#BUT WHAT! DO! YOU! MEAN!!!!! THAT PEOPLE CAN JUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WALK OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!! IMPALEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BY LIGHTSABER!!!!!!!!!!

[americankimchi]

it's so hard to take star wars seriously nowadays because i'll watch someone get skewered by a lightsaber and then somehow walk it off with a bacta patch and a slap on the ass. like you're telling me a weapon that can carve furrows into foot-thick solid durasteel doors, dripping melted slag in its wake, when applied to the flesh of a sentient being leaves behind nothing more than superficial damage. like be so ffr. "it cauterizes the wound instantly" this is not a little cut. this is not minor burns. you were IMPALED BY A BEAM OF PLASMA. your ORGANS have been COOKED. your BLOOD has BOILED. your BONES were INCINERATED. what are you TALKING ABOUTTTTTT

[damn-stark]

Dark hope ch.5

A/N- hope you guys like it!! :)

Warning- language and sadness

Pairing- Kylo Ren x Reader

Tagged- @angelmarie823

(Let me know if you want to be tagged)

—

Han had seen Finn hand on top of yours and you knew he didn’t like that because he immeditaly and very kindly in his own way told him to go outside. You laughed at his overprotectiveiness towards you. You exited the Millennium Falcon and saw the many resistance fighters all around the base. Some of them you knew and a lot you didn’t. You tried to look for your friend to see if he would be around in the bunch of people but you couldn’t spot him. That’s until you heard your name being shouted out.

“Y/N!!” You turned your head towards the direction of where your name was being called and saw the exact person you were looking for. A wide smile appeared on your face as you two ran towards eachother. You practically jumped into his embrace almost knocking him down. When you were back on the ground you looked at your friend with much exciment.

“POE DAMERON.” You shouted earning another wide smile from him. “I knew you were alive you’re tough to kill.” You say to him as he got a cocky smile.

“What can I say.” He said shrugging his shoulders. “What about you I saw you down there fighting like a badass like always.”

“Thank you I really do try.” You say to him. You both begin walking in a circle with too much exciment. “What about you! You flew in with your X-Wing out of nowhere! Taking out those Tie-fighters! And the stormtroopers on the ground! That barrel you did was awesome!!”

“Nah you deserve all the attention with your lightsaber!! I saw you swing that thing!! Knock all them stormtroopers down like if they were nothing. With your Double pistols!!” You both still walking in a circle complementing eachother on what one another had done. You both were excited little kids who had received gifts. “I’ve missed you my friend you’ve been gone to long.” He says and you give eachother another hug.

“You know me I’ve got to keep moving with my crew.” You turn to look over at Finn and BB8 who just look at you like if you both were crazy or something. “Finn this is my friend I told you about. He’s my best friend.” You say with the grin still on your face. Poe wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer to him.

“You two already know eachother?” Poe asked.

“Yeah she helped a friend and me out.” Finn said. Poe then laughed.

“Y/N you really do have that tendency to befriend the people you save don’t you?” He asks and you just scoff and roll your eyes. “She helped me out too some while ago. Came in with her double pistoles and saved me without her I don’t know if I would’ve been here now.” He explains making you kick a the ground and making your cheeks go pink. “Where are your pistols by the way?”

“Still with me Dameron you know I can’t be without them. And no you can’t have them.” You say. He had x-wing and you had your pistols before and now you have your pistols and your saber. Poe has always liked your pistols and always offered to buy off you but they were most priced possession you could never part from them.

“You met BB-8 already right?” Poe asked you. You nodded.

“Almost took him with me.” You say as a joke one that made Poe laugh.

“We need your help.” Finn said to Poe.

-

Seeing Princess Leia or General Organa is like a dream come true. Ever since you were young you’ve heard stories about her. Stories and her battles with the empire and now the first order. When you were young you wanted to be a fighter like her. So seeing her in front of you just feels like a dream. After Finn finishes explaining that he needs help rescuing Rey you step up.

“Oh wow.” You whisper with the biggest nervous smile ever. “Hi I’m Y/N. You’re Prin I mean General Organa it’s such a pleasure meeting you...I’ve heard stories about you.. you’re like my hero.” You say rambling on. She returns the smile and shakes your hand.

“It’s nice meeting you too Y/N thank you.” She tells you and for the first time you feel shy around her. “Han has told me about you we’re going to find Luke so he can help you.” You nod in agreement.

After that you all move to discuss a plan to save Rey and to destroy The starkiller base. You get ready and get on the Millenium falcon to join Han,Chewie and Finn as they’re set to disable the shields and mostly likely save Rey.

When you land on the planet you immidiatly a presence. It’s Ben solo or like he calls himself Kylo ren. You shake off the feeling and continue moving in the cold snowy planet. As you continue moving on you stop as you’re getting closer to where you need to go.

“So Finn What was your job when you were based here?” You asked him curiously still keeping an eye out just in case anyone unwanted came your way.

“Sanitation.” He said and you along with Han scoffed. But unlike Han you didn’t push Finn to the wall.

“Sanitation? Then how do you know how to disable the shields?” Han asked him annoyed and angry by Finns answer.

“I don’t I’m just here to get Rey.” Finn said and that made you look over to him. His answer made you feel some sort of way. Jealousy? Anger? Sadness?Or Proud for him going back to a place he hated just to save someone he cared for. You weren’t sure what you felt.

“People are counting on us the galaxy is counting on us.” Han said to Finn in a harsh whisper.

“Solo we’ll figure it out. We’ll use the force.” Finn said making you scoff and narrow your look at him in a dangerous way.

“That’s not how the force works!” Han and you said in unison. Chewie then inturrpted by saying he was cold and you couldn’t help but agree. After that interaction you all kept moving to go disable the shields and find Rey.

-

When you make it inside you go find someone Finn says can disable the shields. You get her in the room and it’s not surprising that she doesn’t want to comply. You roll your eyes and outstretch your hand. You close your eyes as you take a deep breath.

“You’re going to listen Finn and disable the shields.” You instruct who Finn says is Phasma. She turns to you both.

“You’re making a big mistake.” She says.

“Do it.” You instruct her again and this time she listens.

“See the force.” Finn says a little to happy.

“Yeah yeah whatever.” You tell him as you roll you eyes and pay attention back on Phasma. You watch as she disables the shields and when she does you don’t take long to move out to try and find Rey now as quickly as you can.

When you find her she’s coming out of some opening. You all quickly go to the location where she is and you all jump when you cross paths. Your hand instinctvly goes for your saber and your pistol your sides. But when you see it’s just Rey you let go. Finn and Rey hug and you have that feeling again but you shrug it off again. Because theirs other more important things to do.

-

On your way back to the ship you see the resistence fighting the first order and you all realize that you can’t just leave without helping out. So you go and set up bombs. You go on opposite sides of Han on the bottom and set up each bomb on a column. Every minute that passes by it only gets darker making you work quicker. When you finishes you’re about to go meet up where you agreed to meet up but you quickly hide when you see storm troopers coming.

You silently keep moving but stop in your tracks when you hear Han shout. You poke your head out and see him standing a few feet apart from Ben solo. You hear the storm troopers above you load their blasters and aim just in case Han wanted to try anything. You yourself grip onto your saber just in case. You watch their interaction closely. You don’t know what to expect from them. So you try and move closer but stop in your tracks when you see that Ben noticed you. You couldn’t really tell because his eyes were hidden behind his mask but you knew he was looking at you. Han then moved closer pulling back his attention.

You didn’t dare move anymore and stood where you were and watched them. You watched as Ben took off his helmet finally revealing himself. He was just like how Han had described him. You couldn’t help but feel attraction towards him. Yes he was consdiered a bad person but that still doesn’t make him unattractive. You also notice that their a sort of soft look in his eyes one just like how Han had.

You focus once more on their interaction and notice Han is much closer. It’s hard to see what’s going on because Han has his back faced to you but you notice that Ben hands him something. You inch closer to try and get a better view.

Everything then goes dark. You look and notice that the sun is completely gone now. You look back to Han and Ben and now it’s even harder to see what’s happening. That’s until you see what happens.

You see the red saber blade go through Hans chest. Your eyes instantly began to water and you feel as if your heart stopped in that instant. Everything else just disappears leaving only seeing the red blade impaled into Han. Chewbacca’s roar and Rey’s shout brought you back. You instantly fall on your knees and your lip quivers. Theirs nothing you can say because you feel as if the words are stuck in your throat. When you see Han fall a single tear falls down your cheek. You tighten your grip around your saber and turn your gaze up to Kylo Ren. The sadness you felt disappears and is quickly consumed by rage.

You’ve never felt this angry before. But now it’s all you can feel. It’s like it’s taking over and you can see nothing but it. You stand up and you meet Kylos eyes. You look up at Chewie who shoots Kylo in the shoulder.

“DO IT! CHEWIE DO IT! PRESS THE BUTTON.” You shout to Chewie. “I’m going after Kylo Ren.”

.

.

.

[muses-darling]

Fire & Fury - A Star Wars AU - Ch.12 Malachor V

Ships of Sith and Jedi landed on the planet each attempting to stop the other. Fighting in futility. Sith Troopers, Sith Inquisitors, Sith Warriors, Republic Troopers, Jedi Knights, Jedi Masters all fighting in a flash of violence as the war was coming to a tumultuous head. War was ugly, war was brutish, it needed to end. Hades moved through with the darkness in Kit’s mind the darkness that had filled it was not meant to be there. There were parts of him that had become shut off in the wake of it all. 

“Kit?” 

The sound of approaching footsteps alerted Hades to the presence of new comers. He stood turning ready to fight them off but stopped as he saw the approach of the exact people he needed. “Crowley! Aziraphale! Harper and Ben!” He was certain he had never been more happy to see the four of them. “You’re alive.”

“No thanks to you and your lot.” Crowley gestured to the sky above.

“The war has to come to an end.” Hades looked them over.

“Is he dead?” Ben asked looking at Kit who lay on the ground.

“Thankfully no,” Hades looked to Kit, “HK’s got a wonderful shot, incapacitated him.”

“Oh well that’s wonderful could have mentioned that when we let him aboard.” Crowley looked to Kit on the ground. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Hades admitted. “I don’t know in the time I’ve been separated from him. Something is wrong. There is so much more darkness than light.” 

Aziraphale and Crowley shared a look.

“Either way I don’t think we have much time, we need to get off this planet and fast then away from here. With the lot of you.”

“Oh no you’re not dying not now that you have reunited with Kit.”

“I’ve got to end this, before it is too late.”

“Hades you can’t just-”

“-I can and I will.” Hades glared at Aziraphale. “I am an Emperor. I do as I please. Now get him off of here, leave I’ve some unfinished business to attend to.” Hades watched the star fighter enter the stratosphere. “But leave Casper, I need him still.”

“Haven’t you tormented him enough?”

“I need him to end this. Unless you want this war to continue?”

Crowley sighed watching Azirphale take Kit. “Fine, fine! Just let the poor bastard live.”

“I intend too.” Hades watched them go. 

_

Darth Ceres approached where Hades stood with Casper, “I believe you are needed Engineer.”

“Am I?” Casper asked.

“Cheeky boy! He built a biometric bypass into the remote.”

“I know he did, I suggested it.”

“Why?”

“Because traitorous witch, I know your tricks all to well, you think yourself so clever, but in all actuality you are only as clever as the backend of a Nerf.” Hades watched her seethe where she stood.

“Where is Darth Kore?”

“Oh you mean Kit? Nasty work you’ve done with him will be hard to undo, but rest assured you won’t live to see it reversed. You’ve hurt that man for the last time. You’ve betrayed me for the last time and you won’t succeed in killing my engineer.” Hades walked up to her. “Now then draw your blade or accept your death vile woman, for I have come to lay you low. Casper get to her ship and wait there.”

“You think I won’t kill him all I need is-” 

“Him alive? Yes I’m well aware of needing his biometrics that require him to have a very specific range of temperature the one humans’ have when alive.” Hades drew his blades once more igniting them. “I’m going to enjoy killing you.”

“Not if you die first.” She hissed her lightsaber whip igniting as she lashed out at Hades. 

Hades brought up one blade watching the end catch around it and feeling her pulling him towards her. Using the force to ground himself where he stood he clenched his teeth before pulling the woman close throwing his lightsaber with the force sending her all the way to him moving to impale her on his blade. 

A blade ignited in Hades’ peripherals, Kit stood as Crowley lay in Aziraphale’s arms a silent cry of rage on the light haired man’s face. “Sorry to keep you Mother.”

“Good boy now be a dear and help me kill Hades won’t you?” Darth Ceres looked at Kit.

“With pleasure.”

“Kit,” Hades spoke brokenly. “Please come to your senses.”

“Why? What’s the fun in that darling?” Kit asked him nearing him. “Kit.” Hades watched Kit come closer feeling his heart beat race with every step. He would not fight him not here not now. “Kit.” He backed away from him.

“Aww what’s that Ignis? Afraid of dying by his hand? Looks like even the great Ignis has something to be afraid of.” Darth Ceres walked closer as she neared Hades and Kit she looked to Kit. “Do it, kill and be done with this.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Kit said a terrible smile on his face before his eyes became green and he turned thrusting his lightsaber into Ceres or what had been where she was standing. 

Darth Ceres landed behind Hades with the agility of a cat, “Do you really think I became a Lady of the Sith by not seeing betrayals coming a mile away BOY?” She sneered throwing up her hand and pushing Kit far into a tree.

“I don’t think it worked Crowley,” Aziraphale said watching Kit fly backwards. “We may have to step in ourselves.” 

Crowley sighed kissed Aziraphale getting up drawing his lightsaber. “Get the bloody ship ready for us for the moment we leave.”

“But-” Ben started before Harper pulled him away from the shuttle ramp. 

Hades watched the shuttle with Kit leave unable to help himself needing to know his love was safe.

“You really should keep focused dear,” Darth Ceres grasped him in her hand before slamming her knee into him. 

Hades dropped with a gasp watching her whip come back to life as it reached her. 

Darth Ceres pulled back the whip before throwing the length in Hades’ direction with a snap. Her Cortosis gloves allowing her to touch the blade and guide it to where it needed to go. “A shame you were once the most powerful Sith now look at you kneeling before me.” She stood over him a cat playing with the proverbial mouse smile on her face. “As you always should have.”

Hades once more caught the whip length on his blade using the force to summon his other blade back to him as he saw the terrain behind her. He stood rushing her once more pulling her length back with the one blade and sending it back from her towards a tree. She was pulled back due to her grip on the blade. 

Darth Ceres landed hard watching as Hades closed the distance she brought up a shoto sized lightsaber. “What nothing to say?” She asked as she stood up with a laugh. “I can only wonder what is going through that mind of yours. You can’t possibly conceive a plan where you come out on top! Let alone alive.” 

Hades used the force to push her at her then reached for a rock pulling it towards her tripping her again. Lightning moved along his body as his anger twisted in the force wrapping the energy around him.  They fought hard and long their distance from the ship growing farther and farther as they moved along the terrain.

-

Kit sat up as Aziraphale and Crowley reached him. “Hades?”

“Can finish this, we need to get you back to the ship,” Aziraphale pulled out a bacta pack pressing it to the wound at Kit’s side. “Come on dear boy.” 

Crowley silenced any further protest from Kit and helped him stand. “Come on I think we can still watch for your beloved’s safety from the ship.”

-

Casper looked at HK-47 who seemed to be watching through the scope on his blaster. “Isn’t he your master and aren’t you supposed to he helping him?”

HK-47 didn’t look at him but replied, “Statement: There are more than one ways to shut a meatbag up who breaks your focus, shall I demonstrate one of them on you?”

“N-no please don’t,” Casper said somehow becoming a shade paler.

“Reply: then don’t be one of those meatbags.”

-

Hades looked up at Ceres, “You know have I ever had HK-47 tell you what love is?” 

Ceres looked at him, “What?”

“HK-47 what is the definition of love?” Hades asked pulling out his comm.

“Definition: 'Love' is making a shot to the knees of a target 120 kilometers away using an Aratech sniper rifle with a tri-light scope... Love is knowing your target, putting them in your targeting reticule, and together, achieving a singular purpose against statistically long odds." HK-47 said as his sniper blaster went off.

Ceres’ body jerked as her knee was utterly and devastatingly destroyed. 

Hades smiled, “I think everyone should know what love is before they die.” Hades reached a hand into the thick mass of her hair dragging her. “You made me suffer, you attempted to take Kit and twist him up into someone he is not, what kind of Mother does that to her own son?” He asked using the force to keep her from moving. Ceres attempted to speak. “Shhhh-shhhh-shhh-shhh, don’t speak it’s better for you if you learned to let other’s talk instead, I’ve not quite finished what I have to say.” He made her look up at him with the force. “I want you to be alive when this planet goes off. I want you to feel the whole of the experience many above will only be able to imagine.” Hades grinned at her there was few times where he let himself give into the violence especially after marrying Kit but there was something about Ceres that made his blood boil. “Just remember the force is in all things.” Hades told her. “But not you,” He closed his eyes and reached out in the force doing as he had with Kit to seal away the darkness in him then to restore his memories but for her, he sealed the force completely from her. 

Ceres sat there in dumb silence. 

“Finally you have no words with which to speak. I cannot imagine a more terrible thing than the fate you have been sentenced, but an equally terrible person should get such a fate.” Hades turned from her and walked away to the ship, “Shall we?”

They made their way aboard the Flag Ship watching the ships fight in the fray from a very great distance. 

-

Alucard looked at the cluster of Sith ships that had not once made their way into battle. “Sonething’s not right.” 

“I’ll say,” Honey felt it too, something. “We need to get away from all of this!” She fired a turret blast watching a Sith fighter blow up. “Now!”

“Agreed.” Alucard looked at the Sith flag ship there was something on it. “What is that? The device attached to the nose of the ship?” He turned on the comm. “Sir I think the Sith have something-”

“-Never mind what it is keep fighting that is an order.”

“But-” Alucard started something felt wrong in the force. 

“I said-” The com cut as the ship exploded.

Alucard watched as one of the Republic command ships disintegrated in the space before them. “Well he conscripted us now he is gone, I say we leave.” 

“I second,” Honey looked at him. “We did our part. I don’t know about you but I’m tired of this war.”

“As am I.” Alucard leaned the controls back and fought his way from the Sith and the Republic to where they could get away from all of it. 

-

Hades looked to Casper, “Now do what you must do this war must come to an end, swiftly.”

“And if I refuse?” Casper asked.

“Then this war will continue until the galaxy is destroyed, either way those on that planet are already dead.” Hades told him. “Either in what will come next or the battles to come with your refusal.” 

Casper looked at him, then nodded before reaching forward and pressing his hand to the biometric scanner. “I will not press the button.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Hades told him before pressing the button watching as energy arched up from the planet all around. The ship they were on moved forward. The ships around the planet or near it all buckled, smashed or were destroyed as the planet broke before the gravity pulled it back along with the ships into a tight mass held together. 

If one thought that Hades felt nothing in regards to any of this, they were wrong, but he also knew that all of those who survived this day would also have felt it. It would cause them all to question why they continued fighting it had too! This war had become senseless violence. Hades had, had his fill of bloodshed, he felt it all, every last one of those on the planet, in the ships all of it a terrible feeling in the force. There was only one way to end this. 

“So now that it is done?” Casper asked.

“You are free to go about your life whatever planet you wish, I will personally see to it that you are sent there.” He reached up in the force and smiled. “Though you won’t remember this. I can’t have you remembering any of it. The Republic will blame you, you will blame yourself, not fair really.” Hades smiled then looked to where Kit was. “So now you see the monster you have married.” 

Kit looked at Hades a face of sadness and anguish, he went to Hades, “Why?”

“Because the war must end, one way or another.” 

“And you have become judge and executioner?” Kit asked.

“If that is what you believe I have made myself.” Hades said softly. “An Emperor must do what is best for his people.” 

Kit walked over to Hades, “I want to hate you, I want to, I want to despise you! I can’t, I just can’t.” Kit said sobbing into Hades’ arms. “I can’t, I still love you.” 

“As I love you.” Hades said wrapping his arms around Kit. “I always will.”

Kit frowned, “Hades what are you doing?”

“Keeping you safe........” 

Hades opened his eyes looking at the truth of what had transpired. He had fought Ceres with HK-47′s help, removed her connection with the force found a Sith shuttle together and piloted it off of the planet to the Sith Ship. Once there he made his way to the bridge to see Kit still seething in the darkside forcing Casper, who had gone aboard Crowley’s ship to wait, to unleash the terrible weapon the planet had become. Then the overwhelming pain of Malachor V being destroyed had kept Hades down it had taken Kit down too the level of pain in the force as so many were wiped out. Hades had come out of it perhaps his longer time with the darkside had helped in some masochistic way. Hurrying to Kit’s side he reached with the force changing Kit’s memories, then Casper’s. Neither would remember the events as they had happened. In regards to Kit he had added the fake memory of Kit plotting with Crowley and Aziraphale, the fake memory on the bridge of arguing too.

“Hades?” Kit asked his bright green eyes opening as the darkside left him and all memory leading up the moment on board after Hades had taken him out on Malachor V was altered.

Hades murmured softly. “I’m keeping you safe.” He smiled sadly.

Hades stood seeing Republic troops and Jedi. “Well at long last you’ve caught me, the dreaded Sith Emperor.” Kit’s memories were altered Casper’s erased, and Hades would take the fall for all of it. Isn’t that what love was? Protecting those you cared about?

[queen-scribbles]

Trouble in Paradise

Loosely (and I mean loosely)inspired by me being peeved there’s no story solo difficulty for Kaon Under Siege bc I wanted to throw rakghouls at my newest child. This would be set somewhere mid- to late-Act 2, title is part pun, part me not being able to think of anything better

He had a bad feeling about this.

Tragen had learned long before his Sith training, to trust his gut. He’d since figured out it was less his gut and more the Force, but what it heralded was the same. Which was why, when dread curled through him, he stopped Jaesa with an outstretched arm. “Wait.”

She froze in her tracks and shot him a questioning look. “Master?”

“Something isn’t right.” He could have done without the ominous breeze that picked that moment to blow through, ruffling their hair and clothes.

“You mean besides the fact we haven’t seen another living soul since we touched down?” Jaesa said wryly, brushing back her hair.

Despite the danger, Tragen couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yes, besides that.”

“Good to know I wasn’t being paranoid.” She surveyed the remaining distance between the shuttle landing pad and the resort building. “I thought it was just me. So, what do we do?”

“We proceed.” He really didn’t care for how lacking in light the whole area was. “With caution.”

Jaesa nodded and fell in step behind him a good ten paces as they resumed course for the building. Neither of them spoke the remaining distance, hands drifted halfway toward the hilts of their lightsabers. Nothing happened, which was almost worse, as the sense of wrongness didn’t abate.

There should be something, some evidence of why a resort like this had gone abruptly and completely silent. But there wasn’t. No bodies, no signs of attack, no lingering odor of anything airborne. Just silence and the seemingly empty building. Tragen could see why the Twilight Paradise’s investors had been looking for a “skilled individual” to investigate. Something about the scenario made the blood run cold.

A faint sound broke the silence as they reached the first doorway, a rustle or chitter from inside, and Tragen barely restrained himself from igniting one lightsaber. It had probably been curious wildlife, there was no reason to be so jumpy--

Something grey and spiny charged at them with an unholy cry halfway between a roar and a howl, closing the distance faster than should be possible.

Tragen swore as his hands closed around the hilts of his ‘sabers, but Jaesa was faster. The pale green blades of her lightsaber blazed through the air as she swung the weapon in an instinct-driven attack. It struck true; the headless corpse of their would-be attacker dropped less than a foot away.

That’s a... He drew his lightsabers but didn’t ignite them. He had a very, very bad feeling about this. “How the hell did a rakghoul get off Taris, let alone here?!”

“Don’t look at me,” Jaesa shrugged as she shut down her lightsaber. The silence seemed to ring with the absence of the comforting hum. “I’m as lost as you.”

“Right. Well, definitely be on your guard,” he muttered, liking the view of winding hallways and blind corners even less now. “Where there’s one rakghoul, there’s always more.”

They both knew why, they’d seen it on Taris.

Jaesa’s knuckles went white around the lightsaber’s hilt. “We’re still checking for survivors, though, aren’t we, master?”

“Of course,”Tragen assured her. This was a civilian facility, not a military installation. He’d never be able to live with himself if they didn’t. “We should eradicate all the rakghouls, anyway, we can sweep for survivors as we go.”

She nodded, and he could see the relief mingled with trepidation in her eyes.  “Alright. Do you want me to take point?”

He shook his head, fingers sliding to rest over the power switches on his lightsabers. “I’ll do it. You watch my back.”

Another nod. “As you you say.”

The first few rooms they passed were empty, though so thoroughly wrecked it look as if someone had tossed in a grenade, not unleashed vaguely sentient monsters. The horrible rising tension made Tragen itch to flick on his ‘sabers, just to be prepared. But the extra fraction of a second it would save wasn’t worth surrendering the element of surprise. He restrained himself, though it grew more difficult with every room void of rakghouls and survivors both.

Where is everyone? Jaesa was wondering the same; he could see it in her face when he glanced behind him. A resort facility this large, they should have encountered someone--or something--by now. 

The next door he tried was locked. Tragen raised an eyebrow, then looked back at Jaesa and gave a nod. Be ready. He clipped one lightsaber back to his belt and knocked on the door. “Is anyone in there?”

No answer. No sound of any kind--which, sainted stars was unnerving. He tried again, slightly louder, with the same result. Despite the lack of reply, he could hear someone in the room, and even knowing it was probably rakghouls he couldn’t just walk away without checking. He ignited the lightsaber still in his hand and drove the orange blade through the door. It wasn’t reinforced at all and he easily sheared a large hole.

With the same howling roar as the one outside, a trio of rakghouls hurled themselves through the opening. One’s trajectory impaled it on his still-ignited blade, but Tragen and Jaesa were forced to dodge the other two. They quickly assumed a back to back combat stance.

Fortunately, rakghouls were dangerous more for their ferocity than their intelligence, and these were no exception. They charged in with lumbering speed and clearly telegraphed strikes that were child’s play to avoid. There was a brief rush of cool air behind him as Jaesa lunged forward with a swipe of her own, green blades humming through the air. She scored a hit across the chest of one rakghoul and it screeched angrily as the pungent odor of burned flesh filled the air.

“Gaah, that’s one thing I didn’t miss about Taris,” Jaesa muttered as she stepped back, close enough Tragen could feel the warmth of her presence behind him again.

“Agreed,” Tragen said with a chuckle, not taking his eyes off the rakghoul menacing him. He calculated the angle, hoped he had it right, and tossed one lightsaber with a sharp flick of his wrist.

He’d had it right. His lightsaber nearly bisected the rakghoul before returning to his hand. He swiveled to help Jaesa just in time to watch her roll one shoulder back to avoid the injured rakghoul’s retaliatory swipe.

She spun her lightsaber and cut off half its arm, then stepped back into the space Tragen had just vacated. The rakghoul scrambled after her and she cut it down with a hard strike to the base of its neck.

“Nice work,” Tragen said, deactivating his lightsabers and letting them hang loosely in his hands.

“Thank you, master,” Jaesa replied with a breathless smile. “It’s tricky fighting something you have to avoid entirely.”

He nodded agreement,peering into the room and wincing at the pair of bodies on the floor. “You know what we need?”

“A preventative shot of the rakghoul vaccine?”

He snorted a half-laugh at the gallows humor-- and the truth at its heart--as he brushed his hair back behind his ears. “Besides that, then. A staff roster, guest list, something like that. So we know how many people were here when it started. What we’re potentially facing.”

“We’d need the front desk or a computer hub,” Jaesa said thoughtfully, brushing hair out of her eyes. “And we’d have to check all the rooms, even ones that are silent. To... count.” She looked ill at the thought.

Tragen rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It will be worth it for the peace of mind. Both for us, and the families we can notify.”

“Closure, I know.” She nodded. “I’ll keep my eyes open.”

It wasn’t too much farther before the hallway bent around a corner, which Tragen and Jaesa rounded cautiously. There were no rakghouls lying in wait, but there was a hospitality kiosk set into the wall just past the corner.

“Keep an eye out while I see what I can find,” Tragen instructed as he clipped his lightsabers to his belt and stepped into the small alcove.

Jaesa nodded. “As you wish.” The glimmer of a smile pulled at her lips as she took up a defensive stance facing the hallway. “How much has Vette managed to teach you?”

“Enough that slicing into a non-military system shouldn’t give me too much trouble.”

She laughed softly at that, and then both of them fell silent under the gravity of their circumstances and turned their focus to the tasks at hand.

It only took a minute or two for Tragen to download the information they needed to his datapad. It was not encouraging.

“Full staffing complement of sixty, room for thrice as many guests...” Tragen sighed. “This is turning into a nightmare.”

“Were they full?” Jaesa asked, expression horrified at the thought. 

He checked. “No, thank the stars. Twenty staff and... fifty guests. Seventy if you include the personal aides some brought, which I suppose we should.”

They went back to the room and were able to ID the bodies, both staff. There was no way to tell for the rakghouls, however, aside from finding all the bodies and any survivors and then assuming anyone unaccounted for had... changed. He was going to have nightmares for weeks. And a look at Jaesa as they pressed on--fighting rakghouls, identifying the dead when they could--made him think she felt the same. They’d accounted for almost half the people who were supposedly here, though only a fraction could be ID’ed, when Tragen’s pounding on a locked door brought not rasping chitters but a shaky, “Who’s there?”

“Help,” Tragen replied, shooting Jaesa a surprised and wary look. “Open the door.”

“H-How do I know you won’t turn into one of those... monsters?”

“You don’t,” he bluntly. “But we are the only rescue that’s coming. And how do I know you won’t turn?”

There was silence, and then the muffled roll of multiple voice in pitched debate before the door hissed and slid open.

“Who are you, then?” demanded the man closest to the door, clearly a noble from his dress and manner both.

Tragen’s own posture straightened in response, years of childhood lessons not allowing otherwise. “Lord Tragen Xo’ric, and my apprentice, Jaesa Wilsaam. We were investigating at the behest of Senet Tyral. What happened here?”

There was a derisive snort from one of the other nobles, a woman whose intricate hairstyle was just beginning to unravel. “You can blame Arik Thul for that, my lord. The fool thought the Twilight Paradise would be the perfect place to unwind after serving a tour on Taris, and I hear he rushed or skipped some of his people through the departure procedures so he didn’t lose any of his reservation time.” She scowled. “You can see how that ended.”

“I can,” Tragen nodded. There weren’t even ten people in the room; five nobles, one’s personal attendant, a pair of bodyguards. “How did you escape?”

“Heard screaming and locked ourselves in,” the first man replied. “We’re lucky; this room is meant as a meditation chamber so the walls are thick. If we hadn’t heard, we’d be dead or worse.”

Worse, indeed. Tragen repressed a shudder. “So none of you came in contact with any rakghouls?”

“Not for a moment,” the woman declared. “How do you plan to get us out of here?”

He glanced at Jaesa and she gave a subtle all clear nod. None of them were lying by omission; they all believed they were uninfected. “For now, you’re going to stay here, with the door locked. My apprentice and I need to finish clearing the facility of hostiles. Once it’s safe, we can evacuate you.”

“What if you don’t come back?” piped up a small, nervous man in the back of the room. 

It was a good question. They’d been lucky or skilled enough so far, but either of those could run out at any time. “We came in a shuttle. It’s on the east wing landing pad. If we’re not back in an hour, run for it. But give us time to clear more of the rakghouls or it’ll be a bigger death wish than staying here.”

They all nodded understanding and Tragen left, beckoning Jaesa to follow. The door slid shut so close behind them it almost snagged the trailing scarves of Jaesa’s armor.

 “Nervous bunch,” she commented, “not that I blame them.”

“The only thing that bothers me is how they know what happened if they locked themselves in as soon as they heard screams,” he murmured.

Jaesa thought for a moment. “One of the bodyguards probably linked into the security feeds when they arrived. Most do, even in places that frown on it. The safety of their patron is paramount.”

Something in her voice made him think that was experience, not just a guess. So he simply grunted in reply as they kept walking.

A few moments’ silence lapsed before Jaesa spoke again. “Master... what’s to stop them from running for the shuttle now, without us?”

“Well, nothing, if they decide not to heed my warning,” Tragen shrugged. “But we can always have the others pick us up in the Dawn as a last resort. After the place is clear. It would just mean a bit of a wait.”

“So long as you have a plan,” she said, inclining her head.

“Did you ID our survivors?” he asked in return, pausing to glance down a new hallway.

Jaesa nodded. “The one who opened the door is Pascal Vinick, the woman’s Asha Dellis, the nervous one is Jorman Ryk...” she ran through names for the others as they walked and Tragen did his best to commit them to memory.

“Alright, then,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s clear the rest of this place out.”

<><><>

It was an arduous task that took almost all of the allotted hour, but they did eradicate all the rakghouls they found in the place. Between the numbers of those, and the dead bodies they matched to the staff and guest lists, almost everyone was accounted for, numbers-wise if not specifically. There weren’t any other survivors, though Tragen held out ever-dimming hope until the end. But there was no evidence the handful they hadn’t found were anything but rakghoul food, ghastly as the thought was.

After double-checking the last suite, he and Jaesa headed back to the meditation room and the waiting nobles. They were both silent, despite it being no longer necessary; drained both physically and emotionally and in no mood for conversation.

They collected the nobles, with minor protests about the danger from Dellis and Ryk, and were halfway back to the shuttle when the ground trembled. Without a word, or breaking stride, Tragen and Jaesa drew their weapons. Ryk made a small, worried noise when Jaesa shepherded him along, stumbling over his own feet.

The tremor came again, and Tragen cursed under his breath. Rakghouls were burrowers, how had he forgotten?

Sure enough, just as they exited the building, the ground shook and rumbled, then tore open to disgorge a trio of rakghouls.

“Dammit!” Tragen ignited his lightsabers. “Jaesa, get them to the shuttle!”

“What?!” she snapped, surprise edging the word. “Not without you!”

“I’m right behind you, go!” he snapped back, spinning to face the rakghouls. Two were small and runty grey, but the third made up for any perceived advantage he may have had. Red and gargantuan, it almost trampled its cohorts in its rush to attack.

Jaesa was beside him in a whirl of green blades and teal robes, cutting down one of the runts. “I’m not leaving, master!”

Tragen threw one lightsaber in a vicious arc toward the big rakghoul’s head. He grabbed her arm with his--briefly--free hand and pushed her toward the shuttle.  “Get them safely aboard”--he caught the returning lightsaber--”and start warming up the engines so we can get out of here!”

With one last reluctant glance, Jaesa did as he asked. The big rakghoul swiped at her as she ran, and Tragen wasn’t quite fast enough to block it. Nasty claws snagged the trailing teal scarves of her armor, shredding one and ripping the lower half of the other one clean off.

Tragen let out a Force-amplified roar that had both remaining rakghouls cowering. He cut down the second runt in the breathing room that afforded him, but the big one recovered faster than he expected and he was forced to backpedal away from angry slashing claws. Behind him, the shuttle engines whined to life, and he drove the rakghoul back with a brutal two-blade strike so he could risk a glance in that direction.

Almost, almost, almost. Just a few more seconds’ delay and he could light out for the still lowered boarding ramp. It would be nice to kill this thing first, though. Be able to report they had neutralized the entire colony before it had a chance to become a real threat. He threw himself at the rakghoul, lightsabers buzzing in opposed arcs, and scored two cuts across its chest.

The rakghoul bellowed and lashed out in the same moment Tragen sensed Jaesa’s presence moving closer again. The distraction of the latter kept him from fully avoiding the former, and the claws tore through robes, armor, and flesh to send him tumbling.

“Master!” he heard Jaesa cry out as he fought through the waves of pain.

And we were doing so well, he thought wryly. Gritting his teeth, Tragen rolled onto his back--

--and immediately crab-scuttled backwards to get away from the charging rakghoul. It bellowed angrily when its strikes missed, and he flung the lightsaber he hadn’t dropped at its head.

It was a rushed toss, and he missed, sort of. The blade carved deep into its shoulder instead. Still enough to further injure the seriously wounded monster, even if it wasn’t his goal. Whether by luck or some perverse instinct, the rakghoul batted his lightsaber out of the air as it spun back towards him, and the hilt went flying to the side.

“Tragen!!” Jaesa had moved past concerned and now sounded alarmed, voice louder as the engines shifted pitch, nearly take-off ready.

Weaponless but not defenseless, Tragen ignored the pain in his chest and scrambled back a few more paces before throwing out one hand to push a wave of crushing Force toward the rakghoul. In the same heartbeat that took hold, he felt the Force wrap around him and yank him backwards toward the shuttle, faster than he would have been able to move on his own even uninjured. He barely missed crashing into Jaesa when he hit the boarding ramp, only vaguely registered the clatter of his lightsabers landing next to him through a fresh jolt of pain.

Jaesa scooped up his lightsabers with one hand and grabbed his arm with the other, half-supporting and half-dragging him into the shuttle. They collapsed just inside the cargo bay as the door closed, Tragen hissing pained breaths between clenched teeth and Jaesa already calling the Force to aid them. “Let me see, master.”

A hand closed over her shoulder and jerked her back. “Get away from him!”

Jaesa yanked free of Vinick’s grip and wheeled on him. “My master is hurt and I need to heal him. What’re you doing?!”

“Think, girl, what if he has the rakghoul plague?” Dellis snapped from behind the surviving guards. “It clearly cut deep enough.”

“He doesn’t!” Jaesa fired back vehemently.

“Forgive me if I’m not willing to risk all our lives on just your word,” Vinick sneered, grabbing for her arm again. “Not with this.”

Jaesa dodged his grasp and looked ready to protest further, so Tragen pushed himself mostly upright and added his two credits. “They’re... right.” Stars, talking hurt. Not as much as the fear in Jaesa’s eyes, but pretty close. “Jaesa...” He hissed a sharp breath and tried again. “Jaesa, you need to get the shuttle out of here.”

She dropped to one knee next to him again, and he could sense her worry when he held up a hand so she’d keep some distance. “But you’re hurt! And this is bad.”

He knew that much. “Let me... worry about that.” He pressed one arm over the wounds. “You get us back to the Fleet. Seal the cargo bay door in case I-”

“You won’t!” Jaesa cut him off forcefully.

“I don’t believe I will, either,” Tragen said, half-smiling at her passion. He truly hoped he wouldn’t. That was an ugly end. “But I won’t risk your life, or the lives we just saved, on that hope.”

“Tragen...” she said softly, hands curling into fists.

He didn’t scold for letting the facade slip. No one could hear them. “Seal the cargo bay door, and once you’re in the cockpit, seal that as well. Just in case they weren’t... weren’t telling us everything.”

Jaesa nodded, clearly not happy but willing to do as he asked. “Just... hold on.” Her hand drifted up as if to squeeze his or try to heal him, but she remembered and held it back as she stood.

I’ll do my best. He waited until the door had closed behind her to let out a loud hiss at the pain and call on Force to heal himself at least some. It wasn’t a focus of his, and he wasn’t nearly as strong with the Force as some, so he achieved neither the pure white radiance of Jaesa’s healing nor the menacing purple-black when his fellow Sith used it to pull themselves back together. Instead the energy that gathered in Tragen’s palm was a thin, flickering lavender. It didn’t do much, no matter how hard he concentrated, but he did feel some of the damage knit itself closed. 

Exhausted from the effort of what little he’d managed to accomplish, Tragen leaned back against the wall, breathing hard, and redirected his energy to staying awake. He wasn’t bleeding to death, that was sufficient for now. If he drifted off, there was no guarantee he would come to as himself and that possibility scared him more than he wanted to admit. Especially to Jaesa, which made him extra glad she was sequestered in the cockpit.

I can still feel you through our Force bond, her voice swirled through his mind.

Damn. Forgot about that. He chuckled, resisted the urge to close his eyes. Just get back to the fleet as fast as you safely can. Don’t let me distract you.

Her reluctance and concern were palpable, but he did feel the intensity of her focus lessen.

In a bid to stay conscious, Tragen started mentally reviewing the mission. He ran over everything; what could’ve gone better, what could have gone so much worse. The last group of rakghouls they’d dispatched before collecting the nobles had nearly gotten him and Jaesa both. That would’ve been... well, he didn’t want to think about it. If he was the only one to get hurt, he could live with the way things had gone. Besides, assuming he didn’t... turn, his injuries were relatively easy to mend.

That was what he would focus on. Not the other part.

<><><>

In the end, his efforts proved futile. Pain, blood loss, and exhaustion all worked together to drag him into the welcoming embrace of unconsciousness.

Despite the seeds of concern planted by Vinick and the other nobles, Tragen woke very much himself. Relieved he hadn’t transformed into a monstrosity from the depths of civilization's worst nightmare, he shifted to a moderately more comfortable position and took stock of his surroundings.  He was in a medbay; probably Vaiken Spacedock, seeing as it was a large room with four other beds, and everything about it screamed bare essentials. Serviceable but basic, no luxury features, clearly meant for quick turnaround, whether due to recovery or death. Despite it being a shared room, he was the only current occupant. He appreciated that almost as much as he did being right next to the large viewport displaying a truly dazzling quantity of stars. All his other concerns and questions were forgotten, just for a minute, as he turned to drink in the magnificent view.

“I figured you’d like that,” Jaesa’s voice came softly from behind him. “I know how much you love the stars.”

Tragen turned to give her a grateful smile. “You figured correctly. Thank you.”

She nodded, frozen in the doorway, arms hugged tight around herself. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

“That makes two of us,” he chuckled, sliding over so she had room to sit on the edge of the bed. “What happened?”

“After you passed out and scared me half to death, you mean?” Jaesa asked, eyebrow arching toward her hairline as she took him up on the unspoken invitation. “We made it back here without incident, and I warned them before we landed that we were fleeing a rakghoul infestation, so they were set up for quarantine by the time we docked. None of us, you included”--she shot him an I told you so look--”showed any sign of carrying the plague, but we all got the vaccine to be safe.” She flashed a tremulous smile. “They actually gave you a double dose before they got you in the kolto tank. To be safe.”

So that was why there was barely a twinge in his side. “How long?”

“Just a day. Apparently it looked worse than it was. There are scars, but...”

“All healed?” Tragen finished for her.

“All healed,” Jaesa confirmed, giving his hand a tentative squeeze. “Just... next time try not to get so banged up.” The wavering smile was back. “I doubt I’d do well with a different master.”

He squeezed her hand in return and smiled. “Trust me, the experience is not one I’m eager to repeat. You’ll be stuck with me a good while yet. Apprentice.”

Her smile gained some confidence at the gentle teasing. “I’m relieved to hear it. Master.”

“So, where are the others?” Tragen asked after a few seconds.

“Around.” Jaesa gestured vaguely toward the hall, the movement pulling her hand free of his. “I told them it would probably only be a few days before you were ready to travel again so not to leave the fleet. Everyone’s doing their own thing. Oh, and Tyral Incorporated sends their sincerest apologies for putting us in harm’s way.”

He smirked. “Did you have a conversation with a corporate rep?”

“One full of apologies and promises of compensation,” she nodded. “She was most adamant Tyral Inc had no idea what had happened when they asked you to look into it.”

“I’m sure they didn’t. That’s why they wanted someone who could handle themselves; not knowing what had happened.” Tragen crackled his knuckles and looked out the viewport again. “And all’s well that ends well; there’s no hard feelings from me. Baras might be another story if he catches wind of what happened.” He sighed. “I suppose you should find someone who knows how long before I can leave and relay that to the others, so they can be preparing.”

“Of course.” Jaesa stood. “I’ll find out and let them know. I”m sure they’ll be glad to get back to business.” A half-smile. “Well, maybe not Vette. I think she’s having too much fun separating people from their money at pazaak. But everyone will be relieved to know you’re alright, master.”

“Thank you, Jaesa,” he said with a warm smile. “You’re doing an excellent job.”

“Just trying to follow your example,” she said shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear as she headed for the door.

And doing an excellent job. He didn’t say it--she didn’t need the point reiterated--just watched her leave. After even the echo of her footsteps was gone, Tragen slipped his hand under the loose medbay-issued tunic and ran his fingers up his ribcage until he found the ridges of fresh scar tissue. They had healed much better than he would have expected.

All that was left for him to do, then, was rest until he was cleared to leave and thank his lucky stars the trio of new scars were all he had to show for tangling with several dozen rakghouls.

<><><>

It was only one more day before the medical staff deemed him fit to travel and Tragen made his way back to the Empire Dawn and his waiting crew. Jaesa’s prediction had been correct; they were all happy to see him “back in fighting shape” as Pierce put it. Tyral had compensated generously for the danger and trouble--on top of footing the medical bills and promising to handle contacting families of the deceased--and Baras hadn’t seemed more than mildly disgruntled when informed his favorite underling was “indisposed”.

All in all, not a bad outcome for the amount of trouble he and Jaesa had found at the Twilight Paradise, Tragen decided. Not bad at all. 

[driftersrpg]

Princess Tessavia has a lovely conversation with Plett, and screws herself by talking too much.

Tessavia trained alone in the training room, for once. Gabbi was stuck doing chores, and she couldn't find anyone else to spar against. So she ran through the kata she'd been shown, using one of the training sabers. 

They felt strange in her hand, still. The weight was entirely in the handle, allowing her to do very rapid swings just by moving her wrist. She alternated between running through the drills Gabbi had briefly shown her, and the blade drills she'd learned back home, trying to figure out if they still worked with this massless blade. Her focus was entirely on her movement and the few feet around here, with only enough attention to not smack anything accidentally.

Plett walked into the training room quietly, moving to one side after closing the door and watching Tess work with the saber. For one with just a few days of training, she did well, though she would have a long way to go before becoming truly proficient with the blade. 

 It wasn't that which interested the Jedi Master, however, as he studied her aura in the Force.

Tess spied a training dummy, set up away from anything else, and squared up facing it. This time. She thought, staring at it, adjusting her grip on the lightsaber ever so slightly. 

Deep breath. 

She let her mind go back to her recent fights. To how she felt just before those strikes she absolutely knew would be fight-enders, if only she could hit them. She waited. Trying to calm herself without letting go of that feeling. 

And then, before she realized it herself, she ran at the dummy. Ducked low, avoiding an imagined melee strike, and shoved the lightsaber upwards into the dummy's ribcage... or attempted, at least. The blade instead skidded off the dummy's casing and, since she was following the strike through with her weight, she stumbled forward, catching herself on the dummy. 

Again?

"That is an... interesting way to try using a lightsaber." Plett commented as she paused to recover. "I don't think many people even try using vibroblades in that manner."

Tess practically jumped out of her skin as she heard the slow, calm voice of Plett. "M-Mister Plett! Hello. Uh. Well. Impaling a target allows you to put your entire body weight behind a blow, and makes it more likely you'll break through a thick hide or rib cage. ... Sir." she said, before deactivating the lightsaber.

"You'd be better off using a pike or spear for that kind of move however." He pointed out, "Than a sword that is meant for slashing. The lightsaber has quite a bit more power behind it than a vibroblade, but even it needs to burn through the material you are attacking. There is also the problem of focusing your power into one point of attack. You are telegraphing your strike into a small point that is easier to deflect." 

 He'd been walking towards her and the dummy, and raised a hand, summoning a training saber to his hand with the force, activating it and stabbing, as she had, at the dummy. He didn't use as much force, and yet the casing withstood the attack, and the sabre only pierced faintly into the thick casing leaving a single circle of scoring. 

 Then he pulled back, and used a slashing motion instead, with the same force as he had before. This time, as he deactivated the lightsaber, the casing had a deeper gouge that ran clean across it's chest area, from shoulder to hip, steaming and still red from the heat.

Tess shrugged. "I'll keep that in mind." she said "But I'm not sure that's my main problem. It seems like... almost every time I'm in a fight, I get this feeling, like now is the optimal time to strike. Like something in the back of my mind is trying to guide my hand, and I know if I could just land that strike I see in my head, it'd be a fight-ender, right there. But every single time I try that, I miss.” 

I felt it when I was sparring against Gabbi. And when we fought the... Katarn? Katarn. And... well, it's happened several times. And I miss. Almost every time." 

Tess stared down at her hands and said, slightly quieter, "What am I doing wrong?"

"What you are doing is using the Force to give more power to your attack." He said, watching her. "But you're not doing so consciously, and you aren't yet trained enough to properly go through with it. If I am not mistaken, Gabbi made the same move against you, with less power behind it, but she did not miss, am I correct?"

Tess looked away and clenched her jaw. "Yes. She did. Right before I landed an excellent hit on her thigh. She holds her blade too high. Can you... help me? I, I don't even mean just with this. These... powers. The Force. I need to understand it and learn to use it properly. Effectively." Upon finishing the sentence, Tess finally looks back up and looks Plett right in the eyes. "Please? You might be the only one who can help us."

"What purpose do you have in learning to use the Force, Tessavia?" He asked.

"To defend myself, and to defend my friends." she said. "There are people trying to hunt me down. And the others, for that matter. But those are different people."

"Do you fear these people?"

"I-- Of course. Don't you? Isn't that why you've kept the kids here?"

"Fear is a natural reaction to dangers around us." Plett nodded. "It is our mind informing us of danger. However, letting it guide your actions will only lead to anger and hatred, and that will leave you open to the dark side of the Force. I believe you have met some who were consumed in this manner, ages past."

"Yeah. They weren't too friendly." Tess said. "So what do I do, then? Give up, turn myself in to the glorious Empire and let them take me wherever they wanted to, to do who knows what to me?"

"No. But you must learn to acknowledge that fear, and the let it go. Not use it to guide your strikes through anger." He explained. "I do not expect you or your friends to take to the true Jedi path. But I do want you to understand that emotions, specially negative ones, can cloud your mind, and be your undoing. You must learn to recognize them, understand why they are there, then let them go. That is what meditation is for. To center yourself." He raised his hand, letting the hilt of the training saber float serenely above it. "Once you are centered in mind, you will become more centered when it comes to battle... and hitting your opponent."

"And if I can do that, will you help us with these powers? I need to learn to defend myself and the others as best I can. It's... dangerous, out there. I got stabbed by a ghost, once. That was weird. But not just me. The others, too.’

 Ressan is... eager. Maybe a little too eager. Always trying to use a vibroblade when a butterknife is needed, so to speak, you know? Suvore... well. You want to talk about fear guiding your actions, she's the living, walking embodiment of it."

Plett nodded, bemused by the group he'd been sent by the will of the Force. "Yes, the others as well. They have both already asked me to instruct them."

"Really? I kind of expected you to take more convincing. You know I have a bounty on my head, right?" Tess said, somewhat shocked.

"Yes. So do the young ones under my care, and I myself." He said with a nod. "There is a standard bounty for all force sensitives, but the payout grows exponentially for padawans, knights and masters." He moved to put away the training saber, then sat on one of the mats lining the room, patting one near him as an invitation. "I understand that there is danger, and for that reason I created this sanctuary for the padawans, a place where they'd be safe for as long as possible from the Empire, training them as best I could for a galaxy that is no longer friendly to Force users and Jedi in particular. And while that safety exists, I will do what I can to train you three so that you too have the ability to protect yourselves once this sanctuary ceases to exist."

Tess put the training saber away and sat down beside Plett. "Right, okay, that's understandable. But-- Wait, did you call me by my whole first name, earlier?" Tess said, scowling a little. "I've only introduced myself as Tess, here."

"You did. But you have garnered quite a bit of fame in the galaxy in your short time off your own world, princess... and it was not hard to find you and your friends on the holonet." He pointed out.

Tess looked sheepish and scratched at the back of her head. "It's been a pretty intense couple of weeks. Some new trouble every day, it seems like. I almost envy the kids here. They don't know what they've got." She sighed, and was quiet for a moment. "So you've seen the gladiator fight, then? Suvore didn't force me to do that. She tried to stop me."

Plett blinked slowly. "Gladiator fight?"

"What? No, I didn't say gladiator fight. I said... radiator... kite. We should probably meditate, huh? Meditating's good. Get centered. Totally centered." Tess closed her eyes. Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn

"You chose to fight." He said. "Why?"

Tess sighed and opened her eyes. "We needed money. I've caused Suvore and Ressan a lot of trouble. Or, well, Ressan and I have caused Suvore a lot of trouble, really. She's a wanted criminal, thanks to me. Or, well, partially thanks to me. The Empire thinks she kidnapped me. So... I wanted to help pay her back, in some way, for the incredible debt I now owe her." Tess rolled up a sleeve, revealing a pair of thin scars on her upper arm. "That's where I got these. I won. We got enough money for fuel and food. It's not enough, but it's a start."

"So you fought another fighter who was trying to obtain money themselves, for possibly the same need?" He inquired.

"Uuuuuhhhh." Tess stalled. "I fought a big animal."

"A caged animal who was merely trying to survive."

"... yes."

"Did you enjoy it?"

Tess sighed, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I did."

"Did you even once, before, during or after the fight, consider that you killed an innocent being who was forced against it's will to fight to survive? And enjoyed it?"

"I didn't kill it!" Tess objected

"So you merely beat it, presumably with your vibroblade. Gave IT scars that will be added on to, in a continuous loop of suffering perpetuated by it's masters."

"... yes."

"Do you realize that what you fear from the Empire, is what you helped cause to that creature?" He watched her. "In your fear of the Empire, you channeled it into an act of oppression against one weaker than yourself."

Tess opened her mouth to object, but she had nothing. No counterpoint. No sharp retort. "You're right." she said, after a while, voice quiet.

"That is what the difference is between acknowledging and making peace with your fears, and letting your fear guide you. Up until this point you have let fear guide your steps and actions, with no thought to the deeper truths of the actions you take." His expression became gentler then. "Being able to manipulate the Force in the way that you can is a powerful tool. One that can easily turn you into the very beings you are running for. With great power comes greater responsibility for your actions. Jedi have strict rules for a reason... we have powers beyond those of other beings, and must be very careful not to let those powers be used improperly. If you wish to become proficient in battle, both with the blade and with the Force, you must learn to use it judiciously and only when it is absolutely necessary."

"Alright." Tess said. "I-- I can do that. Just to protect myself and my friends. I can do that." After a moment, she added "Does that mean no gladiator fights against willing combatants, either?"

He stared at her in silence. "Do you think you will be able to fight without using the Force at all?"

"I'm doing my best not to rely on it." Tess said, subconsciously running a hand across the claw on her chest. "Using it will bring unwanted attention to us."

He nodded. "Well, by understanding the Force and how it works, it should become easier to do just that. Now, shall we meditate for a while before going upstairs for dinner?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." She said, and then, after a moment: "Master." She closed her eyes, and slowly, slowly slipped in to a force trance