Six Months Later:
Killian stared down silently at his meal as the mess hall echoed around him with cries of laughter and merriment; it had been six months since "The Massacre of Bomodon," as the battle had been called, and just as predicted, the Republic used the Empire's defeat to galvanize it's solider to fight all the harder against what many saw as an Imperial invasion.
Those who had fought in the battle had received great honor and acclaim, and Killian's squad had been no exception; a few days after waking in the infirmary on Mandalore, Killian was informed that he, along with Ben, Dani, Aola, and Alexander had all been given promotions to the rank of First Lieutenant as a reward for not only coming back alive but also for their courageous actions during the battle as befitting a true son/daughter of Mandalore. Killian's legend grew still higher when word began to spread throughout Mandalore about how Killian not only managed to fight a Jedi to nearly a standstill (complete crap, in Killian's opinion) but also how Killian was the first force user in Mandalore's history.
Naturally, there were a few, mainly among the Puritan clans, that demanded Killian be executed as an enemy of Mandalore; these cries were swiftly ended when Killian's Uncle Lec brutally executed the leaders who were making such demands. After the execution, Mandalore the Avenger made a grand speech. He told all who attended the execution that Killian was no enemy of Mandalore but a true son of it and that his ability to use the Force was a gift to Mandalore, not a curse.
Killian had to fight back his emotions as he gratefully thanked his Uncle for standing up for him; Lec had nodded at Killian, and it still surprised the boy how his Uncle could be so cold to him one minute yet execute his own people in Killian's defense, the next moment.
The past six months had been hard on all of third squad, Killian included; on more than one occasion, Aola would come into Killian's bed, and snuggle up close to him, her nightmares from the battle driving her from her own bed. Dani and Alexander, too, woke up most nights in a cold sweat as they searched their rooms for unseen enemies and desperately tried not to let their panic consume them before falling back to sleep, most times after several hours of quiet sobbing. Ben seemed to be the only one unaffected by the horrors of Bomodon; rather, he seemed as though he couldn't wait for the next battle, and Killian couldn't help but wonder if his friend was a psychopath or something.
Ben's mother seemed to share her son's exuberance for battle and, to the boy's shock, had actually approached him after the battle and clapped her son on the back and congratulated him for "Not embarrassing me anymore with your weakness. Now, I can proudly call you my son, like your older brother!"
As Killian stared silently at his uneaten tray, he felt his bionic eye zero in on it like the lens of a telescope and had to concentrate on returning it to normal vision; fighting back his anger, Killian slowly reached up and touched the bionic implant, wincing as he felt the scar tissue surrounding his right eye. No expense had been spared, and Killian couldn't help but marvel at what he had been given, even as he hated having it in the first place; the implant was a marvel of medical engineering, capable of telescopic view, thermal imaging, as well as a dozen other different options that Killian could choose from, simply by thinking it.
The best part, however, was how normal it looked to the common observer; only a slight red dot in the center of Killian's pupil gave away the fact that it wasn't natural, and even then, the red dot was almost impossible to see. It would have been an amazing addition to Killian's armament if it didn't come with a six-inch white scar that ran diagonally from the center of Killian's forehead down to just below his cheekbone; Killian wasn't a vain person by any stretch of the imagination, but he still hated seeing the white scar across his face that reminded him every day of just how close he had been to dying. As Killian's temper continued to climb, his bionic eye suddenly activated its thermal vision, causing Killian to momentarily see double vision as one eye saw the body heat of everyone in the mess hall, and the other eye saw things normally.
"Damn it!" Killian growled, closing his eyes and willing his bionic one to return to normal vision; after a few seconds, Killian opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his vision had, indeed, returned to normal.
It had been nearly six months since Killian had had the bionic eye installed, and while it did take some time to get used to, he thought he was much more in control of it than he had been at first. Even so, there were times when the damn thing still did whatever the hell it wanted instead of what Killian wanted it to.
Deciding that he wasn't hungry, Killian angrily pushed his tray away from him and rose to his feet to leave when someone shouted at him,
"Bard! Come! Tell us one of your amazing tales!"
Cheers and cries of agreement followed this, and Killian realized with a grimace that he wouldn't be able to escape to his room as previously planned as other Mandalorians began to shout out suggestions.
"Tell the Iliad!"
"No, the story of King Leonidas and his bold three hundred!"
"Not that one! I've heard it a thousand times! Tell the story of the killer clown in the sewers again!"
"No!" Several voices shouted as one and making the hall echo with laughter.
"A new one!" A dark-skinned female called out, "There must be one you've yet to tell."
"I suppose there are still a few…" Killian said thoughtfully, "What kind would you like?"
"As expected, cries of "Adventure" and "Heroics" echoed throughout the mess hall, and even Killian couldn't help but smile as his people's exuberance for his stories; a small part of him was grateful for being called out like this, as it meant he wouldn't spend another night in self-imposed solitary with only his PTSD for company.
"A new one, huh?" Killian said thoughtfully, rubbing the back of his head for a moment; a moment later, a smile came across his face as he remembered that he'd failed to tell the Mandalorians about quite possibly the greatest hero of Earth.
"Okay then," Killian said in a warm voice as he stepped onto the nearby table so that he was standing head and shoulders above the rest of the listeners, "Tonight's story is about one of the greatest heroes of my people! His name was Heracles!"
XXXX
Darth Faeth grinned cruelly as she gazed down at the unconscious and bloody form that had once been Lieutenant Garza; it had taken the Sith lord nearly seven months to track down "The Hero of Bomodon," but Faeth was like a predator chasing down prey, and she would not be denied. Why had the Sith lord spent so much time tracking down a single Republic officer when she could be turning entire worlds into ash? Some claimed that the Empire wanted to make an example of the "Hero" who had caused their first loss of the war.
Others said it was because the Lieutenant had vital information that the Empire desperately wanted. The reality, however, was far more pedestrian and not at all vital in any way to the war effort. The reason why Faeth had spent such a considerable amount of time tracking down the Republic officer was because she had cost Faeth's son his eye, and Faeth was a great believer in the idiom "An eye for an eye."
At first, Faeth had only planned to take an eye, a fair trade in her opinion, given that the Sith could very easily rip the woman's spine out of her body for daring to almost kill Faeth's child. However, as the months dragged on, and Lieutenant Garza went to ground to avoid being found, Darth Faeth began to grow increasingly agitated that the Republic officer was running away rather than facing just punishment.
When Garza was finally found, Faeth had already decided that further punishment was necessary to instill the proper etiquette upon the Republic officer where punishments were concerned.
That was why Darth Faeth had taken one of Garza's eyes, as well as flayed the skin from the poor woman's back; Garza had thankfully passed out from the pain around the fifty-seventh lash, but unfortunately, Faeth made sure that she was revived soon after.
Tossing the whip at a nearby slave, Darth Faeth called out to the two nearby guards,
"Put her in an escape pod and send her back to the Republic. She has paid her debt to me."
"Yes, mistress," the guards replied with a bow; casting one last sneer at the unconscious Republic officer, Darth Faeth spun on her heel and stalked out of the chamber.
As she passed various Imperials, Faeth couldn't help but sneer at the fear and obsequiousness she could sense coming off of them.
"Pathetic, the whole lot of them!" Faeth thought with contempt, "Not a single one of them worthy to be called an Imperial! They all deserve to die for their weakness!"
As she entered her chambers, Faeth saw her daughter hovering several inches off the ground in meditation, and a feeling of pride entered Faeth's heart.
"Now, there is one worthy of being an Imperial…" Faeth said with pride as she continued to watch her daughter's meditation.
The girl looked to be in her early twenties and had her mother's raven-black hair and her pale features, but unlike Faeth, who kept her hair braided and elegant, the girl's hair hung wild and free. As Faeth continued to watch, she saw her daughter's lit lightsaber floating around the girl in a circle, casting an eerie red light in the dark chamber.
A moment later, the lightsaber shot straight toward Faeth's head and seemed as though it would impale the woman; at the last possible second, Faeth cracked her head to the left, causing the lightsaber to miss the woman by mere inches. Not wasting a second, Faeth immediately reached back and grabbed the handle of her daughter's lightsaber before she could summon it back.
Deactivating the lightsaber, Faeth crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at her daughter,
"Not bad, Cassandra. Perhaps next time, you'll actually manage to kill me."
As the girl ended her meditation and opened her eyes, she smirked back at her mother with the same creepy look,
"One can only hope," Cassandra replied before rising to her feet, "How was your playtime with our guest?"
"She has been properly punished and will be released as soon as is expedient," Faeth replied with a grin, causing her daughter to look at her in surprise.
"You're going to let her go?" Cassandra asked, "Are you sure that's wise?"
"Probably not," Faeth sniffed, "But letting her live serves two purposes,"
"Which are?"
"One, Garza's injuries and who gave them to her will ensure my name is talked about with terror and hate. So many delicious negative emotions all aimed at me will be like a buffet!"
"And the second reason?" Cassandra asked with a raised brow,
"Because life without risk is not worth living," Faeth hissed back with a wink, making her daughter roll her eyes.
"But enough about Garza," Faeth said dismissively, "It is time for you and your brother to meet."
"Truly?" Cassandra asked with surprise, "What is the plan?"
"I am going to send a request to the Mandalore that he lend me a few hundred of his soldiers for the next battle, and I will additionally request that Killian is one of them."
"That's it?" Cassandra asked in a bored tone,
"When he arrives, I will place him under your command," Faeth growled, causing her daughter to flinch slightly, "And you will attempt to build a rapport with him. Learn about him and what he knows of the future."
"And if I can't?" Cassandra asked in a soft voice, "I'm not exactly a people person, after all."
"Should you fail me in this task," Faeth said in a deadly whisper, "I will ensure your punishment fits my displeasure. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Mother," Cassandra replied in a scared voice as she bowed low; many times, she had been punished by her mother for some failure or perceived slight. And every time was far worse than any nightmare that Cassandra could dream up; she was determined not to have to experience how cruel her mother could be ever again.
"I will not fail you, mother," Cassandra said softly as her mother stared down coldly at her.
"We shall see…" Faeth replied before tossing Cassandra's lightsaber at her feet, spinning on her heel, and exiting the chamber, leaving Cassandra alone to wonder just how she would fulfill her mother's request.
XXXX
Author's Note:
Yup, still alive. Sorry for the short chapter, but this one was kinda hard to work on as someone who has PTSD. I will just leave it here, but the next chapter will be longer and hopefully out soon.