Form II: Lightsabers Clash.

[Wei Wu Wei]

The former Jedi yawned expansively. It was late, and the puzzle would keep until tomorrow.

Wei wasn't sure if Dooku would try to do anything to him in his sleep, but to his limited knowledge, Force Ghosts couldn't do much more than disappear, reappear, and talk to you. Wei never reached a decision about where he was going to sleep: his head hit the table and he fell asleep with his nose in his datapad.

Morning broke on the Dooku manor. Soft yellow sunlight poured into the windows of the dining room, puddling here and there on the dusty, moth-eaten rugs. One golden sunbeam lit on Wei's face, caressing his cheek with a gentle warmth.

"Good morning, Chariss," Wei muttered with a smile. "I love you more than you could possibly know." He made a snuffling noise in his sleep, and turned his face to the side. His cheek hit the datapad.

Suddenly a loud noise filled his ear, jarring him violently from his dream.

Wei, listen to me, son. It was his father's voice. Last week, when I traveled to Kashyyyk on business, I ran across something...interesting. It wasn't anything physical, you know. Just some local stormtroopers on security detail discussing the planet. They said that once upon a time before the Clone Wars of the Old Republic, there was a star map on the planet floor that led to a powerful artifact of the Force. Someone named Revan was looking for them long ago. I don't know how grunt Stormies get that kind of Jedi info, but after asking around, it turns out it was true.

Wei had heard the story of Revan and the Star Forge studying in the Jedi Archives as a Padawan, but the odd map he saw last night in the crib designs didn't seem to match what he knew of the story of Revan.

That's neither here or nor there, his father continued, but this is what was the real deal. One of those stormtroopers said he heard something similar about another set of secrets or clues related to the Jedi they've been hunting. Turns out, that's why the Stormies were on Kashyyyk to begin with. They were hunting Jedi and knew Yoda had some sort of connection to the Wookies. Sure seems like they're way to invested in killing Jedi to me. Anyway, Son, I went to the cantina set up at the outpost and let the soldiers drink and talk a while, when one of the officers starts some passionate rant about how they're looking in all the wrong places. They should be looking on worlds where Jedi were once very influential. He said he was there when they ransacked the archives and he found out that any amount of Jedi artifacts could be found on the other worlds where the Jedi held a lot of sway. He managed to tell me, and so I worked the planets into your personnel file. I also mapped them out for you in the crib design. I know you would have figured it out on your own, but I thought I'd tell you anyway. I just wanted you to have whatever was out there, since you were a Jedi and all. I know how much it meant to you to be a member of the Order, and how much it tore you up to see it fall. I figured if you could get your hands on whatever Jedi things are out there, it might make you feel better. I don't know what you'll say to Chariss. If I was sure it wouldn't be dangerous, I'd tell you to take her along. She's got spunk. I love you. Say Hi to your wife for me.

Wei tapped the screen to close the datapad and sat for a moment in the light of dawn, ingesting the words his father spoke. So that's what it was all about. His dad stuck his nose where it didn't belong. For Wei.

He had to go. He had to see if he could find whatever it was his dad died for.

Are you ready for another day of training? Dooku's voice asked from behind his left shoulder.

But it would keep. First, he needed to master Makashi.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Well, Wei thought it would keep. Dooku could pick out Wei's every tiniest negative emotion and inflate it to a point where the thoughts in his head kept him from focusing. Once he nearly lost an arm to the new training droid, before finally lopping off the mechanical limb himself.

And still the lightsabre's hum remained constant and unchanging in both pitch and volume. Even as Wei grit his teeth in an attempt to bite back the angry words he wanted to fling at Darth Tyrannus, he kept his eyes and ears fixed on the sabre.

Days turned into weeks, and Wei's impatience and irritation grew. Wei scrapped droid after droid, and yet more remained. Each one seemed to get faster, or could anticipate his actions sooner. The Sith Ghost plied pressure to Wei's frustration, which only made things worse.

Finally, after kicking aside the remains of the third training droid for the day, Wei pitched the droid's head at the button on the wall in the courtyard. The stone doors ground open for the next droid to emerge, but Wei stepped through the opening instead.

With a mighty burst of Force Speed he lunged through. The opening was only just big enough for his slim profile . The red blade of the borrowed curved-hilt sabre found a home in the one of the droid's optical sensors, slagging the cpu just behind them.

The doors finished opening, paused, then shut again. The floor beneath him lurched, then he felt himself descending to some unknown depths beneath the manor's cellars.

The lift's gate slid back, revealing a warehouse the length and width of the manor as a whole. It was half full of combat droids, each equipped with its own lightsabre.

"There's got to be 200 of these things here."

208 according to the inventory.

"How did you manage to get 208 lightsabres?"

By killing 208 Jedi.

It was an exaggeration. It had to be. It was just Dooku trying to tick him off again.

"Activate them."

I beg your pardon?

"Activate them. All of them. I'll finish this business once and for all, and then I'm going to go. You can't keep me here, and I won't be subjected to your wheedling anymore."

I sense your frustration. Your anger. Use it. You cannot defeat them all without it. Let the Dark Side aid you in this task.

"I'll be fine, thanks."

You think some monotonous noise will help you here?

"Go haunt a broom cupboard."

Have it your way.

Darth Tyrannus faded away, leaving Wei in the large rectangular space. 416 robotic eyes glowed an intense red. The noise of the droids' sabres igniting echoed off the walls. It was almost deafening.

Wei offered the Makashi Flourish: an X drawn in the air with his lightsabre before his Salute. The droids offered the same.

The droids advanced on Wei.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei couldn't just hear the humming of the lightsabres. He could feel it. The noise echoed off the bare walls of the chamber and amplified, causing his skin to tingle. The Jedi's mind was clear and free. He allowed himself to shut his eyes. The clear feeling in his mind trickled down throughout his body. It gave him a clean feeling. Like all the pain, anguish, anger, and guilt got flushed out of his system.

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony
There is no death, there is the Force.

The first droid came into range. Wei flicked his wrist, and the droid lost its forearm. With a twist of his elbow, the blade found the droid's midsection, bit into the metal, and cut through easily.

The next droid stepped over the remains of its twin. Wei ducked low to avoid a horizontal swipe. As he stood up, he stepped forward and thrust upward. The blade entered through the droid's chest and emerged out of the top of its head.

The first dozen or so went down quickly. Soon Wei figured out why. The droids seemed to be networked. When one fought him, the data transmitted to the other units, which then downloaded and unpacked the data. Apparently during the training in the courtyard, the droids had time to process the information, and were up to date on his combat techniques by the time they stepped into the courtyard.

Without the precious time spent to process their opponent, the droids showed slower response times, and could easily fall to the same tactics. Really, it only meant one thing: Fighting the droids in the back of the line would suuuuuuuuuuuck!

[Wei Wu Wei]

Fighting the droids in the back did suck. The floor proved difficult to walk on as the clutter of robot parts grew. He could only move about the room by sliding his feet. If he lifted them off the floor, there was a chance he would step on something and twist his ankle, or fall over. Then all would lost. He'd never get out.

If only he was good at moving objects with the Force. All the debris in the room made for a near limitless supply of ammunition.

Such as it was, he would have to do what he could with what he had.

He found the droids could not keep up with high speeds, though it pushed him to his limits to Force Boost his attacks to speeds faster than the droids' servos could respond. Wei found himself thanking the Force that he could cause his body to move as fast as he could think. Still, the exertion wore on him. As each droid fell, they began to pile up on one another, until Wei was constantly fighting opponents uphill.

Wei stood against the wall surrounded by a mountain of droid debris. Had he destroyed them all? He had lost count. Wei felt exhausted. The humming of his lightsabre dulled the pain of effort.

The former Jedi cast about for the lift gate when he heard it. A distinct sound of metal footfalls and the clatter of rubbish shifted underfoot. Wei Wu Wei raised his eyes to the top of the pile to find one lone droid different from all the others. Its optical sensors looked narrow and angry.

"Statement: I see you have destroyed my comrades, lifeform. But we saved the best for last!"

[Wei Wu Wei]

The droid performed the Makashi Flourish, ending in the Salute. Wei copied the motion. The droid leveled the lightsabre at its foe. It's speaker crackled for a moment before the machine's "voice" kicked in.

"Mocking Query: Are you going to stand there until world's end, or are we going to fight each other?"

Wei didn't like it. Between the odd pops of the droid's ancient audio module, the fact that it announced what sort of statement it was making before it actually engaged conversation wheedled at him so. It would have been amusing if he wasn't having to fight.

He didn't want to advance on the droid. It was bad enough fighting someone who had the high ground, but if he tried to climb the droid pile, he'd have the extra disadvantage of poor footing.

"Mockery: Come now, Master Jedi. I am, after all, only a droid. Surely you should just be able to use the Force to overpower me?"

It was a Dark Side droid? Wei was confused. Since when did a droid ever engage in smack talk? The way it talked, it sounded like Dooku trying to get him irritated.

There was no helping it. Wei took a deep breath. He pointed his lightsabre at those emotionless red eyes. He charged.

The droid took kicked a head at Wei as the human approached it. Wei swatted the thing aside, finished closing the distance, and aimed a light, scolding cut at the droid's ankle. The machine slid its food out of the way. It slashed down at Wei's head, causing the Jedi to duck out of the way and slide a short distance down the pile.

"Boast: I am the King of this mountain, you soft and squishy thing!"

"

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei was exhausted. His face hit the scrap heap. The jagged metal debris cut into his face as his lightsabre slagged everything it touched. The hum reflected how he felt: empty.

But empty was good, right? Peace, serenity. These were things a Jedi sought most fervently. But he needed to get up. He had to clear this once last obstacle. Wei pushed himself up, careful to avoid the hot metal his lightsabre blade left behind. Wei held his stance on the mountain, and allowed his mind to turn in on the empty feeling inside him. The empty pang of exhaustion drained out of his body to make room for the quiet nothingness of the Force. Nothing, but substantial. Empty, but full. It was the strangest feeling starting from the top of his head to the bottoms of his feet. And then, beyond. Wei could feel the connection between his feet and the pile, the pile and the floor, the floor and the walls, the walls and the ceiling, the ceiling and the manor above, then between the manor and the surrounding landscape.

He could especially feel the connection between himself and the final droid that stood at the crest of the refuse pile, making the air vibrate with sounds.

"Proclamation: I will end your miserable life now, human!"

The droid started forward, letting the shifting rubble under its feet carry him down the small slope towards its adversary. Wei could sense the enemy's sword arm start the lethal cut. He crouched ever so slightly, just enough to avoid the blow, and countered with an elegant vertical slash from where the droid's navel would be to the neck.

"Admission: I underestimated you..." The droid's voicebox slowed as it lost power. The shell continued to clatter down the pile, where it lay broken and useless to anyone except for scrap metal.

Dooku reappeared in the lift as Wei stepped inside it. You remind me of myself when I was a Jedi. Though I have left my Jedi ways behind me, I admire and respect how masterfully you gave yourself to the Light. You are indeed a Jedi, and one well worth respecting. Use Makashi well.

Wei nodded. "I will. Thank you for teaching me."

The former Jedi waved good bye as the Force Ghost faded away for the last time. He put his lightsabre back in his sleeve where it belonged, replaying those final moments fighting the droid in his mind. Maybe he wasn't beyond redemption. But why was his mouth so dry?

By the time Wei reached the spaceport his mind was on drink yet again. He took a sip of Corellian brandy to wet his whistle. As the booze splashed down his gullet, so too did all the old feelings as he remembered his wife and family.

"So much for that," Wei muttered to himself. Drunk again, he stumbled into the cargo hatch of a nearby freighter to sleep off his stupor. The ship took off, carrying its stowaway to only the Force knew where.