The empty streets provided no restriction to the speeding hovercraft that hurtled at breath-taking pace trough the darkness. The Jedi straddling the vehicle maneuvered the twists and turns with expert precision, not allowing anything to keep her from what she knew to be a life or death situation. 

An earpiece relayed the continuous stream of audio from devices that had been placed in the bar weeks prior to the meeting, a link that had recently echoed with blaster fire and screams of the dying, a link that now conveyed only fizzling static. 

Brave onlookers were tentatively peering out onto the street where the bar was located, drawn by the blaster fire and their own insatiable curiosity. The sudden presence of the ominous Jedi sent them scarpering back to safety.

Lexa dismounted swiftly and did not hesitate to stride directly through the front entrance, lightsabre in hand to combat anyone still lurking around. It turned out to be an unnecessary precaution; the only bodies inside the establishment were those of the dead. 

Carefully picking her way through the carnage, she headed for the back room where the long awaited meeting had taken place. There was no sign of the blonde anywhere which could mean one of two things, Lexa just hoped that she was safe but was aware of how wistful the thought was. 

The private rooms held a similar scene of destruction, however the face of one woman caught the Jedi's gaze, a face which had been memorised carefully on mission briefs and holorecords. Lana, the Republic spy, had clearly gone down fighting if the number of bodies strewn around the room was anything to go by, but it was not yet clear if she had passed on the vital information that this mission had been carefully built around.

An incoming transmission diverted her attention from the Republic casualty. An unknown caller was attempting contact and Lexa knew exactly who it was going to be even before the hologram shimmered into existence. 

'Kaan.'

Her icy greeting was only meet with a gloating smile, her brother knew that he held the upper ground. 

'I see you found my latest business venture sister. It's a shame that you weren't faster, I believe you missed your blonde friend by what must have been....ah, only a few minutes it would seem. How unfortunate.'

There was nothing sympathetic in the comment, only cruel satisfaction.

'What do you want Kaan?'

'I'm sending you my coordinates. I think it's time for a family reunion, that is if you want to see your friend again. The choice is yours.'

The Sith Lord terminated the connection and his image snapped out of existence. If anything, at least the bastard was always to the point. There was no doubt that he would now have Clarke in his grasp, and with that knowledge she was left with only one decision. 

She paused briefly to contact her crew, recalling them back to the ship before returning to the hovercraft and leaving the nightmare of the bar behind her with a heavy heart. That was for the Republic to cover now, there was nothing she could do. 

Her return to the ship was met with a flurry of well-meaning questions, but Lexa ignored them all as she went about readying the ship for departure, finally turning to the concerned faces as she entered the coordinates into the console. 

It took only a few moments to brief the team on what had occurred and, as expected, they were not entirely convinced by her decision. The main argument of course was the awareness that this was a lure with which to kickstart some abhorrent Imperial game plan, all of which Lexa had already considered in great depth. 

'Firstly, we will not abandon Clarke. The only certainty in this scenario is what will happen to her if we ignore the summons. Secondly, Kaan has been interwoven in our path for months now and that is no coincidence. It is time we faced him and learnt of his intentions for us and the Republic. There could be a lot at stake.'

 This seemed to reassure her crew and with their differences resolved the group set off for the coordinates provided.

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'Well isn't that a reassuring sight.'

The Jedi's ship was slowly drifting towards a larger vessel, one that loomed ominously in the distance, waiting for its visitors to dock.

'I don't have a good feeling about this,' Sharr continued, her eyes locked with the nearing vessel. 'Are you sure about this?'

'Ready the airlock. Bekk comes with the me, the rest of you will stay here.'

Sharr nodded reluctantly and retreated from the viewing window. They had been summoned here by the Sith, walking in with force would do them no good. Lexa would rather they were ready for departure at a moments notice, not wanting to risk their lives more than she already had. 

The ship rocked almost unnoticeably as the two vessels connected and there was nothing left to do but finally face her brother. 

The Jedi was weighed down by a familiar sense of dread as she took her first steps through the airlock with Bekk at her side, the rest of the crew watching with trepidation through the monitors. 

Flashes of the recurring vision that had haunted her for the last month came to mind, and she wondered if this was where it had been leading her. This showdown with her brother could not end well and the premonition of death and darkness was in no way comforting. 

'This way,' she murmured, already sensing her brothers presence deep within the ship. 

Enemy soldiers were placed carefully at every intersection, statues for the moment until they received further orders. It was unsettling to feel so many eyes on them, eyes that were concealed behind dark masks.

Finally they emerged into a large area at the front of the ship, one that had been cleared apparently for this meeting. A wide glass front allowed for a breath-taking view out over the vast darkness that enveloped the ship, not that Lexa was paying it any attention as she focused on collection of individuals within the room. 

Similarly to the corridors, enemy soldiers were spaced along the perimeter of the wall, passively watching the newcomers but ready to take arms at a moments notice. 

Kaan stood centrally, hands clasped behind his back as he waited for his sister to near, his face also concealed beneath a mask, underneath which Lexa was certain there would be a cruel smile. 

Finally, there was Clarke - her eyes burning with the injustice of her situation but wisely held her tongue. Stun cuffs had been fastened around her wrists, two alert soldiers placed just behind her with weapons held at the ready. Lexa could imagine that she wasn't the most compliant of prisoners. 

A quick glance assured her that the blonde was okay, at least for the time being, and so returned her gaze to the waiting Sith. 

'Brother, you know there are easier ways to request my presence.'

Her tone was formal at best, carefully hiding the slither of anger that blazed like an ember at his unnecessary, violent dealings to draw her attention. Kaan dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand, stepping forwards to gesture to his surroundings. 

'It only matters that you are here now sister, and how long I have waited to finally be reunited with you.'

'If that is what all you wanted, then why all the dramatics? You have been meddling in our lives for a long time and it stops here.'

An odd sound reverberated throughout the gleaming dark surroundings and it was a moment before Lexa realised that it was the morphed sound of laughter being emitted through the mask. 

'Dear sister, this is only the beginning.'

That familiar sense of dread surged back to the Jedi as her brother reached up to remove the mask, her eyes locking with those that she remembered from so long ago. Such memories would do her no good here, this was not the brother that she had once known and loved. 

'Release Clarke and we will be on our way, the Republic would not take kindly to your actions.'

'I care not for the Republic, I have much greater plans that don't concern them.'

Lexa frowned as Bekk shifted uneasily at her side. There was a thrill of excitement radiating from the Sith and it was becoming clear that this would not be a peaceful encounter.

'Bekk, return to the ship, I need you all ready to leave if this turns south.'

He instantly made to protest but she silenced him with a forceful look, this was no time for disobedience. As much as she valued his loyalty, she would not expose him to her brother's dark schemes. 

'Go, run along Zabrak, I have no need for you here,' Kaan interjected, abandoning his mask on a narrow surface as if preparing for some spectacle. The wisps of dread were cascading into waves, Lexa's Jedi senses preparing her for whatever nightmare they had walked into. 

Bekk reluctantly backed out of the vast room, quickly retracing his steps as the blaster doors slid back into place behind him. 

'Enough of your theatrics brother, tell me what you want.'

Clarke watched the exchange taking place before her, nervously shifting her weight as a similar sense of foreboding sent chills of expectation running through her body. This would not be resolved easily and without conflict, that much was certain. 

Kaan swept forwards until he was barely an arms length from the Jedi, his eyes soaking in her presence. 

'You. This is all for you. We are family and we should not be on opposing sides. I want you to join me.'

'You think I would join you? I detest you Kaan.'

Kaan merely smiled in return. 

'There's the anger and hatred that you try so hard to ignore. Not anymore. Today you will embrace who you are, with my help you will be magnificent. It has been revealed to me and such visions are never wrong.'

A moment of stillness held the room at the statement, a stillness that was quickly broken when Kaan spun curtly and gestured to one of the guards. 

'It is time.'

As Kaan prepared for his final strategic ploy, Lexa glanced over to the blonde, their eyes locking in joint despair as they recalled the Jedi's earlier words regarding her visions. 

                              'Visions of what?' 

                              'Death, Pain, Darkness, and at the centre of it...' Lexa paused, her forward fixed                                     gaze appearing almost blank as she surrounded herself with the memory. 

                             'You.'

It was all happening as predicted, this was where they had been destined for all along. If Lexa had been right about what the vision meant, then there was nothing that either of them could do. 

The vivid emotions that had been momentarily present of the Jedi's face were soon banished with frightening efficiency and a detached expression took their place. Whatever was about to happen, Lexa would make damn sure that this would not end with Clarke's death. She would not allow it. 

Clarke saw the change taking place, wishing that she could step forward and stand beside the Jedi, together they had always faced the darkness in the galaxy. She felt utterly helpless, wanting nothing more than to whisk them both away from this nightmare. 

The blaster doors slid open without warning and an entourage of guards entered, roughly pushing four prisoners ahead of them with encouraging prods with their blasters. 

The blondes mouth first fell open when she saw her friends being marched through the door, quickly tightening in anger when they were pushed down to their knees besides the Sith lord. They all looked rather ragged and there was no doubt they wouldn't have been taken easily. 

Bellamy was closest to the Sith, followed by Octavia, Murphy and Raven. They glared ferociously at their captor, remaining strong in the face of their dire situation. Murphy virtually rolled his eyes when he saw Clarke stood frozen on the far side of the room, shock flitting across the faces of the other smugglers before confusion manifested in wonder of what exactly they were doing here. 

The appearance of the prisoners concerned the Jedi, but not half as much as the appearance of the next guard did, or more specifically what he held carefully in a gloved hand. 

The lightly glowing artefact was the focus of her attention as it was paraded to the centre of the room where the Sith waited patiently. Its inscriptions were highlighted by the shifting patterns of light, inscriptions that she recognised from the holocron that she had encountered many months earlier upon meeting Clarke. A holocron that they had delivered safely to the Jedi temple for safe keeping, or so they had thought.  

It's power was unforgettable, virtually surging with unleashed potential as it was nestled carefully into Kaans hand. 

His eyes reflected the dancing light, dark pupils alight with the tendrils of power that he held, eyes that snapped up to meet the Jedi's. His game was coming to an end, he had played his final hand. 

'Shall we begin?'

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