Dominion Take it With a Grain of Sand [Galactic Alliance Dominion of Jakku]

[Auteme]

Jend-Ro Quill
​

She paused, then nodded. He was right. She was a bit of a mess right now. Introducing painful memories probably wouldn't help matters. She wiped away the tears and listened for a while longer.

"I know the history," she said. He knew she knew the history. "The Pius Dea Crusades, and the wars against the Sith -- I just... was it hubris to think that we were different? I mean- I know the history. And then I look at the Sith now, and I think this is different, that we're different from the other Jedi, but are we? Is it? Have we just been doing the same thing?

"I can't imagine... I can't imagine anyone doing something like that, or even not having the restraint to just... disarm, subdue, rather than killing. What... what can I do? I know Jedi are people, but people shouldn't do anything like that, even to the Sith."

 

[John Shepherd]

Location - Old Imperial Base
Objective: Lootin' and Stealin' [BYOO]
Equipment - Linked in Bio

As he continued his long walk to the imperial base he reminisced about his time in the Kathol Outback, how long ago it had been, he shook his head with a sigh. He remembered when he had been leading his own band of Kathol Outback marines, that he had helped build from the ground up. John shook his head with a sigh as he looked down softly the memories of what followed flowing through his mind. Flashes of pain and anger and rage filled him as he thought of the years he had spent as a prisoner, as a husk of the man who had been, a husk of the man he was. He shook his head again, Not again, leave it, leave the past alone. He thought in his head as he pulled his helmet off getting a fresh breath of air as he breathed deeply letting a long sigh out.

He tried to sing again, getting back his rhythm, but he couldn't, he had ruined that way to past his time. Furthermore, he tried to think of something else to do to pass the...... 500 meters till he reached the Base. Letting out a graon he looked into the distance.

"I spy with my little eye something.... Brown."

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

Auteme

"I think you know the answers to those questions better than I do," Quill said. "But I've got one that might help you cut through the haze. Well, one observation, and one question.

"I've been studying the few available writings of an Unknown Regions sage, a Zabrak named Sargon Vynea . He pointed out that decades of wars upon wars, the tragedies of Omni and Akala, have likely tipped the balance of the Force toward the Dark Side. Think back to the era just before Palpatine took power. The Dark Side clouded everything, reducing the Jedi Council's perceptions and even their power. It's more than possible, it's probable, that the Force is different now than it was when Ben Watts and Teferi Artemis reorganized the modern Jedi Order. I was in my mid-twenties then, a Padawan with a troubled past. I've looked closely at my own memories, as objectively as I can...and I believe Sargon was right. The background texture and noise of the Force is tilted - we don't notice because we're used to it. And that's not to say the Dark Age didn't live up to its name - but at least then, when planets were isolated, the scope of death was smaller. So was the scope of our hubris. So were the consequences of our corruption.

"And while you're considering that, the question is this: if evil is committed while in a state of emotional calm rather than anger or the other emotions we're taught to consider paths to the Dark Side... is the action still of the Dark Side?"

 

[Auteme]

Jend-Ro Quill
​

She hugged her knees.

"Evil is evil," she said. "It doesn't matter if it's filled with hate or anger or fear or passion, it's just evil and that's wrong. It doesn't mean it will lead to the Dark Side -- though, I think it's worse if it doesn't, if it's not addressed -- but it's still of it. But that line... right and wrong, I mean- it's subjective."

Normally she'd go on a rant about morality. Quill was one of the few people she'd expect would actually listen to her; she could make the academic references necessary to support her arguments, have a real discussion rather than the bickering that could quickly come of talks between Jedi. But she didn't have the energy.

"I'm just... you're right, I think, and I'm scared of that. That we're enveloped in the Dark Side, and that we haven't done any good, and that we just can't see it. I feel blind."

She paused and glanced at Quill. She didn't quite laugh, but she smiled. "Sorry."

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

"I would argue," Quill said softly, "that using the Force for evil is what defines the Dark Side. And what we call the Dark Side when we feel it is only a part of it, nothing more than us seeing what we expect to see. The Force is a whole.

"Thought experiment for you," he added after a moment. "Imagine a Force user who is cold, implacable, merciless, uncaring of the pain and terror they cause in pursuit of their goal, whatever that goal might be. Is that behavior and mindset compatible with the Jedi way, is it at the fringes of the Dark Side, or is it deep in the Dark Side and just in denial?"

Auteme

 

[Auteme]

Jend-Ro Quill
​

Auteme took a deep breath. The fire seemed warmer now; her discomfort fled, and though not entirely gone she felt a little better. Talking and thinking eased her mind.

"I... I've never believed that the ends justify the means," she said. "Causing others to suffer -- I can't stand that. Especially if you can't tell them that you'll be able to help them soon.

"My perspective might be... skewed. A little bit. I've never killed anyone, I've never wielded a lightsaber before and I can't imagine doing any of that. But so many Jedi have. And they have to live with that. And I have to live with... being part of that. Conscientious objector, kind of thing, because what you described- I know there could be Jedi who are like that. Like Ki-Adi-Mundi. And I don't think he was a good Jedi, but I'm still a Jedi, and the people around me- I think they're good.

"Is it... wrong for me to see the best in people?"

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

"Oh, Auteme, of course not. Great good can come of sharing a meal or a friendship with someone who doesn't live the same rules or meet your expectations. But think of it this way. As Jedi, we're deeply accountable - great power, great responsibility. And responsibility doesn't always mean self-sacrifice in a great inspiring cause. Sometimes it means being held responsible, and having the courage to hold each other responsible."

He sighed deeply and used the camping pot to gather sand. He used it to douse the last of the fire.

"I try not to be a hypocrite about that, hence this uncomfortable conversation. And I don't intend to drop this on you, turn this over to you, and retreat to hermitage rather than engaging with the problem. No matter how much I want to. So here's my offer.

"I can't support or be part of the New Jedi Order as it is now. But I fully intend to stay here at the Jakku Enclave, and I'm well aware the Alliance is assimilating this little dustball of a world, so I'll be living in New Jedi Order jurisdiction." He grimaced. "When I share the memories with you, I suspect you'll know the faces involved. If they reject responsibility, send them to me and I'll do what I can."

 

[Auteme]

Jend-Ro Quill
​

"Okay," she said, nodding. The New Jedi Order was different from her, and that was alright. Would she ever do something that would kill someone? No, but she could understand why others might, and seek to be better when she could. She was, indeed, a leader among the New Jedi. Accountability was something she believed in. The Jedi, as examples to the galaxy and to each other, needed to be held accountable.

The talking had calmed her down enough. She sat up and wiggled around in the sand to get comfortable, before putting her hand out for the Perspective Stone. "I'm ready."

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

"Yes. You are."

He stomped out the last of the fire. Once the wind pulled away the smoke to clear the air, the temporarily-blind Jedi Master produced the stone again. The rippled sphere fit neatly in his palm. He held it out for Auteme to touch.

The images, impressions, and words he shared were twofold: the memories he'd taken from Darth Daiara at Ziost, and the visions he'd experienced then and since. Sharing memory was a particular skill of his, courtesy of the Raskava, the Gutretee, and the elders of Entooine. Throw in the Perspective Stone, and the whole process was quick and simple. She saw everything he'd seen that day and all he'd gleaned since.

"From the difficult choices to the unthinkable," he said tiredly.

 

[Viers Connory]

//: Caravan //:
//: Kaska Arden // Thalia Senn //:

​

In most places, the desert was quiet and serene, allowing for thoughts to wander. Instead, today that silence was disturbed by the aching groans of metallic gears shifting as the weight moved with them. Viers' sighed as she almost felt sorry for the machines acting as their caravan, linked by rope and guided through the desert. Leaning against the railing of the platform, the girl found her head tilting in the rhythm with the AT-ET. From the corner of her eye, she had noticed they moved past the enclave's location - having only been there a short time, Viers was pretty sure they were passing it. Shrugging, she figured there was a reason that she knew nothing about. It wasn't her circus to manage. ​

​

Time passed, and Viers finally found the will to pull herself from the railing. A series of very angry sounding yet too adorable beeps echoed at her feet. Looking down, she watched the droid lift one of its 'feet' and continue to scold her in binary. "I know, I know," Viers spoke quietly as she knelt down, bringing her knees to her chest. "The joint still bothering you?" The droid tilted its head and gave a nodding gesture. "Okay then, go ahead and power down." The droid shifted onto its bottom and began its powering down sequence. Viers slung her leather bag towards her front and began to rummage through it, searching for the small tools she needed to work on the droid. ​

​

"Oh?" She exclaimed with a bit of surprise as she found one of her favorite sweets. Cookies and snacks rarely lasted long with her, after discovering sugar when she had finally ventured out into the galaxy at large. Viers was hooked. Fingers moved quickly to unwrap the chocolate cookie to 'gracefully' shove it wholly into her mouth. ​

​

Chewing happily, the padawan quickly went to work with dissembling the droid's legs. She worked while trying not to lose pieces of the droid off the end of the observation deck. Humming softly to herself, Viers tried not to yawn, but the sleep-inducing rocking of the AT-ET started to move her towards a cat nap. As she fought nodding off, the tink sound of a droid part began to roll across the deck. Unaware of the lost part, she remained focused on the sand caked gears of the droid's ankle.​

 

[Auteme]

Jend-Ro Quill
​

It felt intrusive, to see someone else's memories. Whether she was intruding upon them, or the memories intruding on her -- she didn't know. As the flood of memories dissipated she sat back. Without the fire to distract her, she instead looked up at the stars. The empty world, the low brush of the wind against her face...

"I know all of them," she whispered. "Oceiros... the girl you met. He saved her from the New Imperials, when the purge happened on Bastion. I had to retrieve him; he'd been hiding on Dantooine, actually, and- he'd taken her saber to the gut, for saving her."

Not that it excused anything.

"And Maynard..." Did Loske know about that? Was she willing to overlook it, or even support it? What about Ryv?

"Bernard..." Her friend.

"Rhis..." A crusader.

"And Rurik Fel, of the Imperial Knights." The way he'd spoken to her on Bastion -- she'd seen his resolve to fight the Sith, but she hadn't realized it would've pushed him to do something like that.

Her hands came back to her face, but she didn't start crying again. It was just frustration. A little fear. "I... I'll speak to them. I never would've thought- that's horrible."

She fell quiet.

 

[Seto Du Couteau]

Seto Du Coutaeu
Senator of Empress Teta
Location: Coruscant, Senate Building, Committee Room J-31
Action: Speaking, Negotiating
Attire

​

Seto returned his attention to the representative of Jakku, with a warm smile, he inclined his head in an attempt to offer a form of apology. “Yes it is strange, but not for the reasons you are suggesting. . . though this does bring up a good point.”​

​

He turned his head to properly address the rest of the committee, “The Alliance shouldn’t dangle the prospect of membership like a prize to win. After all, for Jakku to stand on equal footing within these negotiations, they would need to be proper members of the Alliance.” Seto explained briefly. Though not like I can help Jakku from the larger sharks swimming near it. He knew he couldn't convince every member to be as gracious as Seto was being, but he figured he could at least try. A farcry from previous meetings he realized that about himself, normally wouldn't be so involved and allow the passage of time to move swiftly. I guess something about Jakku sparked my interest. ​

​

“We must respect the self-determination of Jakku. I believe the gratitude of the people of Jakku is more than enough to compensate the price of becoming a full member of the Alliance.” Seto added as he leaned forward into the table. His smile gently grew as his eyes of blue sparkled, Seto had ideas of how to turn gratitude into profit but that was for future endeavors. For the moment let us give the other Senators a chance to be transparent. ​

​

The ravenous nature of the others within the meeting hall was palpable, it reminded him of the older nobility back on his homeworld. Placing his arms on the table, then his chin on his arms, Seto slowly turned to both the Vice Chancellor and Chancellor, “The Alliance should recognize and give full membership status to Jakku before proceeding any further with trade negotiations and zoning rights for mining.” I would hate to see the headlines be filled with” Alliance Members bully the poor people of Jakku.” ​

​

|| Aerarii Tithe | Julius Loghain | Adhira Chandra | Annasari | Marlon Sularen ||

 

[Romi Jade]

Romi's Quarters
Kyra Perl

She was sharp.

"It's not funny." She retorted, twisting her neck in visible irritation.

"Whatever you're indulging yourself on...has you not being yourself." she continued, "Is this some type of way to avoid everything?"

She stepped back, "-- & you really thought I wouldn't notice..." Her real one strength was her ability to analyze and figure shmuck out.

"Lets take a step back from Nida for a moment and talk about you...so what is it?"

She moved in front of the door.

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

"I don't judge the Padawan you called Oceiros," Quill said with a shrug. "He redeemed himself, and he, at least, ordered less-lethal weapons as a first resort. No, I judge whoever sent him alone into a Sith academy with Imperial stormtroopers at his back. I judge whoever gave him the marching orders 'those who resist, do what you must,' and whatever Jedi trained him to think that was acceptable.

"Maynard, at Dantooine - there's a lot I don't know about that situation. So far as I know he only killed a few acolytes himself." He grimaced. "Only a few youth. Imagine how much different Dantooine could have been if the Jedi hadn't supported the Empire. Imagine taking Sith academies by using coma gas, sonic weapons, all the possibilities - or even just using basic less-lethals like Oceiros tried. Imagine showing those child soldiers the truth instead of burying them. Imagine - feth, Auteme , imagine.

"Bernard, the pale young man who firebombed the Korriban Academy...I've seen him around. I'd be interested to know whether he regrets the mission. Based on what little I know, he was surprised by those young Sith initiates, and he had no option to disarm the incendiaries' timers. So he faced the choice to remove the explosives - abandoning the mission entirely - or let them go off. And he left, and some died, and others barely escaped. Another young man sent somewhere he shouldn't be alone, with only the most destructive options at hand. Wherever he is, I hope he can learn to forgive himself.

"Rhis, the Nautolan, and Rurik, the masked man - they're remorseless fanatical butchers. That is the Dark Side. I," he bit out, "do not care what color scheme they wear."

 

[Bastard]

"I walk a path charted only by the winds of change."

Errant lifted his hands over his head to protect himself. While the clubs did not connect with his skull, they still found purchase all along his arms and torso. If not for the armor, he feared his life would've been lost. The hardy shell dulled the attacks to a point where his flesh bruised, which proved much better than bones shattering beneath the onslaught. Unfortunately, his position prone on the floor made launching a proper counter-attack nearly impossible. It spurred an agitation within him, one all too familiar. He yearned to reach out towards the men above him and crush their bodies into a bloody pulp on the floor. His blade made such thoughts all the worse. The promise of the dark side could make such a thing a reality. He only had to give in to his hate to make it so.

"No," he snarled between grunts of pain. Never again would he become a slave to his passion. If that meant dying on the floor of an ancient star destroyer, an exile from his home, then so be it. Such a death would be a mercy in the face of a life lived in shame.

Cotan's arrival brought an immediate reprieve to the downed Albino. Following the jarring strike that brought the fight to a literal pause, Errant pushed himself to his feet and lifted the heavy blade to bear. He considered pushing past the Je'daii to strike down the cultist nearly in reach and send him tumbling down into the netherworld below. It would've been easy. No longer outnumbered, able to fight to his fullest potential without having to worry about the girl not twenty feet from him.

Instead, he sheathed the sword and watch the two still-moving cultists depart from the scene. He limped towards an overturned terminal and awkwardly climbed atop it into a sitting position.

"Better to let them run back to their master," Errant eventually explained. "It'll make finding them in this wreckage all the easier. Then," he paused, gaze locked on the direction the two cultists fled. "I can cut the Sith down and free Jakku from their dark influence once and for all."

He wiped away at the blood covering his eye.

"Thank you for your help, Jedi," he said to Cotan. "I fear our deaths would have been neither swift nor clean. Your timely intervention will not be forgotten."

With that, Errant climbed to his feet and limped towards the corridor favored by the now-missing assailants.

Cotan Sar'andor | Auraya Irath-Ur​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Romi's Quarters
Romi Jade ​

Spoiler: Story

Romi's Quarters
Kyra Perl

She locked the door, turned and lingered on the silence a bit.

"Kyra..." and her voice sounded so defeated -- she felt like she failed her. They'd all be through so much...

She glided across the room and sat next to younger sister. Jade never knew emotions like this and found it hard to connect with her before but now, the budding maternal energy was seeping to the surface.

"First off," a beat. "I'm so sorry, for everything..."

She reached out, and cradled her hand.

It felt like ages since they'd seen each other, and felt even longer since they were able to connect on a familial level. Kyra was always a bright light, and now the Galaxy happened. Their roles, the war....it all happened.

And quite frankly, seeing her sister...made Romi look internally and wonder just what the kark had she been involved in this whole time.

Romi's Quarters
Romi Jade
​

Kyra sat stiff in the seat, not needing her empathy to sense Romi's heavy looks behind her back. Any sibling worth their salt knew when they were due in for a talking to. Her fingers gripped at her knees, biting back the slight tingle the spices left over her skin.

Her senses might be dulled, but she was sharp enough to feel stress. Her throat bobbed as Romi cradled her hand, her dilated gaze remaining intentionally ahead. "There's nothing to be sorry for, you can't control a coma."

But she was glad that Romi had pulled through. Not that she could find the words to say it. Her time in sith space had made a lot of words harder to find. Was that how Romi felt? It must be. Kyra had always sensed the disconnect the eldest adoptee had with the family. Duty before emotions.

Duty before self.

Kyra had taken up Romi's mantel when she had fallen ill all those months ago. Kyra would like to think she knew all about how Romi felt in life. She had always been her biggest hero.

She pulled her hand away, rejecting the touch in favor of rooting through her pockets. The leather bomber jacket would be familiar, though it had long since lost Romi's scent.

"I didn't come about that, anyway. I have something on Nida-- I thought it might be useful."

A flashdrive was produced, held out purposely between them.

Romi's Quarters
Kyra Perl

She hadn't looked at her

Romi picked up the quiet cue and glared at Kyra from the side...allowing her to retrieve her hand. This felt off.

Okay.

That coma made her realize so much, and it was almost as if she ran away from it all. She'd always committed herself to her duty, and it normally took precedence over any need she may have had; she always put others first, and dealt with her own chit in silence. But, now that she was looking at Kyra, someone who'd looked up to her... was this really the type of role model she wanted to be?

"What is it?" She trailed her hand as it went to pull something. "A flashdrive?"

"What's on it?" she followed up, "Where'd you find this stuff?"

She took a moment to try and figure it out but -- "Kyra."

She stood up, "Look at me." She commanded. She closed in and leaned forward "Look. At. Me."

Her eyes -- "What did you do!"

Romi's Quarters
Romi Jade​

Kyra winced, Romi's response reverberating through the thickened confines of her skull. Ouch. She trailed her gaze unwillingly up, meeting Romi's with a deafening silence. She tightened her fingers around the flash drive and raised her chin.


"I'm a Zeltron, I could do worse."

Romi's Quarters
Kyra Perl

She was sharp.

"It's not funny." She retorted, twisting her neck in visible irritation.

"Whatever you're indulging yourself on...has you not being yourself." she continued, "Is this some type of way to avoid everything?"

She stepped back, "-- & you really thought I wouldn't notice..." Her real one strength was her ability to analyze and figure shmuck out.

"Lets take a step back from Nida for a moment and talk about you...so what it is?"

She moved in front of the door.

Kyra let out a heavy sigh, hearing the physical body block of the door. For the first time she wondered if she could take Romi-- overpower her, push her to the side. The thought brought an inappropriately timed smile to her lips.

"It's not funny."

Well it was a little...

As the youngest she had always been a bit manhandled by the whims of her elder siblings-- always a tag along, never the leader. Well she didn't want to tag a long this time, she didn't want to be bossed around. She stood up, a jitter entering her hand as she faced Romi in full.

"Listen. I'm not here as Kyra, your sister, I'm here as Kyra The Jedi. I don't want those looks, I didn't ask for your thoughts. I wouldn't have even known how to find you if I hadn't snooped on Dad's feed.

"Take the stupid flash drive. Figure out why Nida's like this," she demanded, the proffered piece of metal gleaming inside the hand that shook. "I did my job. Now you do yours."

 

[Kirk Korrado]

Objective 4: BYOO
Hangar 42, Steadfast
Tags: OPEN

​

"You're telling me there's not a drop of water in this city?"

"Not for you there ain't."

"Guess I'll take a whiskey then. You people must be some tough bastards to be living out here."

The gruff bartender didn't respond to Kirk's last quip, though he did grunt as he placed Kirk's drink in front of him. He sipped away on it slowly. The people of Jakku were tough indeed if they only survived off the swill he was just served.

"So, are you alliance?" Kirk turned to see who was talking to him now. A scruffy man missing quite a few teeth sitting a few seats down the bar. He got up and came over to sit next to Kirk, who shifted away ever so slightly.

"Huh?"

"I said are you one of them alliance types? Most of the new folk coming through here are."

"N-No. No I'm not one of them." Kirk replied, caught off guard by the question. He didn't know how to answer it, but it certainly wasn't going to be with the truth. The truth was that Kirk was 'an alliance type', just not by choice. Years of smuggling had caught up with him, and now working for the alliance was the only way he was going to avoid life in a narrow prison cell. He wasn't sure he was legally allowed to tell the truth, not that there was any law in this place. Even if he was, he wasn't proud of his circumstances.

"So what's your business here?"

"You know, you ask a lot of questions friend. Can I enjoy my drink? or can I help you with something?"

The man grinned widely. "Y'already have, pal."

Beating footsteps began rushing away from the bar, Kirk turned to see the commotion. Another man was running away, waving the keycard to Kirk's freighter. The man next to him smacked him hard on the back as he got up to chase his accomplish.

This wasn't the first time he'd been pickpocketed, but damn if this wasn't the worst place for it. He quickly made chase of the thieves, but they knew the winding halls of the ancient star destroyer far better than he did.

All he had to do was reach his ship before them. It was an improbable goal, but he'd lose a lot more than his job if he lost his ship...

 

[Romi Jade]

Romi's Quarters
Kyra Perl

Silent.

She stepped aside -- fine

She wasn't gonna bar Kyra from this. She grabbed the flashdrive and stepped back.

"My entire life has been dedicated to my role as a Jedi. All I know, and have is my duty. If i've taught you that was all to aspire to sister, i'm sorry."

For the most part, Romi has run away from anything that could remotely get close to her...something of hers that'd been magnified after she recovered from a similar situation like Nida. Nowadays, she was finding that sprint all the more difficult.

"Be angry with me, with Nida, with everything...but feel all that comes with it. Don't run." She continued.

"This dysfunction has to stop--" She snatched Kyra's hand and planted it across her stomach, "-- If only for those who'll look up to us..."

Jade was never vulnerable like this...

But this situation in particular brought it out of her each time. As much as she tried to run from it...

"Do you feel it?"

She couldn't. And, that was the scary part.

 

[John Shepherd]

Location - Old Imperial Base
Objective: Lootin' and Stealin' [BYOO]
Equipment - Linked in Bio

Finally, he made eyes on the imperial base. It looked like it had been ravaged by looters a long time ago, but he wasn't hoping for old school tech or something that they had used back then, no there was more reason for him to be there. John continued his walk towards the base, his eyes looking around for any trouble, perhaps he could be interrupting a scavenger that would defend his scrapping zone? Perhaps he would find a small community that made this base into their new home after the empire had abandoned it? John couldn't know without venturing inside.

Making his way to the front door he looked around for any traps or anything that could alert someone to his presence, and to his trained eye he could not see anything. Even though he knew this he slowly drew his rifle and hit the button to the door aiming his gun inside.

The hot and sandiness of Jakku was nothing to what was inside the base, It was sand all over the place, covering the walls and the floor, making a secondary layer as John slowly walked inside. The base closed off from the outside world he grabbed his helmet, its orange outline diminished after many fights worn with it. He hit the light on the side and began to scan the room, looking for anything, anything at all.

Standing there he heard a skittering behind him, he turned quickly aiming his rifle to where he heard the sound. Nothing. Was he losing bis mind?, or was it just some creature that had made its way inside the base after many years of disrepair. He couldn't know unless it showed itself. John began to move towards the sound, step by step his eyes glanced around the room as he made his way closer, closer to the rustling that began to fill his ears. Right as he got to where he heard the sound it stopped. He looked around, and before he could react and a shape came flying from the darkness towards him. He let out a yell and shot, hearing a loud yip before the shadow hit the ground with a loud clud. John looked at the shape with his helmet light. Some medium size beast, he kicked it with his foot and just shrugged.

 

[Auraya Irath-Ur]

Before a single word could escape the lips of the man who had a blaster trained upon her, he was flung back into the durasteel wall as the booming voice of Cotan Sar'andor rang out around them.​

​

And that was all it took for the tables to turn in their favour. Like an unleashed beast Cotan made quick work of the remaining two cultists, freeing her downed companion from their brutal assault, but the hows of it she did not see. No, her gaze was fixed upon the splattered body which stood across from her. She couldn't even recognize what it had been.​

​

She continued to stare even after Bastard found his feet, and moved to sit atop a terminal. She could see him from the corner of her eye, was relieved as feth to know that he was capable of doing such. But she could not give either of the men her full attention.​

​

Her gaze followed the bloody pulp as it dropped to the ground. It wasn't until her eyes burned and begged her to blink that she freed herself from that spell, lifting a hand to rub away the dry pain. Then she disignited her lightsaber, and slumped back against the nearest wall. Though she grunted slightly in discomfort to the injury she was contorting by doing so, she paid it no real mind.​

​

A moment. She needed... a moment.​

​

Inhale, exhale, wash it all away. Purge her mind from the fleeting yet incessant thoughts. Inhale, exhale, ignore the intoxicating darkness which seeped into every inch of the ship this far down. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.​

​

It took her more than a singular moment, but eventually she turned her faraway stare toward the men who were preparing to delve deeper into the ship. "I... I'm sorry" she choked out, "I didn't realize, I didn't mean for...."​

​

Auraya did not know which one of the men to look at, which one to apologize to first. It was her own folly that had gotten them into this situation to begin with, and she sure as heck didn't know how to get them out of it. It was just one mistake after another with her, wasn't it?​

​

The stranger had risen once more, hell-bent on following after those who had fled. No doubt Cotan would be quick after him, so she rose and tried to follow suit. Tried to ignore the scent of death in the air. The last thing she needed now was to be left behind, a further burden to them both.​

​

Like them, she had to carry on.​