Why Must We Fight?

[Jamie Pyne]

Nobody questioned Aela. The vial was passed to one of the others while Bjorn continued CPR on Jamie. It was quickly added to the extra port on the IV drip and forced into the line. The lightly colored liquid flooded the girl's veins as she laid limp on the table, for all medical purposes, dead. Half a minute would pass with tense silence. The room was enveloped in this for what felt like an eternity. Joran watched Aela pant and wheeze against the wall. If he could speak he would tell her he was surprised she wasn't killed, though he was also just as concerned now that she had made it back that there was a trail of trained killers shortly to follow.

The question on the tip of everyone's tongue was one nobody dared speak for fear of jinxing it, did it work?

Bjorn leaned down to Jamie's lips to breathe in once more, though he felt what he could swear was a small breeze. He paused, holding his face close to hers, moving a finger to her throat to check for a pulse. Sure enough it was there, ever so faint, but it was there. "She's breathing." He said, though the tone was still very much serious. "It's faint and weak. I don't know if we can move her safely."

Joran never looked more disappointed.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela had buried her head in her arms, breathing hard and sagging against the wall as if she was about to pass out. She was tired. She’d used so much of her strength back at the palace that she felt like she was on the verge of passing out. The world was spinning, and the wounds all over her body were aching hard.

”We’re doing this wrong.” Aela said finally, a ragged breath passing from her as she spoke. ”Bastion is huge. Almost as big as Coruscant.”

Jorn narrowed his eyes at her. ”We need to hide, rest, and then look for a way off this world.”

Oddly enough the man seemed to relax slightly, as if he had thought that Aela was about to say something else. The Jedi Marshall peeked up from where she was, looking at Jamie’s barely breathing form. She smiled slightly, having won a small victory tonight at the very least.

”There are thousands upon thousands of hotels and buildings on this planet. We just need to pick one and stay there for a day or two.” It made sense. ”They can’t search everywhere, they don’t have the resources and eventually the Crusaders will get suspicious.”

That was the most important thing to note, the Families did not control Bastion. They had huge influence yes, but it was the Mandalorian Crusaders that held the world. ”Things will already be on edge after what happened at House Mierel and now at the Palace, we just have to hide.”

At least until they were rested.

”Zven, take some credits, get us a room at a nice hotel.” She nodded to herself. ”A suite actually. We’ll…” She looked at the crates on the ground. ”Find a way in.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"We'll need to look over her for the night. Not sure when she'll come out of it." Bjorn brushed away the bit of hair that had clung to the side of Jamie's face.

Zven then gave Aela a nod, acknowledging her request, then quietly left the room. Bjorn took a few steps towards the girl and helped her up and into a seat so that she wasn't slumped over on the floor and began to look her over. "Are you alright? You look like hell." There was a smile on his face as he pulled from the bag some cloth and alcohol to clean the cuts she'd received during her jaunt back to the palace.

"You did well. He didn't want to hear it though." Referring to Joran. Aela would need a few bandages, a bath, and some rest, but save for that she seemed to be relatively fine. He passed her a canteen with cool water to drink from while he addressed the cuts. "So what happened in there?"

He was a bit curious how she had fared barging into the one place they had tried to avoid at all cost just an hour or so before. She hadn't left with much in terms of scratches or cuts, but she had certainly returned with notably less grenades and detonators, and arguably more bruises and bumps. It wasn't as if they didn't have time to discuss it, they weren't going anywhere until Zven came back. Even then, they'd need to find a way to move Jamie without creating suspicion, or hope she woke up before then and was somehow able to walk.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

”I’ll be alright.” Aela said as she took a drink from the canteen. It was the truth, she was cut up pretty bad, and she felt like she was about to pass out, but all in all she would be fine with a few hours of sleep...and some food probably.

”I made my way through the palace. The Jedi Marshall said simply. ”I didn’t really...well, fight. I just stopped everyone from coming close to me.”

It had been a novel approach really.

She had never intended to take out any guards or stop anyone from securing the palace, nor had she tried to take any one quadrant for herself. She had simply bullied her way through the grounds until she got what she want...and then she’d left.

”I don’t think it would have worked If they’d known I was coming...or if there was more of us. They kept expecting another strike I think...always held back Guards, never chased me entirely cause they thought someone else was coming.” She couldn’t blame them for that of course, it was simple strategic thinking.

”They were afraid.” She noted quietly. ”Of me.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

He nodded, "We can find a way out of here tomorrow if she's able." Referring to the Padawan. "Our friend there wouldn't keep his thoughts to himself so we had to quiet him down. Wasn't helping the situation any. She didn't need to hear what he was saying." Bjorn stood, patting Aela lightly on the shoulder as he moved to get a few larger bandages for the bigger cuts.

"What of the other woman? There were two daughters, no? Any sign of her?"

It had been strange that she was nowhere to be found during the whole ordeal. Both times at the palace, as well as at the estate, and even now, not a trace of her. It seemed odd that she wouldn't put in an appearance, especially to aide her sibling. "And Villia? Where's she?" There were plenty of questions that needed answers, but for now the rest needed to at least know where everything stood so that there wouldn't be any surprises the rest of the night.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

”Villia.” Aela began as she tipped her head back again, smiling slightly at Bjorn. ”Has several broken ribs and a fractured face. Speaking from experience, she’ll need at least a week in a bacta tank before she can run around again.”

The daughters were tough, but they were still human. That meant they needed time to recover and heal.

”As for the other one? I have no idea, she wasn’t at the palace, but maybe she was seeing to her sister?” Aela looked over towards Jorn with an inquisitive face, the old man tipped his head back as though he were laughing. The Jedi Marshall took that as an indication that neither of his daughters were likely to care for one another when they were injured.

She shrugged.

”Probably looking for us.” She winced slightly as she moved the wrong way, one of the scratching on her ribs opening up just a bit more. ”Which is why I told Zven to get that Suite. We can hide better in the open than in a dark basement. As soon as Jamie is better anyway.”

They had to take things slowly, think, not panic.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

She could swear people were talking about her. That was her name, right?

Where am I? Her eyes refused to open, as if she'd forgotten how. What's going on?

Caught somewhere between conscious and unconscious her mind was awake enough for her to recognize that she was somewhere, and people were talking. Words came in and out of focus, but she could have sworn she heard her name spoken at least once. She remembered being at the estate, then something happened, there was a lot of pain, and she blacked out after feeling awfully tired.

Consciousness slipped away again for a few moments. Whatever was going on within her mind and body was alien to her. She felt so strange. Every time she tried to speak it was like she couldn't force the muscles in her jaw or mouth to budge. She felt somewhat trapped within her own body, partially aware of her surroundings, but too weak to act on anything.

The most she could do was to make some kind of groan from where she laid. It wasn't much, but perhaps the others would know she wasn't dead. Satisfied with herself she let herself slip away again into a pleasant dream, she and Kurt laying on that beach back on Spira without another care in the galaxy, the warm sun on her face, gentle roar of the rolling waves against the shore. It was peaceful.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

A few hours passed, with Jamie still on the edge of consciousness and Aela as tired as a dog who had spent its entire day chasing it’s tail they were allowed some rest. Both of them were out of it, Bjorn and the three remaining soldiers standing watch over Jorn and the door.

Eventually Aela awoke again.

It was daytime, and apparently news of what had happened at the palace had spread. Zven had returned with news, and the keys to a hotel suite on the upper north quadrant of this sector of Bastion. He told them that apparently a story had been concocted about everything that had occurred.

”Well, it could be worse.” Aela said quietly as Zven finished telling the group about how the House was claiming that Sith terrorists had attacked the Ball, slaughtered house Mirell, and killed Jorn.

Notably they did not try to blame the Alliance, only released footage of a lightsaber wielding maniac running around the palace and slashing through doors and walls. Aela wasn’t sure why they didn’t blame the Alliance, perhaps they thought their political foothold was not strong enough, either way...it gave them some leeway.

”As soon as Jamie is ready.” Aela looked towards her still sleeping padawan. ”We get to the Suite. She’ll need rest after though...I will too probably. I still don’t feel fit to fight.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Another hour would pass before the girl made even a single motion more than she had hours before. Slow as a turtle her blue eyes looked out into the room to see Aela, Joran, and the other soldiers sitting around chatting with one another. Jamie blinked several times to adjust her vision well enough to understand what she was looking at and to put things into focus. She made no sound and no movement, almost afraid that either one might cause her pain. There was still a lingering ache in her abdomen, a stark reminder of the knife that had been embedded inside her gut. Her first mission could have certainly gone smoother. Perhaps next time she might listen to Aela's instruction, but probably not. She certainly learned a valuable lesson though, running into a fight could very well mean a swift death.

One of the soldiers nudged Aela, their head quickly nodding behind her towards Jamie. "She's up." He said quietly. The others stood up to take a look at the younger woman, as if they weren't sure whether or not she was actually awake. Her eyes bounced from each person in the room in order until she landed on Aela. Straining the girl forced a small smile on her face for a moment. Even that small gesture felt tiring so she didn't hold it for long.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela stood from where she had been sitting, slowly moving over to Jamie.

Everyone in the room felt more than a little bit of relief that the padawan was awake. None of the soldiers knew Jamie all that well of course, neither did Aela for that matter, but it was important. She was a part of the team, and that meant she was precious to them. The fact that she had survived was more than just simple fact.

It was a good moment in a sea of troubles.

”Maybe now you’ll listen.” Aela said as she came up beside Jamie, gently squeezing her hand. By the smile on her face it was clear that she was just joking. She was glad to see her Padawan alive, and even though it had only been there for a few seconds, she had seen Jamie smile.

”Get her some water.” She told Bjorn. ”IV doesn't always does it.”

She looked down at her apprentice.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Her voice, when she finally managed to scrounge up the words, was scratchy and tired. Still, she wanted to say them, just to spite Aela.

"Probably not." She flashed another small smile before letting her head fall back, a small exhale, looking up to the ceiling. "What happened?"

She made an attempt at recalling the events of the night before, though the story was hardly all there. "I remember she kicked me. I remember you burned me with your lightsaber. I remember the pain." That was likely something she would never forget for the rest of her life. "And I remember feeling sick. But not much else, or why." Jamie picked up her hand and ran it slowly over her face. "Where are we? What happened to..." What was her name? "Villia?"

She had dozens of questions, but getting them all out was difficult. She was still incredibly drowsy and weak. In between each question she paused for a breath. One of the soldiers helped her take a few small sips of water to help with the cotton mouth she had going on. "Are we still on Bastion?" It seemed like she'd forgotten that she had already been here earlier. Perhaps the traumatic event had forced her mind to try and forget most of the evening, which would explain the lack of recognition.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela gently pressed on Jamie’s shoulder to make sure that she stayed laying down like she was supposed to. If she injured herself now it would just mean that they would have to wait even longer to move. ”We’re still on Bastion.”

She confirmed first.

”Villia is likely in a bacta tank somewhere.” Part of her wished she had the lack of morals required to kill the girl, but it wasn’t a serious thought. ”The knife you were stabbed with was poisoned with Tears of Rist.”

Aela doubted the name would mean anything to Jamie. ”I managed to get the antidote...and we have a new plan for getting off-world.”

Or rather, they had a new idea for how they could come up with a new plan.

She wasn’t quite yet ready to lay that on Jamie just yet however, though she suspected that the young woman would be more pleased with their new accommodations, if only because a fancy suite at a five star hotel even excited her a bit.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Her back was surely going to ache when she finally got off that table. That much she was certain of. For the time being though she had little room to complain. It was better than the floor, if only just barely. If Aela had come up with another plan for getting them off of Bastion then she could relax a bit. It hurt her ego to know she likely screwed things up quite well by making that one single mistake, something she would try and avoid in the future if possible. Impulse was a strong instinct to ignore though, so if nothing else she would have to be more conscious of it going forward.

"I'm sorry." She was beginning to sound like a broken record, even if she hadn't remembered apologizing three hundred times the night before.

She closed her eyes again, drawing in a deep breath. "This went to hell, huh?" That was putting it lightly. Nothing had gone to plan. Not even remotely. Their biggest threat hadn't been Joran, or his son, or the sisters. It had been Jamie's lack of patience and discipline. Joran had been right in a way, she did almost get them all killed. As much of an idiot as she believed he was, he had been right, and that stung more than she expected.

Jamie hadn't the slightest clue what Tears of the Rist was, but the word poison was all she needed to hear to understand why she had felt the way she did. "How'd you find an antidote?" She wondered, "And does it have anything to do why you have those bandages on?" She pointed to the few exposed bandages on her arms.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

”It’s alright.” Aela said simply. ”We still have what we came for.”

She pointed to the now sleeping, Joran. ”As long as we have him this mission can still be considered a success.”

They just had to get him off-world.

”I broke into the palace and stole it from Villia along with this bag.” She lifted the odd purse like backpack and for the first time in hours remembered that there was something else inside it. Curious Aela opened the backpack and peered inside, frowning slightly as she saw two very ornate bracelets inside.

She looked at them for a moment, then decided she would deal with it later.

”They blamed the entire night on Sith Terrorists.” Aela continued to explain. ”So we haven’t started a war yet either.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Another small smile formed on her face as she shifted her eyes towards Joran. Though when she heard that Aela had broken back into the palace she nearly sat up on the table in reaction to that revelation. The sudden jolt and contortion of her abdomen however quickly reminded her of her still very injured body, sending a fresh surge of agony through her, causing her to fall back into her prior position. Perhaps she wasn't quite ready to get up and around.

"You went back to the palace? Are you crazy?" So that's what they were all arguing about last night. Jamie partially remembered Aela and Joran going back and forth about something before she blacked out.

She knew full well that if Aela hadn't decided to make that bold attempt that instead of being conscious and talking to her about it on top of the table right then instead she would be nothing more than a cold, dead body that would perhaps be brought home if the others made it out. The idea made her sick, especially when her mind wandered back to Kurt, and how he would handle that holocall. "Thanks. For saving me." Her words had never been more sincere. Aela had barely any connection to her then, and for her to risk life and limb, as well as the mission and everything else for her sake meant more to her than she had the energy to explain.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Don't worry about it." Aela said simply, and she meant it.

She would have done it for any one of them. It was who she was, who her parents had raised her to be. Aela couldn't have let Jamie die, no matter the circumstances. The palace had been a challenge, yes, but the truth was Aela would have gone after Jamie even if she was in the middle of a Sith ritual. There was no question to that. Now of course the next step came. Jamie would have to rest a little more, take some bacta treatment, and then they would go to the hotel.

From there...from there they would have to figure everything else out.

"We have a suite we'll head to when you can move." Aela began, not wanting Jamie to think about what dangers she'd faced at the palace. "We'll be staying there until we can find a ship."

Something she was rather excited about. "It'll be more comfortable, and with this new story they've woven looking for us will be harder. The Families don't have the security forces...well not entirely, and that means we can still move about somewhat, though the three of us will stay in the suite of course."

No need to take extra risks.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The tickle at the back of her throat made her cough violently, which then agitated her midsection and caused her more pain with each additional cough. It was a vicious cycle really.

"Won't people recognize Joran?" If there were reports that he'd been murdered by Sith, surely his picture was circulating for those who hadn't known him, but given his status on Bastion it would be safe to assume many people would recognize his face. "What if someone sees the man who was supposedly just murdered going into a hotel?" Phew. That was a lot of words to get out at once. The young blonde took a moment to breath and relax her overworked lungs a moment.

"If they see us going in there, we're in trouble all the same."

Her eyes glanced down at her stomach. The dress was a tattered mess. There was no hope whatsoever of salvaging that. Jamie frowned, saddened over its' demise as she was fond of both it and the shoes she'd also lost. It was really a terrible day after all. The only saving grace was that they had what they had originally come for. Proof that Bastion was involved in undermining the Alliance, so that was at least something, like Aela had said.

"I need a change of clothes I think." She said, a laugh coming in the form of soft breaths to prevent herself from hurting.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"That's what the crates are for." She smiled at Joran.

She would gladly throw him in a box, and as for them? Well that was easily solved with the excuse of...money. They had plenty of it luckily, though she would once again have to explain a very large bill to the SIS at the end of all this.

That could be addressed later.

"Don't worry about that for now." She told Jamie. "We'll get in unnoticed. Most people don't really pay attention unless there's something spectacular going on, and in all honesty...we just have to pretend not to be spectacular. Basically the opposite of what we've been doing here."

That wouldn't be too difficult either. As long as they threw enough credits around and didn't make a stink, Jamie and Aella would be able to slip through the hotel lobby without anyone of note actually seeing them. Again the security forces of the planet weren't looking for them, and that meant there weren't any wanted posters or holo-ads that were targeting the two 'criminal' Jedi. Ironically, the story that had been spun around them was actually helping them.

"Right, clothes." Aela turned around and began to dig through the boxes, throwing Jamie some of her clothes.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Very, very slowly the girl began to sit up, though hastily one of the soldiers came to her aid, lending assistance to help her. After all of the time spent lying down she felt somewhat off balance vertical again, the feeling nearly making her nauseous, though this time she managed to hold in her urge to purge everything once again. That was probably for the best, seeing as she hadn't eaten anything and thus likely would be nothing but stomach acid to burn her throat on the way out. Yuck.

The blonde looked at some of the clothes Aela had, it was all pretty plain, dark in color and relatively uninviting. The direct opposite of anything she would ever personally wear. Her wardrobe was much more vibrant and, well, luxurious, though now was most definitely not the time to complain over what she wore. The dress had to go, and she wouldn't and couldn't walk around without clothes. For now these would do. A simple thin long sleeved black top and a pair of dark pants. The shoes would probably be a bit snug, perhaps a size or a half size too small, but it was what it was. She hated to ask this, but she certainly couldn't do this on her own.

"Would...You mind helping me change?"

Most would hardly find now to be the time of modesty, but Jamie was Jamie, and if asking Aela for help changing was difficult, asking the others to turn away while she did was that much more awkward.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela looked at Jamie for a moment, then came to a realization. "Everyone out. Bjorn take him with you."

She pointed towards Jorn.

The soldiers looked around for a second, then slowly nodded their heads as they also realized what was happening. None of them were complete idiots of course, it was just that usually nobody cared. The 5th Legion had both men and women in it, and when it came to military life...well modesty flew away in about half a second. Jamie was not in the military however, nor was she brought up as a Jedi, that meant she didn't exactly have the same thoughts as they did.

Slowly the soldiers shuffled out of the room, Bjorn picking up Jorn all the way who half tried to struggle against the large soldiers grip.

"Alright." Aela said stepping towards Jamie. "Come here."