Given a couple of days of recovery, the Exile's shoulder was fully repaired, and long sessions of meditation with Mical and Visas restored the Force that Sion had drained from her. While Avery finally moved back into the crew quarters from the medbay, T3 rolled up with a hurried series of beeps.
"A message from Dxun? You sure it isn't for Mandalore?" At the droid's reassurances, Avery had it play the transmission and frowned. "Oh boy. I guess it works out, since I needed to see Kavar anyway. Still, I'd hoped it would be under more relaxed circumstances. Thanks, T3."
"Okay everyone," she announced, walking into the main room, "looks like we're heading to Dxun. Kavar contacted Mandalore's men and told them he needs to see me, which can only mean something's happening in Onderon that likely isn't good."
Mandalore nodded curtly. "I'll have a guide meet us as an escort to the camp. I hope your Jedi friend arranged some safe travel for us to Onderon."
"In the meantime, if anyone would like some extra training in lightsaber forms or the Force, I'd like to do it while we're on route. It will probably be beneficial, and it's best if everyone is comfortable with it."
To her amazement, everyone except Kreia, Mandalore, and the droids wanted her instruction, so as soon as they set the course for Dxun, Avery went through long practice sessions with her crew. While she went through various lightsaber forms, she spent time bonding with each team member. They'd all grown in the Force considerably, astonishingly even, and Avery was able to run through a list of Force powers they could successfully pull off. Healing was important, Pushing would be useful, and bursts of speed and stasis fields were easy to learn. After all that, when they'd been dueling in pairs for a couple of hours, she could see exhaustion starting to take its toll.
"I think we're ready," she stated. "Let's rest up for now."
It was proof of how thorough a teacher she was that no one protested. They all filed out tiredly one by one, until only Atton was left. Without a word, he cupped the back of her neck, pulled her to him, gave her a thorough, firm kiss, and then walked off. Avery had to catch her breath before she could go talk to HK about upgrading its weapon. Even with the recovering time, the droid complained about her rapid heartbeat and how deafening it was for five full minutes. How Revan had handled HK, Avery had no idea.
Considering how the first visit had gone, the Mandalorians recognized the Exile and Atton right away. Cairus, who'd fought Avery in the ring, studied first her, then Atton next to her while the rest of the team was bombarded by soldiers out of earshot. After a moment, he stood back and clapped Atton hard on the shoulder. "It's about time you two screwed each other's brains out! Even we could see that you were having trouble enough just wrestling around in the ring with her!"
The men surrounding them burst into laughter, and Avery became an alarming shade of pink. Atton grinned broadly in the middle of congratulatory back slaps and handshakes of the Mandalorians that clustered around the pair. "No shit, it's about time. But how did you guys…?"
"Trust us," the fighting ring's leader said smugly. "We saw you two in the ring, and we see you now. That's enough for us to figure it out."
"Okay I think we've talked enough about what everybody has seen," Avery cut in desperately. "I need to get to a Mandalorian named Kelborne for a message."
"Relax, honey. I know we can be blunt, but we're all just glad to see you. It's not every day a girl comes to our camp and kicks our asses."
Now Avery was smiling, so her skin had returned to a normal color by the time the team entered the main base. She could only thank the stars that her other crewmembers hadn't heard that little exchange. Especially Mira. Graphic details were not something she'd be willing to give to the redhead. She was blushing at her own memories, for Force's sake.
To her left, though, Atton looked quite pleased. She had to give him an elbow in the ribs to try to get the smug look off his face. Never one to be thwarted, he only gave her a wink in return.
Mandalore was clearly relieved to be in charge of his men again, and wasted no time finding Kelborne with the Exile in tow.
"Kavar said the Queen has arranged safe passage for you."
"Did he say what he wanted?"
"Regardless of what it was, it doesn't matter now. This morning General Vaklu met with the Council of Lords and declared that the Queen was guilty of treason. He'll be made Regent if Talia and her Guard are defeated. Civil War has fallen on Iziz."
Kreia spoke up. "That is not the only issue. There is something stirring on the moon itself." She turned to her right. "Have your sensors picked up anything from Dxun?"
Another Mandalorian looked at her in alarm. "Y-yes. How did you…? We picked up transmissions from nearby in the jungle."
"They are linked to the fate of Onderon. They must be stopped. Otherwise, the Queen and Master Kavar will not survive this day."
Mandalore, however, was shaking his head even before Kreia finished. "Dividing our forces at a time like this is foolhardy."
"Your military tactics are nothing compared to the Force. It is essential, and inevitable, that we face both enemies at the same time."
Visas, ever aware of the Force and its influence, gave Avery a sidelong glance and nodded. The Miraluka provided all the confirmation Avery had needed. "I have to lead the group headed to the Palace, don't I?"
"You are correct. You must choose who will lead the expedition in the jungle."
The Exile shut her eyes and processed quickly. Already, I can tell that Mical and Atton want to go with me. Mandalore will be leading his men; HK will likely listen to someone else if I promise violence; Kreia will want to stay here to guide parties through the Force…
Her eyes snapped open. "Mira: you'll head out with Visas, Bao Dur, HK and T3 to see what the problem is. I know Visas can find the source of the transmissions, and your survival skills will be essential to lead the team. Kreia will stay here and provide support through connection in case you run into trouble. Kelborne is already intending to send a group of soldiers with you-" Kelborne started, but the Exile only continued, "so you'll have backup. Atton, Mical, with me. Any questions?"
Mandalore was floored to see how quickly she'd decided, and how the team responded without a single worry or protest. Maybe he'd underestimated Avery's abilities a tad.
The Queen's idea of "safe passage" turned out to be a Mandalorian war droid that Avery was all too familiar with. She'd seen Basilisks in action before, but as a teenager when the droids were firing on her troops. It was horrible to be in one, even though the Basilisk was hardly dented when turrets on the surface opened fire, landing effortlessly with its passengers unharmed.
In the surge of soldiers rushing out onto the chaotic battle, Avery felt a swift tug on her wrist and turned to see Mical pulling her up to him. His jaw was set, his hand grasped around her firmly.
"I know what you're feeling. This is very similar to a difficult time in your past, isn't it?"
She would have lied, but it was pointless. "Yes. It is."
"And you're frightened. Not about the battle itself, but about reliving the war you went through while you're here."
She didn't even bother to say anything this time. He was very close, cloudy blue eyes studying her carefully, reading in to the emotions she was now struggling to keep hidden. The compartment was quiet, a startling contrast to the uproar outside.
"You fought so hard. You went through so much. It would have killed anyone else to do what you did. How have you survived? How have you been through these horrors, only to keep fighting? And most importantly, how do you manage to do it even when you're afraid?"
She only shrugged helplessly. He leaned in. "It is those things that make you so extraordinary. I cannot comprehend your strength and courage, but it is why I love you so dearly."
Avery froze. Tentatively, gently, Mical brushed her still lips with his, heart in his eyes. Now that the words were out, he was in a rush to tell her everything. "I love you, Avery. I always have, ever since I was young. And when you found me again, I only realized how much I do, how much I always will."
She was still motionless, eyes wide and dark in her pale face, so he let her go. Perhaps she needed time to process this. "There is no need to be frightened, my darling. I'll take any fear you have out there for my own, so that you can do what you must. Let me help you."
As if her moves were automatic, she stiffly nodded, and stepped outside on wobbly legs. Mical flashed her a brilliant smile before his lightsaber came out to swing against an enemy sword. It hurt in the depths of her soul to see how glad he was. How was she going to…?
Picking up on the sudden crushing emotions fighting to come out of Avery, Atton looked up from a downed enemy and frowned at her curiously. Before he could figure out anything else, she had to snap out of it. There were bigger things to worry about at the moment.
Thoroughly shaken, Avery just managed to whip her sabers out and deflect two blaster shots amidst the mass of soldiers. There is no emotion. There is peace.
Revan's training of surroundings made her instinctively swipe to her left, taking down one of Vaklu's men, spinning her other saber around to cross-cut the man behind him. There is no ignorance. There is knowledge.
Three ran up in a head-on attack. Avery Pushed two away, struck down the last, then drove her weapons into the men on their backs. She couldn't think about the dark compartment now. She had to focus. There is no passion. There is serenity.
The group rushed out to the Sky Ramp, overrun with Vaklu's forces. If they could clear it, they could get into the Palace. The blaster fire started up immediately.
"Atton, Mical, to the front to deflect those shots! Otherwise the Mandalorians won't make it up to the doors!"
Three Jedi led the charge of Talia's supporters, lightsabers swirling and bouncing shots back at the wall of soldiers blocking the Palace. The men behind them took out droves with precision shots from rifles until they were in range for close combat, where vibroswords decimated the troops. The Jedi parted, taking out men in lines.
A group of seven men charged the Exile, filled with hatred and intent for dominance, weapons coming closer to surround her. She pulled it in until there was red on the edges of her vision and the hair stood up on her arms, then threw her head back and Screamed all the pain out again. The very air rippled around her; the seven fell at her feet. There is no chaos. There is harmony.
Frantic to return to her state of calm, Avery brought in the Light in her two followers. When the aches had dulled, the Ramp was clear.
Mandalore's voice rang out, rallying his troops. "To the Palace!"
They burst in to see Tobin in the front room, a huge creature far behind him with men surrounding it. Tobin's sallow face twisted in disgust when he recognized the Jedi.
"You?" he shrieked. "Would you just die already? You will go no further than this!"
Mandalore held up an arm, keeping his troops back. That beast could attack at any second, due to the feeble control Vaklu's followers held over it. They had to be cautious.
"You're too late anyway!" Tobin continued. "Our pet beast is about to breach the force field to the Throne Room. The Queen will be dead in moments!"
"So will you."
"What?"
Avery flung her violet saber into the air. It spun so rapidly it was a blur that Tobin couldn't keep up with. There is no death. There is the Force. The ring of purple light only stopped when it dug into Tobin's chest. He gurgled in astonishment once before he dropped.
"Nice throw, Kess," Atton remarked.
"Thanks." The Exile walked over to Tobin's body and retrieved her saber while she sized up the monster that was an actual threat. "What is it?"
"A drexl larva," Mical said behind her. "A fierce creature. But no match for all of us."
The soldiers attempting to control the drexl began to scream. They were cut off as the beast threw out one powerful arm and swept them all away, before charging toward the new threat.
"We'll take care of him," Avery told Mandalore in the midst of the ground shaking with the drexl's approach. "You and your men head up the hallway and take out the men ahead. We'll want a clean sweep up to the Queen."
Mandalore held up a gloved hand and rolled two fingers forward, and his men fell into a rush past the drexl. Meanwhile, Avery and her two men had their lightsabers at the ready until the beast swung out at them.
Mical held up a palm and halted the momentum of the arm. In a blind attempt to break the control, the beast staggered back. Atton leapt, the Force propelling him up and onto the top of the monster, and rammed his green saber directly into the drexl's brain. He hopped down casually while the beast crashed to the ground and gave Avery a low bow, sweeping his arm toward the next hallway. "Your impediment is vanquished, my lady. Shall we continue?"
"Very impressive, boys," the Exile replied airily, heading across the room. "I didn't even have to lift a finger for that one."
Atton smirked beside her. "We're that good at being Jedi."
"Or I'm just that good a teacher."
"Perhaps you're only a good teacher because we are such astounding students," Mical remarked.
"No, I don't think that's it."
Atton jauntily swung his lightsaber in arcs. In all his life, he never would have believed he could do such awesome stuff. For one, he'd just taken out some gigantic reptile thing by leaping eight feet into the air. For another, he was using the Force- the same Force he'd spent most of his life trying to run away from- to fuel his battles, sharing connections with this gorgeous girl he'd met on a colony and feeling like a badass in the process. And most importantly, he'd fallen in love for the first time in his life, but it was making him stronger, not weaker like he'd always imagined. This Jedi deal wasn't as bad as he'd thought.
Mandalore snorted at the three approaching Jedi. They were bickering and laughing at each other in the middle of a civil war. Sure, some of them weren't as bad as he thought, but who smiled in the middle of battle? Only idiots, he decided. He really needed to stick to his own people.
The group burst through the throne room doors to Kavar taking down droves of soldiers while a handful of Talia's guards made feeble attempts to help. He chained moves together so quickly the powers were like blinking: stasis-heal-Push-lightsaber in a rapid pattern, the Queen ducking behind him helplessly. Despite her brief disgust at such damsel-in-distress behavior, Avery could feel Kavar's energies fueling her, and her lightsabers lit up. In one rocketing leap, she'd Jumped over the entire expanse of the room to plunge her weapons into two unsuspecting backs. Instantly, she brought them back up and rolled forward, severing a head and running through a chest, hearing her two Jedi arriving to back her up. In a moment, the forces were depleted, and only Vaklu remained. There was true fear radiating from him now; he stumbled backward at the surge of enemies.
"You've won this battle, Talia," he spat out between gritted teeth, "but your reign won't be an easy one. The Republic is a sinking ship. And you're too attached to it."
The Queen scoffed. Vaklu had desperation at the edge of his speech. "So what will it be, Your Majesty? Send me to your best detention cell. I will be free within a week!"
She was smiling, shaking her head, and he sucked in his breath. "Talia, you can't. You're…you're too weak. What about my trial?"
"You are right," she replied sweetly. "We cannot detain you. Too many people are still loyal to you. You've left me no real option."
Talia's guards formed a line and raised their weapons. Vaklu was still sniveling and pleading until the shots were fired. Triumphant at last, the Queen's chin raised high.
"Thank you all. I do not think the service you have given us can ever be repaid. But if you will excuse me, I must find my Captain and stop the fighting."
Everyone dispersed to either work or rest up, except the Exile. She only looked up at her old mentor, waiting for answers.
Kavar had the same loose stance, the gleam in his eye that he used to when he taught her in the Academy. It had always been clear that he was proud of her. Today was no exception. "The Force works in mysterious ways, it seems. There are times I'm not convinced it doesn't have a sense of humor. I told the other Masters that our only chance to figure out what was happening to us was to find you- and try to understand what happened to you. And here you are."
"I had to find you. I had to gather everyone so that the Jedi can counterattack against the Sith threat."
"And it looks like you've healed," the Master commented. "No small feat. But you've always had deep connections to the Force. When I first sparred with you during your training as a Padawan, I could tell that you were different, gifted."
Just like she always had in the Academy, Avery shrugged his compliments off. "As your student, I'd like for you to teach me what I just saw in this room. How do you chain those powers together so quickly?"
"It's a form I've developed. I can show you how, if you're still as exceptional a student as you were."
It was a stark reminder of her past to absorb Kavar's teaching in the Palace. He knew the best strategies to make her learn, and she knew how to follow his lessons. It was almost as though she were inside the Academy again, gangly and hotheaded, drinking up everything she could possibly learn from her master. It took no time at all for her to understand.
"As quick as I expected," he stated as she flawlessly went through five powers. "Now that you know it, I think it's time I left. You've done a great deal to find us all, Avery. I'll meet you on Dantooine. May the Force be with you."
Talia was quite generous in her gifts, and Avery's team was quite pleased with the results. They received custom Jedi robes and heavy armor, an astonishing amount of credits, and a shuttle to take them back to Dxun.
Mira was radiant when she met up with Avery in the camp. "About time you showed up! We finished our part and have been sitting on our hands waiting for you. So? What happened?"
"The political situation has been dealt with. What happened with you all?"
"We need to sit down somewhere: this story deserves it. Let me start off by saying I am so glad you let me lead the team. I mean, the responsibility sucks, but I get why you embrace your role so much now…"
When Mira wrapped up and inquired about Avery's adventures, the Exile considered a moment. Before she could ask for advice, Mira jumped in. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why are you…practically glowing? It's like you're hooked up to a power coupling or something."
"Oh." Avery cleared her throat awkwardly. "It's just, you know. My connection with the Force."
"Huh. For a minute there, I thought you and Atton…but yeah. I guess it's just the Force."
"Hmm? Me and Atton what?"
"You know." She bumped her shoulder against Avery's. "Hooked up a power coupling."
Avery was quite pink now. "What are you talking about?"
"Man. You really don't get out much. Have. You two. Been intimate?"
Her face scrunched up, and Mira shrieked. "What? You and Atton? Holy shit! You're not a monk anymore! Was it good?"
Avery buried her face in her hands, which made Mira laugh even more. "Look at you! You're a real woman now! Oh man, I knew there was a reason you seemed different. 'Connection with the Force,' my ass!"
"But I really do have a problem," the Exile said, her embarrassment dissipating. "Something bad happened with Mical when we landed in Iziz."
"Ooh. The plot thickens. What?"
"He told me he loves me. I was too stunned to move or speak or anything, but now I'm really worried because I don't want to hurt his feelings."
"Is that the only reason you're concerned?"
She nodded. Mira took a moment to think. "You definitely can't tell him about what happened with Atton. He'd probably want to fall on his own lightsaber. Those two don't exactly get along. On the other hand, he can't walk around with false hopes. Tell you what- give me some time to figure it out, and we'll work out a plan that's bound to solve it. What are you going to do about Atton?"
"Ugh. I don't know. It's not like I have past experience to go on. I don't really want to worry about it now, though. I just kind of need short-term fixes for all this until the more important things are resolved."
Mira looked out at the busy camp, Mandalorians talking and laughing with various members of the team. "I can honestly say I really, really hope I'm around for when it is."
For once in his life, Atton turned down a shot of alcohol. He felt good enough without it. The Mandalorians were practically jubilant, barraging him with offers of black ale and questions about the Exile.
"What was she like?"
"What did she look like?"
"Did she get all clingy afterward? Space, I hate it when that happens!"
"How did you finally get her to do it?"
Atton was tight-lipped about it all until Cairus shifted the nature of their inquiries. "So why haven't you told her?"
"Told her what?"
"That you love her?"
Atton almost choked on the water he was drinking, and the men started laughing again. When he recovered, he was indignant. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh please," Zavrus scoffed. "It'd be obvious to anybody."
"What would be? You guys need to stop making shit up."
"So why haven't you?" the ring leader prompted, ignoring his sad attempts to play dumb.
Atton finally gave up. "Fuck, you guys, I'm not an idiot okay? What do I have to offer her? I'm nobody. And even if I did tell her, she probably either wouldn't believe me or think I was pathetic."
"Or both," Zavrus offered helpfully.
"Right. There's not a whole lot I can do. Well, besides enjoy it while it lasts."
Cairus lifted a glass. "And that's why you're not drinking!"
"Exactly. I'll be drinking a whole lot, later, after all this is over, so I'll save it until I need it."
"Well bud, once she dumps you, you can always head back to Dxun and drink with us. It probably won't make you feel better, but we can always make sure you don't throw yourself off a cliff."
Now Atton joined in on the laugher. It was always funnier when it was true.
"All Masters still left alive are gathered on Dantooine now," the Exile said to Mandalore. "We'll be heading there. Thank you for all your help."
The leader held up a gloved hand before Avery turned. "I can assure you we'll meet up again. You and I have a few things to figure out still. Who knows, you may need us before this is all over."
She gave him a wry smile. "You realize I'll be working with what's left of the Jedi Council, right?"
"True, but it looks to me like the more we spend time around you, the more likely it is that we'll be thrown into battle- real, honorable battle- so I'll have to put up with it."
Before she could reply to his teasing, she was engulfed. She couldn't keep track of all the soldiers shaking her hand, patting her back, squeezing her briefly, saying nonsensical things like "You'll know soon enough," and "Don't be too hard on him" before she emerged from the throng onto the path leading to the Hawk. There, her team awaited her, each one looking more relaxed than they had in a long time. After all this, they were going to find a solution. The weight of the universe wouldn't be just on their backs anymore. All that hard work was going to pay off.
At least, that's what they thought.