Space

[Emily]

She listened to his rebuttal, silently daring him to say anything that would fix this, that would make what she saw become an innocent gesture. Up until 2V's interruption, she was astonished at the depth of his feigned innocence--or perhaps ignorance. Could he possibly not realize what he had done to make her so upset? Her feelings had nothing to do with him saving Tirzah and Raia.

 

He was clearly exasperated as he turned to answer the droid's interruption. She couldn't help but whisper, "I thought I knew you..."

 

She didn't hear much of the conversation between him and the sassy droid, just enough to know that Jaina was trying to run away again. Clearly, her aunt felt guilty, and part of Emily was perfectly okay with letting her stew in her guilt. But another part of her--the sane part of her--still wanted to talk to Jaina, to learn about her, to reconnect with her. That thought brought her up short and jolted her out of her angry haze. It made no sense. Why would she still care about Jaina when it had been so clear that Raynuk still cared about her? Even that thought made her feel like her head was spinning.

 

Raynuk turned to her again, meeting her eyes. His tone began to lose it's coldness as he stepped close to her and threw words back at her. Emily was going to interrupt, but she couldn't keep his words from impacting her. And for a moment, she hated herself for it. Despite it all, despite everything he had just done, he could still cut her to the core. And that was the problem. The problem was that even in the face of this betrayal, she still loved him. A flicker of sympathy attempted to ignite in her heart, but she wasn't ready for it. His words drove her crazy.

 

"If you thought that was what would happen, then you don't know me."

 

The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. But once they were out, the sorrow she was feeling took prominence again, and she sat down heavily on the sofa once more. "Raynuk, this has nothing to do with 'making amends'. It has everything to do with you and Jaina and what used to be between you...and what it seems like you want there to be again. The way you looked at her back there..." Her tone grew bitter again. "What am I supposed to think? You can't have it both ways. You neither of you ever said exactly what your relationship used to be...but you have to know that if you're looking for a second chance, a chance to take things back to exactly how they were, then you're going to have to do it alone." She sighed and put her hand on her forehead. "I'm not going to be your backup, your second choice when she isn't around."

 

She didn't try to hide the pain she was feeling. The rage had vanished in the depths of it. She met his eyes, her mismatched ones full of pain, and a shimmer of tears that she didn't even bother to hide. "I will fight for you, but I'm not going to fight against you."

[Raynuk Montar]

"No... I suppose I dont. " He murmured, feeling more drained from this conversation than his trip through the Force. "I didnt know you were capable of such deep seeded jealousy."

 

He knew that would sting the moment he said it, but the words had already escaped before he could stop it. Now they had both said things that were ill intended. He still did not face he as she sat down and continued, but he listened still.

 

"What used to be does not matter Emily, and it never should have. Yes, I do want your aunt back in my life; I dont want her to fear me. And like it or not, because of this..." he pointed to head as he continued, "connection I have with her now, she is going to be a part of my future. There is no doubt in my mind of the certainty of that. And what are you supposed to think?"

He turned then, his face a mix of disapointment and frustration.

 

"What you are supposed to think doesnt matter in the light of what you do think. All the faith and trust you seemed to have in me counts for nothing apparently." He bit through a harsh tone. "You seem so certain of an ending to us that you're constantly looking for reasons for it to happen. First it was death, and now you seek to pin it on Jaina's return into my life? So eager are you for 'reasons' that you have now fashioned one out of my compassion for someone else."

He turned his back to her and walked towards the galley as he continued, his voice sounding pained and resigned to the hand he was being dealt.

 

"I can not see the future Emily. Is there a chance of what you fear will come true? Yes, there is, and I will not deny that or attempt to hide it. But if you cant live with that chance of future pain, then perhaps.... perhaps this is where the ending you continue to look out for comes to pass. There was a distinct pause as he bit back some words, then continued.

You may take the pain now, or kick it down the road and risk it coming later. I can live with going it alone; I have plenty on my plate to keep myself busy and my mind occupied. Theres an entire cult of lunatics out there that needs to be stopped, and they will never see me coming right? Draken and Alora are waiting on Dathomir right now... and then there's the other planets to comb over, other hidden items to be found, plots and plans to uncover..." He drifted off, almost sounding like he was trying to convince himself.

 

He paused as he reached the corner of the doorway, turning enough to see Emily in his peripheral vision without looking directly at her.

 

"Your life is your own Emily... But if you feel pain at binding it to me, then I do not wish for you to continue doing so. I have caused enough pain and anguish with my actions to continue watching them hurt you."

 

And then he disappeared into the galley. He would not be the one to make this decision.

[Delta73]

Another comm text comes in for Jaina Jade Skywalker. Marked Most Urgent.

 

 

Hey Baby, I totally had the most crazy dream about you. It was a furry experience if you know what I mean. Anyway let's go small game hunting maybe? Love you XOXOXOXOXO

 

 

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Xae actually flinched at the rawness of the emotions that echoed through the Force, from Emily especially. The Jedi had no idea what had set the woman off like that, but as she did her best not to listen to the conversation unfolding, or rather the half being yelled, on the other side of the bulkhead. She gave up a few minutes in as it was impossible not to hear Raynuk and Emily snipe at one another.

Jealousy is such an ugly thing, perhaps this can, at least, serve as a lesson for Tirzah about the dangers of attachment...or at least being wary of the darker emotions they can cause, she amended, knowing that there was no denying Jaina her connection to her daughter. Especially not now. Out of one mess, into the pan, and now into the fire, it seems.

 

She heard Jaina's message through the Force and reassured the woman, I've already alerted Tares. I'm concerned about the other one. She still thinks all of this is her fault. Her master going after Raynuk is not going to make things better. Take Tirzah if you have to, I can always take my chances with this alleged brother of mine.

 

Even now she poured herself another cup of tea and gave things over to the Force. The last thing she wanted to do was make things worse that she might have already done. Emily had vehemently denied Raia being Raynuk's daughter and seemed rather unhealthily possessive of the man. There was definitely more there than Xae could ever hope to or cared to know about the situation and she was doing her best to stay out of it.

These two must really care deeply about each other for her to be this upset and for him to be in such control when all he wants to do is bite back. She pursed her lips and moved further into the galley as she felt and saw Raynuk approach, the darkness radiating off of him was almost dizzying.

 

"Tea or caf?" she offered as he entered, handing him an empty mug and trying to think of a way to keep this from being any more awkward than it was. She very much doubted that either of them had liked having an audience for their argument. Within her, the flame of the light side burned brightly, and she felt the urge to speak despite her better judgment.

 

"The girl is very strong in the Force. A rarity amongst those from my homeworld. I understand she hasn't been with you long?" Xae hoped the subject change might help her tactfully suss out any way she might help the situation if either of them were open to it. Besides, Raia needed the two of them to get things sorted if the girl's emotions that echoed through the force were any indication.

[Tares Vortex]

The comm finally came in from the other ship. It was the sign that he had been waiting for. Tares had been in the dark about what had been going on on the other ship, but he had suspected that a fast getaway might've been required. Whether this was the case or not was, at the moment, irrelevant.

 

Tares looked over to Atlas as his hands immediately jumped across to the control panel in front of him. "Get the docking collar ready. We will want to make this quick."

 

He didn't wait for the droid to acknowledge. Instead, he carefully guided his ship through the empty space between the two vessels. The ship floated to the appropriate position before it stopped and began to strafe closer to the cluster.

After a few seconds, the two ships were docked. Tares made his way over to the airlock and waited for the docking cycle to complete. Atlas soon joined him.

 

A few more minutes past before the cycle was complete. Once it had finished, Tares pressed a control panel on the wall to release the locks on the door. The massive, metal door quietly slipped up to reveal the interior of the other ship….

[Raynuk Montar]

((Permission given and such))

 

Raynuk had entered the galley having momentarily forgotten that the Jedi was even there. He glanced at her in the moment, choosing to not turn his bottled up emotions on her. She may be a Jedi… but she’s as stuck here as Jaina is currently… he thought. And despite the fact that it had been him and Jaina that ultimately entered the Force-dream to save the girls, Xae had helped guide the group in the right direction in order to enter the dream in the first place.

 

"Tea or caf?" Xae spoke first, breaking the obviously awkward silence with which Raynuk had entered. The absurdity and simplicity of the question given the argument that she had been privy to was just enough to crack the torment of emotions and thoughts that swirled around him. But he was not ready or willing to open up to her of all people; for one thing she was still a Jedi, one that he barely even knew, and was currently in little mood to open up to anyone about what had just happened. But she had been polite and respective the entire time aboard the Ravenhammer, and that had earned her not being ignored at least. Especially when he could sense her altruistic nature.

 

“I think I'm going to need something a bit stronger than either one of those alone, but let's start with caf.” he answered, accepting the mug with a nod and placing it on the counter as he reached to one of the top cabinets, opening it to reveal a surprisingly extensive cabinet of spirits and forms of alcohol from all over the galaxy.

 

“Perks of having a brand new high end ship; fully stocked wet bar.” He mused, reaching for a larger dark bottle with a label written in an obscure language that Raynuk didn't actually know, but knew the bottle and its quality.

 

“As opposed to a dry bar?”Xae asked with a wry grin.

 

The Jedi’s attempt at humor fell flat against Raynuk’s troubled visage, as he didn’t respond, instead uncorking the bottle and pouring a larger than normal portion into the mug before reaching for the pot of caf, filling the mug the rest of the way before stirring the two together. The spirit he had selected had a distinct yet sweet smell to it as he poured it, and looked almost creamy in texture. Once his now spiked caf was well mixed, he took a very large sip of it, ignoring the fact that he had mixed it with a very, very hot liquid. Sometimes, the Sith simply fed off of pain.

 

Xae did her best to hide her expression as she realized what he’d just done, but was only moderately successful.

 

With his first hearty sip now burning down his throat, Raynuk finally answered second set of comments the Jedi had made, looking down into his mug as he swirled it slightly.

 

“She has only been in my care for about a week, while Emily was off searching for Jaina. But now… now I don't know what fate will await her. She is, of course, Emily’s apprentice, as Emily was mine. Though before this crisis with Tirzah erupted, we were on our way to Dathomir to investigate… something.”

 

He clearly cut his sentence short, realizing that he did not want to spread information or news about the Cult of Morthos needlessly. There were aspects of knowledge he had come to keep from even those close to him. But even withholding evidence now, he knew the Jedi was too curious for her own good, and was going to inquire; If for no other reason than she was from Dathomir herself.

 

“Cultists,” She finished for him despite his stopping short. “Not wholly unheard of, I suppose. I guess these bounties on Force Users have forced even those that hold an odd sense of awe over both Orders to find their own hiding places. There have been more than a few Jedi temples raided over the last few years. Stripped of their relics by those of a misguided fanatic devotion to either the Light or Dark Sides of the Force.”

 

There was no way she could possibly know or identify the work of a specific group. At one point or another in galactic history various groups had formed around sites of great Force power. Though they were far-flung and rare, there were still worlds that had likely never really heard of the Jedi or Sith, or at least never met a member of either Order.

 

 

“Two weeks, one with you, one with Emily,” Xae looked back toward the door that the great white beast was leaned against watching her intently. “It’s a hard thing to be taken from your world, even as a Nightsister…” Her voice trailed off slightly.

 

“I was born to the Great Canyon Nightsister clan, but I had to fight my way to a different path, one that resonated with me. She’s very scared and confused. I can feel her. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man see an apprentice through the Trials before. Then again, men with the Force are even rarer on Dathomir than one as strong as Raia.” Her tone wasn’t the same trite and demeaning one he’d often heard from Qaela, but genuine admiration for what he’d chosen to undergo.

 

Raynuk’s eyes followed Xae’s to Vex’aedr, who in the midst of all the arguing with Emily, he had not noticed was laying down in front of the door to Raia’s room, guarding her as it had done several times previously, a small smile creeping across his face before he took another sip of his drink. At least in all the chaos, someone remembered to watch out for her… he thought.

 

“It’s been several months since Raia has been on Dathomir… she spent a majority of that time before Emily found her, essentially imprisoned on a space station. I doubt she even thought about anything beyond getting off the station when Emily found her… And now she’s been dragged halfway across the galaxy, nearly to Dathomir’s doorstep.” He paused, looking at his drink again as if it held the answers to the universe’s deepest problems before he continued.

 

“She… reminds me of something I didn't know could have existed in the first place. A life I could have had once. Maybe that is why I’ve bonded with her. Or maybe it's just a by-product of wanting to show her the nearly endless limits of her potential.”

 

The petite Jedi took a sip of her tea and looked over the top of the mug at him for a long moment, studying him. “She’s had a rougher go of it than I ever did, though it took me months before I ever trusted my first male master. I feel I must offer an apology as I might have stepped on the first grav mine. I -” she paused and set the mug down on the counter.

“I kind of...assumed that Raia was your daughter and I seemed to have struck a nerve with Emily . My experience being what it was I could think of no other reason why a prized apprentice would be left in the care of another Sith, a potential rival.”

 

Raynuk had stopped mid-sip when the Jedi mentioned ‘daughter’, but did not directly respond. Not only had she struck a vein of truth with him, but it also served to give some insight -- albeit in hindsight -- into the state of mind that Emily had been in when he had emerged from the Force. He was slow to recover from the words the Jedi was telling him, but slowly began to come to an ultimate conclusion about Emily’s behavior leading up to their intense argument; one that he had to remind himself he had nearly walked out on, and that this new conversation with the Jedi was one that Emily in turn might be listening to.

 

In his silence, the Jedi woman continued. “It speaks to you that even after a week you were the one that she needed to get her through this. Do you know what Nightsister Clan she’s from? My brother wiped out the rest of ours when I defeated our mother and took his niece so he couldn’t continue to use her as a puppet through the Force.” She couldn’t suppress the shudder that surged through her, remembering her own mother’s thrall that she imposed, or tried to had it not been for Bas’lan Ardell.

 

Finally moving the mug from his mouth, Raynuk shook his head. “I have no idea what clan she’s from. I know only what Emily or she have told me, and I’m not the sort to pry. At least, not usually.”

 

“Unlike certain Jedi?”

 

He gave her an incredulous look. “Intentions speak volumes little Jedi. If I thought you an annoyance or threat, we wouldn’t be having such a… peaceful conversation.”

 

---------------

 

2-VSH maneuvered the Ravenhammer into position to dock with the other ship, expertly piloting the rather large craft with precision. Once the two ships were aligned, the droid again turned to Jaina and Tirzah.

 

<>

 

The droid then turned back to look out the cockpit windows, effectively dismissing Jaina and Tirzah from it's thought process, even going so far as to make a shoo-ing motion.

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Unwavering in her stance, challenging the droid to cross her, Jaina watched as the Ferro Re crossed the handful of klicks separating it from the Ravenhammer. The momentary pause saw her doubting her actions. Somewhere within her, a voice of accusation rose up to poke at her confusion even further. All the progress she had made since Tython, and yet here she was again, lacing up her metaphorical trainers to run away from the tense conflict unfolding in the Ravenhammer's lounge. When she extended her senses to the rest of the ship's occupants, the sheer agony rolling off Emily in waves gave her pause. For all her niece's insistence on the improved character of Raynuk Montar, it seemed that she herself was not so sure of his intentions or his steadfastness, if her unexpected jealous outburst meant anything. And here was Jaina, selfishly in a hurry to leave, when Emily needed her support.

 

Is this what she needs? the thought came. It had been a handful of days since Jaina's initial comm to her niece, and in that time, Emily's home had been infiltrated and ransacked, her possessions looted, her cousin kidnapped, and her apprentice sucked into a prison of the mind from which she herself was powerless to liberate the girl. It seemed that her very presence in Emily's life had spurred on the series of undesirable events. While she knew this was an immature line of thought, the one thing that Emily seemed to be holding onto tooth and nail was the one thing Jaina had exercised the greatest influence on, by the nature of her presence.

 

Raynuk, the proverbial thorn in her side. Even his name in her mind seemed to awaken the bond they shared. Her pulse quickened at the thought--and with that involuntary and most basic biological reaction, Jaina confirmed to herself what her course of action must be. For Emily, she must go. She had warned her niece, and now it seemed that the wound she feared would come at Raynuk's hand had, in fact, manifested. But it was not Jaina that the repercussions crushed.

 

Not in her wildest dreams had she anticipated any of this.

 

A twitter from her comlink startled her, and she deactivated her lightsaber, hooked it back on her belt, and dove into her pocket. Delta's message popped up on the display, and Jaina rolled her eyes. "Oh, holy kri--" The curse caught in her throat at Tirzah's quizzical gaze, and she turned it into a mostly-forced cough.

 

WIth a wary and halfhearted nod of acknowledgement to the droid, she led Tirzah by the hand through the ship once more, reaching out to the occupants each in turn. Make sure Raia is all right, she communicated to Xae, for whose safety she was fairly confident. The ill-will present between the resident SIth Lords was not directed toward her. I'm making things worse by my presence. You have my comm.

 

To Emily, she sent a fragrance of apology. Her niece did not know, and might never know, all of what had passed between Jaina and Raynuk before the girl had even been born. For now, she would give Emily the gift of distance.

 

Because she had no idea what to do about Raynuk.

 

The bond between them seemed to pulse with the energy of the universe, and now that Jaina had stopped resisting the idea that she might be connected to this man who she had believed was out to kill her, the strength of the connection was multiplied.

 

Tares' form came into view as she ducked into the airlock, and Jaina paused for a moment, laying the hand that was not supporting Tirzah on his arm. "Let's go. Xae is taking care of things here. I'll explain once we're underway."

 

Through their bond, she could feel Raynuk's mind wandering toward her, and for the first time, she did not bother with walls.

 

This isn't goodbye, she thought toward him, leaving the lingering essence of her own regret about causing such a mess. More than that, she left him with a caress that she wasn't sure she intended to give and couldn't call back as soon as it was given. To you, I'm never too far away.

 

Then she disappeared with her daughter into the hold of the Ferro Re.

[Emily]

And suddenly, everything became clear. This was a turning point. Whatever happened in the next few minutes, nothing would be the same. She was about to lose him, and it would be for good this time.

 

Here I am again…in the same old place I always end up. Will nothing ever change? I’ve spent my life losing him. I thought that this time was going to be different. She suddenly remembered what her life had been like a year ago. She had been strong, and whole, and living a good life…but she had still missed him. A modicum of shame crept over her. That Emily would have been absolutely furious at present Emily. What did you say to him, two and a half weeks ago when you were reunited? ‘As long as you’re in this galaxy, I want to be by your side…you’re worth the pain…I choose to love you anyway.’ What had happened in the interim to make everything so muddled and unclear?

 

She felt queasy. I don’t know if I can trust him anymore. That was the thing that had happened. She wished he had defended himself from her accusations, but never once did he say that she was crazy for thinking that there was something deeper than caring between them, or that she was reading too much into it, or that he might care for Jaina but he only loved Emily. All he had done was say that he half-expected something to happen between them in the future.

 

In light of that, it made no sense for Emily to keep pursuing him. She was not going to be one of those women who clung to a man, out of desperation to be loved, despite all signs that he didn’t love her back. Those women were pathetic. She didn’t need him. Not in that sense.

 

Her queasiness intensified and suddenly, she rose and hurried to the refresher. Her emotional upheaval manifested itself physically as she retched, coughing up little but bile. Wiping her mouth, she took a drink of water and washed away the unpleasantness.

 

She stood there, looking at her reflection in the mirror, and her eyes told her truths she barely wanted to admit to herself. She didn’t need him…but she wanted him. The reason his actions had hurt her so much was because of how much she loved him. But was that enough to push through this? Could she ignore the slights, the blatant affection he showed Jaina, the total lack of his emotional engagement in their relationship? He seemed to care little either way; his words to her about all the other things he had to do were seeming proof of that.

 

That’s not quite fair, a voice whispered in her mind.

 

And what about his predictions of the future? He clearly didn’t love Emily enough to be dedicated to her. He was leaving his options open, and making her follow him and risk everything while he merely reaped rewards of stringing along two different women. If she tried to patch things up with him now, would she have to spend every moment questioning if he still loved her or if he had moved on? He can’t do that to me. He can’t say ‘oh, well, I love you now, but who knows, tomorrow I might feel like I love Jaina more than you and you’ll be outta luck’. I deserve more than that. I need a man who puts me first. Who will love me through thick and thin.

 

And… Realization struck her, and an equal measure of shame. I need to not give up on him when things get hairy. I need to put him first, too, in actions, not just words.

 

So now it all boiled down to this: what would Emily do next? Would she choose to move on, to put herself first, to do what was probably the healthy thing? Or would she—could she—trust that maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance for them? Would he be able to give her a reason to stay?

 

She sighed and put her face in her hands. For a long while, she was silent, and after a few moments, she slipped into a meditative state. Her mind cleared, her emotions faded, and her breathing steadied. And in that calm ocean of the Force, she achieved a state of clarity. And in that moment, she knew two things. The first was that if she didn’t reach out to him now, she would regret it forever. The future would have to take care of itself. She couldn’t live in fear of what might come. She could only live in the present.

 

And to that end, there was one simple question she had to ask him. Whichever way he answered, she would move forward. Whether that meant cutting her losses, or forging together through the thick, tangled web of life together. And she knew what she wanted. The question was, what did he want?

 

She left the ‘fresher. There was no sense in delaying. She couldn’t help but feel like she was walking to her execution. The hope that had sustained her in the past had dwindled to nothing, given his words and actions, but he still held the power to reignite it.

 

She found him in the galley, talking to Xae. She had forgotten the Jedi was lingering so nearby, and for a moment was disconcerted at her having overheard everything. But that was the least of her troubles right now. She decided to ignore the Jedi and focus on the issue.

 

Raynuk’s back was turned to her. Gathering her courage, she walked right up to him, and gently turned him around so he was facing her. “Do you still love me?” She reached up and let her fingers rest on his newly-bearded chin. She wouldn’t let him look away, or make a vague answer. He had made this all about her, but it wasn’t. It was about them. It was going to take both of them, striving together every moment, both dedicated to each other, to make this work.

 

“Do you still love me?” she repeated, her voice gentle yet firm. “Do you still want this?”

[Raynuk Montar]

((Music Selection:

))

 

“I’ve given my promise to help Jaina as well.” Xae met his gaze levelly. “I know what it’s like for family to tear at one another. Jedi, Sith, non-Force User - doesn’t matter. The way I see it we have enough problems in this galaxy to keep tearing at each other when, perhaps, there might be common ground. Jaina never explained what I am did she?”

 

Again Raynuk was found shaking his head. “Apparently, we never got to have a lengthy discussion about why she showed up on Emily’s ship with another Jedi, and then two more ships showed up shortly after; one of which by the way, apparently decided it would be a good idea to acquire a target lock on my ship.”

 

Xae sighed and a flicker of annoyance crossed her delicate features. “Mandalorians...another group of people that I apparently continue to have a complicated ‘attachment’ with. We were on Raxus seeking to secure some of those relics I mentioned being looted from the temples. Jaina had suggested it. When we arrived the creatures that lived there were dead, murdered. Tares, Jaina, and I were investigating when we were locked in the Library and Tirzah was taken.” There was another pang of regret, out in the open, from the Jedi woman. “The next thing I know Emily and a black version of that,” she gestured to Vex’aedr, “was in the upper gallery and Jaina was introducing her.”

 

Now it was Raynuk’s turn to set his mug down before he crossed his arms, his face going slightly sideways with confusion, momentarily glossing over the information the Jedi shared about what happened on Raxus Prime while he thought about the implications of having a Mandalorian floating around out there targeting them all.

 

“Weelll… This just keeps getting better and better.” He began, then the information he glossed over caught up with him.

 

“But wait… you said the temple on Raxus Prime was attacked? And that’s where Tirzah was taken…” he began putting pieces together in his mind. The Jedi and her group had gone to Raxus Prime to recover relics, and they found the temple had been attacked. But once again he found himself having more questions than answers. He opened his mouth to begin asking one of those questions...

 

But paused when Xae held her hand up. “He just showed up. I was left for the Mandalorian people a long time ago by another Jedi named Joreel Ordo. Then this one finds his way to Raxus. Still trying to figure that one out. He offered to help before we knew you had the coordinates for the Hope.”

 

The two of them fell silent for a moment until the Jedi woman took a deep breath, seemingly to weigh the risks of what she was about to ask him. “Can I ask you something? Nope, screw it. Going to ask. You don’t have to answer, but I’ll leave you with this - Do you love Emily? And if so, when was the last time you even told her?”

 

The question was not one that Raynuk felt completely prepared to answer, and for a few moments he fell into silence with his eyes fixed on the counter just next to his mug. As if on cue, and with a cosmic sense of justice and humor that Raynuk found lacking, Emily emerged from the lounge area and walked up behind Raynuk and gently turned him around so that the two were facing each other, and she asked the same question of him that the Jedi had leveled. Xae had opened her mouth as though she were going to say something else, but closed it when she saw Emily approach from behind Raynuk.

 

“Excuse me,” she said, skirting by. “I think I’ll go check on Raia if that beast will let me.”

 

Raynuk took the Jedi’s exit as an opportunity to further push the issue, but even then he knew it was a pause that would only last a few scarce seconds. He nodded to Xae, and then turned to look at Vex’aedr, giving a command through the Force and a sharp whistle. The tuk’ata seemed to almost grumble before standing and wandering off out of sight to another part of the ship, leaving Raia’s door unguarded and the girl within open for Xae to check on her.

 

And just like that the reprieve was over, and he had to face Emily. He felt her hand on his chin, and his mind went back to all the closer moments they had shared recently, and all the personal progress he had made towards being a better person, a better agent of the Force while being affected by her presence. But now they both stood there, on the cusp of watching everything crumble to ruin because of jealousy and insecurity; because of pain. Pain of the past, pain of the present, and the specter of future pain. Perhaps to Emily it was a simple matter; clear cut options with no room for compromise or for substitution. But at the core of Raynuk burned a soul that was more weathered, more worn, more ragged, and more experienced than he usually let show. For him, nothing was ever black and white; every action and decision carried with it countless reactions and repercussions.

 

There was no way forward, past this impossible decision that Emily had forced upon him without pain and darkness; the very things that he had been fighting so strongly against since the cult of Morthos made the mistake of returning him to life. It was all going to come crashing down now, and there would be no stopping it.

 

The only thing left he could do, would be to embrace it before it tore him apart.

 

He did not speak, and his gaze did not waver as he reached up, and pulled her hand from his face like a discarded piece of paper. HIs face gained a look of stone and cold determination that it had not seen since Korriban, and his presence began to grow darker and darker before he finally spoke, his voice sounding as harsh as his presence had become in the wake of everything he had built crumbling around him.

 

No... He thought as words finally poured out of his mouth like a snake.

 

”What I feel… what I felt… What I intended… None of it ever mattered. So many days go by; it was easy to find what's wrong, yet so much harder to find what's right. All I have brought you in the end, is pain. And that is not what any of us wanted for you. I won’t last long in this galaxy so wrong. You are better off without me. I thought I could be something better, something greater than myself… But you have shown me that I was the fool the entire time.”

 

There was an edge of anger in his voice as the darkness of everything he had held back crashed over him; he physically shoved Emily away by her arm.

 

“The… the sooner I am out of your mind, and your life… the sooner you can be the better person your parents wanted.” He turned then, spotting the mug that he had set down during his conversation with Xae, and picked it up in a brazenly casual manner, taking a long sip.

 

 

“I’ll have 2V dock with the Traitor’s Hope... Then you can build your life without me… a better life. Maybe with someone who doesn’t bring you such pain and anguish.”

 

This was the end. The walls were back up, locking Emily out; built upon a foundation of hurt, pain, and betrayal that stretched all the way to his soul. Everything that she had meant to him was locked away behind those walls. He finished the mug and placed it back on the counter and turned fully from her, taking two long strides to exit the galley, but paused.

 

"I'm no hero, and I’m not made of stone... Despite what it may have seemed."

 

And then he was gone.

 

-----------------

 

After the docking with the Ferro Re was completed and Jaina and Tirzah had disappeared into the other ship, 2V disconnected and began to fly the Ravenhammer in the same manner he had done previously to keep a mostly defensive position with regards to the Mandalorian ship that still lurked.

 

The intercomm chirped once more, only this time the voice of Raynuk came across much colder and darker.

 

“2V, it is time to return to docking with the Traitor’s Hope, I suspect our remaining passengers will want to leave now…”

 

The droid was about to respond, but found that Raynuk had closed the connection as soon as he had finished speaking.

[Emily]

She knew what he was going to say before the words tore from his lips. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in his presence. But even then, nothing could have prepared her for what hearing his denial did to her heart. He shoved her away, and she stumbled, catching herself on the edge of a countertop. She felt the walls go up, felt him return to the man she had met ten years ago--but no, his pain was evident too. Something had broken between them, and now there was no going back. "Okay," she whispered.

 

Emily was completely numb. The pain, the unending sorrow, the anguish...all were felt as if from a distance of a million light years away. It was her body's natural response as it attempted to protect itself. It was too late...all too late.

 

"I'm no hero, and I'm not made of stone...despite what it may have seemed."

 

Those were the last words she heard from him, and then he was gone.

 

For a moment, she couldn't even move. She simply stood there, braced up against the wall she had stumbled against. It was an anchor in the storm, but also a reminder of the reality of a situation that was her worst nightmare come true. And in that stumbling numb emptiness, she could only focus on the next moment. And then the next. And then the next.

 

She forced herself to breathe, then pushed off the wall. She stood on shaky legs, but she knew what she had to do. It was time to leave, and there was one person left who had a choice to make. She crossed over to the room Raia had disappeared into, and pushed the button for the door to open. Xae was in there, with Raia. Emily was disconcerted and confused for a moment, then she realized that the walls of the room had been painted, depicting a jungle scene. The work could only have been Raia's. It was another drop of pain into the already endless ocean.

 

"Raia," Emily breathed, her voice weak. "I'm leaving." Her voice broke and she struggled to regain it. "Will you come with me? I...I won't make you. It's your choice." But her eyes begged her apprentice to come with her. "Please..." she managed.

[Tares Vortex]

As Jaina and Tirzah entered the cargo bay of his ship, Tares caught a glimpse through the docking port to the other side. It was apparent that certain events had happened on the other vessel that had left an impression on the two. He couldn't tell if it had been a net positive or negative experience, but the marks were clear.

 

After Jaina mentioned Xae was staying behind, Tares told Atlas to begin the separation sequence to free the Re. A few minutes later, several loud clanks rang through the bulkheads of the lower section as the vessel separated.

 

Tares led the two to some quarters on the upper deck. Atlas was busy making some changes to the nav computer in preparation for their departure. For a few moments, he was once again left to his own thoughts. The silence had been welcomed at one time. Escaping the daily life. Now, however, something felt off when he was alone. As if something was missing.

 

The subtle vibrations in the deck plates brought his attention back to the present while the ship slipped into hyperspace. He found his way back to Jaina's quarters and stuck his head in the doorway, "We are on our way to Corellia. How did things go on the other ship?" He asked....

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Quiet moments passed between Jaina and her daughter as she tucked the confused and disoriented girl into the bunk. The emotions reverberating through the Force from the chaos she had left behind were growing fainter as the Ferro Re put distance between itself and the Ravenhammer. Gaining traction as her relief at their successful escape mounted, accusations slithered through her mind like a poisonous serpent. Was she really the frightened little jakrab they all seemed to think she was? However unintentionally, Jaina seemed to have made a mess of the established balance between Raynuk and Emily. If Emily thought, even subconsciously, that Jaina's pursuit of her had anything to do with Raynuk--which it seemed, given the ferocity of her reaction, she did--then her presence would only make things worse. It felt as though the chance she had been given to reconnect with her niece had been irrevocably squandered.

 

As for Raynuk, she felt mostly the warmth of his regret and the desire to make amends he had alluded to in the brief moment of reconciliation they had. Given his guarded, even suspicious nature, and the difficulty of reading him through the Force, the stark vulnerability she felt from him unnerved her. Whatever shields they had built up against one another in the Force proved ineffective floodgates against the blood-bond of their mutual resurrection. The barrage of his emotions pummeled her, minimally affected by the growing distance. Barely contained irritation and fury swam at the surface. A jolt of sadness stabbed into her spirit, and Jaina knew: he had locked down, shut himself behind his carefully constructed walls--but he couldn't shut her out.

 

His pain was so fierce that Jaina found herself wishing that he could.

 

A cleansing breath led her into the balm of the Force, regaining her bearings, and putting the events behind her that were now out of her control. First and foremost, her concern was Tirzah, and her next move from here on out must always take her into account. She had no way of knowing where they were going, but she trusted Tares enough that it was of no concern.

 

Pulling out her comlink, she tapped out a quick message to Xae, asking for confirmation of her safety, before realizing that she had not responded to any of the overtly forward messages she had received from Delta. With an exasperated sigh, Jaina fired off a quick response before tucking the comlink back in the bag resting on the bunk opposite Tirzah's. I'm going to regret giving that mercenary my number...

 

She leaned down to kiss her daughter's forehead, and laid a hand affectionately next to her cheek with a smile that she hoped was reassuring. "We'll be safe here with Master Tares," she said quietly. "We can talk about everything that happened later. Get some sleep, kiddo."

 

As if in response to his name, Tares' silver head appeared around the corner, announcing their departure. Jaina rose from the edge of Tirzah's bunk and crossed to the doorway, linking her arm in Tares' to lead him away from the quarters such that they could discuss more privately.

 

Since, y'know, our last private conversation stayed so private, she thought snidely, turning behind her to ensure that the door latched closed.

 

"Not at all well," she admitted. "I mean, at least everyone's safe. But it seems that my family gets more complicated all the time."

 

In short order, she detailed for him the events leading up to the present: her conversation with Emily, the reasons for Tirzah's condition, the cult attacks through the galaxy, and her excursion with Raynuk into Tirzah and Raia's shared vision. When it came to describing to him the need for her quick exit, however, she found herself lost for words.

 

"My--association--with Raynuk Montar has always been sort of tenuous. It seems I may have unintentionally upset the proverbial jooba-fruit cart between him and my niece, and worn out my welcome. More than I want to know about the machinations of this cult, I want to make sure that Tirzah's safe," she acknowledged finally to end her monologue, falling quiet to gauge his reaction.

[Delta73]

A comm text comes in for Jaina Jade Skywalker.

 

 

Is she hot?

 

[saberforce]

Tros sat in the cockpit of his fighter and just felt anger rise within him. He had been seated for a long while, and there seemed to be nothing going on. There was a sudden burst of movement, all of it was done rather quickly. Part of him wanted to lash out and just send two proton torpedoes in the general direction of the ships remaining, but then his buy'ce lit up. There was an incoming . It was Brexton, his vod who was all Tros had left. A friend who had become close with Clan Ardell. Hearing from Brexton always left Tros with aay'han in his heart. With some hesitation, the beroya opened the text based communication from Concord Dawn.

 

"Tros. Mand'alor has summoned the clan leaders. Riella was the clan leader for Ardell. Since you are the last Ardell, that makes you Clan Leader. Ret'urcye mhi"

 

Tros lowered his head as he thought over his options. There was limited choices, so he made the choice that made the most sense. He would follow the Resol'nare to the best of his abilities. He opened a frequency to the Traitor's Hope.

 

"This is Tros Ardell for Xae-Lin. We need to meet now, or I leave the system."

 

For Tros, time was now short. He had to meet his half sister, or he had to leave her. The chances of the two meeting again would be doubtful. But when duty called...

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Polite as ever, Xae rapped lightly on the door, reverting to Dathomiri as she spoke. “Raia? I know you don’t know me, but I’m hoping you’ll at least let me check on you to make sure you’re okay after your Trial with Tirzah. May I come in?”

 

She shut her eyes against the maelstrom of emotions she’d just left behind in the galley and waited patiently until the girl opened the door long enough to peek out to the almost perfect line of sight to the galley. Her face was pale and her eyes were rimmed red, like she’d been rubbing at them. Xae’s heart went out to the girl as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind them.

 

“You don't know me, but I'm from Dathomir as well. My name is Xae,” the girl looked blankly back at her, sitting rather stiffly on the edge of her bed and flinched as another wave of raw and bitter emotions rippled through the Force. “Are you okay?” Her tone was gentle and kind, but Raia wasn't looking at her, but rather through her, anguish apparent in her dark grey eyes.

 

Xae’s heart sank as she realized how the argument from the other two were affecting their young charge. She drew on the light to attempt to shield the girl from it, but the girl’s eyes fixed on her and she shook her head, so Xae took a seat at the desk and withdrew her shield just as her comlink chirped.

 

It was Jaina checking in on her and another message from the Mandalorian Hunter, demanding another meeting. She was contemplating her response when Emily entered the room, pain emanating from her being, though she somehow gave no outward sign of it.

“Raia, I’m leaving.” Emily began, the wound of whatever had just transpired between her and Quietus evident in her controlled tone. "Will you come with me? I...I won't make you. It's your choice. Please..."

“I’m just gonna...yeah…” Xae gestured lamely as she exited back into the now empty lounge. She stared at her comm for several minutes before indicating to Jaina that she was fine for the moment.

 

Well you really thought things through this time...don’t know how to pilot a damn ship so you can’t take the Hope. Go with an emotionally wrought out Sith, or take a chance with the Mandalorian Bounty Hunter that claims to be your brother…

 

Finally she thumbed the return on Tros’s missive. “Look, Ori’vod,” she began somehow remembering the word for “older brother” in Mando’a, “If you’ve got to go, fine. I know you’ve got places to be, people to kill and all that. I’m still in the thick of things over here.” She sighed, not sure why she was going to say what she did but out it came anyway, “I’ll leave word for you in Keldable. I’ve been before with Joreel Ordo so I know where to go. I know this isn’t over between us.”

 

Sighing again she sat down on one of the sofas in the lounge area and wondered how she got herself into these messes.

 

-------------------------------------------

 

As the petite Jedi woman left in the wake of Emily’s pronouncement and request, Raia froze and stared at Emily in disbelief of what she was hearing. “But...you just got back…We were...supposed to go to Dathomir together...” was all she could manage. Unbidden, the memory of what she’d just drawn came to the forefront of her mind’s eye and she looked away from Emily, fighting her own feelings of upset.

 

She wanted to tell her master what she’d seen, but every vision she’d had seemed to bring about nothing but pain for everyone around her. Maybe, just maybe, if she didn’t share it this time, it wouldn’t come true.

“Why? Is it because of what happened when I tried to heal Tirzah?” Her breathing began to get more rapid as tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, spilling over as she managed, “I-I didn’t mean to spoil everything again. I know how much having your family and Master Raynuk means to you.”

 

She couldn’t help but feel that somehow, all of this was her fault. Talking about family only made her miss hers all the more. I want to go home, she thought to herself, remembering that desire very vividly from Tirzah’s strange Force-induced vision they’d shared. The tears began to fall down her cheeks as she was powerless to stop them.

[Tares Vortex]

Tares watched the blue hues of the hyperspace corridor coming from the bridge dance around the bulkheads as he took in Jaina's explanations. Objectively, it was easy to take in and understand, as If he was reading about the events in the morning Holonet report. The greater depth of the events, the emotional undertones and unknown implications were more difficult to understand. He could sense the limits of his perception and capability of understanding. Even his connection with the Force wasn't enough to pierce the levels of experience Jaina carried with her. Eventually, Tares made the choice not to even fake any sense of sympathetic understanding.

 

One thing was clear to him, however: she was clear on her intent to keep her daughter safe.

 

It wasn't until he cleared his mind that he realized she had fallen silent, waiting for a response. He took a few moments to consider his words, "Perhaps we can bring you both some sense of peace and safety." He said.

 

In their slow walk, the pair had arrived at the entrance to the bridge of the ship. A giant hologram of the galaxy floated in the center of the space. Amongst the cloud of stars, a strongly defined line of yellow sprawled out from one point to another. Tares pointed to one end of the line, "I've set a course for Corellia. Solaris HQ is there. Things will be quiet, and I'll be able to send a crew to retrieve the Traitor. It should give everyone some time to breath."

 

He paused once again. "Do you have any idea where you'll go from here, with Tirzah?" He asked....

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Corellia. She hadn't been to Corellia since--curtains fluttered in the warm breeze, the serene lullaby of running water drifted in through the open window--Tares' question broke the thought, and Jaina was slightly relieved to be jolted out of the memory until the full force of the repercussions hit her. Only now that she found the adrenaline of conflict after conflict wearing off did it occur to her: Jaina had no idea how to be a mother.

 

"I don't have much of a plan," she admitted, her eyes fixed on the viewscreen and not on Tares' keen gaze. "I'm not taking Tirzah back to Tython, that much is certain. She'll need training if she chooses to develop her abilities and become a Jedi, but that's a choice she hasn't had up until this point, and I'd like to give it to her. For the time being, I guess it's just learning how to be a family."

 

Finally, she felt she could not reasonably avoid eye contact any longer. "I--I haven't told her this yet, but what I found on Raxus Prime was a message from Andon. His last message."

 

Not wanting to seem volatile, she shrugged nonchalantly, but even so, it felt forced. "I have no leads to follow up on the cult that kidnapped Tirzah. I'll probably just keep my head down for a while."

 

Sinking into a seat near the navigational controls, Jaina's atrophied muscles ached in disgruntled protest. Her eyelids felt unreasonably heavy, but it was more than a simple need for sleep: the events of the day had wearied her soul. Tares' presence served as a sort of anchor for her, however, and she found herself, more than ever, grateful that he had consented to join the fray. A sudden wistful inspiration struck her, but she tamped it down. "What about you? I'm sure you have a lot of business to take care of that was put on hold to follow me halfway across the galaxy," she turned the query around on him. Reaching out to place a hand on his arm, her face sobered. "Thank you, by the way."

[Emily]

Raia froze, and Emily’s heart, if it was possible, broke even more. Tears started to fall down the girl’s face, and Emily couldn’t stop her own from falling in response. “Oh Raia,” Emily managed, “it has nothing to do with that.”

 

She reached out to her apprentice, and when Raia didn’t immediately pull away, wrapped her in a hug. The two women embraced for a moment. “Raia, what you did for my cousin was wonderful. You brought her out of that thing alive. And yeah, I heard that it was you who got her caught up in it in the first place...but the outcome was good, and that’s what really matters.”

 

She drew back and wiped away some of her own tears. “You didn’t spoil anything.” She took a deep breath. “Nothing that has happened just now was your fault in any way. It’s...R--he and I aren’t going to be together anymore. He made it very clear--well...let’s just say he’s not my champion anymore. And so we’re going our separate ways.” Her voice kept breaking, but she plowed on anyway. “Raia...I know...I know you have bonded with him. Xae--the Jedi--she said that was the reason I wasn’t able to help you come out of that Force nightmare. If...if you’d rather stay with him, have him train you...I understand.”

 

She knew it would shatter her even more if Raia left her. But at this point, her heart was already in such tiny pieces that grinding it to dust would barely be different.

[saberforce]

Tros made a very obvious frown behind his buy'ce and the tone and emotion behind Xae-Lin. But she had made her choice, and it left the beroya with a clear choice of his on to honor and follow the Resol'nare. So he returned Xae a click response, and then abruptly shut his comm unit off, and then set his course for Manda'yaim. After a quick warmup from the nav computer, Tros had his ship heading towards Mand'alor and his call...

[Raia Montar]

Raia felt herself enfolded in Emily's arms and listened with growing confusion that soon turned to anguish and animosity as Emily pulled away from her.

 

No...he can't...It's not supposed to be this way! This time tears of anger formed and she did not bother to wipe or hide them the way she had the others. "It's not fair," she said through gritted teeth as she looked at Emily, her eyes dark. She'd come to care for them both in very different ways over the last two weeks and she just didn't understand how something that had seemingly made them both happy only weeks before could come crashing down around them in a instant.

 

She looked at Emily for a long moment, evaluating her options and equally torn between the two of them for a multitude of reasons. "He can't do that. You don't do that. It's not how it works...not when..." She growled in frustration and left the room, crossing the lounge and harkening to where she felt his presence.

 

Raia hesitated for a moment before pounding on the door to his quarters. "Champions don't just quit! You can't be viņas čempions and quit! It's not fair!" Raia wasn't even really sure why she was so mad at something that shouldn't have had much to do with her. She was yelling at a Sith Master, one she'd come to trust and a lot of it had to do with Emily's faith in him, and she didn't care. What did it all mean if it was rescinded? "You claim to love each other...equal...but if this is what happens...and it can all be lost in an instant than I hope I never fall in love!"

 

She hated that she had to choose between them and she slid against the bulkhead seething as even more tears streamed down her face, she didn't understand the bond she had with Quietus anymore than she really understood the rest of the strange galaxy. Vex'aedr padded over and licked them away, attempting to calm her down since he knew it wasn't wise to yell at the Master. However, Raia wouldn't be calmed, not even with the Jedi poked her head around the corner.

 

The girl glared at the auburn-haired woman wondering what she'd done or how she'd manipulated the situation to cause a rift between Emily and Raynuk to the point that the latter had decided he'd had enough of his former apprentice and had decided to end things. It somehow had to be her fault. Raia just knew.

 

Raynuk had once told her that the Jedi forewent all attachments like the one he and Emily had, this was all the proof that Raia needed that the Jedi were not to be trusted. Any sort of stability she felt she'd reclaimed with Emily and Raynuk had flown from the airlock the second that Jedi's presence came on board the Ravenhammer. Raia had vaguely remembered feeling Emily in the dream, but it had been Raynuk that had ultimately found a way in to help her. Surely the Jedi had to have had something to do with that.

 

Emily was her Master, the one who'd rescued her from the station Furion had cruelly abandoned her on and Raia felt a great deal of loyalty to her, but there was some sort of connection and trust that had been built between her and Raynuk and she didn't want to abandon it either. The fact she'd had enough courage to come banging at Raynuk's door was a testament to how much she'd grown in the past two weeks thanks to them both.

 

She hated being forced to choose between them and she buried her head in her arms as they rested on the tops of her knees, still unsure what she was going to do.

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk had retreated to the quarters he had designed for himself, for a variety of reasons following the heated exchange between Emily and him. But while a large part of the decision had been in pursuit of giving Emily the chance to remove herself from the Ravenhammer without feeling the further sting of his physical presence, it was not the only reason. The decision -- the ultimatum -- that had been thrust upon him had quite literally tore at his soul and what passed as a heart when it came to a Sith. He had kept his composure for the most part when faced with the unreasonable woman that had been his apprentice, but behind the relative isolation of his own quarters, Raynuk let all the complexities of the past hours lose. Tears were shed, voices were strained, and property was destroyed. What remained of the locker that had been standard in every quarters of the ship was so mangled and ravaged that it looked like nothing more than a large piece of scrap that someone in the galaxy would probably mistake for art with deep spiritual meaning and social commentary.

 

But the majority of the outburst had passed, with Raynuk sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands when the sound of small fists pounding on his door reached him. His head shot up to meet the sudden sound, and then his gaze slowly returned to the red carpeting that lined his floor as Raia's words, sounding every bit angry and confused as he had expected, were yelled through the door. But he did not answer her accusations, feeling a pang of sorrow for the girl for the conclusion she had come to regarding falling in love herself. That perhaps weighed heaviest on his mind in the moment, as he heard a few soft sobs from the other side of the door. It was that line about love which continued to bounce around in his head, ultimately refusing to allow Raynuk to sit there in his self imposed exile and silence. This could perhaps be the last that he would see of the girl, and he could not abide his last lesson to her being to avoid love at all costs. So finally he stood, and crossed the room.

 

He stood a mere inch from the door, and finally willed himself to reach back into the Force, having retreated within the spiritual energy at the same time he had retreated within his own ship. Raia, Emily, and Xae; all three were recognizable within the Force based simply on the levels of pain and anguish they each felt. For whatever reason, Emily and Xae were both in Raia's room, while the girl was now essentially curled up around herself just outside the doorway. It was an existance that Raynuk understood, and so he crouched down so that when he did decide to open the door, he would be much less the towering figure standing over this pained girl; he would be on her level. The two would be able to see the look on the face of the other, and he could properly address her. He closed his eyes for a pair of seconds, taking in a few measured breaths, and then reached up and hit the button for the door release.

 

He watched the light of the lounge spill into his normally darker and broody room, revealing the carpet that now almost shined with crimson. He caught Raia flinch and jump slightly as the door slid open, clearly not expecting it. But the surprise also meant that when the door retreated into the wall, Raynuk's face was along the same sight line to her, a mere few inches on the other side of the doorway. He did not speak right away, carefully watching her face and looking into her darkened, tear filled eyes. And he saw the pain, the confusion, the fear, and the blame that was consuming every ounce of her mind; none of which the girl had earned according to Raynuk. Nearly as quickly as the door had opened, he reached out to pull her into a hug, finding that at almost the same moment she lunged at him seeking the same as tears threatened to overtake her once more. He squeezed her closer, a darker part of his brain screaming at him to take the girl from Emily, to keep her close and not allow Emily to further 'corrupt' her training. But it was a part that Raynuk simply ignored as he just held Raia for a few moments in silence, feeling all the girl felt. But before he would have liked, Raia's tears subsided enough for the flash of anger directed at him resurfaced as she halfheartedly pounded on his armor like it was the door to his room all over again, and he released her.

 

"You cant quit being her Champion!" she repeated, a fire of determination in her voice that was fighting her sadness. "That's not how it works! You cant do this... you're not supposed to do this when you... when you love one another."

 

Raynuk could not help but find enough contentment in seeing the fire within her come out to be enough to crack a small smile of endearment break through as he replied, his words soft and purposeful as he spoke in the same familiar terms she was using.

 

"She no longer thought she could trust me to be her Champion mazais. She wished for me to be chained to her, to deny who I am in here," he placed an open hand to his chest over his heart, "to forsake everyone from having a place in my heart but her. It was a prospect I could not agree to... one I can not agree to. I will always care about her, will always wish the best for her, and she will, always and forever, have a piece of my heart. But she wished to claim the whole of it. And because of that, I can no longer be her Champion."

 

His hand shifted from his armor to the girl's shoulder as he continued. "We have grown close over the past few weeks, and I would not trade away the pain that I feel now at seeing your sadness, if it meant I did not also get all the good along with it; the memories, and watching you grow in confidence and control of the Force are not so easily lost. You have likewise found your way to an eternal place in my heart Raia Selek, no matter where you go in the galaxy, a galaxy that you are just beginning to explore and understand on your own. I could not be any more proud of you thus far; everything you may see as being a failure, everything that you continue to blame yourself for, in the end had turned into success or at least a lesson that you have taken and moved forward."

"I know you are scared, and angry, and upset, and I wish such emotions did not find themselves so heavily rooted within your heart and your mind, for you have experienced a great deal of negativity in your life, far more than should be expected of you. But like every storm back home, this will pass with time." He paused, a look of amusement sliding across his face before he continued. "Sounds like hollow, meaningless words I know. You dont want to wait for the storm to pass; you want there to have never been a storm in the first place. But that is what the fates have decided must happen, so we ride out the storm."

 

His hands found both of hers and enshrouded them together before he continued, as if to drill his next statement home.

 

"Do not condemn falling in love either. You can not live a full life without it... and I above all else wish that for you; a full life. Love will bring you pain at times yes, for so many possible reasons... But love will bring you infinitely more happiness. Love can give you purpose in life. Love can give you reason to push yourself farther than you ever imagined, and love gives you warmth in darker times; love is your blanket in the midst of that accursed storm. Love is what brought Jaina here to save Tirzah from the Force vision despite everything that happened between her and I, and now we are both better for it. Love is powerful, if at times painful."

 

He gauged her reaction to his words, knowing that he could easily spend so much more time fully explaining the depths of all the things he said; why Emily and him were splitting, why he wished so much for Raia, and what reconnecting with Jaina meant to him. But he did not wish to overwhelm the girl, not when she was feeling so defenseless and fragile. The silence and pause lasted almost fifteen seconds before he slowly stood, pulling Raia back to her feet in front of him before he released her hands. But he then crouched down again, so that for once, she was looking down at him and he up at her.

 

"I will not ask you to, or suggest you choose between Emily and I. She is your Master, and I am just an old warrior of the Sith. But you know where I head to from here; to Dathomir, where I will meet up with Master Shadowlord and Alora and continue to track down everything we can on the cult that has plagued us, just as we had planned. If I am not with them, then they will know how to find me. And I promise, next time we see each other, whenever that may be, I will tell you what my nickname for you means in the Sith language. But I do hope you will continue to study the language yourself in my absence, so that when we meet again, you can tell me what it means."

 

A normally rare smile for a Sith, made rarer by the anguish and pain he was still feeling, crossed Raynuk's face before he stood again.

 

"Plus, I dont think Vex'aedr will let me go too long without letting him see you himself." He added vocally, before potentially surprising Raia by speaking through the Force into her mind.

 

Emily's returning fear is being alone... I need you to be strong for her.... She will need you.

 

He gently nudged her away, back towards Xae and Emily, and watched as the girl returned towards her room, ready to stand firm and meet any lingering gaze the girl gave him. He had emerged from his exile, and remained standing in the doorway as if stepping off his carpeted floor would result in him instantly being vaporized. But his conversation and answers to Raia had given him a new flash of hope and determination. He would not return to hiding.

[Emily]

She thought it wouldn’t hurt more to have her tattered heart ground to dust. She was wrong. It was the most acute torment she could imagine as she heard Raia’s words. The girl was pounding on Raynuk’s door, practically screaming at him.

 

Some instinct deep down was alarmed for Raia’s safety in that moment. All Emily knew was that Raynuk was hurting, and she didn’t know if he might lash out at Raia. The instinct was enough to cause her to move to the doorway, but then she stopped herself. Whatever had happened to break her and Raynuk, she still believed he cared for Raia.

 

But when he opened his own door and began to speak to the girl, she couldn’t handle his words. Tears poured down her face as she silently sobbed. His goodness, his care, his protective tendencies—all things she adored about him—were on full display. This was exactly what she was losing, and the pain was almost unbearable. She slid to the floor, propped up against the doorframe as she wept, her face buried in her knees, her arms wrapped around them.

 

It was his words about love that were the final hammer. Her heart cried out. He did understand. He understood exactly what love was. And even though he had told her otherwise, she couldn’t believe that love like that had died in the course of a day.

 

It made her furious. People don’t just wake up one day and stop loving each other! she raged. It was an echo of what Raia was saying. Part of her just wanted to run up to him and yell and make him understand how much she loved him, and how much it killed her that he had said he didn’t want this anymore. She wanted to fight, to fight for him, to fight to keep him, with every cell in her body.

 

But his face and his expression swam before her eyes, and the echo of his forceful rebuttal to her desperate query stayed her hand. He had never trusted that she really loved him. He had never taken her statements as absolute truth. If she didn’t trust what he said, how could she blame him for that?

 

No, he had said he didn’t love her and didn’t want this anymore. There was no point in talking with him anymore. And in all honestly, she wasn’t sure she could be as vulnerable with him as she needed to be right now if she was going to speak. She had to leave.

 

She rose unsteadily to her feet, heading towards the airlock, not bothering to hide her tears or her anger, but avoiding his gaze as she moved past the two of them. Raia would make her decision. Emily couldn’t stay a second longer.

[Raia Montar]

As Raynuk spoke to her, Raia could feel herself trembling in anger, hurt, and confusion as he rested his hands gently on her shoulders. Her eyes narrowed slightly as he used his nickname that seemed to stab at her in ways she didn’t quite want to assess in that moment. She pulled her hands away from his and stared at the floor, struggling to put words to the hurt she still felt.

 

Raia knew what the name meant. She’d figured it out while they’d been en route to the Traitor’s Hope, a ship whose name seemed to bear a cruel irony to the young Dathomiri witch.

“I’m not your ‘Little One’, Master Raynuk...You’re no better than Furion was,” She didn’t face him, but he could see her shoulders starting to shake again and tears ran down her cheeks as her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “No...you’re worse than he was and far more cruel. He didn’t make me care about him before abandoning me on Spite Station.

 

“You both lied to me...manipulated me...used me...just like he did,” her voice broke at the realization. “I expected you to be different than what Qaela described...and you were...only this is far worse than any of the others could have done to me. I trusted you both.”

 

She looked up at him finally. “I'm angry. With both of you for making me choose. It's not fair. So I don't pick either of you. I just want to go home to Dathomir. It'll be hard, but it has to be easier than this. I’m going with Emily though since she’ll stand a better chance of getting me home. Unlike you, I actually care enough that I’d rather not see my sisters harm you for trespassing. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.”

 

Before he could stop her or respond she turned and dashed back to her room to gather up her clothes, roughly shoving them into her backpack. She left the books with the Sith writing, knowing that they’d only serve to give the sisters yet another reason to kick her out if they were discovered. Turning to the desk she looked at the lightsaber and rancor Raynuk had given her. Remembering that she could very well wind up in the wilds after all of this, she stuffed the lightsaber into the bag, more out of practicality than anything else (or so she tried to convince herself) and followed Emily’s path back to the Shine, not bothering to look back in Raynuk’s direction or even offer a goodbye Vex’aedr.

 

------------

 

Xae-Lin quietly watched the second half of the emotionally charged exchange that resulted in the girl finally making her choice.

“I’ll make sure she gets home safely,” she promised, then paused before offering “I’m sure she didn’t mean most of that…”

 

Then she, too, left the lounge, stopping briefly by the cockpit on her way out.

 

-------------

 

Tears ran down Raia's face as she almost blindly made her way through the Traitor's Hope, guided more through feeling Emily's echoed pain in the Force than by any remembered knowledge of the ship's layout. Roe'gall gave an agitated growl as she entered but resumed his pacing once he realized it was her. The poor beast didn't seem to know what to do with himself. Raia felt for him too since she knew that it had been Quietus that had made him, but Emily that he shared the blood-bond with. "Come on Roe. We can go be miserable together in the bunk room. This chết tiệt hút."

 

Once inside, she locked herself in and gave over to the numbness she felt.

 

-------------

 

Xae shut her eyes, trying to keep her mind focused through all of the pain around her. It was difficult, but she'd promised herself to look out for the Dathomiri girl since she'd come on board. She wouldn't take the girl against her will or even challenge the Sith for her, as her goal wasn't to instigate hostilities between the Jedi and the Sith. Besides, the Sith seemed to be content to self-destructive as they'd always been in her experience. She'd just never had a front row seat to something other than wanton destruction. Seeing them implode on a personal level was...disconcerting.

 

Sitting down in a corner of the crew lounge, she tried to sort through all of the more emotionally-charged conversations and glean what she could from the side-bar conversations she'd had with the others. There was something far bigger at play here than just the usual Sith drama.

 

The events or at least the state of Raxus came to the forefront of her mind. Someone had looted Emily's home, Xae didn't know any Sith that would let such a thing slide. Even Raynuk had been concerned about it, right before things took a turn. "Cult of lunatics" had been his turn of phrase. Xae wondered just how much the raiding of the Jedi Temples had to do with this band or if it was another set of misguided Force-worshiping cultists. Either way, she shared his concern, which is one of the reasons she left her comm number with his Droid before she left with instructions to give it to Raynuk if and when the Sith Master might be amiable to continuing their discussion about Raxus.

 

Xae was no fool, she could tell by the way he'd been evasive about what was bringing him to Dathomir had indicated he was still guarded with the information. Raynuk didn't seem like a man to trust easily, least of all a Jedi he'd just met, but she'd wanted to extend the cassius branch anyway. Something in the Force had urgently pressed her to the action. She wasn't about to deny those instincts now.

 

For now she'd simply offer what help she could to Emily and Raia, if either of them even wanted it.

[Emily]

There was a sense of relief when she found herself back on the Shadow's Shine, as if the ship's familiar bulkheads were an anchor of sanity in the midst of the chaos that had been created. She noted idly that Roe'gall had practically torn the lining around the airlock to shreds trying to get through to her. When he saw her, he was immediately all over her, sniffing her, licking her, and prodding her with his nose. She knew he had been sensing not only her own distress, but Raynuk's too. She wanted to comfort him, but couldn't seem to summon the energy to do so. She was utterly drained, and it was taking every bit of effort just to put one foot in front of the other. The tuk'ata started to follow her, but after a moment, she turned to him. "Stay here, Roe...Raia might be coming. I don't know. If she does..." she scratched him under the chin.

 

She ambled to the cockpit. The Ravenhammer sat in space before her. She stared at it's lines for a moment, fancying it looked like an accusing face staring at her with Sithly malice. Another pang of anguish ripped through her as she remembered ordering it's creation. That day had been so happy. But it was all gone now, lost. And Emily wasn't fooling herself; this time there would be no going back. She bit her lip fiercely and took the Shine's engines out of standby. Her eyes moved to roam over the hull of the Traitor's Hope. Emily had been so busy agonizing over her feelings for Raynuk that she hadn't given her aunt much thought. But now that she did, she realized she didn't blame Jaina in the least. Having heard her aunt's opinion of Raynuk, she doubted his feelings were reciprocated. But they would definitely continue to be a part of each other's lives, and Emily never could be. She clamped down on the thought and threw it away from her.

 

She called up a sensor scan of the old ship. She was hoping she could slave it to the Shine and take it to Raxus Prime. But then the scans came back. The hyperdrive was shot. So much for that... Jaina's ship would just have to stay where it was.

 

Suddenly Emily sensed Raia come on board, followed by the bright presence of the Jedi Xae. She was quietly relieved that Raia had decided to come with her. It was a vote of confidence that Emily sorely needed right now. But she was nonplussed about the Jedi. Then she realized that the Jedi had no other ride out of the system, unless she went with Raynuk, and Emily knew that would not be a good idea. So she simply gave a mental shrug and punched in the coordinates for Raxus Prime. She needed to keep moving, keep doing things, and right now she still had the mystery of the attack on the temple to solve. Then maybe she could take her revenge. That would be good. Violence sounded good right about now.

 

After a moment, the navicomputer signaled its readiness. For a moment, Emily hesitated, her hand on the lever, habit and desire pushing her to reach out to Raynuk one last time. But then she took a deep breath and threw the lever. The Shadow's Shine disappeared into hyperspace with a flicker of pseudomotion, leaving Emily's whole world behind.

[Raia Montar]

Raia wasn't sure how long she cried or when she fell asleep or for how long, but as she opened her eyes a sense of resignation overwhelmed her. Rising she met the eyes of Roe'gall and held out her hand to him, knowing he was hurting every bit as she was, if not more. Her stomach rumbled as it seemed to remember not eating since she and Raynuk had left Coruscant who knows how many hours ago. How long had she and Tirzah been locked in that vision?

"I bet you're hungry too. Let's go see what we can find to eat," Raia gave him a comforting pat and poked her head out into the lounge and frowned. That stupid Jedi was there sitting quietly as though she hadn't just ruined everything Raia had known. The Dathomiri girl pretended that she wasn't there as she looked in the cupboard for a ration bar or something to munch on.

"You have every right to be angry you know," the Jedi remarked as she watched the girl out of the corner of her eye. "What happened isn't fair to you. Nothing that has is."

 

"What do you know?" Raia shot back, her anger and the familiar surroundings helping her feel braver than she had before. If she could stand up to Raynuk and yell at him, then dealing with the Jedi was easy.

 

"That you're in pain. That you didn't mean what you said to him," Xae, Raia thought her name was, responded placidly.

 

"You don't know anything about me Jedi," Raia spat the last word out like an insult as she rinsed out the pot of caf, but didn't refill it for Emily. Instead, she grabbed some kind of pink juice from the cooler and slumped on the sofa, not even sure why she was talking to this woman.

 

"I know you're from Dathomir and I know what it's like to be taken from that world and thrown in the larger galaxy and survive," The woman met her brooding gaze levelly and with a preternatural presence that made Raia want to vomit. "And, I know you want to go home to your Sisters. Which clan are you from? Spring Mountain? Darkwoods? I know you can't be Great Canyon since they were all wiped out years ago..."

 

Raia looked up at Xae, her surprise mixed with anger evident on her face. "You think I'm a Nightsister? I am not nor will I ever be one!"

Xae's jaw dropped. "A Witch then..." she voiced after a few silent moments. "You're sure you want to go back after all of this? That you'll be accepted back?" She knew from her own experience how rarely if ever the Witch clans trusted or let in outsiders. She'd tried to run to one of them before leaving with Kyp and had been quite forcefully turned away.

 

The girl grew silent, she didn't really want to think about what she would do once she got to Dathomir, only that she wanted to be back on her homeworld. The pain welled up inside her once more and she could only manage to hiss between clenched teeth, "I don't see how any of that is your damn business."

 

Roe'gall could sense the girl felt threatened by the Jedi on some level, so he started creeping forward growling low. "Oh lovely...forgot there were two of you. You're not going to sit on me too are you?" The tuk'ata's growling intensified and he took another step toward what was causing Raia to be upset (the one source he could safely attack, anyway), ready to end it and get his meal all at once.

 

"Oh đi tiêu." Xae muttered, sensing the creature about to spring just as he brought her from the sofa to the floor, mouth poised at her throat for the kill.

[Emily]

For a long time, Emily just sat and stared at the mesmerizing blue swirl of hyperspace. She knew clinically that she was in shock. Her life had just changed completely...and she still wasn't exactly sure what had happened. Had it really been her jealousy that had set him off? Why had he suddenly turned everything on her and given her that ultimatum? Why had she overreacted so much to his actions without giving him a chance to explain? Why hadn't he explained anyway? Everything could have gone a different direction. They could have worked it out.

 

But that was not her destiny. It never had been. She had hoped, she had fought, she had struggled against it for so long. For a few short weeks, she thought she had gotten a chance to change her fate. She had dreamt of a life with him, a life where she had not only her love, but also her two aunts, and an apprentice she could pour her knowledge into. The loss of that dream was agonizing. Now when she looked into her future, she could see nothing but her life going on, bleakly, day after day, struggling to find meaning in every moment. She knew that life well. Had she not learned anything? It was not her destiny for that dream to come true, and the sooner she finally, ultimately, accepted that, the easier it would be on her.

 

As she sat in the cockpit, she asked herself one question. Now what? And in that moment, she realized just how much of her life and her identity had been centered on him. He was everything she had ever wanted. Everything else in her life was secondary--the pursuit of knowledge, the betterment of herself, her growth in the Force. Even during the times when he was dead, she had given herself to those secondary pursuits knowing that if he ever returned she'd run right back into his arms.

 

Arms that apparently belonged to a liar. That was what it boiled down to. He had lied to her. He had offered her love, and then taken it away at the first sign of a chance to reconnect with Jaina. He had promised to always be there for her, and then had not had the dedication to work things out with her. He had taken her for granted, always. She had learned to live without him in the past, but he had always had her by his side. Anger raged through her. She was glad he was hurting. He deserved to suffer for stringing her along for all these wasted years...

 

The anger waned though under the weight of her sorrow. Those years...they had been the most wonderful of Emily's life. Even now, even after all of this, she didn't think she would trade them. Even if this was how it all ended. It didn't ameliorate her suffering now--in fact, it increased it--but it was perspective, and that was something she sorely needed right now.

 

After some time, she suddenly heard raised voices in the main lounge. It startled her out of her misery. There was still one person left in her life whom she really cared for. Her duty to Raia was increased now, and she knew the girl had to be also going through a good deal of pain. She had bonded with him too, after all. It wasn't pain anywhere near the level of Emily's own--after all, Raia had known him for less than 3 weeks compared to Emily's 10 years--but it was still there. She rose to her feet and headed to the lounge.

 

Turning the corner, she saw Roe'gall suddenly spring, tackling Xae and immediately going for the kill. For one moment, Emily was going to let him. The Jedi hadn't done anything but stick her nose in other people's business. But then she remembered Xae's knowledge of the Dathomiri trial that Raia had just gone through, and knew that she would want the Jedi's help debriefing her apprentice. So instead of allowing Roe'gall his messy snack, she called out in a firm voice. "No, Roe'gall. Leave the Jedi alone."

 

He growled, a low rippling menacing noise, the spines on his back standing straight up. But he was well trained, and slowly, he backed off, letting the Jedi rise. He growled at her again, then, satisfied that she understood his meaning, circled around back to Emily's side. He nudged her in the back, and she reached up and draped an arm around his neck. "You two having a nice, civil conversation?" she asked dryly.

 

Her eyes took in her apprentice. "Raia...I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen..."

[Raia Montar]

Don't they ever feed these things? Xae wondered idly as she picked herself off the bulkhead again. Emily did seem much more in control of herself, but the pain was still very much apparent in her eyes. It was a pain that Xae knew to her own degree. She'd felt betrayed by Joreel when he'd chosen his own people over the Jedi Order and her. At least she could understand his decision and reasons for doing so. That didn't seem the case with the two Sith.

 

Her attention was drawn back to the situation between the girl and her Master and she did her best to minimize her signature and try to blend in with the bulkheads as much as possible. Might have had better luck adrift on the Hope, she wondered idly in hindsight. She just kept finding herself privy to these awkward conversations, and she concluded it had to be the Force testing her.

 

--------------

 

Raia looked at Emily for several long moments before she sighed heavily and shrugged. The movement was accentuated by the new lines of tattoo growth in navy that had intertwined with the crimson from before, weaving its way a few inches down her shoulder, easily visible through her tunics cut outs. New growth that hadn't been there when she was unconscious, Emily realized.

"It doesn't matter," the teenager answered coolly. "You two made your decision and I've made mine. I want you to take me back to Dathomir. Not back with the others, but home." The girl paused. Unlike Raynuk, she found it harder to lash out at Emily for some reason, maybe it was because of how desperate she seemed, utterly beaten and scared of being alone.

 

Emily's returning fear is being alone... I need you to be strong for her.... She will need you. His words came back to her again in that moment and a wave of regret washed over her in her parting words to a man who'd been nothing but kind toward her, her utter terror of what he was capable of to those that crossed him not withstanding. Her hand closed over her mouth and her legs felt unsteady beneath her as she realized that she'd deliberately been hurtful to him.

"I-I never should've left there," she said shakily as her mind reeled at what he might do in retribution if he found her on the planet. Even in its spun-up state, she managed to complete the thought, almost unconsciously. "And...I know I can't go back to my life before, but I think you've given me enough that I can make my own way. Find my own place. I'm sorry I can't stay."

 

She curled herself up into a ball on the couch and started to rock as she tried to calm herself. "I can be safe there from the cultists...and from Furion...and I can hide from him...if I have too..."

Why did I say those things? she thought in a panic that echoed through the Force as she stilled and stared at the table as her imagination rolled over several scenarios simultaneously.

"I know the jungles. I know the dangers. I know how to hide and when to run. This galaxy is no safer. Please..." she begged, looking up at Emily, her eyes back to their usual pale grey.

[Raynuk Montar]

What had intended to be a conversation that Raia could walk away from with some semblance of understanding and perhaps comfort, had quite literally gone the exact opposite; his words had the effect of further daggers to the poor girl’s heart and mind. They had perhaps even destroyed the bond the two had formed.

 

Raynuk said nothing as Raia lashed out at him in return, indicating her feeling that he was in fact worse than Furion, and how Qaela’s utterly false damnation of the Sith was somehow a lesser version of his grand evil. The words had impact on the normally stoic and resilient Sith that could hide and guard his emotions. But after everything he had gone through, his ability to lessen the impact of such harsh words from someone he still viewed as an innocent soul, was practically gone. His words had turned to daggers against her, and now she was throwing daggers right back.

 

Raynuk was tired, and he was worn out. There had been times in his younger days when someone making accusations like Raia was throwing in his face, would have been met with swift retaliation of violence. But this time, he did not have the mental, physical or emotional strength to lash out; not at Raia. Add that to the fact that the more self-destructive portions of his mind were telling him that the girl was right, and that he deserved so much more in terms of hurt and mistrust, and Raynuk merely took the verbal beating Raia was giving him.

 

Emily had run out of his view while he had been speaking to Raia, and he watched now as the girl did much the same, stopping in her still freshly painted room to quickly gather her things before running off to follow her Master. Which left only Xae, still standing in what must have been one of the most awkward situations she had ever been in. His eyes shifted to her, still having no idea what to make of the diminutive Jedi.

 

“I’ll make sure she gets home safely.” The Jedi said, choosing not to meet his gaze before adding, “I’m sure she didn’t mean most of that…”

 

Raynuk stifled a condescending chuckle; perhaps on the surface Raia was merely caught up in her grief, but some of the things she had said had come from somewhere, however deep in the girl’s heart. But just like the other two women, Xae soon departed as well, and the lounge area of the Ravenhammer fell silent once more. Raynuk chose to stay where he was, as if stuck in the doorway to his quarters. He was finding a bit of understanding in the silence, as if he could better hear and understand the flow and direction of the Force along the path he had been set upon. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on that ever distant whisper that was always like grasping at straws.

 

The eventual soft and distant clunk that Raynuk knew was the sound of docking clamps releasing (Shadow's Shine from Traitor's Hope) brought Raynuk out of his spontaneious semi-meditation as his eyes slid open. He became aware of the passive hum of his ship as he looked around the lounge once more, then behind him into the darkness of his own quarters. He sighed, and for the first time since he opened the door to talk to Raia, he stepped forward, running a hand through his hair.

 

It was time to refocus, not to get bogged down. Draken and Alora were likely already on Dathomir digging into the actions of the cult there; the detour of saving Tirzah had been completely unexpected and had consumed time that he had not anticipated. But now there was nothing left to do than continue along the course he had intended.

 

Raynuk came to a stop just outside the crew lounge on his way towards the cockpit as Vex’aedr came walking up to him, carrying the giant pillow that had served as Raia’s bed within the infirmary; clearly the tuk’ata was reclaiming it now, intending to bring it back to his room. But when it met Raynuk’s eyes, it dropped the pillow and continued forward, roughly nudging the side of Raynuk’s head with what amounted to a snort.

 

The Sith cracked a smile and reached up, hooking an arm around his pet’s neck and leaning into Vex’s large mass, the best form of hugging the beast tightly as he could. It was a rare moment of weakness on Raynuk’s part, putting a fair amount of strength behind embracing Vex’aedr. The implications were not lost on Vex, who bowed his head over Raynuk’s shoulder and across his back, pressing the man into it’s torso as well. Raynuk’s right arm stretched out and began stroking the beast’s side; it was an experience that was wholly cathartic for the wearied Sith, one that he would never have admitted he desperately needed in that moment.

“At least I still have you to watch my back.” Raynuk murmured after a long period of silence, his face at least partially buried in the side of his pet.

 

He continued to hold onto Vex’aedr for a bit longer, continuing to pull comfort from what was amounting to an over-sized stuffed animal before he pulled away, looking Vex’aedr right in the eyes once more, a wordless ‘thank you’ passing between them before Raynuk gave the tuk’ata a playful pat on the side of the snout, to which Vex playfully snapped at his hand in return. Raynuk turned and continued to head towards the cockpit, while Vex’aedr grabbed the pillow again and continued on his quest to drag the pillow back to his room.

 

Raynuk entered the cockpit to find 2V doing a final revision of what looked to be the damage report of the Traitor’s Hope, from which the droid did not look up as he entered.

 

<

 

Raynuk was finding the droid’s unique perspective on things certainly added some flavor to his existance, especially when it was right. For his part, Raynuk smirked and sat down in the pilot’s seat before answering.

 

“Yes 2V, start the undocking procedure, while I prep the nav-computer for our destination. Did all the other ships clear out by the way?” He asked, remembering the incident with the target lock.

<> The droid answered after shutting down the report, double-checking the sensors, and beginning to go through the steps to de-couple with the other ship, before pausing and looking at Raynuk curiously.

 

<

 

Raynuk did not look at the droid, focusing on the nav-computer as he input the coordinates, which apparently the droid read instead of letting Raynuk answer.

<

 

Raynuk just shook his head. “You want to discuss how this is my ship, or do you want to do what I asked and move us away from the Traitor’s Hope?” He responded sarcastically, knowing that the droid would take the hint.

 

And take the hint 2V did. A few minutes later, the Ravenhammer was free of the Traitor’s Hope and began moving clear of the other ship. A few more moments saw the VCX-350 disappear into hyperspace.

[Emily]

Raia was starting to break down, and it was all Emily could do to stand on her feet. She glanced at the Jedi. "You're fine here on my ship, but could you please give us some space?" she asked weakly. The Jedi seemed to keep finding herself in the most awkward situations. Giving a nod, the Dathomiri Witch left the room, heading to Emily-didn't-care-where.

 

After a moment, she moved over to the sofa and sat down beside Raia as the girl started to go on about going home. Emily took a deep breath. She needed to be the strong one here, to be a rock for Raia. It felt impossible right about now, but she had to try. "I understand. Believe me, I know the lure of home when things have gone to hell." For a moment, an image of her balcony on Rish'navin floated temptingly before her mind's eye. "But I'd be worried about you. You might be able to survive...but Raia, you still have the Force practically exploding out of you at random intervals. You were pulled into who-knows-what hellhole of the Force back there. You regularly have Force visions. And look," she said, taking Raia's arm and turning it to show the brand-new lines of tattoo creeping down it. "We haven't figured out why this is happening to you, either. I...I'm afraid for you, Raia. I don't want to see you succumb to the Force's power. Not when I know we can figure this out and help you."

 

She couldn't meet the girl's eyes. "I don't want to give up on you," she ended, her voice dropping to a whisper.

[Dahar Raikanda]

The two masters of the Force had left Coruscant and were now floating again through space. Aryian had performed this technique once before on Dahar way back on Mechis when they first attempted to dive into new training. The difference now was that Dahar was unbound. He saw a different Darkfire standing before him. Dahar senses this was how Aryian viewed himself in the Force.

 

Dahar looked... the same. His body had died only a few times and his spirit had found itself in adequate clones. The infinite whiteness stretching out was quite similar to the basement sanctuary at Gala. At thought of that the crystal around Dahar's neck became slightly warm. He remembered arriving there with Tobias and leaving with Kirlocca and a young Jedi exorcist. Times had certainly changed...

 

Dahar softly waived his hand through the air, getting a feeling for the atmosphere in the room. There was no wind, no resistance. It was artificial yet at the same time more real than anyone place he had been in a while.

 

"Hmm... Who's head are we in, Aryian?"