Serendipity [Joon]

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Joon"] |

Ayra followed JN-4 out of the room, following her as she led the Sith Lord deeper into the complex. Together, they navigated their way through the debris. As they did, the natural light was beginning to fade, the further they headed inside. Removing her lightsaber from her belt, Ayra pressed upon the ignition button, and out came the roaring out red light out of the cylinder hilt.

"This will help us see," Ayra explained to JN-4, with the sudden draw and ignition. Nodding and gesturing for them to continue, Ayra followed her through the hexagonal corridors, boots splashing through puddles that had amassed from broken pipes and rain water, that had managed to leak it's way down into the halls and rooms.

As they came to a stop, she listened inventively to the clone, turning her Vornskr like eyes to observe the facility. It suddenly struck her. There were no bodies. Not even a skeleton. She turned her head back to JN-4 when she finished explaining. "I suppose the Republic took the bodies, when they attacked?" Ayra made sure just to add enough sympathy in her tone to appear genuinely sad for JN-4's loss.

Moving across to a nearby terminal, Ayra tried boot one up, one by one, listening to JN-4 as she walked, as she pressed buttons with one hand, the other holding her lightsaber above her head, close enough to provide light for her to see what she was doing.

 

[Connor Harrison]

It had been hard to talk since the red blade had been ignited by Ayra, a bright plasma sword that illuminated the wielder and their surroundings with a warm red glow. Each time she spoke, her eyes darted to the weapon in her hand. As Ayra moved, JN-4 followed.

"The clones were taken. The creators fled. Some fell. I moved the bodies on my return because they didn’t deserve to lie amongst the ruins of what they tried to create for the good.” She pointed to the gaping hole in the side wall. "Duro has them now. Six buried creators.”

JN-4 nodded to herself, and turned to watch Ayra, and again looked to her blade.

"What is that?” Her head turned slightly as if hypnotised by the light.

[member="Darth Ayra"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Joon"] |

Ayra ignored the question at first. She was focused on recovering the data on this project and finding the fail safe JN-4 described. Flooding the complex would give the same results as burning the evidence; and it was less likely to warrant unwanted attention.

When it became clear that neither of the terminals would activate- with no power being supplied to them- Ayra decided to improvise. She pulled a Lenoi I, a sophisticated datapad manufactured by Chandrila DataTech, and hooked it to the terminal behind her. As she waited for the device to upload, Ayra turned her attention back to JN-4.

"This is a weapon, called a lightsaber. It is possible for someone, who has the ability to wield the dark side, to construct a blade such as this. It is a refined weapon- more accurate and deadly than a blaster- and in certain situations, such as this, it can be a light source."

 

[Connor Harrison]

JN-4 rested a hand on the terminal bays and looked at the weapon, and now she knew the name and source. And her face fell slightly.

"If the Dark Side grants wepaons such as this, why have I seen others with these weapons before? Blue lightsabers. I’ve seen them here. I just saw two, but that was enough. I didn’t know at first what it was, but it was like a force field and a barrier against weaponry.”

And yet again, her tone changed, and frustration started to eat into her words and she tried to catch the eye of Ayra working away at the terminal with her personal datapad.

"Why were those with the Dark Side attacking us? Were they Jedi Knights? They are the ones I was told about. Were you a Jedi? Are you a Jedi?”

She was pushing questions faster than getting answers, and JN-4 felt possessive of the truth, and wanting to know everything she could from the woman who knew so much and was a wealth of knowledge.

[member="Darth Ayra"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Joon"] |

That ruffled Ayra. She was no damn Jedi. The Sith turned, eyes moving back to stare at JN-4, whilst the datapad continued to upload to the terminal, downloading it's contents from it's memory files, until it was ready to act as a buffer between Ayra and it's contents. The lightsaber hummed as the Sith Lord lowered it to her side.

"I am no Jedi. I hate the Jedi." Her voice was suddenly full of venom. With every syllable, Ayra oozed with hatred at the thought of the Jedi Order. "I work towards the destruction of the Jedi, and so will you when we leave this place."

Turning her gaze, Ayra attempted to calm down. Her unadulterated rage had always been both a blessing and a curse. In the heat of battle, if her opponent was to piss her off enough, she was neigh unstoppable in Force Rage. But for situations like this, it was a burden. Lashing out was never always the answered. Another lesson learned from Pandeima.

"There are two aspects to the Force. The Jedi follow one, misguided, narrow view of it and you have seen the result of that narrow mindedness already. I am a Sith Lord, an enemy of the Jedi, and that is precisely why we are hiding the evidence that this project ever existed, in order to protect ourselves."

As Ayra spoke, the datapad begun to download terabytes of information. The software recycled every terabyte downloaded, sending the information to the logs on board the Initium, before being wiped from the datapad. The Lenoi didn't have enough room to hold the information that was being download, whence the cipher Ayra was using to take what she could from the DN project before moving on.

"The power of the dark side unlocks many abilities that the Jedi believe to be unnatural. In an effort to stop someone like me, the Jedi have hunted and exterminated my- our- kind for centuries."

 

[Connor Harrison]

JN-4 pulled her hand back as Ayra turned, and noted a dramatic change in tone and stance. It was powerful, commanding and scary. She took a few hesitant steps back before thankfully stopping when this Sith Lord turned away after her protest. It was ghostly quiet when she returned to the datapad, and JN-4 looked on her worriedly. For once, she understood what it meant to care.

"I’m…I’m sorry.” She stepped forward, pulling the cloak to her neck. "It makes sense what the project was for now. I see my purpose, to fight these Jedi and work with the Sith Lords and Imp – well, whomever.”

Glancing around the old chamber, JN-4 watched the Sith carefully again, thinking on her words. She had found the clone and identified her purpose. If the Republic Jedi found the cloning project and modified genetics used, they would counter with their own Joon army, and it began to form a picture in JN-4’s mind.

"I don’t have anyone else, Lord Ayra,” she knew rank when she heard it and immediately obeyed, “so I submit to following you. I will help protect you and the Sith legacy and fulfil my purpose. I didn’t mean to let you down again.”

Her head lowered and she looked down at Ayra’s feet.

[member="Darth Ayra"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Joon"] |

Ayra studied the datapad, deciding that she would need both her hands now. The light from the datapad would do. Pressing her thumb back down onto the ignition button her hilt, the crimson light that served as her light source disappeared, as the lightsaber turned off. She clipped the weapon back to her belt, listening to JN-4.

"Character and conviction were necessary qualities if one is to study the dark side. For us, the Sith followed a code- a passage that has stayed with us since the beginning- that serves to teach us vital information in our quest for more power. The imperative that I follow- so intricate in it's design- requires you to be strong, Joon."

Scrolling through the information, Ayra discovered that most of the data was in pieces, fragmented and broken due to the damage caused to the terminal in front of her. It was possible for the fragmentation to be repaired, but that was beyond Ayra's skills and there were only a few individuals that were capable of doing it. Slicers were notoriously untrustworthy and Ayra only knew one in particular, by reputation alone.

"You have much to learn, but I shall teach you your first and most vital lesson. Always strive for perfection. The nearest description I can pass to you is a term known as evolution. It is a process where an organism is placed into a certain environment, where they are forced to change and adapt to their surroundings or they will die. In our case, our environment is the Galaxy itself. So wide, large and mysterious, the Sith must be in an ever constant state of evolution. To not change and adapt is to invite stagnation. Ultimately, the Sith are never weak and always free, from self constraint. To stagnant is to grow weak, so learn to let go of your insecurities, Joon. Instead, focus on your deepest desires. When you have discovered them, you will have found your passion."

 

[Connor Harrison]

JN-4 simply watched Lord Ayra at work and when the blade was killed with a satisfying hiss, her attention was 100% back. She was being talked to like she had never been talked to before as a single person.

Everything she said went in, and stayed there. To have purpose; have passion; have perfection. This is what JN-4 knew she was harvested for, and the lifeline was there to continue and develop the programme.

Stagnant? Weak? She didn’t want to be those things, for her sake and the sake of her sisters and creators. With Ayra, she could take the JN project and make it something amazing and beyond what the Imperial Remnant ever had in mind.

JN-4 nodded, eyes intent and focussed on finding a new-found desire and…passion.

"I will find them, Lord Ayra. I will be what I was made to be, and I will help you and stand with you and learn from you. You…you are my only creator now. You are my Master.”

She lowered her head, as she had seen officials do to others.

"I will be everything you want, and more.”

[member="Darth Ayra"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Joon"] |

You are my Master. Ayra turned to look at JN-4 from the corner of her eye. She nodded to the clone and she would be able to tell that the Sith Lord was quietly pleased. Is she the one? She thought. The one to succeed me?

"I have what I need," Ayra announced. All that was left to do was to activate the emergency flood. "I am going to activate the flood now. After this, our secrets will only belong to us, to be shared with nobody but with each other. Beginning the flood protocols."

With her datapad, Alicia commanded the computer to activate the flood, after explaining that the base had been breached by enemy forces and the project was at risk. The computer accepted the commands, thinking that the base was under attack. It was a part truth. The base had been attacked, but the attackers were gone.

Unplugging her datapad, sliding it into her pocket, the Sith turned to her Apprentice. "We must move quickly, if we are to escape the flood. Follow me."

Lightsaber flashing back into life, Ayra led the way back up and through the hexagonal corridors to the top, the red light leading their way.

 

[Connor Harrison]

JN-4 nodded, her face set and knowing this was one moment like many she had been trained for; escape and run. With the klaxon sounding above them, a horrid loud echo, the heavy breach doors began to rumble upwards out of the building and would allow the water in. That was their cue and they never looked back.

Retracing their steps wasn’t hard, and the saber illuminated the way as both women moved fast and carefully up to the surface of where they came, back into the lit corridor and lobby that led to different arms of the facility and onwards to the bay where JN-4 had slept.

"The water will swamp the chambers down beneath the facility and simply not leave anything useable. The polluted water is dangerous in itself to sentient beings which helps prevent divers, so it really is gone now.”

Everything had been taken from the project now. The clones had gone, the creators and soldiers, and now the technical data and files spanning years of research and successes and failures. JN-4 was the last one standing beside a friend to the Remnant and evident successor to the programme.

Friend. She was a friend to the Remnant and a friend to JN-4. Asemir was a friend. Was he? Inside her right leg thigh pocket, the communicator was still there and she placed her hand on the fabric to feel it.

The sharp pain struck again at top of her head; her body convulsed slightly and a hissing noise escaped her teeth. Trying to hide it, she walked on towards the room and the crevices that would lead outside, if Ayra even wanted to go outside. A deep breath followed thought her tight lips.

[member="Darth Ayra"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Joon"] |

The sudden woosh that followed the opening and the avalanche of water which followed shook the surrounding walls that Ayra and JN-4 ran through. Gusts of cold, smelly air followed, assaulting their backs, driving them forwards and causing them to become unbalanced. There was a palpable fear of being chased, knowing death was imminent if you stopped, but between the two women, one did not know fear, for true Sith could not know it.

The Sith Lord stopped, lightsaber glaring as she turned to face JN-4. When the Sith Lord had accessed the protocols designed for the fail safe- the flood- it told her that she had more than enough time to evacuate. Eight minutes to be precise. But there was imminent danger surrounding both herself and the clone she was attempting to hide. She lifted an arm to catch JN-4, as the hiss escaped her lips.

"Keep moving," Ayra commanded, letting go of the clone. Her eyes, hair, body were alive and animal like, as the Sith lifted a hand past JN-4's body back down the hallway. The structure quaked and shook under the assault of the flood, making Ayra stumble. But her eyes were focused and the Force was with her.

As the flood sprang into the flood, certain to destroy them both, it suddenly stopped, held up by an invisible power. The Sith Lord's hand weaved, bobbed and shook in the air, straining to hold back the wave. Beads of sweat appeared on Ayra's forehead, as she concentrated.

 

[Connor Harrison]

JN-4 winced and moved forward with Ayra, shrugging off the hand and moved forward, arms held out as the facility shook with the foundations and weak structure being battered by the flood water.

Hearing the roar of stagnant water behind them, rising faster from below proving it was going to wipe out the WHOLE facility, not just the lower chambers, JN-4 turned and instantly held out her arm to cover her face, but the water stopped and long, loud drips and splashes could be heard. Looking forward, Ayra was preventing the water from coming with her hand.

The clone looked between the water and the Sith Lord, and hooked her hand on her arm, eager to try and protect the friend she had found.

"Come on, Lord Ayra! Please, we have to run – it’s straight on and we are back at my room and we get out there, I’ll show you.”

Her eyes darted nervously between the eerie wall of brown water looming before the two figures, both rigid in stance.

[member="Darth Ayra"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Joon"] |

"I said keep moving! I cannot hold it back forever!" Ayra shouted, brow creased in a mixture of concentration and anger that JN-4 had not obeyed her straight away. Around them, the walls continued to shake from the pressure. With the invisible barrier Ayra was creating with the Force, the water below were looking for other avenues to expand, with the pressure building.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Another tremor shook the corridor and a wall started to buckle behind them from the pressure building, but JN-4 was more frustrated with the shouting from Lord Ayra. However, she was starting to panic, not knowing what to do – but she had been told what to do by one who wanted to help, so she had to follow. As she was trained for.

Turning at once, JN-4 ran with all her might up the corridor, boots thundering down the walkway and straight past her room and around a corner to the blocked doorway that was bleeding in light, the boulder she used to sit on still in place. She slid beside the metallic door lip and hard boulder and pushed herself into the humid night-time of Duro.

Stumbling back, her hand shot to the dog-tags and her brown creased in worry for Ayra still inside, and felt useless, and torn, and…afraid.

[member="Darth Ayra"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Joon"] |

Ayra turned her lightsaber off, submerging the corridor in darkness, as she was forced to exert her will over the wall beside her with her hand. Water burst through the seams, leaking into the corridor and drenching the Sith Lords feet with it's putrid pollution, burning Ayra as it slowly begun to clog at her feet. Exerting her will over the wall, she held it at bay with her powers, drenched in sweat from the energy she was exerting to keep herself and JN-4 alive.

She waited for as long as possible, relying on JN-4 to have made it out. Her arms dropped, the Force exertion drained as she broke her concentration, a tidal wave of polluted water burst forward. Turning, she felt the water whip at her clothes, ruining them forever. Normal women would have been washed away forever, crushed by the avalanche of water, but Ayra was no ordinary woman.

The hall begun to blur as the Sith Lord burst forward, her movement faster than the oridinary Human, as she was carried forward in a Force Speed. She aimed for the light ahead, eyes aimed for the stars, as she rushed forward, racing with the tidal wave that would surely crush her. Eventually, the wave relented, the flood reaching it's course, as the underground facility was submerged forever.

Zooming out of the corridor, into the humidity that was Duro's night time, Ayra slowed, then stopped. Her head bowed as her chest heaved up and down. She fought to gulp as much air as she possibly could, hands held on her knees as she bent over, winded and tired. Her lightsaber was cold, still in her hand, it's hilt pressed against her knee. But she had escaped and so she was alive. They had survived.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Watching on, not breathing, JN-4 was surprised suddenly at how fast Ayra made it out; one minute there was nothing, then a blur and she had made it out in a gasp of breath. She wasn’t alone again, and that was good! The clone stepped forward hurriedly, noting the exhaustion and fatigue easily.

"Lord Ayra, you did it and that was magnificent work! That was the Force power wasn’t it?”

She sidled around and started procedures to calming and support those in this position; she rubbed the damp back of Ayra and stimulate the lungs and relax her, and had one hand on her arm for support. She noted the lightsaber in her palm still.

"Breathe in through the nose and out of the mouth in cycles, nice and steady. Stand up,” she raised Ayra gently, “as it’s best to get optimum oxygen into the lungs rather than folded over.”

Looking at the Sith, JN-4 felt more emotions. There was satisfaction they had made it out, and relief they hadn’t died.

[member="Darth Ayra"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Joon"] |

Ayra stood up, brushing JN-4's hand off her. She scowled. There was obviously a malfunction in the bases fail safe, no doubt caused by the Republic's attack, and because of it she had almost died. Although she would never voice it to JN-4, the clone was replaceable, in a Galaxy full of Force-sensitives, all ready and available to be plucked and turned into a Sith Lord. But not Ayra. She who would carry forward the Sith imperative, in order to complete the Grand Plan, could not die. Especially in some damned, flooded abandoned base on Duro!

"You forget your place, Joon." Ayra turned and pointed her finger at JN-4. "Your compassion for me will become your undoing if you are not careful. Always obey my commands, no matter what they are or you will be useless to me! To pause and think at the expense of the moment is to invite catastrophe! We were almost destroyed because of it."

The burning sensation on the Sith Lord's feet, lower legs and back were agonizing. Her face remained contorted, this time in pain. She was also thirsty, which was not a good sign. It indicated that she was not well. Centuries of pollution in the water was never going to be good for anyone's health, even if the Yuuzhan Vong had cleaned Duro just before the Four Hundred Year Darkness.

Putting the arm that did not hold her lightsaber, Ayra indicated for JN-4 to support her. "Help me to my ship."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Not knowing what to do after the brush off, JN-4 just watched and maintained that pained expression of worry and slight confusion. Why was she being reprimanded for trying to help? That’s what she had been taught to do to help Remnant officers and the JN sisters. Now Ayra was saying it was bad?

But there was something that JN-4 didn’t like to hear.

”What do you mean useless to you?”

She stood and paused after another command was issued. This was a continuation of a Remnant programme, wasn’t it?

”I’m the reason you came here, you said? I am part of the programme you want to continue with the Dark Side Sith. Who are they? They aren’t even Imperial Remnant are they really?”

Inside, the genetics were sparking again and her spiking emotions she didn’t understand were coming out. Her eyes narrowed for a few seconds, a glimmer of annoyance in her face towards the woman who had shouted at her for no reason.

[member="Darth Ayra"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Joon"] |

As JN-4 helped Ayra back to the Initium, the Sith Lord explained as best as she could. The pain was distracting and made it difficult to talk. "They are my orders. I told you to continue, as I needed you out before I could turn and run. I was the only thing stopping you from dying, Joon. The compassion you feel for me and my safety stopped you from turning and continuing to run. It was that one, momentary weakness that almost killed us. That is why I reprimanded you, so that you learn the lesson from this. There is a time and moment to pause. That wasn't one of them."

The modified Star Courier, which was an incredibly rare ship, came into focus as they walked. Ayra's feet begun to feel sluggish, numbed from the pain. It was good that JN-4 was here to carry her. But on the other hand, she might not have been hurt in the first place, if the clone had continued when she first said. It was a forgivable transgression, however. One of Pandeima's greatest teachings was to understand compassion and the base emotions in other sentient beings. JN-4 was young and she would learn from her mistakes.

"It is too much to explain, right now. I require medical assistance. This is a time for patience, to wait. When we are off Duro, we will have plenty of time to talk."

The Initium's shuttle bay doors opened and it's landing ramp lowered to let them inside, when Ayra lifted her hand and commanded it too via the Force. However useful the ship was to the Sith Lord, it did not have the medical droids or aide she required. With JN-4's help, Ayra guided herself towards the cockpit.

 

[Connor Harrison]

What a sleek, well-crafted ship this was. JN-4 listened, and immediately was displeased at her actions. Ayra made so much sense. What sort of weapon could she be if she didn’t listen to command? The clone HAD no commanders now; Ayra had taken that upon herself. She had to make the transition to Ayra’s command now.

JN-4 took the words in, helping the Sith through her ship towards the cockpit, which distracted the clone just as much as the lightsaber. So much technology, so much design and wonderfully crafted equipment.

Sitting beside Ayra, JN-4 looked over the cockpit and focused her mind.

”I can help fly this machine if you need. I’ve simulated ship navigation so can do this if you require, Master.”

She had to learn; she had to adapt; she had to become JN-4 again for this daunting step off Druo.

[member="Darth Ayra"]