Beast

While Khan and Belia were off playing in the fields, Sheva led the transports towards the first crystal deposits in the mountains. She stood in the cockpit and watched the rolling peaks.

Even from her position, she could see a small settlement and the base of the mining camp. She only had twenty Rattataki and a mixture of fifty droids.

"The other two ships break formation and surround the settlement. I don't want any of these people sneaking away! Anyone who resists will die." Her eyes flashed, determined to complete this task. She refused to become meat on a chopping block.

The two ships that flanked her sides broke off in different directions. They came in from different angles and spooked the Cereans below.

"Open fire on the outskirts, drive them towards the mine!"

The ships began firing under her command, opening large gullies from the powerful ship cannons.

She watched the civilians run away in a panic and smiled. She moved to the rear of the ship when she saw everything going as planned. When she arrived, the ship turned around and opened the hatch.

Sheva jumped out before the ship could even land. She spread her arms to the side like a bird and flew. Looking at the Cereans below, she ignited her blade and rolled forward.

She chopped down and fell like a guillotine, splitting a Cerean in two. Her saber cut through its cone head like paper.

"Ahhhhh!!" The people screamed as both halves of the body collapsed to the side.

"Do not resist!! Gather in front of the mines if you don't want to die!" Sheva's voice seemed to carry power and overwhelmed the screams.

But she didn't realize the people didn't understand her.

Behind her, the ships touched the ground and the Rattataki came out with their guns pointed. 

Unlike the ragged guns they used before, these were far more advanced with laser targeting systems. The sides were lined with fly-sized cluster bombs that could target anyone tracked by the laser. The blasters also had two triggers, one to shoot and the other to spew out a stream of flames.

Under the barrel was a bayonet vibroblade. Everything about this gun screamed death. The best thing was the guns were mechanically locked, set to self-destruct in the hands of unauthorized users.

The droids spread out to create a perimeter along with the droids from the other two ships.

"¶|×|׶€¶€¶€ ^€°€=€×=€." A Cerean woman came forward and yelled at Sheva. Furious when she saw her people surrounded and being corralled like animals.

"I don't know what you're saying." Her eyes scanned the fleeing crowd. She smiled when she saw her troops were marching closer and enclosing the net.

"But it seems like you aren't surrendering." Sheva launched forward and stabbed out with her blade.

The woman crossed her arms in a desperate attempt to defend herself, but the lightsaber went right through her arms and chest.

The woman's eyes widened in surprise. When her body fell to the ground her people screamed in agony.

Over a hundred people came from behind the fleeing crowd and charged forward. They held ceremonial-looking curved swords in their hands that hardly seemed like they were meant for battle. 

Those leading the charge wore leather armor, mounted on large colorful birds with long necks and razor-sharp beaks the size of a short sword.

Sheva's eyes went cold when she saw this. She figured out they weren't fleeing from fear but a desperate struggle to regroup.

She pointed her green blade forward and screamed. "Fire!!!" The veins in her neck bulged, furious that she was deceived by what she saw as a lesser civilization than her own.

The Rattataki opened fire first, followed by the droids. She didn't have any Heavy Assault droids because they take up to much space. The assault droid's drones and the assassin's rifles were the only things that could help.

The mercenary droids pulled out their machetes that flashed with electricity. Waiting for the charge to arrive.

The Cereans fell under the constant blaster fire but Sheva didn't wait. She ran towards one of the charging birds with blaster fire streaming all around her.

While she may not be good at lightsaber combat, she is a true warrior honed by the pits. 

The rider raised his curved blade to chop Sheva down, but when she approached the bird, her body fell forward and she slid on her knees.

The blade swung well over her head and her lightsaber chopped upward as she pushed herself from the ground. The blade cut through the bird's legs, into its body, and finally cut the rider in half diagonally.

Their bodies violently collapsed to the ground but Sheva was already in the middle of the Cerean's charge and couldn't be bothered.

"Long live the Matriarch!!!" The Rattataki cheered when they saw her valiant form. Their people respect strength and Sheva was finally starting to prove herself to them.

Sheva's eyes darted around, chopping through anyone who got near her. Because they lacked blasters and lightsaber-resistant material, she could fully let loose, no one could stop her blade. She was like a white wolf in a chicken coop.

No matter what the Cereans did they couldn't put any pressure on Sheva and her group. Any who tried to escape the encirclement were picked off by the assassin droid's rifle.

When there were less than sixty people left, Sheva had already pushed them back to the mines.

"¶€×€°€¶|€¥¢°." They started dropping their weapons, the fear on their faces was evident. 

They charged forward bravely but couldn't even touch their opponent.

Sheva sighed when she saw this. She knew it was their technological advantage that won them this battle. These people were even worse off than her own when it came to that. If she failed this she could already imagine her fate.

If that heavy droid that mowed down her people came, she doubted if any could survive.

"Secure these people, Lord Khan wanted prisoners. Bring in the spider bots and strip this mine!" She looked at the boxes of crystals and began ordering the droids.

Back in the house, Belia opened her eyes. She could feel the results of the Sheva's battle through the force. The ripples it caused could be felt while she meditated. Every loss of life was like throwing a stone into a river.

While it disturbed the water, the entire flow was unaffected. In the end, it just added more nutrients to the river bed.

She felt like her understanding of the force had increased at that moment. 

She looked at Khan with worry in her eyes. The more one struggled against the force, the harder the currents tried to bring them down and wash them away.

The dark side acted like giant swirls of water, affecting everything around them, but the force is an ocean. No matter how hard they struggle, they will be eventually overwhelmed.

But she knew, the force needed the dark side. Without it setting off waves, it would become nothing more than a pool of stagnant water.

Determination flashed through her eyes. All she could do was direct the currents around Khan, no matter what form they took, while he continued to grow. Until the day he fully became a natural disaster the force couldn't wash away.

Khan knew nothing of her struggles. Fully concentrating on the task at hand. He controlled the force around him to shroud his presence from the ripples in the force.

Every movement was like tuning a radio. He had to find the right frequency to get a result. He knew this technique was crucial for his plans.

This continued until night finally fell.

Khan opened his eyes. "It's time."

Belia opened her eyes and nodded. "The capitol is fairly far from here, we can take some Aryx to ride."

"Those big birds?" Khan searched his stolen memories of wildlife on this planet. "I'm more interested in the Crown of Silk. The fact it can feed off people's force energies and contains a powerful neurotoxin is fascinating."

"They can only live for three days, take some when we get ready to leave this planet." Belia shook her head and stood up.

Khan rose to his feet with the crystal in hand. As he did, his form changed to that of the male Cerean downstairs. The two walked back to the first floor and found the family sitting around a table.

"You'll take this to the forest opposite the field you worked in today. Lead the other villagers to find Shi-Maku-Lindu and Norn-Aba-Lindu hiding there and wait with them." He gave the crystal to what looked like his identical twin.

"Yes sir." He touched the crystals, the moment he did Khan could feel his control over him slipping and pulled it away.

"Interesting. This crystal really does wonders for the mind." Khan shook his head and found a cloth to wrap it in and put it in a bag.

Giving the bag to the man, he found that nothing happened.

"I'm looking forward to our meditation chamber if a crystal this big has such an effect." Belia watched the man put the bag over his shoulder.

"It should have diminishing returns after a certain amount. The effect should be greater but it should have a limit." Khan shook his head and left the house.

Belia followed him out along with the rest of the family. While the Cereans waited, Belia went to grab two Aryx.

Khan raised his hands and the force spread from his body.

Strands slithered into every house and licked all the people inside, trying to find those with the most delicious taste. None of them were force sensitive, so he chose those with the most abundant life force.

The force seeped into their bodies and dominated their minds.

Khan's arms dropped and they waited. It didn't take long before nine people came out holding bags of their own.

"Go." Khan waved his hand and sent them away with the original family.

When they walked away, Belia came back leading two birds by the reins. "I'm surprised you didn't just kill everyone to take the crystals.

Khan walked forward and took a rein. "I'm not an evil person. I wouldn't do something for such little gain. Everyone needs a bottom line, otherwise, it makes us no different from beasts."

Khan jumped onto the back of the bird and looked at Belia. "Let's go, we'll have to ride all night."

Khan kicked the sides of the bird with his heels and took off. 

Belia watched him with shining eyes. She jumped on the back of her bird and chased after his shadow.