This chapter introduces Anah'ya, the second main character of this story before continuing on to Atton's part. To prevent any kind of confusion I'll also mention that everything that's italic at first is a memory/dream.
Also, thanks for reading everyone! The next update might take a bit longer, as I already had this one ready.
-o-o-o-o-
Enroute
"Ana?"
The woman's voice that gently called her name almost lost itself in the background noise of Coruscant's Upper Levels. But through the bond shared between Master and Padawan she had never before needed spoken words to listen, or to understand. It should have stirred her right now, alerted her of her mentor's presence, as it had always done ever since the bond had been shaped.
The empty silence in its stead was unbearable. There was nothing, not even an echo that would pass for anything resembling the severed connection.
"Anah'ya…"
A hand gently touched her shoulder, but Anah'ya had her eyes steadily directed downwards into one of Coruscant's traffic gorges. She wondered briefly how long a fall down there might take.
"Hey, Pad'wan. Have you already lost all respect for me?" her mentor teased lightly.
Finally, Anah'ya tore her gaze from the depth. She turned around, resting her back against the railing, to stand face to face with her Master. The familiar pair of gentle fawn colored eyes met hers and an honest – yet strained – smile whispered across her Master's lips. Anah'ya noted everything that was familiar about the woman… Her dark auburn hair kept in check by a fragile golden string, a masterpiece considering the unspeakable length, and the simple Ossus robe wrapping around her body… No, she didn't look different.
And yet she was.
Anah'ya could only recognize her visually. Where there should have been a familiar presence, was nothing but a screaming spot of pain and emptiness wedged into the force.
"They had no right to do this", Anah'ya stated quietly, watching as her Master's eyes darkened momentarily.
"We both know the council to have a poor judgment." A trace of spite was mixed into the hushed voice. "But be that as it may, your place is still with the Order."
Anah'ya blinked at her Master and opened her mouth to speak, but the woman shook her head.
"This is my burden. My path, and not yours. I asked Kavar to arrange a new Master for you and he assured me that you will be well taken care of"- there was a momentary silence between them until the woman continued -"You have such great potential Ana. I do not want you to waste this gift of yours out of stupid loyalty.
There… would be nothing worse to me than seeing you throw it away for nothing. Do you understand me?"
Anah'ya nodded dutifully. She wanted to protest it and give in to the pain that wrecked her soul, but doing so would mean to defy not only the code, but also the wish of her, now former, Master.
"Good…"- the whisper of a smile touched the corner of the woman's lips as she rested both hands on Anah'yas's shoulders -"Don't think I won't check on you. I will return, and when I do, I want to be able to call you Jedi Master Zar. Nothing less."
"I will not disappoint you. I promise," her voice trembled slightly, but the tears were safely held back. "I will become everything you wanted me to be."
There was no embrace to conclude their goodbye and no more words of comfort spoken. Her former Master merely nodded before turning on her heels and heading down the walkway that connected the Jedi Order temple with the nearest landing pads. Her walk was that of a woman who had always carried an unspoken weight on her shoulders, only that it had just now become unbearable.
Anah'ya watched her…
her heart beating furiously against her chest. The pressure of sorrow
grew with every passing moment, until the girl thought she could no
longer take it. Her vision blurred as tears broke through the
controlled mask, and her hands had to tightly grip the railing before
she could lose her balance.
.
'Wake up now!' her own voice
screamed at her from a distance.
.
The girl gasped. Through the
mist of tears, Anah'ya saw Coruscant twist and change. All around
her departing Master the buildings stretched quickly into solid walls
surrounding the woman. A dark room formed around her Master,
resembling a cargo hold of sorts with crates stacked along the walls.
.
'Wake!'
.
But
she didn't. Instead, she allowed the force to show her the glimpse
into the yet-to-be. A door at the far side of the room slid open,
allowing a sinister red glow to flood inside, followed by the
familiar hum of an idle lightsaber.
"Not so fast," called an intimidating voice, and her Master spun around to face the shrouded man joining her within the hold. She too, had changed. Her hair was cropped just below her shoulder and her face lined with fatigue.
"I won't fight you… murderer…"
"Depriving me of the fun? Uh well, both works for me. Maybe I'll just take my time with you."
With that he lazily spun the lightsaber in his right hand, fanning it out like a disk of deathly red light, before lunging at the woman.
oo-oo-oo
Anah'ya screamed. She felt hands grabbing her shoulder, pushing her back, and instinctively tried to fend them off.
"Agh, Pretty! Stop!" a stranger called out and the girl opened her eyes. At first she felt disorientated – lost – simply out of place – until her eyes registered the interior of the multi-passenger shuttle. Next to her, the stranger spoke again, his voice the final cue for her to snap out of the nightmare.
'The memory…'
"That was one hell of a bad dream you had there, girl. You okay?" he asked, carefully patting her shoulder.
"Yes… why… yes, thank you…" Anah'ya forced a smile and looked at the gentle man's features. An aura of good radiated from him, something she knew she wasn't going to be able to feel much of where she was headed.
"We're almost there, by the way," he added and pointed past her towards the window next to her. She followed his gesture, staring down at a rapidly advancing city. Within minutes the space shuttle reached the designated starport, where the pilot managed a sloppy landing.
As passengers began to gather their belongings and file out towards the exit, Anah'ya fought to control her emotions. Her stomach turned violently with the fear gnawing at her being, reminding her that this place – Desrien City, one of the many Sith Academies – would soon test even the last of her remaining strength.
She picked up the backpack, which held all of what she had left, and waited for her turn to get up and exit the shuttle.
"I still wonder what a good girl like you is gonna do in a place like this," the man cut into her thoughts with a gravely asked question as he offered her a helping hand. Anah'ya stared at it for a moment before accepting the offer with a slight shrug.
"I have a job to do."
And she would be damned to stop now that she had come so far.
-o-o-o-o-
Desrien Orbital Station – Crew Quarters
His reflection hovered behind the thin layer of vapor, a mere ghost of his own self silently staring back at him. Atton reached up to wipe the vapor from the mirror. The image was still blurred, but at least it had regained some color.
"I heard you've outdone yourself again, Captain Rand."
He decided to ignore the woman's muffled voice through the closed door behind him, and focused instead on the reflection. His pale dirty-green eyes somehow appeared more inclined towards brown today, but they never could quite make up their mind as far as they were concerned.
"Five captures in one week, and a not to disregarded body count"- there was a short pause in which she tapped her knuckles against the door –"quite impressive. Rumors have it you are in for another promotion."
Atton brought one hand to his chin, trying to look thoughtful – 'Two-and-a-half-day's shadow, not too shabby' – before giving his reflection a lopsided grin. She was going to be royally pissed upon hearing the whole truth… and he'd break it to her bit-by-bit. "Major" Atton commented loud enough for her to hear. "At times even rumors come through." He turned away from the mirror, snatched up his shirt and pulled the black, short-sleeved fabric over his head.
It felt astonishingly good to have
regained the privilege of taking a real shower – which was paradise
in comparison to the sonic one offered by the cruisers as they moved
him from one wretched planet to the next.
Having her show
up only an hour after he had loaded in, had been unexpected. And even
so it was merely a slight nuisance, heavily outweighed by the
previous relief.
Outside, the woman whistled. "You've passed me then."
"Indeed, I have. Was just a question of time." He grinned at the thought and unconsciously ran one hand through his short brunette hair. It was still damp.
'Bless the real stuff.'
Atton punched the door-opening switch. The door slid open to reveal a tall redhead, Marissa Lapen, standing only inches from the frame. She smiled and held out her hands, palms up. "Missed me?"
For a moment, Atton was tempted. But the curious glint in the emerald eyes of his long-time 'casual relation' and former classmate stopped him. "I was seriously crushed…" he muttered, and as she stepped forward to him took the opportunity to slip past her.
He didn't have to see her face in order to see the smile faltering. His on the other hand turned into a full-fledged beam.
"But I'm pleased to inform you that luck is on your side Rissa." Atton walked over to his bunk and retrieved the still fully packed backpack. Marissa followed him relentlessly.
"I had a talk with command shortly before I arrived at the station… and it appears they found another use for me," he continued, turning so he could see her reaction.
"That would be?" Her eyebrows were arched and he swore she was battering her eyelashes at him.
"Me and two of my men actually. They transferred us to your unit."
At first Marissa almost smiled. But when she realized the complication in the transfer her mask dropped into a straight-out frown.
"They what?"
Did her voice just pitch? Atton arched an eyebrow at her. "You heard me right. And it's 'They what, Sir? Now if you would excuse me, I have a shuttle to catch…"
Marissa apparently regained some of her posture and attempted to step in his path. "But…"
"But, Sir. I'm going to take my two weeks leave now and I'm sure you didn't expect me to waste any of that, did you?"
"Waste!"
Oh yes, her voice certainly was very highly pitched at the moment.
"I'll be on the surface… but I'm sure my second in command can handle things from up here, can't you?"
With that he strolled out of his quarters and headed down the corridor towards the turbolifts. He was surprised that she didn't come storming after him, but more so amused by the tirade of curses echoing through the corridor.
