A/N: This story is a prompt given to me by Boredsenseless2. Here was the prompt that they asked for:
since you seem like a science fiction fan, how about a sci-fi Glee AU? I haven't seen many sci-fi Glee fics so this would be quite refreshing. As for my preferences for the story:
1. The sci-fi setting can be an original one or a crossover, either a space opera setting (e.g., Star Wars, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Mass Effect series, and the Fifth Element) or a future dystopian society on Earth (e.g., 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and V for Vendetta).
2. Brittany as the main character. I leave it in your masterly hands on how you would like to characterise her in this AU setting.
3. To make it even more refreshing, either no romantic pairings for Brittany, or a subtle romance subplot which involves unrequited love or a romance that cannot be fulfilled. For the latter, you can pair Brittany up with anyone (slash or hetero or even with more than one person). No smut required.
I was originally going to do a Paranoia XP story which would have been a lot of fun but the logistics of it started to become too much to deal with so...
Chapter 1:
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
STAR WARS
Force Collision
The Galaxy is at an uneasy peace. The Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire have signed a treaty halting hostilities against each other. Underneath the surface, however, the hostilities never ceased.
Strike forces of commandos and Force users lash out at critical targets as both sides prepare for the inevitable day when the treaty is officially broken.
On the planet of Coruscant two young Padawans are stilling their minds and training their bodies in preparation for their Trials to become Knights of the Republic. Unbeknownst to the two, in a few short weeks they will gather a small team and embark on an adventure that will change the face of the galaxy forever.
Padawan Brittany Pierce had her eyes closed as she hovered gently off the ground in the youngling training room. She had fond memories of this room as a child before she was sent off to Tython to complete her Padawan training. For reasons unknown to anyone, despite Brittany's childlike mind and innocence she was one of the most powerful Force users to come along in over a century. She wasn't dumb by any means, no one who could attain that level of mastery over the Force could be, she was just an airhead, worse than that though she was full of emotions.
The Force came to her easily though, frustrating her Masters to no end because they all wished that someone as unstable as her was much less far along. Her Jedi Master Shelby Corcoran had pushed her trials back further and further hoping against all hope that she would come to a place of peace, but emotions still roil in the young girl. Brittany was talented enough to be a Knight at age 14 but there just wasn't enough stability. The emotions in the girl, as far as Shelby could tell, were always positive but someone who feels so strongly is always in danger of the Dark Side. She couldn't push the trials off any longer though. Well that wasn't entirely true actually. Technically she could keep her a Padawan for the rest of her life but this wouldn't serve the girl or the Order. Master Corcoran felt awful that she hoped her student would fail the trials but she felt it would be best in the long run hoping that the failure would help her discipline herself more.
Padawan Rachel Berry sat next to her lifelong best friend. The met when they were younglings and have been inseparable ever since. Rachel was trying in a futile gesture to levitate as well but she was, as usual, having no luck. The room wasn't giving her the peace it was to her friend, in fact it made her feel like a small child as she was attempting to do something she has so far been unable to do. She wasn't weak in the force at all but certain aspects of it came to her harder than others and for some reason levitation and all other forms of telekinesis just evaded her. She was however an accomplished fighter skilled in many forms and one of the best physical force users of her class. There were few Jedi Masters who could even match her with a lightsaber let alone defeat her. She was nothing if not persistent though, so she just pressed on and kept trying to push through her Force Alter block. She was okay at most aspects of Force Alter there were a few types that gave her trouble and some she couldn't do entirely. She could throw small objects but anything over 50 pounds was almost impossible for her.
"How do you do that Brittany?" Rachel said through gritted teeth.
"Rachel, your emotions betray you." Shelby said calmly. "I understand that you are frustrated, but everyone has their own gifts in the Force and you need to accept that. Be at peace child. Find your center and be proud of your accomplishments.
"Yes mother." Rachel said before taking a deep breath. "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge, There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force."
"Better Rachel. Remember peace in all things. Master Loras Decan was called back to Tython so he will be unable to administer your trials. Therefore, I will be in charge of your testing as well as my own padawan's trials. It is unusual for a mother to test her own daughter but all the other Masters are on Tython or on mission so it is me or you can wait a few weeks until Master Decan is available to do so. It is of course your choice."
"It's fine Mother." Rachel said. She had spent very little time with her mother, well in reality since she was born. She was given to her father on Corellia when she was born and to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when the force showed up as a child. She had no emotional attachment to her but that was as the Jedi demanded. She loved her mother like she loved all living things but that was as far as it extended. She was much closer to the blonde next to her. "I would be honored if you would supervise my trials Master Corcoran."
"Excellent. To save time you two will be taking them together. We will begin with the Test of Skill presently. Please make your way down to the Trials Chamber. I will see you in a few minutes."
As soon as Master Corcoran left the room Brittany's right eye popped open. "Rae!" She said and threw her arms around Rachel's neck happily. "We get to do our trials together. That is Astral! I've missed you since you left Tython."
"I missed you too , but Master Decan thought that since I am already a lightsaber master, his words not mine, that when I build my own lightsaber and become a Knight I should have a unique lightsaber crystal. He wanted to get me a Eralam crystal but we couldn't find any on Erai thanks to the Sith."
"OOO that's neat. Lightsaber crystals and Sith. Could this story get any better?"
"Yes Britt, it is very exciting, I can't breathe though." Rachel said choking slightly but Brittany didn't relent her grip. "If you choke me to death I can't watch your back in the trials." Brittany squeals and actually squeezes her tighter. "Okay, how about, I need to use the refresher," she squeaks out, "and if you don't let me up I am going to go on you."
Brittany kisses her best friend on the cheek before finally letting go and she rotates towards Rachel while still levitating. "So where did you go?"
"After we left Erai a little dejected, Loras mentioned a legend he knew and we flew to Dantooine. He took me a little outside of where the Jedi Temple was before it was leveled and we went into a network of caves. There were lightsaber quality crystals everywhere but he just passed them by. After nearly a week of walking through the caves we came upon a very small crystal hidden between a green and a pink crystal. I was tempted by the pink crystal by the way. The crystal was a soft green and he told me that I needed to sit in the cave and meditate on the crystal until I felt it attune to me.
"I had no idea what he was talking about but I trusted my master so I meditated, and meditated, and meditated. For four days I sat there channeling the Force through the crystal and using it to nourish myself. I was as weak as a kitten on the fourth day but I felt something shift. The color in the crystal changed to an even softer green and began to pulse. Loras said the lightsaber would be remarkable once I built it but I have no idea how. The crystal is still green even if it is a paler green than normal. It does give off light without any external source now though so I guess I will just have to wait and see. He said we created a Meetra Surik crystal whatever that means. I haven't had a chance to go through the archive to find out who or what that is."
"That story was amazing, but Rach, but your mom is waiting for us. We should probably get going."
"Yeah." Rachel says standing up off the floor. Brittany just levitates a little higher and sets her feet down on the floor. "Oh hey I picked you up a souvenir while I was out there." Rachel reaches into her pocket and pulls out a purple crystal. She tosses it to Brittany who easily catches it. "It still needs to be imbued with the force so you can use it as a saber crystal but that should be no difficult task for you."
Brittany's smile was ear to ear and she threw her arms around Rachel again. "You are the best friend ever. Thank you, thank you thank you. You even got my favorite color."
"Yes I know but I was serious about the fresher who knows how long we are going to be there I've heard of trials that take weeks, and we really should get down to the lower levels. Come on Britt." The two girls hit up the Fresher then head to the turbolift near the Archive. The lift rocketed down through the levels of Coruscant and when it stopped Rachel swallowed her nerves but Brittany just wore them on her sleeve.
Shelby sat on the floor meditating. When the girls entered the chamber Shelby stood slowly and smiled kindly. "We begin as per usual with The Trial of Skill. Rachel, Master Decan has told me you have already passed the Trial of Insight when you created your new lightsaber crystal, so the two of you will begin with the Trial of Skill here in the holo chamber."
Shelby waves her hand and manipulates and activates a switch up in the control booth. The room becomes black before a beautiful shining city appears. "Ladies, welcome to Taris before it's destruction. Don't be fooled by it's glittering beauty it hides dark secrets. Monsters born from a plague that was created by the Sith as a weapon that reside deep in the bowels of the planet. Closer to the surface is a horrible trend of speciesism by the humans on the planet.
"At the moment, Revan is escaping with his unusual crew of allies. Your mission is to do the same because in four hours the orbital bombardment begins. You will have 30 minutes once it begins to get off planet or fail the trial. Be on your guard here. Don't be fooled by the fact that it is just holograms here. It may just be photons ,but remember, light is dangerous as your lightsabers will tell you. Here is a credit chip for 1000 creds. Not nearly enough to buy passage for one but it should be enough to ferry you around the city or other needs. Well I guess you'd better hurry, the clock is already ticking."
Master Corcoran walks through an invisible door and disappears entirely.
Brittany looks at Rachel and gives her a half smirk that says she thinks this whole thing is going to be fun. "Okay we need to find a ship to get off planet. Taris is in the heart of the SIth Empire so the Republic doesn't have much of a presence, if any, on this planet so we can't just charter a starship." Brittany says.
"Right and I don't think anyone is just going to hand one over so I think we are going to need to steal one." Rachel responds. "I say if we are going to steal a ship let's at least steal it from someone who deserves it. Like say the nearest Sith outpost."
"Gutsy. You just want to break into a sith base and steal the ship?" Brittany asks but the increasing smile on her face tells Rachel exactly what she thinks of the idea.
"Yup. That is about the size of it." Rachel says
"YES! Let's do this Rae." She says looking around for a minute. "Two things first though."
"Uh huh?" Rachel asks.
"One: You do realize this is a suicide mission right? And two: Where is the nearest Sith base because I have no clue where we are?"
"I have no idea where it is either. I assume finding the ship is part of the trial as well. You're right of course though, a frontal assault isn't the best idea but we do need to get on to the base somehow. Any ideas?"
"Hmm. Oh oh oh. Boy do I have an idea. It's kind of crazy though."
"It wouldn't be one of your plans if it wasn't." Rachel said hiding a smile.
"Okay, we need to find someone who can give us directions." Brittany says and runs off. Rachel shakes her head and easily follows. After about 5 minutes of running Brittany sees a droid off to the the side manning a booth. She runs up to it and the droid looks at them.
"Hello Padawans. My name is RT-35 Protocol and Information droid to the Moise sector of the city. How can I help you ladies today." His voice was a little rough around the edges like he was trying to act tough despite being a protocol droid with no obvious defenses.
"Hello Arr Tee. How did you know we were Padawans?" Rachel asked.
"Well little girl," he said condescendingly, "it's not too difficult to spot a force user with the lightsabers attached to your hips and the braid in your hair marks you as a Padawan of the Jedi. Wouldn't be much of a protocol droid if I couldn't spot the easy stuff."
"Tick tock Rach. Arr Tee could you possibly tell us where the nearest Sith Base is?" Brittany asks impatiently.
"The nearest base is 4 km away. There is a taxi service nearby that can get you from A to B if that is where you want to go."
"Wait." Rachel says. "Where is the nearest base that has a starship landing pad?"
"That is 20 km away in the Nartal district. The same taxi service can take you there. Was that it because I have important things to do." RT-35 says in an anoyed fashion tone his voice edged with dislike.
"You were just standing here doing nothing before we walked up Arr Tee so don't give us any lip. Bring me up a list of shops in the Nartal district please." Brittany turns to Rachel. "Why is that every protocol droid has an obnoxious attitude? Is it programed into them?"
"Standing right here Padawan." Arr Tee points at the computer screen after he brings up the information that Brittany asked for.
"Oh I know, mocking you wouldn't be half as much fun if you couldn't hear me." Brittany deadpans without so much as a smile but Rachel can't help but let out a snicker. "I think this shop will be perfect Rachel."
"So you say, but for what?" Rachel says swallowing her annoyance like a good Jedi should.
Completely ignoring her best friends question she turns back to the protocol droid. "Arr Tee, are we able to hire your services as a guide for the next hour? We can probably make it on our own but time is of the essence."
"I don't really like you much," he says and pauses, "but my programing says yes I can absolutely." RT-35 says as if it was dragged out of him. He then begins tapping on the screen. "My replacement has been called. Follow me Padawans." He said obviously annoyed. They run off to the nearest speeder rental place and outright rent one for 200 creds. With the 50 they gave to Arr Tee that left them with 750 to get what Brittany wanted to do. She was a little worried it wouldn't be enough but she just had to cross her fingers.
Arr Tee pilots the speeder rather deftly through the hordes of air cars in the sky. and the 17 clicks to the shop that Arr Tee flew them to. All three of them exited the car and entered the shop called the Lovers Escape. When they walked through the door the look on Rachel's face clearly said 'what the fuck are we doing in a sex shop?'.
Brittany walks over to a section and starts perusing the wares. She tosses a few items over to Rachel and when she looks down at them comprehension dawns on her face. She rolls her eyes. "Britt, this plane is insane. It's never going to work."
"Maybe not but either way it will be fun." She says smiling and bouncing up and down. Brittany makes a shooing motion and Rachel rolls her eyes and shakes her head before walking into the dressing room. Brittany grabs a few items of her own and walks into the one next to it.
After about two min Brittany hears Rachel call out from the other room. "Britt, I look ridiculous."
"I'm sure that isn't true." Brittany responds. She hears the door next to her open.
"Hurry up Britt. I want to get this over with." Brittany opens her stall about a minute later and her jaw drops.
"You do not look ridiculous Rachel." Rachel is wearing a navy blue marbled corset with matching elbow length gloves and blue leather pants. Her boots were matching but with a practical heel for easy movement. Rachel kind of wondered what these people were doing in these outfits since she had not actually had sex yet. Some Jedi never had sex at all and others just had flings to take care of physical needs. Brittany was the latter but Rachel hadn't decided yet. "You look like the Sith you are pretending to be."
"Is that a good thing?" Rachel asks.
"For what we are planning anyway. How do I look?" Rachel looks at Brittany's outfit and feels some unusual stirrings, maybe she would be the latter as well. Brittany was wearing a see through fishnet shirt and jet black leather bra and mini skirt. Her boots were not at all practical wearing thigh high boots with 4 inch heels.
Rachel just cleared her throat. "We do have one more problem to fix before we try your crazy plan." She pulls at her Padawan braid. "I really don't want to take it out, I know it's just symbolic and can easily be re-tied but it means something to me.."
"I had an idea for that actually." Brittany walks towards Rachel. She grabs Rachel's hair and quickly ties up a braid. When she is done she does four more. "Every braid is a Padawan you killed if anyone asks. Now tie a few for me."
"Clever." Rachel ties up several braids in Brittany's hair. They walk up to the counter and paid for the clothes using up all but a few credits of their allowance. They walk out of the place looking sexy but unbeknownst to them not exactly Sith like.
"Wow you two look like prostitutes." Arr Tee says as they approach the speeder. The girls shake their heads but don't comment to the increasingly annoying droid.
"I can't wait til this hologram is over and Arr Tee goes away." Brittany says under her breath so that only Rachel can hear and the girl snorts in a rather undignified fashion.
"Pilot us to within 200m of the base and then you can go back to standing in front of your screen and doing nothing." Rachel says to the droid.
After a few minutes the speeder heads down towards the street and the girls and Arr Tee all exit the vehicle. Arr Tee walks up the street. "Take 2nd street here and make a left and the base will…"
As Arr Tee walked in the middle of the street pointing where they needed to a speeding aircar collided heavily with the droid. The car didn't stop but RT-35 did after rolling over several times and skidding near 50 feet before coming to a sparking halt. The padawans ran over to the droid and look down at the heavily damaged droid.
"Oh no. I can't move my legs. What's wrong with my legs." Arr Tee asks the girls.
"Well Arr Tee, they are actually about twenty five feet that way. You probably aren't going to be able to walk again." Brittany says compassionately. "Well at least until you are repaired." Brittany heads back to the aircar and hits a button then walks over to RT-35. "Arr Tee, I turned on the car's emergency beacon. If you had vitals we would stay and help you but as a droid there really isn't anything we can do for you. So we are just going to put you in the car and go on our way. Sorry."
Brittany and Rachel pick up the droid and carry him. The droid is complaining at them the entire time to get him to a droid repair center. The girls do their best to ignore him but Rachel can see the compassion rising in Brittany's face. Once they deposit the droid Rachel pulls Brittany off to the side.
"Rach can't we do anything else for him?" Brittany whines at her best friend. Rachel grabs Brittany by the wrist and pulls her even further the droid.
"Three reasons why helping Arr Tee is pointless: 1. He is a droid and therefore feels no actual pain. 2. He isn't even a real droid he is a holographic droid which means he doesn't even exist. 3. Even if he were real this whole planet is going to be a smoking crater in a few hours which means that Arr Tee and everyone else here will be dead. I am not trying to be callous but just realistic. Even if we somehow managed to stop the bombardment of Taris in here, the REAL Taris is little more than a toxic wasteland inhabited by Rakghouls. Compassion matters Britt but so does common sense. Come on, I doubt the holographic bombardment will kill us but it will probably be painful and I would rather not be present for it."
Brittany closed her eyes took a deep breath and walked back over to RT-35. "I'm sorry Arr Tee but we were serious when we said we were on a time deadline. We need to go. I'm sure someone will be along soon."
The two girls moved towards the base leaving the aircar in the middle of the road. With every step they take they bury their psyches behind the characters they were going to be portraying. The two beautiful Jedi more stalked than walked up the to the gate of the base. A half a dozen Sith guards move towards them with blaster rifles drawn.
"Identify yourself and state your business here." A rugged looking human in his early 30's said to the girls.
"I have a better idea," Brittany said darkly but with a wicked smile. "How about you put your blaster rifles down before we remove your heads from your bodies and shove them down the holes we created."
Rachel for her part only reacted slightly and quickly hid her shock putting on a determined face. The man looked pretty terrified swallowing thickly but he didn't back down, "Not until you identify yourselves."
"We are jedi hunters. I am Lord R-Ravage." Rachel says not too shaky but somewhat lacking the confidence of her friend. "This is Lord Slaughter." Rachel waves her hand airily in Brittany's direction. We are here hunting Bastila Shan but I felt through the force that she is on the other side of the planet. We need to commandeer a ship to chase after her since ours is too far away to get to quickly."
The Sith guard drops his weapon and the others follow his example. "Very well." The man says knowing about the hunt for the Padawan that had been going on for the past few days as this was not the first wild request he had gotten from people chasing the girl.
"We will of course need you to sign a few forms to take the ship. I will call ahead and make sure they are ready for you when you make it there." He points at two of the younger Sith soldiers. "You two escort the Sith Lords to the hangar bay please." The two soldier come to attention and salute before indicating the two should follow them. As soon as they leave them behind the guard pulls out a holocommunicator and begins speaking into it.
As they walk, they fall a few steps behind so Brittany can have a couple of words with Rachel without being overheard. "How did you know all that stuff about Bastila Shan?" Brittany asks impressed. Brittany had heard the name connected to Revan as his wife but had no idea she was with him on Taris.
"Bastila Shan was the reason Taris was destroyed." Rachel said. "She had learned a rare Force technique called Battle Meditation which greatly turned the tide in any battle she employed it in. Even as a Padawan she had made herself invaluable to the Republic so Darth Malak blew up the planet just to get to her. He obviously failed. Nowadays, people somehow think it more the crazed actions of a madman or place the blame on Revan but no Malak was after Bastila. To answer your question though, I know about her because I have been attempting to learn how to do Battle Meditation myself. I think I have the basics down and now I just need to work on expanding the sphere of influence. I am pretty sure I can do it I just haven't had a chance to give it a shot."
"What does Battle Medita.." Brittany is cut off by a Sith Officer coming out of the Starship Hangar with a datapad in his hand.
"Greetings my Lords. My name Major Chestin Affallar and I am in charge of this hangar. I will of course allocate you a ship I just need both of your signatures on this pad. He hands the pad to the two girls who sign quickly and illegibly and Brittany hands it back to him. "Excellent. Forgive me but I will also need your names to add to this since I can't read your signatures."
Rachel reiterates the fake names she made up and the man smiles so wickedly that both girls knew they were caught.
"Here is an interesting fact girls." Major Affallar said. "Did you know that a Sith Lord doesn't change their name until they are bestowed the title of Darth. It is considered a rebirth and their old name is cast away. They keep their given names until that point. Of course any true Sith would already know that so...kill them." He says quietly. The two girls realize that they are in a massive hallway with only one door going into the man's dead end office. They were standing on a killing field.
Five men appeared on each side of the hallway each with blasters pointed in their direction. Behind each group stood a battle droid. A shield erected around both groups eliminating the risk of crossfire from the two groups. "Have a nice death ladies, try not to bleed on my door it is ever so difficult to get out without painting over it." He walks towards his office.
Brittany turns to Rachel and says, "Well it was worth a shot. Leap and Reap." Brittany says and without waiting for confirmation from Rachel she grabs hold of the Force and picks up the officer thrusting him back into the droid in the direction of the hangar. He crashes devastatingly into the shield and his broken body bounces off the still holding force field. The force of the blast knocks the droid back a step exposing the 5 soldiers leaving a perfect opportunity for a lightsaber master. Rachel leapt at them as soon as the man was thrown flying through the air only three feet behind him. She pulls her lightsaber out in flight and ignited both sides of her double bladed lightsaber before she touched down.
As soon as the men were exposed the middle one found a blue lightsaber blade sticking through his torso. Rather than pulling the blade out of his chest she elected to just to slide it through his ribcage into the man on her right's neck beheading him while the second blade cut into man on her left's stomach effectively disemboweling him. He clutched at his stomach to keep his organs in not realizing that the wound had already cauterized itself and he was just waiting for the inevitable.
The two others brought their blaster rifles to bear on the beautiful Jedi not realizing their fate was sealed the second Brittany threw the major in their direction. Rachel didn't even bother looking at the two and instead thrust each end out into the guard's hearts, they fell to the ground before they had even managed to get a solid bead on her. The whole exchange with the five guards took less than two seconds from her landing on the ground from her leap. Rachel looked at the real challenge and decided to force run along the wall to get behind the droid in case the other group opened fire. Nobody likes being between a rock and a hard place and being in a crossfire is even worse. The droid opened fire but the blaster bolts couldn't keep up with the swift Jedi and before it finished it's rotation Rachel was behind it battering it's shield with her lightsaber.
Brittany had put Rachel in a strong position but she herself was in a bit of trouble. Her lightsaber flew into her hand and she ignited the green blade just in time to deflect a trio of blaster bolts aimed in her direction. She aimed each back at its shooter but unfortunately the shield ate all three of them. She had little doubt she could deflect the humans bolts but as soon as the droid began to fire things were going to get very bad very quickly. She ran into the office hoping that they would move forward knowing that a battle droid couldn't keep its shield up while walking.
She waiting but they didn't move from their spot. She looked back at Rachel to see her having dropped the soldiers and she was moving on to take out the droid. Rachel was a great warrior but Brittany was decent at puzzle solving and this was just another puzzle to solve. Looking around at her environment she found a solution. Summoning the Force she grabbed one of the corpses that Rachel had dropped to herself pulling the lifeless corpse through the hallway she heard a small thud as it's head bashed into the door frame.
Her intention was to take his blaster rifle and shoot at the shield until it weakened enough for herself to leap into the fray. Slow but effective, but on his belt she noticed something even better. She grabbed both plasma grenades of the man, smiled, pulled the pins and threw them at the guards. The guards weren't stupid and knew that there was no way the shield would hold up to two plasma grenades detonated simultaneously. It would have difficulty with one. They ran back behind the droid who didn't have a sense of self preservation so it just continued to fire as the two incendiary devices ignited.
When the smoke cleared all that was left of the droid was it's head which sat on the ground, a light blinking morosely. The five men move back into the hallway but Brittany was no longer concerned. She threw her saber and the green blade spun out making an arc and killing all five of them easily before heading back to her hand where she caught it effortlessly. She was about to leap at the other droid to help Rachel when she saw the droid's shield collapse and the droid was cut in half.
Brittany quickly moved up to Rachel with not a word just a shared sly smile they started to move into the hanger when they heard a slow clapping behind them. They turned around and say a dark skinned man stepping on the bodies of the men Brittany had killed. The man was very thick but solid from obvious training. He wore a red cape hanging over black and silver armor and on his hip he had a metal blade of vibranium hanging easily.
"Well done Jedi. Quite impressive but I am afraid this is where your journey ends. At the end of the blades of Lord Azimio apprentice to Darth Malak himself." Lord Azimio lifted his hand and pushed at the two girls but Brittany counteracted with her own. Rachel tried not to let the fear show in her face because the force of his push was far more than she could have blocked. He sure as hell didn't need to know that though.
Lord Azimio sighs. "It always seems to come down to this when we force users get together doesn't it?" He pulls the Vibroblade out of it's holster. He salutes by bringing his blade up and swinging it to the side before completely vanishing. Both girls reignited their saber blades and moved fully into the hangar to have more room to maneuver. They spread their feelings out to try and find the invisible Sith Lord. Brittany, after a few seconds, throws her lightsaber again and she watches as the blade is deflected away. She leaps at the point of contact pulling her lightsaber to her as she jumps and brings the blade down viciously.
Azimio, visible now, smiles as his Vibroblade blocks the saber immediately. Brittany didn't understand why he was smiling until she saw two lightsaber blades erupt out of the hilt right towards her face. Brittany just dodged out of the way of the blades and Azimio swings his three bladed monstrosity around. He held it out level to the ground in a mocking fashion showing he had absolutely no guard, the Vibroblade sat on top and the two lightsaber blades below making an extremely deadly triangle. She had heard of the Dual Lightsaber emitter but had never met anyone who used one and she had certainly never heard of anyone putting a vibroblade into it as well.
Rachel leapt as well and the two girls attacked him harshly. Lightsabers were moving so fast that they could barely be seen. Brittany realized she was outclassed by Lord Azimio but Rachel by herself was more than a match for him and between the two of them they had him struggling just to stay on the defensive. Brittany kicked out with her foot but Azimio caught it and flooded her body with Force Lightning.
Intense pain ran through the girls nervous system but it was just meant to hurt to give Lord Azimio a bit of a respite. With Brittany out of the fight for a few seconds Azimio was able to back away from Rachel a little more effectively and he leapt up onto a nearby starship. Rachel pursued but as she was in the air Azimio sent out another wave of Lightning this one way more powerful than the first.
Rachel twirled her lightsaber staff and managed to suck up a good chunk of the lighting but a lot of it still got through her defense. She was suspended in the air for about 2 seconds before she was launched back and slammed her back into a toolbox. Azimio leapt in for the kill which would end the simulation and result in a failure but he didn't check on Brittany first who grabbed a hydraulic fluid pump and slammed it into the Sith Lord's side.
She was still shaking from the shock but she figured she was still better off than Rachel. Azimio slid along the smooth ground until his body collided with a landing strut. His left arm was broken from the impact.
"I will make you suffer for that before I kill you Jedi." He moved towards Brittany ignoring completely his broken arm. The Force was good at doing those sorts of things. As he moved closer to the girl he extended his good arm holding on to his saber with just his thumb. Brittany, prepared for the lightning, was caught completely off guard when red sparks flew from his fingertips, completely bypassing her lightsaber guard.
Brittany felt her strength leaving her body and watched as the bone in his arm began to repair itself. The pain from the Force Drain made the Lightning feel like a tickle in comparison and while she had the will to move she just wasn't sure she had the ability. Black spots were appearing in her vision and she knew that she was about to pass out. Suddenly the pain stopped and her vision snapped back in focus. The first thing she noticed was Azimio screaming in pain. The second thing was his severed hand and lightsaber laying on the ground at Rachel's feet.
Brittany had taken out his left arm and Rachel his right. He wasn't completely incapacitated but the fight was over and all three of them knew it. Rachel finished the Sith Lord off cleanly and quickly with a thrust to the heart. Causing suffering wasn't the Jedi way.
"Come on Britt let's get off this fucking planet." Rachel said breathing a little heavy.
"You alright Nova?" Brittany said using her youngling nickname for her best friend which as she hoped made Rachel smile.
"I'll live Ducks." Rachel said turning off her double bladed lightsaber. "My Force Healing is pretty good give me an hour and I will be fine."
They began to look for a ship that was more than a short range fighter and eventually landed on a XJ-345 a two seater long range fighter. It wasn't made for comfort but it would get them where they needed to go.
They begin prepping the ship and the base alarm goes off. "No time for checks we just got to hope everything works right." Rachel says. "You are going to need to fly Britt."
Brittany's eyes are so wide Rachel idly thought they might fall out of her head. "You are a way better pilot than I am Rae."
"I know but I am still too injured to fly effectively." Rachel says getting into the gunner seat.
Brittany sighs and jumps from the floor into the pilot seat and closes the canopy. The engines ignite and the ship lifts off as dozens of soldiers flood into the hangar. Brittany uses a massive amount of force to toss the remaining ships in the hanger into each other causing a huge explosion and likely stopping any pursuit. "Go Britt, go."
Brittany slams the throttle forward and the ship rockets out of the hangar. Most Jedi were adept at flying and Brittany had learned the basics but she was not a great fighter pilot. The sudden jerk Rachel felt showed her she should have flown herself despite the pain. As they climb steadily to the upper atmosphere Rachel is totally backseat piloting. Brittany would probably have been upset except that her advice on two occasions kept the ship from exploding. They exit into space and the blips on their scanner readout caused both girls to nearly have a heart attack. As they approached the area where they could engage their hyperdrive they could actually see what their scanners were yelling at them about.
A veritable wall of fighters hung in space enforcing Taris' blockade. They were being hailed by the destroyer they saw. "Jedi aboard the Sith fighter. We know of your attack and theft and if you surrender now we will show you mercy." The girls could tell by his tone of voice that their version of mercy and his differed greatly.
"What do we do Britt?" Rachel asked. There was no fear just an honest question.
"I say we make a run for the Hyperspace point." Brittany responds. Rachel wants to say that it is suicide but she realizes that would just be stating the obvious so she just grunts in affirmation. "I am going to set up the nav computer to make the jump the second we get out of the planet's gravity well so all we have to do is make it there."
"I have an idea." Rachel begins slowly. "You aren't going to like it though." Rachel says as she begins to push buttons. "I am transferring weapon control to the pilot station."
"WHAT?" Brittany says.
"Do you trust me?" Rachel says.
"With my life. You know I do."
"Then trust me. I am going to use the Battle Meditation technique. I haven't tried it at all let alone on a battle of this scale but if anything can get us through this killing field it will be this. Just fly, shoot, and leave the rest to me.
"You're insane. In case you didn't know." Brittany says and pushes the throttle to maximum. Rachel closes her eyes and enters a deep trance akin to when she was imbuing her force crystal but this time she can feel the ebb and flow of the battle. She feels every mind around her and while she can't control others actions she can influence them.
Brittany flies better than she ever has not knowing that Rachel was empowering her with confidence boosting her morale and just making her better all around while simultaneously doing the opposite to the other pilots. Brittany destroyed five ships in the opening salvo and dodged blaster fire like an ace. She moved through the ships blaster cannons and concussion missiles fired so liberally that she feared she was going to overheat the weapons. There was no way that would stop her though since she couldn't let up on the triggers for even a second. She rolled away from a ship on a suicide course and blew up two others with missiles. Just 5 more seconds until jump point she thought.
She shot a ship bearing down on her and flew carelessly through the wreckage before rolling right so that two ships couldn't get a solid missile lock. It was like she knew what they were going to do before they did it, no that wasn't right, it's like she felt what they were going to do. It was amazing and humbling at the same time. She looked back over her shoulder to get a look at her pursuers and saw Rachel glowing from her technique.
"Shine Nova, shine." Brittany said as she fired her last three missiles clearing a path through the ships and she felt a jerk in her stomach as the ship entered hyperdrive and disappeared.
The whole room went black and when the lights came back on, the two girls were sitting on the floor of the test chamber.
"Well done girls," Master Corcoran praised. "Technically you passed your trial of skill as soon as you killed Azimio but we wanted to see what you would do faced with the blockade. The pain you suffered at the hands of Azimio also indicates that you have passed your Trial of the Flesh. Lastly your brave and somewhat foolhardy rushing of the blockade has allowed you to pass the Trial of Courage. Congratulations girls. Rachel all you have left is the Trial of Spirit, while Brittany you still have Spirit and Insight. Since both of these are highly personal we will again separate you and I will give you your tasks."
A/N2: I think this stands pretty well as a one shot but I do have ideas for a major plot if people are interested. Three things briefly: 1. I am aware that the holochamber in the Jedi Temple is not a Star Trek holodeck but I figured this would be more fun than just "fight the sith lord" aaaaaaand ya pass. 2. IF I continue there will be major character death (not sure who yet) and (probably) eventual smut. I hope this doesn't chase you guys away. Pairings will be kept secret to avoid spoilers. 3. For my Snowbird fans I know this is another Brittberry story but it isn't a Brittany/Rachel story. Sorry but the pairings probably won't be Brittberry, however I am not as of right now ruling it out entirely. You will probably just have to wait for the Snowbird sequel for that though.
PS: Doesn't the name Lord Azimio sound like a real dark lord of the Sith? I digress.