Serran

Chapter 19: Teth

Serran and Atrus had escaped Oba Diah together after they were attacked by the Pykes. The entire squad, except for them, had been killed. After  Serran had killed the Pykes that attacked them, he and Atrus had agreed to escape to a nearby planet for the time being. This planet was the jungle planet of Teth.

Teth is a jungle planet located in Wild Space that is mostly inhabited by the B'omarr order. The B'omarr Order, which consisted of B'omarr monks, was a religious order that believed in isolating themselves from all physical sensations to enhance the power of their minds. To that aim, enlightened monks had their brains transplanted into nutrient-filled jars. Whenever they wanted to move, those bottled brains used spider-like droid walkers. Older monks used four-legged walkers, but younger monks used the six-legged variant.

The ship they used was landed in one of the only clearings they could find on this jungle planet. The clearing itself was small but somehow they had landed the ship in this small clearing.

Serran sat crossed-legged on the grassy floor while Atrus was pacing in front of him. Atrus was chewing on his fingernails as well. He then stopped when he noticed how relaxed Serran was. "How the hell can you be so calm?! Our crew died and the Pykes could be tracking us right as we speak!" He yelled.

"Your crew, you mean. I had nothing to do with them." Serran corrected. He knew how much danger the two of them were in but frankly, he didn't care enough to be worried about it. He knew that he could easily take on ten people.

"Yeah, whatever. But how are you so calm?!" Atrus responded, raising his voice.

"We'll be leaving this planet shortly. I don't intend on staying here for long. The amount of light side energy here is nauseating." Serran exaggerated.

Atrus stood still and stared at Serran who was sitting below him. "Who are you, really?" He asked, suspicious of his companion.

"Serran Lahora, a Sith," Serran responded.

"That's not what I meant. I want to know who you are and if I can trust you." Atrus explained.

"Then who are you? I don't know who you are. How can I trust you?" Serran shot back.

Atrus groaned. "Playing hard to get, huh? Fine." He sat down in front of Serran. "I'm Atrus Coomes, a Republic trooper who recently defected. I left the Republic when my entire squad was slaughtered by some terrorists on Chandrila." He paused, remembering everything that had happened. "A Jedi of the name Meera Tendulkar led us into a trap and didn't send help until it was too late. I will... never forgive her or the Republic."

"Meera?" Serran asked, recognizing the name.

"Yeah. She's a zeltron who is nothing like her species. A kriffing weirdo." Atrus answered.

"Meera..." Serran cursed under his breath, clenching his fists. The rocks and sticks around them started to hover in the air. Atrus flinched and scooted back from Serran. Then, all at once, everything dropped back down to the ground.

"So... how about you tell me a bit about yourself?" Atrus asked cautiously.

Serran rolled his eyes. "Fine." He thought that this whole conversation was pointless. He already knew that he would end up getting this man killed but he might as well humor him before his inevitable demise.

"I used to be a Jedi. I left that cult a few years ago though. I lived in the lower levels of Coruscant for a while and fought in matches for money." Serran said bitterly.

"That's it? Tell me more, man." Atrus pressed.

Serran's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I left Coruscant and studied the Sith on Korriban for about a month. The knowledge I gained there was useful." He paused, thinking of Kleptos. "I killed my master there and then was ambushed by some Jedi who somehow tracked me to that planet. I killed them all."

"What happened next?" Atrus asked, invested in Serran's past.

"I was captured by the Republic and then I escaped and stole the ship I was on." He answered, leaving out the humiliating injury that led to his defeat. "The rest you already know."

Atrus nodded his head. "Interesting." He said. He looked up at the blue sky above them. Birds flew through the air and passed in between the thick leaves of the jungle. "What do we do next? Everyone's dead and the Pykes are coming after us." He asked.

Serran didn't answer. He instead had his eyes closed.

"Are you seriously sleeping right now?!" He yelled at Serran.

Serran's eyes flung open. "The Pykes are near us. We need to leave." At that exact moment, four small attack ships entered the atmosphere.

"Damn it!" Serran cursed. He grabbed Atrus's wrist tightly and sprinted towards the vessel. The ships started firing red bolts of energy at them. The bolts nearly missed them and scarred the grassy floor instead.

The ships dove down and started firing at the surrounding trees, trying to block off their only exit. One of the trees was blasted and fell slowly down to where Serran and Atrus were.

Serran looked up at the falling tree and reached his hand up and drew on the force. With ease, he stopped the tree and pushed it away. He then went back to sprinting. Once they were at the ship, he used the force to open the door and then threw Atrus inside where he landed hard on the metal floor.

"Start flying!" Serran demanded. Atrus picked himself up and darted to the cockpit.

The Pyke's ships kept firing at Serran. One of the ships dove down and made a  line straight toward the ship he and Atrus were using. He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and then ignited it. The ship started firing rapidly at both Serran and the ship behind him. Once the Pyke ship was close enough, he sprinted straight to it and then jumped high over it, and used his lightsaber to slice through the top of the ship, making it crash into the trees and explode.

"Ready!" Atrus yelled from inside the ship. Serran extinguished his lightsaber and reached both his hands out in front of him. The three remaining ships all dove down and aimed at the vessel. At that very moment, Serran drew on the force and focused it all into his fingertips. He could feel the immense power that he was harnessing. It felt amazing. It made him feel like himself. With a single motion of his fingers, bright blue lightning made purely of the force shot out from his fingertips and hit two of the three ships, exploding them and killing the pilots.

He then ran into the waiting ship which immediately started to ascend upon his entry. "There's still one more!" Atrus yelled from the cockpit.

"Leave it! Make them know who I am." Serran responded. The ship shook as Atrus flew it up into the atmosphere.

"Anywhere you wanna go?" Atrus asked, ready to input coordinates for a hyperspace route.

"Coruscant."