~O~
His Name Was Dillon Fray
"Trilla! Hey!"
Trilla sighed with irritation, looking up at the young Jedi Padawan balancing himself on his hands on a statue of a Jedi Master. He was younger than she was and had performed at a circus long before being taken in as a Padawan.
Tall, brown-haired and bright eyed; Dillon had come from Coruscant
"Dillon, you're not funny," she said, "Now get down. We're going to be late."
Dillon huffed with disappointment, hopping down from the statue after performing a little flip into the air. He walked with Trilla as they made their way up the stairway to the Library of Ossus. Trilla and Dillon's Masters had been in the middle of talking to one another - Cere Junda and Orn Daru. Orn was a Twi'lek Jedi Commander Trilla had rarely spoken to.
"...and I'll be a Knight!" Dillon was saying, though Trilla was focused on her holo-recording of historical Jedi places, "I even have my own nickname. 'Sword Dancer'."
Trilla frowned at him, raised an eyebrow when she heard the nickname. "Sword Dancer?" she said, skeptically.
"Yeah!" Dillon grinned. "Cool, huh?"
Trilla laughed and shook her head. She was aware of Dillon's abilities that involved cutting the air around him. But it was done in small increments and barely useful to anyone, really.
"Well, perhaps you can get a job as a Scrapper if that fails you."
She slapped the holo-recorder into his hands and he grunted sharply before following her.
"Aww, come on, Trilla!" he protested.
"Don't argue with me."
Trilla had been studying the Miraluka woman.
She was dark skinned, her eyes wrapped in a decorative scarf of patchwork cloth and her silver hair tied up in a braid. She was also wearing thin body armor over dark grey robes.
"...there, thread that there..." Kareena was instructing Cere on the proper way to thread Sienna's wound shut. "Good. The Nightsister's magick will tend to the rest of it."
Cere's face was a mask of intense focus as she worked on the younger woman's wound. Kareena was ensuring her that she was doing fine and would live. So long as she remained connected to her droid. She'd even explained that the droid had been a gift from Cara to keep her alive in an emergency.
Sienna was moving slowly, head rolling weakly against the table. She looked worse than she had before. The droid attached to her was just barely keeping her alive.
"Trilla, come here." Kareena instructed. "Touch her face. Let her know you're here."
Trilla cleared her throat, eyes misting. She didn't like seeing Sienna like that; so feeble and bloody. She knelt down and reached up to cup Sienna's cheek with one hand. It seemed to help because it drew the slightest smile on Sienna's face. She leaned into it a little, reaching up slowly with her hand to hold it there.
Trilla didn't realize she'd gasped softly. Her heart felt as if it'd stopped.
Why did that happen?
"APPROACHING NEW EDEN."
Kareena rose and that certainly alerted the others. They looked out into space and saw...
And asteroid.
The planet she spoke of was an asteroid?
Cere was confused when she watched them approaching an enormous asteroid that floated aimlessly in space. She looked at Kareena as the woman addressed someone over her holotable; a tall woman in white robes.
"We're here," Kareena said, "Open the hangar doors."
"We?" the woman questioned.
"I picked up a few more Jedi - or what I believe to be Jedi. I know how that sounds, Cara." Kareena explained, "One of them was nearly killed by an Inquisitor. It was a power I haven't witnessed before. Cara, we must go to your lab and get her proper treatment."
A sigh from the holographic image. "Alright. I hope you're ready to explain it to your father."
The communication was cut off and Kareena tilted her head toward Cere. "New Eden. It's shielded by a cloaking system. Watch."
Trilla and the others stepped forward, witnessing the ship entering what looked to be nothing. A doorway had opened and they passed into a dimly lit hangar. Their eyes widened and they looked amazed to witness several beings of every shape and size working inside of it, preparing to receive the ship.
Once it landed, it didn't take long for the Mantis to join them. Kareena was the first out of the ship to address the cautious ones there.
Trilla looked down at Sienna and picked her up once more. She gently scooped her up and it stirred a burst of life in the other woman. The droid followed along with her.
She could smell the sweat and blood from the other woman as she held her. Sienna was trembling weakly and clutched the jacket she wore with weak fingers.
"What...?" Sienna croaked. "What's happening?"
Trilla winced, carrying her to the door. "We're here. You're going to be fine now."
Greez was out of the ship, trying to make sense of what was going on. "Hey! Hey, what's going on here? What happened to Tormo? Is - Whoa!"
He saw Sienna's condition and quickly made his way up to her. "Kid! What happened?"
Trilla hissed at him. "I'll explain. Later." Her voice was a sharp bite.
The others followed and Cere was the first to notice that Kareena was attempting to alleviate tensions growing amongst them; a smaller woman in a labcoat looked up at her, frowning intensely.
"...your father won't like this..."
"I understand. Let me deal with him. We need to get her to your lab. Please, Cara, she's dying."
Cara looked up at Trilla; a small stout woman with wrinkled features and short grey hair. She had sharp, blue eyes that regarded Trilla suspiciously, but softened at the sight of Sienna. She sighed, nodded and beckoned with one arm.
"Alright, bring her here. Let's move quickly!" she said.
A few protests, suspicious stares from those around them. Trilla glanced around her, lips pursed. She was not among friends here. Needless to say, Cal and the others shared her sentiment. Trilla noticed a Lorrdian was whispering to another.
Sienna was still unsure of what was going on and Trilla looked down at her. "Don't worry," she said, her voice soothing, "We have a doctor who will save you. You'll live."
The words were meant for Cara. Words that meant what they said. Severe ones that had Cara's expression unsettled.
"Of course." Cara said, "Bring her here."
There was a Repulsorlift stretcher that Cara indicated. Trilla set Sienna gently down onto it and before she could back away, Sienna took her hand in a small burst of strength. But Cara pulled them apart and gestured to two protocol droids.
"We have to get her into the infirmary. I need you two to prep my equipment. Hurry!"
"Right away, ma'am." one of the droids said.
Trilla stood there, watching as Sienna was ushered away into a room. The door roared shut and she barely felt Cere's hand on her shoulder.
She stared down at her hand where Sienna's blood still remained.
She could still smell it.
O
Hours went by.
It felt too long. Far too long.
BD-1 approached Trilla as she sat in the chair, hands at her face. She stared down at the droid and frowned intensely at it.
"What?" she snapped.
BD-1 bobbed his head once at her, taking a step forward before hopping up and resting in her lap. She started to protest, but sighed and didn't have the energy to push him away.
Cal was talking with Merrin. They were sitting in a waiting room, two security droids watching the door. Trilla knew that there was a certain fear with their presence. She could overhear discussions in another room, questioning if they were spies from the Empire. Kareena was talking to someone, insisted that they were not. How could she truly know, really? It wasn't as if Trilla had been up-to-date on the Miraluka and what they were capable of.
Cara stepping out of the room had them all standing now, tense and prepared for the worst.
She approached them and exhaled, wiping her hands on her coat. She had a little blood on them.
"How is she?" Merrin asked first.
Cara sighed, shaking her head. "She's lost a lot of blood." she explained. "We had to get Kareena to perform a transfusion. She's going to be weak for a while but...she will make it."
Trilla let out an explosion of breath that she could stop. Greez laughed and patted her hand. Cere's hand was on her shoulder and Cal smiled brightly. Merrin chuckled, nodding once.
"Can we see her?" Cal asked.
Cara nodded and gestured with one hand. "Right this way."
They followed the woman into a room where Sienna was laying. She was still connected to the droid and gave a small laugh when they entered the room.
"Hey." she said. "How do I look?"
"Like a Sarlacc chewed and spit you right up," Greez joked.
Sienna grinned, shaking her head. "So an improvement."
"She will need to stay connected to Star for the time she recovers," Cara told them, making her way over to Sienna to study her vitals on a nearby screen. "Just as a safety precaution."
"Okay," Sienna agreed. "Thank you for everything."
Cara looked surprised by the response for a split second. Then, she nodded her head and gave the smallest note of amusement.
"Star belongs to my wife. Take good care of him. If he has so much as a little dent, she'll never let me hear the end of it."
Sienna laughed a little. The others approached her now and Cara left the room to give them some time with the other woman.
"Where are we?" Sienna asked. "The colors are dimmed. Oh. There are a lot of droids, aren't there?"
"They call this place New Eden," Cere explained. "We don't know exactly what that means just yet. But we do know that they helped you. You'll need to stay here for a while to heal. We'll be back for you."
Trilla felt herself unable to speak - a first, really. God knew she had a lot to talk about.
Sienna wasn't paying her any mind. After all of this, did she intend to ignore her forever?
Cal looked at Trilla now, read the expression on her face before looking at Sienna.
"Hey, Trilla rescued you from that Inquisitor," he told her. "You should have seen her."
Sienna tilted her head toward Trilla, brows raised somewhat. She smiled hesitantly, then nodded before turning to Cal. A small benediction. A little 'thank you' in the gesture.
"Should I have? Really?" she joked, grinning.
Cal groaned with a small laugh to follow.
"Ahh, that never gets old," Sienna said, letting out a weak laugh.
Trilla started to speak, but Cal interrupted by taking a step forward. "We'll let you sleep. We can talk after that. Sound good?"
Sienna nodded her head. That sounded good to her.
O
Kareena led them down the dimly lit corridors and guards were there, watching with sharp, attentive eyes. Trilla knew what it meant.
They were strangers. Outsiders. The people who lived here survived because they did not trust others. She'd seen that enough.
"How many live here?" Cere asked.
"This planet is home to almost two hundred." Kareena explained. "Many of them are Force-sensitive beings and extinct species that my father, Lucien, took in to ensure their survival."
Cal grinned, delighted by the news. "That's incredible!"
"Just wait! You haven't seen the best part, yet." Kareena told him, smiling brightly as well.
"Kareena..." a Rodian guard protested.
But she ignored them, leading the Mantis' group out toward a balcony. Trilla blinked, taken by the bright rays of the sun that welcomed them. Below was a lush, thriving forest surrounding a makeshift town filled with beings of every shape and size. She could hear flowing water and noticed falls in the distance.
It truly looked like a paradise.
And outside, hell waited for them.
"This is amazing!" Cere gasped, "You've done all of this?"
"My father began this project long before the Purge." Kareena explained, "Helping the less fortunate became his life's work. When our species teetered on the edge of extinction after the slaughter of Katarr, he took in surviving Miraluka and hoped to bring our race together."
She led them down a flight of stairs and they passed two protocol droids.
"And what began the process of bringing other Force-sensitive's?" Cal asked.
"My father's unique abilities involve predicting the future. To a degree." Kareena told him, with a small laugh. "He can sense various probabilities and know what may come. One day, he saw the Purge happen if the will of the Sith was challenged in any way. He saw the identity of Sidious himself."
Trilla blinked, suspicious, but curious. "Quite a gift."
"Yes. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stand up to the Republic itself." Kareena continued. "So, he quietly took in whoever he could find and we were hid away. He was able to find those besieged and lost to Order 66. He couldn't be everywhere at once, of course." A sigh. "He still blames himself for that."
"And you wanted nothing in return." Trilla felt herself doubting the altruism a bit.
"We are, at our nature, a thoughtful, cautious, and deliberative species," Kareena explained, "We have little interest in personal gain or glory. By the grace of the Two Gods, we live and survive. That is enough for us."
"Are we going to meet him? Your father?" Merrin asked.
"Yes."
Greez made a nervous sound. "Are you sure he's gonna like us coming here? Because I'm really getting a feeling that these folk don't trust us too much."
"You're outsiders. It's understandable." Kareena sought to ease the tension. "But all of us were at some point. The Empire hunts you and that Inquisitor who nearly killed your friend wants you. So, for now, you are our ally."
Trilla found herself staring out at New Eden, taken by its existence.
A place for the remaining Jedi to live.
For a moment, she forgot her Dark thoughts. Something about this felt hopeful, despite the sense that it was a prison all its own.
They had survived.
She had not suffered for nothing.
O
Lucien was a tall, stoic Miraluka who seemed to tower over them.
He was wearing dark brown robes, shining metal armor of an unusual material that Trilla had never seen before. His eyes were wrapped in gold and red cloth, bearing a symbol of what she assumed belonged to his family. He had strong features that looked to have been chiseled from stone.
His voice was just as harsh as his features. "Jedi. Fallen Padawans." he said. "I heard that you saved my daughter from Sorc Tormo. Had she not left without telling me - "
He tilted his head toward Kareena, who exhaled patiently. "Father, you know I went to seek out other Force-sensitive's. It was what you did once, remember?"
Lucien sighed through his nose. He studied Cere, tilting his head. She offered her hand to shake his. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, "I can't believe the work you've done here. It's... It means so much seeing the Jedi and the children thriving. We'd lost hope."
Lucien nodded once, taking a moment to gauge her sincerity. He smiled a little. "Yes, hope. You were a Jedi, too. But you'd turned your back on the Force. I can understand that, really."
"Yeah..."
The Miraluka seemed to be thinking; even without eyes, Trilla could read every little detail in his body language that suggested he was concerned about something.
"Your friend. Cara's report read that she was attacked by an Inquisitor," Lucien continued, "What sort of Inquisitor was it?"
The attention was turned to Trilla now. She sighed, ran a finger across her lip before speaking.
"His name was Dillon Fray. I knew who it was when he manipulated the Force around him as a weapon," she explained, "Once, we trained together. His master was Orn Daru."
"Yes, I remember him now," Cere added, with a small, thoughtful note. "His master trained many Padawans. He was well loved by many."
Lucien listened intently. "I see. Go on."
"Some of those referred to him as 'Sword Dancer'," Trilla continued. She waved a dismissing hand. "Or whatever such ridiculous nonsense. I thought he'd perished when we were taken in by the Empire. But it seems he submitted to their torture."
"And you know that this is him?"
"None other."
Lucien nodded. He turned and Cal stepped forward. "We also have a holocron."
That made Lucien freeze in place. He turned, shock in his voice. "What?"
The others looked at Cal; there were doubts about revealing this bit of information to Lucien. They didn't know entirely if they could trust him, either.
"A holocron." Lucien smiled now. "I thought the Empire had taken them all. I didn't even think to look at the possibilities..."
A few looks were exchanged by the Mantis group. Lucien seemed genuinely happy and a little relieved.
"Good." he said. "Bring it to me."
Meanwhile, Zero had been sitting in the arena, working to repair the damages done to his helmet. A few soldering tools were handy to carry around as need be, even if most failed to do damage to him. Rarely did anyone get so close.
"You..." came a snarl from behind.
Zero lifted his head, stopping the soldering tool. Behind him, a remaining Haxion Brood had been leaning, bleeding from his side.
"Who killed Sorc Tormo?" he spat, vicious. "Was it you? Imperial - "
He cut himself off when Zero rose and turned, facing him. His features paled and his face slowly lit with dawning horror.
"Oh. Oh no - "
He turned to run and Zero raised one hand. The Force froze the man and he was struggling uselessly, being pulled toward the dangerous being. He kicked, clawed uselessly at the dirt, tears filling his eyes as he begged for mercy.
"No! No, please, don't!" he screamed.
Zero's hand closed over his throat once he was within reach and he slammed the man into the floor. A wet choke burst from his throat and he did it again.
And again.
And again.
Once more and the Haxion Brood's screams had long since stopped, but he continued driving his lifeless body into the ground. A few Stormtroopers were filing into the arena, scanning for signs of life when they stopped to see Zero there, rising from the bloodied, broken corpse of the Haxion Brood.
"Sir..." one said, unsettled. "Moff Gruss has a message for you."
Zero looked up at the trooper who had spoken and approached. It earned a few uncomfortable grunts and they seemed interested in looking away from him. One produced a holographic call from Moff Gruss. The man didn't seem uncomfortable by Zero's presence.
"So, I take it they escaped?" he said.
Zero nodded once.
"Hm. Yes, I've been going over your data," Moff Grus said, with pleasure, "You're quite the assassin they promised. And now I now exactly what to do with the Second Sister. Her emotions make her vulnerable. She's been away from the Inquisition for far too long."
Zero reached up, touching his chest with one long finger. Moff Grus didn't seem to comprehend at first. When he did, he chuckled.
"No, I don't consider this a failure, my friend," he assured him. "You've given me a lot to consider now. I know exactly what to do to hurt her. And I think you may like it, too."
Zero nodded once more.
Yes. Perhaps he would.
"Sir," a Stormtrooper reported, "We have several Haxion Brood ships closing in. What would you have us do?"
Zero produced his lightsaber now and he calmly strolled down the corridors to meet them. The troopers only waited for what felt like an hour before the screams began.