I'd like to apologize for the lack of a February chapter. Long story short, I binged the entire Mass Effect trilogy. 100 hours across three games, some of the most fun I've had with an RPG since my first 'real' playthrough of New Vegas. Full Paragon, gonna get Legendary when it comes out and play full Renegade down the line. After TEB, MEHEM, and CEM come out for Legendary, of course.
Fun fact; a lot of starfighters in Star Wars are incapable of breaking the sound barrier in atmosphere. Literally some of the earliest supersonic jets (and even transonic jets like the G.91) we have developed IRL (F104 Starfighter, F100 Super Saber, F11 Tiger, etc) can beat the hell out of a hyper advanced starship capable of FTL in atmosphere. Incredible, thank you George.
To Starpottergeek: Where did you get the idea they would be fighting Imperials? If you've been paying attention, Nax and co. are generally on the side of the Empire. The Galactic Empire and the Rakatan Infinite Empire (or rather, their remnants) are not the same, and I've made it a point to refer to them as the Rakata/Remnants/natives, not the Imperials.
Regardless, read and review.
For reasons not immediately known to Dantinian, the report back regarding the skirmish attack on the voidship took almost a week to get back. However, in that time, he did make a rather intriguing observation – one of the ships in the debris field orbiting the ring activated several hours ago, and recklessly went in for a full speed landing. Dantinian did not know the cause. Perhaps a shipboard AI finally went berserk and decided to crash the ship, or more likely, there was a cascading effect that caused the engines to activate and send the ship careening into the ground.
Whatever the reasoning, all it meant was more material to be scrapped, examined, and repurposed. Looking down at the debriefing report of the skirmish, Dantinian only felt frustration mounting. The attack was a total failure, which, while expected, was not the main reason for his disappointment. Rear-line scouts observing the engagement observed a humanoid woman jump onto the warbeast's arm with a plasblade in one hand, putting her other on the beast's armor plating, as if she were trying to soothe it. When she let go, the beast turned against their forces, scorching the majority, while the humanoid cut down the survivors, leaving an easy cleanup for the defenders holding at their barricades.
Shuffling the reports around, Dantinian checked the photos the observers had taken, coming across the ones of the warbeast being freed of their control. The humanoid was what Dantinian had come to know as a 'Twi'lek' - disgusting creatures barely worthy of being called sentient, valued only for their bodies in the galaxy beyond. However, the plasblade in her hand concerned him, as the Traitor Knight carried one, too.
Setting the reports down on the ground next to him, Dantinian meditated through the Nexus, once again reaching towards the voidship. Where there was once one imprint there – the Dreamer – there were now two. Filled with alarm, but retaining an outward appearance of calm, Dantinian felt the second presence. It wasn't fractured like the Dreamer, but it was certainly dazed and confused, but filled with a strange resolve. The being it belonged to, while weaker than the Dreamer at her theoretical peak, certainly made up for it with what must have been years of combat experience.
Changing his focus to the Dreamer, Dantinian also found that her imprint had healed somewhat, as had her connection to the Nexus. Disturbed, but not discouraged, Dantinian pulled away from the Nexus and opened his eyes. "Dunius." he called out, and his servant, pivoted towards him, ever at attention.
"Yes, my lord?" Dunius asked, awaiting his command.
"Have a message delivered to the Traitor Knight – there has been a concerning development that I wish to speak with him about. Immediately." Dantinian ordered, and Dunius bowed.
"Of course, sire." Dunius replied, before taking his leave to have the message delivered.
One hostile Nexus user was bad enough, even if the Dreamer was untrained, but two was cause enough for concern. Dantinian also wondered about the ship that fell from orbit the other day – perhaps the second Nexus user and the ship were connected in some way. The problem would be dealt with in time – of that, he was sure.
Kyra quietly nibbled away at her sandwich while Nax conversed with Foss. "Sorry about leaving without at least waiting until you were out of the tube, Strag." Foss apologized, taking a swig of his caf and then wiping his mouth. "Kinda just wanted to get the hell away from that Interdictor." he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
Nax nodded, clasping his hands together. "Yeah, I can understand that. Was probably best to put as much distance between you and the Bantha as possible, considering you enabled the whole revolt." he replied, cracking his knuckles. "Which reminds me – why did you help me? That Alderaan noble, Kyra, and myself blasted pretty much your whole crew. Wouldn't that be enough to warrant letting me die?"
Foss considered the question, and folded his arms. "I didn't have any attachment to the men you shot – in fact, they were part of the Bantha's crew, since I was under contract at the time. That said, the one who escaped in the Wallrunner was a friend. Lostur shot him for abandoning his assignment and spaced his remains." Foss revealed, growing somber. "I was pissed, even if that was technically within Lostur's right in the contract, so when I watched your friend bite it and you bleed out while Ms. Valuable wailed over your body, I suppose I felt a little sympathetic."
Bolthead perked up, wearing a broad smile. "He also hated the way Kaz and the rest of the crew treated me!" he blurted out, his mouth still full of food.
Foss chuckled lightly. "I guess that was part of it, too." he complimented, nudging his friend. "You're a damn good engineer – that ammo feed line you put in for the bottom turret is a work of art. Lostur and his crew were fools for treating you like dewback dung." Foss went on, before focusing back on the group. "That's enough about me – what brought you three to a shithole like this? You're all pretty far out from the Rim, or any sort of civilization, for that matter."
Kyra set her sandwich down and looked up at Foss. "We came all the way out here looking for the Void Charter. Needed what it had to make a trade for some information." she answered, catching their attention.
For a second, the pair hadn't registered what Kyra said. Then, they busted out laughing, drawing quite a bit of attention from people nearby. Once the pair calmed down, they gave Kyra an amused look. "Void Charter's scuffed, doll." Foss revealed, taking another swig of caf. "We came here looking for the damn thing, only to find it missing everything between the central command tower and where the engines should have been. Pretty much the entire main research lab had been sheared clean off." Foss continued, smacking his hands together for emphasis. "Boom, gone. Just like that."
Bolthead checked his mug and found it empty, so he set it aside. "Sorry to say, but whatever you needed from that thing is probably long gone, same thing for your information." he said, glancing over his shoulder at some Twi'lek girl behind him.
Kyra snickered. "Actually, I've already got the information that I needed." she answered, receiving confusion from the two smugglers. "You two want to take some guesses why Lostur was so obsessive over recapturing me?" she offered. Dav and Bolthead scratched their heads, wracking their brains for any possible reason, only to shrug and give up after drawing nothing but blanks. "I'm the daughter of an Alderaan noble family – House Moryne, specifically, so I was probably both parts a political prisoner and a very expensive ransom for my family." Kyra revealed, causing their jaws to drop.
Bolthead and Foss were surprised, to say the very least. "That explains Lostur's obsession with opsec over you." Foss admitted, retroactively understanding why Lostur was so insistent on having Kyra in his clutches. "Still, we were told exactly jack, dick, and squat when you were brought on board." Foss mused, and then suddenly had a thought. "Hey, you're single, right?" he asked with absolutely zero hesitation. Although nobody said anything, Nax threw his arm around Kyra and pulled her closer, giving them a cheeky grin. "You lucky bastard!"
Nax just laughed. "I guess I am lucky, huh? Survive a blaster shot aimed at my heart, get a cute girlfriend in exchange, and then I find out she's Alderaan nobility. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me." Nax remarked, causing Kyra's face to flush a bright red.
Bolthead seemed disappointed with the revelation, but that was cut short when there was a loud buzzing coming from his belt. Leaning back and patting there for a few seconds, he produced a datapad. "...Arlo's bugging us about the capacitors again." he said with an annoyed sigh.
Foss rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair. "Didn't we just install new ones?" he remarked, more than annoyed with what the trio assumed was his astromech's nagging. "I swear, that droid's trying to run every damn part in the galaxy through my ship." Foss rambled, getting up and dragging Bolthead with him. "Sorry about this, we'll chat more later." he apologized, before disappearing down the corridor.
Now that they were left alone, the trio conversed among themselves. "I didn't expect him to be so bold towards someone he's known for about twenty whole minutes." he remarked with a chuckle.
Lexi gulped down the last of her caf and fixed her hair. "Foss always struck me as a charmer." she revealed, resting her head on her hand. "Probably had a bit of a savior complex, too, since he had this fixation on the girls stuck on the Bantha."
"What? I don't remember that." Kyra said, raising an eyebrow.
"That's because you were only there for a week, Ky." Lexi replied, tapping her foot against the floor out of boredom. "A couple days after Foss showed up, him and one guy from his crew would sneak some extra food for every girl in the hold, myself included. Most would fight a little, and then take whatever they were offering before scampering to a corner of their cell. Me, I was just happy that I didn't have to end every day on an empty stomach for once." she explained, and then cracked her fingers. "Dunno what he was expecting in return though, since Lostur would've probably killed him if he touched any of us. Probably would have killed him for feeding us, too."
The conversation continued on towards lighter subjects as they finished up, and then the group left to return to the Knight.
Kyra stood under the Knight's hull with a small collection of random objects she had collected from both the settlement and the Knight's hold – a medium-sized rubber ball meant for kicking around, some junk armor bits, empty blaster power packs, and a hollowed out husk of a gonk droid, which, while heavy, was still lighter than she expected. No real rhyme or reason to the objects, just whatever she could find to help train with.
She wasn't used to practicing on her own yet – Sawei had been guiding her, basically serving as a guide for her training, but Kyra knew that Sawei wouldn't be around forever. Better to get some independent practice done on her own than having to be handheld.
Slowly reaching out through the Force, Kyra grabbed the gonk's casing and attempted to lift it. Even though Kyra could physically lift the casing under her own strength, doing the same task with the Force was immensely taxing. Straining herself, the case floated barely above the grass before Kyra let go, gasping for breath and forcing her to sit down for a minute. "Sithspit..." she cursed between gasps. "Why is that thing so heavy?" she asked no one in particular, setting her head against one of the landing gear struts.
Pawing for her canteen, Kyra unscrewed the cap and downed the little water that was left inside while she tried to think of a solution to her little predicament. The Force relies more on one's mental ability than physical strength, or at least, that's what Kyra had observed with her brief time actually using the Force. Maybe, then, her problem wasn't the actual weight of the casing, but rather, it was her perception of what she was trying to grab.
Clipping the canteen back to her belt, Kyra stood up and readied herself to try again. Closing her eyes and reaching out through the Force, she grabbed hold of the gonk case, but made no attempt at lifting it. Instead of remembering how heavy it was for her to physically lift the case, she imagined it as completely weightless, as if it were in a vacuum. Then, and only then, did she try lifting the case. She struggled, but not nearly as much as she did earlier. She opened one eye, and saw the case hovering a good half-meter off the ground. However, that broke her concentration, and the case dropped immediately, hitting the dirt with a loud thud that echoed up into the ship.
Strangely enough, it felt natural to do that. Taking what Sawei had said about her amnesia into consideration, it was entirely possible that the Kyra from before she was kidnapped had regularly used the Force. A lot of what she had been practicing felt like muscle memory kicking in once Kyra grasped the basics. Sawei already told her she was making incredible progress for someone who was still so new to actually using the Force, but this was all so natural to her.
Kyra's train of thought was interrupted by Nax coming down the ramp. "I just heard a crash, the hell's going on out here?" he questioned. Kyra looked over to find Nax carrying an overfull toolbox and some work gloves.
Kyra pointed to the gonk case with her thumb. "I was practicing lifting something heavier than the stuff Sawei's been having me train with. I uh, figured a gonk's shell would be best. Got it about a half-meter off the ground before I lost focus and it fell." she answered, giving the shell a light tug with a flick of her wrist. "What are you doing with that toolkit?"
Nax shook the toolbox around a little. "Lexi wanted to run a systems check for the Knight, but the rectenna's giving her shit. Something about an improper alignment, and it needs manual adjustment." Nax answered, brushing something off his shoulder and into the dirt.
"Gotcha. Before you do that, though, can you help me with something?" Kyra requested, and Nax shrugged, not seeing the harm in it. "Set that stuff on the ground and hold still." Kyra continued, and Nax complied. He was about to ask what she planned on doing, but before he could, Kyra reached out with the Force, grabbed Nax, and quickly yanked him towards her.
What Kyra expected was being able to catch Nax and pull him into a kiss – a misuse of the Force, sure, but what harm was there in that? However, what she got was Nax flying directly into her, sending them both tumbling over each other several meters back from where Kyra stood. Kyra quickly wrapped her arms around Nax until they stopped tumbling, and she ended up on top of Nax, looking down at him with an embarassed, but happy expression.
"You know, I'd like a warning next time." Nax said, half annoyed, half amused with Kyra's antics. She just laughed, brushing her bangs aside.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Kyra replied, leaning down to give Nax a quick peck. "I meant to catch you, but I didn't think about how fast you'd be coming at me." she sheepishly admitted. Nax huffed in defeat, and then shielded his eyes as the system's sun shined directly in his eyes. Kyra, meanwhile, got off of him and helped him back up. "...You know, if you ignore all the stuff that wants to eat you for dinner, this place is really pretty." she eventually said.
Nax raised an eyebrow out of bewilderment. "Most of the plants here are flesh monsters, Ky. I don't really think that qualifies as 'pretty'." he replied, brushing the grass off his arms.
"Have you taken a look at the other end of the ring, Nax?" Kyra questioned. Nax shook his head no, and then immediately proceeded to do so, finding that the other end was covered in small dots of lights blue, purple, red, green, and so on, marking out bits and pieces of the other end of the ring that was cloaked in night. "That whole section is covered in bioluminescent plants – those aren't city lights, Nax." Kyra explained, looking up with him. "It's even reflecting on the polar cap, or whatever it's supposed to be - look at how the snow's basically just a kaleidoscope of colors."
Nax crossed his arms. "Dunno, if you want to talk bioluminescent plants, I've got helmet cam footage from Felucia, and it's gorgeous at night." he offered, and Kyra gave him a dumbfounded look.
"Nax, video footage isn't the same as seeing it for yourself." she chastised, and Nax finally bothered to admit defeat.
"Fine, you win." Nax said, looking around at the hills surrounding the settlement. "I guess it is pretty, but remember, the only planets I've set foot on are Tatooine and Coruscant – there's still a lot in the galaxy that's prettier than an artificial ringworld with glowing plants." he finished.
Kyra gave a smug smile, pleased that she had won their little debate, and quickly kissed Nax again. However, as if to ruin the moment, they both heard Lexi shout at them. "Are you two done flirting already?" she loudly asked, poking her head out of one of the cockpit's vacant holes. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get this done soon!"
Sighing, Nax let Kyra go and went to grab his toolbox from where he set it, before lowering the ship's ladder to get on top of the hull, all while Kyra watched. "You know, I saw that entire exchange." Sawei said disapprovingly, startling Kyra. She turned, and saw Sawei with her arms crossed, obviously unhappy with Kyra's closeness to Nax. "I can't say I approve of your relationship, Kyra."
That caught Kyra off guard. "What?" she simply replied in confusion. "I've known him longer than you have – is this some sort of attempt at getting me out of the way?" Kyra asked defensively, very clearly jumping the gun.
Sawei just sighed and leaned to the side. "That's not what I meant, Kyra." she answered, looking up towards Nax fighting with the rectenna dish. "The Jedi code forbids attachment, doesn't matter if it's friends, family, or love – we're simply not allowed to get attached. Becoming attached leads to the fear of loss, which becomes a slippery slope to the dark side of the Force." Sawei explained, losing Kyra a little bit.
"But I'm not a Jedi." Kyra replied, seeing where this conversation was going to go. "Regardless, if Jedi aren't supposed to get attached, then what was the point of them being peacekeepers, like you told me?" she questioned, blindsiding Sawei.
Sawei's mouth hung open slightly, aghast at how brazen Kyra was about the code. "Excuse you?" she replied in an accusatory tone.
"I'm saying that not being allowed to form attachments is bogus, Sawei." Kyra clarified, crossing her arms. "How would you feel if you were some poor moisture farmer living in a town on some backwater planet in the Rim, and this emotionally distant person shows up with a laser sword and powers you've never seen before, and then he started dictating everything to 'solve' problems that didn't really need fixing and just ends up making things worse, all because he couldn't sympathize with the townsfolk?"
Sawei breathed deep, barely holding back the verbal lashing Master Ar'ai would have given Kyra had he been in her place. "It's not nearly that black and white, Kyra." she calmly stated. "Even when Jedi are younglings, there's a very strong sense of what is right and what is wrong being drilled into them." Sawei explained, recalling her induction into the Jedi Order and her experience as a youngling. "A Jedi would not 'make things worse' for that town, as you so eloquently put it." she continued, shaking her head as she slowly understood why the Order refused to train children who were too old. "They would do everything they could to assist, and then either stay for a while to make sure the problems stay solved, or move on to the next place that needed help." Sawei finished, reaching down to her feet and picking up a box filled with lightsabers. "Regardless, take a look at these." she said, offering her one.
Kyra, very clearly not impressed with Sawei's changing of the subject, took one anyways. "What about them?" she replied, feeling up the strange synthleather grip. "Aside from the obvious, I mean." Kyra tacked on.
"Training sabers that I found in the Dropstorm's sparring room that Master Ar'ai and I used." Sawei answered, flicking hers on, its blue-white blade coming out with the distinctive snap-hiss. "They're low power, practically a blunt weapon." she continued, demonstrating by whacking the blade against her wrist. The blade crackled on impact, but didn't sever her hand like Kyra expected it to.
"Training sabers?" Kyra echoed, turning hers on as well and letting the green blade shine on her. "Why not train with regular swords instead of making these?" she questioned, waving the blade around away from both her and Sawei.
"Using a lightsaber and using a blade are two entirely different fields of martial skill, Kyra." Sawei pointed out, stepping back slightly. "Lightsabers have no weight in the blade, only the hilt. Using a real one without any formal training or proficiency in the Force is a fast track to losing a few limbs. Believe me, I've seen a fair few trainees think they know better and they smuggle a real saber for their first practice session. It never ended well." Sawei said as she eyed a second saber, but decided against using it. "So, are you ready?" she questioned, crouching low, feet spread wide and saber pointed directly at Kyra, hovering just over Sawei's head.
"Oh, we're actually sparring?" Kyra questioned. "I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Kyra resigned, straightening up and adopting more of a duelist's stance, which piqued Sawei's interest, but she said nothing. Sawei signaled for Kyra to make the first strike, and she obliged, dashing towards Sawei, appearing as if she was going to make an overhead strike, but she feinted and maneuvered the blade for a jab.
To her surprise, however, Sawei diverted the strike harmlessly with her blade, their sabers hissing and sparking from the connection. "Your form is poor and your attacks are predictable, Kyra." Sawei dryly commented, before flicking her wrist and disarming Kyra of her weapon. "You've also injured yourself. Not terribly, mind you, but it's noticeable." she pointed out, and as if on cue, Kyra felt a rather painful stinging in left arm – light bruises were scattered all along the length of her arm, the sight unnerving her greatly. She had barely done anything with the saber, and yet her arm looked like she'd just gotten out of a nasty scrape. Sawei just sighed. "My apologies, I should have realized this would happen – you don't have skill with any of the seven forms of lightsaber combat, and I just threw you into a duel expecting it to work." she said, shutting her saber off in shame.
Kyra reached out to her bag with the Force and pulled it over to her, grabbing some bacta spray and coating her arm in it. "There's seven forms of lightsaber combat?" she questioned as she sprayed her arm down. "Seems… excessive."
Sawei glanced at her. "Technically, it's eight forms. In order, it's Shii-Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, Shien and Djem So, which are separate schools of the same form, Niman, and Vaapad. There's also Juyo, but the Jedi Council banned it." Sawei rattled off, before putting her hand on her hip and looking at a group of children who had been playing a game, but seemed to have stopped to watch Sawei and Kyra practice. She gave a casual wave, and the children fled. "I'm trained in Soresu and Djem So, neither of which are of any use for training you in Makashi, which I believe would fit you well if how you opened the duel is any indication. If I just had Master Ar'ai's holocron, it could teach you the basic moves for the other forms so you're not injuring yourself constantly."
"...What's a holocron?" Kyra questioned, rifling through her bag for something else.
"Data storage device. Jedi holocrons are cubes, generally speaking, and Master Ar'ai's had a superfreighter's worth of information copied from the Great Holocron, which was more or less the largest repository of information in the galaxy when the Jedi were still around. Stars know where it is now." Sawei explained, turning back to see Kyra holding out Ar'ai's holocron. "How did you..." she started.
"One of the clones gave it to me and said I'd figure out how to open it myself." Kyra answered truthfully. "I managed to get it open once, no idea how, and there was a hologram of a Zygerrian inside. Is that Master Ar'ai?"
Sawei slowly nodded, disappointed with the clones not being forthright to Kyra, but otherwise putting it aside for the moment. "That would be the holocron's gatekeeper, made in Master Ar'ai's image." she answered, and then turned to look up towards the Knight. "Strag!" she shouted, and there was a loud clang from the top of the Knight. "Are those BARCs in your hold usable?"
"Yes!" Nax shouted back, hissing in pain, which then changed to rapid fire cursing as something much heavier crashed against the Knight.
Sawei motioned to the ladder. "Go up and see if he needs some help. I'll get the bike." she said, before heading for the boarding ramp.
Figuring that she may as well kill some time, Kyra climbed the ladder to find Nax on his side, legs poking out from the rectenna dish, which was facing flat instead of its usual fifteen or so degrees of elevation. "Need a hand?" Kyra offered, walking over regardless of what Nax was going to say.
Nax paused his work on the control panel to look at her. "Yeah, lift the dish for me?" Nax requested, grabbing a tool that looked like it was designed for tightening bolts and such. "Pulled a damn wire in the control panel and it yanked the dish out of position." he continued. Kyra got as good a grip on the dish as she could and started to lift. "Keep going, keep going..." Nax trailed, watching the dish's angle. "Alright, hold it there." he said before getting to work on tightening whatever held the dish in position. "It's good, thanks."
Kyra walked behind the dish and observed Nax working at the control panel. "Any idea why the rectenna isn't playing ball with Lexi?" she questioned, taking a seat on the hull next to Nax.
Nax moved his head out of the way so Kyra could see inside of the panel. "I think when the Ascendancy was upgrading the Knight, some ductrat screwed up when he was installing the new sensor package." Nax theorized, reaching in and pulling out a multicolored bundle of frayed wires. "Look at this – it's a damn disaster. Either Avadi scammed me, or the Ascendancy screwed up. There's not an in-between."
Kyra took a closer look. The wires looked like they'd been slashed over and over with a butcher knife, and other parts seemed to have been shoddily mended back together. "Can you fix it?" she questioned.
"That's what I've been trying to do, yeah. It'll probably need a full on replacement when we get back to the Core." Nax responded, fighting to untangle some wires. "Why did Sawei want to know about the bikes?"
"Probably wants to take me somewhere secluded for training." Kyra answered, tapping her foot against the hull unconsciously. "We tried lightsaber dueling, and I ended up bruising the hell out of my arm." she continued, rubbing the bacta spray in slightly. Nax paused his work and looked back at her, very obviously making sure that Kyra still had all of her limbs. "Don't worry, we used training sabers. Even if they're gone, the Jedi weren't fools to let new recruits use a real one." Kyra rambled, and then her eyes widened. "Speaking of the Jedi, that reminds me – Val's necklace that she gave me?"
"What about it?" Nax replied, still focused on the control panel.
"Its gem is a kyber crystal. It's what makes a lightsaber, well, work." Kyra revealed, and Nax practically choked at how blunt she was about it. "Theoretically, I can have one as soon as we get off the rings. In practice, it's probably basically only cosmetic since the odds of being able to make my own lightsaber are so astronomically low that I might as well forget about it."
Nax held off on working any further for the time being. "So, what you're saying is that a Tatooine dirt farmer paid me, an amateur bounty hunter who, mind you, was a teenager at the time, working a low level security job, in collateral, with a gem potentially worth millions to the right buyer?" Nax said, completely in shock over the odds of such a thing happening, and moreso that had he known what it was, he could have been off Tatooine years ago.
Kyra, however, just shook her head. "I wouldn't reduce them to just credits, Nax, but yes, I guess that is pretty much what happened." she answered, before hearing the droning sound of the cargo lift being lowered to the ground. "Guess that's my cue to leave. See you in a few hours, Nax." Kyra finished, before sliding down the ladder and taking off with Sawei in the BARC with a sidecar shortly after.
Left alone again, Nax took another look at the wiring. With a tired, frustrated sigh, he mended whatever was left of the wires and pressed down on his commlink to Lexi. "Alright, the rectenna should be good now. Try running the diagnostic again?" Nax requested, waiting for the fruits of his labor.
There was a hushed whirring sound coming from inside the control panel, and then it sparked in a brilliant flash. "Nope, diagnostic crapped out again." Lexi reported, sounding extremely disappointed.
Nax resisted the urge to bite down on his gloves and scream as loud as he could. "Of course it shits out again, the wires are ruined, probably because some sticksucker in the Ascendancy didnt do his job right." Nax cursed, very much upset that his work had all been for nothing. "Send Arfive and Katy up and let them take a look at it, 'cause I'm about to throw this damn toolkit down the turbolaser barrel."
Sawei had taken Kyra to the Dropstorm and dragged her to a massive room that looked more like a padded cell for someone in a straitjacket than a training room. Clear on the other end of the room, near the ceiling, was something that looked vaguely like a control center. A few clones were inside, watching the pair with curious gazes.
Sawei took the holocron into her hands and focused on it with the Force. The corners moved, ticking like a mechanical chrono, and the hologram of the Zygerrian appeared once again. Sawei let go of the holocron and the hologram bowed. "Padawan Sawei, it is a pleasure to see you again." the hologram said courteously, surprising Kyra at the hologram being able to interact. "According to my internal chronometer, it has been many years since I last had the pleasure of speaking to you or Master Ar'ai. Is there something I can help you with?"
Sawei gestured over to Kyra, and the hologram's gaze followed. "I have a Force-sensitive in need of lightsaber training. I briefly tested her abilities, and believe Makashi would fit her best." Sawei said, bowing politely. "I would ask that Master Ar'ai teach her, however, he is nowhere to be found and, if I'm to be perfectly honest, is probably dead."
The hologram's upper body drooped slightly. "A shame. Master Ar'ai would have been an excellent teacher for this Force-sensitive." the hologram said sadly, before focusing itself on Kyra. "Assume combat stance – dominant hand low, near your hips, with your blade pointed towards your target." the hologram ordered. Kyra followed the hologram's directions, spreading her legs apart to even out her balance and, sensing she was still off slightly, put her left hand behind her. "Very good. Now, take a few basic swings with the blade. Do not use your entire arm, only your forearm and wrist, and remember to let the Force guide your swings. Treating the lightsaber like a regular sword will only end in failure."
With its distinctive snap-hiss, Kyra turned the lightsaber on and took a couple swings. Barks of 'too wide', 'too narrow', 'widen your stance', 'tighten your stance' and so on came from both Sawei and the hologram. Eventually, she got a very basic grasp on Makashi's offensive moves, which could be further refined later on. Kyra still had to learn the defensive moves, as well as the skill of predicting an opposing swordsman's moves with the Force and applying the appropriate counter within the split seconds that lightsaber duels were so often decided by.
Sawei called for a break after several hours of practice, and, instead of letting Kyra go for the rest of the day, she brought her to the top of the Dropstorm's hull for some unknown reason. "Sit, please." Sawei requested, tapping her hand against the plating. "I want to show you something – how everything in the Force is connected." she continued. Intrigued, Kyra sat next to Sawei, and she pointed down to a pair of technicians in the hangar working on a Thundercat. "Block out your other senses and only focus on their presence in the Force, Kyra."
Shutting her eyes, Kyra reached out to the techs with the Force. She didn't interact with them or otherwise do anything to alert them to her presence, she just basked in their presence. "They feel… warm. It's like a snug blanket."
Sawei smiled at the description. "Yes, I suppose it is." she said in a pleasant tone. "The Force connects all life. Interacting with that connection is generally a pleasant feeling, associated with something the user interacting is familiar with. For you, it's a snug, warm blanket. For me, it's a memory of how I felt after eating some of Master Ar'ai's sashi, which was some of the best food I've ever had." Sawei explained, joining Kyra in the meditation. "The inverse is also true with those that harbor negative emotions, such as dark siders and other, generally unsavory people."
Kyra slowly focused on expanding those that she was sensing, and the warm, cozy feelings the Force was giving her only magnified. There was, however, a newer feeling – one that she had wished to never experience again – the overwhelming sense of dread, the cold, stale air – it was all too familiar for her. Thankfully, it wasn't as prominent as the blanket sensation, but it was noticeable. "...Are these feelings random?" Kyra questioned. Sawei gave a simple mumble of denial. Regardless, Kyra kept expanding who she was picking up on, going beyond the walls while Sawei followed in her student's footsteps. There was a lot of what effectively amounted to white noise from the wildlife beyond the walls, but the closer Kyra got to the main Rakata settlement, the more the comfy feeling intensified.
"The Rakata are scarcely different from you and I, Kyra." Sawei said, evidently picking up on Kyra's confusion that their enemy that was supposedly hellbent on conquering the galaxy wasn't feeding into the negative sensation as much as she thought it would. "Many of them have their own jobs, families, hopes and dreams – their population is opposed to us, but they are not inherently evil outside of the leadership." Sawei continued, her senses eventually enveloping the main settlement ahead of Kyra's. "They are simply…" she tried to say, only to trail off and lose all of her focus. Kyra snapped out of her meditation and turned her attention to Sawei, whose blue skin had drained of all color. "Master Ar'ai is..." she whispered, words failing her. "...He's not dead, he's in their city!"
Dantinian cupped his hands together, watching Ar'ai begin to cackle. "What seems to be so funny, Traitor Knight?" Dantinian questioned, watching the Zygerrian develop into hysterics. Dunius, stationed just to Dantinian's side, tightened his grip on his rifle, unnerved by Ar'ai's sudden fit. Dantinian, however, was not so easily intimidated.
"Ah," Ar'ai eventually sad, calming himself down. "Nothing, it's just that you've come to see me about a Twi'lek Jedi running around, and she's just let me know who she is." Ar'ai calmly said, his snicker returning. "It's my old Padawan, Sawei Klorr."
"Will she be a problem?" Dantinian questioned, deeply concerned with her potential influence over the Dreamer. Ar'ai simply shook his head no. "If she will be, take care of her. Now." he finished, gathering his documents and leaving with Dunius.
Now left alone, he quickly reached out to Sawei, touching her mind with his presence. Through their connection in the Force, Sawei sent over a million different questions – 'are you safe?', 'why are you in the Rakatan city?' and so on. He quickly assuaged her concerns. "I am alive and well, Sawei." he confirmed to her. His slightly torn ear twitched at some noises from outside the room, but it didn't break his concentration. "I sense a second presence with you – is that the Dreamer I've been hearing about?" he pressed.
Sawei's reaction was one of confusion. "How do you know about her, Master?" Sawei questioned, suspicious, if only for the moment. Ar'ai's ear twitched again.
"I am working with a local rebel movement, and I'm embedded with the main Rakatan authority here, Sawei." Ar'ai answered, finally bothering to look behind him and sense the source of the disruption. A simple mind trick was enough to make them go elsewhere. "I need to speak with both you and the Dreamer as soon as possible, Sawei. I can leave the city, but I cannot be gone long or else the nobility will get suspicious of me. How soon can we speak?"
Sawei was silent for an uncomfortably long time. It seems in that the time she had been gone, her issues regarding indecision had not gone away. "We can speak at the lake just outside of the Dropstorm's gates, Master Ar'ai. Sundown tomorrow should work fine." she eventually replied. Mentally going over his timetables and plans, Ar'ai found that he could very easily fit that in, and confirmed the time with Sawei once again. With that, her presence faded from his mind, and Ar'ai let out a sigh of relief that his padawan had not, in fact, died.
Getting up from his desk and heading outside to the balcony outside, Ar'ai leaned on the railing and looked over Noridar's skyline, or whatever counted for it. Compared to Coruscant, this was just a quaint little backwater. He'd seen hundreds of these types of places during the Clone Wars, but that was long ago. He wasn't even entirely sure what Coruscant looked like these days.
It was… strange having Sawei back. It had been so long without her that Ar'ai wasn't entirely sure how she would react to him. Pushing those thoughts aside, Ar'ai scratched the side of his face, ruffling the faded chestnut fur, and headed back inside to prepare.
Kyra and Sawei stood patiently in the clearing, just short of the lake's shore, leaning on the BARC to take some weight off their feet. Sawei had a low-light set of goggles on, while Kyra just flipped her helmet's night vision on. They knew they were safe – the settlement walls weren't too terribly far away, and the bike was idling. Evidently, BARCs only get loud when they start moving, unlike the 74-Zs the Empire liked to use, which was basically a beacon telling any opposing force 'hello, I am a scout trooper, please put a blaster bolt in my faceplate' as long as the engine was on.
There was a distant rumbling upspin, and the pair reached for their weapons as it got closer. Once the source of the noise cleared the trees, however, Sawei signaled for Kyra to stand down – it was Ar'ai, riding on some oversized treadbike that crushed whatever was in front of it. Ar'ai shut the bike off and approached the pair. He was wearing very old and faded robes of similar design to Sawei's, so the only logical conclusion was that they were his old attire as a Jedi. Kyra honestly thought they hadn't been washed in years, but there was no rank smell to indicate such a thing – they were just really torn through.
Ar'ai and Sawei quickly reunited, having been split up for longer than either of them were prepared for. Then, once that was done, Ar'ai's attention turned to Kyra. "The Dreamer is a Mandalorian?" he asked, approaching her. Kyra sighed, shook her head, and took the helmet off, letting her white hair fall out.
"Not a Mandalorian. I'm from Alderaan." Kyra corrected, setting the helmet in the sidecar. "My… friend, his parents were both Mandalorians. The armor was his mother's." she answered, neglecting to mention the specifics of her relationship with Nax. "Regardless, you must be Master Ar'ai – Sawei has only told me a little bit about you - I'm Kyra Moryne." she continued, offering a handshake
Ar'ai gave a forced kind of half smile. "I wish this could be under better circumstances, Kyra." he replied, politely refusing her handshake and instead bowing. "I couldn't risk what I am about to tell you being intercepted by Dantinian or one of his subordinates." Ar'ai continued, his expression grim. "The Rakata are gearing up for war. The attack on the Dropstorm last week was meant to prod the defenses and see what sort of resistance could be expected." he revealed.
Sawei gave a curt nod. "Commander Blackwall suspected as much, Master Ar'ai." she replied, getting some surprise out of Ar'ai, who had believed the Dropstorm to be behind on the situation. "A Rakata who opposes Dantinian froze me in carbonite after filling me in on what was needed of me. Kyra and her friend got me out not too long ago, and we alerted Blackwall."
Ar'ai was quiet for a long while. "Then, was the Odynaro coming down from orbit…?" he trailed, waiting for Sawei to answer for him.
"Our doing? Yes, Master Ar'ai. Foreman, the Super Tactical in control of the Odynaro, agreed to join us out of self-preservation." she answered, casting a glance back to the general direction of the settlement. "The Odynaro is providing material support for us to fight back. In fact, I think Blackwall is making the announcement public in an hour or so." Sawei continued.
Kyra's eyes suddenly widened, and she stepped forward. "Sawei said you were with a local rebel movement. Is there a way you can put us into contact with them?" she asked, hopeful for a positive answer.
Ar'ai thought for a while, and then slowly shook his head no. "The rebels avoid face to face contact. They work through dead drops and such to avoid getting caught." Ar'ai answered, putting a damper on Kyra's spirits. "All I can really tell you is that they seem most active around ten kilometers outside of Noridar. No specific areas, just around there. Their base would probably be somewhere defensible, if I had to guess."
Kyra leaned to the side slightly. "Noridar?"
"The main city on the rings. There's another on the other end, Kulsha, but they've gone quiet within the past year or so. Nobody cares enough to find out what happened." Ar'ai grimly said. "...One last thing, Sawei. Dantinian believes I am a traitor to everyone I served with and swore to protect. He has put me in charge of leading an assault on the Dropstorm. I will do everything I can to delay and hinder the attack – even openly make an attempt on Dantinian's life, should it come to that."
"An attack? When?!" Sawei demanded to know, suddenly bursting out in surprise.
"Soon. Dantinian refuses to give me an exact time table, but I know he has been preparing for this for quite some time. As soon as I receive word to begin the assault, I'll send an advance warning to you, Sawei. At most, you'll have an hour, maybe two to make last minute preparations."
Sawei was deathly still for what felt like ages. Then, she slowly nodded in understanding, barely holding back a flood of emotions from only getting to see her master once before he disappeared again. "...I understand, Master." she said quietly, and then she glanced to Kyra. "...Master, how am I supposed to train Kyra? I never attained Knighthood, and I never completed the Trials – I'm just a Padawan." Sawei faltered, finally losing her composure. "This is all beyond us – beyond any of us. I can't properly train someone in the Force in just a few weeks, no matter how natural it is for them."
Ar'ai sighed and approached Sawei. "Sawei, you may still believe you are a Padawan, but you are not. You are a Knight in all but name." he encouraged, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I have trained you to the very best of my abilities, and I am proud to call you my student, Sawei. Believe me, you are capable of this, Jedi formalities be damned."
Sawei seemed like she was about to crack and break down in front of her master, but instead, she swallowed and nodded, her posture straight and making her seem full of determination. "...Thank you, Master Ar'ai." she said, her voice resolute and sound, and Ar'ai let go of her. "May the Force be with you, Master." she finished, bowing before him.
"And with you, Sawei." Ar'ai replied, before turning to leave. He mounted his bike, kicked it on, and drove off into the night.
Sawei didn't move once Ar'ai had left – she was just standing there, still as a statue and completely stonefaced. Kyra approached her and tapped her on the shoulder. "You alright?" she asked, concerned for her teacher.
Evidently, that snapped her out of her haze, and Sawei breathed deep, exhaled, and turned to Kyra, stalwart. "I'm fine, Kyra. I just… needed a little kick from my Master, is all." she replied calmly, starting to walk back to the BARC. "I've been lax with your training, Kyra. No more." Sawei admitted.
Kyra pulled her helmet out of the sidecar and slipped it back on, letting the environment seals hiss and latch to the undersuit. "You call yesterday 'lax' training?" she half-joked. Kyra knew why she was being trained and was willing to follow Sawei's lead despite the obvious differences in views, but she'd be crazy if she were to ever consider Jedi training as easy.
Sawei smiled a little, and kickstarted the BARC, whipping it around out of the clearing and going slowly through the treeline. "Lax as in I haven't had you training enough. I've been measuring your abilities, yes, but yesterday was the first time I've actually had you on the same training regimen I was on at the Jedi Temple." Sawei declared, pulling the speeder out of the treeline and turning in towards the settlement. "From now on, every waking moment you have that could fall under free time will be spent training with me, studying both the Force and practicing your combat skills. We need to be serious about fighting Dantinian – we can't be lazing about, wasting precious time doing nothing, Kyra."
"Every waking moment?" Kyra pressed.
"Every moment that isn't when you're eating or on a mission, starting tomorrow." Sawei replied, her expression dead serious about pushing Kyra to her limits. Kyra had to be honest – Sawei's sudden shift in behavior was scary, but not unwelcome. "I apologize in advance for taking you away from your friends, but you need this training." she finished.
The rest of the ride back to the Knight was quiet – both of them understood what they needed to do.
Blackwall walked up onto the impromptu stage he had the softshells set up in the hangar of the Dropstorm, with most of the armed forces and town guard assembled inside. He walked past Foreman, who was standing off to the side with a tall cargo container, and nodded to him. "Men, I appreciate you all coming here tonight, so I'll make this quick." Blackwall started, crossing his arms behind his back and standing at attention. "We all know about the native attack – how they used a captured Gargan to breach the wall and invade. It would have been much, much worse were it not for Sawei Klorr, one of our old Jedi officers, turning the Gargan against the invaders and driving them out." he went on, pacing back and forth across the stage. "What we weren't aware of was that this was an act of open war. We have never had friendly relations with the natives to begin with, but according to Sawei's intel, the natives are the remnants of an empire that spanned the galaxy, predating the Republic by who knows how long. They're called the Rakata, and the ones who've so graciously decided to share the neighborhood with us are resurgent – trying to restore their empire and crushing any threats. We just so happen to be the first in line." Blackwall announced, and the crowd began to devolve into uneasy murmurs and whispering.
Foreman approached Blackwall, and the clone nodded to the droid. "That is where I come in." Foreman declared, his voice just loud enough to silence the men. "I am Foreman, the Super Tactical Droid assigned to the Odynaro, the Lucrehulk that touched down the other day." he said in a deep tone, catching the attention of the clones in the crowd. "Analysis shows that many of you are poorly equipped and comparatively few in number to the Rakata who threaten you. The Odynaro is not just any Lucrehulk – it is a factory ship, capable of producing equipment, vehicles, infrastructure, and more importantly, droids to supplement any sort of manpower shortage." Foreman announced, gesturing to the container off to the side. "I have spent my time in orbit designing and refining droids for the purpose of warfare, as was my original directive." Foreman continued, pressing several buttons on his wristplate.
With a confirming three tone beep, the container unsealed, and out stepped a droid that looked like a B1 battle droid. Its standard tan coloration was now a dull gunmetal, and the armor plating had been noticeably thickened around the chest area alongside improved plate coverage at the lower abdomen. Furthermore, the arms and legs had received new armor that shielded the original model's thin, flimsy extremities. The joints also appeared to have been reinforced, the hands had five digits instead of three, and the radio backpack now appeared to be modular. Then, there was a bright sheen enveloping the droid's plating, which slowly faded into a translucent blue. The source was, obviously, a personal shield generator.
"This," Foreman boomed proudly, reaching out to the droid. "...is a B1A Infantry Droid. Make no mistake, despite its designation, it shares little in common with the B1s the Confederacy used. The B1A is tougher, smarter, and more resilient than the original B1. Each unit is capable of making highly informed tactical decisions in a fraction of a second, much faster than any organic, and lightyears ahead of the original model. They're more ergonomic, and each is capable of perfect close quarters combat." Foreman listed off, extremely pleased with his accomplishment. "In short, these are the ultimate soldier, not the mass produced scrap metal the CIS threw at the Republic. They are perfect for a war of this scale."
The B1A stepped forward, threw its left arm behind its back, and saluted. "Proud to serve with you, men!" the droid blared in a pleasant, masculine voice – a far cry from the nails on a chalkboard that the regular B1's voice was all too often compared to.
Blackwall stepped forward again. "Two full divisions of these B1As will be produced by the end of the week, alongside multiple brigades of more specialized droids, several interceptor wings of Star Reaver-class interceptor droids, replacement Thundercats, transport and ground vehicles, as well as new armor for you all." he listed off, and the crowd went from tentative acceptance to full blown support of Foreman's efforts, erupting into cheers. "We'll be establishing proper forward operations bases within the month and challenging Rakata footholds upspin. This may be their ring, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let them threaten the people we swore to protect!" Blackwall shouted, and the crowd's cheering only intensified. "May the Force be with us!Dismissed!"
Slowly, the crowd began to disperse. Morale was definitely at its highest in a long time, and even though they were still facing a superior enemy, Blackwall was confident about their odds of success. "That went over better with the men than I expected." he admitted, heading back to the turbolift in the rear of the hangar to go back to his quarters.
"Statistically speaking, your men should have beaten me into a hunk of metal within the first ten seconds of seeing me." Foreman dryly commented, giving the B1A that was following them another glance. It wasn't his magnum opus, not by a long shot, but it was the culmination of years of work in complete isolation. The simulations all ran favorably for the B1A, and effectively all that was left was for live combat testing. The new Star Reavers were based upon Hu'an and Mu'an, both in armament and flight AI, and the specialty droids were all based on CIS designs. DSD1s now had rotating heads like the Octuptarra and three burst laser cannons alongside 360 degree vision, B2s and B3s had weapons, targeting, and locomotion upgrades, BX commando droids had active camouflage and small shields attached to their limbs. For a droid that wasn't meant to do much other than analyze tactical and strategic data and iterate on designs endlessly, he felt quite proud of his accomplishments.
Once again feeling the urge to create, Foreman set his platform to follow Blackwall until he left for his quarters, at which point the platform would go to the bridge and stare out the window while Foreman worked. However, before he could execute the command, the Jedi girl, Sawei showed up. "Sawei? I would've thought you would be training Kyra." Blackwall said, surprised at her sudden appearance.
"Kyra's training is finished for today, Commander." Sawei said in a steely tone, giving him a salute. "I've got something that will interest you, however." she continued, and Blackwall stood straight, waiting for her to go on. "First, Master Ar'ai is alive. He's infiltrated the Rakata's ranks, posing as a traitor, and he's gained the trust of their leader, Dantinian, who has put him in control of an entire army." Sawei revealed. "Second, the attack on the wall with the Gargan? That was the Rakata prodding our defenses for a full scale invasion, which is happening soon."
"How soon is 'soon', Sawei?" Blackwall demanded to know, approaching Sawei.
Sawei crossed her arms and sighed. "Master Ar'ai said that Dantinian was being deliberately vague with his timetables, so he doesn't have a clear idea of when the invasion is supposed to start, only that he's preparing for it. Master Ar'ai also said that he was doing what he could to delay." she went on, obviously disappointed that she couldn't give Blackwall a proper answer.
Foreman's photoreceptor flickered a dim yellow. "Allow me to assemble a possible timeframe." he declared, letting his head droop down while he began to run the simulations using the intelligence on the Rakata that Blackwall had given him, as well as from his own observations in orbit. "Taking into account the scale of their main city, troop movements, outposts, population size, industry, and so on..." Foreman rattled off while Blackwall and Sawei watched intently. "...I project with ninety-two point three repeating percent certainty that this invasion will happen within the next one to two months. Once I account for the Jedi Factor, that certainty drops to eighty-three percent." Foreman noted, drawing his attention to Sawei.
"You've said that before." Sawei pointed out, giving Foreman a suspicious look. "What's the Jedi Factor?"
Foreman's photoreceptor froze as he thought about how to put his answer. "The Jedi Factor is a result of the Jedi historically being an unknown quantity for tactical droid projections. The Force is fundamentally incompatible with our logic processors, as it is something we droids cannot begin to comprehend. By all calculations, it should not exist, and yet it does." Foreman explained, creating a miniature hologram of notable Jedi generals from the Clone Wars – Kenobi, Skywalker, Windu, and so on. "The original line of tactical droids dismissed the Force, but my line, the Supers, understood the threat Jedi posed to any sort of projection. Any number of unusual events could throw a projection off considerably when a Jedi is involved. Relevant example: Ar'ai could use the Force to convince an entire division of Rakatan soldiers to introduce the roof of their mouths to a blaster pistol, which would severely delay the invasion effort due to an entire division of soldiers being dead or in critical condition." Foreman crudely stated, showing no concern for Sawei's offense at the mere suggestion of her master doing such a thing. "This was not an outcome perceived as likely, yet it happened due to the existence of the Force. Thus, the Jedi Factor serves as a reduction in confidence in any projected outcome to account for the Force's unknowable hypotheticals."
The both of them more or less understood what Foreman was saying, and chose to move on. "We're getting sidetracked here." Sawei said, letting off a seemingly exaggerated yawn. "Do you want me to send you a full report in the morning?"
Blackwall nodded once. "Of course I want a report, Sawei. You've known that about me since we were fighting in the Clone Wars – I always want my paperwork done." he half-joked.
Sawei nodded. "Of course, sir. First thing in the morning." she replied, before heading for a nearby turbolift to go to her quarters. Blackwall, meanwhile, headed to the turbolift opposite of Sawei and went up, leaving Foreman alone. Finally given the chance, he executed his order for the mobile platform, and slipped into the recesses of his programming to build and iterate, now with a purpose as opposed to whatever qualified as boredom to a droid.
Nax stirred in his sleep, the quiet whir of the Knight's systems slowly waking him up. Rolling over, he felt a warm, empty spot to his side, and he opened his eyes to find Kyra sitting at the edge of the bed, her face in her hands and her hair a complete mess. "Morning." he greeted, receiving no response. Nax immediately knew something was up, and reached out to touch her shoulder. "Ky, you alright?" Nax asked, concerned for her.
Kyra shook her head no, and looked back to face Nax. She'd been crying over something – hard, and Nax had to wonder how she didn't wake him up. "...Not really." she murmured, wiping her face. "The other day, when you went up to work on the rectenna, Sawei came up behind me and said she disapproved of us being, you know, a thing." Kyra went on, rubbing her arm due to her nerves.
Nax failed to understand why Kyra was so upset by this. "So?" he replied, and rather casually at that. "If she disapproves, that's her problem, not yours."
Again, Kyra shook her head. "That's not what she meant. Jedi aren't supposed to form attachments, let alone have a relationship with someone else." Kyra replied, fighting to keep her hair out of her face. "She said that forming attachments leads to the fear of loss, which begins a slippery slope to the dark side."
Nax held Kyra's hand and gently squeezed, looking her in the eyes. "Kyra, I barely understand a thing you're saying about this 'dark side' thing, or whatever other Force nonsense Sawei pulls out, but I know one thing – not being allowed to form attachments has to be the biggest load of doctrinal crap that I've heard in a long time." he bluntly stated, rubbing his thumb over her hand. "Forming attachments with people is part of being a person – you can't just strip that away from someone and expect them to be well adjusted. I don't buy that slippery slope shit either."
Kyra wiped a tear with her free hand, and went in to hug Nax. "I said pretty much the same thing, Nax, but Sawei disagreed." she admitted, tightening her hug briefly, and then pulling back. "But what if it comes to that?"
"Comes to what?"
"My training, or keeping you." Kyra replied, a hint of fear in her tone.
Nax gently stroked the side of her face to comfort her. "...I doubt it will, Ky. If Sawei wants to squander you over doctrine, then she's got some serious issues." Nax opined, shaking his head at the thought. "But regardless, that decision wouldn't be mine to make, Kyra. It'd be yours."
Kyra carefully considered his words, and her expression slowly softened. "...Thanks, Nax." she quietly replied. Then, with a smile, she kissed Nax and laid there in his arms, enjoying the warmth of being together. She knew Sawei wanted her training constantly, but would five minutes really be that much to ask for?
As Nax pulled her in for another kiss, Kyra decided that no, five minutes wasn't a whole lot to want to herself.
And that's that chapter done!
Again, sorry for the delay. I'm just really fucking lazy lately, and I've had some important IRL things on my mind for the past week or two that kinda put a damper on my mood.
Anyways, now that that's done, I can't wait to show off what the Odynaro's toys are capable of – multiple fighter wings of the Ravens, improved CIS vehicles, and most importantly, a whole swathe of improved battle droid variants. I actually initially considered making the new droids function like the Geth in Mass Effect, where they're mobile platforms and each has a couple hundred programs inside allowing for complex decisionmaking, and programs can add or remove themselves from a platform at will, but I decided that was a little on the nose after having just said that I binged Mass Effect over the course of February, so I just settled for droids that basically boiled down to "CIS droids if they weren't made by megacorps with a bottom line for their galactic war."
I think I did pretty well, if I'm being honest.
'Till next time.
-Tweak