*WARNING*
THIS CHAPTER DETAILS ASSAULT. PLEASE SKIP THE 2ND PART IF YOU SHOULD NOT READ IT!
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Janthir
The darkness continues to consume his entirety. He hears the echoes of the Sith all around him, beckoning him to turn to the dark side. What little light he had allowed to surface struggles against the raging tide that he had abandoned at the ruins of the second death star on Kef Bir.
In this meditative state, he holds onto his pulls to the light- the reasons why he should never go astray again.
His father... mother... Rey...
Redemption...
And a future... with Rey.
He craved it- the opportunity for redemption. Is that another reason why he wasn't able to become one with the Force? Other than being a half of a dyad, was his regret for the lives he had taken an anchor to the physical world? Or was it that he secretly craved for the vision he saw before he died, to become a reality?
When she pressed her lips against his, something started to grow within him.
Was it hope?
Was it hope for the future he saw that brought a genuine sense of happiness to him? One that made him smile, the first time in nearly a decade, in the embrace of his other half. He knew it then that his choice to sacrifice himself was a sound one. Rey, for all her innocence and unphantomable dedication to the light, was his and the Jedi's future. She was the beacon of hope, of light that the worlds needed.
She was all he needed.
But he would never have her. No, the vision of Rey caressing her belly, swollen with his child, while resting with a languid smile on her face, her head against his chest will never come to be.
He is dead.
He knows it well. He had tried to pass onto the Force with no success. He tried to escape the cavern he, Palpatine, and the Sith had perished in. Was his spirit doomed to haunt these dark caves for all eternity?
What he wouldn't give to see Rey's beautiful face again- to hear her voice call his given name. How long had be been thinking of her since his death? He wasn't quite sure.
The dead doesn't keep time.
Truly, he was doomed to forever be alone in this darkness. It was his punishment for all the deeds he had committed as Kylo Ren. The darkness and solidarity didn't bother him as much as not being able to see Rey again, to feel her skin against his once more.
To kiss her one last time.
He had hoped that she would visit Exegol again, maybe then, he would be more contented to serve his sentence.
The eternal nights crept on and on. He continued his struggle to fend off the darkness. He could almost hear the whispers of the deceased Sith around him growing louder, beckoning him to be one with them. He resisted, fought the call with failing resolve.
He had just thought about giving in... until he felt her again. Here, on Exegol. How long has it been since she laid those stones as his gravesite?
His heart skipped a beat at the surge of sorrow and reluctance that suddenly filled him. She was sad... for him? Yes, so was he.
Then she entered the cavern, her presence nearly overwhelms him.
"Rey," he called out to her. She didn't hear him, his call for her echoed in his ears. He was disheartened to say the least. He stood in front of her forlorn face, wanting to wipe away the tears that brimmed her eyes.
"Rey, I am here." He whispered to her. Then she crumbled before him, falling apart at the site of his death. He wished he could hold her, to comfort her, to silence her tears. Though it would be futile, he knew that much. Too much has happened in the past years.
He didn't deserve to comfort her.
When he poured the remainder of his life force into her, he felt her relief. Relief that Palpatine is dead, her friends safe, the innocent can continue living. Yet, he wanted to save her for selfish reasons. He couldn't bear it if someone else he cared for died. He had been abandoned more than enough times. He had been living selfishly for the past decade, at the time he wanted to choose selfishly one last time. He wanted her to live- to remember him. There was no chance that he was going to let Rey abandon him, not since he made his choice to rejoin the light. If anything, selfishly, he was going to abandon her with his death.
And so, it had happened that way. He died and was doomed to roam the caverns for eternity, and now... Now he sat by her side as she hovered over the gravestones, pouring her pain out with sobs racking her small frame.
His heart broke for her. He tried to pull her into his arms, though nothing happened. His body never touched hers. He was forever cast into the darkness, unseen and unheard by the physical world.
Time trudged on, he lost count on how long she wept for him. In one aspect, he was somewhat grateful that someone mourned for him. In the other, he hated that he caused her more underserved pain. When she finally sat up on her heels, he felt a wall manifest around her thoughts- barricading her thoughts to only herself.
She was going to shut him out again... to move on...
The very thought struck his heart cold. They were still bonded through the Force. In her presence, he could feel her emotions... almost living it himself. Now, she is ready to forget him entirely. She whispered a final goodbye to him.
"Goodbye, Ben... I hope... the Force is with you."
It truly pained him to see her turn around, ready to leave all knowledge of him behind, forever. At that moment, he regrets not taking her offer. To join her. Maybe then, he would've been able to have spent more time with her. Maybe then, he would learn to forgive and embrace his pain. Maybe then, he could learn to forgive himself.
It was too late, for he is dead. His biggest regret was not being able to know the depth of their potential love.
With a heavy heart, he calls out to her one last time.
"Rey, I am with you. Hear me. I am here."
-0-
"You're here to liberate us, aren't you?" Anh'rai beamed up at Rey, hope shimmering in the sky blue eyes.
Rey was baffled at the comment. Liberate? Were they slaves? She casted a wry glance at the group of Twi'leks that had opened fire on her and her friends. "I'd say you guys don't need to be liberated, Anh'rai. It seems like you've got the situation under control."
"Anh'rai, come here. This girl will not save us," the dark blue Male who issued the command to fire, waved his hand, gesturing for the young female to go to him.
"What... exactly do you need to be saved from?" Rey decided to tentatively broached the subject. It seemed to her that the group was some sort of local militia or perhaps... rebels.
Anh'rai gripped Rey's hands tighter in her little ones. "Do you truly not know, Senator?"
Senator. Her official title as the Jedi Senator did not sit well with her. The position required someone who was more levelheaded, more experienced, more... political than she could ever hope to be. But for the time being, she supposed she could somewhat fake her confidence in such a heavy role.
Rey shook her head, not knowing what the little girl was speaking of.
"Janthir... he's..." her eyes glossed over, her pastel green face frozen in deep thought.
A small projection of terror and anger danced over Rey's senses, she could hear the echoes of screams of little children and women, blasters firing, and buildings collapsing. Her vision began to blurred with unshed tears at the images of those sounds that had flashed before her eyes, as a memory.
A memory from Anh'rai.
"A foul excuse of a living being, that old man is," a smooth melodious voice broke Rey from her vision. A dark forest green female Twi'lek emerged from behind the frontline of the armed group. Her dark green, almost black eyes, exuded hatred at the mention of Janthir.
"Mama," Anh'rai called, releasing Rey's hand to hold onto her mother's when the older female stood before Rey, her shoulders square and proud.
"I am Taivie, mother of Anh'rai, and leader of this band you see here," she gestured to her people behind her with a wave of her free hand. "Forgive our show of force, we... are in midst of a rebellion. We mean bystanders no harm." She nodded her head once, her companions lowered their aim to the ground.
Rey nodded in acknowledgement, though still somewhat dubious of the situation. "I'm Rey. I'm... I wasn't aware of the situation here. I am sorry."
"I know who you are. You wouldn't have known. Those who do are amongst his ranks, or ours. Will you be friend... or foe?" Her dark eyes narrowed minutely, surveying Rey, then her friends who began stepping out from behind the plant life.
She was not going to back down and cower before Taivie. They had just arrived to Ryloth hoping to find the artifact, not to fight a war they know nothing about. Rebellions have two sides, it isn't so clearly black and white.
"Friend! We are friends!" Finn grounded out behind her, masking his words with exaggerated coughs.
Rey furrowed her brows. "We hope to be friends. Though we don't attack our friends with blasters as our first impression."
Taivie nonchalantly shrugged. "You burst through the trees into our camp. We could never be too careful in amidst a rebellion."
The nerve of this woman! Rey clenched her jaw tightly, willing herself to keep civil between them. "If you don't mind, we are just passing through." She turned on her heels, nodding to her Finn and Chewie. "Let's go."
She wanted to help Anh'rai and her people despite Taivie's manners. However, Ben was waiting for her to return with the artifact. The thought of him staying in that repulsive place any longer than he had to made her heart ache for him.
"Wait! Please!" Anh'rai rushed after Rey's group. "H-he's my sire! I can take you to him!"
"Anh'rai!" Taivie bellowed after her daughter, her tone resonated with anger and disbelief.
Rey froze in her trek mid-step. "What?" She asked, breathless.
"He... he's a bad man, Rey Skywalker. We need your help... Mama needs... I need your help. Please," Anh'rai grasped Rey's hand once more. This time, the little girl's eyes no longer glistened with hope. It was desperation.
She was desperate.
How could she possibly refuse such a heartwrenching plea for help? Ben... as much as she wanted to free him from Exegol, this situation was far more severe. With her free hand, she brushed Anh'rai's tear stain cheek in a soft caress.
"Well then, perhaps it's best if you enlighten us on the situation, little Anh'rai."
"You mean it? You will help us?" Her blue eyes twinkled with unshed tears and glimmers of hope.
Rey nodded, "We will try our best."
"Then come with us to our camp. There is much to discuss," Taivie motioned for the group to follow her. Twi'lek and all.
-0-
Sick.
Rey concluded that Janthir was a sick, malevolent, evil being unfit to be even called a human. In the cool, damp air of another set of wide open caverns, Taivie and her people told savage stories of Janthir's deeds to the natives of Ryloth. Some of the stories of his crimes were too much for her heart to bear.
No wonder they were rebelling.
Janthir had enslaved the province of Tohmek, a continent the size of the Death Star. The cargo ship he had pirated indeed carried relics. Most of which he sold in the black market to the wealthy for enormous sums of credits to fund his army and his sickening way of life.
The native Twi'leks of Tohmek were of varying colors of greens and blues, while other continents sported Twi'leks of yellows, oranges, reds, greys, charcoals, purples and creams. Each continent had it's own climate and specialties. It so happened that Tohmek was a tropical jungle, it's natives reflecting on the colors of their environment.
With Tohmek's thick canopy and sparse population of peaceful natives, Janthir was able to build his army in secret. He had manipulated the Twi'leks with promises of better life with new technologies. More food, cleaner water, less sickness. One by one, the colonies began to follow him. Over the course of the years, he had elected himself as their leader when he had won all of the colonies' trust.
Then, it became a massacre. A neverending nightmare for the Twi'leks involved.
Janthir ordered his army, fitted with weapons of the Galactic Empire, to enforce 'peace' while the natives built him a clay-brick palace fit for a king. Males and females, young and old, sick or able bodied were forced to work on the construction of the palace in the heart of the continent. Some died from starvation, many died from injuries sustained when they fought back.
By the time the Twi'leks started to fight back, it was too late. Janthir had the upper hand. He made martyrs out of some rebels, and some... he made them watch as he let his men sodomize and kill their families before killing them himself.
The fall of the Galactic Empire didn't matter to Janthir, for he had his own army, and an endless pit of credits. He bribed Ryloth officials from other continents to ignore his dealings on Tohmek. Rarely anyone refused the credits, for Ryloth was not a wealthy planet to begin with. Those who rebelled from outside of Tohmek were swiftly exterminated by the new defense system he had his engineers build around the palace.
Within Tomek, Janthir reigned supreme. Nothing and no one were left untouched in his stolen lands. Females were categorized based on their physical appearance and appeals to Janthir. Most were sent to the fields to work alongside the males to provide food for his mercenaries and his armies... others... the younger females were enslaved within his palace. Those females who worked the fields were considered lucky, and some may have been even a little happy, for those who were chosen for the palace were often molested and beaten.
Taivie, was one of those unlucky females who caught his eye. She was no older than sixteen when the vile old man, in his mid fifties, rounded up her clan like cattle into steel cages in the palace's courtyard. The lecherous man demanded her father to submit to his rule, for Taivie's clan was the last resisting colony fighting to free their people. And to give Taivie over to become his mistress.
A true hero to their people, and his daughter, Taivie's father spat in Janthir's face at the comment. Enraged, the old man barked orders to his mercenaries to hold the last remaining colony leader on his knees with his arms restrained to his side.
He then shoved Taivie in front of them, ripped her clothing with a dull blade, slicing into her skin with it. Taivie's father screamed and begged, knowing fully well what was to befall his loving daughter. His pleas fell on deaf ears as Janthir assaulted Taivie from behind, blood and tears spilled from her soft body. When Taivie's father could bear no more, he looked away, his face contorted in defeat and pain.
But Janthir had no ounce of mercy in his body. With sadistic glee, he continued to sodomize Taivie, and ordered for his men to keep the male Twi'lek's eyes trained on him. They restrained him further, holding onto his face and prying his eyes open with their fingers. The lecherous man yanked on Taivie's lekku, arching her back and forcing her to raise her blurred eyes to her father's defeated frame.
With a nod from Janthir, one of his men brought a cold steel machete to Taivie's father's throat.
With despite the pain, Taivie begged for her father's release, promising Janthir she was willing to bear anything he commanded. Janthir demanded her to raise his seed or he will kill her, her father, and her entire clan. Taivie nodded her agreement through the pain. With a howl, Janthir pulled himself from her heat, only to plunge it into her virginal womanhood.
Taivie screamed as Janthir hammered into her with abandon in the presence of his men out in the open courtyard. With a howl, Janthir emptied his vile seed into Taivie's young body. Weak and injured, Taivie collapsed onto the dirt ground. Without wasting a moment, Janthir grabbed his blaster and walked over to Taivie's father, pointing the end of the barrel at the green Twi'lek's temple.
"This is so you don't forget, creature," he hissed at Taivie, and pulled the trigger.
Taivie and her people's distressed screams echoed for a great distance after witnessing the execution of their beloved leader. The clan ripped through the mercenaries, killing those they could get their hands on.
Unfortunately, they were out numbered and out powered. Just as soon as they attacked, they fell one by one. Soon, only a head of 10 remained. Young Taivie begged for the lives of her remaining clan members. She promised him heirs, and obedience. She promised him her life and devotion.
It seemed to have worked at the time, for Janthir waved his hand and imprisoned the rest of Taivie's clan. Making good on her declare, she serviced him to the morning that day. Despite her body's protests, she made good on her claim to be obedient. As a result of that night, Anh'rai was conceived.
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What a brutal man he is. Sorry folks, this sets the stage for the rest of this plot line!
Thanks for reading, please review!