"You can't keep doing this. You're starting to make the ambassadors nervous. Even Holiday is starting to talk about feeling watched."
"Then all I have to do is make sure they don't notice," Zenith said.
Embry glared up at the man, unable to figure out why he couldn't just trust her. This was a peaceful ship. The most dangerous person Zenith had met was Qyzen, and Qyzen was a good man.
The Jedi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "There is emotion, yet peace," she whispered, then turned and very deliberately walked away, leaving Zenith to whatever he chose to do. Her emotions were not invalid. She would let them run their course, then come back to discuss things with Zenith more properly.
He was a frustrating man. She wouldn't have let him on the ship if she'd had a choice. Such was the way of the galaxy, however.
"Herald, what troubles you?"
Embry looked up at the voice of her friend. Up, and up, until she could look him in the eye properly. Trandoshans were a large species, and Qyzen Fess was a good example of the kind. Add to that the need to tilt her head to look around his scaly snout to look him in his good eye, and one ended up with conversations that, while rewarding, tended to strain a young Jedi's neck.
She sighed quietly. "It's Zenith. He's been-"
Embry cut off at the sound of the ship's holocomm beeping. For an instant, she considered answering the call with a bit of the Force. Then she decided that, if she wanted to see who was calling, it was best not to risk obliterating the ship's communications terminal. It was better to walk over and answer like a regular being.
When she did press the response button, she found herself in the unusual position of not having to look up at her caller. He wasn't a species she recognized. He seemed short, with a wide head onto which all of his features were crammed. Wide eyes crowded a flattened nose and his mouth was surrounded by wrinkles that only seemed to stop when they reached pointed ears that stretched well past his shoulders.
He smiled, and Embry liked him instantly.
"Hello, Barsen'thor." He bowed, and Embry returned the gesture. "I am Oteg. I serve the Jedi Order and lead the Republic's First Expeditionary Fleet. I need your help."
"Alright. What can I do?"
Oteg looked surprised for a moment, then his smile returned, wider than before. "Thank you, Barsen'thor. I've received intelligence that the Empire has a secret prison inside the Maelstrom Nebula. It's a dangerous region, impossible to safely navigate. A Jedi prisoner possessing vital information is held captive there. I need your help to navigate the Maelstrom Nebula and free him."
That made Embry frown. "Oteg, I'm not much of a navigator. I know of a few Jedi who might be suited to it, but I'm a healer. If you think our friend is hurt, I understand why you called, but you said it was impossible to navigate the Maelstrom."
Oteg nodded. "I'll tell you more when you arrive. Never can be too careful. I'm aboard the First Expeditionary Fleet's command ship, the Dreadnought Telos. Transmitting coordinates now - and please keep them to yourself. Oteg out."
The transmission ceased abruptly, leaving a confused Embry to exchange a long look with her friend.
"That was more mysterious than I'm used to," Embry admitted. "Thoughts?"
Qyzen took his time thinking, waiting to reply until Embry was ready to start pulling him towards the cockpit. Then he said, in that gutteral, clicking language Embry barely had a handle on, "if Oteg wants Herald, must be great danger. Need for secrecy. Should not bring ambassadors."
As usual, Embry took her time replying. Not for the same reason Qyzen did - she wasn't as thoughtful as he was, by nature - but because it always took her a few moments to piece together Qyzen's meaning from her fragmented understanding of his language.
At least it was better than it had once been. When they'd first met, she'd needed to rely on the Force to feel his intentions.
"We don't have a spare ship, and I don't know how the ambassadors will feel about being left alone, even if it is a quick rescue mission." Pulling up the galaxy map on the navigation terminal, she asked, "what do you think we should do? I could sneak off, but I'd need another ship and somebody to cover for me. Maybe Holiday?"
"If you think that hologram is going to be able to keep anyone under wraps, you're not as good at this job as I thought."
Both Qyzen and Embry turned to the cockpit entrance to see the yellow twi'lek man, Zenith.
It occurred to Embry that they were, quite literally, a colourful crew, and she would have smiled if she weren't still annoyed with the man.
"Would you like to make a suggestion?" she asked honestly.
"Of course," said Zenith, striding into the cockpit and closing the door with a casual wave of his hand. His other hand stayed near the knife on his hip. "Put me in charge until you get back."
Embry frowned up at the man who was now less than half a meter from her. "Not a chance," she said lightly. "You'd tear the whole Rift Alliance apart just to be sure we didn't have a traitor."
Zenith didn't deny it.
"Herald. Other option. Dislike it, but… could leave me."
"What exactly did the lizard say?" Zenith asked.
Embry shot him a glare, then turned to look at her friend. She wasn't all that sure she'd heard him right, either.
"Qyzen," she asked, "are you sure? This sort of mission… I might need you."
She didn't say why. She didn't like to think about it.
The great hunter snorted. "Herald needs no-one. You must go. Is rescue mission. Herald's favourite. Have only one request. Take morsel troublemaker."
Embry made a face, but translated out of habit. "Qyzen is volunteering to stay. He wants you to go with me, though."
"To take me off his hands," Zenith said. "Good for him, sure, but it'll set back my surveillance and investigations, give everybody time to hide their dirty little secrets. Not a good idea."
That decided it. Qyzen might have some trouble handling the ambassadors but, without Zenith causing any trouble, he and Holiday should be able to handle anything. Even if Embry couldn't stand the freedom fighter, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.
"Alright, Qyzen," she said, then keyed her personal holocomm. "Holiday? If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you, please."
The cockpit terminal flickered, flashed, and Holiday's image appeared before them. She'd managed to turn the normally-blue image to her natural purple, but that didn't make it her. Holiday herself was projected by a very specific piece of technology.
"Embry, how are you? Tharan's working on this adorable little ear-"
"We have more important things to talk about," Zenith interrupted. "You've been assigned guard duty while me and the Jedi go on a mission."
Holiday shot Zenith a nasty glare, then looked at Embry.
Embry pretended not to notice the hologram shrinking slightly so they were closer to the same height. Holiday thought it was subtle.
"I'm going on a rescue mission, and we're worried the ambassadors might not like me running off." The Jedi pulled up the holomap and input the coordinates she needed to get to. "I need to get here without bringing anyone who shouldn't be, and Qyzen had volunteered to stay behind and protect the ambassadors."
"Leaving you with… him." Holiday glared at Zenith again, then raised a hand and snapped her fingers. The holomap flipped and zoomed in on a whole different section of the galaxy. "There we are. One week docking and repairs with a fleet detachment in the Core Worlds, and nobody the wiser. Everybody knows you don't go anywhere without Qyzen. I can translate for him, too, and even keep that precocious young lady from getting into too much trouble!"
Holiday shot a wink at Qyzen's blind eye and sat down primly on the holomap terminal, with the map itself in her lap. "Anything else, Embry dear?"
Embry shook her head, then opened her arms wide. It was a bit awkward in the cramped cockpit, but it was important.
Holiday's image flickered and changed imperceptibly, then stepped forward to hug Embry. It wasn't much, not anything Embry could feel, but it made Holiday happy, and that was enough. When Holiday had finished, Embry made sure to unfold her arms and let the holographic woman step back, wave, and flicker out.
"Well, now that that's dealt with," Zenith said, pushing off the wall he'd been leaning on, "let's get this over with."
He started to walk out, but Qyzen reached over Embry's head and grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Herald," Qyzen growled. "Please go first. I talk with Zenith."
Zenith aborted whatever protests he was about to make and looked at Embry for a translation. The Jedi girl looked back and forth between them.
"He wants to talk to you," she said to one, before turning back and saying, "but he can't understand you!"
"Oh," Zenith said, glaring at the clawed green hand that enveloped his shoulder. "I bet I'll understand enough. You go ahead, Jedi. We'll talk, then get the ship on its way."
Embry looked between the two of them, but neither of them spoke, like they didn't know she could sense the aggression between them.
"If one of you does something wrong," she threatened, "you're healing the hard way."
Then she slipped past Zenith and out of the cockpit. Zenith closed the door behind her.
Embry was feeling uncomfortable, and it was clear why.
"Zenith, please stop glaring at everyone."
The man didn't even reply. He just kept watching everybody around them like they had a blaster trained on him.
"At least take your hand off your blaster."
His hand moved to rest on his hip, about two centimeters away from his blaster pistol. At least he wasn't holding his rifle.
The man guiding them stopped at the next doorway and waved them past. Inside was a room filled with light, almost all of it from monitors on the walls and terminals that cris-crossed the room. On the opposite side of the little room stood three Jedi.
Oh, and a droid. A little astromech that whistled and bobbed its saucer-shaped head at them.
"Oh, Barsen'thor," Oteg called, waving up at them, "welcome. It's good to finally meet you."
Embry smiled. Oteg radiated contentment and calm. She bowed to him, and he returned the gesture, as did the human man and woman with him.
"If his size is as deceptive as yours," Zenith muttered, "he'd better be on our side."
"Oh, no," Oteg laughed. "I'm sure that, by the time young Master Azeel gets to be my age, she will truly be something to remember."
Before Embry could apologize - because Zenith wasn't going to - Oteg clapped his hands together and said, "now, introductions first, I think."
The human man wasn't tall, only a head taller than Embry herself, and the only visible parts of him were his lower face and his fingertips. The rest was covered by his robes and an unusual, if plain, white mask with no eye holes.
The woman carried herself differently than her companion. Embry couldn't say what the man's stance meant, but she'd seen the red-haired woman's stance before, and recently. It was just like Embry's sister, like she was ready to brag and laugh, but it was a competitive sort of laughter, as if she were trying to prove something.
"This is Knight Caein Thema and Padawan Kira Carsen- oh, and T7-O1, of course." Oteg grinned at the droid's indignant beep.
The man, Knight Thema, inclined his head, and Padawan Carsen gave an irreverent salute and grinned.
Yes, exactly like Embry's sister.
"And these two," Oteg gestured, "are Barsen'thor Embry Azeel and Zenith."
"How do you know my name?" Zenith growled.
"Oh," Oteg raised his hands and chuckled. "I'm sorry. I was so excited to introduce you all that I asked around to find out everyone's name. I didn't want to be rude, after all."
Embry put a hand on Zenith's arm. "Be nice. I will squish your gun."
Zenith nodded and shook her off, but she noticed how he stepped back to have a better view of the room and some distance from the people with lightsabers.
"You're the Barsen'thor?" Padawan Carsen peered at Embry skeptically, trying to get a look under her hood.
"She is," Knight Caein said, tilting his head slightly. Then he nodded at the back of the room. "Master Oteg, aren't you going to introduce our last member?"
"Hm?" Oteg looked around at where the Knight was gesturing. He even leaned over the console surrounding him to see better.
Embry couldn't see anybody, either.
"Hm," Oteg hummed as he let himself back down. "That's very interesting. I wondered if you could see our friend. That will make explaining this much easier."
"Explaining what?" Embry asked, peering over to the spot the others had been looking. She didn't see anything, and it didn't look like Zenith could, either, so it wasn't because she was short. She didn't hear anybody either. Maybe the Force?
Oh! There was something… what was that? It was vaguely familiar. Not from her ship. Not from the temple. Not Nar Shadaa or Coruscant or Alderaan-
"Please," Oteg interrupted, barely a second into Embry's wonderings, "join me. Clear your mind. Let's bring our guest into the light."
Embry almost took Zenith's hand, but he wasn't Qyzen. He wouldn't understand her needs, and they weren't close enough that they could share her sense, anyway. So, with a deep breath out, she cleared her mind and banished all the thoughts except Oteg's voice.
"Feel the Force around us. Hear its echoes. There is a voice that seeks to be heard, silenced long ago."
Thema and Carsen helped, too. They worked together, Thema and Oteg guiding, Carsen and Embry fumbling in comparison, until they were shown the way.
Then Embry felt it, and she knew what to do. With just a trickle, she poured. There was something there, like an empty pool needing to be filled, and she filled it as best she could.
Caein looked up, staring straight at her.
No. Not at her, exactly. At the path between her and what he'd been looking at before.
"How are you doing that?"
Oteg's attention shifted, too, looking at her with renewed interest.
"Oh, Barsen'thor. How fascinating."
At the same place they'd sensed something, light started to take shape. The energy Embry was giving, not her own Force but something that was just like it, was being taken away, bound to something, filling something.
The light glowed bright in the form of a man, kneeling and then standing up and looking around. He appeared worn and strong and soft at the same time. There was something reassuring just about being near him.
He smiled at her, and she felt like he'd been waiting for her, knowing she could help him, hoping-
Caein's hand came down between Embry and the figure, and the feeling stopped, like a cut string. Embry looked at him in surprise.
It was hard to tell what he was feeling from his face. Even if the top part of it hadn't been covered, his expression didn't change much.
"I don't think that technique should be used on ghosts," he said.
"The Darkness will consume all it touches. Stars will burn black. Ashes raining on lifeless worlds. Everything ends."
Everybody except Knight Thema turned to look at the Force Ghost that had just spoken. At least, it was probably a Force Ghost. It didn't feel anything like the others Embry had ever met. Maybe because it wasn't Dark?
Focus, Embry.
There was darkness to be stopped.
"What is this?" Zenith was glaring at the ghost and looking to the rest of them for an explanation.
Oteg answered. "A Jedi without physical form. His body is long dead, but a whisper of his essence remains."
"No," said Knight Thema. "Not his essence. Not his, or his essence."
The meaning was immediately clear to Embry. The ghost had felt like a shell because that was what he was, but like a shell made of other people's cupped hands. She'd filled it up - and that was why she'd felt that connection to him! A Force Bond, forged as they connected.
Thema was right. That sort of bond with a ghost could be tragically painful. The ability to cut it directly, though, that was amazing.
"I don't get it," Zenith said. "Enough Jedi riddles."
"Do you have any friends you were close with, Zenith? Ones who are no longer alive?" He didn't need to answer; she could feel his buried hurt. "This man is made of those sorts of memories. He must have been-"
"The prisoner holds the Darkness at bay, lost inside it for three hundred years. Her strength will fail, then she will become the Darkness."
The man, the ghost, spoke softer despite interrupting her. He suddenly looked exhausted, and his light was dimming. Embry instinctively reached out to give him more energy, but Knight Thema raised his hand to warn her away.
He was right. Pouring her power into this memory of a man would never be enough.
"It is alright, Barsen'thor," Oteg said. He stepped in front of the ghost, hands clasped and head down. "I will take it from here."
It was impossible to tell what technique Oteg used, but he started to glow faintly and,even as the ghost disappeared, the feeling of its presence was unmistakable.
"It's still there, isn't it?" Padawan Carsen asked.
The question wasn't for Embry. Knight Thema answered, "yes. He hasn't moved. We should leave them be."
Embry nodded along with the Padawan and Knight Thema led them all out of the room and further. They kept going until, for no discernible reason, Knight Thema stopped. Indiscernible, that was, until Embry caught up. Then a sort of pull she hadn't realized she'd been feeling just faded away.
"Oh," Padawan Carsen said softly, and Knight Thema nodded.
"Whatever that thing is, it's strong," he said, and shrugged. "In its own way."
Zenith dropped his hand to get everyone's attention. "I've been patient with you so far, but I want to know what's going on. I was told we'd been brought in for a rescue mission."
Padawan Carsen snorted softly, but closed her mouth when her master raised his hand.
Knight Thema stood up straight in front of Zenith, and it struck Embry just how tall the man was - or, really, just how tall he seemed to be. The way he walked, every step he took, convinced Embry that he must be a sort of giant. Though he was, at best, the same height as Zenith, he seemed to tower over the twi'lek.
"It's still a rescue mission," Thema explained. "Our intel just happens to be coming from somewhere unusual. We must have most of the information we need already, or we wouldn't have set out the moment you boarded."
"We what?" Embry looked around, as if there'd be some clue of the ship's whereabouts in the hallway.
"So, what, Oteg just had us meet tall, blue, and see-through so we'd be comfortable?"
"I'm sure he had a name," Knight Thema said in a tone that might have been reproachful if he hadn't been smiling at his Padawan's question.
"I want to know where we're going," Zenith snapped. He turned to leave, but stopped at Embry's hand on his arm.
"That can wait," she told him, though she desperately wanted to find out for herself. "Don't you want to get to know your squadmates?"
Zenith raised an eyebrow and looked back at the other two Jedi. He could put two and two together just as well as she could, the question was whether he was going to be his usual prickly self around potential allies.
Well, potential allies who weren't Embry. It might be a different case with her, since they kept disagreeing about how to treat people.
Luckily, Zenith nodded, though he didn't volunteer to start and introduce himself. So Embry started.
"It's nice to meet you," she said, stepping forward to bow to each of the Knight, Padawan, and droid in turn. "My name is Embry Azeel. I'm a healer, and I like exploring."
The little astromech droid, whose name Emby was definitely going to remember next time somebody said it, rolled forwards and gave a series of friendly-sounding beeps.
Embry knelt down on the metal floor, smiling at the droid but unsure what to say.
"T7 says he's happy to meet you. He's a fan and hopes we'll all work well together." Knight Thema translated the droid's words as soon as the beeping finished, then added, "healer seems like a modest way of introducing yourself, Barsen'thor."
"That's about what I said," Zenith whispered so quietly Embry had to guess what he'd said. It wasn't hard. It was about what he'd said, even if it had come out sounding more suspicious.
She ignored Zenith and smiled brightly. "A fan? I've never had one of those before. Does that mean you'd like to go adventuring together?"
A few happy beeps and boodles, which didn't need to be translated.
"Great! Want to start by exploring the ship?"
"Jedi…"
Knight Thema translated a few beeps and whirs, "T7 already has the ship's schematics downloaded."
"Well, that's no fun," Embry sighed, then brightened. "But you still haven't met the people here. Oh, and you could erase the files." She gasped. "You could get lost in the same place as many times as you want!"
T7 said something yes-sounding, but Padawan Carsen rebuked him. "Don't actually consider it!"
All the while, Knight Thema stood by with a small smile on his face, as if he were amused but focusing on listening rather than watching.
"My name is Caein Thema," he said once his Padawan had quieted down. "I am a loyal Knight of the Jedi Order. If I can serve you in any way, please don't hesitate to ask."
Embry made a face. The more bossy parts of being a Jedi Master weren't her favourite, but most people didn't go out of their way to remind her of them. Caein Thema- wait…
She squinted at him. "Caein, like the Hero of Tython?"
Knight Thema nodded and Embry clapped her hands together.
"You saved the Jedi Temple! That must have been exciting." Then she looked at T7 and Padawan Carsen. "I bet you were there, too, weren't you? The Republic seems to always pick just one person to call a hero, don't they? Between me, Qyzen, Tharan, and Holiday, I really think they just wanted a Jedi to be Barsen'thor. Did you have fun?"
The three of them were a little stunned, apparently. She'd probably she'd the questions a little fast. That was alright. She just waited until they caught their breath.
"We were there," Padawan Carsen said eventually. "T7 basically handled the whole ship. I just do what he does, only slower." She tilted her head to Caein as she finished speaking.
"Kira is being modest," said the senior Jedi. "She helped more than she knows."
Kira rolled her eyes and grumbled, "he always says that," but there was a hint of blush in her cheeks, too.
Embry turned to Zenith expectantly. He stared back at her, but she held his gaze until he caved. With a sigh, he said, "Zenith. Professional insurgent. I'm here to do a job, and it better be worth it."
"We're here to save somebody," Embry told him sternly. "Of course it's worth it."
"Wasting lives on a prison break could be a major setback for moral and the war effort," Zenith argued.
"I imagine that is why we were called in," Knight Caein said mildly.
"I dunno, Cae," said Padawan Carsen, tilting her head towards Embry, "when was the last time anyone thought you needed backup?"
"Not since before you joined me, Kira." He smiled, and it seemed he was smiling at his Padawan even when he never looked at her. "It looks like Oteg is done with his contact."
That hadn't taken as long as Embry had been expecting. She'd be disappointed if it didn't mean that they'd be starting their rescue mission that much sooner.
Oteg looked around with a little surprise when he stepped through the door. "Oh," he said happily, "good. I expected you might have already wandered off. This will make things much easier."
He pulled out a holocommunicator and, when a figure appeared in it, greeted the man. "Captain."
The man saluted. "Oteg, sir."
"We'll be off to Taral V, if you don't mind," said the little Jedi Master. "We'll need the special shuttle ready for our friends."
The captain nodded. "At once. And where will you be?"
Oteg looked around at the five of them, all watching expectantly. He smiled.
"I think it's time to bring our friends up to speed on some of the details of our plan. I'll accompany them to the shuttle and meet up with you later."
The captain nodded again, said his farewell, and then the call ended and Oteg smiled up at them all happily.
"This way," he said, beginning to walk down the hall. "The unfortunate news is that I might not be as quick as you'll like, but fortunately there is quite a bit to tell you about. You see, our ally has just revealed the location of a Gree computer that will allow us to navigate the Maelstrom Nebula…"
"We're about to burn a valuable espionage resource on the chance of being able to find a device that might let us navigate our way to a prison to release a single person," Zenith grumbled.
"Yep," said Padawan Carsen. "So shove over. Cae and T7 are getting us there in one piece whether we like it or not."
Embry gave the Padawan a skeptical look. Why wouldn't they want to get to Taral V in one piece? The other girl wasn't looking, though, so she didn't notice.
Then the captured Imperial shuttle lifted off and left its parent ship at a speed that took other concerns from Embry's mind.
Padawan Carsen, who'd still been in the middle of buckling herself in, hit the floor hard. "Ow! Hey, watch the speed, Cae! We're supposed to be friendlies!"
As she cautiously pulled herself back up her seat, she muttered, "every single time."
"You know I can read your lips," Knight Thema called back from the cockpit.
"No, he can't," Padawan Carsen grumbled as she buckled herself in and caught Zenith's indignant look. "He just says that to keep me from talking behind his back."
She caught Embry's look, which was somewhere between reproachful and amused.
"I don't say anything bad!"
Embry laughed and Zenith grunted.
Though the trip was with, it was swift. Oteg and Knight Caein kept them informed as they passed out of the First Expeditionary fleet's range and into Taral V's sensor range. According to T7, the planet's forces sent ship to stop them, but Padawan Carsen assured them it was fine.
It was. Even with Zenith's naysaying, if it hadn't been for Oteg and T7's constant updates, they'd never have known they were in any danger. And, really, they weren't. According to Oteg, the Imperials never even suspected they were anything but a supply transport.
The ship landed so soon after it took off that Embry barely had time to wonder what the planet was really like, underneath all the words and numbers Oteg had filled the time before launch with.
"Everybody-" Knight Caein caught himself, snapping his mouth closed as he came out of the cockpit. He made a grimace and bowed his head. "Sorry, Master Azeel."
Embry almost laughed. She'd been a Jedi Master for barely two months and met so few Jedi in that time. Now she was getting deference!
A part of her was tempted to play a joke, maybe tease Caein or boss him around, but there was somebody in trouble and that would just waste time.
"All is well, Knight Thema." She was already moving for the exit. "Let's go find our supercomputer."
They stormed out of the ship into a jungle that Embry wished she could stop and admire. It was so green and tall, reaching so high it was hard to see the grey of the clouds above. And loud! Rain pelted the leaves above more like waves from the sky than drops, but the forest was so dense that the water fell from above in isolated, glimmering streams.
"Woah," Padawan Carsen said. "You should see this, Cae."
"I can." The Knight came up and matched Embry's run with long strides of his own.
"No, I mean you should really see this."
Before Embry could ask what that meant, Knight Caein ignited his lightsabers. "Beasts," was all he said before he leapt through the air as a streak of light. Whatever was out there in the darkness, only Padawan Carsen reacted quickly enough to join Knight Thema before it died.
"Knight Thema!" Embry called out, "we have no time for that!"
She'd hoped that, without Qyzen on the mission, she'd get a bit of a break from convincing her team not to kill anyone. As she ran with Zenith, though, the other two Jedi reappeared beside them, like they'd never been diverted at all.
They were so fast.
"Don't attack unless you absolutely have to," she called.
As they ran, Embry reached out around them, coaxing the Force into walls that blocked them from sight and harm by whatever might surround their path. She added her own power, protecting them from anything short of a missile barrage, and had more than enough to spare for her companions. She have each of them a steady trickle of power, trusting the Force and their bodies to know what to do with it.
A small part of her thought about how she couldn't have done such a thing a month and a half ago, when she'd been nearly dead, drained of the Force by a ritual protecting the Jedi Order. Another party guessed that she probably never could have done this before. She'd only learned how to conserve her power enough for something like this recently, because the rest had been drained from her.
Another lesson that good things came of doing the right thing. Maybe she should discuss that with Zenith.
No, better not. That sort of thing often resulted in more fighting than progress. She'd just have to make sure he learned it on his own time, without hurting anyone in the process.
"The Imperial outpost is just ahead," said Knight Thema.
Before Embry could ask how he knew that, amongst all the trees, Kira asked, "how far?"
"Two hundred metres. Right where-" his lightsabers ignited. "Patrol headed right for us."
"How long 'til they see us?"
The Knight gave his Padawan an exasperated look.
"Right. Uh… Master Azeel?"
Embry grit her teeth and gave the order. "Incapacitate them. Minor injuries only. I don't want to exhaust myself too early."
"What's that-" The other woman cut off as her master leapt forward, passing through three rays of moonlight in the time it took to blink. By the time Padawan Carsen started running to catch up, Knight Thema had rebounded off of a tree and the sounds of startled yells came to them.
Embry started running after them as the yells turned to screams. With how short her strides were, even compared to Zenith's more natural ones, she didn't reach the site until the screaming had gone silent and neither of her fellow Jedi were anywhere to be seen.
Embry fell to her knees beside the nearest body, touching it to make her efforts easier but spreading her powers across all of them.
All dead. The spark of life had fled their bodies as if in terror.
Zenith had a hand to his aural nub and was listening intently. He kept an eye on their surroundings and reported, "Oteg says your comrades are already near the outpost. We've got to regroup with them."
Embry nodded, swept the ground with just enough power to trick the things that ate the dead to leave these bodies alone for now, and stood and ran.
There was a chance that, after all this was over, those men and women could be returned to their families. For those who didn't understand the Force, that might be the last comfort Embry could bring them.
What she needed now was to save those she could.
The jungle caught at her robes, but Zenith quickly found a path the patrols used and they made what she hoped was good time.
When they reached the edge of the outpost with its dull metal warring with the forest around it, they found Knight and Padawan in a standoff with a man and…
"Oh," Embry said softly.
Zenith nodded. Neither of them slowed.
Standing near the Imperial left standing was a great humanoid creature, taller by three times than Zenith, and a scaled green. Its arms were long, with clawed hands, and it hunched forward and ready to lash out or bite with its grinning, fanged mouth.
Knight Thema had his blades ready, with Padawan Carsen at his side.
"That is enough," Embry said firmly.
Her voice carried in the tense silence and all four of those in the standoff turned to look at her.
The healer picked her way around bodies as she walked closer. There weren't many, this hadn't been a large outpost, but it looked like only one person was still alive in the whole place.
It felt like it, too. Embry poured energy into the area around her as she walked, hoping for some sort of response, but none came. Every one of them was dead where they lay. All the energy did was spill into the ground, causing seeds to grow and push their way through the metal and 'crete road.
"My name is Embry Azeel," she said as she approached. "I am here on behalf of the Jedi Order on a rescue mission."
She looked around at the bodies, shaking her head, and tried to catch the soldier's eyes.
"Enough people have died today." Embry gestured to the tall creature near the soldier and wondered if she and Qyzen looked like that to strangers, a great green monster towering over a comparatively frail person. "Your friend is loyal, and I know you want to fight for your people, but I hope to save a life today, if I can. There's no need for anyone else to be hurt."
The soldier glared back at her, though he kept his gun pointed at the Jedi Knight. He gestured slightly with his head. "Look around you, Jedi. Not many more to be hurt, and I don't plan on disgracing my family by letting the Republic take our base. Me and Ripper'll kill at least one of you before we fall."
Embry looked up at the tall creature, Ripper. It watched her intently, almost intelligently.
"And do you want Ripper to die, Mr…?"
The soldier spat to the side. "What does my name matter to you?"
Embry stepped closer, close enough that, in the quiet, she could whisper and the man would hear.
"It matters," she said, "because there are many men and women who died here who will never see their families again, never wake to another sunrise or get the chance to make a dream come true. I won't ever be able to ask them their names. Won't you tell me yours?"
He almost seemed to be considering it, then his gaze shifted and he glared past Embry.
"Zenith," Embry said softly, "put the gun away. This man is on his own world. We're the invaders here."
"Yes," the man raised his gun.
Embry put her hand up. "Knight Thema." The man stopped with his lightsabers raised high. "I am not in any danger and neither is the mission. Let me talk."
"Not in any danger?" The soldier laughed incredulously. "I've heard of Jedi tricks, but you don't even have your lightsaber. I could shoot you right now and-"
"And you would die," Embry said sadly, "and Ripper soon after. Please, there has been enough death today. Hatred is a terrible thing to die for. Live, and you can bring your men and women home for their families. The love they had deserves that much."
The soldier's face twisted in a confused grimace. "Emperor's breath, you actually believe what you're saying, don't you?" He lowered his gun hesitantly, then raised a hand to Ripper.
"Stand down, boy," he said softly.
The massive creature growled softly and stepped backward a few steps, crouching low as if to sit down.
"Thank you," Embry said. To Zenith, she said, "give Oteg the access he needs. We will stay outside and help Mr…"
She looked at the Imperial soldier apologetically.
"Captain Shivanek," he said. He didn't meet her eyes. He looked ashamed.
He didn't deserve that.
"Captain Shivanek," Embry repeated, hoping she sounded properly respectful. She looked at Knight Thema, who didn't look happy at all. "Let's start while Zenith finishes his work. Force willing, nobody else needs to be hurt today."
She hoped that was enough to tell the Knight what he'd done was wrong. It didn't feel like her place to be telling him such things, but she was a Master now and it wasn't worth people's lives for her to feel comfortable. If what it took for Knight Thema and Padawan Carsen to stop their killing was for Embry to pull rank, she would do that.
It was difficult, gathering bodies. For Captain Shivanek, he knew many of the dead and it must have hurt him to see them all. For Embry, it was a more physical thing. She accepted the deaths, though she regretted them, and she was used to the horrors that war made of living beings. It was just that she was small. She ended up carrying parts, halves or limbs that had been cleaved from their owners.
Caein Thema and Kira Carsen were especially reluctant, and hopefully the suppressed horror on Padawan Carsen's face was a sign she was learning the value of sentient life.
Zenith came out while Embry was helping Captain Shivanek load Ripper's arms with people's remains. Embry cut off her explanation of how she could preserve the bodies to look at the twi'lek man.
"It's done," he called. "Let's go."
Embry nodded. With Oteg's slicers in control of the local security network, they had their way into the main facility.
She stepped away from Ripper and the captain."There is death," she admitted, drawing power into herself until she felt more alive inside than the jungle around them. She drew the power in until it sang within her, growing upon itself in waves. As it reached a crescendo, she declared, "and yet there is the Force."
It didn't explode from her. Such a thing would be violent, uncontrolled. This was healing, in its own way, and that Embry would admit she had a talent for. The power flowed in a torrent like a dam breaking, like a wave that carried with it all the force of the tide at once, and yet with the grace and effect of a stream on a parched mouth.
Embry let her hands fall, momentarily spent. She turned to Captain Shivanek with a reassuring smile. "Everything will be alright, Captain. Take your people to their families."
She gave the man and his pet a small wave and went to join the others. Knight Thema was shaking his head as if to clear it and Zenith was purposely ignoring her, but they came with her when she walked past them out of the outpost.
"That was incredible," Padawan Carsen said, the first one to speak as the Imperial compound faded into the trees behind them. "But he's just going to get a new command and probably kill a lot of people with that monster of his."
Zenith sighed. "I've told her that."
"Yes," Embry agreed, "you have. You've lived under the Imperials, you've seen more of the cruelty they can give than anyone I know."
"Sounds like good reasons to kill them," Knight Thema growled.
She shook her head, and did so all the more when Zenith nodded, even hesitantly.
"No. They don't do it because they're inherently evil, they do it because they don't understand better or think of the ones they hurt as people. Today, Captain Shivanek saw different."
"The entire Empire is corrupted by the Dark Side," Knight Thema said. "Nothing is going to change that."
Embry almost argued in detail, almost opened her mouth to explain the teachings of Rajivari, Bastila Shan, and others who saw the Force as something other than simple dark and light. But she bit her tongue. A mission wasn't the time for deep philosophy. So all she said was, "as long as there's a little light in the darkness, people have a chance to find a way out."
With that, she led the way to the central research base in quiet.