Relic of the New Republic
Her hair was messy, her outfit torn, and her judgement clouded. With a spear in her hand, she stood in the dark hallway, face to face with Xances, standing ten meters away from her.
He was holding a sword himself, and raised it at the woman in front of him, slowly.
"We merely adapt ourselves to the situation, Abigail. You must see that", he said as he wiped some blood of his lip. "The Galactic Alliance is gone. The light cowers in the shadow of the dark. They are losing this eternal war. It will not be tomorrow, or the day after that, but the Sith and the Order are making big progress throughout the galaxy, claiming more and more planets for themselves, to be a part of their strong Empire. The light is losing. We were losing!"
Abigail scoffed in response to the man as she looked at him with disbelief. "So just because we've suffered losses, because... because we're not as strong as our enemy might be, you just... switch sides? Abandon everything you learned your soldiers, and give up everything you've fought for for years?"
"It is called survival, Abigail!", Xances interrupted. "How many more men and women would you have us train to become soldiers? Young, naïve soldiers, who are then sent to stand against the dark, before they are ultimately murdered in a war that has already been lost!", he yelled. "Every soldier, every Jedi we train from this moment on out, will know nothing but fear, pain and death after we sent them away. Morale was... completely absent. And can you blame them? The Galactic Alliance, Commenor... they all fell. This war is hopeless. The students were hopeless!"
"But," he spoke as he temporarily lowered his sword, looking at Abigail and speaking more softer," we changed that. Not everything has to be as black and white as the old counsel used to say. The other side isn't all bad, Abby. The soldiers we're training now... they feel purpose. The training we can provide them gives them a craving for more power and strength. They will become excellent soldiers, who will then side with the already winning factions." He laughed for a bit, clearly proud of theirs doings. "Morale is unlike we've ever seen before, Abigail! During the old regime, the same regime you were raised under, morale was low, but now... with us, me, in charge... You should've seen it yourself... It was magnificent. They truly believe in the cause, and they won't stop for anything. They know they can win!"
Abigail sighed as she looked at the man she had known in her youth with sadness, and anger. "And what of the soldiers already in training, too old for you to... indoctrinate with your dark ways? What about them, huh?"
The man now raised his sword again, his expression turning serious. "Their morale was low, much lower than when you were still in training, so we expected minimal trouble... Unfortunately, we were wrong. They weren't as... willing to view the situation with an open mind as we were. Which was a shame," he sighed," there had been quite a few good years recently."
Abigail let out an audible gasp in shock as her mouth dropped open. "You... You didn't!", she managed to blurt out. "You killed them? But that must've been... hundreds?!"
"We took care of a rogue group within our facility", Xances corrected. "They were too far gone, too narrow minded to see the truth in things. If our organisation, if we were to survive in these times, siding with the Dark was the best option. We should've switched a long time ago anyway! The Light's way doesn't work Abby- it never has! If it had been up to me, we would've already changed our allegiance long before you finished your training. But we tried to do it the easy way, we tried to talk the old leadership into it. But they too proved too weak to accept the truth. So we had to take the facility by force, for its own good."
The man then stepped from side to side as he shrugged. "Of course, the students revolted after hearing about our change of plans like I told you, and they barricaded themselves in the training halls. They were trained well, put up a good fight. But they are history now. All of them. Something I do... regret every now and then."
Abigail scoffed at the man. Or no, it was no man. A monster, that was what it was. A vile, evil, monster.
"I hope you're able to sleep at night, knowing you have the blood of hundreds of children on your hands! You... I can't believe this is what you became after I left."
"I have always been 'this', Abby! You just couldn't see it. You didn't want to," Xances replied firmly. "But it doesn't matter now. The facility is no longer the way it was before, there's nothing either you or me can do about that. You are powerless about the way things go now. Just accept it, and walk away, Abigail", the man spoke, lowering his sword further. He then exhaled slowly as he looked past Abigail and into the long hallway behind her. He didn't see anything yet, but he knew it couldn't be long before his men arrived. If he could stall her for a bit longer, his men would break through the collapsed door, and together they could easily apprehend the girl in front of him.
"Abigail, it's too late for the Light. It has lost its place in this galaxy. But it's not too late for you. Not yet. There's still a future for you. With us. For once in your life, make a decision of your own. There's no instructor telling you what's wrong and what's right, no Jedi mentor to tell you what to do like you're a little girl. This is your decision. You can decide on doing the thing which is right for you. For your future. What do say, eh?", he said as she streched his empty hand in her direction. "Don't you think it's time the girl chose for herself for once? Don't you think it's time the obedient little girl became a woman?"
Abigail tried to stay calm, but her eyes conveyed her true emotions, her anger. She said nothing, heavy breaths were the only things leaving her mouth as she raised her spear, the tip pointing directly at Xances, her friend from a time long past.
The man, understanding that this wasn't going to work for much longer, said," Abigail, lay down your weapons, and I won't hurt you."
"Funny," she snarled back," I was about to say the same." She stepped forwards, her spear still raised in front of her. "Surrender, or your friends will arrive just in time to see you bleed to death." Her words were more cruel than ever before, and not like her at all. But she wasn't used to this... betrayal on this scale. The anger she felt was immense, and she already had to spend a lot of energy to keep herself from throwing her spear at the man during their conversation.
Xances eyes widened. "How do you know...", he mumbled, clearly suprised Abigail knew about his reinforcements, which had apparently still not broken through the debris.
"I can see them, remember?", she scoffed in response. "Or have you forgotten that too. You know, considering you seem to have forgotten about your morals as well!"
"Oh right, I forgot", Xances spit back, saliva flying everywhere. "You always were the special kid, weren't you. Ooh I see things... oooh I communicate with the Force... oooh give me attention!" He threw his free hand in the air, giving Abigail a dismissive look. "You're a fething liar, and we both know that. Now I... I have no clue, how the hell you knew about my men, but there is no such thing what have always claimed. You're nothing but a sad, little girl who has lost her parents. And that sad, lonely little girl made up an imaginary friend in her head. That's it. Nothing more."
Abigail bit her lip, so much so it almost ended up bleeding. She looked back at Xances with disgust.
"We are done here", she said firmly, yet in a relatively calm way. "I'm leaving."
"No. No you are not. I won't be able to sleep knowing your worthless body is still sucking air. It ends here", he spoke through gritted teeth, his head turning slightly red. His fist was clenched around the handle of his sword as he raised it again- and for the last time.
"Then have it your way."
Abigail moved towards Xances slowly, holding the spear steady with both hands in front of her and towards Xances. The man in return held his sword in his right hand and raised it in front of him as well, although the sword gave him less of a situational advantage than the spear gave Abigail.
His eye twitched for a brief second before the man suddenly swung at his opponent, who blocked the swing, but didn't follow up.
"Why so slow?", Xances asked. When Abigail didn't respond, the man chuckled. "Ah, the oath. I can see it in your eyes. You remember, the oath to never harm another from the facility. You spoke the words Abby, yet here you are. Is my death worth breaking your oath?"
Abigail shook her head angrily, as she was getting really annoyed by the man's attempts to stall time. "No," she replied," but my life is."
Knowing she had already allowed too much time to pass, she suddenly thrust her spear forward. Xances barely blocked it before Abigail second swing left a small cut on his cheek.
She wasn't about to stop now, and he saw stalling was no longer an option.
He swung his sword towards Abby, letting out a frustrated yell in the process. She dodged backwards, the sword cutting through her clothing, and clothing alone. She quickly hit Xances in the throat with the back of her spear. He stumbled back, and she pressed on. She thrust her spear towards his hand. Xances deflected the spear, but allowed it to graze against his arm, making a mean cut.
He stumbled back again, groaning through gritted teeth. Abigail stood still for a moment, allowing the man to give up.
"Surrender", she spoke firmly.
"Alright," the man exclaimed, blood dripping from his cuts," I yield. Go then. Escape."
Abigail doubtfully looked at the man, but when the Force showed her that the barricades far behind her had almost been broken, she took the risk and tried to walk past the kneeling Xances, to her exit.
She saw the blade coming a split second before it hit, but not soon enough. A yell escaped from her lips as the blade pierced through her skin around her hip. She grabbed her spear tightly and thrusted it next to her and through the man's throat.
She grasped to her wound as she saw the man fall to the ground, gurgling a few lasts sounds before the light in his eyes faded. She stared with a bit of fear in her eyes as she saw the man bleed to death, momentarily even forgetting her own pain. She had taken a man's life. Not only that, but by killing him, she had broken an oath forged long ago.
The sound of wood being broken and men running broke her trance, and she quickly turned around before limping away, disappearing into the corridors, and making her way to her escape.
He was holding a sword himself, and raised it at the woman in front of him, slowly.
"We merely adapt ourselves to the situation, Abigail. You must see that", he said as he wiped some blood of his lip. "The Galactic Alliance is gone. The light cowers in the shadow of the dark. They are losing this eternal war. It will not be tomorrow, or the day after that, but the Sith and the Order are making big progress throughout the galaxy, claiming more and more planets for themselves, to be a part of their strong Empire. The light is losing. We were losing!"
Abigail scoffed in response to the man as she looked at him with disbelief. "So just because we've suffered losses, because... because we're not as strong as our enemy might be, you just... switch sides? Abandon everything you learned your soldiers, and give up everything you've fought for for years?"
"It is called survival, Abigail!", Xances interrupted. "How many more men and women would you have us train to become soldiers? Young, naïve soldiers, who are then sent to stand against the dark, before they are ultimately murdered in a war that has already been lost!", he yelled. "Every soldier, every Jedi we train from this moment on out, will know nothing but fear, pain and death after we sent them away. Morale was... completely absent. And can you blame them? The Galactic Alliance, Commenor... they all fell. This war is hopeless. The students were hopeless!"
"But," he spoke as he temporarily lowered his sword, looking at Abigail and speaking more softer," we changed that. Not everything has to be as black and white as the old counsel used to say. The other side isn't all bad, Abby. The soldiers we're training now... they feel purpose. The training we can provide them gives them a craving for more power and strength. They will become excellent soldiers, who will then side with the already winning factions." He laughed for a bit, clearly proud of theirs doings. "Morale is unlike we've ever seen before, Abigail! During the old regime, the same regime you were raised under, morale was low, but now... with us, me, in charge... You should've seen it yourself... It was magnificent. They truly believe in the cause, and they won't stop for anything. They know they can win!"
Abigail sighed as she looked at the man she had known in her youth with sadness, and anger. "And what of the soldiers already in training, too old for you to... indoctrinate with your dark ways? What about them, huh?"
The man now raised his sword again, his expression turning serious. "Their morale was low, much lower than when you were still in training, so we expected minimal trouble... Unfortunately, we were wrong. They weren't as... willing to view the situation with an open mind as we were. Which was a shame," he sighed," there had been quite a few good years recently."
Abigail let out an audible gasp in shock as her mouth dropped open. "You... You didn't!", she managed to blurt out. "You killed them? But that must've been... hundreds?!"
"We took care of a rogue group within our facility", Xances corrected. "They were too far gone, too narrow minded to see the truth in things. If our organisation, if we were to survive in these times, siding with the Dark was the best option. We should've switched a long time ago anyway! The Light's way doesn't work Abby- it never has! If it had been up to me, we would've already changed our allegiance long before you finished your training. But we tried to do it the easy way, we tried to talk the old leadership into it. But they too proved too weak to accept the truth. So we had to take the facility by force, for its own good."
The man then stepped from side to side as he shrugged. "Of course, the students revolted after hearing about our change of plans like I told you, and they barricaded themselves in the training halls. They were trained well, put up a good fight. But they are history now. All of them. Something I do... regret every now and then."
Abigail scoffed at the man. Or no, it was no man. A monster, that was what it was. A vile, evil, monster.
"I hope you're able to sleep at night, knowing you have the blood of hundreds of children on your hands! You... I can't believe this is what you became after I left."
"I have always been 'this', Abby! You just couldn't see it. You didn't want to," Xances replied firmly. "But it doesn't matter now. The facility is no longer the way it was before, there's nothing either you or me can do about that. You are powerless about the way things go now. Just accept it, and walk away, Abigail", the man spoke, lowering his sword further. He then exhaled slowly as he looked past Abigail and into the long hallway behind her. He didn't see anything yet, but he knew it couldn't be long before his men arrived. If he could stall her for a bit longer, his men would break through the collapsed door, and together they could easily apprehend the girl in front of him.
"Abigail, it's too late for the Light. It has lost its place in this galaxy. But it's not too late for you. Not yet. There's still a future for you. With us. For once in your life, make a decision of your own. There's no instructor telling you what's wrong and what's right, no Jedi mentor to tell you what to do like you're a little girl. This is your decision. You can decide on doing the thing which is right for you. For your future. What do say, eh?", he said as she streched his empty hand in her direction. "Don't you think it's time the girl chose for herself for once? Don't you think it's time the obedient little girl became a woman?"
Abigail tried to stay calm, but her eyes conveyed her true emotions, her anger. She said nothing, heavy breaths were the only things leaving her mouth as she raised her spear, the tip pointing directly at Xances, her friend from a time long past.
The man, understanding that this wasn't going to work for much longer, said," Abigail, lay down your weapons, and I won't hurt you."
"Funny," she snarled back," I was about to say the same." She stepped forwards, her spear still raised in front of her. "Surrender, or your friends will arrive just in time to see you bleed to death." Her words were more cruel than ever before, and not like her at all. But she wasn't used to this... betrayal on this scale. The anger she felt was immense, and she already had to spend a lot of energy to keep herself from throwing her spear at the man during their conversation.
Xances eyes widened. "How do you know...", he mumbled, clearly suprised Abigail knew about his reinforcements, which had apparently still not broken through the debris.
"I can see them, remember?", she scoffed in response. "Or have you forgotten that too. You know, considering you seem to have forgotten about your morals as well!"
"Oh right, I forgot", Xances spit back, saliva flying everywhere. "You always were the special kid, weren't you. Ooh I see things... oooh I communicate with the Force... oooh give me attention!" He threw his free hand in the air, giving Abigail a dismissive look. "You're a fething liar, and we both know that. Now I... I have no clue, how the hell you knew about my men, but there is no such thing what have always claimed. You're nothing but a sad, little girl who has lost her parents. And that sad, lonely little girl made up an imaginary friend in her head. That's it. Nothing more."
Abigail bit her lip, so much so it almost ended up bleeding. She looked back at Xances with disgust.
"We are done here", she said firmly, yet in a relatively calm way. "I'm leaving."
"No. No you are not. I won't be able to sleep knowing your worthless body is still sucking air. It ends here", he spoke through gritted teeth, his head turning slightly red. His fist was clenched around the handle of his sword as he raised it again- and for the last time.
"Then have it your way."
Abigail moved towards Xances slowly, holding the spear steady with both hands in front of her and towards Xances. The man in return held his sword in his right hand and raised it in front of him as well, although the sword gave him less of a situational advantage than the spear gave Abigail.
His eye twitched for a brief second before the man suddenly swung at his opponent, who blocked the swing, but didn't follow up.
"Why so slow?", Xances asked. When Abigail didn't respond, the man chuckled. "Ah, the oath. I can see it in your eyes. You remember, the oath to never harm another from the facility. You spoke the words Abby, yet here you are. Is my death worth breaking your oath?"
Abigail shook her head angrily, as she was getting really annoyed by the man's attempts to stall time. "No," she replied," but my life is."
Knowing she had already allowed too much time to pass, she suddenly thrust her spear forward. Xances barely blocked it before Abigail second swing left a small cut on his cheek.
She wasn't about to stop now, and he saw stalling was no longer an option.
He swung his sword towards Abby, letting out a frustrated yell in the process. She dodged backwards, the sword cutting through her clothing, and clothing alone. She quickly hit Xances in the throat with the back of her spear. He stumbled back, and she pressed on. She thrust her spear towards his hand. Xances deflected the spear, but allowed it to graze against his arm, making a mean cut.
He stumbled back again, groaning through gritted teeth. Abigail stood still for a moment, allowing the man to give up.
"Surrender", she spoke firmly.
"Alright," the man exclaimed, blood dripping from his cuts," I yield. Go then. Escape."
Abigail doubtfully looked at the man, but when the Force showed her that the barricades far behind her had almost been broken, she took the risk and tried to walk past the kneeling Xances, to her exit.
She saw the blade coming a split second before it hit, but not soon enough. A yell escaped from her lips as the blade pierced through her skin around her hip. She grabbed her spear tightly and thrusted it next to her and through the man's throat.
She grasped to her wound as she saw the man fall to the ground, gurgling a few lasts sounds before the light in his eyes faded. She stared with a bit of fear in her eyes as she saw the man bleed to death, momentarily even forgetting her own pain. She had taken a man's life. Not only that, but by killing him, she had broken an oath forged long ago.
The sound of wood being broken and men running broke her trance, and she quickly turned around before limping away, disappearing into the corridors, and making her way to her escape.