Jedi from all over prepped themselves for battle. Republic soldiers watched from the sidelines, mindlessly oiling their rifles and pistols at the same time. Smoke and blood mixed clung to everything, forcing those inexperienced to lose their lunches. Blood stained the ground; the wounded groaned in pain, some even screamed due to their extensive injuries.
Aditaya plowed through the crowds of Jedi and Republic troops, always mindful of Scourge hot on her heels.
"Why are we here, Jedi?" Scourge's distasteful tone caught her attention. The force crackled around him as they walked through the injured and towards a handful of Jedi that were still breathing. Aditaya could feel the pureblood's eyes boring into the back of her head. Impatience. She felt that single emotion flare out from behind her.
Perhaps it was a bad idea to bring Scourge along.
Two Jedi pried themselves from their conversation with the rest of the group, and threw curious glances her way. One was Bengal Morr and the other was a slim little Twi'lek. She had saved both of them from Sith assassins only two hours or so ago. As she passed them by, they dipped their heads down, acknowledging her in a Jedi way. Scourge scoffed in the background, not even bothering to make eye contact with them.
Someone clicked their tongue behind her. "We are wasting time." Aditaya turned her head to the side, and glared at Scourge for possibly the first time in her life. The force crackled around her body like it had around him just moments ago.
"I'll be only a few minutes, Scourge."
"A few minutes is time we do not have."
Aditaya lowered her head for a moment and covered her face with her gloved hand. Very slowly she removed her hand, revealing a pair of intense, hazel colored eyes.
"I understand that. But you must understand this; we are going to face the Emperor soon and if so, we may die. I ask for only a few minutes to do what I need to do, nothing more." Scourge's red eyes narrowed down at her, piercing through her like the lights on a starship cutting through a thick fog. His gaze lasted for a few more moments, before letting loose yet another scoff.
Aditaya whipped her head around, causing her pitch black hair to tickle the back of her neck.
"I know you don't approve, Scourge. But I need to do this before I face the Emperor." In the distance someone dropped what sounded like a rifle on the ground.
"You are creating a weakness for him to exploit, Jedi. Surely you know this." Aditaya bit her bronze painted lip, tearing through the flesh and causing a thin line of blood to run down her chin. Scourge was right, but without him she would have lost her sanity; lost her will to fight for the Republic. She pulled him away from the dark side, from death yes. But the truth was -he saved her from breaking down completely.
Two soldiers armed to the teeth watched them with curious blue and green colored eyes. Aditaya and Scourge paid ignored them. "I'm well aware. Now drop the subject." She barely recognized her dark, venomous sounding voice.
Faintly Aditaya could hear Scourge chuckling, amused by how she seemed to shift into darker territory. It happened now and then, she had to admit. But she was still a servant of light. That never changed, no matter the situation.
When Scourge said nothing, Aditaya began weaving through the soldiers and Jedi she had rescued from certain death. Her companion didn't linger behind her this time. It was a blessing from the force.
Aliens and humans alike parted for her as waded through the cramped corridors and rooms. A few people whispered to one another, some questioning why she was here and others praised her. None of it mattered any more. She slowly tuned everyone out and focused her gaze straight ahead. Her dark brown boots loudly slapped against the metal floors as she rounded around the corner, entering a spacious room with only a handful of people residing inside.
Five armored Republic men were off in the furthest corner of the room, talking and munching on military grade rations. One man, the youngest one out of all of them, looked ill. The stench of blood and smoke in the air was most likely the cause. Or perhaps, realizing he might die in just a few short hours was the cause. Either way, he didn't look well enough to hold his lunch for very long.
Someone rose off of a metal grate, creating a screeching metal sound that echoed all around. Aditaya looked off to the left, towards the source of the sound. Her eyes fell upon a red skinned Pureblood. Praven.
"Aditaya?" An all too familiar voice called out her name, sounding a tad bit confused by her presence. Ignoring the handful of Republic troops lingering in the room, Aditaya rushed over to Praven, and threw her arms around his thick neck.
Through her own body, she could feel him tense up for only a moment. His heavily muscular arms encircled her waist, pulling her up against his chest in a tight, intimate embrace. This wasn't the Jedi way. Jedi weren't supposed to make attachments with other people, to love someone and give them your heart unconditionally.
She had. And she didn't regret making that decision so long ago to break that part of the Jedi code. It was horrible to keep secrets from the council, but it had to be done. They wouldn't have approved no matter how sure she was that she'd never drift off into the dark side.
After what seemed like forever, Aditaya removed her arms from around his neck and pulled back just enough so she could catch a glimpse of his face. Under the intense lighting, Praven's red skin seemed brighter all of a sudden; the two purple discolorations under each of his eyes seemed even more noticeable.
"You shouldn't be here right now."
"I know I shouldn't. But I wanted to see you before I left."
Aditaya leaned forward and kissed him, in plain sight. A few men behind them choked on their food in pure shock, others just loudly whispered to themselves. Completely lost in the moment, feeling Praven's warm lips against her's as they kissed, Aditaya paid them no mind. Their disgust, shock, and judgmental comments didn't matter. The man that caressed the side of her face, kissed her passionately, and held her through all the pain was the only person that mattered to her.
The kiss was short lived, fleeting as it lasted only one a minute before they had to break away. Happiness, sadness, fear, contentment, concern echoed in the force around them. She tried to smile up at him, to assure him nothing would go wrong, that she would come back unscathed and alive.
From the look in his eyes, she could tell he knew what she wanted to tell him with words. Aditaya pried her arms from around Praven's neck, and he, removed his arms from around her waist. Separated, they looked at one another without saying a word.
A minute passed before Praven decided to slice through the silence. "It is my deepest regret I can't be there with you. But I have no doubt you will succeed. You've tackled many difficult obstacles, which would have otherwise killed any other Jedi." He praised her. But she knew he was hiding his concern and fears behind those words.
Smiling Aditaya grabbed both of his hands, and held them tightly. "I will come back, Praven. I promise." Her voice lowered to a whisper as she said those words to him. A Praven gently squeezed her tiny green hands. "I'll hold you to that." Aditaya felt the corners of her lips moving upwards, forming a wide genuine smile.
"Stay safe Praven. May the force be with you." She let go of his hands, allowing them to drop to her sides like dead weights.
Praven dipped his head down in acknowledgement. "I will. Be careful, and may the Force be with you." Both of them mirrored the Jedi farewell and greeting; pressing both their hands together and standing straight as a board with their heads dipped down.
Twirling around Aditaya walked out of the room, leaving Praven all by himself and joining Lord Scourge to begin the last battle with the Emperor. His red eyes glared down at her, silently condemning her weakness and hidden secret. No. It wasn't a secret any longer.
Sighing she stopped in the middle of the hallway, digging into a small pouch located on her small, duraplast belt. Scourge stopped the moment she did, sending her a curious, impatient glance.
Tiny green fingers touched something cold and circular inside the pouch. Gently Aditaya pulled it out, revealing a portable holo, of which she held out for Scourge to grab. He didn't grab it. His bright red eyes mirrored skepticism and confusion.
He wondered why he was giving him this. She knew he would.
"I need you to give this to Praven should things go… wrong." That caught his attention because his left eye ridge seemed to rise several inches.
"And why would I do such a thing?"
A good question.
Aditaya inhaled as much air as she possibly could. "I'm not naïve enough to believe that I won't suffer some sort injuries when fighting the emperor. Your vision said I defeated him. You never said if I lived through it, however." She paused, gauging the solemn expression etched upon his pale red skin. "You're immortal. I am not. You have a better chance to come out of this fight, alive. We may not see eye to eye, but I am asking this of you because, should the worse happen, you are the only one capable of doing this for me."
"Your other companions are incapable." It was a statement, not a question.
He was right. They could die at any given moment, Scourge couldn't.
Swallowing she nodded, still holding the tiny, portable, deactivated holo. "Yes. Kira and Doc would look at it, if given the chance. Teeseven… I don't know. It is more likely after all this; he'd get a memory wipe like all other droids. He's due for one as far as I know. Not that I agree with it. Rusk… he's bound to get himself killed with his impulsive personality. Doc and Kira are just as likely to die, but it's not as high as Lieutenant Rusk's chances are." She fell silent, smothering her building fear for them all.
Scourge at least had the courtesy not to interrupt or laugh at her. "Knowing you-" Scourge frowned at her, as if she never would understand him. Maybe she never would, but she knew the things he hated and liked. That was enough, she supposed. "-You would enjoy breaking the bad news to Praven should I fall." That was the sad morbid truth of it all.
Silence echoed between the two of them; between a Sith and a Jedi knight. As second trickled by, Aditaya felt he wouldn't agree to do this. Then again, why would he? He disliked her to a point, hating the very thing she stood for and her unbreakable faith in the light side. He hated the fact she never killed people unless it was necessary, that she gave them mercy instead of death. The Sith frowned at how she served the wrong side, the side that used her as a puppet and toyed with her. When their conversations weren't about bashing the Sith or the Jedi Order, it was actually pretty enlightening. At one point she vaguely remembered laughing at something he said, confusing the stoic Pureblood as to why.
Scourge had said turning her to the dark side was just for his own amusement. He hadn't succeeded in all their time together. But neither had she succeeded in shifting his faith to the light side of the Force. Looking back on it now, Aditaya had slowly stopped trying to turn him to light side. He didn't want redemption, or forgiveness for the things he'd done. So she stopped and tried to talk more civilly towards him. They still didn't see eye to eye on some things, but it was bearable.
Scowling the former Emperor's wrath snatched the holo from her fingers, strapping to his belt without a word, and stormed down the hall without her. Relief flooded through her as she rushed to catch up with her dark ally, silently ignoring the curious stares the troops sent their way.
Most of them would not survive the battle. If anything, Aditaya knew that she had to end things quickly to ensure no one else would die because of the Emperor.
That's all it came down to.