This is a long one. Sorry, but this is the ending. Won't be writing for a little bit though. I've got severe post favorite character death depression ;) You know how it is...
Anyways, enjoy the third and final part of Alone in the Dark.
Holding a Clawdite in custody is normally easy. Most of them are unable to change their mass, therefore a simple cage would be able to hold them. They could change their appearance all the wanted, and they'd still be stuck. However, whether due to some genetic mutation or inherited trait, a few Clawdites would occasionally be born with the ability to change their mass. These rare finds were virtually impossible to keep imprisoned due to that special talent. The prisoner could be large as a bantha, or as small as a dinko. Quite the problem for the captors.
As Semreh sat contemplating their problem outside of the camp the guerillas had made, he was struck by how adamant everybody was that they not kill Theran. For a moment, he wondered why they shouldn't. I mean, he'd betrayed them, nearly killed Halber, and would probably try to kill Elena again. No matter what their previous friendship had met, they were friends no more.
Yet, every time Semreh imagined himself facing Theran, he lost. Not through any lack of skill, no. Theran was a dangerous combatant, but that was not how Semreh lost in his imagination. He always had his saber raised, prepped for the killing blow, but he could not strike. He could not destroy this dangerous criminal who could cause an endless amount of death and suffering for the Republic. In the end, Semreh felt he did not have it in him to end the threat.
As his thoughts continued to wonder, Semreh heard a distant grunting and thumping sound from deeper into a grove of trees to his right. Getting to his feet with a grunt, he stalked through the woods, investigating. Standing in front of a battered old tree was Elena, saber ignited and raging against the wood of the tree. She was going through her lightsaber form, Ataru. Her leg was injured and in a heavy splint, yet her grace was undiminished, letting her flip and spin through the air. Every movement she made wrought another thin burn line into the tree.
Semreh approached quietly and coughed to get her attention. She spun, a wild look in her eye, her saber raised in a defensive stance.
"What do you want?" She demanded fiercely as she deactivated her saber with a hiss.
"Training?" Semreh questioned cautiously. Women tended to be a little volatile in his opinion, and it would be his luck to be gutted by a comrade a day before escaping. "You seem too injured to be training like that."
"Yet, you want me to take down Theran tomorrow. Seems a little odd." Elena countered. "Why don't you do it, or Master Nostwa, or any other Jedi." She fell silent, looking down at her feet. The wind blew a little, rustling the hems of her robes around her feet. She turned away, looking up into the dark treetops.
Semreh had started at her sudden outburst, but stayed quiet, waiting for her to speak. Silence enveloped them. The only noise to be heard was from the wind and an annoying insect that was buzzing around Semreh's head. It was several minutes before she spoke again.
"Why are you sending me against Theran?" She asked demandingly. Semreh thought for a moment, then shrugged.
"I don't know." He confessed. "I suppose because we don't have a lot of options on who to send. Because we need to take him down. Because he can't escape. Because-" He stopped, and felt his face redden.
"Because I will kill him." She stated, her face falling. "By the Force! That's it, isn't it? You think I'm some type of killer!"
"Now Elena," Semreh began, trying to calm her. "You know that's not tr-"
"Then why, huh? Why send the wounded Jedi?"
"Because I can't do it!" Semreh blurted finally. "Because I can't kill the kid."
"And you think I can?" Elena practically screamed at him. "You think I enjoy this? All this fighting, all this death!"
"No," Semreh shot back, his voice rising. "Elena, your fearless, skilled, and the only one I want fighting next to me in a battle. But I think somewhere, somewhere you don't go very often, you enjoy the thrill of fighting. I think this war has brought something out of you; something dark. And sometimes, I wonder what you're going to do after the war. Just go back to being a peacekeeper? Unlikely."
Semreh stopped, his chest heaving. He hadn't meant to yell, but Elena had finally pushed him too far. Elena looked like she'd been punched in the nose, but stood her ground, glaring steadily at Semreh.
"I know I've changed Semreh." She said, her voice quiet now. "We've all changed. We all will."
"Including you." She said looking up and looking him in the eyes. "You've changed too. I may be a killer, but you're using me like you would a chess piece. You're using my nature to win. Manipulating people, even your own master. You think she doesn't notice. I have. Sending her too deal with the "evacuation" so you can send me to kill Theran." She had stepped towards him while talking, until she was only inches from Semreh's face. "You're a killer in your own way Semreh, and I only hope we can both come to terms with this in the end."
With that, she turned and went back to her training, clearly dismissing Semreh.
Semreh was sitting, trying to meditate, but really just looking up at the strange stars of Sluis Van. He'd sat under many sets of stars in his life, but the fact that the little pinpricks of light held back all that darkness always amazed him. As he watched them, he thought about Elena's words.
"She's right in many ways." He thought, "None of us will get out of this unharmed. One way or the other, we'll all have our own war to fight."
Semreh thought about Halber, a new scar forming around his massive wound. He thought about Elena, wrestling with the thought of her own darkness. Of Theran, preparing to stab his old friends in the back. Semreh realized that they would have to make a choice soon; their souls, or their duty and lives.
Semreh sat up, dropping into a meditative stance, suddenly determined. Maybe this war would try to take away all three, but he wouldn't let it take them from his friends and him without a fight. Closing his eyes and folding his hands in his lap, he began to think.
The next day, Jedi and Clones split up, each rushing to their own business. Master Nostwa led the refugees to the planned evac area, waving good bye to her padawan over her shoulder. She looked worried, but the truth was that somebody had to be there to make sure none of the evacuees panicked.
Semreh waved back, still putting the finishing touches on a few ideas running through his head. Turning to the remaining Jedi and Clones, he outlined his plan.
"Okay," He said, drawing a circle into the dirt with the toe of his boot. "This is the city perimeter. No doubt there are droids all over the place, but we're only interested in this." He said jabbing his foot into the dirt towards the middle of the city. "The Sep headquarters. It will be less defended than the rest of the city since they won't expect an attack to sneak through the perimeter and get to the Sep communication center. That's where we'll contact the Fortitude."
The Fortitude was the assault ship that had inserted the Jedi into Sluis Van. It was waiting just outside the system, ready to jump at a seconds notice, either to attack the weakened planet, or rescue the stranded Jedi.
"First, we need a distraction." He said turning to Barca, Fingers, and Ding. "You three are going to make a special visit to the outskirts of town, here." He said, jabbing his finger into the dirt just outside the circle. "The Sluis Van food storage area. You're going to burn it. All of it." The Clones nodded in their faceless helmets, but Fingers raised his hand in a question.
"Sir, Most of the food for the planet is in that place. How do you expect us to burn it all?"
"Orbital strike." Semreh answered, handing them the comlink on his belt. It was keyed to act as a tracking device for the Fortitude, so they would know where to send ships to evacuate them in case of emergency. "We'll tell the Fortitudeto bombard my location, using the comlink as a beacon." Fingers nodded, pocketing the comlink.
"Still," Semreh continued. "I need you to make as much noise as possible about this attack. It has to be a diversion. All right?" The clones snapped their boots together and stood at attention.
"Sir!" They said, and saluted.
"All right. Get going." The Clones ran off, armor dully clanking and rustling.
"What about us sir?" Screech asked, hefting his carbine.
"We've got a meeting with someone very special." Semreh said. "Did you drop some hints to lure our friend to the rendezvous point? Screech nodded. Elena looked pale, and was gripping her lightsaber tightly.
"Good." Semreh stated as he pointed at the diagram on the ground below. "There's a café across the street from the Sep headquarters. That's where we'll meet Theran. Or rather, where he'll come to us. After that, we'll split up. Screech and I will sneak into the headquarters while Elena detains Theran. Agreed?" The two of them nodded, both of them emotionless. Of course, Screech had a helmet on, so it wasn't nearly as impressive.
"All right." He said, dusting his pants off as he got to his feet. "Then we'd better hurry. The others will be starting their diversion soon." Together, they trotted down the deserted road to the city, the early morning sun rising before them. Somehow though, Semreh thought it looked more like a sunset.
As they trotted, Semreh gradually increase his speed till he was besides Screech.
"Did you get the package I asked you for?" he asked quietly. Screech nodded and produced a small vial of a pale green liquid.
"I think I know what you're thinking here." Screech whispered, "And I got to tell you, it won't work unless you've got an extra set of syringes you've been keeping secret from me."
"It has to work." Semreh whispered back hoarsely. "I won't make a friend kill another friend."
"It may come to that anyways." Screech warned. "And if it does, you'd both better be ready." He held his hand out, and Semreh took the small vial from his armored hand.
"Don't worry." He said grinning wolfishly at Screech. "I've got a plan."
After months of living in the wilderness, Semreh had forgotten how good it felt to lounge in a chair, coolly sipping a drink in the shade. The café wasn't remarkably busy, but a few were about. Most of them ignored Semreh and Elena, who just sat, drinking and staring off into the distance. Neither of them had anything to say to each other.
Above them, Semreh could almost feel the sights of Screech's sniper attachment sweeping the streets and roof tops. Semreh couldn't figure out how he'd managed to sneak to the top of the café roof without arousing suspicion, but had quickly decided that with clone commandos, it was better to not ask questions.
Finally, without warning, a shaggy haired wookie appeared besides them, roaring and pulling a chair out from their table. Semrehsaid nothing, just watching the alien until it gave a very un-wookie smile and began to shrink, collapsing in on itself. A moment later, Theran was standing in front of Semreh and Elena, grinning widely.
"Hey buddy." Semreh said, adding every ounce of contempt he had behind the word buddy. "Come to sell us out to the Seps? Why don't you have a drink?" Theran laughed and pointed at the building across the street.
"Please, you've practically sold yourselves out to the Seps." Theran scrunched his face together, and a second later, Semreh was looking into his own face. "And is the drink your clumsy attempt to poison me? Honestly Semreh, I thought you were smarter than that. "
"Oh, we'll attack them and escape in the confusion." Theran continued mockingly. He laughed loudly, making Semreh shudder slightly.
"You were at that meeting?" Semreh finally said in a resigned voice.
"Just a fly on the wall." Theran was clearly enjoying this. "Actually, one buzzing around your head. I suppose not even your Force can detect me. I was there for your little planning session, when you told Master Nostwa your plans of attack, and even for your little drama with Elena."
Semreh let his shoulder's slump. That was it. If Theran had alerted Sep high command to their plans, then not only would Master Nostwa and her escape be compromised, but the clone commando's attack and the Fortitudesattempted rescue. All those people, dead because of him. Standing, Theran stood up, and walked from the café, leaving Semreh to wallow in his grief.
"Want me to take him out?" He heard Screech whisper through his ear piece. "Say the word and I can at least take him down."
"No." Semreh said, slumping into his seat. Then, he felt Elena get up from her seat, and hurry after Theran. Semreh smiled to himself. "Elena's got it."
Elena didn't know what she was going to do when she caught up to Theran, and she didn't care. She had a fork gripped tightly in her fist, but it would do little good against the changling. All she knew was that that little kriffing sleemowas willing to kill all of them, even the clones in the sky above them, to push his own ends. It had to stop now.
As he turned into an alley, Elena caught up with him. She pushed him into the shadows and spun him around.
"Ah," Theran said, opening his mouth wide to show every one of his clawdite teeth. "Psycho Jedi. I was hoping you'd come after me."
"There is nothing," she growled at him. "I want to do more then take my saber and ram it down your throat, but that won't stop you, will it?" Theran shook his head, grinning madly.
"No, I don't suppose it would." He answered in a bored voice.
"All right." She said, bringing the fork up and, with a sudden flick of her wrist, bringing the prongs of the utensil up so they stuck into his ear. He yelped and tried to change, but Elena twisted slightly, making him grit his teeth in pain.
"Now that I have your attention." She said, putting every ounce of anger and malice into her words. "Listen carefully. You have beaten us. We can't win. Congrats. Still, I think it would take a while to hunt us all down, don't you?" She twisted again, and Theran glared up at her.
"Let me make something clear to you." She continued, leaning in so she was whispering into his ear. "Even if you kill all of us in the end, we…I will live for a while. And while I do, not even the Separatists will protect your parents. We'll find them and…well, you can imagine." The clawdite stopped struggling and looked up at her, eyes flashing with a combination of rage and fear.
"You wouldn't!" He said, though he didn't sound very sure. Elena laughed and pushed, throwing the boy to the ground. "You can't."
"I'm an animal." She shouted, drawing her lightsaber. "That's what you said wasn't it." The boy was already changing, growing larger with every passing second. She had done it. She'd lured the boy into their trap. Now, all she had to do was lose.
Unit 274 had served across many battlefields during his mechanical life. And while it didn't store that experience gained from those battles like most, it had enough memory to know that an ambush only worked when the ambushees showed up. Of course, the droid didn't worry too much about that; Just kept radioing back to the headquarters that the clone commandos were not yet there, and the Separatist general in charge just kept telling it and it's seven hundred and fifty battle droids , a third of the force garrisoning the city, to stay there, waiting for the clones. The commander had sent them all out, knowing that three clone commandos were a greater threat then one clone commando and a misguided Jedi padawan.
Then, something strange happened the next time Unit 274 called in. Instead of the commander's crisp voice, it heard the sounds of blasterfire and screams. It didn't worry the droid much at all. After all, it was on the other side of the city.
Semrehhad figured that the general would send the majority of his forces to defend the food storage for the city. After all, that food was used to keep the city's citizens alive and well. Losing it would be a disaster. Of course, he was also banking on the idea that Semreh would follow through with the attack, which he did not. So, instead of defending his headquarters from one padawan and a single clone commando, the general found himself trying to fend off four commandos and a very annoyed, very frustrated padawan. It was over in minutes.
After the last Separatist droid had been destroyed and their officers surrendered, Semreh hurried through the building, finally arriving at the enormous communications center. Jumping into a chair in front of the controls, his fingers danced across the keyboard, sending coordinates and codes out across space.
"Are you still planning to call the Fortitude even though the Seps are ready for them?" Screech asked from behind him. He and the other commandos were guarding the door, waiting for Sep reinforcements. "If the Seps really have an ambush ready, it'll be a slaughter."
"Yes," he answered, still looking intently at the screen. "But I'm also going to use a signal burst asking all nearby Republic fleets to move to this position for rescue of stranded Jedi. Hopefully, someone will answer and arrive to help the Fortitude extract us."
"Hopefully!?" Ding exclaimed. "That's reassuring!"
"Sarcasm really not appreciated right now." Semreh said, still focused on the screen. "This isn't easy you know."
From the beginning, Semreh had figured that Theran would be spying on them in one form or another. So, while the clones and everyone had thought the plan he'd been telling them was real during those meetings, he'd transmitted the real plans to the commando's helmets using his datapad. When the first team of clone commandos had trotted off to take down the facility, they'd quickly doubled back and set up shop in the buildings across from the headquarters, waiting for Semreh's signal.
Semreh had to keep Elena in the dark about their changes until they were sitting in the café and he knew Theranwasn't watching. While she hadn't been happy, she'd nodded when he gave her something he hoped would assist them in capturing Theran. He'd warned her though that if she couldn't capture him, she'd have to make sure he didn't get away no matter what. She knew what he'd meant. Still, Semreh worried about her. The fight between them had not been an act, and it was only after that that he'd come up with the plan. She walked a thin line. He worried whether she'd A, lose control, or B, not lose enough control.
Elena had never fought so hard in her life. Despite her splinted leg, she was using every strike, every stroke she knew of Ataru to bring down Theran, but it was too hard. One second, a rancor, the next, a charging bantha. Every time she landed a blow, he'd change into some monster with a hardened shell. The nature of his changing prevented her from causing much damage.
At one point, she almost had him. She'd caught a downward slicing blow of a rancor's claw on her shoulder. She felt her bones buckle, but it was a glancing blow. At that moment, Theran's belly was exposed. Elena could have ended it right there. All she had to do was turn and slice her saber across the exposed flesh, but she hesitated.
Finally, he switched, this time into some creature that reminded her a little of a monkey, but hairless and grey. Its skin was wrinkled and its eyes were wide and bloodshot. In front of it, its two arms, twice the size of its body, were clawed and muscular. On its head, a pair of bat-like ears pressed backwards as Theran roared with the creature's mouth. She tried to get out of the way, but she tripped in her exhaustion and the creature backhanded her, spinning her through the air across the alley. She landed on her back, her ears ringing.
Theran was advancing on her now, speaking taunts and threats through the creature's mouth, but she didn't hear them. Instead, she screwed her eyes shut and waited, until she felt a tug on her tunic as Theran lifted her up with the creature's claws. He smiled, said something, and opened the creature's wide mouth, clearly intent on devouring her.
Elena bit down into the small package hidden in her mouth, breaking the top off of a glass vial. A smooth, warm liquid poured into her mouth. Just a little, but enough. She spat it out, aiming for Theran's mouth. The liquid shot inside and down his throat. Theran dropped her suddenly, jumping back as he looked at her in animalistic horror.
"What have you done!?" He screamed as his body began to melt before her eyes. He was trying to change again, but only half succeeding. As the liquid took effect, parts of his body continued morphing while others stopped halfway through. The result, much to Elena's horror, was some half clawdite half alien monster. Theran roared in frustration as his changing finally stopped, leaving him in mid change.
"Sap from the Fresian bushes." She said, painfully getting to her feet. "You won't die, but your changing days are over. You're coming with us alive." Theran tried to get up, but his misshapen body wouldn't let him. Elena was leaning against the wall of the alley when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Good job Elena." Semreh said with a smile. "I'll take it from here. You go let Barca take a look at you." Elena nodded tiredly and limped out of the dark alley and back into the light.
Semreh plopped down next to his deformed friend. Ex-friend. Sighing, he let his head hang back till he was looking up at the sky.
"What have you done!?" Theran sobbed through his disfigured face. "Why would you do this to me?" Semreh shrugged and leaned back against the wall.
"You didn't leave us much of a choice." He answered slowly. "You threatened not only our own lives, but the lives of clones, our friends, and Republic citizens. You crossed the line, and you payed." He hauled himself up to his feet, so he was crouching in front of Theran, looking him in the eye.
"See," he said pointing his finger at his friends one remaining eye (the other was covered by folds of sagging skin), "We knew you would be spying on us, so I planted false information for you in those meetings, to bring back to your superiors. We anticipated every petty betrayal you would make and turned it back on you. I figured you couldn't resist gloating about your victory, and you yourself told me you were allergic to the Fresian bush. But we couldn't risk using a syringe on you. You'd see the obvious threat and turn into something a needle couldn't penetrate. No, we needed to make sure you ingested it and end your changing permanently. So, Elena hid a capsule of it in her mouth, and played dead. Your whole fight was a sham. When you were close enough, she spit it at you." Semreh stopped here, letting Theran soak it in.
"You told the Sep general to send droids to ambush us at the storage plant, so we didn't. You told the Seps that the Fortitude would evacuate us, but in reality it's a whole Republic fleet. The Seps will be unprepared for this, and we'll escape. You, on the other hand, will go to jail for a long time."
Semreh had prepared himself for this part. He'd prepared himself for the pleading, the threats, and the cries for Semreh to kill him. What he hadn't prepared for was laughter.
"So," Theran said through gasps of breathe, "Are you the one who told Elena to threaten my parents?" Semreh felt his heart skip a beat. He'd told Elena to provoke Theran, to push him into a fight. But threatening his parents.
"Oh, I heard you two fight." Theran said, bursting into laughter again. "And you know what the best part is. You were right. Because, when I looked at her eyes when she said that, I didn't doubt it for a second. I knew she would havekilled innocent people to keep me quiet. So, who gave her the order to do it Semreh, huh? Tell me Semreh, how does it feel to know that she's right to? That you manipulate people and their natures to your benefit? That you see them, not as people, but as pieces in a big chess game?"
Semreh though for a second he might respond, but then shook his head and signaled for Screech to restrain Theran with shock cuffs.
"Desperate words from a broken man." Semreh said dismissively. As Theranwas hauled to his feet, a loud booming noise sounded from over head. They all looked up. Above them, a large Republic fleet was firing on the Separitists, and breaking through the atmosphere. Semreh sighed, and sat down on the grown with a groan of exhaustion.
"Checkmate." He said to Theran as he watched the ships descend.
A few minutes later Semreh found himself sitting next to Elena. Both of them were exausted, tired, and just waiting for a shuttle to take them off-planet. As a screaming Theran was wrestled to the ground by the four commandos, Elena turned her head, unable to watch.
"We created a monster." She said in a horrified voice. Semreh couldn't help but agree with her.
"Semreh," She said quietly, "I would like it if we never talked about this again."
Semreh leaned back against the wall and nodded. This mission was going to cost him several nights of sleep.
"It wasn't supposed to go like this." He said quietly. "It was only supposed to remove his power."
But it had done much worse.
The Fortitude had indeed been ambushed shortly after exiting hyperspace. Fortunately, about eight other ships, all coming from different directions, also arrived, rescuing both the besieged ship and it's Jedi commanders. One was commanded by Aubrie Wyn, an old friend of Semreh's.
An hour or two later, Semreh was watching as the half mad clawdite, once his good friend, was practically dragged aboard a shuttle bound for one of the Republics many prison worlds. He turned away, and saw his master, beaming at him. Semreh tried and failed to smile back feebly.
"You did a good job here my young padawan." She said, tussling his hair with a delicate hand. "You got everyone out alive."
"Almost everyone." Semreh said thinking of Theran.
Master Nostwa turned to walk away. She had a report to make to the Council. Before she left though, she looked at him and said, "Theranchose his fate. His life should serve as a lesson for you. Meditate on it." She smiled, and hurried towards the bridge.
Smereh continued wandering about the hanger, searching for familiar faces amongst the Clones and Jedi. Finally, he found a few.
"I'll see you in the field Screech." He said, shaking the commando's gauntleted hand. "It was a pleasure working with you."
"Likewise Commander." He said, before putting his helmet back on. "Oya, sir."
Semreh recognized the word from his studies. It meant "Let's hunt!" in Mandalorian. He smiled back at the faceless clone.
"Oya."
He continued weaving his way through the crowds of wounded guerillas and bustling clones until he found one med center in particular. Halber was there, with Elena kneeling at his side. She was trying to look amazingly bored, but smiled when Halber nearly decked a med droid who tried to stick him with a needle.
"Like Hell you will!" He yelled as the droid protested. "I already told you; I've gotten that shot alread-"
He stopped short when he saw Semreh approaching, and his face broke into a big smile. Elena turned to, and nodded coolly.
"Hear you're shipping out." She grunted as she helped Halber up into a sitting position.
"Can't give the Seps a rest." He said, chuckling at his own lame rhyme. "Master Nostwa and I leave soon. What about you?"
"Same." Halber answered with a small groan. "Except I'm going to a med ship. Should be fun, provided there aren't any of these droids there." He turned and waved away another round of needles.
Semreh looked at Elena, and she looked back. Somehow, he knew neither of them needed to say anything. Getting to his feet, Semreh dusted his tunic off, said goodbye, and walked away.
"So you see." Master Nostwa said to the holographic representations of the Jedi Council, "Sluis Van remains in Serpertist hands for now. However, we gained valuable intelligence on the planet and removed a major threat to our intelligence."
"Hmm," Master Yoda said, stroking his chin with his rough fingers. "Disturbing this betrayal is. Reflect, I fear the opinion of the galaxy young Theran's opinion does."
"Unfortunately, we need you and your padawan back into the fight soon." Master Mace Windu said in a stern voice. "Otherwise, we would offer for you to return to Coruscant and make a full report."
"I understand Master." Nostwa said smoothly. "Tell me, where is Master Sirrus's battle group to be deployed."
"Jabiim." Master Shaak Ti answered. "Though you three will take a shuttle to your next command. Master Sirruswill just give you a lift."
"Very well." She said, looking to her left at Master Sirrus. He nodded his head.
"You and your padawan are always welcome on my ship." He said in a gentle voice. "I believe our padawans are old acquaintances after all. I'm sure they'll relish catching up." Master Nostwa nodded. After the past couple months, Semreh would need a friend.
Semreh was sitting by the Fortitudes viewport, reading an archaic book as the ship streaked through hyperspace. Besides him, Aubrie Wyn, a fellow padawan and friend from Semreh's days at the temple, was pouring over a datapad containing the latest information on healing techniques through the Force.
"I never thought you'd end up a healer." Semreh commented dryly as he looked up from his book. "You never seemed like someone who would want to study that hard." Aubrie laughed and sat back, leaning against the wall of the hallway.
"I never thought I'd see you fighting in a war." She said smiling at him. "All the time you spent in the archives…I thought you'd end up working there or becoming some type of archeologist."
"That was the plan." Semreh said, his face falling. "I suppose I never expected any of us to have to fight like this."
"None of us did." Aubrie whispered back, "But we do what is necessary. Right?"
"Right." Semreh said returning to his book.
"Hey, Semreh." Aubrie said, her voice jerking Semreh back out of his book. "What do you know about Jabiim?" Semreh looked up, and tilted his head backwards thoughtfully.
"Let's see…Jabiim. It has undergone quite a bit of unrest over the years. Pirate attacks, plagues. It's a small planet, but the Republic recently found that it has a large amount of ore beneath its surface, hence why we're trying to take it back." Semreh looked at Aubrie, who had fallen silent.
"Oh, so we're fighting to get the ore?" Aubrie asked, looking a little disappointed.
"Not every war is a glorious rescue." Semreh said, "Sometimes, you've got to get your hands dirty. Sometimes, those wars are just as necessary as the heroic ones." He looked at her again, at how down she looked, and forced a laugh.
"But it's certainly not worth dying for." He grinned at her. "Promise me you don't go doing anything crazy out there. Only I'm allowed to do that kind of stuff. All right?" She grinned back at him a little sadly.
"All right," She said grinning back. "Besides, you owe me for saving your butt here. If I'm in deep, it'll be your turn to bail me out."
"Yeah." He said, giving her a big thumbs up. "I promise. Besides, can't have a girl showing me up. I'd never be able to show my face at the temple again." He laughed and was rewarded by Aubrie's wide carefree smile.
"Yeah right." She shot back with a smile.
Semreh was sitting meditating on the turret of a tank as it rolled across the battlefield.
"Sir, with all due respect." His clone commander said from inside the tank. "Would you mind not providing every half-ass sniper within a thousand meters the chance to shoot you?"
"Relax commander." Semreh said back, smiling at his commander's worrying attitude. "The enemy forces are in full retreat across the whole front. The only enemy here is the sun."
He looked up again and winced a little as a bit more of his sunburned skin cracked.
"Should've brought something for shade." He said to himself irritably as he swung his legs around and jumped to the ground. He looked around and was surprised to see master Nostwa heading towards him, Jedi robes flapping around her on the sunny plain.
"Master." He said bowing. Through the Force, he felt something rolling off her. Worry, regret, and…apprehension. "What's wrong?"
"Jabiim." Master Nostwa said, putting a hand on Semreh's shoulder. "Jabiim has fallen." Semrehlooked at her, dumbstruck. For a moment, all he could here was the wind rustling the grass across the plain. It was as if…As if for a moment, he was looking down at the scene from above.
"And Aubrie?" He heard himself say. "What about Aubrie?" Semreh felt rather than saw Master Nostwa lower her head solemnly.
"Dead, along with the rest of the Jedi except Skywalker. He led the evacuation efforts while the rest of the Jedi bought them time to escape."
Semreh saw himself looking at Master Nostwa. He couldn't describe from where or from what angle, not even if he wanted too. His mind felt like it was everywhere and nowhere. Like it had disappeared into the abyss.
"I didn't even feel it." He heard himself whisper quietly. Master Nostwa looked at him questioningly.
"Her death." He said, more to himself than anyone else. "I didn't even feel it. Not in the Force. Not even now, when you tell me about it. All I feel is emptiness."
"Then you're already better off than the rest of us." Master Nostwa said, turning back to the column of troopers, merging into the crowd. Semrehsuddenly felt himself back in his body, as if he'd stumbled and fallen, and all the pain he felt, the choking tightness in his chest returned. He spunon his heel, keeping his face impassive as he climbed back aboard the hovertank. His clone commander looked at him for a second, then ducked back down into the tank, leaving Semreh to sit on top alone.
"Sorry Aubrie." He thought as tears began to fall from his eyes. He still kept his face emotionless, but he couldn't seem to stop the delicate droplets from falling. "I broke my promise. I still owe you. But the Seps will pay!"
"I fear we are destroying these children." Master Nostwa said to the holographic representation of Mace Windu. "We are thrusting them into battle as teenagers! This is not the Jedi way."
"And what do you suggest we do?" The stern Master said. "We don't have any options. Besides, padawan have accompanied masters on missions for centuries. It has always helped mold the young with experience."
"Well, I don't think they should be exposed to this type of experience. Mass death, brutal murders...Master Windu, are these the lessons you want the next generation of Jedi to learn."
Nostwa already knew she couldn't win this fight. But she knew sometimes the point wasn't winning a fight, but fighting it.
"I'm sorry Master Nostwa." Mace Windu said, sounding truly sympathetic. "I knew Aubrie well. She was supposed to study after me at the Temple. She was one of our best healers. And she died a Jedi."
"No," Master Nostwa cried angrily. "She was left to die on a dark planet abandoned by Republic. And I fear the whole Order may be in just as much danger."
"Watch your tongue!" Master Windu said sharply. "That sounds very close to treason."
"I-I'm sorry Master Windu." Nostwa said, bowing her head. "I just don't know what the Jedi Order is supposed to be anymore. Are we soldiers or monks."
"We are the light holding back the darkness of the galaxy." Master Windu answered calmly. "We hold back the darkness. Remember that." The hologram wavered and disappeared before Master Nostwa, leaving her feeling tired and depressed.
"Yes Master Windu." She thought turning back to the battlefield and her clone troopers. "We stand by the Republic, fighting side by side for the light. But what happens when we are left alone in the dark."
Continued in The Jedi Strike Back...