"You were right."
Mand frowned, holding her head as she sat up from the floor. She had just regained consciousness after a strange yet familiar presence had somehow unintentionally triggered her powerful, destructive Force Shockwave. Thankfully, though, she had been successful in suppressing the surge, but it had cost her dearly, knocking her out for several minutes and scrambling her senses worse than she had experienced before.
"This was a bad idea, coming back here," Rech continued concernedly. "You're still weak."
"I am not," Mand finally managed to say groggily. "I stopped it, didn't I?" She wished she could've been more happy about her success, since it was one of the main reasons she was training and meditating so hard lately, but the trigger was what had her upset.
"Stopped what? Another vision?"
Rech still hovered closely beside her, one arm supportively around her back and the other holding her hand. She could tell her various bouts of illnesses and collapses had made him well practiced in caring for her, but his anxiety over her condition remained the same each time.
Mand shook her head slightly, answering his earlier question. No, she hadn't seen anything like the visions that had plagued her a few weeks ago. This time, she knew for sure she had seen vivid flashbacks of memories she so desperately wanted to be rid of. At first she thought that they had been triggered by being back on Coruscant, but just before the Shockwave began to build, she remembered a dark, foreboding presence that had slowly descended upon her like a smothering blanket...
"It felt just like...him. Like Tzan."
Tzan Kaeloth, the powerful Dark Lord who had kidnapped her when she was fifteen and suppressed her thoughts, consciousness, and eventually even her life force for four years. Her rescuers, Rech, Elena, and Kihara Marelleck, had killed Tzan in valiant battle; they made sure of that before they left the barren planet of Tatooine, where Tzan had been keeping her when she wasn't being "used". But the presence, even though it couldn't have been Tzan's, had resurrected the same rage and fear she had fought to withhold as her training as a Jedi had progressed over the past months, the same rage and fear she had harnessed to break Tzan's hold over her. The escape had driven her deep into the Dark Side, and she had done everything possible to keep from getting back into the same mindset, where her power was hatred-driven.
"Mand, he's-"
"Dead," she finished for him, "I know. But I said it felt like him, like his...methods. So much so that I began building a Shockwave as a subconscious reflex. That's what knocked me out. I suppressed it, but it had to be released somehow."
Rech looked more concerned, searching her eyes. "I didn't feel anything, Mand, except your...anger."
"I felt it, as strong as if he had been standing beside me -"
"I believe you," Rech said quickly, sensing her frustration. "It's just..." He looked hesitant to continue. "I've never seen such fire in your eyes."
Mand looked down, saddened that her anger was visible to her friends who had been in the room with her just minutes before. Chiss Jedi Master Strone Lithess was still standing behind Rech, casting a wary, red-glowing gaze down at her, and Elena was kneeling at her side opposite Rech, quiet. Mand had tried to keep her internal struggles as private as she could, and some she hadn't even talked with Rech about. But now they all knew what kind of a monster she had the potential to become.
"It caught me off guard," Mand finally answered. "I'd been on the defensive in anticipation of a vision, not this." After a few moments of thought, she looked up at both Rech and Elena, deflecting the topic. "Did you ever encounter any apprentices or partners when you were hunting Tzan and me?"
Both Elena and Rech shook their heads, and just as Elena began to elaborate, Jedi Master Aalon Noor and his apprentice Wes Arosc walked in. Apparently privy to the conversation, Noor answered calmly as he approached.
"The only evidence we ever found of anyone working with Tzan was the link between him and Morden Tarthos. If there were apprentices, they must have never traveled with him when he also had you." Despite the heavy topic, Noor offered a small smile, which she returned as he knelt beside her. Save for Rech, Noor had worked the hardest to trace her kidnapper and find her, then he had saved her and her child's lives after he continued researching what had happened to her during her disappearance. If there was anyone who knew well the past five years of her life, it was Noor.
"You don't need my help," Noor said as he looked at Rech, "but I offer whatever you need." Rech nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating on healing her. Though she could've aided his efforts by relaxing, Mand instead engaged Noor.
"How's Veon?" Mand noted with a slight smile that Elena's attention was instantly diverted to Noor, as well.
"He's doing well," Noor nodded. "Recovery from his poor nutrition will take a little longer, but physically, he'll be fine."
Mand nodded, too, and relieved at the news, she rested her head on Rech's shoulder, allowing him to work a little more efficiently. She couldn't help but look at Wes for a few moments, as the young man standing behind rest of the group reminded her of his late maternal aunt, Tascit Arosc. Only when Noor spoke again did she realize that the Jedi Master had stood from beside her and was conversing with Master Lithess.
"They're releasing Veon from the medical center in a few hours. We can wait for you -"
"No," Mand interjected, "don't. We'll join you before you leave, just let us know when and where."
Knowing how anxious Elena was to see Veon, Mand turned her head to her and smiled reassuringly, allowing Elena to leave with the Jedi Masters. Elena smiled, too, and squeezed her hand before she stood and joined the other three as they left silently. Still concentrating, Rech kissed the top of Mand's head and hugged her to himself more tightly.
"You'll be fine in a few minutes," Rech said quietly. "They wouldn't have waited long."
"I know." As much as she wanted to see Veon, too, they'd all have two days to spend with him on the trip back home to Paneau. She was okay with waiting to be sure she wouldn't be hit with another unintentional Shockwave in the meantime. "Did you see the look on Elena's face?"
Rech smiled. "She's elated."
"She gets both her men," Mand said lightly with a laugh. Two days ago, Koril had proposed to Elena, which she accepted just after learning that Veon had been found. After a quick succession of events, Elena was going to be happier than ever, and that made Mand happy. Her closest friend deserved so much.
"We can see your parents before we go back," Mand added. "We won't have to worry about baby duty this time." Instead of subjecting her again to the stressful, short trip to and from Coruscant, they had left Cordira on Paneau with the caretakers in the Rys'tihn Manor. She didn't think it was going to be easy to endure the distance, but the separation between mother and baby during this trip was far more manageable. Mand hoped it was the same for Cordira.
"Or," Rech said even more quietly, "we could have the time to ourselves." After a moment, he continued, almost sadly. "I've hardly seen you these past two weeks."
"I know, I'm sorry." Her training kept her away from both Rech and Cordira for the majority of the day as she was attempting to master her visions and her unique Shockwave, as well as a more difficult skill, hiding herself in the Force. She hoped she never had to use the latter, but something was telling her it was somehow going to be useful in the future.
Though she knew he was still concentrating on healing her, Mand inclined her head up to him and kissed him sweetly.
"You're sure?"
"Absolutely. Jedi Master Derek Falur, stationed on Hoth during the Jedi Civil War around 4,000 BBY. Paneau never became involved in the war, but the front lines came near enough to have warranted a little extra protection. Your parents were really helpful, by the way. They were more than willing to get me some of the records they had access to."
Elena smiled. Even though she hadn't spent much time there, she was glad her parents could get to know Koril a little better.
"There's always been someone from each generation who became a pilot," Koril continued on the comm screen. "I guess this explains it. But I'm more curious as to why his name was removed from everything at home."
"Things were different back then, I'm sure," Elena offered, though she was curious herself, too. "Maybe Aeona was embarrassed."
Koril shrugged. "We can figure that out later. I am glad that we were able to find his name, though." Elena nodded and smiled again as Koril moved on, seeming to pick up on her train of thought. "How's Veon looking?"
"Great," she responded immediately, though she had to correct herself. "I mean, he's a little weak and a little thinner than he used to be, but I'm just glad to see him again."
"When are you leaving?"
"Soon. We have to pack a few people up and we'll be on our way."
Though the screen was hazy, Koril's smile filtered through perfectly, making Elena sigh. The two day trip back to Paneau was going to be long enough, and it had already been torture after leaving him that night.
"I'll see you at the Manor, then," Koril said, still smiling, and Elena smiled, too.
"I love you," she breathed.
"I love you, too."
Koril paced as he stood on an open landing platform atop a mid-rise building in Coruscant's Laboratory Sector. He was able to make the trip from Hoth in a matter of hours, utilizing the Corellian Trade Spine, which saved the Celestia's nav computer from having to navigate around various systems that lengthened the usual trip from Paneau to the city-planet. Master Noor had contacted him and given him the location of the landing pad they'd be stopping at before they left Coruscant, and Koril was going to surprise Elena. He had a gift for her.
Though the sun was directly overhead and was reflecting off the various transparisteel windows and durasteel buildings nearby, Koril was thinking about anything but the day's warmth. Something about his surroundings felt familiar, but he paid it no mind as he stepped about, instead thinking of his impending marriage, his reinstatement as Head of Security on Paneau, his newfound Jedi ancestor who had imparted on the Rys'tihns the chance to become Jedi.
So much was going on, Koril could hardly keep his thoughts straight. What about the Prophecy, too? How was it going to play out? Veon would be returning to Paneau soon with a handful of his closest Jedi friends, and momentarily, they all would be on the same ship. What did that mean?
He continued pacing, focusing on the Rys'tihn crest he fingered in his pocket. On a suggestion from Elena's parents, Koril had bought a small Hoth Diamond and replaced a red gem in the center of his crest with it. When she arrived, he'd give it to Elena once more, as he had several times before, but it would finally be hers and be slightly different than the hundreds of others.
A couple ships cruised by, each one building his anticipation. Master Noor told him they were in a small silver transport borrowed from the New Republic, but that was the most description he gave. More detail wouldn't have eased Koril's anxiety, though; nearly all the ships looked the same from a distance, anyway.
The door that led into the platform's adjoining building opened behind him, but interestedly watching another ship fly by, Koril didn't look back until he heard a familiar laugh. Instantly, Koril's spirits sank as he saw both Rech and Mand walking towards him, talking happily before they, too, saw him and realization quickly neutralized their expressions.
The vision. That's why the platform looked familiar.
Just as Rech and Mand reached Koril, the rumbling roar of a ship's engines preceded a small black shuttle that landed in front of the three on the platform, looking exactly as it had in the vision. Rech and Mand immediately stepped in front of Koril, their lightsabers in hand, as he reached for his blaster pistol tucked into his uniform.
"Koril, go back inside," Mand ordered forcefully as she and Rech closed the gap between them, shielding Koril further. The shuttle's ramp was rapidly descending, close to releasing its occupants.
"No," Koril responded just as forcefully, gripping his blaster pistol.
"Koril!" Rech barked. "This is not the time to be heroic! Go!"
"I'm not leaving you two!"
No sooner had he responded than a blinding blue-white light filled his vision, and more pain than he had ever experienced in his entire life burned throughout his entire body, searing every muscle fiber, every bone, until he thought he could take no more.
After what seemed like agonizing minutes, the worst pain slowly subsided, and once his vision recovered from the intense light, he saw that he was on the ground, curled up on his side against a wall and a large gray crate, gasping in pain as all his muscles remained tightly contracted. He heard a woman scream in severe pain, and just as he raised his head to look in the direction of the scream, a dark, hooded figure floated up to him and blinded him again with the blue-white light, sending another unbearable string of Force Lightning coursing through his body until he felt nothing more.
Elena kept her eyes fixed on the sensor panel at the transport's controls. Masters Noor and Lithess were navigating Coruscant's busy skies, and they had encountered no problems so far, but Elena hovered over Master Lithess' shoulder, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the back of his seat.
It took her a second to register someone talking to her. "Elena?" Noor had turned to her, looking at her with concern. She met his gaze and released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"Something doesn't feel right," she finally said quietly, though she frowned at herself. She didn't even understand her own anxiety, much less was she able to explain it to someone else. She saw Noor give Lithess a quick nod before he stood, putting a hand on her arm.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I just..." she trailed off, still unable to explain. Noor gently eased her hands off the seat and led her to a bench in the back of the cabin beside Wes and Veon.
"Here, sit."
"I told you, I'm fine, I...I don't know..." With a hand at her temple, she tried to piece together what exactly it was that she was feeling. It was...odd, like some part of her had suddenly become empty. Something was now a void, and it was draining her. "It's like...something's happened. Something bad."
Elena blinked as Noor's expression suddenly went from concerned to something unreadable. He turned back to the cockpit quickly.
"Strone, how long?"
"Twenty seconds," Master Lithess answered immediately. Elena followed Noor as he strode back up to his seat, looking out the viewport to the landing platform they were approaching to pick up Rech and Mand at. She felt her stomach turn to ice as she saw four unknown strangers standing where her friends should be. The closer the platform got, the more they could see of the four, and visible at each side was a glowing red lightsaber blade.
Noor stepped back to his apprentice and spoke quickly. "Stay here with Veon and keep the doors secure. If someone tries to break in, fly back to the Temple immediately. Send a distress call to the Order - we have four Dark Jedi on our hands."
The transport rocked with Lithess's quick landing, and both Masters descended its ramp before it touched the platform floor. Elena quickly detached her saber from her belt and followed them numbly, glancing back at Veon and Wes inside before the ramp rose and sealed.
Noor and Lithess both stood with their lightsabers ignited, their robes shed, and as Elena ignited her purple blade behind them, the four Dark Jedi attacked. A woman and a man paired up against Lithess, and an aggressive woman took on Noor. As the others moved away, their attacks and blocks blurred in impossibly quick blade swings, a scrawny but still powerful man attacked Elena, forcing her to rock back on her feet as she parried a rapid succession of blows.
Finally awoken from her stupor, Elena caught a break in the man's attacks and made strong, bold swings of her own, swings her opponent was ill-prepared for. Dueling had never been her best skill, but an innate drive to survive fueled her focus and honed her reflexes. Nearly stumbling backward, the man's face faltered only briefly as he blocked her blade, and she pressed harder with each passing moment, sinking deeper into the Force as it guided her saber. Eventually the man's face twisted into a sick grin Elena saw through the purple and red blur.
"Do you even know why you fight us, Jedi?" the man taunted, to which Elena responded with an opportunistic swing at his side. He easily blocked it, though, and Elena felt the stinging heat of his blade sweep just inches from her hand. Suddenly brash in his excitement for having forced her to recover, the Dark Jedi twirled his saber in front of him, laughing as he again blocked her blow easily.
The man's laughter stopped suddenly as a painful scream echoed about the platform. Elena stole a quick glance towards it and watched one of Lithess' opponents fall, having lost a leg in the duel. The swift Jedi Master Force Pulled his defeated attacker's lightsaber from her hands and clipped it to his own belt just in time to block the other Dark Jedi's blade.
Elena looked back at her opponent as he delivered a powerful downward blow in anger, no longer laughing but his face contorted in rage. Elena fought hard to deflect his blade, and though she had prevented it from doing any serious damage, the red blade slid across the muscle of her left upper arm, burning through the top layers of skin. She cried out in pain but had little time to recover, forced to parry his next blow to her head.
Another scream and Lithess' second opponent fell to the ground armless, furthering Elena's attacker's rage to the point of impossible speed. She was just barely able to block them, stepping backward toward the edge of the platform.
"Elena!" Noor yelled over to her from her left. He was still battling his Dark Jedi, but Lithess was running over to help her from the other side.
Suddenly, Elena's opponent stepped back from her, holding his lightsaber in one hand out to the side and his other hand palm up extending toward her. A small trickle of Force Lightning began to form in his palm as he narrowed his eyes, fixated on her.
"Elena!" Noor called again, and as if time had slowed, Elena saw him swing his blue blade diagonally across the chest of his opponent and extend his hand towards her, sending a powerful Force Push across the platform that blew her Dark Jedi over the edge, plummeting to the floor miles below. Elena stood stunned for a brief second, breathing heavily, before she looked back over to Noor.
Her eyes refused to believe what she was seeing. Still with his arm outstretched to her, Noor's face was blank as the woman he had just defeated pierced her red blade through the center of his chest. The blade disappeared as the woman dropped her saber and fell backward, leaving Noor to stagger a few steps before he, too, fell.
"NO!" was all Elena could say. Her legs felt heavy as lead as she ran over to his side, falling onto her hands and knees as she reached him. Through the tears she shed fiercely, she could see Noor feebly gasping as he lay on his back. Lithess knelt at his other side, sadly looking over his mortally wounded friend.
Elena cradled his head in her arm, vainly trying to make him comfortable as he gasped. Somehow his eyes were still alert as he locked gazes with Elena. She could hardly talk through her sobs.
"Why? Why, Aalon! It was just...lightning, I could've...why..."
Though Noor's gasps began to slow, he forced what sound he could out. "I had to...protect...him..."
Elena cried harder. "What? What are you talking about? I could've taken it! Why..."
At that, Noor only glanced between Elena and Lithess, trying to smile through his slowing gasping. "It's...been an...honor...both of you...all of you..."
He took a few last painful gasps, and as he stilled, Elena fell across him, wrapping her other arm around him. Her own body shook with anguish as tears continued to fall bitterly. It didn't make sense. Why did he feel like he had to protect her? She had taken a hit of Force Lightning from someone much more powerful than the Dark Jedi they had just dueled, she would've been fine! It wasn't fair! She could've handled it! Noor had always taken to Rech, Mand, and her as if they were his own apprentices, but a Master wasn't supposed to die for his student! Not like this...
"Elena," Lithess said softly as he put a hand firmly on her shoulder. When she didn't quiet, he repeated more forcefully. "Elena, shh... Someone else is here, on the platform."
Elena raised her head slowly, bringing a hand to her face to wipe away what tears she could. Only after she calmed her sobs did she hear what Lithess had heard. Another person was gasping for air nearby, but it wasn't Noor, it wasn't his Dark Jedi he had slain, it was elsewhere.
Still fighting intermittent sobs, Elena stood from Noor's body and rubbed her face, drying it and clearing her eyes with her sleeve. Lithess was already stepping over towards the sound, and Elena followed a few paces behind.
The gasping led them to a crate on the other end of the platform, and Lithess jumped around behind it and disappeared before Elena reached him. When she rounded the edge of the crate, she again found it hard to believe what she was seeing. Koril was lying on his side against the wall, nearly curled up into a ball as he desperately gasped for air. Lithess was already trying to heal him by the time Elena fell at his side.
"His muscles aren't releasing," Lithess said annoyingly calmly. "He can't breathe."
Why was Koril here? Hadn't he just told her he'd meet her back at the Manor? She fought back returning tears as Koril's body finally relaxed and he began to take deeper breaths. She helped Lithess turn Koril onto his back so he could breathe easier, and kneeling at his side, she stroked his face, trying to bring him around.
"Koril, can you hear me? It's me, it's Elena..." she said shakily, still battling lingering sobs. "Come on, Koril, look at me..."
Finally he began to grimace in pain, a good sign he hadn't suffered any permanent damage. Elena continued to caress his face, talking to him until he eventually spoke.
"Elena," he breathed as his eyes fluttered open slightly.
"It's me, I'm right here," she soothed. His sharp inhalations were just as painful for her to hear.
"...am I dying?"
Elena struggled to find her voice. "No... No, you're going to be just fine." Shaky though it was, she continued. "I know it hurts, I know. But you're going to be fine, okay?"
Her assurances didn't seem to register. "They...took...Rech and Mand."
Elena furrowed her brows, trying to keep herself composed for him. "They who?"
"Two men...two of the six."
Elena worked hard to suppress further sobs. So there had been six, just like in the vision Koril, Rech and Mand had seen, and two of them had taken her friends while the others injured her fiancé and murdered her mentor. She had to hold her breath to keep from completely losing her composure.
"I tried to stop them," Koril said quietly. Even though Lithess was still concentrating on him, Koril's consciousness was fading, and with it, Elena's strength. "I tried...I'm sorry, I tried..."
"I know you did," Elena breathed as her eyes brimmed with tears again. She looked up at Lithess as Koril went silent, meeting his gaze as she sat back on her feet, looking as if she could completely fall apart.
The stoic Jedi Master, though, remained quiet, as if waiting for her to break. Seeing his strength, though, helped her to hold on, and she took in a deep breath to set herself. Lithess looked down and scanned Koril before he glanced back up at Elena.
"Do you think you can carry him to the transport?"
She nodded quietly, watching the rise and fall of Koril's chest.
"I'll get Wes to help you," Lithess added quietly as he stood and left. Elena heard the transport's ramp descending behind her, but she couldn't bear to look away. The past few minutes, the longest of her life, hadn't made any sense. Why was Koril here? Why had the Dark Jedi come for Rech and Mand, and why had they left Koril? So many questions...
Wes stepped around to Koril's other side where Lithess had been, and Elena saw that the boy was distraught, as well. He had just lost his Master, and he had probably watched the whole thing. She wanted to say something to him, to comfort him somehow, but no words other than 'I'm sorry' came to mind. She didn't think that was what he wanted to hear, because she didn't want to hear it, either. Instead, she remained silent and began to stand, carefully pulling Koril up with her as she wrapped his arm around her neck. Wes did the same, though Elena tried to hoist the majority of Koril's weight on her injured shoulder. Somehow she figured the physical pain would detract from the emotional pain.
As she and Wes stepped cautiously across the platform with Koril's unconscious weight between them, Elena watched Lithess and Veon carry Noor over to the transport just as another small shuttle landed beside them. With sabers drawn, seven Jedi piled out of their craft, Master Amina Kanomin among them, though they instantly broke up and aided Lithess and Veon with Noor and her and Wes with Koril.
Elena's shoulder pain mattered little as three Jedi effortlessly lifted Koril off her and into their arms. She didn't know how, since she was no longer consciously controlling them, but her legs kept moving. Though she saw and heard Master Kanomin talking to her at her side as she walked, she didn't register anything the Jedi Master was saying. Inside the transport that easily housed the new passengers, Elena sat at the end of the bench Koril was laid down on, and oblivious to the other Jedi attempting to talk to her, she stared at the floor between her feet.
It wasn't until Master Kanomin put her hands at Elena's jaw and turned her head upward, meeting her blank gaze, that Elena finally listened.
"Elena, are you hurt?"
Elena still stared blankly. No, she wasn't hurt, compared to those she loved around her. Noor's last words resounded in her mind, and she finally broke down again, crying onto Master Kanomin's shoulder as the petite Jedi pulled her into a tight embrace.
