and black fire burst from her chest and ricocheted off her two outstretched hands. It burst onto Ayameru and beat her to the ground. The torn and bleeding Sailor Sith growled, “Sith Transport!” and was gone.

Sailor Asteroid looked almost as surprised as Sailor Shooting Star.

“Where did that come from?” Shooting Star asked.

Asteroid looked confused. “I have no idea.”

“It is your anger,” a soft voice told her. Mirri stepped between them. “I said you had a dark aura around you.”

The blonde nodded.

“Well, this is the way you show it. It doesn’t affect you in your everyday life because it is repressed, but it must be released. Be careful with it,” Mirri warned. “Your darkness can kill.”

“The Hawkbat,” Asteroid gasped. “I unconsciously used the Force as the Ha... merc I used to be!”

Mirri nodded. “It has tainted your life and will be with you always.”

Priire leaned back in her starfighter. “Weird, huh,” she said to the stars.

“Yeah,” Boshi answered her. The two were on their way back to the others.

The blonde shook her head. “I wonder what will happen if I use it again?”

Boshi looked stunned. “Use it again? Are you crazy?”

Shrugging, Priire dialed in the course. “Maybe,” was her answer. “Maybe.”