The Dark Siders Chronicles

Little Souru blinked his blue eyes. He looked around his dark room and frowned. It was scary in here at night. And he had a bad feeling that something was going to happen.

"Mom?" the cute ten-year-old called softly. "Mom?"

He felt his mom put a finger to his lips, telling him to be quiet. The little boy wondered to himself where they were going and why everyone was so harried feeling. There was something bad happening; now he was sure of it. "Mom?" he asked again, more panicked. "What's happening?"

"Shh, honey," his mother said, hurrying him down the stairs into the basement. "It'll all be okay, I promise."

There was a very loud and scary-sounding crash upstairs. Souru heard the measured tread of stormtroopers behind a man's harsh tones. The boy couldn't understand what the man was saying, other than shouting something about a night on Corellia.

Corellia... that was his home. It was so pretty and green. Souru looked at his mother with confusion as she shoved him into a secret recess in the basement wall. The boy opened his mouth to protest, but his mother shushed him again.

"Don't say anything," she warned him. "You've got to stay here and live on for the honor of Corellia."

"Oh no, Mom," he gasped, realizing what her words had to mean. "But...!"

His mother shook her head again and closed the compartment.

Just like she told him, Souru was silent. He was silent when he heard the door to the rooms above his crumble. He was silent during all the blaster fire. And he was silent when he heard the screams from his mother and father.

Souru heard glass figurines shattering in the living room. He knew that there had been a shelf with several delicate and graceful statures of Corellian animals that his mom had kept on the window ledge. When he heard the glass shattering, Souru knew he'd never see the sunlight shining through the animals and making pretty designs on the floor. And if he wasn't very, very quiet, the little boy knew he wouldn't ever see any sunlight again.

Whoever the madman was who'd broken into the house with the stormtroopers, he was now in the basement.

"I know you are here," the man hissed. "I can feel you."

Souru knew that was impossible; something about the compartment made it where no Force-signatures registered. He was just going to have to wait until this person left. Then he'd come out and see if there was anything left of his life.

In the meantime, he stewed. No one should be able to hurt his family like that, no one. He hated the fact that he was helpless while his family was being so hurt. Deep inside, Souru swore never to let anyone he loved be hurt ever again. Never.

"I'm not sure that's a good sound."

"Me neither. Hand me the hydrospanner," Priire commanded.

Souru looked through the box of tools to place the appropriate one in Priire's outstretched hand. "Here."

The tool disappeared with Priire's hand and the upper portion of her body back under the ship. There were various mechanical sounds cascading around for a minute until Priire pulled herself out and stood up.

"Did you fix it?"

In response to Souru's questions, Priire hauled back and kicked the ship so hard that part of the decking worked loose.

"I guess not." He frowned. "So what are we going to do?" Priire sighed. "I guess you guys are going to have to use the Legendmaker. There aren't enough of you to justify using the Dreamer. Get your stuff and load her up," Priire said, but her mind was elsewhere. A familiar shiver in the Force told her that something wasn't right and that there was nothing she could do about it.

"Koumi!" Priire flagged down the silent girl. "That Eternity ship is down for the count. So you guys are going in the Legendmaker... hey, where are you going, anyway?"

Selonia, Koumi answered. In the Corellian system.

The pilot frowned. "Nom said she wants you to pick up some supplies. You know the little... thing..." Priire stared at her friend to make sure Koumi got the point. "...about the Legendmaker? Let's keep that between the two of us. Unless worse comes to worst."

Koumi nodded. Yes, "Mother." She rolled her eyes. You've told me before.

With a nod, Priire accepted that. Then she was off on another track. "Hey! Dye-boy!" she shouted, flagging down Kendren.

"What was that about?" Rene asked, tightening the bow in her braid.

The silent sailor smiled. Nothing that important.

"This ship is not well laid out," Souru commented. "You could make it twice as big if you took out all these ladders and accessways."

"Don't let Priire hear you said that," Rene joked. "You might end up on her hit list."

"It's so long," he laughed, "that she'd never get to me!"

Even Koumi joined in laughing. They'd finished most of Nom's shopping the day before. Now all they had to do was find a Sailor Sith and kick his or her butt. Reports of a Sith matching Areil's general description had been pouring in from the Corellian Sector. Since it was Souru's home turf, Kyoko suggested that he go check it out. But everything was quiet on the planet of the catlike beings.

Souru walked along a busy street, watching the passers by. He'd hadn't been to his home sector in a long time and he'd forgotten how beautiful it really was. A female scream brought his mind back to the present. His green eyes narrowed as he looked over every single being with the assessment of a true warrior.

There. Souru spotted the woman who'd yelled. His eyes went wide. Standing near her was Darth Syn. The Sith's blue eyes caught Souru's for an instant. The blonde haired man flipped his commlink on and called for Koumi and Rene.

"Darth Syn!" Corellian Knight shouted, holding his lightsaber at the ready.

The Sith slowly turned his attention from the woman by his side. "Hello, Corellian Knight," he hissed. "I'm busy now. Come back later."

Shaking his head, the Corellian Knight advanced. "Leave the woman alone."

"But she doesn't want to leave," Darth Syn smirked. "She's mine."

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Sailor Dantooine shouted, coming up behind Corellian Knight.

Kessel, beside her, nodded. We're here to protect the galaxy from you scum.

"Scum is such a relative term," the Sith laughed. "Look at your Sailor Asteroid. Or Dathomir. Or even your Knight over there," he said, pointing at the Corellian Knight.

The man he indicated frowned. "Me? I think you're mistaken."

Darth Syn shrugged, rippling the dark red cape that hung from his shoulders. "Hate is of the Dark Side, Jedi."

"Excuse me?"

Instead of answering the knight's question, Darth Syn turned to the two females. "Dark Eyes!" he hissed, stretching out a hand.

Kessel gasped and tried to look away, too late. She and Sailor Dantooine were under the evil knight's spell. The matching blank looks on their faces would have been comical if the situation had not been so serious. The Corellian Knight clenched his hand in to a fist by his side.

"Oh? Did that make you angry?"

Corellian Knight turned his green eyes on the other man. "Release them."

Shaking his head, Darth Syn replied, "I don't think so. No, I don't think I will."

As the blonde raised a hand to attack, Darth Syn nodded at the girls. They - unwittingly - formed a human shield. "If you do anything to me, these lovely ladies will take the brunt. So... play nice." His baby blue eyes glinted. "And I won't mention the fact that you're helpless to save them."

Walking around as if he were addressing an audience, Darth Syn continued. "They aren't the only ones you were helpless around, are they. What about your parents? Hmmm? Your family keeps getting hurt and you can't do anything for them. Soon there won't be any family left for you."

"The Senshi are my family," the Corellian Knight ground out between his teeth. "And I've helped them plenty of times."

"But not now," Darth Syn purred. "Now you can't do a thing while I walk away."

Sailor Kessel's mind was incredibly powerful. Out of all the senshi, she was probably second or third in strength. She began to shake off the wisps of mind control much quicker than her companion. As she did, she saw the Corellian Knight kneel on the ground. Instinctively, the dark-haired senshi dove out from between the knight and the Sith, dragging Dantooine with her.

Inside of the Corellian Knight, sheer hatred was boiling up. He knew that when anyone messed with his family, he went crazy. But this was different. More controlled... darker... he held his hands out in front of himself. "Hurting..." he said, referring to hurting any member of his family. Bright beams of yellow and red energy pulsed between his fingers, netting them together. "...Hate..." The beams brightened and melted into a two-colored net. "Entrapment!" The net faded to black as he threw it at Darth Syn.

The dark attack entangled itself around Darth Syn's body, eating into him. The Sith turned back to the Corellian Knight and snarled. "I warned you there was darkness in your heart!" the man snarled as he disappeared.

Souru looked at his hands as if they were covered in blood. Rene put her hand on his shoulder and spoke softly. "It's okay. Whatever it is, we can stop it."

The handsome knight wasn't so sure.