-Darin-
Slick, Tiny, Q, and Thorn were firing stun shots at me, and I was attempting to deflect them at specified targets around the training room. They were each positioned at various different angles, and I had given them the green light to move around and fire away however they pleased. I made sure they knew that if they could stun me, they'd be able to hold that over my head as long as I lived and I wouldn't do anything about it. They had seized the opportunity to get bragging rights and were shooting away with reckless abandon.
My blades moved with blazing speed, deflecting all the shots that came my way, but the bolts didn't hit the targets as frequently as I would have liked. If I focused on deflecting the shots specifically at targets, then my blade speed would decrease, leaving openings in my defenses which they would certainly hit, whether by accident or on purpose.
On the trip back to Ilum, I'd shown Sadie how to put her saber together, and on Coruscant I'd given her some high quality materials to build it with, and watched her put it together to make sure she didn't accidentally turn a piece or something, which could cause the whole thing to explode.
After that, I took her clothes shopping. Kind of. We went to a general boutique, went to the ladies section, she met the saleslady, they picked out a ton of clothes for all sorts of occasions, and I zoned out and mumbled "looks great" whenever it seemed like my opinion was needed. Then, before I permanently became brain-dead, we went to the check-out, I paid, and we left. By the time we left, the sun was down and it was extremely late. To be completely honest, I don't remember a single thing she actually bought. I hate clothes shopping.
When I woke up the next day, I scribbled a little note telling her to come down to the training room when she woke up, and went to the barracks. Slick, Tiny, Q, and Thorn were the first ones I saw, and now I'm here, deflecting stun bolts.
I heard the door open to the training room, but was too focused on keeping my blades moving around me to check who it was. I was in a more secluded corner because I knew that the bolts would be flying all over and I really didn't want someone to accidentally get hit. That always sucked.
I heard the footsteps approaching us, then Thorn yelled "HOLD!" The blaster fire stopped and I swatted aside the last of the bolts.
"Morning, Commander. You look nice today," he said. I sheathed my sabers, walked over to the wall, and opened a locker, where I chugged some water from a jug and wiped the sweat from my face with a towel. I realized that my shirt was stuck to me, completely soaked with sweat.
"Thank you. Good morning to you too. How long has he forced you to be here?"
"Three hours or so."
"Straight?" she asked.
"Basically."
I had my arms against the wall and my head lowered as I caught my breath.
"Good morning Darin."
I shook my head in response without looking at her, focusing on my Force.
"Are they free to go?" she asked, motioning at them.
I nodded again. She waved at them, and I heard them walk out. Softly, she asked "You okay?"
"Yea. Yea," I said through deep breaths. Truthfully, I wasn't. Ever since Ilum, my Force has been growing stronger. I don't know if the large Force presence on Ilum reacted with whatever they injected in me, but it was expanding, evolving. The first signs appeared at the shopping mall. The Force augments my senses, making them stronger. But I noticed that I sensed so much more than before. I could clearly hear the clacking of keyboards three stores down amidst the loud traffic of Coruscant's roads. I could focus on any conversation in the store or on the street and hear it with crystal clarity. My other senses followed suit. It sounds great, but it was distracting. The vast amount of new information I was suddenly taking in gave me a terrible migraine. It took me a few hours to begin controlling it, limiting the information I was focusing on.
I woke up this morning at like 5am feeling well-rested, even though I only got like five hours of sleep. I decided to work on controlling it, and that always works best for me at the training room. I surprised myself with my new stamina and strength, and I could feel the energy returning much faster than it naturally should have. All of it was unnerving, and I was worried about how far it would go. What if it got to be too much and I couldn't control it?
When I finally looked up and saw Sadie, I had to do a double take. She was wearing black combat pants and a t-shirt. The clothing wasn't remarkable in any way, but Sadie wore them very well. It made me slightly self-conscious about my sweat-soaked clothes.
"You're staring," she said. "Is it bad?"
"No, no. Thorn was right, you look great. I'm just..." I waved my hands aimlessly, not sure how to finish that sentence.
She looked down and smiled. I walked over to a wall and grabbed two large wooden sticks. I flipped one to her, and she caught it easily.
"Time to start lightsaber training. We're going to use these first so you don't hurt yourself."
I walked over to a circle that was painted on the ground and motioned for her to stand opposite me.
"We're going to start with basic positions so you can get the general angles and placements. Mirror me." I lifted the blade and held it vertically to block a pretend shot at my shoulder, and she copied the position.
-0000-
Terrias's bolted upright in a panic. The vision. It kept coming back. When he felt his pulse begin to slow, he lay back down on the bed and went back to sleep, determined to see it again, to glean as much meaning from it as he could.
As he dozed off again, he saw the darkness shimmer and glimpses of the future began to appear, with no real cohesive order or explanation to them.
A village burnt to the ground, the villagers slaughtered for treachery.
Than Valum, lying broken at the bottom of a deep ravine, figures laughing from the top of the ravine as the life faded from his body.
Darth Grellan, half of his face burnt away.
Sylvia, begging for mercy, hands cut off, as a dark figure beat her to death.
A pair of Pau'an brothers with red sabers he did not recognize, standing over the lifeless bodies of countless Imps.
Grand Master Sorsee, standing in a conference room, facing off against another Jedi.
Than Valum, locked in a duel with a Jedi.
Sylvia, standing over the dead bodies of a Mon Cala and a Kaminoan.
Naboo, it's lush forest consumed by flame.
A group of rebels taking down a Jedi facility in the middle of the city.
Than Valum, with a small Mirialan girl holding his hand.
A Mandalorian, laying waste to an Alliance stronghold.
A dead Jedi, scruffy beard covered in blood and part of his ear gone.
Than Valum, speaking to a large group of Seyley, Burhaj, and Maleko, bloodlust evident in all their eyes, as they set fire to an Alliance flag.
His throne room, except this time with Junel as his guards instead of Seyley.
The Seyley and Junel locked in a civil war.
Charybdis, on his knee, pledging that he will take care of the traitors.
Lysis, staring at a fountain in Naboo, his face expressionless as he pulls out a remote and pushes a button.
The Ascension, all of it's lifepods gone as it traveled directly into a star.
A Mandalorian, speaking with the Hutt's who ruled part of the galaxy.
Than Valum, fighting alongside a Jedi against Alliance forces led by Darth Grellan, face intact.
A young woman, riding some strange animal through a rocky path with a young man as they found some wreckage of the Ascension.
An academy, under attack by the Order, children gripped with fear as they were killed in cold blood.
Himself, standing in his throne room, lightsaber drawn, as he fired lightning at the lone, unarmed Jedi on the other side.
And finally, the voice, saying "I know what you've done. What you've built. I'm here to tear it apart, brick by brick."