Hunting a Hunter

[Kyyrk]

Location: Vylmira, Golden Hall, Training Room​

Wearing: Armored Robes​

Tags: [member="Allya Vi'Dreya"]​

​

Voph knelt on the floor, hands resting on his knees. His lightsabers sat on the floor near him, one to either side. He was quiet. Immobile. The wind stirred through the open windows, causing his hair to drift in the breeze. It was a welcome change of pace from the hectic days he'd been living, trying to get Vylmira established as a member of the Confederacy. But even on the quiet days like this he had things to do. Lessons to teach.

And such was the purpose of today's exercise. He had summoned his apprentice to Vylmira as soon as she was fit for duty. They'd all escaped Arkam relatively unscathed, but some moreso than others. And from what Voph had been hearing, she was none too pleased with a decision that had ultimately been his. The Ren had escaped. Lost to the void of space, never to be seen again. Ready to strike out at another helpless outpost.

At least, that's what Voph imagined Allya was thinking. He knew there were a good few who felt this way. Saw him as blinded by rage, picking off the remains of the enemy forces, leaving no survivors. And he was content to let them believe this. But, it was time for the girl to learn. There was more to life than being a soldier. Voph did not look up as Allya entered the room. "Welcome, Apprentice. I trust you are recovered from your injuries?"

 

[Allya Vi'Dreya]

She had won the battle. The Ren was driven off unable to collect his true objective. His people and ships destroyed and nothing to show for it. All because a slip of a girl dared to stand in his way and block his path. She had the intelligence to set up the room before he had gotten there, and as such, when she realized to blow the only way to the data. It had a been a victory! However, she was vastly aware, painfully so, that she lost the fight. Her best tricks did nothing but slow him down, and even then, just barely. It was seconds. And yet, the moment a single attack had hit her, she had suffered extreme electrocution, three broken ribs and severe bruising. Her armor had saved her from the worst of it, and what followed. But barely. It hadn't been designed with that in mind, but it had done amazingly in the aftermath. She was proud of her handy work.

Pride mixed with shame, and it turned into anger. But not at the one who beat her, but herself. She had been too weak to save her sister, to save herself. If time hadn't been on her side, she would have been defeated. However, to realize that her calls for fighter back up had never come? For Dauntless reinforcements had never come? She hadn't felt that alone and helpless in a long time.

To say her faith in the adults around her had been shaken would be an understatement. She had fought for her life, and they had not lifted a finger, even when they knew what was happening. And yet, how many times had she run to their rescue?! How many times had she saved Luna, and Voph she had pulled from the twisted wreckage on Kuat with her own hands. And yet, when it came to it, they had abandoned her.

It was a hard pill to swallow. Of course there was excuses, of course they had their reasons, and she just had to bite her tongue and bear it.

As she moved, no hint of the pain that still persisted was seen on her form. She wore her armor proudly as she stood before him. Right hand went to her heart and she bowed deeply to Voph. “Yes My Master, well enough. Only minor discomfort now. Even though the bone has healed, they say it will simply take time for the bone to regrow to its former size. A month or two. How are you?”

[member="Voph"]

 

[Kyyrk]

Location: Vylmira, Golden Hall, Training Room​

Wearing: Armored Robes​

Tags: [member="Allya Vi'Dreya"]​

​

Voph did not answer the question for a moment. He sat there, unmoving, drawing a deep breath. And when he sighed, his shoulders sagged. "Tired. Tired of...running." Voph reached up with both hands to rub at his face before letting them fall limp into his lap. "There's a storm coming. And try as I might to avoid it..." Voph shook his head, as if in denial. He looked up at Allya and said, "In the end, she will seek me out. Sovryn. I can only imagine her displeasure at spending millennia seeking a way to bring me back, only for...well.."

Voph shook his head again. "It is of no matter...There is something I wished to speak with you about." Voph gestured to the mat that had been set across from him. "Your engagement with the Ren. You are dissatisfied with the results." Voph watched the girl for a moment, letting her process that he knew how she felt. "Your life means nothing. I would have thought someone of your...ideology would have understood that." Voph paused for a moment. It sounded much harsher when he said it, but it was not entirely untrue. "You feel...betrayed. That you called for help, and I did not provide it. While Arkam burned. Her people cut down in the streets. As a mere distraction." Voph's brow furrowed. "Understand what sacrifices must be made, Apprentice. And understand when that sacrifice must be you."

Voph drew a deep breath, and sighed, re-centering himself. "And, I'd wager you are...less than pleased with the outcome. Escape. There were a multitude of pawns at play in that conflict. More than I feel even you were aware. One knight of Ren does not the end of the world mark." Voph paused for a moment, as if attempting to structure his next thought properly. "Your father was attacked. You may have learned of this already. I know not what attacked him. But I know that it was...old. Older than I. And it fed on the Dark. And what, pray tell, is a Ren next to a being that cannot be killed by conventional means?" Voph looked up, and honed in on Allya's features. "The Ren escaped because I allowed it. Because you need not capture or kill ALL of your enemies. I trust you are familiar with the power through which my kind see?"

 

[Allya Vi'Dreya]

If he would have let her, she would have touched Voph's face in that moment. She shook her head. “You misunderstand. I wasn't afraid of dying. Death will come when it's ready. It's not something I fear. I am ready to lay my life down to buy precious moments. If I am angry, it's because how many other worlds will suffer because of my arrogance. I approached him, believing I had a chance. I won Voph. I stopped him cold, forced a much more powerful force user to FAIL, to have to retreat. I held the line. I do not regret this. But, when I look into the future, I can FEEL the deaths that are coming because we let him get away. We will say, because he meant nothing. Maybe so. But a clone of Metus, that has most of his own powers isn't nothing, Master. Especially one that is still learning. This isn't the first time I've had to deal with clones of them going wild. But when it happens, it causes a lot of death. Death I COULD have stopped. I should have stopped. I am not honestly angry at you. I am pissed at myself.”

Her voice was a low growl. “I was far too weak, Master. I'm just lashing out at those around me, because in that moment I could do nothing more than I did. I survived, because he wanted to live, not because I had done anything that allowed for it. I wish I had more foresight. It wasn't your place to clean up my mess. You did your job perfectly and I am proud to call you my master. You dispatched the foe, you cleaned the planet, and saved countless lives and put the fear of your name into MANY.”

She ran her fingers over the front of her t-visor. “Do not think for a moment I feel betrayed by you. I am in awe of you. I was betrayed by myself. I failed to bring the troops, I failed to plan correctly. I failed to be strong enough. But Manda its so much easier when you lash out and say, if only someone else had done something. And I have to watch the screams of those who will die soon in my sleep, because I wasn't good enough. I know he was attacked. And it bothers me even more. All the comfort I can take, is I stopped whatever plan that Ren had, and kept it from distracting all of you, I suppose.”

Even in her armor she looked...dejected. Failure had been hard on her, and her teenage emotions whipped back and forth, but she was not stupid. She KNEW reality, it wasn't anyone else's fault but her own. “Yes, force sight. I can't use it exactly, but I use force senses in a similar way to enhance my own senses. I know it allows you to see a lot of things most cannot, but beyond that, I'm not completely familiar with all it can do, Master.”

[member="Voph"]

 

[Kyyrk]

Voph grinned at the girl's words. A predatory one. There was no mirth behind the gesture, merely a cold resolve. "Correct you are, Apprentice. You could have stopped him. But you didn't. It would have taken a mere word, and my forces would have turned him into a fleeting memory. But you are right. We LET him get away." Voph took a deep breath, and gestured at the mat set opposite him. "Kneel. Remove your helmet."

He waited until the girl had obeyed his commands before he continued. "Many will die because the Ren was allowed to escape. But think. How many more will die because of his secret allies? Beings we do not know to seek? And who better to lead us to them? Sacrifice a handful of lives to save thousands." Voph's brow furrowed as his head tilted to the side. "You need not kill every enemy you encounter. Some are far more useful alive than they will ever be dead."

Voph fell silent for a moment, then continued. "Close your eyes. Breathe. Reach out to the Force. Immerse yourself in it. See the room around you. See me before you. And think to the Ren. His presence. His aura. And see that deep within you, that same aura has touched you. Is now a part of you. Do you see it?"

[member="Allya Vi'Dreya"]