Fullmetal and the Saber Ghost (Ibby)

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard smiled at the ghost, and then resumed looking around at the shattered bits of metal and bone that still littered the ground. He was sure that there was other stuff to look at, but all he could think of was the sad ghost floating alongside him.

"So, your master was a Kel Dor, huh? Awesome. I like Kel Dor. Should I call you Ibby, then?"

His voice lowed, almost to a whisper.

"I'm Evard. An Alchemist."

[member="Sybi'ta Mandarik"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

"Cerean," she corrected. "He was a Cerean." The ghost thought long and hard about his question, though. In a soft and gentle voice, she replied, "Ibby was what my closest friends called me." Though she didn't say it, Sybi'ta was trying to make him understand that it was a precious name, and not everyone had permission to use it. Whatever choice he made would speak volumes to her, even if it seemed small. Honestly, it might not be so bad if I resume that nickname, she thought.

When he gave his own name, Sybi'ta could hardly hear him. "Evard? It is a peculiar name, but not a bad one. What is an alchemist, though?"

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard raised an eyebrow, with a touch of embarrassment. Cerean, dammit. He'd never been able to tell the two species apart by naming conventions.

"I've never been able to tell the naming conventions apart too well, sorry."

He heard her soft reply, and his eyes widened. That tiny bit of insight was enough to forestall any questions that were immediately poking at him. And then, the remark on the title he gave himself.

"Well, see, alchemy and sorcery are no longer considered strictly Sith lore. I picked up some old volumes on alchemy a few years ago, and I love reading them. I mostly just harden or soften materials. But other alchemists can make nearly indestructible armor, or swords that freeze people, or set 'em on fire."

His mind went back to the question of Sybi'ta's nickname, and he smiled slightly.

"You mind if I call you Syb? Maybe a bit less personal for you..."

[member="Sybi'ta Mandarik"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

Ibby gave a small smile at Evard's apology. That was twice now that he had apologized for something that most others wouldn't apologize for. A very strange person, this "alchemist".

She listened closely as he explained a bit of what alchemy was. The Padawan disproved slightly when she realized it was similar to the Sith Sorcery, but kept her mouth shut. After all, from what she could tell Evard merely manipulated the density of objects. Alchemy must be a more passive version of sorcery...bar the swords of fire or ice.

"Syb?" she questioned. "I--" Sybi'ta stopped, a peculiar feeling resonating through her. Looking down, she realized they had arrived at the spot where her lightsaber was buried. "We're here," she said, kneeling down. Hand stretched out over where she knew her weapon was, the Padawan looked back up at Evard. "Here is where my lightsaber rests. It is buried deep within the ground, though how deep is unknown to me." She sighed. "It will be nice to see the colour of my blade again."

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard stopped as a Force wave pushed out from Sybi'ta. If the lightsaber had been underground like that for so long...

"You know, if I try to activate a lightsaber that's been damaged like that and left in the ground for so long, it might literally explode in my face. I'll dig it out anyway, but it might be a while before it's safe or me to turn on."

He didn't really include the ghostly girl in that statement, because she was, well, a ghost. She wouldn't come to any harm from exploding plasma and shrapnel flying through her.

[member="Sybi'ta Mandarik"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

The Padawan nodded, standing back up and moving away. "It is understandable," she said. "I have waited three millennia for this moment; I am certain I can wait a day or two longer."

She looked at the ground before looking back up at Evard. "How will you dig it up, though? Have you a shovel? Or will you use the Force?"

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard nearly snorted. Dig? Oh, please.

"Nope! I'm gonna use this lovely metal hand of mine. See? My prosthetic is made of phrik. Just gonna shove it down and make a nice little hole."

He wiggled his metal fingers, and grinned.

"I'll have that saber out in a sec."

Rolling up his sleeve, Evard stuck his arm into the ground until he heard a dull thunk from something metal.

[member="Sybi'ta Mandarik"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

She couldn't help but give a small smile when the blond man wiggled his fingers at her. Everything he said, though, was lost on her.

"I-- What?" Sybi'ta watched first with confusion, then with admiration as Evard stuck his arm straight down into the dirt. She knelt down when she heard a clunk, and she became excited, but still had a couple of questions.

"How did you do that?" the Padawan said in a breathless tone. "And what is phrik?"

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard grinned crookedly, and tapped a fingernail against the now-dirty metal of his right arm.

"Phrik is one of the hardest, and strongest metals in the galaxy. Only beskar is better. It means I can catch lightsaber blades, my lovely ghost."

He grinned even wider, and pulled the thin cylinder of the former Jedi's lightsaber from the hole.

"And that, Syb, is that. Now, d'you happen to know what part of the lightsaber you're bound to? Whether I have to remove the crystal to a new saber, or rebuild this one depends on the answer."

[member="Sybi'ta Mandarik"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

"Impressive," she said. "There are not many materials that can withstand a lightsaber." Sybi'ta decided against puzzling over the "lovely ghost" part, pushing it aside for a rainy day. Instead, she cast her gaze onto the handle of one of the things that had saved her life on countless times. Its partner, no doubt, was either buried with her body or lost in the Temple. Her fingers reached out tentatively to the lightsaber, though she dared not touch it.

"It is the Adegan crystal, inside." The Padawan fell silent for a moment, before talking in a soft tone once more. "This lightsaber, along with its partner, were -- are -- the two items within my entire life that hold the most meaning for me. The crystals especially." The ghost looked back up at Evard. "It would be easier to show you, if I can. The memory, I mean. If you want."

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard raised an eyebrow, and twisted the hilt of the lightsaber, and then looked around.

"I'm not going to have to carry your master's corpse as well as his lightsaber, am I?"

Then he noticed how sad she sounded, and he winced and bit a metal finger.

"I'm sorry. That was mean. I would be grateful if you could show me your memory. And maybe any others you have of this lightsaber's forging. It will save us both a lot of trouble, and may save you the pain of being separated from the lightsaber itself, if I can recreate the original functionality. If it's not painful for you, I mean."

[member="Sybi'ta Mandarik"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

Ibby looked at him in confusion. "My master neither returned nor died on Bothawui after the battle, not to my knowledge...why would you need to carry him?" It was only after his subsequent actions that the Padawan realized it was meant as a jab, though at what, she didn't know.

So, she redirected her focus to forming another response. "As I am specifically tethered to the crystal, I imagine there would be no pain were you to disassemble my lightsaber. However, should the crystal itself be destroyed, there is no doubt in my mind that I would no longer be alive -- well, alive being a relative term." The Padawan looked about. "If it is the same to you, I would much prefer to share memories on your ship? It has been forever since I had set foot in one."

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard looked at the ghostly woman and nodded.

"Of course. Battlefields aren't the greatest places to talk."

He turned back towards the yacht, and gestured towards the lightsaber.

"If your master didn't die here, then whose was this before you?"

[member="Sybi'ta Mandarik"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

Sybi'ta kept pace with Evard, answering his question relatively quickly. It was an easy question, after all. If a bit confusing. "It was mine. When I was a youngling, I was sent to one of many Adegan mines the Jedi controlled. Unlike most of the other Padawans, two crystals spoke to me; both blue, and both nearly identical. Therefore, I fashioned two lightsabers and learned how to wield both with the necessary efficiency. After the battle was complete, my Master collected my body and one of my lightsabers, but the other one, this one, had been buried."

She fell silent for a moment, giving Evard a break from her monologue, before continuing. "At the time, we...we were both too overcome with grief and shock over my death that it was nigh impossible for us to communicate. My Master...he was like a father to me, and I imagine that I was like a daughter to him; his grief was tremendous," she recalled. The ghost closed her eyes, remembering the events well. "My squadron, too, was bereaved, more than they had over any of their fallen brethren -- which is saying something. My troops and I, we were like family."

A small smile briefly touched her lips. "That was what many of the Imperial leaders did not realize: fear may be a good motivator, but nothing speaks volumes like fighting with your soldiers not as a captain or a general, but as a leader, someone they could look up to and depend on. It builds respect and loyalty between everyone that knows no bounds."

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard looked at Sybi'ta, interested.

"I collect lightsabers, along with other weapons, but I never knew the crystals could resonate with their master like that. Never built one myself."

When he heard the comment about the troops and her master being like family, Evard laughed, almost bitterly.

"Well, my family, we got killed a lot more. Basically because of something my parents brought home from a dig. They hid it 'cos the local Jedi enclave ordered it destroyed without being read. And, well, you can see where that got me."

[member="Sybi'ta Mandarik"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

"Never built a lightsaber? I do suggest it -- the exercise is wonderful after a stressful day. Very relaxing." Sybi'ta raised her eyebrows, surprised. The words had just come out of nowhere, and were a testament to how comfortable the ghost was becoming. Something to keep an eye on, to be sure.

The Padawan studied Evard in silence. She sensed the bitterness within him; a dark, wicked thing that, to her, seemed to have created a nest of thorns in his heart. Though she did not ask, Ibby suspected he must have read the item, most likely a holocron, and somehow caused the death of his loved ones. The ghost, however, kept her emotions carefully guarded -- an easy task, as this had been ingrained into her since she was a youngling.

"All I see is a dark sider who does not act like a dark sider, a Sithling who does not act like a Sithling...and the person who has taken me from an eternity of painful memories and living in the past. So, perhaps not all is bad? At least for me, anyway. Let us hope I do not give you cause for regretting this trip, though. That would be shameful for both of us."

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard smiled, raising an eyebrow at the ghostly woman.

"The only reason you say I do not act like a Dark one, is because you cannot see my whole being. There is a massive amount of energy channeled inward, to keep the wonderful guest in my mind, well, in my mind, dormant. I don't regret coming to Bothawui, though. I have no regrets, but that I could not see the destruction of my planet as myself. The rage would have given me far more power than than what I have."

[member="Sybi'ta Mandarik"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

She blinked, confused -- a feeling that was becoming all too common. A guest in his mind? Was there a parasite? Or did he have illusory voices? But if it was a parasite, why not seek surgery? Or use that alchemy he had mentioned earlier?

Or was there something more?

Was there a way to help?

When Evard began to wish for more rage, the Padawan merely shook her head. "Rage may be fuel, but it disappears as quickly as it comes, and is unreliable. Why not look for other sources? Perhaps, instead of burning your guest with rage, you should cool him with peace, with defiance -- good emotions."

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard shook his head, holding up his right arm.

"I was trained as a Jedi, Syb. I tried to use love for the lost ones, or happiness that I was alive. It didn't work, and I had to cut off a couple of limbs to stop the Dark corruption. All I can muster towards the Sith Lord occupying that tiny part of my mind is pure, cold, unadulterated, rage. There's nothing else to feel towards somebody who did this kind of thing to you. Was there not a moment, right before you retreated from your body, where you thought you could lash out and utterly destroy the one who laid you low?"

[member="Sybi'ta Mandarik"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

Sybi'ta did not say anything, instead choosing to study Evard. The fact that he had once been a Jedi explained so much, yet at the same time opened up a whole new round of questions and comments, things which she kept silent on. But what, she wondered, caused him to leave the Order? The Jedi tended to be emotionless, true, but overall they were like a family, and certainly more merciful than the Sith.

As she listened to him, the Padawan wanted to cry out, You tried! That was the problem. You did not do it. If all you do is try, you will get nowhere! That is what my Master, and so many Jedi before him have taught, and it works! But she said nothing.

The Padawan was still silent, until they reached the ship. Then, "I did not want to lash out at him, no. I do not know if it was merely the shock of being cut down, or if I had already recognized and accepted the futility of the act." Ibby closed her eyes, dredging up the feelings from that day. "I did, however, want to destroy him after the battle, when I saw and sensed the grief of my Master and soldiers...I wanted to destroy him for hurting those I cared about, not for killing me. It was strange."

She shrugged. "But, I have made peace with it."