Chapter Twenty-Nine
Even after a painkiller injection, a fire still burned through her arm. Jade kept imagining the duel over and over again in her mind, her wounded arm draped on Riko's shoulder, the two supporting each other after the ordeal.
"Niner!" Riko said excitedly, as they reached the entrance to the massive chamber.
Niner was waiting at the exit.
"What happened?"
"We ran into a dark Jedi," Jade improvised. In a sense, it was true.
"C'mon, we need to find Bao and contact Val," Riko quickly changed the subject. Jade was sure that if Niner could change his facial expression, he would be showing confusion.
"Can't you call him?" Niner asked.
"The dark Jedi destroyed my comm," Riko hadn't taken inventory of his equipment until after their duel, "We might need a ride…"
"We has one," Niner said.
Jade wondered if the pain was causing her to hallucinate; she saw two stormtroopers and an Imperial officer, all unconscious. Next to them; a cargo speeder manned by an ancient astromech that Jade recognized from Tau's stories and history holovids.
Artoo-Detoo beeped elately upon seeing her.
"He said, 'I remember you. You were still a baby,'" Niner translated.
"This is real, right?" Jade asked weakly.
"Don't worry," Riko said, before asking, "How'd you do this?"
"It was very easy…" Niner began.
Artoo interrupted him.
"Yeah, we should go," Riko said, walking Jade to the speeder.
"Do you understand him?" Jade asked as she sat down in the seat.
"No, I just guessed," Riko admitted.
As the speeder's repulsor activated and the vehicle started moving, Jade realized how cold she felt. Even though the rain had lessened and was now a mere drizzle, she still shivered.
"Here," Riko took off his cloak.
"Thanks," Jade said, snuggling herself up. She was still angry, but she was beginning to think it wouldn't be the end of their friendship.
Docking Module, exterior.
Bao recognized some of the sequences of his own techniques as he battled Asharr, particularly bladework that defined Tau's technique. Its was filled with more rage, albeit focused and precise, almost like a style presented in a holovid. Still, it was effective, whatever it was.
Bao had found an equal, he realized. Not someone even slightly less powerful, or far more powerful, but a true equal with the blade. If Asharr had a shred of honor or loyalty, Bao might have had a glimmer of respect for them.
But alas, they were a perversion to everything Bao stood for, and the Jedi Master would capture them and bring them in alive. The tapes would be accompanied by a living witness.
Bao swung and parried a blow just after Asharr evaded his first swing.
Then Asharr struck their blade in an attempt to slice through Bao's head, which Bao evaded, though the blade still seared his cheek.
Suppressing a hiss, Bao blocked their second strike, which pushed him up against one of the walls. He called on the Force to aid him, and he grasped a nearby crate and threw it at Asharr.
Even though Asharr deflected it, it was only a diversion. Bao fired a powerful blast. Asharr deflected the worst of it, they still were thrown up at least one level through a viewport into one of the rooms housed in these walls.
Bao deactivated his lightsaber and fired his grappling hook into the room, pulling himself up, almost making it before Asharr sliced the rope in two.
Bao almost fell, but he successfully grabbed onto the window's frame, even though he felt some small shards of transparisteel puncture the thick hide of his manus. Ignoring the pain, he leapt up, swung through feet-first, kicking Asharr back, and reignited his lightsaber, managing to deflect a strike from Asharr's blade.
This was probably some kind of large supply locker, with a door and a viewport that overlooked the docked destroyer.
Bao pushed against the warlady, who retreated through the door. He followed, noticing that they had exited into a vast hallway.
Bao kept fighting and fighting, managing to strike Asharr, leaving a tear in one of the robe's sleaves. The two continued fighting through the corridors.
As they fought, Bao noticed a handful of blaster caches, presumably for the ship's security and troop complement. A backup weapons locker.
Bao could take advantage of those weapons.
Leaping back, Bao pulled a thermal detonator into his manus. Arming it, he Force-pushed the weapon towards Asharr.
Asharr tried to push it back, but Bao held it in place.
The detonator exploded, knocking Bao to the floor.
Bao saw spots in his vision, he was bruised and exhausted, but he moved himself up, drawing on the Force to replenish his weary muscles. He looked over and grinned.
Asharr had been closer to the blast than Bao, and they were just managing to stand up.
As they did so, Bao charged, aiming for Asharr's hands to incapacitate the Dark Jedi.
He grabbed Asharr's lightsaber with his left manus and held it steady. He felt a painful electric jolt in his arm, but he was able to hold. With his right hand, he swung his lightsaber at Asharr's now vulnerable wrists.
Asharr's hands came off cleanly. They did not scream; they gave no indication that they were in pain.
Bao grabbed Asharr's lightsaber and affixed it to his belt.
Bao imagined an ancient predator standing over a wounded rival as he held Asharr at bladepoint. They stood at his mercy. Bao could have finished them in a moment. It was almost tempting. The galaxy would be a much better place without people like them.
But it wasn't the Jedi way.
Asharr would stand trial for their actions. That was the Jedi way.
Bao deactivated his lightsaber, "I won't kill you."
The Jedi Knight sensed contempt, from the Dark Jedi, "Why?"
"I am a Jedi. I don't kill people when they're at my mercy. Beside the point, you'll be sitting in a cell soon anyway."
"Your datatape's gone. Young Skywalker took care of that."
For one moment, Bao couldn't speak. Asharr didn't feel like they were lying.
Moving his unlit saber to Asharr's throat, Bao asked, "What has she done with…"
"She's no longer mine," Asharr responded, "You've taught Riko well."
Perhaps I did, Bao thought as he grabbed a pair of stun cuffs from his belt.
"You seem eager to talk. With no datatape, I'll use the source. I'm taking you and putting you on trial. You will confess everything you and your master did."
"Our seeds are in place," Asharr said, "You cannot stop us now."
"I promise you, you'll eventually talk."
"What makes you think you'll escape here alive…?" Asharr suddenly stopped talking. They fell to the ground, coughing. Bao activated his lightsaber and turned around to see Tau Skywalker looking at him, his face a mural of fury.
"Tau…"
Asharr was lifted up into the air and pulled towards the Grand Master.
"You…." Tau said angrily, "You will suffer for what you did!" As Bao started to move towards Tau, he blasted lightning into his former apprentice. They screamed as they were burned from the inside out, the mask beginning to melt and burn their face. Bao was horrified at what he was seeing, paralyzed with the sheer shock of it all. Then Asharr was thrown across the corridor. Bao actually felt pity for them.
"Why, Tau?" Bao asked. He didn't think that Tau would act this way.
"She was a menace, Bao," Tau responded, "She harmed a member of our family."
Bao had been considered an honorary member of the Skywalker family for years. Thinking about this made him realize something.
"Your plan was to kill the High Council, you timed the attack to make sure I was away."
"I have lost too many friends, Bao," Tau responded, "Your death should not be among them."
"What makes you think I'll join you now?"
"You know I'm right, Bao. We can finish this, together," Tau's voice carried a degree of awe to it, "We're almost finished. Everything is in place. The Jedi will be reformed soon, the Empire is under the control of my allies, and the Consortium will be dissolved. We can finally bring peace to the galaxy. An eternal peace."
For one moment, Bao was tempted. Tau spoke of a galaxy unblemished by the horrors of war. A galaxy of peace and prosperity. Despite everything that Tau had done, wasn't that a noble goal?
Asharr's moaning startled Bao from his train of thought. He turned around and saw the husk of the dark entity at the edge of the hall.
At that moment, he finally understood what he thought he had known. Tau had let the ends justify the means. In his quest to achieve his vision, he was willing to let innocents die, to turn his back on the Jedi code. And now, he wounded Asharr not to save the galaxy, but in his anger over what she had done to his daughter, whether he knew it or not. Even if he didn't know it, Tau Skywalker, the man who had trained him, the Grand Master of the high council, had descended so far, his darkness had consumed him, he had sacrificed his morality in the name of what he viewed as the greater good.
Bao stared down, meeting Tau in the eyes.
"Did the cost ever become greater than the results?" he asked, "When you let a Sith form a pirate state? When you assassinated the high council? When you killed Thalia? When you brutalized Asharr? Will the cost become too high? When you kill me? When your daughter attempts to kill you? When?" Bao reactivated his lightsaber, "I want the same thing as you, but not like this. Not at the expense of who we are." Odds were, he would die. But perhaps he could at least try to take Tau with him.
"Some are just too set in their ways to accept change," Tau responded sadly.
Raising his lightsaber to deliver an overhead strike, Bao charged.
Comm Tower Exterior
Once again, Riko was glad to have Artoo guiding him through the depot. Flying the speeder and bypassing the station's security, the droid was leading them to a comm terminal (with a roof, thankfully) which Riko would use to contact Val. From there, they would set a rendezvous. While Val traveled to the station, Riko would ask Artoo to plug into the security systems and locate Bao. The team would then try to contact Bao, or at least reach him. Finally, they would all board the Nomad and escape.
From there, what would happen? Riko hadn't given much thought to it.
It was odd, he noted, that he wasn't giving any thought to his goals after escape.
Artoo beeped, knocking Riko out of his thoughts. Riko realized how cold he was, and how intently he was hugging Jade.
"He says we're near a terminal that he can hijack to plug into the comm systems," Niner translated.
"Got it," Riko said, shivering, as the speeder stopped in front of a triad of stormtroopers.
"Hey, stop!" All three raised their blasters. Riko ignited his lightsaber, but he saw a series of stunbolts moving the troopers' way.
"Hey, sto…" one trooper was knocked unconscious by the blue bolts.
"You're under arres…."
"What kind of droi…" All three troopers lay on the ground, unconscious.
Riko turned around and saw Niner, staring at his arm cannon.
"You were correct, Riko. I can defend myself!" The droid said eagerly.
Artoo simply beeped, though to Riko, it sounded like a complement of some kind.
"Of course I am braver than him. Wait, I remind you of him?" Niner asked.
"What'd he say?" Jade asked.
"Nothing," Niner replied. For the first time since Riko had built him, Niner sounded embarrassed. This surprised Riko.
Riko decided to ponder Niner's growth later. He had an escape to make. The quartet disembarked, Riko happy at the prospect of escaping the cold.
"There's the terminal!" Niner pointed once they entered the room and sealed the door.
"Okay, Artoo. I need you to access comms," Riko ordered, "I'll type in the frequency." Riko wouldn't make the same mistake he did on the Intrika.
The droid extended a probe from his torso and plugged it into the terminal, bypassing the security codes.
Riko and Jade looked at the screen, wringing some of the water out of their hair while they waited. Finally, a message appeared on one of the terminal's screens. It read, Please enter communications frequency.
Riko keyed in the frequency for the Wild Nomad's comm. They then waited as Artoo used the station's auxiliary transmitter to find the vessel.
"Here," Jade started to shed Riko's rain jacket, "You look cold."
Riko took it, saying only, "Thanks." He eagerly put it on.
Finally, a voice became audible on the comms, "I'm hoping that's you, Riko and Bao."
"It's Riko," Riko replied, glad Val was still alive, "But we lost track of Bao. I found Jade, and we're almost ready for extraction.
"Did you crack the datatape?"
"Yeah, here's the thing…" Riko started to say as guilt creeped in.
"You lost it?"
"He ran into a dark Jedi, and she destroyed it," Jade interjected, "We just need to find Bao. We could try locating him and then flying the ship to his location."
"He might be aboard one of the vessels docked," Riko added, "Artoo, I need you to hack into the security systems of each vessel in this hangar."
"Wait," Val's voice was still audible over the comms, "Where should I land the ship?"
"What's the Nomad's condition?" Riko asked.
"We lost our rear cannon and one of the engines is damaged. But our shields are working again."
Those didn't seem like the best odds. But it was likely that every other ship around here was guarded.
Riko responded, "We'll find a location, then transmit coordinates."
After Val ended the transmission, Riko told Artoo to find Bao's location. The astromech complied.
"Trill dee!" Artoo responded after a few seconds.
"He's in a cargo attic two floors higher," Niner translated.
Artoo's head rotated and projected a hologram. Riko's heart sank.
Bao was dueling Tau in a corridor. Bao was holding up against the former Jedi Master's attacks, albeit barely.
Through the Force, Riko could sense Jade's mind flooded mostly with anger: at herself, at Asharr, at Tau, at him…
You could distract him, Riko suggested, The Nomad drops us off near Bao and Tau. From there, you get his attention while we tell Bao to escape. From there, we follow and escape.
Jade's emotions were mixed. Riko could sense that.
Thanks, Riko, yet another vac-headed plan, but it might work.
We've been getting great at forming those, Riko grinned, though it faded once he sensed Jade's irritation at his positive attitude.
"Why were you smiling?" Niner asked.
"Artoo, find the closest route to that storage hall," Jade ordered, "We'll board it, contact Val, find Bao, and get out of here."
Riko looked towards Niner, "I know you probably don't want to help, Niner, but we need all hands on deck…"
"I'll help! I is a brave warrior now!"
Wild Nomad Cockpit
Val was surprised at the lack of starfighters pursuing him. He expected a squadron to be lying in wait for him, though they seemed to have given up their search.
That was a good thing. The Nomad had taken the beating of her life. With the storm more or less abated, it was easier for the wounded gunship to fly to the base.
"They're scrambling fighters, but it will take time to bring them in from nearby bases," Emdee reported.
They just might get out of this alive.
"There is a turbolaser at the base of the tower," Emdee added.
Val's luck never lasted.
Laserfire began to rock the ship as the depot's defenses opened fire.
The Nomad swiftly retaliated, wiping the turbolaser off the face of the planet.
"Vape the landing craft!" Val ordered as they approached the landing field.
As the Nomad approached the landing field, Emdee opened fire on its freight, scattering the maintenance crew.
Through the viewport, Val saw a speeder pull up as it saw the unfolding carnage. He recognized Riko, Jade, Niner, and another droid that he couldn't identify on top.
"Stop!"
Jade was wrapped up in Riko's raincoat, her left hand bracing her arm…
Starting to worry about Bao's absence, Val put the ship down and lowered the landing ramp.
Less than a minute later, he ran down the ramp, pistol and medpac in his hand.
"Bao's here, Jade and I are going back for him," Riko explained Bao's absence from the team.
"Riko, you can't…." Val said.
"It's my responsibility. It was my mission, and I should get Bao out of this," Riko insisted.
Val sighed in defeat, "Good luck Riko."
After injecting her arm with the numbing agent, Riko and Jade began to walk back into the frigate's hallways, but then turned to Val. For a moment, Val hoped that Riko had decided to ask for Val's help, to find some other way to extract Bao.
"The way you extracted me from the Temple, you want to try that again?"
Depot Corridor
Tau was proud of the skill with which his former apprentice was holding him off, even if it was barely done. Interestingly, he could tell that Bao was calling on the Force more than naught.
"You've improved since Atarashi'ie, Bao," Tau commented as he deflected a slash from Bao's new lightsaber.
"I'm not sure if I can say the same, since you're still beating me," Bao commented.
He deflected most of Tau's attacks, and even struck a few times, almost slicing open his cheek, leaving a stinging cut.
The Grand Master attempted to strike at Bao multiple times, often resorting to telekinesis or Force Lightning.
Bao deflected both forms of attack, though he was sometimes swept back across the deck by the former.
Finally, the Trandoshan made a tactical error. He threw his lightsaber at Tau, attempting to use telekinesis to strike at his former master with his lightsaber from a distance.
Tau caught the saber in the air. It budged slightly as Bao attempted to pull it back, but Tau held it firm before he proceeded to slice the hilt in two.
"You haven't learned enough, Bao," Tau said as he advanced.
Bao grabbed a second lightsaber from his belt. A red blade ignited from the hilt. Asharr's lightsaber.
"I've learned, Master," Bao taunted, holding his lightsaber in a guard position from the Djem So form.
Tau hammered and hammered, but Bao, enhancing his already formidable strength with the Force, kicked the Grand Master in the torso, sending him flying into the window. Tau wrapped himself in Force energy to shield himself from the worst of the impact, slamming into the window, seriously cracking it, but regardless, his bruised spine felt painful, with a number of transparisteel shards embedded in it, coupled with the force of impact.
Tau dropped his lightsaber, falling to the floor. The transparisteel was fractured, on the verge of shattering into pieces.
The transparisteel…
Bao stepped towards his former master, even as the latter gathered the Force and placed his hand on the window, which began to further crack into pieces.
"You haven't won, Bao," Tau stated as the window shattered, the pieces flew towards his former apprentice, "You've lost."
Tau pulled himself up as the storm of transparisteel attacked Bao. The Trandoshan roared as he was mauled by many of the glass shards, reducing his torso to a bloody mess.
Bao's agony was heart-breaking for Tau to watch, but Tau continued until his old apprentice crumpled to the ground.
Tau stood over Bao's prone form. Bao was still conscious, albeit barely, and stared into his former master's eyes.
The Grand Master pulled Asharr's lightsaber to his hand and ignited it. He raised it over his head with both hands and, in one stroke, could end Bao-Sklar Pierce. Only to hesitate.
Bao wasn't supposed to be his enemy. What had he done wrong?
Tau simply didn't understand. The ignorance within Bao and other traditionalist masters was his enemy. If only they had understood, he wouldn't have fought them in the first place.
Then again, if Bao and other masters with his viewpoint survived, they would inevitably begin insurrections. The Jedi would be forced to face threats from their own kind.
Although Tau believed in achieving peace for the galaxy regardless of the cost, he began to wonder again if this peace he was forging was worth any more losses, whether Bao should join the long list of casualties…
"Dad!"
Tau looked to his left. He couldn't believe what he saw.
Jade stood at the edge of the corridor, holding her right arm against her chest, her features twisted slightly by pain.
Tau was silent for a moment, but then he began to walk towards his daughter, away from Bao's body. He was really glad to see her…
Suddenly, he heard the roar of a repulsorlift, and then realized he was being targeted. Just as he realized what was happening, a laser cannon fired into the hallway. Tau wrapped himself in the Force, not dying, but being thrown across the corridor.
Tau landed in a heap at the edge of the corridor, Jade not sparing a second glance as she ran past him, accompanied by Riko. Tau was hurt, both physically and mentally, until he saw the airlock of a ship wedge through the remains of the window. Tau had no doubt that it was the freighter from Atarashi'ie. He realized that Jade and Riko were extracting Bao, and intended to be quick about it.
The portal opened, and two droids stepped through. One was multi-limbed and painted blue. The other was Riko's patchwork droid, Niner, who yelled, "Hurry!" They moved to assist the adolescents.
Tau quickly pulled himself off the floor, he couldn't let them leave! He activated Asharr's lightsaber.
Riko ignited his orange blade and charged.
Tau grasped Riko telekinetically and threw him against the wall, aiming his saber towards the boy's heart.
"No!" Jade's plea startled Tau out of his rage. To his horror, she was pointing a blaster pistol at him.
No words were spoken as she fired.
Tau yelped as the blast left an inferno in his side, the shock of his daughter's action multiplied by the pain of his wound, bolting him to the floor. Petrified, he only watched as the roar of TieXs prompted the two novice Jedi to leave, only watched as the last of his family departed forever.
Wild Nomad's Medbay
Regret flooded Jade's consciousness. She had hoped that there was a chance that she could possibly lure Tau away from everything, make him understand what he was doing, only to lose him. Any chance of turning him back away from the path he was on faded in that drydock.
"I am sorry, Jade," Emdee said, "But Master Pierce is in critical condition, I cannot even guarantee I can save his life. I can help heal your hand within the next eight hours, past that point the damage to the nerves will be irreversible. Forgive me if I run out of time."
Jade didn't blame her. The droid was simply following her programming. Besides, Bao was still alive, but barely. When she looked at him, Jade saw small cuts everywhere, some of which had turned into gaping rips. Blood flowed all over the Trandoshan's tattered clothing, she was surprised that the Jedi Knight wasn't already a corpse by now. His life was worth far more than the loss of her hand.
"Jade," Emdee asked, one photoreceptor turning to her, "I need your help."
Wild Nomad Cockpit
"Okay," Val said as Riko and Niner joined him and Artoo in the cockpit, "We have a star destroyer between us and a hyperspace jump."
The storm had lessened since their entry, and while rain still splattered the viewport, it was far easier to fly through Kaas' atmosphere now.
With Jade and Bao both badly injured, Emdee was unable to fill the gunner's seat, and Riko was reluctant to take that position.
"Artoo, can you man the guns remotely?" Riko asked.
"Trill de beep!"
"Great, do it," Val ordered.
"You speak binary?" Riko asked as he took the co-pilot's seat, relieved.
"You learn a few things on the run," Val responded.
The storm began to clear up, the gloom began to fade.
Riko looked at the sensors.
"It says here that there's something up ahead," Riko reported, "Something large."
Riko looked up at the viewport, surprised that he couldn't see any stars, considering how high up in the atmosphere they were.
Then the clouds faded, and Riko understood. Everything made sense when he saw the running lights and thick armor plates on the underside of an Imperial star destroyer.
"Turn around, turn around!" Niner panicked.
Val immediately angled the freighter-gunship away, turning away from the massive warship.
"Fire, droid, fire!" Val ordered.
"That destroyer's deploying fighters!" Riko yelled, "We'll have to try something creative!"
"What did you have in mind?"
"I don't know!"
Riko was no longer sure they would make it out of this.
"Trill de dee deep!"
"He's saying to…" Niner was silent for a moment, "circle around the moon, fly away, get out?"
"Slingshot maneuver?" Riko asked. Artoo beeped again, con.
"Yes," Niner said more confidently.
"That could work!" Riko realized, "We can circle away from the fleet and shoot out of the system! From there, Artoo can calculate the jump to hyperspace."
Artoo trilled again.
"He's asking where to jump to," Niner translated.
"Anywhere but here!" Val replied.
The droid extended his probe into the computer socket.
"Alright, let's try your plan, droid," Val said as he flew the ship away from the skyhook and towards Dromund Boga, Dromund Kaas's second moon.
Riko heard Val mumble under his breath, "I'm surprised he's still compatible with modern computers."
"Keep blasting them," Val ordered Artoo, "We can't keep them back forever."
The Nomad flew into a hail of blasterfire, which, if it wasn't for her shields and armor, would have reduced them to quarks.
"How many in pursuit?" Riko looked at the sensor screen.
"Three squadrons of TieXs and two destroyers," Riko reported, "Let's hope their gunners aren't well trained."
They continued racing towards Boga's extremely hot atmosphere, the TIE/Xs in hot pursuit. Boga's storm filled visage increasing dominated the horizon.
The ship shook for the hundredth time under cannonfire. This caused an alarm to activate.
"Our primary transmitter's fried," Riko reported.
"Bee beep!"
"Slowing down to half full," Val responded. The ship gradually began to decelerate.
"They aren't slowing down," Riko reported, "Keep firing Artoo...ahhh!"
The ship shuddered again. Sparks flew out of the wall, illuminating the dark cockpit and stinging Riko's fingers.
Yelping, he tried to stop the pain, only to find his hand in front of his mouth and Niner grabbing his wrist.
"You always say that is gross," Niner scolded.
"Sorry," Riko turned back to the screen once Niner let go.
"Shields are at forty percent and dropping," Riko reported, "We'll have to replace the generator."
"We can do this," Val said to himself, just loudly enough that Riko could hear him. Riko was appropriately reassured.
"Alright Artoo, lay out the course and speed!" Val ordered. The course appeared on the navigation screen.
"Let's go!" Val angled the ship in, moving to twenty, fifteen, ten, and then five kilometers above the moon's atmosphere, encircling it. With a ship like the Nomad, it was difficult, but not impossible. With TIE/Xs, it would be harder, since they were designed to fly in open space and change direction rapidly, rather than angling into a planet's gravity. A Star Destroyer was simply too large to make that maneuver this quickly.
"Wo weoo!"
"The Ties can't tail us!" Niner translated, "They're still following, but they don't have the needy maneuvering!"
"Riko, you have to fix that droid," Val grumbled.
"I like him this way," Riko grinned.
"Me too!" Even Niner joined in, "I like me!"
Artoo began beeping second by second.
"Altering speed," Val reported, "I'm almost ready to pull out. Be sure to adjust the dampeners, especially the ones I installed for the medbay. Three…"
Riko dialed the inertial dampeners up to 100%. From what Val said, apparently the medbay had reinforced inertial dampening, which should ensure Jade, Bao, and Emdee were safe.
"Two…"
Riko strapped in his crash webbing.
"One."
Niner grabbed Riko's hand.
"Now!"
"Woooooowwwww!" The Nomad rapidly pulled from Dromund Boga and accelerated to her maximum speed. Even with dampeners at maximum, Riko was pushed back against his seat. He was unable to hold onto Niner, the metal hand tearing from his grip painfully. Riko was pretty sure his hand would bleed.
"Uuuuhhhh…" Niner groaned, "I am vertigoing…"
"Okay," Riko said, "I think we're clear. Punch it!"
"Got it," Val said as he activated the hyperdrive and the ship escaped.
Supply Corridor, Depot Interior
When Tau had finally been able to speak, he had ordered the security team that had found him to depart. He had insisted that he was fine, that he would visit the nearest medbay later. After attaching a bacta bandage and injecting him with a healing agent, the team had very reluctantly departed. Now he was walking down the corridor of the frigate, his left arm clutching his non-lethal, yet painful, injury.
His daughter was alive, but he might never see her again. He had lost everything in his pursuit of a better world.
Tau was so deep in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice Asharr lying down on the floor in front of him, her mask still steaming.
"Master…" Asharr said weakly, "Please, don't…" Tau knew that she might not live long without help. Was Bao right? Had he crossed a line?
No, he had fulfilled his vision of what the Jedi would become. And he would still attempt to keep the peace. He would do it for Jade, Bao, Kali'sto, anyone else still remaining that would live in a world of peace.
Tau knew that this was the only way to end the cycle. He had crossed the line so the Order he would lead into a new era wouldn't have to. He would continue until the Galaxy was safe. He would not give up now, not after all he had achieved. He would do it for her, ensure that the galaxy was as safe a place as he could make it.
And Asharr ...Tau would decide what to do with her later. She would still be needed.
"Master Skywalker," a Jedi Knight approached him, "They've escaped."
"I am aware, Illa."
Illa turned towards Asharr's ruined body, "What do you want me to do with it?"
"Send her to Miranda," Tau ordered. He moved his hand and used the Force to wrench the melted mask off Asharr's face, taking some semblance of catharsis from her screams of pain.