Rian:
"I will be your doom!"
I never knew that doom was a yellow eyed, pointy eared maniacal cat lady with a lightsaber. Hell, I hadn't even known that doom had a face.
Well, doom had just swung her lightsaber at me, so with a squeak, I threw my face into the dirt to avoid it. As delicious as the soil was, I quickly rolled over to the left to avoid the lightsaber as it came stabbing down to where my neck had previously been.
All my limbs? Still accounted for. Not dead yet.
I sprang from my back and hopped away from her. Why did it always seem like everybody wanted to kill me? Those damn Jedi Masters were probably having a good laugh at my expense.
The smell of something burning did nothing to lighten my mood. Luckily, it wasn't me; Canderous had just set h is pant leg on fire. A good lot of help he was proving to be.
Damn it, I was used to fighting two handed, but I was only given one lightsaber. I could still use a vibroblade in my off hand, true, but a vibroblade was no match for a golden furred psycho's lightsaber. I decided that I needed to have a chat with the Jedi Masters for not better equipping me.
The cat lady struck out with her lightsaber again. I parried, but just barely. She was burley; I was surprised that my arms didn't snap off just from the force of her blow. If I was going to beat her, it wasn't going to be through a battle of strength.
"Who are you?" I demanded. If I could just distract her long enough, I could run her through.
She licked her lips and grinned in a manner that made me want to wet myself.
"I am Juhani and this is my grove." she said in a husky deeply accented voice. "This is the place of my dark power. This is the place you have invaded."
Juhani lashed out again. I dove to the right to avoid her lightsaber as she swiped it at my knees. Juhani gave a throaty chuckle, it almost sounded like a purr. She was playing with me.
"Last time I checked, this grove belonged to the Jedi." I shot back. Maybe that would piss her off enough to break her concentration. "They sent me to clean up."
Juhani snarled as her ears flattened against her skull. She lunged at me with fatal precision. It took every ounce of energy to avoid her that time. Great, I thought, I managed to piss her off alright, but instead of it breaking her concentration, she stopped playing and became deadly serious.
"It is mine!" Juhani declared.
Okay, Plan A was in complete and total ruin, time for Plan B. Maybe some of that Force voodoo? I was a big bad Jedi; maybe that's what the Masters wanted me to do here. Use the Force.
But how? I had telekinetically lifted datapads and other small things in training, but that was about it. It was another thing entirely to wrap a Force sensitive wacko in a telekinetic grip while she struggled against my hold.
I gave it a shot. The telekinetic shove I gave Juhani caught her off guard and she stumbled back, but she didn't fall. Dirt had been kicked up into her eyes in the process and she clenched her eyes shut until they could tear the dust out. A week ago, I would have tried to impale the other woman with my lightsaber, but I had learned better. Juhani was a Force user and even though her vision had been temporarily robbed she could easily sense my presence.
I stood back warily, the crackle hiss that my lightsaber gave off soothed me. Juhani composed herself, her rage replaced with her original confidence. The game had begun again.
"You're dressed like a Jedi, but you embraced the Dark Side." I said. "Why?"
Juhani began to circle me slowly. "When I slew my Master, Quatra, I knew I could never go back."
An ex-Jedi. A Sith. This wasn't the best situation to tromp into willingly.
Her form with the lightsaber is excellent, but she is a mere fledgling with the Force. A firm telekinetic grip around a vital organ would be all that it would take.
I shivered at the fleeting thought. Bastila? The Masters did say we were bonded so maybe it was her thought, but I doubted it. Maybe it was some sort of rollover from our shared nightmares.
Juhani crumpled to her knees before me. Her golden eyes bulged from her head and the skin around her nose that peeked through the fur was ashen.
What happened?
I looked down and saw that my right hand was outstretched, my hand balled into a hard fist. Beneath the whitened knuckles of my fist I could feel a pulse that was steadily slowing. Like a heartbeat. Juhani's heartbeat.
With a gasp I released my hand. Juhani immediately clutched at her chest and choked on the afternoon air. As the heaving of her ribs became more regular, I felt a wave of horror wash over me. I stared at my fingertips, fear with a dash of awe were the prominent feelings surrounding the potential power that could explode from me.
I heard slaps from behind me which I presumed to be Canderous beating the fire from his leg. A few cuss words later and I was certain of that fact. My eyes never left Juhani.
"You are strong." she wheezed. "Stronger than me, even in my darkness."
"That was a neat trick." Canderous stepped beside me, a fresh cigarra in his mouth. "What did you do?"
"I don't know." I murmured.
What the hell did I do, anyway? I was scared senseless and I froze up. No, I didn't freeze, I retreated. And while I ran to hide in the inner depths of my brain, something else, some sort of autopilot, kicked in to save my sorry butt.
It worked. But I had almost killed someone. Granted, she was trying to kill me, but it was of her own volition. I had no idea what I was doing until she was nearly dead.
From her hands and knees, Juhani looked up at me with something akin to respect. "Why do you bother me?" she asked.
Canderous grinned and loaded a charge into his blaster. I scowled and put a hand over the scope and pushed it down.
"I just want to talk." I told him.
Canderous snorted, but he went back to quietly smoking his cigarra.
"Talk?" Juhani scoffed. "You who have beaten me so easily just want to talk? I do not believe it. Kill me now while you still have the power."
"No."
"No, why?" Juhani's lower lip trembled as she fought against frowning.
Her eyes were so sincere. It made me pause, as I searched for the correct words. Despite the thick bundle of tensed muscle in her shoulders, Juhani managed to look fragile.
I was finally able to force myself to speak. "Because you're powerful and because your heart is good."
And because of the guilt of almost destroying her without a second thought. Maybe it was a normal Jedi thing? Juhani didn't need to hear that.
"A weakling can kill just as easily as a strong person." I said.
Juhani shook her head. "Yet even with your naïve attitude you managed to beat me." she murmured. "I am pathetic. I sit here and think myself to be great by embracing the Dark Side, but I am nothing! There is no way that I could be turned back!"
"So, because you're too much of a coward to control your destiny you want me to end your sniveling?" The words slipped from my mouth. I wanted to stop, but Juhani's ears had perked up so I continued. "Don't waste my time.
Juhani's mouth hung open loosely. Canderous gave me a nod of approval. I turned away from Juhani, prepared to leave the grove.
I didn't take a step before I felt her hand wrapped around my ankle. I looked back to see Juhani at my feet, her forehead lined with determination.
"I seem to still have much to learn." she said meekly. "I only wish the cost of my ignorance had not been so high. I wish that my Master had not suffered because of me."
I knelt beside Juhani and placed my hand on her shoulder. "It's stupid to blame yourself for a choice that your Master made."
"If she were alive now, there would be so much I would say to her." Juhani lamented. "So much I would apologize for. I think in my own way, I truly loved her. How can the council take me back with what I have done? Striking my Master down in anger is unforgivable!"
"Says who?" I asked. "The council? Show them that you've freed yourself of this base passion."
"If I show them that I am free of passion, that I am serene, that I am willing to forsake the Dark Side." Juhani's lilting accent lost its waver. "Just maybe they would accept me back. Do you think they would? Could it be possible after what I have done?"
"Show them your sincerity." I shrugged. How hard could it be to become a Jedi? They accepted me.
"I thank you, Master Jedi." Juhani stood and bowed before me. "I will return to the council, then. I shall submit myself to their judgment and hope they will forgive me. I only wish there was some way that I could repay you."
"I already have one life-debt." I told her. "I wouldn't appreciate another. See to taking care of yourself first."
"Again, I thank you." Juhani said. "I am sure I will hear great things about you in the future."
One final nod and Juhani turned and headed into the plains. I looked over at Canderous.
"Thanks for nothing."
Canderous smirked. "It's a damn stupid idea for someone who's not a Force adept to charge head on into battle with a Jedi." he said.
"We didn't know what was in the grove, anyway." I agreed.
"You were lucky." Canderous reflected. "That Cathar could have gutted you from throat to groin if she felt like it."
"So that's what a Cathar looks like." I mused. "I don't think she had it in her to really hurt me."
"That's where you're wrong." Canderous said. "The Cathar are known for their violent tempers and their battle prowess. All it would have taken was one wrong word, one slip up on your part and you would have been dead."
"But I'm not." I offered. "Juhani didn't want more death, she just wanted acceptance, I think."
"Something's coming." Canderous said.
I perked my ears up and listened. The thunderous sound of boots pounding along the soil echoed in my eardrums.
"What the hell is that?" I demanded.
"They're too far away to tell." Canderous retorted.
"Can you still fight?" I asked.
"My foot's broken." he said.
"Your hand's not." I snapped. "That's all you need to operate your blaster."
"I didn't say I wouldn't fight." Canderous snarled. "I just meant that I wouldn't be able to move around very fast."
"Well, get ready, because here they come."
