Last time: Cien tried to escape with Sasha during a Coup, but then things went wrong.

Now: Kyr finds a lead to finding Sasha.

Part 3 Chapter 1: This is Her Fault

Kyr walked down the dark alleyway in the midnight gloom. Annoyed. His contact hadn't been at any of the old haunts he had known about when he had been to this outpost last time. He'd been looking all week. The Unknown Regions were aptly named. They were such a mess he had no idea where to go now. He needed a local to help him figure out what the next step was, they needed a guide. Visiting the planets on the list wasn't cutting it. He understood there was some sort of navigators guild out here, to help ships traverse the anomalies, so they probably needed to get in contact with them somehow. Maybe the kid at the landing field could point him in their direction, and they might know where… her empire was.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he felt the familiar sensation of being stalked. Probably just some idiots that would be in for quite a shock when they realized what their prey actually was. He kept walking, not alerting whoever had eyes on him. His vision was already in light enhancement mode, nothing ahead of him, and he glanced up at the surround video ribbon that ran above his glass visor to check behind him. Sure enough, there was someone walking down the alley back there, hidden in a dark cloak that had not been there before. He walked a little further, to keep from spooking them as they hurried towards him with a quick stride. He had left his rifle with the ship since wandering around towns like this fully decked out usually made people uncomfortable. Especially in a region where they didn't know a Mandalorian from a protocol droid. But he didn't need it.

In one smooth motion he drew his pistol and turned around, leveling his aim at the shadowed figure. "That's close enough, walk away." He said, harshly.

"Kyr, it's me." Cien stated as she kept walking forward. She lowered her hood so he could see her. He looked at her in shock, she was dressed in a simple long sleeved layered black tunic and skirting under her cloak, the adornments he had seen her in last were long gone, and her hair was tied back in a simple braid that glowed under the pale light of the stars. She looked just like she had the first time he'd seen her. She looked at him with a sense of relief.

She desperately wanted to ask him to remove his helmet. To have some small semblance of comfort shown to her after everything that had happened. To see the face of the person who had first shown kindness to her and not have it be hidden behind the transparisteel visor. Behind a helmet that bothered her because it still brought Dracul to mind all these years later. But she could not ask, knowing he would refuse. Knowing he must consider her an enemy, that he could no longer remove it when with her. It would hurt too much to have that put to words and have the question answered. But she at least trusted him to talk to her so they could save Sasha.

"Stop." He growled, his anger at her outweighing everything else. "I said that's close enough."

That brought her up short, she was a few meters away from him. She looked at him, and he could see confusion and the hurt sweep across her face as she looked between his T-visor and the barrel of the blaster pointed at her. The flat facade she had kept at Haven was gone, and he could read her plainly.

"Kyr, I-" She looked at him.

"Save it." Kyr growled at her.

"I'm sorry." She said, ignoring him and continuing. "I'm sorry for what I did." Her voice was almost a whisper, and had more fragility to it than he had ever seen in her. She kept looking between the tip of the barrel and his visor.

He wasn't in a mood to care as he kept his sights squarely on her. "What you've done is unforgivable. You owe me your life, give me one reason not to take my due." He growled at her.

She faltered, taking a few steps back and her hand reached up to clutch her chest on its own. This was a side of Kyr that she had never faced before, and hadn't expected to meet even after what she had done.

This wasn't the Kyr that had gently treated her wounds after she had fled Dracul. The Kyr that had quietly spoken to her in the dining room at the lodge afterward and offered her a hand of friendship and her first treasured gesture of true kindness. The Kyr that stayed with her while she healed to make sure she was safe. To make sure she wasn't alone.

This was the Kyr that had seen countless battlefields, and taken countless lives without mercy. The Kyr that killed off three hundred storm troopers to save his brother and keep Sasha and Viran safe. The Kyr that had killed an entire Star Destroyer's worth of people for revenge. The Kyr that wanted to kill because his family was threatened.

And all of that malice was directed solely at her. It struck her like a physical blow that he would never forgive her for what she had done. He couldn't. She knew what had happened to his family all those years ago. And she had been the one to take yet another sister from him, not to mention her unborn child. And to him it had to have looked like she had taken advantage of his feelings for her to do so. She could only feel anger wafting from him, hatred, rage. And underneath all of that a deep well of pain. The Kyr she had known, that she had hoped to see again, no longer existed for her and never would given the emotions she felt rolling off of him.

And worst of all she knew she deserved it.

She felt her heart break.

"I-" she began, and stopped, trying to collect herself as she looked down at the ground. For the first time in her life, through all the terrible things she had seen and heard and endured, all the evil and malice she had faced, this was the first time she felt tears come to her eyes. After so much had happened these past days, and her final spark of hope was extinguished. She tried to hold them back.

Kyr saw the anguish wash across her face and he faltered as well, blinking under his buy'ce and his blaster pistol lowered as his anger for her was overruled by something else. This was not the Cien he had expected after their last encounter.

"I know," she said, haltingly, "I can never be forgiven." She looked up at him. "I have done something so terrible I can never atone for it. To you. Or Viran, or Oppie." She swallowed, and looked away. "She and I tried to escape, to get her back to you. But they captured her." She then looked him squarely in the eye, and he could see the conviction in her tone as she hardened. "I've lost my Empire, I don't care about that. I never really did. The only thing that matters to me is getting Sasha and her child back home safe." She looked away, down towards the ground again. "Nothing else matters anymore." She whispered.

He lowered his pistol and regarded her for a time, and then put it back in its holster. He walked forward. She didn't move as he approached. He came within an arm's length of her, and she tensed like she always did when someone got within two meters of her. She was looking down at the ground still, her eyes closed. She had seemed so fragile before, but now she simply looked broken. And he felt terrible for it.

"Cien look at me." He asked, his voice softer, losing the malice it had held just moments ago. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, and he looked deeply into her eyes, trying to read her. "Is this for real? You guys had to escape? You know where Sasha is?"

"Yes." She stated, having trouble meeting his gaze, but he could tell it was not because she was lying. It was from something else he couldn't decipher.

He stood there for a few moments as she tried to keep her gaze steady on him. "I believe you." He said, finally. And she relaxed slightly, still under his scrutiny. "I'll take you back to the others and we'll see what we can do." She nodded, and looked downward again.

Kyr wanted to say something else, but he couldn't. He was angry at her. And he hated himself for it. He turned and headed back down the alley. And she followed numbly at his side. They walked in silence, and it was oppressive for both of them. Approaching the landing field Kyr muted his exterior amp and messaged Tac.

"Tac, can you subtly ask Op to meet me at the ramp, please? And I mean subtle, don't let Viran overhear." He asked on his private com channel. He got a whistle in response, and worried what Tac's idea of subtle might be. They walked to the top of the ramp, into the small chamber in the circular corridor that was at the top. Cien came to a stop standing next to him. She glanced up as if to ask something and couldn't bring herself to as she looked away.

A shadow appeared around the corner as Op came through the circular corridor. "Everything okay Kyr? Tac said you-" He slowed to a halt midstep as he saw who stood next to Kyr.

Oppie took in her stricken expression, and felt the sheer emotional pain rolling off of her. This wasn't what he had expected at all, either to see Cien standing next to Kyr like he was dragging her in chains, and certainly not a Cien that looked and felt so… broken. "Oh." He said.

"Yeah." Kyr responded.

"Cien, what happened?" Oppie asked, walking over to them. From the way she was acting he feared the worst for Sasha.

Cien looked up at Sasha's master, feeling a faint trace of mockery that he had Kyr's face as he spoke to her. She collected herself and spoke. "There was a coup. Sasha and I tried to escape, to get her back to you but she." She paused, "my former acolyte pulled her off the ship as we fled."

"Is she…" Oppie tried to ask, but couldn't bring himself to finish the words as he thought of Sasha.

"No." Cien stated, realizing what it sounded like she was saying. "No, no she's still alive, I can feel her. But she's been captured." Cien said. "I-" She stopped. "I'm sorry, for all of this. I couldn't bring myself to hurt her after we rekindled our friendship. I was just about to take her back home, and contact you to let you know." Cien said, still stricken.

Oppie looked at her and glanced at Kyr, he was unreadable under his bucket. Through the Force he could only feel a cloud of worry and anger from his brother. Cien, he could only feel a wash of shame, and hurt, and a horrible numbness.

"What will they do to her?" Oppie asked quietly.

"Nothing." Cien said, "for the most part. Ikari, my," she paused, "former acolyte, wants her child, so they won't harm Sasha." She couldn't bring herself to finish her last sentence with the word 'much', even though it felt more accurate, knowing Ikari.

"Hey Op, how do you thi-" Viran was cut off as he rounded the corner. He stood there in complete shock as he stared at Cien standing right next to Kyr. It took him a moment before he did anything. Viran stepped forward and walked straight to Cien, his expression unreadable. And as soon as he was within inches of her, he raised his right hand as if to punch her in the face before calling his saber to his hand and activating it with a snap-hiss as he swung at her for an overhead strike.

Cien froze and recoiled slightly as the saber came at her.

Kyr threw his arm out, catching the blade with the side of his right arm gauntlet and Viran's strength pushed it in slowly towards Cien.

Oppie stared in shock at Viran.

"Don't," Kyr started, "do that." His voice dripping with venom as he stared at Viran, and his gauntlet held the saber at bay as Viran let up slightly.

Cien glanced up at Kyr in shock before looking back at Viran.

Viran whipped his head around to stare at Kyr in shock, before turning back to Cien with murder in his eyes. "What the hell is she doing here? Where… is… my… wife?" He growled as he started to push harder on the saber as Kyr brought up his other gauntlet to hold the blade in a scissor block.

Cien recoiled in fear, desperately wanting to be anywhere else than here, especially between Viran and Kyr. "She," Cien started, her voice broken, "we tried to escape and she fell behind. She was captured." Cien said.

"And you didn't go back for her?" Viran asked, the rage in his voice at its boiling point.

"We couldn't. If we had tried then you would never have found her in time." Cien said, looking between Kyr as he struggled to keep Viran's saber at bay, and Viran's eyes. "It was just me and three troopers left, we couldn't have made it." She said desperately.

Viran growled and pulled his saber out of Kyr's gauntlets "Why should we believe you? You stole my wife and child! We are in this situation because of you!" He accused, almost shouting. Angry tears lining his eyes.

Cien recoiled within her robes and couldn't bring herself to speak.

"Viran, calm down!" Oppie said, shocked.

"Back off." Kyr growled at Viran.

"Calm down? Why the kriff should I calm down?" Viran seethed. "My wife is still missing! I will not calm down until I get them back!" He then looked back at Cien. "Get out of my way Kyr so I can give her what she rightfully deserves for hurting my family!"

Kyr stepped in front of Cien to keep him away from her while Cien took a half step back in shock.

"Viran!" Oppie shouted, his voice echoing in the small corridor. When the younger Jedi didn't respond. "VIRAN!" He yelled much louder as he grabbed the younger Jedi by the shoulder and pulled him physically backward. Oppie dragged him around and slammed him against the corridor. "You are trying to kill the only person who knows where Sasha is right now. I don't give a damn where you go, but get the kriff off this ship until you cool the hell down." He stared into Viran's eyes, glowering at him.

Kyr and Cien both stood frozen looking at the scene. In the back of Kyr's mind he realized that was the first time he had ever heard Op swear.

Viran stared at Oppie in shock as the rage started to simmer as his saber deactivated before dropping to the ground. He felt the tears burn in his eyes as he realized what he was about to do. He felt his heart thud as he was afraid to look at Kyr and Cien in the moment. Instead, he felt his face drop as he quit resisting. He slumped against the corridor wall and lowered his chin.

"I failed," Viran started as his voice broke, "I failed her again, I lost everything… again."

"Not yet." Oppie said in a more even tone, letting go of him and turned to Cien. "Can we go talk, please?" He asked as calmly as he could, but his voice was an order. Cien immediately walked to join him, she gave a wide berth to Viran and kept her head down as he went around the corner of the ship to the Shadow Runner's lounge following Oppie's wake.

Kyr, standing there in shock, looked over at Viran. "Want to go get a drink?"

Viran didn't lift his head or his gaze, but he did nod with no other response.

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