-Than-

After the ceremonies, Bree had to get out of there. It was too painful for her. We went back down the path, moving slowly, and with no real destination. The chatter was dulled, with me usually leading the way and her occasionally correcting my path. Otherwise, she seemed really distracted. She was floating behind me, present but mind elsewhere. A few times, I noticed her absentmindedly rubbing the ring on her finger.

After a few days, we made it back to the rocks where I fell. I decided to go back to the rock shelter, noticing that my dried blood was still on the large rock. I took her backpack off my back and layed it by the rocks before going to the treeline and finding some sticks on the ground to use as fuel for a fire. I returned to find her sitting glumly on a rock. I grabbed the firestarter and set the sticks ablaze. With the fire going, I left again to get some larger logs. When I found a tree branch I thought to be a suitable size, I ignited the whitish-blue blade of my saber and cut it off the tree before carrying it to our campsite and cutting it into more manageable pieces. I placed three in the fire, setting the rest for later, and sat by the fire, next to Bree. I felt as strong as I was before taking a tumble off the cliff. I glanced at the sun, which was slowly setting behind us. Few hours, and darkness would hit, bringing with it freezing cold temperatures and various predators. I reached into the backpack and pulled out a blanket and some preserved meat, handing the a piece to Bree, who took it and nibbled on an edge, and the blanket, which she hugged around her as the temperature began to drop.

"How did you know?" she asked, staring into the fire. This was the first time she asked me a question in over a week.

"Know what?"

"You know. Up there." She waved a hand absently, and I was reminded of the first time she had told me where she lived. The beginning of this journey of ours.

"I know how you feel," I responded, taking a stick and poking the fire.

"You mean you…" She trailed off when she saw me nodding. "So you-"

"I tried to give you what I never got."

"Oh." We sat there in silence and listened to the crackling of the fire. "So how did you deal with it?"

"Killing."

She laughed, but the smile quickly disappeared when she realized that I wasn't kidding, and she scooted away from me. "You lied to me."

I sighed, and said "I did not kill the village. That, I did not lie about. But yes, I wasn't completely truthful with you. I am an assassin."

"I trusted you."

"I'm sorry. I truly am. At first, I didn't trust you. The moment I realized you were not with the Alliance was at the village. If I'd told you then, you would have tried to kill me. I'm sorry. I didn't want to fight you because I didn't want to… you know. Do the one thing I'm good at."

"You are a monster."

I hung my head. "I know. I find no pleasure in killing."

She pulled the blanket tighter around her and asked "Then why do it?"

"I never had a choice, and I never knew any other life. I told myself it was right. I was a loyal soldier. But now…" I glanced up at the ledge, 200 meters above us, and said "They lied, tried to kill me, and now I see them slaughter a village in cold blood without cause." I turned to face her. "I'm sorry."

"I do not know if I believe you."

"No more lies. I promise."

She stared at me, trying to see if I was telling the truth. Finally, she asked "What is that?" and pointed at the hilt of my saber. I took it off the belt and held it in the light of the fire so she could see it. "A Seyley weapon. One that can fight against Jedi, and one we are trained with from birth." I activated both parts, showing her how to turn on the main blade and then the blade that ran the length of the hilt.

"Can I hold it?"

"Be careful," I said as I handed it to her.

"Woah. It is heavy." She activated the main blade and carefully swung it around, hearing the humming as it sliced through the cold air. "How long did you train to use this?"

"All my life."

"Really?"

I nodded. "It's tradition. Every child learned the basics, and if they excelled their training continued."

"You excelled?"

"More than you can imagine."

She took a careful jab at a log, searing a hole in it. "Can it cut through anything?"

"More or less. Certain metals aren't as easy to cut through, and some can't be penetrated. Certain energy shields can resist them. Some species are naturally resistant for one reason or another. And of course, other sabers can stop it. There are a few other things, but that's the gist of it."

She took a swing at one of the rocks, cutting it in half. "What is a Jedi?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. You said it is a Seyley weapon to fight Jedi. And from everything you said, I would guess that Seyley is just your species. So then what is a Jedi? Is it another species?"

"No, not a species. They are extremely powerful individuals. Their Jedi Order is the other side in the galactic war. There's the Alliance, and the Order. I don't know how long ago this war started, but they've been the enemy for as long as anybody can remember."

"So Jedi are just all the people in the Order?"

"No. Jedi make up a small portion of the Order, but are extremely powerful in the government. Not sure on specifics there. But they are really dangerous. The reason that there are so few is because they need to be Force-sensitive, and that is rare. They use lightsabers, which are really similar to what you're holding right now."

She performed a few experimental swings in a row. "If they are so powerful, then how does the Alliance survive?"

"We have Sith, which are basically like Jedi but with the Alliance. I only know of three. But they also have the Seyley, Junel, and Maleko. All three species are made up of individuals who can at least put up a fight against a Jedi."

"What is the war about?"

"I'm not totally sure. The events that started it are long forgotten. But now, it's a fight to destroy the other side."

"Who is winning?"

"Nobody. It's basically been a stalemate for as long as I can remember."

"If nobody is winning, why do they keep fighting? Why not make peace?"

Good question. I was about to answer, give her my opinion, when I thought I heard a familiar sound that put me on high alert. Instantly, I jerked my head up and searched the sky. Bree noticed this and lowered the saber.

"What is it?"

I ignored her as I scanned the starry sky. Then, I saw it. An Alliance carrier ship. The moon shone off it's purple plated exterior as it appeared over the cliff and started to descend to our location.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Give me the saber. Pack up. Now!" I said.

She deactivated my saber and gave it back to me before hurriedly throwing things in her backpack. I grabbed some rocks and tossed them on the fire, putting it out. It was too late. The carrier was already hovering six meters above the ground where we needed to go, perfectly still, clearly being handled by an expert pilot. The turrets on the bottom were trained on our position, but weren't firing for some reason.

"Than…"

I activated my saber and said "Get behind me." She obliged, and I saw the terror in her eyes. Something seemed to snap inside me, a protective instinct I didn't know I had. I didn't care what happened to me, I would NOT let her die.

The bottom of the ship opened, and a small group of Seyley jumped out, blasters aimed at me.

"Vindicator," said a familiar voice.

"Ster Bureem. Who sent you? Terrias? Grellan? Lysis?"

He stepped forwards, carbine trained at my chest. "Nobody sent me."

"Then why are you here? To bring me back to the Alliance? Get me to rejoin? If so, then you can save your breath. It will never happen."

"So it's true then. You have betrayed the Alliance. You realize that your betrayal has tarnished the name of the Seyley? That we are being replaced by the Junel? That they're killing the Seyley?"

"THEY BETRAYED ME! They sent me here and tried to execute me! An execution that was ordered by Terrias!"

"Why would they do that? Terrias doesn't do things without reason, you know that."

"Because the war is a lie! A pointless bloodbath with no stakes because someone is controlling the whole thing. They've been prolonging it for who knows how long, and countless have died because of it. I have no idea who is in on the conspiracy. Sylvia, Terrias, and Charybdis at least."

"So you betrayed your people?"

"I never did that."
"Well, you did, and innocent lives are being taken for this ridiculous tale. How could you think the Alliance could be so honorless?"

"They went and massacred an entire village for no reason!"

"You're one hell of a liar, you know that?"

I deactivated the saber and threw it on the ground in front of me, just like I did with Bree. "I'm not lying. You want to see the carnage? Go up there. You'll see I'm not lying about the village. And about the rest, I don't know. Sylvia must have gotten in my head and seen it. Now we're here. I swear on my blade that I never betrayed anybody. They were the ones who stabbed us in the back." I stressed the 'us' in that statement, making it very clear that we were in the exact same boat.

I saw the anger start to waver as he glanced at the shining silver hilt lying on the ground. I had thrown down my weapon to show the truth. That was a huge deal. Slowly, he lowered the carbine.

"Alright. I believe it. So what now?"

I let out a massive sigh of relief, thankful that I'd gotten an ally. Ster was loyal, but he was more loyal to his people than the Alliance.

"I don't know. If the Alliance finds out that I'm alive, they'll come for me with everything they've got. Part of me wants to fight back. Part of me wants to run and hide."

Ster lifted his carbine suddenly and pointed it behind me, yelling "Identify yourself!"

I turned around and saw that Bree was standing far behind me, hidden in the shadows, and he was aiming right at her. I stepped in the line of fire. "Put the gun down, Ster," I ordered.

"You know her?" he asked, a bit stunned that I was willing to take a bolt for her.

"She saved my life."

Ster nodded and lowered the carbine. "Apologies, ma'am. We're all on high alert."

Bree walked forwards and nodded, as if she understood what he meant. I noticed that even though she was with us, she was still slightly behind me, distrustful of these strangers, like a child hiding behind the legs of their parents.

Ster picked up the hilt of my saber from the ground and handed it to me, then took me by surprise by handing me the carbine as well. "Whatever the plan, it's not safe to stay here. We barely escaped on our ship and took a few hyperspace routes here. The Alliance will come looking. If you'd like, you can come with. We have space, and could always use another fighter if things got ugly." Part of me thought this was a trap, but I quickly dismissed the notion. This was genuine. We reach out our arms to others in similar situations because that's how our race survives. The group mentality was omnipresent.

I started to follow him onto the ship when I stopped and looked at Bree, who was standing there, terrified. I didn't understand the desire to protect her, but seeing the fear broke my heart.

"You can come too, you know. I won't just leave you."

"I have never been anywhere but here."

I knew what she meant. She was afraid of leaving. Afraid of being somewhere unfamiliar. Afraid of untold dangers that lie in this path. Afraid of the strangers.

"It will be dangerous, but not as dangerous as staying here. But no matter what you choose, I'll be with you. Every step of the way." As soon as I said it, I knew it was true. I owed her my life. I will not just leave her behind to fend for herself.

She glanced fearfully from me to the ship. "What about them? You trust them?"

"I do."

She nodded and hesitantly followed me to the ship.