Last update for a while guys, sorry! Real life has interrupted.
Jaina woke to both a familiar and unfamiliar sensation. The burning pain in the back of her shoulder provided her with the familiar sensation. It took her a moment to analyze the unfamiliar sensation.
She was being cradled protectively in someone's arms. Someone who cared about her, her mind offered, a moment later. She took a moment to savor the situation, snuggling more closely into the comforting embrace before the realization of just how wrong her situation was, hit her. She was in Vong territory and voluntarily separated from the strike team that she had infiltrated the planet with. There should have been no one to rescue her. That thought provoked another and suddenly memories began to come back to her. She remembered the realization that she would die and the sudden bolt of charric fire that had saved her.
It was enough to trigger a strong reaction in Jaina. With a supreme concentration of effort, she forced her eyes open and immediately confirmed her growing suspicions. "Jag," she demanded, although not as forcefully as she had intended.
He looked down at her quickly, turning his attention from where they were to focus on her. "Jaina!" Instead of launching into the recriminations that Jaina had immediately expected to hear from him, his voice was gentle and almost tentative. "You're awake," he stated the obvious. "That's a good sign," he continued quickly, "It means that it probably didn't have a chance to poison you before I removed the amphistaff. I bandaged your shoulder the best that I could and applied a bacta patch," he explained.
Her first instinct was to reply coldly, maintaining the harsh distance that had seemed to become a normal part of their everyday interactions. Before she could speak, however, she felt another wave of confusion come over her. The emotions that had been long dormant under her pain and anger surfaced bringing out a wave of concern for him. There was no reason for Jag to be there. In fact, it was almost impossible for him to be there.
"Jag," she asked quietly, "what are you doing here?" Her voice wasn't angry or demanding, it was almost gentle.
"I-" he stumbled to a stop hesitating about his response. He didn't look at her, but he didn't put her down either. He stopped speaking and then glanced quickly up to meet Jaina's eyes. He almost seemed to be challenging her, either to interrupt or to deny what he was about to say. "Kyp told me what really happened on Shelter. He told me that you were hallucinating, and that you didn't know it was Zekk."
Jaina blinked in surprise. Whatever she had been expecting to hear - that wasn't it. "Put me down," she said quietly.
Jag frowned, but did as she asked.
She swayed slightly as she balanced her weight on her own two feet again. Jaina didn't object as Jag automatically reached a hand out to catch her arm, steadying her. "That's in the past, Jag," she said quietly. "We've both changed since then." She seemed not to even remember where they were or the possible dangers that surrounded them. He started to speak again, but she cut him off. "I'm sorry that I dragged both you and Cem into this," she continued. "I'm not sure why you're here or why you saved my life, but, thank you." She met his eyes steadily. "I don't know how you got down here, but you don't have to stay. You can go rejoin your squadron. You and Cem may leave as soon as you have an opening."
She started to turn away, but stopped abruptly, as his hand tightened on her arm. "Jaina." His voice demanded her attention. She turned back to face him as he took another step closer to her. "Jaina," he explained hastily, "I was worried about you, and Kyp could sense that you were in trouble." He took a deep breath. "I came here to help you. I didn't come here to leave you again. I've done that enough already. I wanted to apologize for not trusting you, then or now. I promised you once that I would never leave you," he added with quiet intensity, "I broke that promise once. I don't intend to do it again. You're injured," he stated softly. "Let me stay with you, at least until this mission is completed."
Jaina had stopped hearing his words a moment earlier, however. Instead she seemed to be entranced by what she saw in his eyes and his face. For the first time since Jag had come back to Known Space, she didn't see hatred or hard cold anger in his eyes. He met her gaze openly, not hiding anything from her. She cocked her head quizzically.
"Jag," the whispered word was filled with a multitude of emotions. It asked all of the questions that Jaina was afraid to. His only response was to lean down closer to her. She didn't flinch or move away from him. Keeping her eyes locked on his, she didn't move as he lowered his lips tentatively to hers.
They pulled apart after a long moment. Neither of them seemed to know what to say. Jag started to speak, but stopped as Jaina gently placed a finger on his lips. "Thank you," she whispered quietly, "for everything."
She started to continued, but Jag gently grabbed a hold of her hand, holding it securely between them as he leaned towards her with another kiss. Jaina was lost in the sensation, lost in Jag's kiss, and the wonderful feeling of his lips against her. It had been years since she had felt this safe, this lo-
Her thought was cut off abruptly as the ground began to tremble beneath them. It was enough to draw them out of their kiss and force them to refocus on the mission.
"I have to find Jacen," she said quickly. "Something's wrong. I can't leave without him, not when I'm this close."
Jag nodded, "I know." Involuntarily his lips seemed to form into a smile. He gestured for her to go first, "As you lead, Goddess. I have you back."
Despite the seriousness of the situation that they were in and the constant threat of death and capture, Jaina felt more lighthearted than she had in years. The throbbing pain in her shoulder had faded to a dull ache under the healing effects of the bacta patch and Jag's blissful distractions. She couldn't restrain a cocky Solo grin. Jaina leaned over to kiss him quickly, savoring every detail of it until he pulled away. "Let's go."
The floor began to crack, small faults running out across the floor. Mounds of floor and the ground underneath it began to heave up, while other places sunk just as rapidly. The prisoners and members of the strike team alike began to race for the door.
Mara stumbled and caught her balance as the ground began to shake harder. She turned away from the increasing upheaval in front of her, and glanced back towards the being in the shadows. The shaking intensified again as she lurched towards the being. The next seizure of the earth literally knocked her to the ground. Loose pieces of the ceiling high over head began to reign down overhead as Mara climbed quickly back to her feet.
She took one more step towards the being and then jerked back as the sound of an amphistaff slicing through the air gave her a mere moment of warning. She deflected the second blow with her lightsaber and then disengaged, stepping back to catch her balance. "Callista," she growled as she was finally able to fully look at the person holding the amphistaff. With a rush, Mara felt Callista's Dark presence return to the Force. The woman was holding back nothing now. She was reveling in her rage and she was channeling it all at Mara.
"Jade," her words were accompanied by a smirk. She feinted a small unambitious slash towards Mara's right side. Mara blocked it easily. "Are you ready to [i]become one with the Force," Callista sneered. Dark energy formed almost a halo around Callista. Her grey eyes were consumed by rage as she launched a series of furious attacks on Mara.
Both women barely noticed the upheaval of the large room around them, compensating for the disturbances automatically. "Killing you will only be the beginning, Jade," Callista gloated aiming a kick at Mara's midsection. The amphistaff in her hand lost its rigidity and coiled around Mara's blue blade. With a well timed yank of her amphistaff coupled with a rather large shudder that rocked the entire room, Callista emphasized her next words with another powerful blow to Mara's torso. "Your son will be mine," Callista spun, ducking Mara's next low and came back up to land a punishing blow to Mara's head.
Mara staggered. "He will loathe you as the person you really are and he will flourish under my tutelage." She paused, savoring Mara's pain. The cavernous room rocked again, with the largest disturbance thus far. Mara used the interruption to stager back several steps.
Callista laughed interpreting Mara's move as one born of fear. "You should be afraid. I will have everything that you cherish. Luke will be mine. He will rule at my side as my Dark consort and he will realize the error of his feelings for you and the ways that you have deceived him."
Mara couldn't even hear Callista. Even as the words washed over her, she denied them sharply. She focused intently instead on the pattern of tremors. Mara raised her lightsaber in front of her and straightened to her full height. She met Callista's next amphistaff blow solidly with her lightsaber.
"No."
It was one word, but the entire room seemed to echo with it. It only took Mara a moment to realize that the word really had echoed. Silence reigned in the large room with the exception of the loud crash of their traded blows. No more rocks feel from the ceiling. The ground was steady and firm.
And then the bottom fell out literally. A section of the ground, approximately ten or fifteen meters wide, between Mara and the fleeing prisoners suddenly collapsed into a large sinkhole like area.
No one took the time to gawk at the sudden change in geography. Prisoners and rescuers a like scrambled towards the exit. Teara, one of the members of the strike team that was guarding the rear, shouted questioningly at Mara, "What are your orders?"
"Get the prisoners out of here and get off planet." She didn't even turn to see if Teara had followed her orders. Mara didn't allow herself to think about it for the moment. How she was going to make her exit would no longer matter, if Callista killed her.
The confident smile on Callista's face only grew. Mara's danger sense was, once again, screaming. Callista raised one hand towards Mara. Still slightly sluggish from several of Callista's blows to the head, Mara's blue blade barely slipped into position soon enough to intercept the Force lightening that Callista had shot at her.
Mara responded by taking two steps forward. Seizing the initiative of the moment, she aimed a horizontal slice at Callista. Callista quickly parried the blade away and danced back. This time Mara did hesitate. She was unwilling to follow Callista if she was being led into a trap. A shrieking roar rent the air, almost deafening Mara as the ground exploded up beneath her feet. The sudden eruption of the ground beneath her, tossed her into the air and she slammed painfully back into the ground again a meter away. So fast that she couldn't properly see it, something whipped out from behind Mara.
Her wrist almost snapped as it wrapped around her hand with bone crushing strength. In the next moment, whatever it was, was gone- along with her lightsaber. Mara attempted to rise to her feet, but feel back to the ground writhing in agony as Callista directed another blast of force lightening at her. When she no longer had the strength to fight its effects or the breath to scream from the pain, Callista topped.
She towered over Mara. "You're no Jedi, Jade," she sneered, "You are nothing. No one will come back for you. No one is here to save you. You will die and you will be forgotten." Callista raised her amphistaff one final time and brought it down quickly towards Mara for a fatal blow.
Mara gathered all of her strength, but she couldn't even force her muscles to stop twitching, much less roll away from the incoming blow. The amphistaff fell towards her.
An arc of purple light slid between Mara and the amphistaff. The amphistaff crashed into the purple blade in a crackle of violent energy. The lightsaber held, inches away from Mara.
"Hello, Callista."
Thanks for all of the feedback everyone. It's really appreciated.
Jaina woke to both a familiar and unfamiliar sensation. The burning pain in the back of her shoulder provided her with the familiar sensation. It took her a moment to analyze the unfamiliar sensation.
She was being cradled protectively in someone's arms. Someone who cared about her, her mind offered, a moment later. She took a moment to savor the situation, snuggling more closely into the comforting embrace before the realization of just how wrong her situation was, hit her. She was in Vong territory and voluntarily separated from the strike team that she had infiltrated the planet with. There should have been no one to rescue her. That thought provoked another and suddenly memories began to come back to her. She remembered the realization that she would die and the sudden bolt of charric fire that had saved her.
It was enough to trigger a strong reaction in Jaina. With a supreme concentration of effort, she forced her eyes open and immediately confirmed her growing suspicions. "Jag," she demanded, although not as forcefully as she had intended.
He looked down at her quickly, turning his attention from where they were to focus on her. "Jaina!" Instead of launching into the recriminations that Jaina had immediately expected to hear from him, his voice was gentle and almost tentative. "You're awake," he stated the obvious. "That's a good sign," he continued quickly, "It means that it probably didn't have a chance to poison you before I removed the amphistaff. I bandaged your shoulder the best that I could and applied a bacta patch," he explained.
Her first instinct was to reply coldly, maintaining the harsh distance that had seemed to become a normal part of their everyday interactions. Before she could speak, however, she felt another wave of confusion come over her. The emotions that had been long dormant under her pain and anger surfaced bringing out a wave of concern for him. There was no reason for Jag to be there. In fact, it was almost impossible for him to be there.
"Jag," she asked quietly, "what are you doing here?" Her voice wasn't angry or demanding, it was almost gentle.
"I-" he stumbled to a stop hesitating about his response. He didn't look at her, but he didn't put her down either. He stopped speaking and then glanced quickly up to meet Jaina's eyes. He almost seemed to be challenging her, either to interrupt or to deny what he was about to say. "Kyp told me what really happened on Shelter. He told me that you were hallucinating, and that you didn't know it was Zekk."
Jaina blinked in surprise. Whatever she had been expecting to hear - that wasn't it. "Put me down," she said quietly.
Jag frowned, but did as she asked.
She swayed slightly as she balanced her weight on her own two feet again. Jaina didn't object as Jag automatically reached a hand out to catch her arm, steadying her. "That's in the past, Jag," she said quietly. "We've both changed since then." She seemed not to even remember where they were or the possible dangers that surrounded them. He started to speak again, but she cut him off. "I'm sorry that I dragged both you and Cem into this," she continued. "I'm not sure why you're here or why you saved my life, but, thank you." She met his eyes steadily. "I don't know how you got down here, but you don't have to stay. You can go rejoin your squadron. You and Cem may leave as soon as you have an opening."
She started to turn away, but stopped abruptly, as his hand tightened on her arm. "Jaina." His voice demanded her attention. She turned back to face him as he took another step closer to her. "Jaina," he explained hastily, "I was worried about you, and Kyp could sense that you were in trouble." He took a deep breath. "I came here to help you. I didn't come here to leave you again. I've done that enough already. I wanted to apologize for not trusting you, then or now. I promised you once that I would never leave you," he added with quiet intensity, "I broke that promise once. I don't intend to do it again. You're injured," he stated softly. "Let me stay with you, at least until this mission is completed."
Jaina had stopped hearing his words a moment earlier, however. Instead she seemed to be entranced by what she saw in his eyes and his face. For the first time since Jag had come back to Known Space, she didn't see hatred or hard cold anger in his eyes. He met her gaze openly, not hiding anything from her. She cocked her head quizzically.
"Jag," the whispered word was filled with a multitude of emotions. It asked all of the questions that Jaina was afraid to. His only response was to lean down closer to her. She didn't flinch or move away from him. Keeping her eyes locked on his, she didn't move as he lowered his lips tentatively to hers.
They pulled apart after a long moment. Neither of them seemed to know what to say. Jag started to speak, but stopped as Jaina gently placed a finger on his lips. "Thank you," she whispered quietly, "for everything."
She started to continued, but Jag gently grabbed a hold of her hand, holding it securely between them as he leaned towards her with another kiss. Jaina was lost in the sensation, lost in Jag's kiss, and the wonderful feeling of his lips against her. It had been years since she had felt this safe, this lo-
Her thought was cut off abruptly as the ground began to tremble beneath them. It was enough to draw them out of their kiss and force them to refocus on the mission.
"I have to find Jacen," she said quickly. "Something's wrong. I can't leave without him, not when I'm this close."
Jag nodded, "I know." Involuntarily his lips seemed to form into a smile. He gestured for her to go first, "As you lead, Goddess. I have you back."
Despite the seriousness of the situation that they were in and the constant threat of death and capture, Jaina felt more lighthearted than she had in years. The throbbing pain in her shoulder had faded to a dull ache under the healing effects of the bacta patch and Jag's blissful distractions. She couldn't restrain a cocky Solo grin. Jaina leaned over to kiss him quickly, savoring every detail of it until he pulled away. "Let's go."
The floor began to crack, small faults running out across the floor. Mounds of floor and the ground underneath it began to heave up, while other places sunk just as rapidly. The prisoners and members of the strike team alike began to race for the door.
Mara stumbled and caught her balance as the ground began to shake harder. She turned away from the increasing upheaval in front of her, and glanced back towards the being in the shadows. The shaking intensified again as she lurched towards the being. The next seizure of the earth literally knocked her to the ground. Loose pieces of the ceiling high over head began to reign down overhead as Mara climbed quickly back to her feet.
She took one more step towards the being and then jerked back as the sound of an amphistaff slicing through the air gave her a mere moment of warning. She deflected the second blow with her lightsaber and then disengaged, stepping back to catch her balance. "Callista," she growled as she was finally able to fully look at the person holding the amphistaff. With a rush, Mara felt Callista's Dark presence return to the Force. The woman was holding back nothing now. She was reveling in her rage and she was channeling it all at Mara.
"Jade," her words were accompanied by a smirk. She feinted a small unambitious slash towards Mara's right side. Mara blocked it easily. "Are you ready to [i]become one with the Force," Callista sneered. Dark energy formed almost a halo around Callista. Her grey eyes were consumed by rage as she launched a series of furious attacks on Mara.
Both women barely noticed the upheaval of the large room around them, compensating for the disturbances automatically. "Killing you will only be the beginning, Jade," Callista gloated aiming a kick at Mara's midsection. The amphistaff in her hand lost its rigidity and coiled around Mara's blue blade. With a well timed yank of her amphistaff coupled with a rather large shudder that rocked the entire room, Callista emphasized her next words with another powerful blow to Mara's torso. "Your son will be mine," Callista spun, ducking Mara's next low and came back up to land a punishing blow to Mara's head.
Mara staggered. "He will loathe you as the person you really are and he will flourish under my tutelage." She paused, savoring Mara's pain. The cavernous room rocked again, with the largest disturbance thus far. Mara used the interruption to stager back several steps.
Callista laughed interpreting Mara's move as one born of fear. "You should be afraid. I will have everything that you cherish. Luke will be mine. He will rule at my side as my Dark consort and he will realize the error of his feelings for you and the ways that you have deceived him."
Mara couldn't even hear Callista. Even as the words washed over her, she denied them sharply. She focused intently instead on the pattern of tremors. Mara raised her lightsaber in front of her and straightened to her full height. She met Callista's next amphistaff blow solidly with her lightsaber.
"No."
It was one word, but the entire room seemed to echo with it. It only took Mara a moment to realize that the word really had echoed. Silence reigned in the large room with the exception of the loud crash of their traded blows. No more rocks feel from the ceiling. The ground was steady and firm.
And then the bottom fell out literally. A section of the ground, approximately ten or fifteen meters wide, between Mara and the fleeing prisoners suddenly collapsed into a large sinkhole like area.
No one took the time to gawk at the sudden change in geography. Prisoners and rescuers a like scrambled towards the exit. Teara, one of the members of the strike team that was guarding the rear, shouted questioningly at Mara, "What are your orders?"
"Get the prisoners out of here and get off planet." She didn't even turn to see if Teara had followed her orders. Mara didn't allow herself to think about it for the moment. How she was going to make her exit would no longer matter, if Callista killed her.
The confident smile on Callista's face only grew. Mara's danger sense was, once again, screaming. Callista raised one hand towards Mara. Still slightly sluggish from several of Callista's blows to the head, Mara's blue blade barely slipped into position soon enough to intercept the Force lightening that Callista had shot at her.
Mara responded by taking two steps forward. Seizing the initiative of the moment, she aimed a horizontal slice at Callista. Callista quickly parried the blade away and danced back. This time Mara did hesitate. She was unwilling to follow Callista if she was being led into a trap. A shrieking roar rent the air, almost deafening Mara as the ground exploded up beneath her feet. The sudden eruption of the ground beneath her, tossed her into the air and she slammed painfully back into the ground again a meter away. So fast that she couldn't properly see it, something whipped out from behind Mara.
Her wrist almost snapped as it wrapped around her hand with bone crushing strength. In the next moment, whatever it was, was gone- along with her lightsaber. Mara attempted to rise to her feet, but feel back to the ground writhing in agony as Callista directed another blast of force lightening at her. When she no longer had the strength to fight its effects or the breath to scream from the pain, Callista topped.
She towered over Mara. "You're no Jedi, Jade," she sneered, "You are nothing. No one will come back for you. No one is here to save you. You will die and you will be forgotten." Callista raised her amphistaff one final time and brought it down quickly towards Mara for a fatal blow.
Mara gathered all of her strength, but she couldn't even force her muscles to stop twitching, much less roll away from the incoming blow. The amphistaff fell towards her.
An arc of purple light slid between Mara and the amphistaff. The amphistaff crashed into the purple blade in a crackle of violent energy. The lightsaber held, inches away from Mara.
"Hello, Callista."
Thanks for all of the feedback everyone. It's really appreciated.