I do not own Star Wars or any of the characters.
Settling Scores
Damian groaned as he stirred. His body felt broken, and it probably was. It was still dark, and he felt something laying on him from the waist down. He felt around for his lightsaber but couldn't find it. He reached into his belt, pulling out a glow stick and cracking it, shaking it before levitating it with the Force. The green light spread over the area, momentarily blinding him before his eyes adjusted. Directly in front of him lay Ahsoka, and beside her was Barriss. Neither moved. He looked down, finding he was hallway pinned beneath the platform they had been on before falling. He grit his teeth, using the Force to lift it enough to slip out from under it, then pulled his lightsaber to himself from under it as well before setting the platform down. He put his lightsaber away and dragged himself to Ahsoka, his legs being completely numb currently. He pulled Ahsoka's helmet off and she scrunched her face up, turning her head away from the light. After a second, she opened her eyes and smiled up at him tiredly.
"Looks like we survived," Ahsoka said. "Where's Barriss?"
Damian looked over at the Mirialan in question and Ahsoka sat up, sliding over to her and checking for a pulse before gently shaking Barriss, who groaned, curling into Ahsoka.
"Five more minutes, Riyo," Barriss said, Damian and Ahsoka chuckling.
"Wake up, Barriss," Ahsoka said. "This job's not done."
Barriss stirred, looking around before pushing herself up, groaning and holding a hand to her head. "Your old boss is a dick, Damian."
"Tell me about it," Damian said, gingerly pushing himself to his feet, steadying himself against the railing of the platform as pins and needles assaulted his legs. "You both got your lightsabers?"
Both held them up and Damian nodded, letting the glowstick drop as they all extended a lightsaber blade, raising them and looking around the now much brighter area. After a minute, Damian spotted a maintenance shaft to the right and walked over to it, kneeling down and pulling it out of the wall with the Force and setting it aside. He crawled into the shaft, shutting his lightsaber off as he found red lights along the shaft. The other two followed and they quietly moved along it for a ways before finding an exit into a hallway. Damian paused at the grate as a pair of troopers walked past below them.
"You don't think the boss will blow this station with us still on it, do you?" one of them asked.
"Are you kidding?" the other asked. "You know how much this station cost?"
"Dude, he almost bankrupted himself for a rifle," the first pointed out. "I doubt he'll care about one space station. Or us."
The second sighed. "You've got a point."
The two of them turned a corner and Damian quietly opened the grate and dropped out, quieting himself with the Force, then helped Ahsoka and Barriss out as well. They turned, hurrying the opposite direction of the two troops and soon found themselves at a junction like the one they had found when the first entered, except much, much bigger. There wee probably a dozen troops spread throughout, so Damian and the others could sneak through. They started around the outside, moving quickly, but just as they were nearing the door, a sniper shot slammed into the back of Damian's helmet, sending him staggering forward. He spun, extending his lightsaber blade as the girls both passed him. He deflected a pair of shots, then backed up through the door and closed it, smashing the console. He turned, jogging after Ahsoka and Barriss, and they all made their way toward the nearest hangar. As they ran, troops began to enter the hallway quickly, only to die just as quickly as the three ran. Finally, they reached the hangar, seeing Ghaar's shuttle flying away. Outside the station, most of the ships had drawn closer, well within blast range, now. Not the flagship, but that wasn't a problem yet. Damian Force Pushed a pair of troops guarding a shuttle, sending them both spinning out into space, and the three of them sprinted onto the shuttle, taking off immediately. Barriss took the pilot seat and Damian pulled out his detonator.
"How do we stop them blasting us while we escape the blast radius?" Barriss asked.
Just then, a hologram of Dulheif Ghaar appeared over the console.
"Well, well, you survived," Ghaar smiled, then allowed it to fall away, glaring at them. "Pity. We'll be waiting for you on my ship. Come and face us, if you have the courage."
Then, he was gone. Damian nodded and they turned, flying after Ghaar's shuttle toward the flag ship. Damian waited to be blown to bits, but the ships didn't open fire on them. Finally, they landed in the hangar of the flag ship and found Ghaar and Vedok waiting, as promised.
"Nice to see you again," Damian said. "Now, then. Let's get this party started shall we?"
He raised his detonator and pressed the switch. Nothing. Ghaar began to laugh.
"Did you really think I wouldn't have checked to make sure there weren't any bombs?" Ghaar asked. "I disabled your remote detonator."
"Thank you," Damian said.
"What?" Ghaar snarled.
"You started the timer," Damian said.
Then, the station exploded, transforming into a gigantic ball of plasma and fire that shot outward, vaporizing most of the ships, debris destroying others. The concussion slammed into the flagship and it lurched, throwing everyone to the ground as sparks flew from power cables and ships, pipes, and other things from around the hangar crashed to the ground. An alarm began to blare overhead and Ghaar shouted in rage as Vedok roared. Then, ships began to appear out of hyperspace rapidly, instantly opening fire on any surviving ships, minus the flagship. Damian stared at them. They belonged to the Fardi clan.
"We're in trouble," Damian said, then used the Force to close the hangar's blast door before the barrier keeping in the atmosphere could shut off, either intentionally or accidentally, and vent the hangar, killing them all instantly.
He turned back to Ghaar and Vedok, extending one lightsaber blade as Ahsoka and Barriss both extended both of their own. Vedok roared, charging instantly, heading for Damian only for Barriss to blast him with a Force Push then run after him. He turned on her and met her charge, the two beginning to fight as Ghaar lifted into the air.
"This will be the last time we meet, Damian," Ghaar said.
"Thank God," Damian said. "What are you waiting for coward?"
Ghaar narrowed his eyes before raising his rifle and opening fire. Damian and Ahsoka scattered, both taking off at a sprint as Ghaar fired at them, his shots punching holes in the floor and walls as he fired, struggling to hit the two of them.
Barriss flipped to the side as both of Vedok's batons hit the ground, then lunged, slashing upward at him. He spun out of the way, one arm whipping around and slamming his batton into her side. She screamed as the electricity coursed through her before being thrown. She landed heavily, pulling her original lightsaber back to herself as Vedok stomped on the other, smashing the wooden pieces. Barriss activated her lightsaber and charged, blocking his strikes quickly, being forced backward once again by his monstrous strength. Finally, she leapt backward, swiping a hand and sending a disconnected engine from a fighter off to her right speeding toward Vedok, only for him to leap into the air, stepping off of the top of it. It hit in the distance and exploded into a massive fireball just as Barriss and Vedok clashed again.
Damian ducked as a flying starfighter engine sailed over him, exploding somewhere behind him, then dove to the side, narrowly avoiding a blast from Ghaar's rifle. Ghaar swung it around at him again, only for Ahsoka to suddenly yank a half-dozen pipes off of the ceiling, allowing them to crash down on Ghaar, smashing his jetpack and sending him crashing to the ground. He stood just as Damian yanked his rifle to himself, smirking and tossing it aside. Ghaar narrowed his eyes before smirking, drawing both his sword and the pistol rocket launcher. His hand snapped up to fire a rocket at Damian but Damian closed his hand into a fist, the pistol crumpling into a ball, only narrowly avoiding taking off Ghaar's finger.
"You bastard!" Ghaar seethed, grabbing his sword with both hands and charging.
Damian smirked, then jumped just as another engine, once again thrown by Barriss at Vedok, and once again a failed attempt to hit said Trandoshan, crashed into Ghaar from the side, hurling him away in a colorful explosion. Damian landed on his feet and drew his blaster, firing and putting the shot through Vedok's head, killing him. Barriss nodded, retrieving the remains of her lightsaber before running over and preparing herself to fight Ghaar alongside Damian and Ahsoka. Ghaar stood, snarling in rage.
"Fine then," Ghaar snarled. "If that's how you want to play it, we'll do it your way!"
He charged and Damian sped forward to meet his charge. Ghaar slashed at Damian, but Damian flipped over the slash, drilling the end of his lightsaber into Ghaar's helmet, making his head snap backward and throwing him off before Barriss and Ahsoka slammed their lightsabers into his torso, Ahsoka using both. Ghaar sailed backward and Damian met him with a two handed baseball swing, slamming the blade of his lightsaber into the back of his helmet, flipping him forward, only for his head to slam into the ground. His body whipped downward, crashing to the ground before his upper body flopped backward, ending with him on his back, groaning. Damian chuckled.
"You fucked up, Ghaar," Damian said. "Me alone, you could probably handle. But I'm not alone. Not anymore."
"Well good for you," Ghaar snarled, standing with his sword. "But you're all forgetting something. I cheat."
His arms snapped up, firing a pair of rockets from his wrists, which exploded against Damian and Ahsoka's chests, Ahsoka shielding her face with the Force. Then, Ghaar charged at Barriss, slashing. She moved to block it but the blade splashed completely through her lightsaber, missing her by a hair's breadth only because Damian had yanked her to the side with the Force. Ghaar turned, continuing to slash at Barriss rapidly, Barriss struggling to avoid the blade, striking back when she could, but without being able to block it, Ghaar was getting closer and closer to making contact, meanwhile Barriss's strikes were consistently failing to get through his armor. Finally, Damian reached Ghaar, slamming his blades down into Ghaar's sword arm, making him drop the sword before beginning to batter the criminal with his lightsabers, beating him back rapidly beofre charging both with the Force and slamming them into him in a pair of stabs, sending him streaking backward. Ghaar exploded into the side of his shuttle, cratering it before standing. Just as he did, Damian opened fire with his blaster, the shots bouncing off of Ghaar's armor, but slamming into him rapidly, bouncing him off of the shuttle again and again. Finally, a shot slammed into his helmet just as his head was tilted back and the helmet flew off of his head, bouncing away as Dulheif Ghaar fell to his hands and knees. He raised his head, glaring at Damian as Damian holstered his pistol and put his lightsaber away. Ghaar's face was covered in scars from the multitude of battles he'd been in. His skin was pale, and his dark hair was matted to his head with sweat, but as he glared at Damian, he seemed more than ready to keep fighting.
"This fight's over," Damian said, picking up Ghaar's rifle and aiming it at Ghaar's face. "Out of respect for your intellect, I would normally use this to kill you." He lowered the rifle and passed it to Barriss, followed by his helmet. "Let's settle this like men. Let's see if you can win without cheating."
"Gladly!" Ghaar snarled, standing, only for Damian to draw his pistol again and place a bullet between Ghaar's eyes, killing him.
"Right," Damian snorted. "Like I'm going to trust you to fight fair when you're back's against a wall when you won't under normal circumstances."
He turned to the hangar just as the doors opened and a Fardi shuttle flew in, the rest of the Toonee Clan's ships having been utterly obliterated. Damian swallowed hard as the shuttle landed and Sofia and Nyla walked out of it, both glaring at the three of them.
"Sofia, Nyla," Damian said, staring between the two of them.
"You're Barriss Offee?" Nyla asked, glaring at Barriss.
Barriss nodded, eyes watering. "I'm sorry. It was my fault."
Nyla was silent for a moment before hugging Barriss. Barriss blinked in surprise before staring at Nyla, then Sofia.
"What..." Barriss trailed off.
Nala sent us a holo message before the mission she died on," Nyla said, pulling back from the hug. "She explained everything. She had been miserable on Thabeska. She wanted to explore, and to find love. For real. Not this piece of womanizing trash."
Damian rolled his eyes.
"But, in her message, she apologized for running away," Nyla continued. "She said that she was sorry she hurt us, but that she didn't regret anything. She was happy for the first time in her life, and it was all thanks to you, Barriss. She loved you. She said she was going to ask you to marry her after the mission. But, she said that even if she died on the mission, or any mission, she'd be okay with it because she got to spend what remained of her life with you."
Barriss, who had been sobbing for most of Nyla's speech, glared at Nyla. "Damn you! Who do you think you are!?"
Nyla was taken aback, staring at Barriss in confusion.
"Why would you wait for so many years before deciding to reopen old wounds!?" Barriss snapped. "Why would you wait until those wounds have already healed to try and fix them!? What would make you think that was a good idea!?"
Damian pulled Barriss into a hug, and Nyla and Sofia both stared at them in confusion.
"We just saved your lives," Sofia said.
"And we're grateful," Damian said. "But Barriss never got to have closer over Nala's death. You couldn't really have expected this to go any differently, right? And why now? She's right. It's been years. Why do this now?"
"Opportunity," Nyla said. "We came to save you, and she was here."
"You came to save me?" Damian asked.
"The Toonee Clan came to our planet to recruit anyone they could for a trap to kill you," Sofia said. "They knew you'd be killing most of them from the rumors of your exploits, so they were recruiting everyone they could. We knew it'd be trouble, so we came to help. we wanted to tell you about Nala's message sooner, but no one knew how to find you, or get ahold of you. I'm sorry."
Barriss pulled away from Damian and nodded. "Thank you for telling me, but it was still a stupid thing to do."
"Come on Barriss," Damian said, guiding her toward the shuttle they had taken from the station. "I'll make sure to have an ear on Thabeska. If you need us, let us know. And if you try to pull some shit like this..." he gestured to the debris field around the flag ship, "you can expect to die."
Both Fardi nodded and Damian took the pilot's seat, flying out of the cruiser. He entered the coordinates of their family's usual meetup point when they got separated and had to swap ships back to the Wraith to avoid taking anything that could be tracked home. Sure enough, the Wraith was waiting for them as they arrived. Damian sighed, stopping beside the Wraith and connected the docking tube. He looked back at the others. Ahsoka was meditating with Ghaar's rifle across her lap and Barriss looked absolutely miserable. Damian sighed.
"Are you alright?" Damian asked.
"I'm alright," Barriss said. "I just need to see Riyo again so she can cheer me up."
Damian nodded, resting a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and she opened her eyes, smiling up at him before picking up the rifle. They all walked over to the Wraith and Riyo met Barriss with a kiss instantly. Damian disconnected the Wraith from the shuttle and Shaeeah began to leave, jumping to Hyperspace, heading home. Damian walked to the cockpit with Ahsoka and held the rifle out to Shaeeah.
"Special delivery from one Dulheif Ghaar as an apology for everything he did to you," Damian said.
Shaeeah stared at the rifle before grinning and accepting it. "Did you thank him for me?"
"Of course," Damian said. "He was so happy to hear the thank you that he repainted his private shuttle with his brains."
"Good," Shaeeah said. "So, what's next on the agenda?"
"Vacation," Damian said. "Lots and lots of vacation."
Shaeeah nodded, turning back to the controls as Damian dropped into his chair, sighing and beginning to meditate to pass the time, Ahsoka doing the same in her own chair.
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