The Sith soldiers guarding the entrance to the subterranean tunnels were strong in number but weak in spirit. They offered only token resistance to Farfalla and the rest of the Jedi advance units who came against them. The last battle of Ruusan quickly transformed into a mass surrender, with the enemy throwing down their weapons and begging for their lives.
Farfalla walked among his troops, surveying the scene. General Hoth was close behind with the bulk of the army. He'd be surprised to find the war already over when he arrived.
'How goes it?' Farfalla asked one of the unit commanders.
'The Sith troops have us outnumbered three to one,' the commander answered gruffly. 'And they're all trying to surrender at the same time. This is going to take awhile.'
Farfalla gave him a hearty laugh and slapped him on the shoulder. 'Well said,' he agreed. 'Sometimes I think people only follow the Sith because they know we will take them alive if they lose.'
'Don't you dare take me alive, Farfalla,' a voice gurgled. Turning his head sharply, he saw a heavyset Twi'lek lying wounded on the ground.
The injured Twi'lek struggled to his feet, and Farfalla was surprised to see that he wore the robes of a Sith Lord. His face was so covered in blood and gore, most of it his own, that it took the Jedi a moment to recognize him.
'Kopecz,' he said at last, remembering him from days long gone, back when Kopecz had been a Jedi. 'You are hurt,' Farfalla continued, extending his hand in an offer of friendship. 'Lay down your weapons and we can help you.'
The Twi'lek's meaty hand lashed out to slap him away. 'I chose my side long ago,' he spat. 'Promise me death, Jedi, and I will give you a warning. I will tell you Kaan's plan.'
One look at the Dark Lord's wounds told Farfalla his enemy didn't have long to live in any case. 'What do you know?'
Kopecz coughed, choking on the blood welling up in his throat. 'Promise me, first,' he wheezed.
'I will grant you death, if that is what you truly seek. I swear it.'
The Twi'lek laughed, pink froth bubbling up on his lips. 'Good. Death is an old friend. What Kaan has planned is far worse.' And he told Farfalla about the thought bomb, his words sending a chill down the Jedi Master's spine. When Kopecz had finished he bowed his head and took a deep breath to gather his strength, then activated his lightsaber.
'You promised me death,' he said. 'I wish to fall in combat. If you hold back at all, you will be the one who dies here today. Do you understand?'
Master Farfalla nodded grimly, igniting his own weapon.
Lord Kopecz fought valiantly despite his wounds, though he was no match for a fresh and uninjured Jedi Master. In the end, Farfalla fulfilled his promise.
Chapter 31
The scene that greeted General Hoth as his army came upon the battlefield was as unexpected as it was welcome. He had braced himself for a vision of grim and bloody slaughter, fierce combat with neither side giving nor asking quarter. He had imagined the corpses of the dead would be strewn about, trampled beneath the feet of those still fighting desperately to hang on to their lives. He had come expecting to see a war.
Instead he was witness to something so unbelievable his initial reaction was one of suspicion. Was it a trick? A trap? His fears were quickly allayed when he recognized the familiar and smiling faces of other Jedi all around him.
As he surveyed the aftermath of the last battle of Ruusan, his own face broke into a smile. There were only a handful of dead, and from their dress it was clear that few of them had served in the Army of Light. Most of the enemy had been taken prisoner: they were sitting calmly on the ground in large groups, surrounded by armed Jedi. Yet even though the Jedi were keeping close watch on their captured foes, they were laughing and joking with one another.
He reached out with the Force, and he felt wave after wave of relief and joy washing out from Farfalla's troops. The soldiers under his command were quick to feel it, too. Seeing the obvious victory, they broke ranks and ran cheering and laughing down to join their fellows in celebration. Hoth resisted the urge to shout out a command to regroup and simply let them go.
The endless war was over!
But as he walked through the milling throngs, accepting the salutes and congratulations of his followers, he realized something was wrong. The battlefield was full of placid, unarmed Sith… but he saw not a single Dark Lord among their numbers.
The sight of Master Farfalla running at full speed toward him from the far side of the field did little to soothe his unease.
'General,' Farfalla said, sliding to a stop and gasping for breath. He snapped off a quick salute. The lack of his typical over-the-top bow further fueled Hoth's mounting concern.
'I must have taken longer to assemble my forces than I thought,' the general joked, hoping his disquiet was simply misplaced paranoia. 'It seems you've already won the war.'
Farfalla shook his head. 'The war isn't over. Not yet. Kaan and the Brotherhood, the true Sith, have taken refuge in the caves. They're going to unleash some kind of Sith weapon. Something called a thought bomb.'
A thought bomb? Hoth had heard mention of such a weapon long ago, studying at the feet of his Master back at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. According to legendary accounts, the ancient Sith had the ability to forge the dark side into a concentrated sphere of power and then unleash its energy in a single, devastating blast. All those sensitive to the Force, Sith and Jedi alike, would be consumed by the explosion, their spirits trapped in the great vacuum created at the epicenter of the detonation.
