Same Old

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Vanja Del'Vaan"]

Early on Tai had learned to feel the flow of battle.

Ignorant people liked to say that it wasn't a physical thing, not a thing that you can smell or taste or grasp, but the truth was that when you were inside the battle. When it flowed around you and your mind expanded to encompass every single movement? It was alive and you could sense it with every single fiber of your body.

Now, as he had cut down the one bulwark these pirates relied on to give them purpose and now as Vanja swooped in on the tide that had brought him here...

The tide shifted in their favor.

More and more of the slavers were being cut down, exploded, shot and killed. There was no mercy, not a single movement that suggested there would be quarter given in the moment.

A while ago Tai had discarded his long blade and was simply using his body as an extension of his will. Sharpened feathers cutting through ankles, wings slamming into targets and talons... animal emotion, first controlled but now used for the purpose of doing battle and ending the threat once and for all.

Until it was suddenly over.

The whimpers of the wounded and the coordinated shouts of the Vigor troopers completing their occupation of the hangar bays was all the sound there was.

Amidst that stood Tai Fa.

His feathers bloody and he stumbled, as he realized not all of it was theirs... he, too, had been wounded in the battle. A long cut across his leg, jagged edge across his left wing. His silk robe torn at places and bloody and filthy, there was pain across his body. But it was the good kind of pain.

The pain of accomplishment.

"Vanja?" Tai called over his shoulder.

 

[Isaac Rennek]

Vanja had lept from one engagement to the next. After emersing herself into one line, she moved up it. Their solid formation had been broken, and she was attempting to wrap up their flank. Of course it was a hard thing to do single-handedly, but simply having the support of the Vigor troops while she forced them to worry about two sides at the same time was a great help.

Her sapphire blade cut through many an enemy of freedom. But once her pathway was figured out the road ahead became more challenging. While receiving cover fire from their comrades, a few slavers engaged her in melee combat. While she had momentum with her, they managed to encircle her. She was too fast, taking out the two in front of her. She had turned to deal with the last one who was now behind, but as she turned he seemed to be getting some reinforcements.

Not really sure what had happened, Vanja now found herself lying on her back, legs at some point having been kicked out from under her. No, it hadn't been reinforcements. It was simply one of the two men she thought she had taken out who was still alive. She was not yet a great killer. Her training had not focused on eliminating someone permanently with one move.

As she struggled with what she had believed to be a dead man on the ground, trying to hold her down with bloodied hands while his mate took a clean shot... The Force intervened. The man was filled with holes before he could shoot Vanja, instead his rifle went off into the wall, harming no one.

All of her attention turned to the man on the ground, Vanja tried to turn. With a sharp bite at his arm, finding an area of exposed flesh, she got the opening she needed to cleave him open with her spare hand.

Still on the ground she heard the familiar voice call out to her.

"Present" she grunted from the ground, like a school child announcing herself to her teacher. When she slowly managed to get back up to her feet the hangar was theirs. Shaking her head and dusting off her clothes, she shut off her lightsaber but kept it in hand and quickly rejoined [member="Tai Fa"].

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Vanja Del'Vaan"]

All around them the slavers were being rounded up.

They were put into little groups with guards centered around them. Any weapons that were found were immediately put to the side, every single one of them was scanned to see if they didn't have any little surprises waiting for them, which didn't seem to be the case. This was why Tai's way was the best way, shock and awe, until they were broken into pieces and then immediately sweep them up before they could regroup. As Vanja limped next to him Tai patiently waited and observed as the groups of slavers were herded together into those little circles.

Better to keep watch over them while the Vigor Troopers were doing their thing and making sure that everything was secure farther down the hangars.

In the meantime Lord Fa contacted the Bothan Captain who was still waging a war against the fleet outside. A brief conversation followed, where the Bothan described how the connection cut from the hangar had send the fleet into dissarray, followed by the crippling of the Watts-class. From there on forward the slaver fleet had abandoned post, some simply fleeing, others powering down their engines and trying to find mercy.

"Acknowledged." Tai Fa patiently said, before cutting the comms and returning his sight on the line of slavers lined up in front of them.

On their knees, some wounded, most of them trying to look everywhere besides to them.

"Vanja. We have not won yet, even though it might seem as such." The Thirriken patiently explained, while cradling his bleeding wing. A bandage had been patched onto it, but it was still surfacing through.

"These are the men and women who killed your Master and my friends. Not directly. Not personally. But they are the personification of what plagues this Galaxy."

There was some measure of edge into his voice creeping in. Impassioned and convincing that he was right.

"They take away other people's freedom, kill them, rape them, sell them... we can deliver them to the Alliance. But the Alliance has no jurisdiction here and is busy waging war against the First Order. It will be months, years, before these people see true justice... and in the meantime they will simply enjoy a warm, cozy bed, food, every whim of theirs catered to."

Fury was starting to enter his voice, before he took a breath and calmed down. Not for himself, but for Vanja.

"You wished to help me. This is why you came here." His broken wing touched softly the lightsaber hanging on her belt. "Take the saber, see to it that these animals see true justice."

 

[Isaac Rennek]

The battle seemed won. Whatever went on in space she had no idea of, but [member="Tai Fa"] seemed calm enough. Worst case scenario they'd have to defend against being boarded by the enemy fleet. Unless they were prepared to blow up their up. Highly unlikely though, this day practically seemed theirs.

Prisoners were being rounded up. Would they be worth anything as hostages to be bartered and sold? They sure would take up a lot of space and food on a prison fleet. The thought of being put on rations because of these people didn't exactly excite her, but whatever.

Tai was so calm. So professional. Just another day at the office. Bloodied and bruised they both were, but the battle was already a thing of the past and they were moving ahead. He didn't seem the kind to stop at every minor achievement and throw a parade. This was good. She couldn't stand the self-aggrandising.

She was surprised then when he told her they had not won yet. Did he mean other systems? Other pirate stations such as this one? Were they about to declare a galaxy-wide war on piracy?

Men and women who killed your Master and my friends. As he spoke her eyes darkened. She looked over at the various kneeling pirates and slaves. She did not see herself in them. She did not find the compassion in them, nor any generosity without a selfish agenda.

As her eyes and thoughts went over them, the soundtrack was Tai's voice. Take other's freedom. Kill. Rape. Sell. She imagined each and every one of them capable of it. They were of a different breed, born with no inhibitions. She could picture all of these things happening to herself, her family on Ryloth, and her dead mentor. No, her dead friend.

They hadn't done it, no. But they would've if they had been able to. She wouldn't be able to stand face to face with whoever had orchestrated the deaths at the terrorist attack on Ryloth. But this was probably as close as she'd ever get.

Vanja looked over at Tai Fa, eyes seeking guidance, seeking counsel. More images went to her mind, of endless court proceedings. Many might never get to a court but live out a life in exile on some rich planet. Maybe they'd get a sentence, but only serve a quarter of it. These things happened. Galactic Alliance and First Order alike didn't care. They had their own agenda and was willing to bend the rules to have the reality fit within that. What if these people fit within it? They'd be free. They'd be free to impair the freedom of others.

This wasn't justice. Tai Fa was right. This wasn't justice.

Almost trance-like she once more grabbed the hilt of the lightsaber. She looked at it, then at man kneeling in front of her. Big man, with a great big bushy beard and a ponytail. There was blood on the ground beside him. His pant-leg was drenched in the stuff. Maybe he would bleed out. Maybe it'd infect. She found it hard to imagine him going on without having to amputate it. Medicine had come a far way, true, but only if you could afford it or had sponsors.

She never asked why she had to do this. It was an opportunity given to her.

The man looked up at her with a boundless hate. He probably envisioned the tables turned. She had little difficulty imagining the things he would do to her if he found himself with power over her. She had little difficulty and mustering up a similar hatred and disgust in the eyes that looked back at him.

No. She'd never find herself in a position where men like this would hold power over her. Men like this...

The hilt of her lightsaber pressed against his forehead. He knew the weapon. All she had to do was push the button. The man was breathing heavy now. Sweat forming, or perhaps it had always been there.

Would she? Could she? She felt herself fill with a deep ocean of sorrow and bottled up frustrations. The memory of all those lost and those still in chains burning bright within her mind.

She gave Tai Fa one final look, before returning all her attention to the kneeling man in front of her. "Silver!" another man shouted, further down the line. He immediately got the end of a rifle smacked into his face and he went down. Vanja didn't take notice of it at all. She was long gone.

A soft finger pressed down on the red button. Snap-hiss. The sapphire blade emerged with an unobstructed hum. It had pierced the man's skull. Her blade deactivated and he fell almost simultaneously. She looked over then to the person to his left, seeing their reaction, feeling their emotions surfacing and whirling like a hurricane. Then she stepped towards him as well.

Snap-hiss

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Vanja Del'Vaan"]

Tai looked on with satisfaction as she took the gift and made it her own.

Within the Force her presence shifted with every life she took as mercy was driven away in the pursuit of fierce vengeance. The most pleasing part was that he didn't have to do anything, he did not have to try and influence her within the Force to drive her forward - instead every life she took made it easier for her to take the next. By the end her eyes burned amber and she breathed heavily as she cut down the last sobbing soul.

They had started crying somewhere down the middle, but it did not seem to have fazed Vanja by much.

So intense and focused and within the moment of fury that nothing else mattered. Her hand shook, the saber shook within it, as the adrenaline was leaving her system.

Around them the other captives had already been executed by the Vigor troopers.

Soft wing brushed past her hand, sending warmth up to her in a soothing pace, before he pulled the lightsaber away from her and disengaged it.

"You have done well." Tai acknowledged softly. "How do you feel?"

 

[Isaac Rennek]

Vanja probably did not know before it had happened that this would be one of those momentum events. One of those occurrences where they could look into her past and say here, here she changed. The Twi'lek did not realise herself yet either.

The whole process seemed so clinical simply because of the tool used. There was no blood. None on her hands none of the ground. Blue was the colour of the executioner, and the steady hum of her blade the inevitable promise of death.

[member="Tai Fa"]'s speech had motivated her, had her get in touch with the proper emotions. But from there it had been all her. Once she had started there was no going back. They had talked about this, him and her. Once you pick up a blade you accept the consequences. This fight was a consequence of their piracy. Their death was a result of their enslavement of others.

She had only brought about the inevitable. In the war on freedom there were two sides. Only one side was an acceptable victor. Vanja had ensured victory for her side. The right side. The only side.

Her thoughts and emotions got darker by every kill. Although it did nothing to steady her hand it had steadied her resolve. After it all, it was over.

Before Tai Fa touched her hand she waited for remorse and guilt to wash over her. It never did. Was this when she should feel guilty over the lack of remorse instead?

Before her mind went that far she felt the warmth move up to her. And she reeled away from it. She looked startled, as if broken out of a trance. For a second she looked at Tai as if she had bumped into a stranger on the street. Unfamiliar. It passed within a moment though and she seemed to forget, at least she certainly did not comment on it.

How did she feel? It was a good question, and she repeated it once more to herself. How did she feel?

"I don't know" she muttered. Her emotions felt lost to her, like she was a foreign entity and they did not communicate with her. Out of touch. But then they came. The first one she identified was anger. "Angry." she said it out loud for Tai Fa to hear. She was angry. But why?

She had killed some, but there were so many more out there. It didn't feel enough. Would it ever feel enough? With every stroke of her blade she had needed the next one to die even more. She felt... Hungry.

"How should I feel?" she asked him, as if he was an extension of her mind, a mind she was struggling to make sense of.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Vanja Del'Vaan"]

Hunger.

Tai could sense it from her, coming off in steady waves and just waiting to be fed by the next body.

The next corpse.

The next life just waiting to be sacrificed on the alter of teeth and claws and blood. But that wasn't Lord Fa's way, even if it had seemed so after he pushed her towards executing these slavers. No, his way was of the measured approach, of the balanced kill that waited, until the moment was exactly there.

It might not be as satisfying as losing yourself in the bloodthirst... but control was never satisfying.

It was simply effective and that was why Tai reveled in it in his own way.

"Nothing." Tai responded after a moment of silence. "Justice has been served. They are dead and we are not. We do not do this out of pleasure... we do it because nobody else does."

A shrug of the shoulders, before the lightsaber was returned to her.

"Remember this - we kill, we execute... we might even go further, but we never derive pleasure from it."

After that his attention returned to the flurry of activity around them. The Vigor troopers were busy securing the hangar bays, making sure there weren't anymore surprises out them waiting for them. Tai didn't expect any, but you never knew with slavers and pirates and other filth.

Every once in a while... a surprise did arrive.

His attention shifted back.

"You were here out of your own free will. I accepted that, I encouraged it. But if we want to continue this... if you want me to teach you, everything will change."

He turned around.

A blade was in his claws now... it had not been there before.

"Do you wish for me to teach you?"

 

[Isaac Rennek]

[member="Tai Fa"]

The Dark Side had started to claw at her. Unaware and unprepared, Tai Fa was the only thing standing in the way of it consuming her whole. She had been infected. The disease was taking root. Now all that remained to be seen was how hard it would spread.

Nothing

Could she do that? Wasn't that what she was doing? Numb. Her mind and body were holding a secret council meeting and she was not invited.

We do this because nobody else does. Nobody else does. No, that wouldn't do. Someone had to wield justice, in whatever form necessary. They had seen their evil and set out to vanquish it. Far more effective than any Alliance or Order nearby.

"Justice then" she muttered as she looked over the work she had made. Her eyes would've been stuck there if Tai had not interrupted her by talking again.

Teach you. Teach me?

She looked at him, facing sideways. Was he the teacher now? Come to think of it, he was touched by the Force, knew how to use it, but she knew very little of him and what he could do.

She didn't really think about it long. It had felt as if he had been teaching her ever since Ryloth. Moral lessons, words to guide and keep her sane. Now with a blade in hand it seemed as if his lessons were about to take on a different form. Did she want him to teach her? There was little hesitation or nervousness in her voice when she spoke.

"Yes."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Vanja Del'Vaan"]

Tai looked up to her as she mulled it over.

Never would Vanja know how close she truly was to death in that instance between two paths, but then the crux broke and time turned into one direction instead of the other. The Thirriken never sighed in relief or satisfaction, nothing within the Force changed for his emotional state. Always, he had been a quiet pool of contemplation and serenity, this didn't change now and it would, in truth, take a lot for it to do.

"Kneel." In that moment his voice commanded complete and total obedience. Almost like an echo within the Force that vibrated with her very being and existence, compelling her to fall on one knee and bend her head in respect.

Again Lord Fa studied her for a moment, before the flat surface of the sword briefly touched her one shoulder and then the other.

"Rise, then, my apprentice. We have much work to do."

Within the Force there was a pull and a push, to guide her immersion within the Darkside in the right ways. Away from needless destruction and towards the belief that they had to commit the lesser evil... for the greater good.

The station was secured and there were already plans for it.

Here... it had little use, but out there? Within the greater framework of Humbarine and its restoration? There was a lot a station of this sheer magnitude and ambition could do. It would take time, preparation, endless focus on logistics and planning, but the station would be moved carefully to the Humbarine Sector.

Where it would be used instead of wasting away.

Tai considered this a success... a new apprentice and Validusia under his control.

What more could he have wished for?