Disclaimer: Star Wars: The Old Republic and the characters in this story belong to EA, Bioware, and Lucasarts. I, in no way, intend to benefit or monetarily profit from the use of this setting and these characters. Please Mr. Lucas, don't sue me, I'm only having fun.

Chapter 3: Taking the Edge Off (2/2)

Hindsight being what it is, we probably shouldn't have drank a half bottle of the Corellian vintage and then gone gallivanting out to a remote satellite tracking station run by the Republic. It definitely wasn't one of my better days. Everything went well enough at first; the Republic flunkies fell to my twin sabers and Vette's blasters alike, until that is, we got to the control room. There he was, Jedi Master Nomen Karr, on the holo with the station administrator; visible, yet completely out of reach. The pompous windbag had a troop of Republic Elite Guard hidden away just for this occassion, and I'm not proud to admit it, but I wasn't prepared.

The alcohol and the remaining effects of the sedative had fogged my mind. There were ten or so of the elite guard closing in on us, and more Republic troopers flooding in through the surrounding doors. I chose my first target poorly; he stood apart from the rest and as he finally collapsed from my haphazard slashing, I realized that he wasn't even part of the elite guard. I turned quickly to locate Vette and saw that she was being overwhelmed. I ran to assist and was met with the butt of a blaster rifle to my left temple. Dizzied and wincing with pain, I gathered the force in my lungs and screamed my hatred at him. The force left my lungs in a red miasma and struck the offender. He was knocked back from the shock of it, and with a simple gesture of my wrist, my light saber took his head off.

I managed to slowly and painfully dispatch four more on the way to aid my companion. My aim was off, it seemed like none of my slashes were hitting and everything took much longer than it ought to have. In the process, I took blaster fire to my right shoulder blade, and managed to land incorrectly and rolled my left ankle. I leapt to Vette's side, just to see her slump to the ground. I was terrified, my instincts told me that she wasn't dead, but was nearing it. I had to get the situation under control, and quickly.

I knew full well that it only took one mistake to take down the most powerful Sith, and I had brought more than one mistake to the battle that day. I thought of the reasons for my downfall as the last five guards moved to surround me. I had downplayed the importance of the mission to both of my crewmates, nearly killing one and inadvertently pushing the other away from me with my pathetic advances. I had also entered the fight before I was fully recovered from the last, and while still intoxicated to boot. Most importantly however, I had underestimated my enemy by believing that this little foray was going to be a walk in the park.

I thought back to my initial force testing, and grasped hard onto the emotion of it. My breathing changed, as I relived the monster that I had become that day. The daemon those torturous monsters had created in me was also the monster that could send this satellite station falling out of orbit to its destruction. I was the monster that could kill everything she had ever loved with a single moment of communion with the force, and in that moment I truly, for the first time grasped the entire meaning of the Sith code. I focused on its truth.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion...

My body lurched into action. The force exploded within me and I directed the energy outwardly, using it to bodily smash my remaining five foes. Four of them dizzied and fell to their knees. The remaining guard charged straight for me.

Through passion, I gain strength…

I smiled at him, beckoning his attack. He raised his blaster to my face, revealing all of the soft spots in his Durasteel armor. The force engaged me further, now fully taking control of my body. This strange and crazed berserker frenzy let me see the path of blood coursing through his veins.

Through strength, I gain power…

I deftly slashed and ruptured the arteries in his groin and right thigh. Never had I seen so much blood pour from a wound. Never had I quite so thoroughly enjoyed the infliction of them. My hand reached out and with an extension of my will, the force lifted him and crushed his neck.

Through power, I gain victory…

Bled out and asphyxiated, the man crumpled to the grated metal floor. I laughed. Out of my peripheral vision I saw Vette rise to her side and raise her blaster. Her eyes met mine, and she motioned her head to the left. I smiled and nodded my understanding as I looked down to see the remaining four guards rise to face me.

Through victory, my chains are broken…

I heard the familiar tat-tat tat-tat of Vette's custom plasma blasters and threw myself through the air at the two guards on the right. I ravaged the first with multiple quick strikes; he crumpled. The second I viciously slashed at the shoulder so deep I could see his ribs protruding. As he could no longer breathe or hold his blaster, he was no longer of concern to me. One more round of tat-tat tat-tat and I found myself standing in the middle of a blood soaked pile of the Republic's Elite Guard.

…the force has set me free.

I stood, admiring my work and feeling the darkness course through me, until my wounds no longer ached or bled. My companion however, was not in such good shape. I ran to her and shot her with the only medpac we had thought to bring.

"I could have sworn that I was a goner," her face was set in painful grimace.

I offered her my arm so she could steady herself, "I'd never let that happen."

She pulled herself up and winced with pain. Her entire left thigh and hip were mangled from blaster fire. The medpac had managed to stop most of the bleeding, but her condition was still gradually worsening.

"Here," I instructed her, "you guide me with your good side, and I'll hold your weight."

She complied and I led her through the station's corridors back to the docking bay that the Fury was attached. Half expecting an ambush, I kept my right hand on the hilt of my light saber. We came across no one. Only the piles of bodies, pools of blood and tangled mechanical entrails of the battle droids that we slaughtered coming in. The silence of the place was eerie.

I dragged her through the entrance of the ship, shouting at Toovee to get us out of here and on the fastest path back to Nar Shaddaa. I carried her past the lounge and into the med bay. I set her down on the closest examination table and stared at the supply cabinet with awe. Everything was clearly organized and notated; Quinn really was a wonder. I grabbed for the highest potency medpac we had stocked, in addition to cleansing foam, bandages, and kolto balm. I rushed over to the table next to her and dropped my armload of supplies. The wound on her thigh had reopened and was oozing puss and blood out of the waistband of her pants. She began to shudder and sweat profusely, and I was beginning to lose my calm. I shot her in the side with the medpac and watched the blood flow once again come to a stop. She audibly sighed and stopped shaking.

I put my hand on her forehead, which was burning up, "I need your help kiddo," there was no way I was going to be able to get at her wounds without her assistance, "gotta get you out of those pants."

She was nearly delirious from shock and loss of blood. She looked up at me with glassy eyes and managed to whisper, "Hurts so much."

I remembered how good I felt when I had awoken earlier that morning in the very same bed. I went back to the medical computer and looked up my file from earlier that day. Surely Quinn, being the rigid and practical man he was, had taken extensive notes on my condition. I searched and found a name and dosage for a drug that I had never heard of before, Tranquillen. The notes stated that it was frequently prescribed as a mild sedative, pain reliever, and psychotic disabler. Side effects included drowsiness, feelings of euphoria, catatonia, constipation and reduced bladder control. Satisfied that this is what I needed, I matched up the code and found that it was kept in the locked cabinet. Having no key or access code for the cabinet, and absolutely no patience for my friend being in so much pain, I ripped the cabinet from the wall and it smashed open, the contents spilling onto the floor.

I searched through the medications on the floor frantically, "H2C-48, come on H2C-48…purple cap. Ah, there you are!" I snatched it and ran back to the computer terminal. Vette was whimpering. I figured that we were about comparable weight, so the same dosage I had earlier would be fine. I found the note, set the dosage and ran back to Vette's side.

"Alrighty Vette, I'm going to shoot you up with some pain reliever. I don't know how long it'll take to work, but you're going to get sleepy. Before you pass out, we need to get your pants down." She nodded her understanding. I began the preparations, carefully removing her boots and socks and loosening her belt.

"Okay now, I'm going to shoot you, and on the count of three I'm going to need you to lift your hips as high off the bed as you can while I strip you. Got it?"

She groaned her displeasure and took a few deep breaths in preparation. I found a spot on her good leg in which to dose her, "Okay sweetie, here we go."

The medicine hit her within a few moments of me administering the shot. She looked up at me with a goofy grin, "Wow, that stuff really takes the edge off."

I smiled back at her, "Yeah I thought you might like it. Now remember, on the count of three," I settled my thumbs under her waistband and prepared to pull, "One…two…deep breath…three."

Her hips rose, and without too much complaint on her part, in one fluid tug, I managed to get her pants down past the injuries and to her knees. I gently removed them the rest of the way, folded them and placed them neatly at the foot of the bed. I turned back to tell her that her work here was done and that she should lie back and get some rest, but she was already snoring softly.

I meticulously cleaned her wounds, applied the kolto balm, and wrapped and bandaged her. I looked the rest of her over, but there was nothing beyond some slight scratches and bruising. Satisfied that she was going to make it, and no longer experiencing wracking pain, I covered her with a blanket and set out for the bridge.

The adrenaline was beginning to wear off as I approached Toovee, who was remotely piloting the Fury. "Please notify the Captain upon our arrival that he is needed immediately. He's to see to Vette's wounds first and then wake me with an update of her condition. What is our ETA?"

"Four hours - twenty-three minutes - fourteen…thirteen…twelve…"

"Yes I get the point. Goodnight Toovee."

I left the bridge, entered my quarters and threw myself on the bed. I relived the day's events and found that I didn't like the outcome. I should have known better and I couldn't figure out why I was so very careless. It wasn't just me I had to worry about anymore. An old friendly face came to mind. The man, a boy really, who had saved me from my certain destruction and led me to the warm embrace of the Empire. I tried to shut his face out, smiling back at me, telling me he was going to be right by my side through it all. With tears in my eyes I removed my boots and walked barefoot, back to the med bay, feeling the chill of the ship sink into my feet. I stared down at Vette, breathing deeply with a slight smile on her lips and silently apologized. I grabbed the dosing phial of Tranquillen that I had set on the table beside her. I reset the dose and pressed it to my neck. I walked back to my quarters as my mind clouded. I just needed something… someone, to take the edge off.