Desiraye drew the Sith saber from her belt, igniting it just in time to parry Yuthura's attack. The light of the red blades illuminated the hallway, casting everything in an eerie glow.
Wild thrusts from Yuthura's blade were turned aside by skilled parries from Desiraye's borrowed saber. She deftly blocked the Sith master's moves while also attacking. Rather than rely on blunt anger to overwhelm her opponent, as Yuthura was doing, Desiraye used it to channel her energies into ever more sharp and devastating attacks. She never lashed at Yuthura without a clear plan for dealing with the Twi'lek's counter-attacks.
She began to sense the older woman's weakness; she was fatigued from the fight with Uthar. So was Desiraye, but she relied on the Force to sustain her until the battle was over. She pressed her attacks sorely against Yuthura, her own saber crashing into the Sith's with blinding force, pushing her back two steps for every one she gained.
This only drained Yuthura further, and soon she began to make mistakes.
Her attacks became sloppy, wild and unpredictable. Her frenzied movements were hard to dodge at times, but easy to work around at others.
Once Desiraye simply ducked to avoid a blow, much as Uthar had done. But instead of letting Yuthura have a chance to attack again, she spun and slashed with her saber. The Twi'lek screeched and hissed as the blade cut deep into her forearm, trailing down to her hand and slicing her own lightsaber in half.
The saber fell from her hand as she gripped her arm, falling to her knees before Desiraye.
"I yield," She gasped, "Truly your power is greater than my own. There could be no other outcome. Kill me now."
Desiraye's eyes narrowed.
"No. I will not kill you."
"But you must!" Yuthura insisted, "Only the strongest may rule - it is the Sith way!"
The Twi'lek shrank back as Desiraye drew her hand up as though to attack her again. After a moment she lowered her hand and turned away.
"I told you, I'm not in it for the politics. I have no intention of staying here and running this academy. So you will stay and do with it as you see fit. I'll be taking my people and leaving by morning."
With that she headed for the door, leaving Yuthura on her knees behind her.
"What are you..?" She breathed, "You are not Jedi, you are not Sith..."
"I'm not quite either one, and yet maybe a little of both."
...
Sunlight warmed Desiraye's face for what felt like the first time in years. She knew it had really only been a few hours, not even a full day, but it'd been so long she was beginning to forget what it felt like.
Canderous was leaning against a wall near the entrance to the tomb. A few yards away were three dead Tukata and one cadet.
"Looks like someone was busy." Desiraye quipped. Canderous pushed off the wall as he saw her, taking in her appearance and injuries with one glance.
"We need to get out of here." She said before he could speak, leading the way back up toward the academy. Canderous fell in step beside her.
"What happened in there?"
"Long story," Desiraye sighed wearily. "Uthar is dead. Yuthura is still alive but injured. She won't be coming after us, though."
Canderous slipped an arm under hers to help her walk, and she leaned against him heavily. She hadn't realized until then just how worn out she really was. The battle had kept her moving, fueled by adrenaline and desperate necessity. Now that it was over, she was exhausted.
...
"I thought I might find you here."
Desiraye stared with wide eyes at the man before her. He was accompanied by two students from the academy, both with weapons drawn.
"Calo Nord..? How are you even still alive?"
She still remembered the splash of blood on her face. His blood. He'd been buried under that rubble, and she'd assumed he was dead. And yet he survived not only that, but the destruction of Taris? How was that possible?
"You got lucky on Taris; the Sith attack saved you from a quick and gruesome death. But I promise you, the Sith won't be getting in my way this time!"
"You think we got lucky?" Desiraye scoffed, "Alright, let's do it again!"
Canderous sized up Calo and his cadet backup with a sneer.
"Brought backup this time, eh Calo?" he added, "Must've realized we're too much for you to handle on your own."
The words served only to make Nord angry. Drawing his weapons, he charged into battle.
Desiraye took out the cadets easily, Force choking one while using the Sith saber to quickly decapitate the other. Canderous went after Calo. Desiraye imagined it was a battle that was a long time coming, and it would be over soon. Canderous was never one to take his time in direct combat - he finished the job quickly so he could move on.
And the battle with Nord was no exception.
As Nord and the cadets lay dying, Desiraye and Canderous moved on. Neither wanted to hang around in the valley any longer than necessary. Within moments they reached the academy, but neither was prepared for the sight that greeted them when the massive doors opened.
Atton and Dustil stood back to back, one with a blaster and the other a lightsaber. Cadets surrounded them - some dead on the floor, some up and fighting. A few attacked each other, but most attacked Atton and Dustil, and the two were having a hard time fighting them off by themselves.
"Dammit..." Desiraye breathed as she took in the spectacle. "This is chaos."
With a delicate wave of her hand, the whole room was cleared by a Force push. The only two left standing were Atton and Dustil. The cadets tumbled to the floor, but upon seeing her they were on their feet instantly.
"What the hell is this?" Atton questioned, "All of a sudden everyone went crazy! Me and the kid have been fighting them off for half an hour."
"It's because Uthar is dead."
Dustil parried a blow while Desiraye attacked a cadet that was sneaking up behind Atton.
"What?! How would they know that?"
"They could feel it through the Force," Dustil cut in. "I feel it too, like an echo through the Force."
A cadet hit the ground after another Force push, then climbed to his feet and charged at Desiraye, only to be shot by Canderous.
"Enough chatter. We need to get out of here."
"Canderous is right. Let's move."
The four wasted no time fleeing.
"Did you call Akanni?"
"About an hour ago." Atton confirmed. "She should be out there waiting on us."
"Alright. Let's go."
...
No one in the Dreshdae outpost expected the thundering of four sets of boots barreling down the halls. Whatever the travelers were after, they meant business, and anyone who saw them quickly steered clear. No one dared to interfere with them.
As they neared the docking port, they saw the Ebon Hawk sitting right where it should've been, engine hot and ready to go. Akanni stood on the extended docking ramp, waiting for them.
"Get us out of here, now!" Desiraye called, "We've got about fifty Sith on our ass."
Wide-eyed, Akanni shouted to Carth to prepare to take off. As soon as the four were on board, the ship lifted, and they quickly fled the Sith planet.
Atton and Dustil sat in the main hold, trying to catch their breaths. Akanni checked with Desiraye and promised to come talk with her later, then headed to the cockpit to speak with Carth.
Finally having a moment of calm, Desiraye leaned against a bulkhead and closed her eyes. She had no idea how she'd been able to keep going, as worn out as she was. She'd pushed her battered body to the brink, and now it was beginning to catch up to her.
"I think I'll go -" She began, opening her eyes and pushing off the wall. She didn't get farther than that, however - as she tried to take a step, she collapsed. Canderous caught her before she hit the floor, swiftly scooping her into his arms and heading for the medbay. Once there he laid her on the small bed, brushing hair out of her eyes and settling into a chair beside the bed.
"It's okay. Sleep now, mesh'la," He murmured, "You need it."
