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Chapter 3
I will kill all she loves, all she protects, until her hands are drenched in blood. –Darth Sion
As she moved through the silent halls of Malocore V she found herself tense and on alert for anything that would happen next inside these walls. Her robes we're soaked in blood from so many Sith warriors she had slain to make her wa in here. Yet in her heart she knew this madness wasn't over, it would not be over until Keria was killed, butshe would have to go through Sion to get to his master.
Using the force to open a door she entered into the vast open room of the main chamber on Malocore and she stopped when she noticed the bloody boot markings and froze feeling her blood run cold as she followed the trail with her eyes and her heart lept in her throat when she saw the owner.
"Atton…" She raced over to the man dropping to her knees inspecting the wounds and felt tears fill her eyes noticeing just the true severity of them, and his presence in the force was weak. "Atton, please wake up it's me the Exile." She shook him lightly wanting him to come around. 'Please don't die on me Atton.' She thought to herself.
"Exile, we meet at last." Sion's cold voice came from the other entry and she looked up her face littered with tears as she stared at the Sith with hate in her eyes.
"Why did you hurt him?" She stood grabbing her lightsaber moving away from Attons body and flicked the purple double bladded saber to life.
"The fool dared to take me on to save you, but he was too weak to handle me. Soon he will die, just as you soon will Exile." Sion lit his own red lightsaber stareing at the woman, feeling her pain, and hate in the force. "His blood is on your hands Exile." He smirked.
"Basterd, I won't let you leave this room. If I must die I'm taking you with me." She snarled and lept forward clashing blades with Sion.
"Yes, give into your hate Exile, let it consume you and let the darkside power you." He kicked her back into the wall.
She got up from the wall and narrowed her eyes, hardly noticeing the faint golden flicker in her eyes. The man she loved was dying and it was because of this Sith Lord he lay at deaths door. All she wanted to see was Sion dead and at her mercy so she could have her revange for Atton. Years of being alone and wandering space to block out the past, she had finally found someone to love, protect…Have a normal life with and now it was being taken from her, just as so many other things had been stripped from her.
The fight didn't seem to last long, the Exile raw emotions had gotten hold on her and she had defeated Sion leaving his body to rot on the floor as she moved back over to Atton and carefully pulled his body towards her. She head resting on her chest as she carefully ran her hands through his hair, her fingers gentle brushing over his face, and she paused when his eyes slowly opened revealing tired pain filled brown eyes that locked with her own.
Atton's hand moved up to her face stroking the soft skin, "You're... alive. Did I save you yet?"
She leaned into the touch of his hand tears falling down her face, her eyes opened once again and looked into his own, "Sion's dead... It's over."
He looked at her eyes seeing that faint golden hue lineing them, she had used the darkside, she had promised him to never fall, "Your eyes... that bad, huh?" He coughed, a little blood dribbleing down his chin, "Always was ugly. Now the outside matches..."
She relized what he met and looked away in shame, "Atton..."
He used his shaking hand to turn her face back to look at him, "Was waiting for this, but it's not fair..." he coughed again, a little more blood came this time, "let you down... was supposed... to save you..."
She bit her lower lip feeling her eyes blur a little, and used her thumb to wipe away the blood on his mouth, "It's okay... I know, you..."
He shook his head a little, "Was tired of living anyway... too many deaths... Never told you... lied to you."
She noticed a few of her tears land on his cheek, she had never cried like this before, she felt as if her heart was tearing into pieces, "Sshhh, it's okay... try... lie down, rest..." She carefully lowered his body so that his head rested on her lap.
Atton shook his head weekly again he didn't want to see her cry, "I don't want you to see me like this! I don't wanna... die in front of you... can't" he coughed harder this time. "bear it..."
"Don't say that..." She pleaded stroking his face loveingly.
Atton smiled tiredly at her words, he would watch over her in death. He loved her so much he wanted her to find love again after him, "Loved you from the moment I first saw you... thought you were a dream... meant every word... tried to play it off... as a joke... wasn't funny..."
Her heart lept into her throat at his words and she bit out a choked plea, ".... Atton, please..."
He groaned coughing harder this time as a great amount of blood came up, "Hurts when I laugh... Hurts... You... saved me... joke's on me..." He chuckles forceing a smile to his lips, his eyes felt so heavy and he was tired…so very tired. "Hurts... when I laugh... hurts..." His voice trailed off as his hand hit the cold marble floor, his life force gone. Atton Rand was no more.
"Atton…" She pulled his body up and shook it, "Atton please wake up!" She felt her the tears stinging her eyes as her vision blurred again. "Atton!" She broke down clutching the dead body of her lover close to her chest sobs racking her body as she moarned for the man who had given her a reason to want to live, to help save the Republic.
Now he was gone, Atton Rand had passed on into the force and now she was alone without a soul she could truly trust in this galxey. She looked at the man in her arms and pressed a kiss to those still warm lips in farewell. She would defeat Keria…No Darth Traya and she would go into the unknown regions of space after all of this and find Revan.
The Exile stood and moved past Darth Sions body towards her fate that awaited her beyond those doors and would descend right into the center of Malocore V. She never looked behind her, if she would have that day she would have noticed Atton's body had faded away, only leaving behiend his clothing he had once worn.
Two weeks Later…
"ATTON!" The Exile jolted upright on the infirmary bed screaming out Atton's name and felt her face was wet and reached up to her face feeling the tears. She was shaken by the memory and wanted nothing more then to forget about it. Everytime she slept, she remembered Atton laying their in her arms dying.
She was so consumed with her thoughts she hardly noticed Carson approch her bed and would have fallen off the bed at the gentle hand that landed on her shoulder had Dr. Keller not grabbed her carefully placeing the woman back in the center of the bed. "Are ye okay lass?" Carson's comferting voice made her look up at him.
Teal eyes that held such raw emotion, Carson had never seen such eyes and they we're quite equiste to say the least. "Here, you go lass to wipe them tears away." He smiled handing her a cloth which she accepted without any words.
"Thank you…" She said trying to contain her emotions, but it was only four months since his death. Or at least she had thought, but it was still so fresh in her mind his death.
Carson seemed a little excited hearing her speak and her accent as well. It hinted at mix of Scottish from the sounds of it. "Do you think you can answer a few questions for us lass? Like what ye remembered last." He questioned.
"Aye, my ship was ejected from Hyperspace and I wound up in un-charted areas that weren't even on my Starcharts nor in the Navi computer…I didn't know how long I would be out their and my sublite engeines weren't even working properly so I crudely made a cryo-statis unit from all parts I had on the ship and when I knew it would work I deverted all power to it to keep me alive until another ship disovered the Ebon Hawk…How long have I been asleep?" She questioned looking at the man.
Keller paused in the blood preassure test she was about to do and bit her bottom lip not certain if now was the best time to tell their patient just how long she had been in it and caught Carsons eyes. It seemed he wouldn't withhold any information to her.
"Ye have been asleep lass for over 5000 years…Some of our people we're near the planet you're ship was slowly passing over, and it was quite beaten up too from what I was able to see. Had our team not disocvered your ship in under five days lass you would have died." Carson stated.
"You we're brought here right away your body had gone into shock once you had been relased, you've been asleep for two weeks and came in and out, you always kept saying, Atton in your sleep or barely alert states…" Keller added.
"Over 5000 years…" She reapeted the words more to herself then to the healers as her hands fisted into the blankets tightly.
Carson noticed she had barely heard Keller's words and shared a look with the other doctor and moved his hand over to the womans laying it ontop hers that fisted the covers, her eyes had taken on a spaced out look, she was thinking about something and noticed the tears had begun to build at the corner of her eyes. "Lass, do ye have a name we can call you?" Carson asked softly not wanting to frighten her.
She didn't even acknowledge the man's comferting touch and hesitated, who was she anymore really? Did a name matter anymore, did anything matter truly anymore. She had failed Atton, and she had failed Revan. She had failed her Master. "Exile…" Was all she offered him.
Keller frowned hearing the dead tone in the womans voice, Exile? What kind of name was that for a person to have. "Are you sure that's your name?" Keller asked.
"Yes, Exile is all I was called by those who didn't know me, save for him, but I failed him. My name died with him." She whipered.
"Lass, is this Atton someone that had been with you on your ship?" Carson pushed.
"No, he was murdered…Murdered by one I was met to kill." She fisted her hands tighter into the blankets tears streaming down her face like that one day.
Keller frowned wondering what they woud do the woman had slumbered for 5000 years and to her the events she knew then we're perhaps still fresh in her mind if her guess was right, but she could only assume whatever the woman had been dreaming about at night had something to do with the past that caused her to have this episiode. "Well we will let you rest a little more, we are just glad you are well. I'm going to give you a mild seditive that will relax you and maybe allow you to sleep." Keller stated and left to get what she needed.
An echo of his words replayed in her mind. "Loved you from the moment I first saw you... thought you were a dream... meant every word... tried to play it off... as a joke... wasn't funny..." Why did she always live and people die around her?
Carson watched at the woman burried her face in her hands and began to sob. He grabbed a few kleenx and placed the on the womans lap letting her take them when she was ready. Thinking Keller had returned Carson turned to say something and saw John enter. "Colonel, nows perhaps not the best time…" Carson began but was unable to stop John from coming around to see their guest who was lost in her own memoeries her face hidden from the two men as she let out her grief.
"Did you and Keller tell her…" John began but from the nod he received from Carson he decied he didn't need to ask further and looked at the silver haired woman. 5000 years was a long time to sleep, and then be told that you had lost everything by trying to save your life thinking someone would find you.
Carson led John away from the woman to the other side of the privacy curtian, "Poor thing called out the lads name game. Was a lover apprently from the looks of it, but did ye say in yer reports Colonel she had come to for a few moments that day and called you Atton?" Carson questioned.
"Yeh, which is rather strange to be honest, because my great, well very great grandfather was named Atton." John stated.
"Aye tis' a wee bit strange." Carson ageed.
"So does she have a name?"
"Aye, but I'm sure it's not her name. Says her name is the Exile and that's all she's allowing us to call her." He frowned.
John's brows rose at that, "Exile? As in exiled and alone on an island type of exile?"
"Aye, very same."
The two men quieted hearing the womans sobs die down, and she'd apprently found the kleenx and blew her nose. Carson peaked around seeing the woman was sitting up their still sniffeling still. Moving around he moved back over to her, "Do you fill a wee bit better now lass getting that out of your system?" He asked.
She looked up at Carson her teal eyes bloodshot from crying, "No healer?" She relized she had not found out their names.
Healer? Carson smiled at the title, "Dr. Beckett lass, but you can call me Carson."
"Doctor?" She frowned at the strange word, "You are a healer though yes?"
"Aye, if a healer is what you calls us doctors lass then I'll be that." Carson smiled.
John watched the woman from around the curtin area wondering if it was wise to move around and greet her. He noticed Carson look up and wave for him to come over. "Lass here is one of the men who found you in your ship." Carson gestured.
John moved from his hiding place slowly moving to the end of the bed and smiled at the woman who took her gaze from Carson and looked at him. He saw her eyes go wide and before he could even introduce himself the woman had all but tackled him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, "Atton, your alive you fool!" She sobbed into Johns neck.
John stood their frozen and didn't move, he was shocked at the speed of which she had moved and Carson was as well, but they made no move to pull her off of John as she clung to the colonel for dear life.
"You fool, I thought you we're dead! I thought Darth Sion killed you! I thought you were dead, you said you loved me, you left me alone. I was left alone again, the Jedi wanted me to rebuild, I went to find Revan and aide him, but then the Ebon Hawk…" She clutched Johns shirt harder rambeling on leaving both men to stand their in shock as her words poured out of her mouth.
Darth Sion, jedi, sith? But all of that wasn't real, but then again you had Wraith which we're like vampires in this galxey why couldn't this stuff be real that Gergoe Lucas had created for people to watch.
John looked at Carson for help and the Scottish doctor didn't know what to do, he was afraid to pull the woman off John who seemed to be calming down just clinging to him. John slowly pushed the woman away from him a little and found his eyes locked with hers and saw the hope in them, and felt bad he'd have to break the news to her he wasn't this Atton person. "I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but…I'm not the man you call Atton. My names LT. Colonel John Sheppard. I'm sorry." John said.
She felt as if she been slapped and reached out into the force to confirm if this was the man she had loved, but it wasn't him. It wasn't Atton, but why did this man have to look life him! She let go of John and wrapped her arms around herself as she sat their at the end of the bed on her knees. "Why do you have to have his face…" She whispered shutting her eyes.
"Colonel…Perhaps you should go for now." Carson said seeing he would have had hands full with this poor thing for awhile.
"Right…" John turned to go and paused looking at the broken woman and felt bad for her, and bad for having to look like the man she had lost. Without another word or thought he made his way out of the infirary to rest.
TBC...
FOR THOSE Curious here is Atton's death: .com/watch?v=zMFcCSLLhrQ
