My Knight & My Guardian
Chapter 28
AN1: Whats this? Life from this story? Yes indeed after so long I've finally returned to this story
==Korriban - Ruins==
Juhani and Myra soon exited the Academy ruin's exit and began their slow trek towards the archaeological ruins of the Sith. But as Myra had explained previously this wasn't their main goal. Going up a left hand path they encountered the cave where Uthar had explained the missing Academy students had gone.
No sooner had the pair entered the cave though when Shyraks had swarmed from their ceiling nests and begun attacking them. But over sized cave bats were not about to slow the two Guardians down that much. Coming to a fork in the path Myra listened hunching down too to examine the ground. "..Looks like someone was through here recently, maybe a day or so.." She said glancing to Juhani who gave a nod in reply.
"..I agree, Myra, I would say at least four.." Juhani confirmed.
Nodding the pair moved forward carefully before encountering some land mines, side stepping them easily the pair rounded another bend when they encountered two humans and a pair of green skinned twieleks lead it seemed by a dark skinned human woman. "..Hold it right there, whoever you are! We… we're not going back to the academy! We'll kill you rather then go back!" She snapped in a pose trying to sound intimidating.
"..Easy miss, I know you're scared but we're not here to bring you back.." Myra said trying to keep things from escalating out of control more then the tense situation already presented itself with.
"..So what is it, then? If you're not here to kill us or bring us back in, why are you here? Speak up!.." The woman said again trying to sound more confident then she really was.
"..Pathetic look at them cower in fear, show them the might of the true Sith Lord!" Myra's inner dark side spat.
Myra though ignored the dark stirrings inside her, "..I take it you're the renegade students? The ones who ran away?" Juhani chimed in.
"..So you have heard about us. Yes, we ran away before Master Uthar could execute us. Is that so hard to believe?" the woman answered cautiously.
"..What is your name?" Myra asked then.
"..My name is Thalia May. The others here and myself refused to murder a bunch of people on a whim from Master Uthar… so here we are." May said. "..We thought that becoming Sith was what we always wanted, but that wasn't true. Now all we want to do is get out of here. Fair enough?.."
"..I'm Myra Ronalds, maybe my friend Juhani and I can help you?" Myra asked.
"..Help us? Why should I believe that this isn't some kind of trick?" May questioned putting a hand on her hip near her saber.
"..Give us a chance to prove ourselves then.." Myra answered.
"..You want to help us? Alright… I can think of a way. We're stuck here in these caves, obviously, or we would have been long gone.." May said. "..There's a passage to the surface through the caves, but we're blocked by some kind of large creature. We… We can't defeat it. If you could kill it and clear up the passageway for us we could escape. That would be help enough. Can you do that?"
"..We can certainly try. Stay here Juhani and I will return soon.." Myra answered.
Getting simple nods from the four they moved aside and side stepping another pair of traps. Myra and Juhani rounded another bend slaying some nesting Shyraks that attacked them. Peering ahead then with some thermal goggles Myra hunched down to observe the narrow bridge passage ahead. On it was a sleeping beast that gave even her solider and Guardian spirit pause. Swallowing her slight nervousness, she handed the goggles to Juhani. "..You seeing what I'm seeing?" She asked.
Juhani hunched down as well and peered into the goggles. "..A Terentatek!" She hissed in reply. "..It is surprising to find one even here on Korriban." She added.
Taking the goggles back Myra peered into them again. "..Guess the students didn't know how to face this. I'm thinking the best approach to this might be to weaken it from here with thrown grenades, but I'm worried if we miss we might bring down the stone bridge, but then the student's couldn't escape.." She said.
"..Agreed, should we go back and get the others? Maybe figure out some other way to slip the student's out?" Juhani said.
"..If we do that the student's may think we're going to betray them. No, it seems we just need to do this the old fashioned way.." Myra said, indicating their sabers. "..We'll sneak closer to either side of the bridge then throw our sabers to inflict wounds where we can, then just go all in on fighting it, watch out for its tusks, and remember this thing feeds on Force powers.." She said her tactical mind already working the angles of attack for the coming fight.
Nodding Juhani stood up moving to silently take the left corner of the bridge, while Myra did likewise on the right. With a nod she stood and threw her saber in perfect form with Juhani's own, the twin blue sabers sailing across the dark cave to cut into the thick leathery hide of the beast. Pulling back their sabers the pair stood shoulder to shoulder as the beast roared and charged them, more angry now rising from it's slumber then wounded.
The coming fight was difficult at one stage the beast had backed up to charge again across the stone bridge at them, giving Myra the chance to leap onto its back, as is reared up and tried to buck her off Juhani slid under the beast's guard and slit open its stomach, Myra then finished it off with driving her saber int its head. With a thud the beast collapsed to the ground, Juhani rolling out from under its weight just in time.
Panting some Myra offered a hand up to Juhani who after a pause to collect her own breath took it to get back to her feet. Both women were breathing hard with the fast pace of the fight and Myra used the moment to bring Juhani near to give her a soft kiss on the left cheek. "..Thanks for the help.." She said.
"..You are quite welcome, Myra." Juhani replied, breaking the intimate embrace after a return kiss to Myra's right cheek.
"..Juhani, I know now may not be the proper time, but may we talk? About recent developments between us?" Myra asked hopefully.
Pausing Juhani answered, "..Perhaps, let us first return to the students and see them safely out of here."
"..Alright.." Myra said. A few moments later the pair returned to the hopeful looking students.
"..We heard the beast's roar and we feared the worse, is it….can we go now?" May asked.
"..The beast is slain, and the passage clear to the surface. I wish there was more we could do but you'll have to find your own way off world from here, sorry.." Myra said.
"..That is far more then we expected from someone coming from the Acadmey. Thank you. I guess we aren't the only ones who don't… agree with everything going on in there. Maybe… maybe the Jei will accept us. I've seen how evil the dark side is. Maybe we could try. At any rate, thank you again. You've saved our lives. May The Force Be With You" May answered, as with a nod the four students took off down the path the pair had previously come back from.
Looking around Myra, found a stewing fire, which she put some more wood into to bring it back up a little. Sitting down to rest she found Juhani sit next to her, much to her relief. The tension between them was strong the past few days, and now that they had this moment to themselves, Myra was unsure what to do with it. Reaching out her hand tentatively Myra tried taking Juhani's right hand into her left. After a pause Juhani allowed it. "..Juhani, I want you to know these past days have been…. Difficult to bare with the gulf that seems to have risen between us.." She said.
"..I too feel that gulf Myra, but what you said that first day about us being slaves, with barely a thought to how we might feel, it struck a deep pain in me, like a knife through my heart.." Juhani said, seeming to study deeply Myra with her piercing eyes. "..I have also been somewhat troubled about the fact of you being Revan. The Jedi who saved me, twice now in my life, since Taris it was Revan….you." She said.
"..I know Juhani, it is still difficult for me to accept. I am angry inside for it, and regret greatly the evils I have done. But I hope this does not change things between us as I had said before on Dantoine?" She asked.
Sighing softly with a hint of a warm smile, Juhani shook her head a bit. "..I knew when I heard you had become the Dark Lord of the Sith, that something was wrong with it. The woman who… who saved me, who I have come to care for, could never go completely to the Dark Side. It is good to know you have truly changed, and keep fighting to remain on the Light Side of the Force. It gives me great hope. I do not think now that I will fall to the dark side. I only have to look to you each day and follow by your examples and there is no way I could fail.." Juhani said seeming to relax more into Myra's embrace of held hands and slid closer to release her hand to put it around Myra's waist.
"..The Masters might say overconfidence can also lead to the dark side, but I have no doubt you will do fine.." Myra said.
"..Heh," Juhani smiled again which warmed Myra's chest once more with a blush to her cheeks as well. "..That is especially meaningful coming from you, Myra. I know you only know bits and pieces of your younger life as Revan, but I want you to know I will never forget what you did for me, even if you do not remember all of it. You gave me such hope that day, and gave freedom to so many more who otherwise would have been sold into slavery. You changed Taris for the better for a while."
"..You flatter me, Juhani." Resting her head on Juhani's shoulder, Myra sighed then letting the silence wash over them. She knew would have to get moving soon, at the least clear out the rest of this Shyrak cave to ensure the safety of those ill trained to do so, but for now she felt contentment to just relax by this dark pool, and let the warmth of Juhani's body keep away the dark chills in her spine. Tears seeped from the corner of her eyes matting then Juhani's shoulder piece of her robes.
Sensing the distress, Juhani turned to look into Myra's eyes, "..What is it that is troubling you?" She asked.
"..The darkness in this cave I think. It would be oddly soothing if you were not here I think, so easy to wash myself in it, and that scares me, troubles me. I will forever keep fighting to remain on the path I am on now Juhani. I promise you that. But there is this gut feeling I will do something terrible perhaps that I will justify somehow as being right.." Myra explained.
This time the comforting kiss to each other's lips was what gave Myra pause, leaning back Juhani looked again into Myra's eyes. "..I have watched you for some time Myra. I know you notice it. Each time it makes me think on how far I had fallen, and how you exemplify each day since our meeting the Code of the Jedi. At first it made me feel ashamed.." Juhani stated.
Feeling a sense of guilt then escape her Myra replied. "..I'm not so great as that, Juhani.."
"..No you are far greater then you say, as you just said to me just now even. The fact remains I have so little to show when I compare myself to you and that makes my inner shame even worse. That I had so easily fallen to the Dark Side. That I could convince myself that by injuring my Master Quatra I could become such a great force of evil in the galaxy. For my pride, my hubris. For the inner rage that all of my species feels. Sometimes I wish that I had not been born this way..." Juhani went on.
"..You.. You have nothing to ever be ashamed of Juhani! What happened to you was..." Myra began but Juhani shushed her.
"..Just listen to my words for now, Myra, please. I am trying to explain to you how I have been thinking you stay strong to the path of virtue and justice, and yet here I am slipping to whinning again about my own inadequacies. The point is the Council would be proud to see you had learned your lessons so well, and that despite their programming you remain true to the Light. Yes, some of the Masters may still 'have it out for you', but that is just them being over protective, and not seeing the true Light within you that I see. The Light of the woman I have come to care so strongly for and am proud to call my friend. Now come perhaps you are right this dark cave is not the proper place for us to talk anymore, or rest. There are things yet we need to do, both for Mission's sake and Carth's.." She said helping Myra to her feet.
"..You're right. I'm perhaps being too hard on myself. Thank you for setting things straight for me. Its brought me some clarity on what I must do next.." She said with a nod.
AN2: R&R please!
