Yavin IV

[ObliviousKnight]

”œYou should be pleased. They're all insufferable idealists, even worse than my daughter.”

[SithAcolyte]

It was a little strange how Armiena and her mother departed. Darla wondered exactly what was going on between the two of them. It put Darla in mind of her own mother. The two had not spoken in as long as Darla could remember and had parted on bad terms. Darla knew how difficult mothers could be when it came to understanding their children. She wished her won mother had been more like Skye, loving, supporting. Saying that, Darla had never made things easy for her own mother.

 

"Well... I can have the Persephone ready to leave in no time. Everyone's welcome if they need a ride. Who's with me?"

[Ary the Grey]

The Blur landed on Yavin, a simple aged man walking down its ramp. Only a few hours had passed, but for him it had felt like years...and to anyone else who could sense his presence, they would easily pick up on it too. He was not weaker...and yet he was. He felt it...mentally.

 

But his wife was not here. Brow furrowed, he began stalking the facility for anyone who could tell him where she was. Something else piqued his interest as well, though he barely felt it, it was there.

 

Misal had been here.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex shook his head at Armiena's sudden departure, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. She had always been like that. Once she had her mind made up on something, she acted.

 

He shifted his attention back to Darla. "Aerec and I will go with you," he said, "but you hardly needed to ask, I'm sure. One day I'll leave you in peace." There was a twinkle in his eye, but he hoped Darla knew that if she ever needed time alone she simply had to ask.

 

He turned to his old master. "What about you? Are you going to join us, Skye, and give the Persephone a try?"

 

Just as he asked the question, he felt the presence of Armiena's husband arrive. He repressed a grimace at the mental picture of Armiena's face if she found out she had missed him by a mere few minutes, then reached out to him to let him know where they were. He was sure Aryian would like to be there at the opening ceremony on the Aequitas as well...unless, Darex reflected, he was an Imperial citizen now.

 

If so, things were going to get very complicated for the Darkfires.

[ForceFusion]

Aerec had dutifully followed Darex everywhere, attempting to remain as quiet and respectful as possible. He was twitching. With nervousness and anxiousness. Through the Fore he felt the power of the other Jedi he'd been meeting, and through his ears he could tell that some major galactic turns were happening. The political situation was beyond him, and therefore made him feel useless, bored, and twitchy. The power of the Jedi was intimidating and made him feel small and, therefore, twitchy.

 

But he was mostly twitchy because he hadn't said a single word in hours. He let Darex speak for him and make plans for him, which was fine. He was pretty much following Darex's lead for the foreseeable future. He just bloody liked talking, and his mouth was dry. His jaw hurt from all the clenching. He'd probably rubbed a hole in his robes where his hands felt the need to occupy themselves.

 

All right, Aerec, he thought, it's time to put your training to work. You shouldn't actually speak, but maybe you can work on that little Force-message thing Darex scared the tar out of you with.

 

Darex hadn't explained it in detail, but Aerec had studied a bit on the subject during the hyperdrive jump to Yavin. He concentrated on his Master and formed a sentence in his head. Just testing this out. Hear me?

[ObliviousKnight]

The Blur received a message from the Ghost Breath. Hopefully, the artificial intelligence that managed the ship in its master's absence would forward it to Aryian, because it was quite relevant to his personal life.

 

"Aryian, get to Bilbringi””I'm in the public gardens on the Aequitas””get here ASAP, I think Aidan's going to be coming soon."

[Ary the Grey]

Aryian recieved the comm message shortly after Darex touched his mind, and he reached out to the other, a thought of thanks yet polite refusal conveyed, along with the reason why.

 

The Blur was preprepped by the time Aryian got back to it, its anticipation of his actions keenly uncanny. Without so much as a hello or goodbye, the rugged starfighter blasted out of the hangar with the force of a superlaser, such was its intent to find Aryian's wife and its own sister ship.

 

And so, as soon as it was able, the tiny craft winked out of existance, hurling itself towards the background spackle of stars towards the infinities, sailing inevitably...home. One could argue that he had no home, yet his home was where his heart was, and right now, that was next to Armiena.

[Darex Trevelian]

He felt Aerec's conciousness brush his own, and was pleased that Aerec was taking this time to practice. He heard the first two words through the Force, then as they faded away he could read the rest of the sentence in Aerec's mind. He would have to teach Aerec how to shield his mind, he noted. Concentrate, padawan. Use the Force. An excellent first try. The more you communicate in this form, the easier it will be. It also has a benefit during times like these, for you to share your impressions on the goings-on privately.

 

He felt Aryian's response, and raised an eyebrow before speaking aloud. "It seems Armiena's time is closer than you predicted, Skye. She'll give the new Republic medics a good start to their service."

 

He glanced around the circle to see if anyone else was going to come. The Republic's opening ceremony was mere days away, and, while Bilbringi wasn't on the complete opposite side of the galaxy, it would take several hours to get there.

[Vladimir Faust]

The ship lands with a less than graceful crash, skidding through the jungle into a landing strip, coming to at a 8 degree angle. The AI governing the ship reflected its owners state of mind, the two being inexoribly linked.

 

With a hiss, the ship popped open and its owner, even less graceful than its ship, stumbled out, nearly falling over the edge of the cockpit. Blood soaked the rented armor and trench coat, tangling the latter's tattered strips. Short blond hair turned dark, also matted with blood and gashes slid down the man's cheeks and face, more blood yet nearly blinding him. Guided by a sixth sense, he pulled himself forward, the scowl on his face only matched by the fury boiling with in.

 

He swore he sensed people up ahead. He knew their kind all too well, but necessity mandated this. Limping forward, he grinned, wiping the blood off his face with a metal gauntlet, white and shining, though dented as if it were used to punch through a heavy durasteel plate.

 

Mandates calling for survival meant Vladimir Faust needed to make a tactical retreat back into a more familiar, populated galaxy to lick his wounds. Getting the ever-loving-crap beat out of him as he did so was an distant memory, one that only happened on a handful of occasions. The novelty long wore off as he pulled himself into the Bhelliom and retreated back through hyperspace. Now it just left him pissed, sore, and in need of aid.

 

Mandates, coming from one used to giving commands, came naturally to him. Stumbling forward, he sensed grasping a robe with his metal covered hands, pulling the owner closer, growling with his breath, his blue eyes, sharp, dangerous, but unfocused.

 

"Get... me... a... healer... NOW!"

[ForceFusion]

Right, Aerec thought, much less unsettled by the disembodied words of his Master appearing in his mind. He wasn't completely comfortable in the medium yet, but he was getting there. The thought of using it as a primary means of communication was at once cool and at once frightening. What if he never used his tongue again?

 

That was irrational and he knew it, but his jaw still ached to talk. He ignored it, focusing on his Master's instructions.

 

Ok, I can do that, he sent, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to feel the Force. So, uh, what's all this political stuff that's going on? I sorta zoned out.

 

What he didn't immediately realize was that his high concentration and effort had resulted in an unconscious grumbling in his throat. Perhaps it was trying to exercise it's ability to make noise after so long without doing so. Aerec's eyes popped open. I hope no one heard that!

[SithAcolyte]

"No no no no! It's not possible! Not here!" Darla shouted out suddenly.

 

There had been a sudden snap of synapses in her head. Without Darla trying, without Darla wanting it, her Force sense had returned to her. It wasn't the rejoiceful feeling she thought that it would be, but a violent assault on her psyche. Darla wanted to block it out, wanted to fall to the ground like she had earlier. This was different. This was no mere resurfacing of a repressed memory. This was here this was now.

 

She could feel him, just as if the Force had ever left her.

 

Her danger sense had come to life, overridden her mental barriers and was showing her who now approached.

 

"No, he can't be here!" Darla screamed out tears running down her face.

 

The man that she had wanted to kill so badly. The man that she had wanted revenge upon. The man who had killed her. Now she was powerless. A weak and scared young woman, not the fighter she had once been.

 

Darla wiped her cheeks, breathing deeply. Her words came out in a strangled whisper.

 

"Faust... It's Faust, he's here..."

[Skye Organa]

"What about you? Are you going to join us, Skye, and give the Persephone a try?"

 

"You never know. I may just do that. It's been a while since I've let someone else do the piloting." Skye answered Darex. The words were hardly said when she felt the arrival and departure of Aryian. He had just missed his wife...

 

"It seems Armiena's time is closer than you predicted, Skye. She'll give the new Republic medics a good start to their service."

 

This news should have surprised the Healer though with everything she herself had been through with her children, it didn't. Skye shrugged her shoulders, "These things do happen, and a child will choose their own time..." There was amusement in her tone as she spoke.

 

The sinister darkness that surrounded one particular being was felt by all at the same time. "I-Nine, Flitter - throw the shields up now!" Catching sight of the look on Darla's face, Skye dashed past Darex into her surgery, snatching up a hypospray and was soon back at Darla's side, letting the relaxant enter Darla's arm to reduce her shock. "It'll be alright Darla. You'll be alright." She hoped that Aimee had thrown up the shields on the Persephone too, she knew that I-Nine was in contact with Darla's droid so would instruct if necessary.

 

Her eyes sought Ara to see how she was reacting to their ancient foe being so close on their hidden sanctuary. Out of the three women remaining on board Serenity, Skye had suffered the least with regards to Faust. He'd framed her for Kieran's murder, though he hadn't done anything physically to her... unless you counted Skye treating the damage he had done to so many others. The Healer knew all too well what he was capable of.

 

A comm message came through from one of the small villages outside the temple, apparantly Faust had stumbled out of his ship and grabbed one of the local's. He was apparantly seriously injured and needed urgent medical help.

 

"Amon. Could you and Darex come with me. We'll need to do something about his ship too. Any way of jamming or wiping it's memory of this location?"

 

Skye looked hopefully at her son. She knew he had other means of doing things so hoped that her technically minded son could deal with that particular problem. She'd grab her strongest sedatives to put him out and they'd shift him to a secure location... preferably both he and his ship taken to another location all together. Yavin IV had to retain it's secretive seclusion. She knew that Faust had made a deal with Tzeentch at one point, that didn't mean she'd trust him as far as she could throw him.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex was about to answer his padawan, when the Force exploded with an all-too-familiar presence. Darla immediately went into hysterics, and Skye rushed to sedate her.

 

Unlike the others, Darex didn't have a lot of personal contact with Faust, but they had crossed paths a few times. He remembered rescuing patients in a hospital that Faust had set a bomb in, then picking through the remains to help survivors after the blast. Most recently, he had foiled a plot by the infamous hunter to destroy the Eternal Vigilence, though there was no specific evidence linking Faust to that attack but Darex's own senses.

 

As Skye moved into action, he followed her quickly. "Stay with Darla until we get back!" he called to Aerec, abandoning their Force-communication for something more direct. "She should be fine with the sedatives in her system, but try to keep her calm and by all means, keep her in the ship."

 

He then followed Skye down the hatch towards Faust's crippled ship. As they went, Darex answered her earlier question. "It depends on what kind of failsafes Faust has programmed into the Bhelliom. Knowing him, I'd say the chances of us getting access to the computer are slim."

 

They came across the bloodied Faust clutching to a horrified local, who was begging him to release him. Darex immediately calmed the local and gently but firmly pried Faust's hand off of the man. He then turned to Skye and lent her some of his stength through the Force, waiting for her orders before doing something that would be a hinderance, not a help.

[SithAcolyte]

The sedatives quickly worked their way into Darla's system. Soon the brief Force sense that she had regained was gone. She didn't know whether to cry or give out a sigh of relief. But the sedatives keep her calm and she did neither.

 

Reaching out with her senses Darla Darla tried to touch the Force, but once again it was gone. Her brief experience with it had shown her that it was still there. That was something to be thankful for. At least she knew that one day she would be able to regain her control over it.

 

Now she really did have hope.

 

Thanks Faust...

 

His powerful presence had kick started her Force sense, warning her that he was near. Now she was sedated and Force blind once more. Darla rose to her feet and began searching the Serenity for something that she could use as a weapon.

 

"Aerec... This Faust... He's a very bad man. I want to be ready for him if something goes wrong."

 

Truth be told, Darla wasn't sure what she would do it Faust attacked. Did she have the strength to stand up to without the Force? Darla cursed the sedatives running through her system, but knew that Skye had only been looking out for her.

 

The idea of Faust hurting Skye or Darex made Darla's blood boil. She really needed a weapon...

[Vladimir Faust]

"I.. said... get me to a bloody healer, you stupid, slow witted-" Faust's senses dazed, in that brief moment, past and present blurring...

 

...his new friends making plans to unleash a torrent of war on a new galaxy, ripe for fighting, bloodshed, and terror, enough to appease even him...

 

"W..who bloody dares lay hands on ME?" he roared, turning to the man peeling the robed figure out of his grip, nearly stumbling back a half step.

 

The plans for an initial stakehold in the new galaxy were to mark a glorious reign that would last for ages. Battles and conquests... then... betrayal...

 

His rational, cybernetic mind cleared up, forming a link with his ship. He became aware of what was happening, even as he could not, using his damaged ship once more as his eyes, ears, and now hands for a body that could not even stand. Even as his ship readied some action to save its master/other self, it identified the two approaching him and fed that information back to Faust.

 

It was a great fight and Faust slew his thousands and tens of thousands, but he was no fool and knew when he was outmatched. Wounded by claws and other bio-weapons, hurt, he fled, the pain taking him. Punching blindly into his ship a retreat path through hyperspace, his sixth sense took over. Before sinking into a trance to slow his metabolism, he realized he had no idea where his ship was going, just... safe in his home galaxy... and to be healed...

 

"Jedi?" Faust's hands flashed to his side, eyes narrowing dangerously, recognizing them. He fumbled for a weapon, a lightsaber. Steppiung back and dropping to his knees to steady himself, he drew it, activating it with a red glow. That saber, his first, was a battle trophy, taken off some young nit he vaporized with his disruptor rifle back on Ryloth ages ago. A tense second hung in the air as he evaluated his options: Two Jedi Masters versus he, Vladimir Faust, in his current state. He could win, possibly, but then what? He was the Hunter, but he was also a survivor first.

 

The saber dropped from his hands, hitting the ground with a quiet thud, inactive. Wounded horribly Vladimir Faust, threw his head back and laughed. Oh this was rich! Priceless! Even as he bled, surrounded by his enemies, he laughed, his armored frame shaking.

 

"I barely am able to stand, and I'm stuck on a planet full of Jedi Knights!" he laughed. "Oh, this is hysterical." His senses renewed by pure spite and malice. "So... what an interesting twist... of fate..." he choked out another laugh, eyeing the Jedi... Darex... he thought... "It seems the Force has a crueler sense of humor than I... throwing me to you wolves." He chuckled again, his voice cracking, blood trickling from his grinning lips. "So, are you two going to heal me or shall we dance?"

[ObliviousKnight]

Oh, it was far, far worse than the Hunter first estimated. Some scores of droids that had been designed as assistants in the Jedi laboratory also served as security. Faust had encountered one of them at Gala and saw that they were rather effective combatants.

 

One of these was present in the hangar when the Bhelliom arrived and appraised the situation in microseconds--unexpectedly, Vladimir Faust had stumbled into this most secret of refuges in a sorry state. It took only seconds more for the humanoid droid to report this to his ninety-odd brethren, at which point all of them were as alert as heavily-armed, heavily-caffeinated rodents under the eyes of a bird of prey. They weren't particularly interested in vengeance for their fallen brother... merely to ensure that Faust wouldn't be an immediate threat when he left this world.

 

For now, however, their consensus was to remain at their posts and only make a move if the Masters had any difficulty with him.

[Skye Organa]

Skye warily eyed Faust as he drew his saber, aware of Darex and the fact he had opened himself to her. The Master Healer was well aware of Faust's medical condition, of how serious it was. A probe of the Force had her glance in the direction of his ship having felt the cybernetic chip, familiar with it both as she had one herself (though not the same kind) and through knowledge she had picked up about him. She couldn't help the reaction to this man that had caused the death and destruction of so many and had caused pain to a great many more, hidden though it was by a neutral, unreadable expression upon her face. Skye hoped common sense would prevail that he wouldn't use his ships weaponry while they saw to him, though wouldn't be surprised if he did, even if he risked his own death by those actions. He was that kind of fiend.

 

"Dance Faust? You can hardly stand, let alone dance", the statement used was truthful though held a hint of sarcasm. Even though he was on deaths door he still would go down fighting. "You who have caused so much pain and destruction to so many, want a Healer? Tell me why I shouldn't just do the galaxy a favour and let you bleed to death right here, right now?"

 

Though highly tempted to do so, her healer eithic's wouldn't allow her to do so. Even though in many cultures she would be justified to 'put him out of his misery'. For all she knew he had another clone somewhere where he could re-emerge and cause more havoc. At least 'under her care' she could monitor him and keep him out of circulation for a time at least.

 

"No tricks Faust, I could easily make a slip and end your life rather than save it."

 

She had a feeling that that statement would shock Darex, and possibly others that heard it, only for the fact he would realise through their bond that they were just words. Skye had a reputation of being a gentle soul that would do anything to save anyone - and had. She'd even given Kakuto Ryu her own blood to save his life... even though the ungrateful wretch had then drained it back out of himself again... afraid perhaps that some of her goodness would rub off on him. With a manipulation of the Force, she swept Faust's saber further away from his grasp, pinning him to the ground with the light energies that also suppressed his while she approached with a hypospray in the same movement, injecting the strong sedative. She glanced up at Darex, knowing he would act if the need arose.

 

Once sure that Faust was unconscious, Skye commed I-Nine to send out the hover stretcher. Now the dilema was, where would she treat him and how would they get rid of his ship from Yavin so that he wouldn't know where he had landed or that Yavin still existed... She could easily make him believe he had halucinated any fact to do with the Planet that had previously been destroyed, changing any details in his ship would be the problem. Hopefully Amon would be able to come up with an answer to that one.

[Vladimir Faust]

Faust remains calm, smiling in response to the question, in fact planning, at the first sign of any outright hostility to have his ship launch a full spread of diamond boron missiles and blow himself and his assassins to Hell. Not the end he expected, but...

 

That plan was blown out of the water, his ship's sensors picking up the damned Draygo woman's droids in the area. The explosion would still be glorious, but less than certain. Any action might make the Jedi decide he was a threat after all. He resisted the urge to grind his teeth, but answered the healer's question, giving a chuckle.

 

"Ah... you are wolves... wolves and shepards at once... Jedi... catering weakness..." Breaking off with laughter between each word, he continues, once more wiping blood from his mouth. "I know... what manner of Beast I am... and what manner you are not... Your kind are not murderers, willing to cut people down in cold blood... Not without becoming like... me..." With a final chuckle, he bows his head, feeling the sedative course through him. "The galaxy owes me... needs me... whether they believe it... or not..."

 

Laughing, he lets unconsciousness take him, dimly wondering if he would wake up. Of course, if he did not, he would have the last laugh, knowing in his heart of hearts the vaunted champions of "justice" were no better than he and they would have to live with his murder. And if they gave into that bit of Darkness...

 

*****

 

Sensing Faust's bodily incapacitation, the self in his ship remains weary, the sensors picking up the surroundings. It makes a deliberate show of powering down its weapon's systems, going into rest, though anyone trying to tamper with its internal workings would receiving a nasty, nasty shock.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex had expected a strong reaction, and was not disappointed. He quickly stepped out of range of Faust's lightsaber, only moving closer when it wavered and Skye pushed it far enough away for them not to have to worry about it. Not that Darex really expected Faust to be able to hold his own in a fight in his current state, but he also knew that to underestimate Faust was often a deadly mistake.

 

He waited as Skye baited him, keeping his smile at her un-Jedi-like choice of words hidden. It was good to see she still had some of her old spitfire spirit buried beneath the events that had changed her in the past years. When Faust finally passed out, he helped Skye lift him onto the stretcher. "What's his condition?" he asked.

[Amon Saulot]

"You couldn't kill him even if you wanted to. Just as he can't harm us. There is powerful energy at work here, protective wards left behind by my father. I'm not sure exactly how they work, but given father's love of randomness, anything could happen."

 

Amon apparently had passed out for some time, but now, in the embrace of one of his father's demon worlds, felt his energy returning and was able to move freely again.

[ForceFusion]

Darla's brief presence in the Force almost knocked Aerec off his feet. "Darla?" he had instinctively called, knowing that it must have been her without anything else to base the judgment on. He was definitley creeped out by that decision.

 

And then his friend was in trouble and his master had ordererd him to be at her side. Aerec knew that he was completely lost, that the situation was beyond him. All of the powerful people he'd met were now amplified in the Force, as if fighting a battle or living life more intensley than they had been moments before. The world tingled with danger and a shifting atmosphere.

 

Here he sat clutching Darla's hand, her grip weakening with the sedatives. The Force had abandoned her once again. He missed he in it already. The absence made him want to vomit.

 

She rose to her feet and began stumbling around the ship. "Aerec... This Faust... He's a very bad man. I want to be ready for him if something goes wrong."

 

"Just stay in the ship, Darla. Don't worry," he began without even thinking, "I'll protect you."

 

What?!? He was shocked he'd said it but he knew it was as true as it could get. He may not succesfully protect her but he'd sure as hell try.

[SithAcolyte]

Aerec held Darla's hand, told her that he would protect her. The words were comforting and through her sedative haze she wanted to relax and listen to him.

 

"No! I should be protecting you! You're not ready to face Faust. Neither was I... He killed me.... He killed me." As Darla repeated the words, they sank in.

 

He had killed her, in the past. It felt like lifetimes ago and in a way it was. But that didn't mean that he was going to hurt her now. She was amongst friends. She was as safe as she could be. But just to feel a blaster in her grip would've made her feel safe. Darla hated being helpless.

 

"I'm sorry." Darla turned to Aerec, apologizing for her behaviour. "I tried to stand up to Faust when I was just a Padawan. He shot me down with his ship's guns, he wouldn't even kill me face to face then. I don't know why I'm so afraid. I've felt nothing in the Force for so long and that sudden blossom I felt... All those feelings, all those memoriesflooded me in that instant. But I know now. He's a vile coward. Skye, Darex, you, me... We're together. We'll stand against him if he tries to hurt anyone."

 

Darla's breathing came steadily and she found herself infinitely calmer. Once again her faith in her friends strengthened her. She squeezed Aerec's hand and smiled at him, showing that her fear had evaporated.

 

"We'll protect each other."

[ForceFusion]

"There is no death," Aerec said, winking at his friend, "there is the Force." Of course, he didn't understand what it was like for Darla to have been "dead", but he did know that she was back now, at least in some capacity. And she still had the ability to touch the Force, so she wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

 

Keeping her hand squeezed he reached out to Darex. Everything all right? Surviving here. Connected to Darex and Darla, he could feel life and something he had previously only identified with his brother: fraternity...community. He got it now. Though he didn't know them, he felt connected to Skye and the other Jedi working to keep Faust in check. Even though Darla wasn't touching the Force, she was part of that bond, too. Perhaps she could feel it. Aerec wished she could.

 

Jedi or not, Force-user or not, the galaxy was connected, every part of it, even evil people like Faust, even amoral people like Aerec had once been. The question was, who stood together in community? Who only looked out for themselves?

 

Aerec knew what it was like to only look after himself. Perhaps if he'd continued down that path he would have ended up a different man, one like this Faust. But here clutching Darla's hand and feeling Darex's, he knew he was more than himself. No one like Faust, not even the death he offered, could break that bond.

 

"We'll be just fine, Darla. Let's all just keep holding on."

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

Ara wasn't sure how to respond to the sudden appearance of Faust. She was, unfortunately, linked to the man, and quite aware of his presence whether she wanted to be or not.

 

Sanare responded immediately, in a much different matter. The sword popped out of it's sheath and appeared in a humanoid shape. She let out loud noises, warning klaxons that almost rattled the ship.

 

"The Hunter! Mother, we must leave!" The sword's spirit darted around the ship, all around Ara. "Leave!"

 

Ara easily snatched the sword out of the air, stopping its mad frenzy. "Calm down. He's in horrible shape, and if need be, I have other abilities that, while he has not seen, he is aware of. Vladimir may be vicious, but he's not stupid enough to try anything. I'm sure of that." She stuffed the sword back in the sheath at her waist and swiftly walked out of the ship.

 

Her gray eyes, however, betrayed her rather fragile mental state. It was unexpected, to say the least, having Faust appear out of nowhere and land on Yavin IV.

 

She finally reached Skye and the others, and made a command decision:

 

"Take him to my ship. I have security in place as it is, being that I've dealt with hackers and the like before. He won't be able to do anything." Ara took in a deep breath, grasping Sanare's handle lightly.

 

"I can promise you that, even when he has recovered. Just...don't mess with his ship. The two are connected, somehow, and even though he's out, I can guarantee you that ship is aware of his condition and his position on the planet."

[SithAcolyte]

In her confusion Darla had forgotten that Ara was there. Her sentient weapon as behaving strangely, seemly almost as worried about Faust as Darla had been. She wondered what exactly had happened between Ara and Faust. There was something behind Ara's eyes as she left.

 

Turning to Aerec, still holding his hand tightly Darla said. "Ara has defeated Faust before. If he tries anything stupid, she'll take care of him."

 

Darla had the feeling that it would all be over soon, thanks to Ara. Hopefully they could all get a move on and head to Bilbringi to catch up with Armeina. At this rate, she may have already given birth.

[Skye Organa]

The Healer looked back up at Darex, her expression showing the seriousness of Faust's injuries. "I'm surprised he had the strength to lift that saber of his. He must of been calling strongly on the darkside even for that. How he's survived this far I really don't know." She paused, her somber green eyes studying the battered man on the stretcher both visually and through the Force. Bringing out an instrument, she ran it over his body, also taking a sample of blood. "He's got several broken ribs. His wrist, leg and foot are broken." She closed her eyes, letting the light energies flow through her as she searched his body, analysing him internally to feel out what the device had already stated. "His liver is ruptured, his chest cavity is filling with blood, a punctured lung, fever, infections, a large gash on his side and a stubbed toe. We'll have to get him in a surgery immediately if we are to save him so that he can be put to trial. There are many that would like to see justice brought down on him. Contact Armiena... no, she might be too busy at the moment. Contact her advisors if you can't get in touch with Misal or Aryian, and let them know we have Faust and what his condition is."

 

Skye glanced over at Amon. Surely her son would know she wouldn't kill purposely, not unless it was the very last resort. She was a Healer, not a murderer. That had been one way Faust had tried to tarnish her name. He'd cloned an imitation of Keiren and had killed 'himself' in front of that crowd to make it look as if she had done it. Faust had stirred up the crowd so much that even with all of her empathic nature she had been hard pressed to keep those around her from rioting. He was personified evil. Her gaze rested on his saber, where she had swept it to. With a nudge of the Force, she retrieved it and not wanting to touch it, she put it into a contamination bag.

 

Even with Tzeentch's wards, she still wondered about their security there now that Faust knew where their santuary was. Was it the wards that kept Faust alive at the moment? She wondered if Tzeentch's wards could somehow wipe the information from Faust's ship's memory banks so he couldn't find this place again? While Corellia was her birthplace, Yavin was her home. It was where she'd had all her children with her, it was her sanctuary... where she found inner peace. The times at Yavin had been some of her happiest memories. She didn't want Faust to destroy that too.

 

Watching Ara approach, Skye observed the other Healer, wondering how Ara was coping with Faust being right here, even in this condition. After what he had done to her. Skye stepped closer to her, resting her hand upon Ara's arm to let her know without words that she would support her in any way if she needed it. Faust had tortured Ara badly and had injected her with that sith poison. The Healer wasn't sure how fragile the other's mental state was, facing the man that had treated her so horribly.

 

"Are you sure you're alright with it?" Skye searched Ara's face, looking to see the other's inner strength. "Once we remove Faust from here, do you think his ship will follow? With your hacking skills, you wouldn't have some kind of virus up your sleeve that could wipe this location from his ship's memory by any chance?" It was just a thought. She gave a sigh, turning her attention back to the unconcious man. "Lead the way to your surgery Ara. We need to stabilize him, and he'll need a blood transfusion. Do you think he'll react the same as Kakuto and re-drain himself if he finds out he has Jedi blood within his veins?"

 

Skye attempted a bit of light humour in the face of this seriousness. She pushed the controls on the hover stretcher, guiding it towards Ara's ship. The surgery would have to be done now.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex winced at the list of injuries. The man was on death's threshold. He wondered what could have done this to him...or who. But that story would have to wait. For now, they were duty-bound as Jedi to heal and help him recover.

 

Once they made it to Ara's ship, Darex quickly went back to the Persephone to use Darla's communications system. He didn't have the personal comm frequencies of either Misal or Aryian, but he knew they were both on Bilbringi. He contacted the planet and had to work his way up to the top levels through the communication techs. Finally, he was transferred to Admiral Starlisk, and from there made sure the message would reach the appropriate ears.

 

His task complete, he headed back to Ara's ship to see what else he could do to assist the healers.

[Vladimir Faust]

There's a small bit of static, and suddenly Darex's comm springs to life, a familiar, mocking voice chiming in on it. At the same time the comms activate aboard Ara's ship and the Persephone and a holo display of Faust's face, bemused and grinning appears on a view screen- purely digital, but still realistic enough looking even if it fails to capture the depths of his icy blue eyes. The source of the comm call is right on Yavin itself, originating from Faust's ship, which in turn made no attempt to hide its blatant scanning and tapping of comm lines.

 

Ahh... I should have suspected no lesser degree of treachery from your lot. Tell me, Jedi Trevelian, is it really... sporting, or how shall we say... safe... to try calling in the calvalry to apprehend me for my... There is a brief snicker. My crimes? I do appreciate the fact you are healing me, and I might even acknowledge a debt to your lot, but calling in the Darkfires?

 

There is another short laugh as the comm continues.

 

It seems the powers that be really did have a cruel sense of humor throwing me in your path. Tell me, is there anyone on this foresaken rock I haven't mortally offended? My sensors indicate Darla, Ara, Skye, and a few others There is more laughter, haughty and mocking. Can you really protect me against them? Have you given a thought as to what would go in for my trial? Even Darth Vader's alleged reign of terror will look simple in comparison to your trumped up charges. Can you imagine the security you will need? Or even what will happen once you invariably lose and how that will hurt the rebel's credibility? Especially when your current leader is still wanted for a brutal slaughter at the Kuat Drive Yards?

 

Your kind are not murders and I know that much, but really, the smartest thing to do would be let me depart, quietly. I would foreswear all acts of vengence against your kind and you wouldn't have any risks of upsetting the public when you lose me. Besides, I could be very, very useful to your lot alive. You still don't even know what it was that sent me here.

 

Just think about it, Jedi. Oh, and do be careful with my body and with my... ship... If you try to hack into it, there could be some nasty and unforeseen consquences that will be unfortnate for the both of us. If you have anything to say, you can just comm it back to my ship, I will remember it on waking, and yes, I do promise to behave, even with my mechanical familiar here.

 

The image of Faust on the view screen winks once, and blows a mocking kiss in the direction of the Jedi healers before fading out, ending the comm.

 

*****

 

Meanwhile, Faust's body stirs slightly, even hiccuping slightly almost as if giggling along with the comm his ship sent. The passes quickly, replaced by a high fever and low groans of pain.

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

"Figures." Ara spoke to her ship's console over her shoulder. "Increase the security, top level, and next time a comm tries to come through from anyone, alert me first and give me coordinates and an identity. Block it if it's from Vladimir." The ship buzzed an affirmative, and the Jedi turned back to give Faust a look with a raised eyebrow. "Vladimir, honestly, did you just giggle? How unbecoming for a man such as yourself."

 

She moved Faust into one of the other rooms on her ship, where she often did her own healing. There were plenty of supplies to start the basic surgery, and the rest of it was up to the abilities of both Healers in the room.

 

As she walked, she smirked at Skye. "Kakuto drained himself? I imagine Vladimir might do something similar, if he were to find out it were my blood, at least."

 

Once in the room, Ara situated everything into it's proper place with the help of Sanare. The sword had now taken on a smaller, less obtrusive form, looking everything like a small fairy fluttering about the room, pushing hover carts and tools into place. Once finished, the fairy-sword sat itself on Ara's shoulder.

 

"Mother...are you sure?"

 

For a moment, Ara entered her own mind. Her "other selves" were there, all in different colored robes. She glanced at the far left of the line, where the black and red robed Aras were shackled and chained, but not gagged.

 

"They've been nagging again, I know," the white robed version of herself said with a nod. "Ignore them. You know what is right."

 

Ara returned to the real world. "Yes, I'm sure." She glanced at Sanare and Skye in turn. "Ready to start? I can start taking care of the infection with a bit of, well, singing and Force healing. Start wherever you see fit."

 

The blond Jedi began singing softly, so much so that it was difficult for anyone to hear what she was saying. If one listened closely, the lyrics could barely be made out as the bacteria were removed from Faust's body with every note, lowering his fever.

 

"Set me free, leave me be, I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity

Here I am, and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be

But you're onto me, and all over me..."

[SithAcolyte]

Letting go of Aerec's hand, Darla explained. "I'm just gona find out what's going on."

 

Getting up Darla pulled out her comm unit and walked a little around the Serenity while she tried to contact Skye.

 

"Skye? I'm alright. I just wanted to know what was happening and make sure you guys are alright."

 

Pausing for a minute, there was something at the back of Darla's mind. Something nagging her insistently. A memory. Something that had been taken from her.

 

"Skye... Is he... Does he have a lightsaber? Red blade? A dragon's mouth built into the bottom of the hilt?"

 

It was all so clear to Darla. He had taken something from her a long time ago. Her lightsaber. The first one that she had ever constructed. It had been like a slap in the face for him to take her weapon and use it all these years to kill.

 

..........................................................................................................

 

Onboard the Persephone Aimee approached Darex tentatively.

 

"Master Darex! What's happening? I received a transmission from I-Nine telling me to raise the ships sheilds. He said that there s a dnagerous feelon on loose? Has he been aprehened? Is everybody alright?"