Jump to content

Space


Ary the Grey

Recommended Posts

"What does the Force tell you?"

 

The young Padawan pondered that for a moment before he closed his eyes and expanded his mind to the farthest reaches of the Force. He opened his mind up to the Living Force, to himself, to Master Akturus...but it wasn't enough. They were in space now, with the only living beings in the proximity being the two of them, so that was out of the question. No, he had to connect to the Unifying Force, something which has plagued his whole life. Everytime he concentrates on the future is mind is ripped apart with a haunting vision of things to come. Maybe it happened for a reason, maybe the Force was trying to tell him of his destiny.

 

"Master be prepared for anything...this could turn out bad."

 

He let go of his thoughts, let them drift away from the here and the now, he forgot all that he was and all that he had done. He expanded his thoughts to the future, concentrating on the events that have yet to unfold. He could feel a vision coming now...but he was ready. A flash of the icy planet came before his eyes, there was a cave....darkness beckoned from its depths but he knew that they had to go there, his mind flashed to a man...with the wings of an angel and the birth of new beginnings. Crystals...they were everywhere, the luminous colors bouncing off rays of light of such beauty only a poet could describe. But darkness waited in the shadows, but the time for running was over. A death on Trulalis flashed again...the same Jedi showed himself, the same symbol cursed his mind, and all the while a snap-hiss of a weapon being activated could be heard.

 

The apprentice let go of his thoughts once more, hurtling him away from the future and bringing him back to the here and the now. For once the Unifying Force had graced him, instead of damning his existance.

 

"Master, we will find exactly what we need..."

Edited by Guest

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Padawan graciously took the holoprojector his Master handed over to him and like he was shown, pressed a button on the side of the device producing a hologram of a lightsaber. He looked it over for a few minutes and pressed a different button and a 3-D list of all the parts needed were shown, including pictures of what the parts looked like. It seemed simple enough: a power conduit, an emitter matrix, power cell, recharge socket, lens assemby, a focusing crystal or two; it could be done. Andon was always mechanically gifted but that wouldn't help his now, it took discipline and years of constant practice to become a skilled-swordsman like his Master; but it could be done. A master swordsman like Master Akturus's father...

 

"Master, what happened on Hoth..when we were outside training? It was right before that carosel of ice shards moved in on me and before you called back your father's lightsaber. That micro-second before you called it back, I sensed a change in you. It was only a second, but your normal neutral emotion output was replaced with a combination of rage and fear. What was that Master?"

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

The lone A-Wing traveled through hyperspace, lost in his own battle of inner turmoil. He had taken the lives of others, not for the greater good, not for the protection of others, but for his own amusement. If he had been fighting for justice his fighting would have been linear and straight forward..but no, he pulled out all the stops and hot shotted his way through the battle. He enjoyed showing off his talent and in return it must have meant he enjoyed the carnage that resulted from that talent. Andon cleared his mind and opened his thoughts up to the Force hoping to find some kind of peace, but the Force merely cursed him...

 

The pain, it was blinding, images scorched through his mind as he tried to make sense of one from another. Ilum, they would return there and it too would be plagued. His mind flashed to a girl...he would train her. It changed focuses again, he was on a planet now surrounded by others he knew and others he didn't...they were training in ways he had never seen but that all shown as familar. The Jedi's face flashed in his mind again, that same symbol burning within his conciousness, the death of a Sith...it all played over and over again until silence echoed. Then it was broken with a single command.

 

"Choose, choose, choose, choose, choose, CHOOSE"

 

With that the vision ended as his NavComp when off, he was nearing Pacalis City.

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once the battered Corellian Corvette entered the endlessness of Hyperspace, the apprentice turned to his Master, that same problem plaguing him once more.

 

"Master, my actions on Coruscant don't deserve praise. I was reckless, taking risks whenever I saw fit, and that is the problem. I took the lives of men, they were Imperials..but they were humans non the less and I killed them. I wasn't doing it out of justice...I enjoyed it. I knew it had to be done, but I showed off while doing so, taking pleasure in the way that I flew...so that must have meant that I took pleasure in killing them. Does that sink me to their level or does it make me far worse?"

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Was the Force Guiding my actions," he thought to himself. Maybe, it was hard for him to tell...it was almost like his motives during the battle were beginning to escape him. It made him different....was it true, did regreting taking the lives of others make it alright? It was all to much, he couldn't do this again, it was the Naboo Royal Air Force all over again. The death, the carnage, the glory; it all came flooding back to him as he sat their pondering things of yesteryear. The way he had flown over Coruscant was the way he had always flown: brash, fearless and at break-neck speeds, maybe he was a killer all along. Or maybe not, in all the years he was there he had always felt as if he had had an edge over the other pilot's...like there was something about him that no other could match. In that moment he knew his answer.

 

"Master, the Force was guiding my actions...I guess it always has. I don't think I took pleasure in death, but instead I took pleasure in the way I flew, through all the chaos I had a smile on my face and I felt guilty."

 

He could feel his Master's resolve and that brought a sense of much needed serenity to his own aura. That word though, "impressive", he had been called many things over the years, but impressive was never one of them. He felt that same casual smirk form at the corners of his mouth.

 

"Hot shottin' it use to be so much easier..."

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Through the void of Hyperspace a battered Corellian Starship travels through its lanes towards the insolent ice planet Hoth, home to Jedi and Rebels alike. Two Jedi sat at the controls of the ship, Master and apprentice, with the latter locked in a state of meditation. He could see Hoth, but the taste of blood filled his mouth as he looked into its future. Bloodshed would be all around them, death would swing its luminous scythe over all their heads, there would be no escape...for anyone, this was truly the end. But no, in that void of hopelessness the Padawan found strength in the fact that he was fighting for something: for the Jedi, for justice...for *her*. His fingers slowly clasped around the cyndrical hilt that was attached to his belt, a lightsaber- the life line of the Jedi Knights, was on the eve of its greatest need ever. He turned to his Master, who too was locked in a stoic gaze.

 

"It's going to be worse then Dagobah...isn't it?"

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'Funny...I felt the same thing," the apprentice said with an uneasy laugh.

 

But it wasn't a laughing matter, the fates of many would burden the shoulders of the Jedi, especially the senior ones...like Master Akturus. Would he have to make the ultimate sacrifice? Would his Master? The mere thought sent a shiver down the young Padawan's spine, but he couldn't avoid it. He looked down at the saber attached to his belt, he would have to learn how to wield it...he needed to know how to use it. He would never forgive himself if someone died because he was too reckless and too useless to bear the weapon at it's highest efficiency. He turned to his Master.

 

"I think it's time I learned to wield this weapon properly."

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Padawan reached into his cloak and removed the silver and black hilt from his belt and held it in his right hand. With a sliding of the activation plate, the hilt jumped to life as the emerald-green blade hissed and crackled as it materialized to it's full extent. He raised the saber in a defensive position in front of him, with his right hand placed above his left hand as he gripped the hilt firmly. With a casual smirk, Andon spoke to his Master.

 

"Come on, show me what you got," he challenged light-heartedly.

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The young apprentice suspiciously gazed at the two small droids hovering in front of him, with the notion of bad intentions trickling within the back of his mind. He was right, because no sooner then the thought crossed his mind did a tiny blaster bolt lance from underneath one of the two swirling droids at Andon. In a move as quick as a flash, the Padawan swung his saber doward and to the left...successfully blocking the bolt aimed at his hamstring. "This isn't so hard," he thought to himself, "I don't see what the big fuss is about-"; he was promptly cut off mid-thought. In his cocky gloating, the second droid and come up from behind and sent a bolt screaming into his lower back. He immediately dropped to one knee and realized the error of is way...all the while he heard a light chuckling coming from his Master's direction. This was just like the caves of Ilum, he had to rely on the Force, body and mind.

 

He let go of himself and separated his conciousness from the crude matter of flesh and bone, allowing it to fully be embraced by the Force and the feeling of humbleness that accompanies it's bounty. He reached outward honing his senses on the here and now, focusing on the twin droids that encircled him now, watching...waiting...anticipating their next move. The training remotes moved fast, but the apprentice was faster and he sensed the oncoming danger and threw his saber in an upward arc behind him, with the emerald blade pointing to the ground running parallel down his back, as it blocked the first bolt. Tendrils of the Force echoed back into his mind as he rose to his feet and spun 180 degrees to his right, bringing his saber in a quick horizontal swipe that caught the bolt from the opposite droid.

 

"That was different...maybe it's time we-"

 

The young man was cut off short as his mind burst into a new realm of pain as the image of Hoth burning scorched his eyes and damned his thoughts. Such suffering and fear, the Sith were no doubt enjoying every minute of those feelings, but he didn't sense the Dark presence that is usually cast off by their auras. No they weren't there...yet, there was still time.

 

"Master it seems our training is always interrupted."

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Soon the Nubian ship was far away from the grasp of Hoth and yet the four Jedi all looked around at each other in a state of confusion. What was the plan, keep running or return and fight? Vengeance needed to be executed, but they didn't even know where the attacks we're coming from, or if there was anyone to fight. They saw no Destroyers in orbit around Hoth, but knowing the Imperials they always found a way of hiding themselves for the oppurtune moment.

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking out of the viewport, the orbit around Hoth was busy indeed, with Imperial ships jumping into hyperspace and Rebel ships descending through the atmosphere and bombing Imperial encampments. The young apprentice let go of Ashley Jade's hand and walked to the front of the ship and reached outward into space with his mind, someone was coming...a Jedi Master. No sooner then the feeling reached him did an encoded message come over the comm.

 

"This is Ara-Lai, taking off. Watch my back, everyone!"

 

Being the closet one to the comm unit, Andon pressed a button on the comm unit and responded.

 

"Don't worry, we've got you covered."

 

Bringing the ships engine's back to life, Orrick moved them closer to Ara's ship, and all three Jedi reached outward with their thoughts for any incoming danger. Sensing none and with reassurance from the scanner's, Orrick brought the Nubian Yaht alongside of the emerging ship, further adding to the group's security. With the Padawan still needing further sense of security, he turned to his Master, Hale Akturus.

 

"Maybe after things die down here we'll get a chance to do some more training. I have the strongest feeling my near future is going to demand discipline in my skill with a lightsaber and the Force."

 

Having served his purpose Andon casually walked back toward's Ashley Jade, who looked as radiant as ever, and sat down beside her. Though they were in no immediate danger in space, the Padawan's mind still focused his thoughts on the present and the world around him...waiting...planning. Brushing his black/green hair away from his eyes he slyly turned his head toward's the woman beside him.

 

"So how are you enjoying your life as a Jedi so far?"

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While waiting for her response he starred intently into her azure blue eyes, finding a strange calming feeling eminating from them. But it all shattered away when he heard his Master speaking with Orrick.

 

"Sounds like Andon grew up on a farm. Maybe I should be teaching him more than just how to be a Jedi."

 

He turned his hazel gaze away from Ashley Jade, now focusing intensely on the floor space between his combat boots. His heart sank, Master Akturus was like a father to him, and those words burned deep within his soul. Trying to cloak his emotions from those around him, Andon quickly focused his face and rose from his seat.

 

"I'm going to make sure all the engine systems are still running properly after that mag-bomb attack. I might as well check on the Hyperdrive too, just incase we need to make a quick jump."

 

With that he spun on his heel and briskly walked back towards the engine room, his black cloak flowing behind him like a midnight blaze. The short walk there seemed to be paused in time, like he was trapped in the Eternal Walk of the Damned...one more of torment then physical pain. The moments tredged on like hours, but finally the young apprentice found himself in front of a control panel, and with a few button presses, a system diagnostics scan was underway. So there he stood, lost in his own thoughts in a whirlwind of uncertainty...why must he always fail. He lowered his head, starring at his black boots, following upwards to his dirt-ridden black pants, continuing onward to his slightly tattered black tunic, from side to side at the drooping black cloak that casually clung to his broad shoulders, and finished by starring into a blank screen at his own reflection.

 

His hazel hair fell down to about his shoulder, accented with black and green highlights...it had been a hazing ritual at the Naboo Flight Academy, but the look kind of stuck with him. His gaze followed downward to his strong features, that even in his current brooding scowl, would still be considered handsome by many. Now his attention focused on his beard, which originally began as a mere five o'clock shadow had now become a three-week old beard, coarse..but still not thick enough to shadow his features. And upon his final resting place of focus he zeroed in on his eyes, forever locked in a hazel stare of intensity. They say your eyes were a gateway into you soul, and the Padawan wished it weren't true, for his eyes were filled with torment, frustration, pain and the most feared of all: doubt.

 

"After all I've gone through, this is all still a game to me. Master Akturus was right, I know nothing of being a true Jedi," he said in a low tone.

 

He drew forth his silver and black lightsaber hilt from his belt, and with a *snap-hiss* the emerald-blade jumped to life. He starred into the energy blade for a long while, he had sacrificed so much to construct the weapon on Ilum, both physically and mentally. He angled the blade upward, the light emitted from it now casting a softening green light on his features. Even through his doubt, his determination still shone through

 

"But why does he still doubt me? Did I not prove myself at the Battle of Coruscant...did I not prove myself within the Caves of Ilum? Was fighting my demons and surviving them not enough for him...what more does he want from me?"

 

A small beeping sound from the control panel informed him that the diagnostic scan was done, and looking down at the screen the engines were running in near-perfect running condition. Stepping slightly to the left, he pressed another series of buttons beginning the system check of the Hyperdrive. The momentary distraction did not derive him from the fight at hand, his doubt struck out further.

 

"Maybe I haven't proven myself. He's always telling me to control my emotions, which is the way of the Jedi. More focal then that is discipline, a true Jedi must have discipline over himself, the Force, and the situation around him. I've shown none of that, I've only failed him...more importantly I've failed myself," he said almost in a whisper.

 

He stood motionless for a long while, not moving, not thinking, not being; he could feel himself losing control, something he had always done: the death of his father, the death of his wingman, his near failure at the Caves of Ilum; failure seemed to be the only constant in his life. But he had learned so much, he had come so far in his training...but was that merely an illusion of his mind as well. Had he really made a big of an impact as he had thought, or was he just a speck within the hour glass. His defiance struck back, he would not let failure win this day.

 

"I am not a failure," he whispered...barely audible, "maybe I just chose the wrong path...maybe I was never meant to be a Jedi."

 

Silence engulfed the world around him, with the beeping of the control panel and the droning hum of his lightsaber blade being the only thing he could hear now. Even in this moment, he withdrew himself from the Force and for the first time since his training began, he broke his connection with it.

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being without the Force was a strange sensation indeed, he felt cold, he felt helpless, he felt lost...he felt truly alone. For these last few months the Force had been the young apprentice's only salvation, it had been his lifeline and like all life lines before that, he too turned his back on it. Once again he looked down at the lightsaber in his left hand, the weapon of the Jedi, but in his current state he was no Jedi, so in return with a *hiss-snap* the blade deactivated itself and he reattached it to his belt. The beeping on the control panel once more informed him that the Hyperdrive was in working condition and would be suitable for travel at lightspeed. He began his methodical walk back towards the helm of the ship...but *it* hit him.

 

There was no escaping this feeling, even cut off from the Force every Force-sensitive in the galaxy felt this. It all happened so fast, such feelings of death and suffering dropped the Padawan flat on the floor, clutching his temples in pain. It was blinding, the sheer savageness of the assault nearly drove him insane...so many people died...they never stood a chance. The life fire of billions was suddenly extinguished and the only thing that replaced it was silence, the deafening abyss of utter silence. The moment had passed, but still he lay there, gasping for air, reaching out for answers, reaching out for anything. Then it struck, in all the agony and chaos the Padawan found the answers he was searching for. It was not a one sided relationship, he didn't just need the Force, the Force needed him...it needed all her Knights.

 

"How could I have been so blind," he mumbled to himself.

 

Taking another few moments, he slowly rose to his feet and began his walk towards the helm, raising his hood over his head, in a sign of distraught. He emerged there moments later, with each person in the cockpit each sharing the same expression...utter disbelief. The two Knights already knew what happened, but Ashley Jade only felt a notion of what came, she was still missing the whole. So he spoke to her, but loud enough for all to hear.

 

"Something dire has happened," he said seating himself next to her, "I sense great death. I do not know why it happened, but the life essences of billions was ended and only a void and utter silence exist where their life auras should be. This was far worse then anything I've ever encountered...this was genocide...not of a single race but of all life. I truly hope my future notions are not true, because this could mean the beginning of the end."

 

The young apprentice turned his head towards Master Akturus and Orrick, who were both looking at each other and at him...all three with the same thought on their minds.

 

"The Sith could never accomplish anything of this magnitude, from what I've learned not even they could harness the Darkside in this way. In that wave on anguish I felt something...a dark entity we all came in contact with in the City of the Dead. This is no work of the Sith...this is the onslaught of the Dark Jedi."

 

He leaned back in his seat, turning away from Ashley Jade and resting his hands in the opposite sleeves of his cloak. While doing this he felt the young woman next to him lean her body against his and rest her head on his shoulder, searching for comfort for which he could not provide. So there they sat, Andon with his hood up and face solemn and the two Jedi Knights placing their hoods upon their brows in the same suit as he. There would be a time for vengeance, but in this moment it was neither a time of war or bloodlust...it was a time of mourning.

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Silently the Nubian Yaht traveled through Hyperspace, all four deathly quiet as they thought of the events that happened and the travesties that could occur. Ashley Jade still clung tightly to his arm and having spent enough time gathering his thoughts he held her hand in his for comfort and support, both for her and himself. He thought back to the message that had been sent to him through the Force from Leo, he had never seen a space station such as that before. More importantly the man with the wings of an angel had that same imminent feeling death about his aura, this hour was truly a plague on the galactic level. Such senseless death and carnage, those who wronged would pay dearly, but first things first, he had to focus his thoughts on the present. He sat there in a deep state of brooding that seemed like days but was only mere hours, and a beacon overhead informed them that they were coming out of Hyperspace. Andon focused his thoughts and sent them outward to Leo.

 

"We have arrived"

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

As the Renegade Night travelled silently through the cascade of colors that encompassed hyperspace, Andon Colos took this time to reflect on the actions of the day. Once more he had narrowly escaped death's grasp, though the end of his life was inevitable, with the path he walked the luxury of a normal life was something he could never attain. Breaking the silence he spoke to his apprentice, Daz-Ex Ether.

 

"You did well today, tension was high and yet you still managed to think fast on your feet. All and all not too bad for your first day on the job..."

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In quiet thought the Jedi Knight sat and within the reclusion of his mind the words of Hale Akturus rang clearly in this thoughts and being. Dark times were upon them and no matter what feelings he had for the Jedi he was still a member of their ranks.

 

We all do what we must in this lifetime, Master, and my path is ever changing.

 

As the last words echoed from his mind, the presence of his former Master began to slowly fade back into the whole of the Force. It was a quiet serenity, a place that one day he himself would become a part of. The sigh of his apprentice snapped him back to reality, it had been a hard day for him and an even harder change of reality. He was young, but he would learn and he would be great...

 

"The Jedi Dojo on Borleias. It was the last Jedi establishment I went too before my departure from them...it's our best bet at finding them."

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

The small fighter exited hyperspace and barrelled towards Asteroid X-666, the Spaceport in view as he landed his ship and sat in the cockpit as pressure equalized in the airlock. As the canopy opened, the pair once more exited the starfighter, the stench apparently clear in the air. Looking around he took note of the ships coming and going through the port, none of the occupants matching the description of Scando. As he looked he caught sight of the same girl who he had overheard at the Last Call, though her male companion was no where to be found. He silently watched her as he walked between the starships, also taking note of the space pirates that were watching her as well.

 

No doubt she can handle herself and she has no lack of courage upon entering this place...perhaps she could aid me in the task of bringing Scando to the authorities.

 

Opening himself up to the Force he widened his sphere of responsibility to a wider space, further helping in his chances of avoiding an ambush. In his task he felt the aura of his apprentice, who was surprisingly calm given the circumstances; even hinting a glint of excitement at the thrill of the hunt. He was young, but he was strong in the Force...that strength would serve the youth well through his life.

 

Rounding the corner, the girl spotted the pair and by the look on her face she had a slight rememberance of them from the Last Call, but was rather confused as to what they were doing here. Silently Andon Colos approached her before he finally stood side by side with her as they walked and spoke in a soft tone.

 

"It appears you've found your way here as well...I was wondering how long it would take before someone took a chance on the address on the box as I and my companion did."

 

Before another word could be spoken by either party, a rather loud Rodian and Doshan walked past them, their conversation compelling the tale of how just recently the Rodian had a successful staredown with Rane Scando and made him leave. A Weaquay joined the conversation and then told the story the right way, saying that Scando had threatened to tie the Rodian to his ship and drag him all the way to Tatooine and in return the Rodian ran away.

 

Turning towards his new female companion, the rogue merely gave her a subtle wink before he motioned that they should return to their ships and began walking towards them. He said nothing, but instead formed a mental bond with the girl and his apprentice and spoke.

 

Looks like Tatooine is the place to be, let's hope neither of us develops a seething hatred of sand planets on the way there, I have a feeling it won't be a quick trip.

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Paying no mind to the small alien creature, Andon continued on his way to his E-Wing, though he did find the girl's taunting and beating of it mildly amusing, but now was not a time for pleasantries. With a look of contained amazement the "Jedi" watched as his apprentice leapt through the air and landed on the nose of his starfighter in a roll and climbed into his seat. The Force was a natural asset to him already, with proper concentration he would glide through his training relatively easily.

 

With a simple leap of his own he cleared the gap between himself and the ship and landed on the nose as well, his hazel eyes watching as the girl's ship took off and blasted away into hyperspace. Situating himself in his seat, the engines of the Renegade Night fired up as it took off and re-entered space once more, the coordinates plugged into the NavComp for Tatooine as the ship prepared itself for the jump to lightspeed. Within an instance the fighter pierced the realm of hyperspace and was bound towards their next stop. Destination: Tatooine.

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Through the deepest reaches of space, the Renegade II travelled soundlessly through hyperspace. Inside two Jedi sat, one the Master and one the Apprentice... both their minds focused on the here and the now.

 

"There are two types of fighting, Ashley: fighting to win and fighting to not lose. The former can lead you to great strength, but it is deceptive... with the want to win growing after each fight... the need to win growing after each fight. This is the type of battle a Sith will use against you."

 

He exhaled slowly.

 

"The latter is the defensive fight, raising your hands to strike another only when it is deemed absolutely neccessary. It is passive in it's nature, but it ensures either way that the fight will not draw one into the need to constantly squabble and lust for more. This is the way of the Jedi."

 

He inhaled slowly and turned to rest his hazel gaze on her.

 

"Though the components are simple, things are never as easy as they seem... complexities arise in the midst of the most inopportune moments. Above all you must feel, not think, for hesitation will get you killed because you lose concentration on the moment. You must always be aware of the moment-"

 

A mechanical beeping erupted overhead, their journey through hyperspace nearing its end. The carnage would be beginning all over again.

 

"No matter what, stay with me. Violence is never the answer, but at times it's the only option we have. Even so, there is a difference between being peaceful and cowardly; make sure you're on the right side of the scales. Never start a fight...but if the situation arises, be damn sure to finish it."

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

As he listend to her talk, he smiled slightly at the fact of how much she had matured since the last time they had been like this... his smile humbling itself as the thought traced across his mind at how much he must have matured to her. In the break between their conversation the Knight reflected on all that she had told him, happy to just be in her presence... grateful for being able to be in such a close vicinity to her.

 

"If what say is how you feel, then we truly are meant for one another..."

 

The softly spoken statement hung in the air as he placed his hand on top of her stomach and smiled as she turned her head to look at him.

 

"When John and I came back from that... plane... everything was different. When I awoke on Raxus Prime I couldn't tell friend from foe... in fact, I came near to hurting John and his fiancee, Sirvani. In fear I shouted for one of their servants to back away from me and in doing so the weight of the Force in my voice nearly collapsed an entire wing of their complex."

 

It was feint, but he felt himself holding her slightly tighter as if he was trying to seek some kind of comfort.

 

"Since coming back I have a hard time controlling my Force powers... my connection is so much stronger then it was before that plane and most of the time I can barely keep a handle on them. I'm almost afraid that if I speak too loudly I'll rip the ship apart."

 

He paused for a moment as his face glassed over from the brooding look he had gained to that of one of contentment as he lightly kissed her neck before continuing on.

 

"Just before I found you, Ara released me of my duties as a Council member and active Jedi... she basically released me from the Order. I wanted to stay, but I know I wouldn't be able to... I'm too different now. It is impossible to be bound to an Order when your presence reeks of a being who is half-Jedi and half-Sith."

 

Ever so slowly he started moving his hand against her stomach, his touch delicate, almost as if he thought that if he pressed to hard she'd shatter away from him.

 

"I... I don't see things in terms of light and dark anymore. I don't know what I believe, but I know it is beyond such petty names as "Jedi" and "Sith... we are so much more then the names we hide behind. My fate is no longer tied to those that place emphasis on something that doesn't matter to begin with."

 

Andon slouched slightly down in his seat, leaning his head back against the top of the seat as he let out a contemplative sigh. His hazel-grey eyes staring aimlessly out into the streching stars that encompassed hyperspace as he thought over what he was about to tell her.

 

"I don't know if you could technically call me a Knight since I abandoned the Order, but I'll always stay with you."

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And then there was pain. Endless pain.

 

No tears could ever be wipe cleaned. No prayer could ever answer the plea. Andon Colos found himself in a barren wasteland that he kept close to his heart”¦ the place that his dreams died and the home in which misery itself weeps from the sin. A vacuum in which hope failed”¦ this was the place Andon called home now. This was the place that the love of his life, Jaina Jade Skywalker, had exiled him to in this moment”¦ her words were killing him by degrees. There was so much sorrow in her voice; so empty from what he remembered it to be. She tried so hard to block him out from her emotions and thoughts, but he was there to receive every last one of them despite how hard she tried to cloud him from the clarity of her.

 

Emotionally and mentally he was on the verge of collapsing and in a cruel twist of fate a feeling of a different kind of pain drifted to him from across the stars. It was all over”¦ every muscle ached and every joint creaked as physical torment plagued his body and a vision of a far off fight crept into his thoughts. John”¦ Brother”¦ what fate have you stumbled upon”¦ he had no time to reflect on the bombardment of body, mind and soul; the other-worldly siren of the Force Goddess's voice turned his blood to ice. Jaina”¦ the voice was coming from Jaina. He stared at her wildly as the Goddess used her as vessel to get at Andon once more; he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

 

As quickly as the voice came it left”¦ leaving only the woman he loved behind. Once more things shifted before he had time to come to terms with them as Jaina leaned in towards the Knight and pressed her lips against his, kissing Andon soundly. One arm was wrapped around her back as the forearm of the other laid itself across her lap; his hand resting along her hip as the vixen deepened the kiss. His hand moved down from Jaina's hip and slipped itself underneath of her thigh as he lifted the leg up and swung it towards him. He moved to do the same with the other leg, Jaina already wise to his idea as she placed her hands on his shoulders and lifted herself up as Andon shifted the placement of her lower body. Placing his hands on her hips, she lowered herself down into a sitting position, her knees pressed against the outside of his hips as she straddled his lap; the two now facing each other.

 

They looked into one another's gaze as Andon broke their kiss to speak. ”œYou paint the walls with flames and call it your mirror”¦ yet you hate it. You can't recognize the symptoms of truth”¦ but you still think it's you. Promises and forever are just words to you”¦”

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

As she rested her head against his shoulder, the Knight slowly closed his eyes and smiled. He breathed in delicately, allowing Jaina's scent to gradually fill his senses as Andon wrapped his arms around her... yet this wasn't the world of bliss it should have been. He could feel it in the air, it was...hesitation. Twinges of regret. His heart sank at the thought, the smile fading from his face as his jaw clenched and his mouth was drawn in a grim line; a facial expression of his Jaina knew all too well.

 

"I'm sorry."

 

His voice was soft, so feint that to her it seemed just saying those words were shredding his insides... not because of the vanity of pride, but because of why he had to say them. "I know I shouldn't have... I know that we have to take small steps together, Jaina. But... but I just want you so badly...."

 

The misery in his voice gave way to the undertones of the passion that smoldered in core of his being for her.

 

"There's just so much I want to share with you... we have so much time to make up for. There's so much that I want to tell you... there's so much I want to know about you. I want to know what things were like for you after we parted ways, when you first went to the Jedi and I remained on Naboo to take flight lead. I want to know if it was as hard for you as it was for me to say good-bye."

 

The longer he talked, the more his voice waivered as the pain of the past was drudged up to his present.

 

"I wanted to keep you close... but in order to do that I would have stopped you from answering your calling. I loved you too much to do that... I had to let you go. I don't know which one was harder... letting you go on Naboo-"

 

He paused, the memory flooding him as if he was experiencing the events then and there. "-or having to let you go on Mimban." Just having to say the last part of that sentence shook the stone cold Jedi to his core, the hand he laid on top of Jaina's physically trembling. "I loved you too much to force you to stay with me."

 

He felt her breathing hush... his senses only picking that fact up because his breathing had become distant and strained as well. And then she looked up at him, only to find that his hazel-grey stare was already looking back at her. Unlike so many before him, he wasn't looking through her or for what he could gain from her... Andon was looking at her... he was looking at who she was.

 

"I spent so many moments wondering if you were alright. If you were safe... if you were happy... if you were sad... if you were neither; I would have given anything to know. I want to know so much about what you've been through... who it's made of you. I want to show you who I've become, that I'm not the same man that I was before."

 

With his still trembling hand, he entwined his fingers with hers.

 

"I want to show that even through all my changes, my love for you never faultered. I want you to know so much... even if you don't believe what I say, I want you to know it."

 

Many beings look away from what they fear when faced with it... they turn their gazes astray so they don't have to face every hard decision they've ever had to make. This was not the case for Andon Colos... his gentle eyes never broke contact with the greenish-brown stare of the woman sitting on his lap.

 

"I love you, Jaina..."

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

They had gone such separate paths since that day”¦ so many years ago all he and Jaina had to worry about was how they would avoid her parents so they could steal long moments away together in one of their trysts. She was beautiful to him then and since that day his belief in that truth had only further strengthened, so many times Andon had found it hard to fathom that he was her elder”¦ Jaina's maturity in every imaginable aspect shadowed the aspect of the youth she possessed. Adolescence had a cruel irony about it; their bodies possessing the shape and form of the adults they were to become yet mentally they were still just kids, prone to mistakes and irrational thinking.

 

Some would say that's where they went wrong”¦ they were just too young to know how they felt, but Andon and Jaina knew they were destined to be together from the beginning, it was only a matter of understanding what they could not see. The spark of love will find you and consume you”¦ it cares nothing of age. It will stir and it will howl and all that can hear it's phantom call will be forever driven by it. The former Jedi and former Sith Jaina Jade Skywalker was not immune to its beckon will. The one time avatar of the light Andon Colos could never escape its grasp and the renegade of the Force he had become would be no different.

 

Once two people were in love nothing could be done about it”¦ real love is forever. With a single embrace, it was now Andon's turn to share memories with her from long ago with nothing more then a thought and a gentle whisper. ”œPromise me I'll never have to make you stay, Jaina Jade Skywalker”¦”

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Inside the small cockpit of the lone A-Wing, the thoughts of the pair inside wandered into realms in which they had avoided dwelling in for so long”¦ the kisses, the caresses”¦ they all hung in the air of the starfighter as the love of Andon Colos' life sat in his embrace. With slow, long strokes he gently played with the brandy brown locks that fell down past Jaina's shoulders as she slouched down slightly on his lap so she could more comfortably rest her head against his chest. She breathed deeply as she nuzzled her face closer to the rhythmic beating of Andon's heart and matched her inhales and exhales with its pulse.

 

Gingerly he ran his fingers further through her hair, his touch reassuring as he softly massaged her scalp with his finger tips; his fingers slowly rolling themselves inwards towards his palm before straightening back outward away from the palm”¦ his fingers moving in a subtle circular movement. A small contented sigh escaped from between her lips as he did so”¦ Andon gradually lulling her into slumber with his gentle caress as his free arm wrapped itself more snuggly around her; her Knight only further adding to Jaina's feeling of safety with him in doing so.

 

She still held the ring in the palm of her hand; Andon using the Force to gently float it into his hand for safe keeping while she rested. At its absence she stirred just enough to speak.

 

”œI'm afraid that if I go asleep you'll slip away from me,”

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

And from nothing came everything.

 

Thrown from his world of dreams, the rogue Jedi Knight lurched forward into awareness as he awoke with a start; lungs desperately clawing for air as his breaths came in raw. Wide-eyed he searched his surroundings, Andon's hazel-gray stare finding that he was still in the seat of his A-wing... Jaina Jade Skywalker sitting on his lap. So rarely did he dream that being in such a place was unnerving, though he didn't feel their encounter was so much a dream as a right of passage.

 

All that he had become looked back on all that he was and the only thing Andon could do was weep in the face of undoubted truth. Tears flowed down his face as the strong body of the one time avatar of the light shook in the revelations of his flaws. Jaina wrapped her arms around him tightly, her hand resting against the back of his head as she gently pulled his temple down to rest against hers. Others had seen him weep before, but she was the only one he had ever lowered his guard around... she was the only one that had seen all of his strength and all of his vulnerability. And with her tender touch, Jaina's kisses followed the path of every tear that streamed down his cheeks: wiping them away and making him whole again.

 

As she held him she spoke lightly into his ear; the Knight holding on to her every breath... patiently focusing on each word before moving on to the next one she exhaled. In that moment he could listen to the sound of her voice forever and never get tired of the repetition of syllables that she spoke; but he didn't need that to be happy, just being in her presence was more than enough to fill his heart with joy. Her words stopped and the air in the starship hung heavy as they sat in silence”¦ Andon felt strong”¦ pure: like he had regained many things in which he had somehow lost. Slowly he looked up at her with reborn eyes, the pain of his soul held at by the endless starlight of Jaina's love.

 

Hesitantly he brought his face closer to hers, slowly like one would when experiencing the sensations for the first time. In that moment he chose to make his mind pretend that he had forgotten the fact that he knew every inch of her”¦ that he had long ago memorized every line”¦ every curve. Andon's mouth teetered dangerously close to the sweetness of Jaina's smile, his lips mere millimeters from hers as he allowed them to brush ever slightly together as he hovered just above her awaiting kiss; he was exploring all over again what it was like to be so near to Jaina. The Knight made no attempt in his memories to access the recognition of her sweet tastes or soft scents of an unrivaled intoxicating quality that he treasured so dearly.

 

The rogue could feel the warmth radiating off of her”¦ the pair so near to each other that they were feeding off of each others breaths and taking them in as their own. Passion had always been a core source of the strength of their relationship, but he held it back for this encounter. No desire, no lust, no pain”¦ these were things he did without in this moment; allowing only his love for her to pour outward from his presence and the only thing he left drive his actions. Gently he pressed his lips against hers, the kiss they shared now far different from the unbridled want for one another that they usually experienced. This one was soft”¦ loving”¦ innocent; their first kiss relived all over again as he gave her everything that he should have never let go on without. In this tender kiss, he gave her all of the love he had.

 

He didn't know how much time had passed during their kiss, but he snapped back to reality when his comm unit vibrated in the folds of his robes. As they broke their contact the pair couldn't help but smile at each other, Andon idly twisting the gold band on Jaina's left ring finger as he listened to his message from Talon; the playful action causing a small giggle to escape from between her lips as she delicately twisted a lock of his hazel brown hair around her finger and unraveled it”¦ repeating the action until he was done. He drew her close and whispered lowly into her ear, the Jedi pausing to lightly kiss the side of her neck for a moment before he continued on, his touch eliciting another giggle from the love of his life.

 

With the press of a few buttons, he brought the black A-wing out of hyperspace and engaged the auto-pilot to bring the ship down through the atmosphere. In the back of his mind he could feel another presence... the one belonging to his newly found "brother" and so equally he reached out to John...

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Through the sub-plane of hyperspace, a single Baudo-class star yacht silently traveled searching for any destination other then the one from which they had departed from. In the master bedroom husband and wife sat shoulder to shoulder on the foot of their bed, Andon holding Jai's hand gently waiting for her to speak what was on her mind. The renegade was anxious, both for the fear he had seen in his love's eyes and for the tiny sliver of life he could feel growing within her.

 

The thought of what the newborn would mean to them was enough to sate the concern etching away at his sense of control.

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

And then it was just the two of them... the three of them.

 

It was the way Jaina looked at him before the ceremony began, the way her fingers had nestled opposite to his, almost looking for reassurance... or to reassure him; Andon didn't really know. The Jedi was still a young man, a man in every sense of the word, but still a young man... all it took was the depth carried through her eyes to reveal the singular truth that would be able to leave his mind blank.

 

Andon Colos was going to be a father.

 

Father.

 

It was perhaps one of the most important words in any language. It was something the renegade had hoped to be one day, when he had further distanced himself from the unpredictable lifestyle he was bred in to... he just never planned on today being the day he had to make such a gesture of finality. Yet through the shock there was something undeniable brewing within him, just a trickle of something that had started at the core and slowly began bubbling outward to breach the warm air and breath free of the restraint of dissenting uncertainty.

 

It was pure and unadulterated joy.

 

It was brimming within him, so much that Andon was surprised he was able to hold it in until he could be alone with his wife. He couldn't get his arms around her quick enough, he couldn't hold her close and lift her up to eye level as fast as he fathomed... he couldn't greet her lips with his for as long as he desired to: so he just had to settle for doing all three within his human limitations. Even after their kiss had ended he still held her up at eye level, the arms around his neck like a sanctuary as he snuggly hugged her waist. Her presence to him a miracle as he rested his face in the nape of her neck. She was so much to him in that moment. His best friend, his most trusted confident, his deepest love, his wife, his very soul... and now the mother of his unborn child.

 

And she was beautiful.

 

Yet even as he held Jaina, his mind could not silence itself as it always did in such moments. He could not quiet thoughts of making a safer ship, of finding a safe haven for them to live, of doing everything to settle old debts so no one would come looking for them years down the line. Even if eliminating the debts would mean for him to betray everything he believed in... even if it meant eliminating them all if he had to. He would have to if that was what needed to be done. No more barely getting by... he had a wife now, he had a...

 

Child.

 

And in that moment it hit him: in nine months there was going to be a life that depended on him for everything. The change in his touch had let Jaina know where his heart had wandered before his mouth gave so much as a hint. Slowly he put her down on her feet, now so very very hesitant of anything near her stomach... even himself.

 

"I was supposed to be a father once," he began. "I was supposed to look after an old friend's son... both of them in fact; I didn't do very good. I didn't get there in time for the first one... and his second, I just couldn't deal with it... so I sent him away to be looked after by a foster family. I wasn't ready to be a father."

 

The Jedi so very cautiously reached out to rest his hand on Jaina's stomach.

 

"I hope I'm ready to be one now. I didn't exactly have the best example of how to be a Daddy when growing up and sometimes I can barely take care of myself as it is. I'm actually scared, Jai. I just don't want to let our child down... I can't."

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

In the vastness of hyperspace, the Rapture Star steadily hummed through the realspace perversion that defied all law. Inside this speck of metal against the backdrop of boundless emptiness there were three flickers of life, two of flesh and one of potential to be. One of flesh reached for the other, a simple grazing of fingertips along bare skin their only contact, a universal sign of affection. For this mortal man, it meant the entire universe. The wife within his touch, the reason he had been born; what she carried with her, the reason to go on. Soft brown met hazel-green as their gazes dared to catch one another's. Between their eyes now was all that would ever matter. She laid her gentle touch along the back of rough hand and pressed it closely to her stomach. It was enough to quell that doubt that brewed and entrenched his heart. The Jedi smiled and his eyes radiated with life.

 

**

 

The electric whirring of servo-drivers thrummed around the silver protocol droid as his audio-sensors attuned to the soft murmurs of the human couple behind the door he starred at curiously. Humans were such funny things after all, such strange fluctuations of pitch and quality when talking made it dreadfully hard to understand them. Subtleties and tones conveying their thoughts, it made him reaffirmed that he would never upgrade his emotions algorithm board. Heavens no. Vee let out a small chuckle, well, as close to a laugh as a mechanical man got.

 

"Droids always speak loud and clearly and no one ever misunderstood a droid!"

 

He spoke aloud to himself. Speaking is generally reserved for being around others, but it was lost on the silver linguist. Speaking around people was exactly the same as speaking alone, there's no difference when no one listens either way. No matter how relevant and astute the calculated odds and statistics were. He shook his head, well, rotated it 20 degrees to the right, 40 degrees to the left and then back 20 degrees right. It was hard when you had to rotate your entire torso just to change an optical view field for expressive purposes.

 

The protocol droid hobbled down the hallway towards the common room of the ship. A metallic sigh reverberated against durasteel walls, perhaps if he had some rocket jets like the smug astromech such a trip wouldn't be so bothersome. Atleast he wasn't chasing someone down to talk them out of improperly reasoned and weighed actions. Master Andon generally told him to shut up. He never did quite figure out what an "up" was on his components or how to shut it properly in accordance to maintain optimum efficiency of his functionality. Pausing, Vee made a note in his sub-systems to inquire the exact nature of the task Master Andon had detailed to him.

 

His tiny journey led him to face a table on which an obsidian lightsaber hilt lay, no doubt a project assigned to the R7 droid to which he could hear whistling and clicking in the distance. It had occurred to Vee that he had never actually examined a saber up close and being such a curious creature he decided to take this opportunity to learn. A viridian bar of energy crackled into existence, the power settings adjusted to "training" as it consequently knocked over a nearby cup. The droid found it to be quite startling and reacted as such when his torso rotated and he found this time the blunt energy bar sent a plate and a pair of forks spinning off towards the table edge.

 

Inquisitively, Vee swung the blade in a choppy slash that spattered against a different cup and launched it towards the ground. The silver protocol droid found this to be terribly satisfying. It occurred to him that this must be similar to the action Master Andon referred to as "rearranging faces" when recalling Mistress Jaina fight, because he was certainly rearranging the flatware! He continued to swing the blade sloppily, occasionally knocking over little things here and there without harm, but utterly occupied by the design flaw of his arms being perennially locked in angular variations of obtuse and isosceles triangles.

 

A metallic sigh hung in the air as he calculated the chances of this flaw impeding his progress of reaching Mistress Jaina's skill level in rearranging faces. His droid heart hoped he would eventually excel as to be qualified as a reconstructive surgeon, too.

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

The squeal of a frantic astromech droid pulled Andon from the romantic revere that had dominated his thoughts. He could have ignored it, had said little droid of alarm not circled in front of the entrance of the master bedroom. The renegade sighed, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from Jaina has he purposefully strode across the room to answer needs that were apparently too pressing to wait.

 

A stream of whirs and whistles resonated against the durasteel walls so fully they were almost incomprehensible, not that astromech's were easy to understand anyway. But little Beeps had been with Andon for awhile and his electronic expressions became easier and easier the longer the droid found itself to be around people.

 

"What do you mean I need to melt Vee down and turn him into a decorative bulkhead?"

 

Frantic beeps ensued. Jaina tentatively walked up behind the pair, a curious look on her face.

 

"He's doing WHAT to our ship?!"

 

It was a blur of motion after that, the dumbfounded humans following their little astromech companion to a sight in which they never thought possible: a protocol droid wrecking up the place with a lightsaber. Looking quite satisfied with himself Vee smiled, as close to a smile as a droid could, and eagerly began waiving his saber around as if trying to gain the approval of the couple. "Master Andon," Vee began, "did I rearrange some faces, as the expression goes?"

 

"What is this... I don't have... forming of words ability for this."

 

"Sir, if you find you have problems with your vocal cords may I suggest-"

 

The droid didn't stop, but the world might as well of. There was a crushing pain in his abdomen, as if it were being seared apart from the inside. Only it wasn't him. Jaina. Something was wrong with her. He turned to see her clutching her stomach with one hand while using her other to brace herself against the table. In an instant he was at her side, his arms enveloping her and bearing the weight of her frame which she could not handle at the moment.

 

He reached up, brushing his fingers along her face.

 

"What is it, Jai?"

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It no longer felt as if the world had stopped; it had faded away.

 

She was smiling just a second before, those gentle eyes whispering to him just seconds before they rolled into the back of her head. She convulsed in his arms, there was only panic. What's happening? Her stomach, she held it... There was a different kind of agony.

 

"... the baby."

 

Every beat of his heart became a spasm. The spasm became a tear as he felt her go limp. Panic wasn't enough, so he washed it all away. There was only fear now as the cabin became deathly silent. He could feel the thrum of the engines reverberating through the ship, could see the droids whirling about him, but he couldn't hear any of it.

 

He didn't remember kneeling down and hovering above her just seemed to happen, there was no recognition of actions. He kept thinking her name over and over again. Jaina. Jaina. Jaina. Jaina. A hand he didn't move was stroking her hair now, two fingers found themselves easing against her neck to find a pulse. It moved down to rest on her stomach, the pulse of life within their unborn child was strong. He realized he wasn't thinking her name, he was mumbling it over and over to himself.

 

Fainting, she had just fainted. His hands were on her face now and the world returned. All the life he had he poured into her and he waited. He hoped to meet her eyes. Hope became reality. He had never truly smiled until then, when he saw that she was still with him. Those first few moments, he couldn't register anything, but he would register this forever. He was still too stunned to think as clearly as he should of.

 

"You got your dress all dirty..."

 

She smiled and he could breathe again.

 

"Don't lie, you aimed for my boots on purpose, didn't you?"

unnamed.jpg

s.png s.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...