How Darkness Falls

The Super Star Destroyer Pride of de Devastator departed from Deominia without fanfare, but with definite purpose.  "To where are we bound, Lord de Devastator?" General Tamar inquired.

"We’re on a course for Yavin," the Dark Lord replied.  " I have business of a personal nature which I alone must attend to."

It was night on Yavin IV, at the Jedi Academy.  Kyp Durron had just finished telling the children a bedtime story about a mighty Duinoguin Jedi known as S’qas’lik.  The children were supposedly falling asleep, and Kyp had prepared a cup of hot stim-tea to drink after his evening meditation.  Setting into a position on his chamber floor, he began to clear his mind, when the hairs on his nape stood on end.  He heard Giveria, the youngest scream.

What in…?  What could be wrong? he thought, as he charged for the door.  Opening the door, he saw immediately what the problem was.  His children were all there assembled before him, held by ferocious-looking creatures.  Several stormtroopers were at attention and ready with blasters as well.  In addition to all of this, Domino de Devastator stood outside his chamber to greet him.
"Greetings, Kyp Durron," Domino said in a friendly tone.  "I have no doubt that you miss your wife.  I shall now take you to her."

Kyp could see that resistance could bring harm to his children, so he resigned himself to capture.

#####

The entire operation took only 4 minutes, executed with strict Deominian precision.  Pride of de Devastator left the Yavin system and entered hyperspace, bound for the Durron family reunion.

It was morning when Marina woke up, and she found that the sun was already overhead and heat had already permeated the canyon floor.  She sat up quickly—she needed to get home—and stretched her stiff limbs.  She began to collect her things and walk back to her ship—and then froze as the whine of repulsorlifts cut through the still morning air.  She looked up in fearful apprehension—A ship, here?  No one ever comes here!—to see a streamlined shuttle descending into the canyon.  Without knowing how she knew, she knew he had come for her.  Not Kyp:  Domino de Devastator.  Vaguely she wondered how he had known where to find her—even Kyp hadn’t known that—but that was not the most important thing to think about.
At least, she thought with a confidence she had only just regained, at least now that I’ve gotten everything straightened out, I know he won’t be able to turn me to the dark side.
But somehow, she was still afraid…as though what would happen next was beyond every bit of willpower and determination she could muster against the temptation to come…

Domino checked on the sleeping prisoners as the ship plied through hyperspace.  Domino had placed Kyp Durron and his children into a deep trance for the journey to Ka’tsh’ith.  Satisfied as to their condition, he returned to the bridge of Pride of de Devastator for the remainder of the trip.
General Tamar approached the Dark Lord. "My Lord, we are due to arrive at Ka’tsh’ith within the hour.  You may want to begin preparations for your landing shuttle."
"Duly noted, General Tamar.  I'm certain that Commander Krith and his stormtroopers can handle that task in an adequate manner.  I prefer to remain on the bridge and observe our approach to Ka’tsh’ith.

"Yes, my Lord."

#####

The Super Star Destroyer emerged from hyperspace and loomed ominously over Ka’tsh’ith like a cloud of malevolence.  Within moments a Sentinel-class shuttle dropped out of the hangar bay of the Super Star Destroyer, escorted by six TIE Defenders.  The shuttle dropped toward the atmosphere of Ka’tsh’ith and made an abrupt dive planet-side.

Domino is obviously at the controls of the shuttle, General Tamar presumed.  It is said that his habits in piloting tend toward those of a young pilot fresh from the academy.

#####

The shuttle came to rest next to another vessel in the only clearing in the canyon.  Domino stepped off the shuttle and lifted his head in a manner that gave the appearance of testing the air.  "Ah…Marina.  You have sensed my presence.  Indeed we do share a bond.  You can run from me no more."
Domino turned to the stormtrooper as he stepped off the shuttle’s ramp.  "Commander Krith?  You know it’s hard to tell without prying into your head."

"Yes, Lord, it is Krith."

Domino wiped a smirk from his face.  "Good then.  Half of your squad is to remain here at the landing site with one of the Julayp squads.  Marquis will remain here as well."  Domino paused, thinking.  "You and the rest of your squad will come with me, as will the other squad of Julayps and Rayla.  We should have nothing to fear here, but it is wise to be ready for anything."

"I could not agree more, Lord de Devastator."  The stormtrooper commander nodded inside his armor as best he could.

The party departed from the landing site, the Durron family bound and held by the Julayps.

#####

It was not a long march.  Domino could feel Marina’s presence growing stronger with each step.  At the last moment, he rushed on ahead of the rest of the party and disappeared from view.

Marina had felt her family the moment the shuttle touched down.  Justified, righteous anger rose inside her, buffering her resolve to live by the Light.  She confronted the party, a blaster in one hand and her lightsaber in the other.
"Nice of you all to drop in, but I think that I shall have to decline your self-invitation. Let my family go."
From behind her, Domino stepped out of the shadows and allowed his presence to be felt by her.
I knew he was here, Marina thought.  How did he mask his presence from me when he was so close?  It didn’t matter now, as she turned to face him.

"Hello, Dawn Marina Skywalker Durron," Domino sneered. "I would like to discuss a few things with you."

Marina’s grip tightened on the handle of her lightsaber unconsciously.  My family…she thought, her heart sinking.  I know what you will do, Domino.  I know how you will be able to get to me.  But she remained silent.  If there is anyway I can stop this… She bit her lip.  "Light help me if I am right," she whispered, her voice inaudible.  She hoped Domino hadn’t heard her.  She stared at him, apprehension and dread numbing her into silence.  She felt as though she could not move.  She stood quietly, expectantly, waiting for her nemesis to make the next move.
Tension was almost a tangible thing, hanging thickly in the air between them.  She forced herself to remain stoic, impassive.  Running through a few Jedi calming techniques, she studied before her.  She could still feel Kyp, feel the children.
Please, she pleaded silently, don’t hurt them.  But she would not say it aloud.  She was afraid to suggest anything to Domino.  She was afraid of what he might do if she replied.
The lightsaber was slick and sweaty in her grip, and she clenched it harder, as though that would make her steadier.  He will not turn me, she resolved, her lips forming a thin determined line across her face.  Not ever. I cannot let that happen.  I will not.
It was only when she saw his sneer widen that Marina realized she had spoken aloud.  His cruel smirk sent shivers up and down her spine, but she refused to allow her unease to show.

"I will stand firm," she told him, managing to finally quell the leaden fear into serenity.  "I will not fall."  And her voice did not quaver.

Domino stood before Marina and allowed his menacing grin to become one of true amusement.  "‘I will not fall,’" he taunted.  Domino raised his arms in a warm gesture.  "Marina, you left me in such a rush.  I was unable to tell you what I thought of your resignation from the Imperial Navy."
He paused and pointed to Kyp and the children.  "It is obvious to me now that you must have had much on your mind while on the Knightfall.  I realize how important your family is to you, so I though it would be nice to give you the opportunity for this ‘reunion’.  I can see you are overcome with gratitude."
The Dark Lord clapped his hands together and a Julayp flew over to where the Jedi stood.  "Marina, your family has missed you," Domino continued.  "Greet your eldest daughter."

As Marina held her child with one arm, she kept her lightsaber ready in her other hand.  She was not at tall surprised to see the air around the Dark Lord become polluted with dark side energy.  I will remain calm.  He cannot defeat me.  He cannot turn me.
Marina stood tall and said nothing.  I can’t let the children see how uneasy I am; they’re scared enough already.  She refused to let Domino goad her into action.  Holding Deanna closer to her and whispering comforting words in her daughter’s ear, Marina kept her eyes on Domino, the Julayps, and the remainder of her family.  Please, she thought, release them and let this nightmare end.  But she would not give Domino the satisfaction of seeing her beg.
It was silent for a long time, Domino simply watching her comfort Deanna with a fiendish smirk on his face.  Finally, she spoke up. "I have nothing to discuss with you.  I am not as vulnerable as I was when I fled Deominia.  I know where I stand now, and you cannot turn me."

The leer only grew more pronounced and devious.

At Marina’s side, Deanna whimpered and clutched at Marina reflexively.  "Mommy, what’s gonna happen to Daddy and Dalen and ‘Veria?"

Marina spared a glance at her son and younger daughter.  Dalen, all of ten years old, was trying to be brave, but he was frightened to the point of tears.  Giveria seemed numb with shock and terror, her eyes wide, her mouth shut in a thin, pale line.  Marina looked back at Deanna.  "It’s going to be okay, sweetheart.  It’s going to be okay."  She didn’t care what Domino thought about that, but she thought he was silently laughing at her reply.
Kneeling beside her daughter, yet still ready to stand and fight if need be, she looked up at Domino.  "What do you want from me? You can’t turn me."

"Your family must mean very much to you, for I can feel your concern, your fear for them.  My offer is simple, Dawn Marina Skywalker Durron.  Join me, learn about the dark side and become my servant or…" Domino smiled, nodding with each word to emphasize his intent, "your family will DIE!"

"NO!!!  Giveria!" The first words, the only words, she could think to scream.  Marina’s pained yell echoed the words she had shrieked 32 years earlier.  Tears came suddenly, a flood of misery and grief.  She felt like she was ten years old again, watching her best friend being murdered, helplessly screaming her name one last time.
"Giveria…" The barriers crumbled, all of her determination, all of her resistance to the pain that stabbed through her heart.  Her knees buckled, and she sank to the ground sobbing, no longer able to hold herself together. Marina felt like she was dying, as slowly and painfully as her daughter, like someone had ripped her soul away and was cutting it to pieces.  It hurt so much that it was almost a physical aching sore in her chest.  Clutching her hands over her heart, Marina wept.
She was just a girl.  Just a kid.  My daughter.  Oh, Light, it hurts, oh please help me, please… She could think nothing else, say nothing else, do nothing else.  It burned like acid, etching its way deeply and searing into her soul.  She did not think she would ever stop weeping.

Vaguely, she felt Domino’s eyes upon her, could feel him gloating and smirking in evil satisfaction.  His joy was in her loss, her grief.  But there was more in his eyes than simple cold-hearted pleasure.  Eager anticipation glittered darkly in his gaze— anticipating what? she wondered, and then knew.  He was waiting for the anger and bitterness and hatred that would surely overwhelm her in the face of this hideous tragedy.
No anger, she thought, tears falling hard and fast.  I will stand firm.  The words sounded hollow in her mind, but she clung to them tightly.  No hate.  No hate.  Pain for what was done, but no anger at the one who did it.  Marina refused to allow anything but her grief to overtake her.
She brought her head up, stubbornly forcing the tears to stop, wiping them away.  "I do not hate you, Domino."  She meant it—there was no rage or resentment inside her.  Only a hurt immeasurable but not unrecoverable.  For although her aching heart denied it, she knew that time would eventually mitigate the pain.

Domino’s face was at first incredulous, but it quickly hardened to something cold and stony.  He motioned to the Julayps, and they dragged Kyp forward.  Kyp lifted his head to look at her slowly, large dark eyes betraying his anguish and suffering.  The pain that he felt pierced Marina as deeply as the sharp cries of her daughter had.

"Oh, Kyp…"
Her husband said nothing, but in the silence she felt the force of his love for her, the pain of loss and shock, and the willpower to remain calm and still despite what had happened.  He faced his demons and conquered them a long time ago, Marina realized.  Mine keep coming back to haunt me.
She studied Domino’s wicked expression apprehensively.  And now, she thought, I will face everything once again.  Face my past and all the hell it caused me, face the darkness I have overcome and must defeat again, face the pain and cruelty before me.  If I stand against Domino, I have conquered my demons and there will be no more turmoil.  I will find peace and strength as Kyp has.  If I stand today.  Oh, Light, don’t let me fall.  Don’t let me fall.
Her eyes followed Domino as he stalked over to Kyp, hoping beyond all hope that he would not do what she was certain he would.   Domino reached down and grabbed a handful of Kyp’s dark hair and yanked his head back.  Marina winced at the same time as he did, her eyes brimming with sympathetic tears.

Domino’s voice was cold and harsh now, shattering every last bit of hope she has held onto.  "I will not hesitate to kill your husband as well, Marina—unless…" He allowed her to finish the sentence for herself.  They both knew perfectly well what he wanted.  Domino’s gaze as he waited for Marina’s reply was sharp and penetrating, even expectant.  He knew.  He knew what she would do, what she had to do.  He had known all along that his plan would not fail.

Marina swallowed hard, forcing panic and outrage down.  Even if he had planned it exactly like this, she could not let him kill Kyp.  Trembling, she forced herself to stand, then forced herself to stop shaking.  She would not be afraid.  She would face all of this, face this demon—and surrender to it.

Marina took a deep breath.  "No," she said, her voice slightly quavering.  The tears had cleared away, thought the hurt and shock and horror had not, and she faced Domino unflinchingly.  "That’s not necessary.  You want me, you got me."

She felt Kyp’s sudden realization and horror.  He flinched, but said nothing.  In his gaze, she read his thoughts.  ~No, Marina.  Don’t, please.  It’s not worth it.  Don’t!~

She ignored him; this was her choice, her obligation, not his.  She returned her steady gaze to the Dark Lord.  "If you allow my family to leave unharmed, and if you swear never to be the cause of any further harm to them, then I will go with you willingly."  Marina took another deep breath, steeling herself for what she would say next, what she would sacrifice.  "And for as long as I live, I will belong to you wholly, mind, body, heart…and soul.  All that I am, all that I can do, is yours."
She lowered her gaze to the ground.  There was no turning back now.  She belonged to the Dark Side completely.  But it was a choice this time, not an accident.  It was a sacrifice.  Her sacrifice.

Domino smiled.  She claims no anger, no hatred, but I suspect she is only resisting her natural emotions, seeing things from her own childish perspective.  She has, however, surrendered herself to the Dark Side in despair, which is something I can use with sensational results.
Domino appointed Rayla and the Julayps to guard the Durron family as he led Marina and the stormtroopers to the landing zone.  Kyp was too busy dealing with his own pain and comforting the remainder of his family to concern himself with following the Dark Lord and his party anyway.  Once Domino and the stormtroopers had reached the shuttle, he signaled for Rayla to begin her trek back to the landing zone with the Julayps.

"Your time on Ka’tsh’ith has been quite productive, Marina.  You have managed to purge yourself of all but the slightest remnants of the Dark Side inside of you, but," he paused to catch her eye with his, "you must never underestimate the power of the Dark Side.  I will never boast that the Dark Side has more power or strength than the Light Side, but it is far more accommodating."
Domino had started the preflight warm-up procedures for the shuttle while talking, and noticed that Rayla had just entered the landing zone.  "I will teach you the more desirable path to the Force.  It is not natural, as residents of the universe, to be submissive to the Force, allowing it to have such a passive acquaintanceship with us.  The Force can be manipulated to our every whim, giving us control of it over all aspects of life.  Were you not so ensconced in your Master’s teachings, you would have known this and been able to prevent the unfortunate death of poor Giveria."

Marina could not sit still and listen to such things without speaking her mind.  "I will not hear her name spoken with such abandon, de Devastator!  I am not the one who cut her down.  You took her life all on your own!"

"Marina," Domino countered, "I only did what I felt would cause you to join me.  I would not have slain your daughter if you had willingly joined me.  Indirectly, you are at fault for her premature passing.  Do not place the blame on me."

Marina sat with her thoughts.  There seems to be something of uncertainty in what he is telling me, but it also makes a weird kind of sense.  Have I killed my own daughter?  Did I play the primary role in her death, however inadvertent it was?

"Precisely," Domino said, patting her on the back.  "I knew you would see it."  He looked at her as he received acknowledgement that Rayla and her party were on board.  "You shouldn’t seem so surprised.  You should know that I have access to your thoughts almost as easily as I have to my own, as you have to mine if I let you."  He shook his head.  "No, I’m sorry.  You are not nearly strong enough to break through my mental shields to forcibly read my thoughts, but if I drop my barrier you could see into the heart of my dark thoughts."
For a moment, Domino’s face took on a somewhat passive countenance, and Marina’s mouth dropped open and her face turned white as snow.  "Feel privileged, Marina.  Few know of my activities while I dwelled in the realm of the dead.  Now even you know what to expect when you make your own journey into the afterlife."

"I am truly a servant of the darkness now," Marina said with total resignation.

Marina turned her face away from Domino.  As much as it pained her to admit it, what she had said was true, and she knew it deep down in her soul.
I have saved my family, she reminded herself in a half-hearted attempt to cheer herself.  It didn’t help.  Her mind ran back down a track that was getting to be all too familiar.  Yes, but at what cost?  She clenched her fist tightly, doing her best to ignore Domino’s intimidating presence beside her.  I have sold my soul, and this is one promise I cannot—dare not—break.  Was it worth the price I paid?  Images of her husband, the twins, flashed through her mind, closely followed by the freshly vivid memories of her youngest child’s death.  It was worth it for them, but for Giveria… She could not finish the thought.
Doubt tugged at the edges of her mind, uncertainty hounding her mercilessly, guilt shoving her thoughts toward another well-worn path of thought as she spared a glance at her new master.  He’s wrong!  He must be!  Oh, Light, it can’t be true.  It can’t be my fault!
But the relentless shame doggedly pursued her.  It was my fault, wasn’t it?

For a moment, she was not sure the thought was her own.  Hoping furiously that Domino was no longer paying attention to her thoughts, she quickly looked at him again.  He was smiling silently to himself, but that smile was knowledgeable.

Marina closed her eyes as her mind brutally resumed its suicidal course.  He’s right.  The revelation tore at her, but she had no will to deny it.  Her strength had failed her.  His was the hand that killed my child, but mine was the one that did not prevent it, although I had the power to.  She felt like crying again, but was too weary to sob.
She barely heard Domino’s words when he spoke to her again, but she noted distantly that it was something else that indicated his ability to read her mind.  Can’t I block him out? She wondered.  I kept Vader out of my mind.  My own father never suspected that I was a traitor—much less a Jedi and his own daughter!  I should be able to block him out as well.

Domino’s answer chilled her.  "Don’t waste your time on foolish things, Marina.  There is a bond between us now; an eternal link that permits me to know you as well as you know yourself.  That is something Vader never could have managed."  His gaze was piercing.  "You will never be able to bar me from your mind."

Marina’s stomach did queasy flip-flops, and she looked away from him uneasily.  A bond?  I know he can’t be lying, but… She shuddered.  A bond is such an intimate thing, and it brings me even closer to him, strengthening the chains that bind me to him.  Indeed, there will be no redemption from this.
Her fingers strayed to the wedding ring she wore on the fourth finger of her left hand, her eyes following the motion.  This ring no longer has any meaning for me, she realized miserably.  I am no longer Kyp’s wife.  Her gaze returned inevitably to Domino’s face.  I belong to him now.  I am no longer my own.  The bright gem caught a ray of light and sparkled brightly, reminding her of what she had lost.
No longer my own.