The Departure

They had come in like a flood, those abominations that called themselves force users. They had exploited the weak points of the temple's structure as if they had known it all their lives. There had been no warning; no sign of approaching fleets, no one out of the ordinary was seen on the grounds prior to the attack. It had been a perfect ambush and the Jensaarai were paying the price for their ignorance.

Ryu and Brianna charged down the stairs and into the greeting hall of the temple, a young boy clinging to his Ryu's neck while he held him up with one arm. They had just barely escaped through the carnage that had spilled from the private quarters and into the hallways. It had blown Ryu's mind that he, Brianna and their son, James, hadn't been targeted first. They were the top of the echelon, the ones calling the shots... well Ryu and Brianna at least. It didn't make sense. If they had wanted the Jensaarai to be disoriented, unorganized and defeated much easier, they would have first gone after the leaders. Something didn't feel right. The force was telling him to leave, to turn around and get back to someplace safe. But there was no safe. Turning around would mean going to the exact opposite of safe. The three of them would be engulfed in warfare. He wouldn't be able to protect Brianna or James without possibly killing more of his own men than not. This was the only way to safety.

However, the greeting hall made Ryu feel no safer. In fact, he felt more uncomfortable than he had when they were running through the fighting in the hallways upstairs. There was nothing, absolutely nothing. He had expected more carnage down here in the huge open floor space than they had found upstairs... but there was nothing, only emptiness and silence. The force was screaming at him, telling him that this was bad, that he had to get out now, find some place safer. But this was the quickest way to get Brianna and their son, James, out of the temple. He couldn't risk jumping from the upper levels with a five year old in his arms. Brianna would've been fine jumping but James wouldn't be.

With that in mind, Ryu took Brianna's hand with his free one and pressed on at a quicker pace, their footsteps echoing in the huge, empty room. Brianna hesitated and James pressed his face into Ryu's chest, whining loudly. His force powers weren't trained yet but they were obviously starting to affect him.

"Ryu," Brianna said quietly, "I don't like this. The force is telling me that something is terribly wrong."

Ryu didn't even flinch. "I know, Bri, but we need to get James to safety and this is the only way to do that right now. " He should have known better, should have paid attention. It was as if he had learned nothing from his many years of combat. Then he heard them.

From the huge slabs of metal that served as the temple's main entrance, Ryu heard a battle cry ring out from what sounded like thousands of lungs followed closely by a deafening bang of something slamming into the doors. Then it hit him. They hadn't attacked the three of them first because they were waiting to spring a trap. Somehow, their leader knew that Ryu would first take his family to safety before coming back to defend his temple. They had planned on it all along. Now they would storm the greeting hall and kill the three of them. Ryu would be too unwilling to let loose and fight with his five year old needing protection. He would be tethered down. They could surround the three of them and slay them with little effort. Ryu would not let that happen. His wife and son would survive, even if it meant his life would end here.

Another large bang rocked the hall as Ryu turned to Brianna. "Bri, you need to get to safety. You and James. Here," he handed James over into her loving arms. "Take him and head for the door to the first floor landing pads. There'll be a cruiser there that you can take to find safety. Find Dominique. She'll take care of you." Truth be told, Ryu hadn't seen much of his sister lately. He wished he knew exactly where she was so he could tell Brianna specifically where to go. But with Ryu being busy presiding over the Jensaarai, there was hardly any time for a family reunion.

As expected, Brianna protested fervently. "I can't leave you, Ryu. Let me stay and help you. I can fight."

"No, Bri." Ryu's voice had an edge to it as he spoke. Time was short. They needed to be gone before the ambushers broke open the doors. "You've got to get James somewhere safe. I'll hold them off so you two can escape."

As he was saying that, a caretaker came running out of a room on the left side of the greeting hall. She was battered and bruised, clearly having just escaped from a fight with one of the men attacking the temple. The caretakers, as the name suggests, were there for the sole purpose of taking care of the children of the Jensaarai warriors when their parents were out on an assignment or were in training. In fact, as she got closer, Ryu recognized this woman as one that has taken James many times while Brianna and Ryu were out on a mission, whether together or separately. Ryu sighed to himself and rolled his eyes. "It figures…"

Before the woman had even reached the Tikori family, Brianna was turned towards her, holding out James for her to take. "Kitara, please take James to the cruiser waiting outside on the first floor landing bay. Make him comfortable and wait for us to join you before going anywhere."

"Yes, Milady." Brianna turned to Ryu with a smug look of victory, as if to say "what's your excuse now?" As the caretaker walked away, Ryu sighed and simply said, "Alright."

The bangs on the door had never lessened. In fact, they had grown stronger each time. Ryu could tell that the doors were weakening. They'd soon be broken down, allowing hundreds of the force user wannabes to flood the greeting hall. He had to act fast.

He gave Brianna a soft smile and held out his arms to her, as if to welcome her into them. He could see the relative confusion on her face but she stepped into his embrace none-the-less. He stroked her head softly, running his fingers softly through her long smooth hair. He held onto her for as long as he could; savoring the feeling of her embrace. Her presence and the feel of her body against his calmed him and even seemed to build up his strength. Her presence made him more resolved to the course that he knew he had to take. He hated leaving her, especially when he knew he may not see her again... It felt like an hour had gone by before Ryu was able to pry himself away from her warm embrace. She wasn't going to like what he was going to do... but he had to do it.

Looking down at her, he spoke softly. "I love you, Bri. I hope you know that." She looked up at him with a mixture of confusion and horror. She knew his plan, knew what he was going to do. He had known she would be upset.

Her voice was thick with fear as she spoke to him "Ryu-" That was all she got out. Even as she spoke the word, Ryu's hands had moved to her shoulders and he was pushing backwards softly. When there was enough room between them, his left hand slipped in between them and rested on her stomach. A small force push exploded from both of his hands. Though the push was strong enough to send her out of the side door and into the hall leading to the first floor landing pad, it had been weak enough to keep her from harm and allow her to land safely on her feet. She recovered quickly and immediately began to run at the door to get back to him but Ryu was one step ahead. With a swipe of his hand, a pillar was broken from its place and lodged in front of the doorway, keeping her from getting back inside. But that didn't stop her from slamming her entire weight into the now closed door to try to force it open again.

When the door didn't budge, she slammed her fists angrily against it, screaming out Ryu's name in both frustration and sorrow. Tears streamed down her face. She wanted only to be there with him, to make sure that he didn't die. She didn't know what she would do without him. She cried out to him through the force. "Ryu, get out here! I can't just leave you here! You have to come with us! Your son needs you. I need you!"

The tone of her voice pained him. He was glad that he wasn't looking her in the eyes right now. It would have been more than he could bear... "You know I can't leave, Bri. I have to protect the Jensaarai. I can't abandon the people who would gladly give their lives to save mine."

"Then let me come back in! Let me fight with you!" She was frantic; desperate to get back to him.

On the outside, Ryu remained calm and collected but on the inside, his heart was torn. He wanted to be with her, to protect her and know that she was with him during the fight of his life. She was his rock and his strength, the very reason that he lived. He needed her by his side... but he had to make sure shew would be safe. He hated himself for doing this... but he had to do it... for their son. "No, Bri. James needs at least one parent. I can't risk us both dying here and leaving James to be an orphan. You must go with him, Bri. I'll be alright, I promise."

There was a short pause, but Ryu could feel her agony. He was fine with waiting for her response, but he feared that the ones attempting to break in would not be so patient. Finally, she spoke a very short phrase. "You better." Ryu chuckled softly at but one was not returned. This was no laughing matter. She meant it. Shortly after, she told him she loved him and he said it back without hesitation. "Find us as soon as they're all dead," she said. There was a violent intensity about the way that she said "dead," and it brought a smile to his face. Sometimes he forgot that the kind, loving woman that was his wife had once been the leader of a powerful group of Sith Priestesses. Her connection to the darkside was strong and he found it infinitely sexy when she allowed that side of her to shine through.

"I will. Now go!" With that, the force connection ended and he could feel her running towards the landing pad. He felt better knowing that she and James were safe. Now he could focus on the fight. Her words were ringing in his head still. "You better." He smiled softly to himself. Knowing that she was safe brought Ryu some peace despite the turmoil of the coming moments.

Behind him, he heard a terrible cracking sound that seemed loud enough to carry even to the very uppermost levels of the temple complex. Ryu didn't have to turn around to know exactly what had happened. All of that banging on the door had destroyed the locking mechanism. All that it needed now was one good hit and, metaphorically speaking, the floodgates would be opened up.

Ryu smirked to himself, somehow reveling in the coming battle. It would be a real challenge and oh, how he loved a challenge. While still facing the side door through which Brianna had just exited, Ryu reached behind him to the base of his neck. There, he found the thick visor helm and the stretchy black cloth attached to it. He pulled the visor up and around until it was resting firmly in place just above his brow. Next, he found the material that was down around the front of his neck. He pulled it up over his face so that the only thing left visible were his eyes. Digging into a pocket of his cloak, Ryu found his elbow length gloves and pulled them on. Finally, he tossed off his cloak, discarding it to the side of him so that it was well in the back of the greeting hall. He was left standing in his assassin's outfit, the thick but flexible black fabricated armor gleaming in what little light had found its way into the hall.

Ryu turned hard to the left, spinning 270 degrees on his left toes to face the entrance to the greeting hall. As he did so, Ryu's right hand swung up across his body. His saber was pulled off of his belt and had caught up to his hand in mid swing. As soon as Ryu touched the cool, shimmering metal, his finger found the activation button and the jet black blade was ignited. With his saber in hand and facing the doorway, Ryu dropped immediately into a defensive stance just as the final and loudest bang resounded from the door, sending the heavy metal slabs crashing to the ground.

As the enemies came rushing in, Ryu found himself giving that infamous Tikori smirk. It was something that any true descendant of the Tikori line did. Most families had specific traits or money or something tangible to pass to future generation, but not the Tikoris. They passed down smugness and a facial expression to go with it. He was ready and confident. He had nothing to hold him back, nothing to worry about except showing these men the price for crossing him. He hoped that they were ready for a fight. He sure was.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this installment into Ryu's story. If you did, please review! If not, I'd love to hear some constructive criticism =]