A story centering around the Jedi Knight and her companions. There will be spoilers pertaining to the classic Jedi Knight story arc as well as RotHC and SoR and likely one or more of the other original class story arcs. You've been warned and welcomed.

 

 

 

 

The fire crackled and the flames rose higher spreading through the crags, the lava beneath boiling as though it was aggravated by the unannounced guests that had entered the caves. The coupled intruders argued their way to the dead center as a third and silent visitor was dropped down against the stone plateau, her body slumped over as it landed with a thud. One of the intruders, a tall woman with raven black hair, echoed a mocking type of laughter through the hollow cavern as the man she was with made a plea she found all too amusing.

 

“Don’t do this Caerna, she’s innocent in all this! If you’re going to punish someone, punish me. It was I who’s forsaken your love.” the man begged as he looked down at his unconscious fiancée and then back at the sorceress before him.

 

Her eyes glowed ruby red as she gracefully motioned her hand and with little effort entangled the other woman in a trance “This is me punishing you my love, she’s merely one of the tools at my disposal with which I’ll orchestrate my vengeance.”

 

He dropped down to his knees and clasped his hands together, a futile attempt to beg for a different outcome “Please just let her go. Do to me as you wish but free Lissandre.”

 

She ignored his pleas and turned her attention to the petite blonde who now hung motionless and bound several feet above the plateau. With a swift flick of her wrist she used her powers to tear the woman’s pendant from her neck and then separated the setting from the large amethyst gem. The sorceress’ whispers in a tongue he’d never heard before caused the gem to enlarge in size as it hovered in the air between the three of them before linking to the snaked Force bindings that held Lissandre.

 

“Stop! Please! What are you doing to her?” the man made an attempt to rush over to his fiance but found himself frozen in place unable to lift a foot off the ground.

 

“Draining her natural life force Prince Aerun” Caerna cackled “but don’t worry, I’ve slowed the process down significantly. It’ll be at least another hundred years before she’s nothing but a bag of dust and bones. And you get to watch.”

 

“You’re mad! My father should have never--”

 

“Your father’s nothing more than a sniveling peasant. It was my power that earned him his throne and it was I who was meant to marry you until your pesky love for this child got in the way. Now you get to watch her wither away while you stand guard as an immortal, bound by the fires of this cavern” she vowed as she channeled her powers and the lava that had been rising slowly suddenly stretched up like a pair of arms. They grasped the prince and engulfed him fully until he became one with their molten essence and was swept away.

 

Caerna weaved her powers further and created an engraved pattern across the plateau, the grooves running deeper towards the center than they did at the four outer connecting points. She waved her hands and shifted Lissandre and the linked gem high up to the very middle “Only the blood sacrifice of an immortal can fill these trenches to release the gem and only the purest of hearts will have the strength to break the gem and free your beloved from her fate, to return her life to her. And as for you.. your freedom can be bought only with the truest essence of love.”

 

The lava bubbled and boiled profusely at her words as the prince who’d traded his physical form in for pure magma realised he no longer had a drop of blood left to spill and no hopes of defeating her curse himself. They’d never be together again. Caerna took a bow as she began to exit the caves and used the last remnants of her own powers to sink the caverns further down to the planet’s core to ensure none would ever find them again.

 

 

 

“Arielle do you..” Lord Scourge started as he entered the private quarters unannounced but he stopped mid sentence when he found the Jedi slouched half over her desk and seemingly asleep.

 

He let out a silent sigh and quietly walked up to her before crouching down at her side and gently tucking a lock of hair back behind her ear. She looked so peaceful and beautiful and Lord Scourge thought for a moment that if he were capable of any feelings, the sight of her right now would have touched his heart. Instead though his attention was drawn to the book that rested underneath her arm and he carefully inched it away from her before eyeing the cover. ‘Lost Legends of the Empire’ he read out to himself and shook his head.

 

Lately she’d been almost obsessed digging into the history of the Sith and a part of him had begun to regret ever telling her about his own cursed life. She’d decided he needed to be cured, fixed. That he’d earned that after all he’d gone through to ensure the galaxy’s survival. Lord Scourge didn’t agree and warned her that if the Emperor’s death didn’t end his own torment, nothing else would. Still stubborn as he’d come to know her as being, she hadn’t given up and each time waved off his protests as she further delved into ancient knowledge of the Sith.

 

“Oh Jedi why don’t you ever listen to me.” he muttered to himself while snaking one arm along her back and the other under her knees before lifting her up in his arms as he rose to his feet.

 

He carried her off to bed and gently lay her down before reaching for the ends of the sheets and pulling them up to cover her. Arielle stirred slightly and for a moment Lord Scourge froze in place, he’d tried hard not to wake her, but then breathed with relief as he watched her settle back in.

 

Lord Scourge was about to get up when she suddenly grabbed his arm and closed her fingers around his wrist “Why is it you always visit me at night?” her voice croaked quietly.

 

She knew the answer even if her mind was still half asleep. The late evenings and night time was when the rest of the crew had retreated to their own quarters and he needn’t put up with their interference.

 

Lord Scourge didn’t dislike them per say, he just had a hard time connecting to any of them. Kira was always far too bubbly and chatty for his liking though he approved of her free spirited nature and lax approach to the Jedi code, something he felt Arielle lacked. Doc was the bane of his existence and he thought little of the man who spent his time flailing around the medbay as if his work were impressive. He didn’t appreciate the manner in which Doc addressed the women either--he found his flirts were slimy and desperate. Sergeant Rusk however though Lord Scourge rarely spoke to the man, he could at least appreciate his existence. The man was often quiet, well mannered and only really spoke when he actually had something sensible to say. His mindless devotion to the Republic was his only shortcoming as far as Lord Scourge was concerned and well Teeseven, he was a simple droid.

 

“At night is when you’re alone.” he spoke softly and sat down on the edge of her bed.

 

Arielle pulled the pillow up behind her back and sat up “Night is also when I sleep but since I’m awake now, what’s on your mind Scourge?”

 

“The Emperor. Every nerve in my body screams at me that he has somehow survived, that our quest hasn’t ended yet.”

 

She tilted her head slightly while looking at him, considering his words and though she’d like to believe they’d been victorious a part of her continued to doubt “You’ve told me he’s an immortal man much like yourself--death isn’t something he’s likely to ever experience. If he’s still out there then we’ll deal with it but for now I do believe his power and strength has diminished greatly. He won’t soon attempt another ritual.”

 

“Perhaps his survival is why I still suffer.” Lord Scourge thought out loud and though Arielle knew he was void of any emotion, a small hint of pain lingered in his eyes when he spoke those words.

 

“I do not believe your immortality is linked to his. I don’t know the workings of whichever ritual he’s put you through but a man like the Emperor would never connect his own essence with another, not unless it concerns full possession and you’re not possessed Scourge.”

 

“I could be. He may linger in my subconscious and we’d never know until he decides it’s time.”

 

Arielle gave him a sympathetic look and reached out taking his hand in her own “If the Emperor was any part of you I’d feel it. He may plague your mind and defile your memories but he’s not within you. All that remains of his bond with you is the immortality he’s left you with and we’ll find a way to cast that out too.”

 

He scoffed at her words and pulled his hand back remembering the state which he’d found her in as he got up and grabbed the book from her desk “With this? All these tales concern extremely dark rituals Arielle and most of them are pure fantasy. Stories to entertain the bored mind, nothing more.”

 

A faint grin crept upon her face “If these stories are so false then why do you oppose to me reading them? If these dark rituals don’t exist then why can’t I know about them?”

 

Lord Scourge always savored a particularly scolding glare for her whenever she’d get smart with him and this time was no different “They provide you with a false sense of hope. The hope that I can be cured, returned to a mortal state in which I can once more relish in all the pleasures life has to offer. Such a thing doesn’t exist and I don’t wish to see you disappointed.”

 

She shook her head and got up taking the book from his hands before sliding it back between the many others she’d worked to collect “Scourge perhaps it’s not my hope you fear will be crushed but rather your own.”

 

“If that’s your belief then you’re more foolish than I thought. I do not hope. I have accepted who and what I am, the broken state in which I’ll forever linger--you must too.”

 

Arielle drew closer to him and he watched as she reached out to touch his cheek. He flinched away. Under most any other circumstance he would have used the opportunity to test her resolve, to try and open her up to the things she avoided in life but not tonight. He didn’t enjoy it when it wasn’t on his terms and he even more hated how close to the truth she was.

 

“Don’t you get it Scourge? The very definition of broken means it can be fixed. There’s an opposite to almost everything. Where there’s light, there’s also darkness. Where there’s good there’s also evil. For love there’s hatred and for wounds there’s healing. For life there’s death and--”

 

“Unless you’re immortal and trapped between the two, like me.” he interrupted her speech which he knew was well intended but he tired of it.

 

“There was a story in that book” she carried on ignoring his objections and the agitation she sensed flaring up inside of him.

 

“It’s one the Jedi know too. To us it’s often served as a warning against the dark side. About the treacherous nature of forming attachments. For decades the sorceress Caerna was a force of good who protected her people and nurtured the land which in turn constantly revived her youth until she fell in love with a prince. She sought to be married to him and though the King initially granted her request, the prince instead chose another. Her heart was broken and the powers she once used for good now turned dark as she carried out her vengeance.”

 

“And your point is?” Lord Scourge raised a brow at her, unimpressed with the story she tried to convey to him and much less understanding what it had to do with him “It’s still just a fabrication. The fact this story is told to Sith as well as Jedi means little and of course the Jedi would spread a tale that cautions against love and emotion.”

 

“You’re wrong!” Arielle insisted now raising her voice desperate to get through to him “The fact both our sides know of this story means there’s a truth to it and Caerna’s vengeance? She cast a curse that drained the mortality of the prince’s fianceé into an amethyst--the Gem of Mah’eana. Mah’eana was their Queen at the time and from her bloodline stem the nobles who today reside on Alderaan which means she’s not just a myth but an actual historical figure.”

 

Lord Scourge let out an exasperated sigh and turned away from her “The fact this Queen was a real person and that gem of hers might have existed at some point in time doesn’t mean the entire story is true. Cast these foolish notions from your mind Jedi you’re chasing ghosts.”

 

“Fine. Get out then and let me go back to sleep.” she snapped at him and climbed back into her bed before demonstratively pulling her sheets far up over her head.

 

He groaned and dropped himself next to her, laying comfortably on top the bedding “Don’t act like such a child--you’re better than that.”

 

“Am I really? Because all you do is treat me like a child. A foolish child with foolish hopes and dreams, with childish notions of ending your suffering well fine then, forget it. Suffer all you like, far be it for me to care.” she muttered from underneath the covers.

 

“Arielle..”

 

“I mean it Scourge” she snapped the sheets back and glared at him, the anger in her eyes evident “If you’re not going to take me seriously then just stop coming in here altogether. I enjoy our talks, I care about you and yes I do hope to one day see you whole again and I do believe it to be possible but if you cannot accept that then just get out and forget I ever said anything.”

 

“Why do you care so much?” the question that escaped him was genuine.

 

They’d formed an unusual and close bond over the time they’d spent together ever since he pledged his loyalty to her and sure enough they’d both learned a lot from each other but part of him couldn’t understand why she’d be so concerned about him and so eager to see him cured. He’d helped her when she needed it most to protect the galaxy from the Emperor but he hadn’t earned this sense of care and devotion she seemed to have for him.

 

“Why do you care so little? Don’t you after all this time wish to feel again? To smell the rain on freshly cut grass, to feel the warmth of the sun, to genuinely laugh so good that for a second you actually forget to breathe? To enjoy the rich taste of caf in the morning, the sweetness of fresh berries? To eat for a reason other than basic sustenance?” she fantasized openly hoping to reach his some distant memories in his mind, to tempt him with the thought of life.

 

A smirk curled around his lips and his eyes narrowed on her, hooking onto her approach “There are many things I’d wish to experience once more. The smell of a woman’s natural scent, the warmth of her touch, the joy when she laughs wholeheartedly. The taste of her lips on mine, the sensation of our bodies entwined. That rush as she sighs in absolute pleasure for all the things I’d do to her.”

 

Arielle stared at him, her mouth half open in awe as a fluster reached her cheeks before she snapped herself out of it and grabbed her pillow. She smacked him with it several times before laying back down and giving a small huff.

 

“You’re such a jerk. We had a genuine moment there before you had to go and ruin it with your Sith like dirty talk. Go to sleep.”

 

He laughed purely on instinct knowing fine well he’d gotten to her and for a moment he did wish he was cured of his own predicament. If he were then he’d certainly seek to tease her with more than just words. Instead though he simply rolled onto his side and settled in for the rest of the night.

 

“Is there a problem with your own bed?” Arielle managed while stifling a yawn.

 

“Yes but I wouldn’t be able to explain it to you, you might accuse me of more Sith like dirty talk.” he grinned to himself as he shut his eyes and felt her kicking him once.

 

“Whatever. Just don’t snore.”

 

“Mmm good night Jedi.”

Edited June 11, 2017 by JennyFlynn

*claps hands* Loved it! Here, have another Easter bunny! I do love Scourge, so much. And he has a rascally side too Hope to see more soon!

*claps hands* Loved it! Here, have another Easter bunny! I do love Scourge, so much. And he has a rascally side too Hope to see more soon!

 

Haha thanks Luna, it's always nice to hear from you! I'll try and update regularly'ish but I do get ADHD issues.

 

Arielle never got much sleep that night. Any moment of peace she’d found was interrupted by visions of the things she’d read almost as if she were there herself. The gem as described in the story constantly appeared before her eyes and just barely out of reach. Each grasp she’d make for it was rewarded with hollow laughter, the Emperor’s voice echoing through the caverns as he taunted her. The prince who’d once stood at the center slowly transformed into Lord Scourge before the lava swallowed him whole and though Arielle tried to help him, something held her down.

 

At this point she’d suddenly awoken from her sleep only to realize that the obstruction which held her down was actually Lord Scourge’s arm draped over her and she sighed quietly. A quick glance at the chrono on her nightstand revealed it was already late in the morning and she took Lord Scourge’s hand before gently moving his arm aside and slipping out of bed. She drowsily stumbled across the room snatching her robes from a chair along the way before sneaking out and heading for the kitchen area on her ship where most of her crew was already waiting.

 

“Good morning beautiful” Doc flashed her a grin and raised his cup of caf to her “Just brewed us a fresh one if you want, got the pot right here.”

 

She managed a small groan in acknowledgement of his words and sat herself down at the dining table before resting her head down against her arms.

 

“Someone had a rough night” Kira chirped all too cheerfully and gently rubbed Arielle’s back “Scourge again?”

 

Doc half choked on his caf and looked at the two women “A rough night and Scourge should never be in the same sentence, please tell me that’s not what you meant?”

 

“I doubt that would be any of our business if it was.” Sergeant Rusk pointed out before turning his attention back to the news updates he was browsing through on his datapad.

 

Arielle reached for one of the empty mugs and the pot of caf before pouring one out for herself and sitting back “It’s fine but you know I don’t engage in such things Doc. We simply talked for far too long and my dreams disturbed the rest of the night.”

 

“Do nightmares of the Emperor still plague you? I could get you a refill on the relaxants I gave you a while back.” Doc offered remembering the troubled nights she’d experienced shortly after their battle against Vitiate.

 

She shook her head “That’s not it. I simply got too wrapped up in one of my books right before going to sleep.”

 

It was a half truth and all they needed to know for now. She hadn’t discussed her intentions for finding a cure with anyone other than Lord Scourge himself and didn’t feel like doing so until she had a more concrete plan. The story she’d read made for a good start but she needed to know more first.

 

“I’d like to visit the Temple.” she decided in the hopes perhaps the knowledge the Jedi held there might provide her with answers.

 

“Alright” Kira got up and grabbed her cup and empty plate “I’ll go set course for Tython. I’d actually like to see Master Kiwiiks again.”

 

Arielle nodded and got up as well before retreating to her room where Lord Scourge was already slowly waking up.

 

“You’d best get up and ready--we’re headed for Tython.”

 

He groaned and rolled onto his back “Blow it off and come back to bed. You barely slept and you were tossing and turning all night.”

 

“I’m sorry did I keep you awake? Poor Scourge, if only you had your own bed to sleep in.” she commented sarcastically while digging through her closet for a clean set of clothing.

 

“I didn’t mind, sleep is another luxury I can easily do without for quite a few nights.” he noted casually and watched her fuss around “My stamina knows no bounds.”

 

Arielle rolled her eyes and pulled her backpack out from under her bed before tossing it into his lap a tad more aggressively than she normally would have “I’m getting in the refresher and I expect you gone by the time I get back.”

 

“Wouldn’t you rather I stay and give you a hand?” he smirked and slowly rose up to his feet.

 

She ignored his comment entirely and disappeared into the refresher. He had a serious knack for getting under her skin and his insinuations bothered her far more than she cared to admit. Doc had quite a hand in constant flirty and suggestive comments too but she could take it from him and not think twice about it yet when Lord Scourge did it his words would elicit a response from every nerve in her body.

 

The moment they arrived on Tython, Arielle had hurried off to the library while Kira sought out Master Bela Kiwiiks. Sergeant Rusk remained on the Defender while Doc and Teeseven went to visit the nearby Twi’lek settlement. They’d made some friends there during a previous visit and Doc had tended to several ill refugees that he now wished to check up on.

 

Lord Scourge dug his hands deep into his pockets as he wandered around the courtyard outside the Jedi temple. The trio of padawans that passed him by instantly ceased their giggling and chatter at the sight of the Pureblood and instead hurried along while exchanging hushed whispers. He scoffed at their reaction and kicked a small rock on the pathway aside.

 

In the past he would have enjoyed the sense of fear that settled within those around him whenever he was near but nowadays it bothered him. It was only further emphasis of the fact he didn’t belong anywhere anymore. The Republic, though they’d awarded him a medal, despised him still. The Jedi condoned his presence but kept him under close watch whenever he set foot on their hallowed grounds. The Empire had placed a bounty on his head not only for his betrayal but for the murder on their Emperor.

 

“There’s no shame in redemption--the Light will offer peace and mend your soul.”

 

He scoffed again as he recalled the words Grand Master Satele had spoken to him last they met. Who was she to presume his sense of shame, to pretend she understood the suffering he’d endured for hundreds of years? His soul and body were fine, his heart still beat in his chest and it was merely the rest of him that had gone missing.

 

Lord Scourge turned the corner and for a moment his train of thought was interrupted by the cries of a child nearby. He looked up ahead to see a group of Flesh Raiders surround two younglings, the drool slobbering down their ugly faces at the sight of their prey.

 

“Mmm interesting..”

 

He leapt forward and scooped both younglings up under his arm while with his other hand he’d drawn his sword and held it out to keep the raiders at bay. They hissed and snarled at the Sith as they closed in on him from all angles, their own weapons at the ready.

 

Seeing little means to get the children to safety first, Lord Scourge tightened his grip on them and dug his heels deep into the gravel path beneath his feet. One of the raiders charged at him from behind, a ferocious growl escaping its hideous mouth and Lord Scourge spun around in time to impale the attacker with his blade. Then the rest of the pack charged at him.

 

Lord Scourge channeled his rage and roared in anger, he’d been thirsting for a good fight and vigorously swung his sword around as the blade sliced through one Flesh Raider after the other. A set of teeth pierced his shoulder when one of the raiders latched onto him and he reached back to grab the piece of filth by the throat. He hurled the raider back into the nearest tree before driving the sharp end of his sword into another. One of the last raiders left standing took one look at his defeated allies and scurried off, too slowly though as Lord Scourge aimed his weapon and threw it, instantly decapitating the coward.

 

When all was said and done he looked around at the pile of bodies he’d amassed. His boots were drenched in blood and the rest of his armor was covered in splatters. It wasn’t until he put the younglings back down on their feet that he noticed they too had been showered in the blood of their assailants but only one of them seemed bothered by it. The little blonde boy stood back and wailed loudly while his friend, a little brown haired girl instead lunged forward and clung onto Lord Scourge’s leg refusing to let go.

 

“By the stars.. what happened here?” a Togruta woman that Lord Scourge had come to know as Bela Kiwiiks gasped as she and several others arrived on the scene.

 

“Explain yourself Sith!” Kaedan demanded and immediately ignited his lightsaber.

 

Lord Scourge gave the man a cold stare as he reached down and tried to pry the little girl’s arms free of his leg. She didn’t like it and continued to latch right back onto him each time.

 

“The Red Man saved us from the monsters, they were going to eat me and Paulus!” she exclaimed dramatically and looked at the Masters “He’s my hero!”

 

Her blue eyes then fluttered up at Lord Scourge and though her cheeks were still covered in bloody specks, she smiled brightly “I want to be just like you when I get bigger Master.”

 

Bela Kiwiiks rushed over to collect the little boy in her arms and Jaric Kaedan stepped in to pry the girl away from Lord Scourge “That man is no hero Sierra, he’s not even Jedi.”

 

Arielle who too had arrived on the scene along with the other Masters and joined by Satele Shan now stepped in “He’s the very definition of a hero Kaedan. I don’t even wish to imagine what would have happened to these children if Lord Scourge hadn’t been here to protect them.”

 

Lord Scourge glanced her way. He hadn’t even noticed her presence until she’d spoken up but she looked at him with pride and gave a tender smile.

 

“To commit such gruesome slaughter in the presence of children is not heroic. It’s unspeakable and vile.” Jaric Kaedan spat ignorantly as Sierra struggled in his arms, her hands reaching for Lord Scourge over Kaedan’s shoulder.

 

“What’s unspeakable is the fact that these two younglings were all the way out here all by themselves with no one to watch over them and rather than scold Lord Scourge, you should focus your efforts on making sure that’ll never happen again.”

 

“Master Arielle you are biased and out of line.”

 

“Hardly. I’m showing support for one of my crew because your own prejudice has you chastise him like some criminal. He’s not.”

 

“She is right Master Kaedan. These children should have never been able to stray so far from the temple grounds.” Satele Shan cut in “Lord Scourge did us a great service by ensuring their safety albeit through unconventional means and he has our gratitude.”

 

Arielle smirked at Master Kaedan who threw her a foul glare and stomped off alongside Bela Kiwiiks to take the children back to the temple.

 

“Bye Red Man I will never forget you!” Sierra called out and happily waved at Lord Scourge, something that caused Arielle to chuckle quietly.

 

“I will send some droids to deal with this..” Satele looked around at the collection of bodies and limbs and cleared her throat “mess. And I’d like to see you both in my chambers after you get yourself cleaned up.”

 

They watched as she too took her leave of scene and then Arielle turned to Lord Scourge, her hand reaching out to wipe some blood from his face and tendrils.

 

“I don’t care what the rest of them have to say, you did the right thing. The only thing you could do.”

 

“It makes no difference. In their eyes I’m every bit the monster and filth as these Flesh Raiders.”

 

“Not to all. You’ve got a new fan in little Sierra and she’s not the only one” Arielle’s eyes twinkled up at him “Now let’s go get you cleaned up, Red Man.”

Edited April 1, 2016 by JennyFlynn

Awesome chapter. Scourge the hero I totally agree, he's a hero and the children were lucky he was close by. I always hated Master Kaeden and you managed to capture him perfectly. You'd think he'd be a bit more grateful. I do have one little thing, not to be a nitpick, but I think you may have meant, 'ceased' instead of 'seized' when referring to the giggling padawans passing by Scourge.

 

I also loved the breakfast scene when Doc was sharing the caf around and prying into Arielle's evening. The fairytale legend, is also cool, the way you're weaving it into the story. I'm really enjoying this, I look forward to more!

Awesome chapter. Scourge the hero I totally agree, he's a hero and the children were lucky he was close by. I always hated Master Kaeden and you managed to capture him perfectly. You'd think he'd be a bit more grateful. I do have one little thing, not to be a nitpick, but I think you may have meant, 'ceased' instead of 'seized' when referring to the giggling padawans passing by Scourge.

 

I also loved the breakfast scene when Doc was sharing the caf around and prying into Arielle's evening. The fairytale legend, is also cool, the way you're weaving it into the story. I'm really enjoying this, I look forward to more!

 

Woops! Yep I totally did mean ceased and fixed it! Thanks for noticing that, my brain often travels faster than my fingers and mistakes slip in.

 

Kaedan's always irked me, even in-game so he sort of naturally became a jerk when I was writing lol.

 

Thank you for your feedback, as always it's much appreciated!

 

“You don’t have to stay and help--I do know how to wash the blood off my armor, I’ve done it many a times before.”

 

Arielle quickly glanced up at him but turned away at the sight of his bare chest “I don’t mind, anything to stall this meeting with Satele right?”

 

“There are more entertaining means of stalling time… ”

 

The direction in which her eyes had travelled hadn’t gone unnoticed to him and he casually approached her before placing his upper body armor on the laundry table. Arielle tried hard to ignore him but a shiver ran along her spine as his arm graced her own when he reached for the cleaning solution.

 

“This is entertaining enough for me” she muttered her words while scrubbing the blood stains from his boots and suddenly feeling extremely grateful for their detailed design that required her full attention.

 

Lord Scourge finished with his chest piece and lay it out to dry before he turned around and began to unzip. He stripped down his leather pants before rejoining her at the table again and purposely shifting the clothing item into her view. Arielle half froze when she noticed.

 

“Really? You couldn’t wait until I was gone?”

 

“You wanted to help right?” the amusement in his tone of voice was evident.

 

She turned away from him and set the pair of boots aside “I’m done here. I’ll see you outside.”

 

He smirked and barred her way as she headed for the door “Keep me company instead?”

 

“Stop. Just stop this” Arielle shook her head and gestured her hand at his entire posture “thing you’re trying to do. I’m not interested and I honestly don’t understand why you even bother. You can’t act on it and I don’t want to.”

 

“I do it because I know you’re lying” he leaned back against the door and folded his arms “What’s more, I’m trying to open you up to something you’re missing out on.”

 

“I’m perfectly happy with my life as it is and I don’t need you telling me what I should and shouldn’t want.”

 

“You don’t even know what you’re saying no to, what you’re so blindly giving up on.” Lord Scourge gave her a stern look and refused to budge even though she tried pushing him aside.

 

“I had love once and I had passion in my life, a lot of it. I never appreciated it fully until those things were taken away from me which is why I find it almost offensive that you’d so ignorantly turn your back on it.”

 

“So you’ve decided to make it your life’s mission to tempt me at every turn and take advantage each time I allow myself to get close to you?”

 

“If that’s what it will take to awaken you, yes.”

 

“Well there’s only one problem with that plan Scourge” she stepped dangerously close to him and stared up into his eyes “You never considered the consequences of what would happen if you did manage to awaken those feelings inside of me.”

 

She actually looked a little angry and he frowned at her words feeling confused. In the split second he dropped his guard, Arielle shoved him aside and yanked the door open. He thought for a moment and watched as she began to walk off.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Forget it!” she hollered back at him without looking or stopping and carried on up the stairs back towards the welcoming center inside the temple.

 

As far as Lord Scourge was concerned, the conversation wasn’t near over yet but he didn’t exactly feel like chasing after her through the temple in nothing but his boxers. He mulled her words over in his head while he worked to quickly finish drying his armor and boots but still he couldn’t understand what she’d meant.

 

Arielle turned the corner quickly but as she reached Satele’s chambers, she hesitated. She’d never truly mastered shielding her thoughts and emotions off from others and the last thing she needed right now was for the Grand Master to get even the tiniest peek at the many things that flooded through her mind. Instead she turned around quickly and rushed outside, not stopping until she reached the shallow little river on the way to Kalikori village.

 

The waterside had always been her go-to spot whenever her mind was troubled. She enjoyed the sense of peace it brought her and in a way she envied it. Water, as far as she was concerned, was strong and free. It would flow wherever it wanted and fight it’s way through most any obstacle in the way.

 

“Arielle, is that truly you?”

 

She spun around only to face a woman she barely recognized or remembered “It is.. I’m sorry it must have been a while, I don’t recall-”

 

“It’s Moracen. We met a few years back, many years back really when we were both still Padawans” the woman tried jogging her memory “You caught me and my husband together out by the ruins?”

 

Her eyes widened as the events suddenly came rushing back to her and she smiled “Of course. Your Masters sent me to spy on you both and, wow. Husband, really?”

 

Moracen grinned and reached underneath the collar of her robes to show off the necklace from which her wedding ring dangled “It’s very secretive and hush hush still but yes, husband these days. It’s good to see you.”

 

“It’s wonderful to see you as well and so happy I mean, congratulations.” Arielle thought for a moment and looked over her appearance once more “And you’re still Jedi?”

 

“We both are although our work hasn’t been half as exciting as yours. A few in the Order are aware of our involvement or suspect it at least but they haven’t really said anything about it, not since our former Masters gave us both an earful.”

 

Arielle sank to her knees and sat down in the grass “Unbelievable.. I mean obviously I’m happy for you but I just always thought any member caught having a romantic involvement would instantly get kicked out of the Order.”

 

“That’s what they want you to believe so you won’t even consider it” Moracen giggled and followed her example as she sat down too.

 

“Thing is, there’s quite a few here and there who are either happily married or simply in love. I believe you know at least two of them? Leeha Narezz and Jomar Chul? I met them shortly after you freed Leeha from the Emperor’s control.”

 

“Yeah I know about them both.. I guess it’s a little more common than I’d realized but still.”

 

“Mm, I’ve been getting the feeling that it’s sort of okay as long as nobody openly talks about it and you don’t advertise it.” Moracen threw her a sideways glance and caught the pensive expression on her face “So what about you then?”

 

“Me? In a relationship you mean?” Arielle chuckled quietly and shook her head “Not really happening.”

 

“Not even with that man over there?” Moracen pointed across the river at Doc who stood leaning against the bridge watching them both.

 

Arielle started laughing and waved him over “Not in a million years.”

 

“Hey ladies! Sorry I didn’t want to interrupt your little chat.” Doc smirked as he joined them closely followed by Teeseven and then stuck his hand out at Moracen.

 

“I’m Doc and what’s your name beautiful?”

 

“Moracen and she’s married.” Arielle answered in her stead and pulled a face at him.

 

“A married Jedi huh?” he raised a brow as she took his hand “You’ll have to convince Arielle here that it’s not as sinful as she believes it to be.”

 

“I never said it was sinful!” she argued and quickly changed the subject when she turned to Moracen “Doc is one of my crew members and on the extremely rare occasion a bit of a medical genius. He just helped a few of the refugees up ahead in the Twi’lek settlement.”

 

“Hey now, I’m always a medical genius alright?”

 

“Well it’s a pleasure meeting you Doc, how’s Ranna Tao’Ven?”

 

“They’re handling things best as they can, just a flu virus going around right now. I gave them something to bring the fever down but we’ll have to see if it has any effect.”

 

As they carried on their conversation, Arielle slowly tuned them out and turned her gaze back to the sparkling water before her. She’d never realized or considered that she now knew the secret of two couples within the Jedi Order and it made her question just how many others out there were as free and open minded as Moracen. She knew Kira had on several occasions brought a guy back to the ship but never one she was likely to ever see again and she had after all been raised as Sith first.

 

She got up and dust off her pants “I’d best head inside, Satele asked to see me and I should have been at her chambers already.”

 

Moracen pulled her into a surprising hug and smiled “Keep in touch this time will you? I’m sure Spanios would love to see you again too.”

 

She promised she would and then quickly said her goodbyes before heading back to the temple where Lord Scourge was already waiting for her at the top of the steps.

 

“Took you long enough Jedi.”

 

She shrugged as she strode past him “You could have gone in without me.”

 

“And face Satele Shan alone? I don’t think so.”

 

Arielle snorted and hurried aside with Lord Scourge following in her shadow. He never liked having to speak to the Grand Master and a part of her couldn’t blame him, she always felt uncomfortable in Satele’s presence as well though she did like her.

 

“Come on in you two, have a seat.” Satele welcomed them both to her office and indicated at the chairs by her desk “I won’t keep you long, I just wish to see how you’ve been since we last spoke.”

 

“We’ve been good I’d say, doing the odd job here and there. Stopped a crazy Sith from declaring himself as the new Emperor. Never a dull moment.” Arielle fixed a smile on her face as she sat down.

 

“I’d heard about that, glad he’s been dealt with. And what about you Lord Scourge? You’re obviously still working closely with Arielle, have you changed your mind about becoming Jedi?”

 

“No.”

 

“I see.” Satele sighed and thought for a moment “Might I ask, and this isn’t to say we want you gone, but what are your intentions if you do not wish to be Jedi yet cannot go home to the Sith?”

 

A silent growl lingered in his throat, he didn’t care for these type of questions at all “I pledged my loyalty to Arielle and I will remain at her side until she tells me otherwise.”

 

“Is this a problem Grand Master? I mean he’s been doing fine, we even managed to get him his own apartment on Coruscant.” Arielle chimed in hoping to pull Satele’s attention away from him.

 

“No, there’s no problem. I was simply curious but if everything’s working out for you both then I see no issue here. In fact..” she paused for a moment and reached for something in her drawers “I was meant to give you this.”

 

Lord Scourge took the piece of paper she handed him and frowned. Drawn on the blank sheet with the reddest kind of coloring was a large almost demonic looking figure with a bright smile and a giant sword and at the very bottom left corner was a small ‘S’.

 

Arielle glanced over to take a look as well and started chuckling “From his number one fan?”

 

Satele nodded “She refused to even allow Master Kiwiiks to give her a bath until she’d finished that drawing..”

 

Lord Scourge rolled the drawing up and slid it inside the inner pocket of his jacket. He didn’t know exactly how to respond but he assumed some form of politeness was expected “Send her my thanks.”

 

“I will and regarding the incident, though you still have my gratitude, I am inclined to request that in the future should anything of the sort happen again you resort to disabling methods only.”

 

“Death is a form of disabling” he commented dryly “But I see your point and will take it under advisement.”

 

Satele didn’t seem too amused by his comment and grimaced as she got up “Thank you, it’s all I could ask for. Now there’s one final matter and then I’ll let you both go--Supreme Chancellor Saresh has requested your assistance.”

I love your Scourge, he's such a roguish devil I just love how he gets at Satele. It's adorable that he has a little fan too, it's cute. Best of all though, is the tension between him and Arielle. I really enjoyed their exchange, and how she managed to make him question and think. Doc was fun too, and I'm really amazed by the friendship with Moracen (she always irritated me lol). I suspect Moracen might do more at corrupting Arielle than Scourge lol. Really enjoying this! Keep it up

I love your Scourge, he's such a roguish devil I just love how he gets at Satele. It's adorable that he has a little fan too, it's cute. Best of all though, is the tension between him and Arielle. I really enjoyed their exchange, and how she managed to make him question and think. Doc was fun too, and I'm really amazed by the friendship with Moracen (she always irritated me lol). I suspect Moracen might do more at corrupting Arielle than Scourge lol. Really enjoying this! Keep it up

 

I imagine Moracen to have matured somewhat over the past.. 5-6'ish years or something I believe it is? I wanted a Jedi who's known to be in a relationship to share her point of view but didn't want to reach to the more obvious choice of Leeha. It was also a minor reach back to the JK's 'roots' from her first time on Tython.

 

And thank you as always!

 

 

Once back on the Defender, Arielle opened the door to her private quarters before tossing her backpack onto the bed and kicking her boots off by the door. She shirked out of her outer robes and hung them loosely over the chair by her desk before checking her reflection and pulling the clip that held her hair up in a bundle.

 

“Ari are you up for a nightcap?” she heard Doc yell from the kitchen and lounge area “Kira’s helped herself to one of Kaedan’s bottles of Alderaanian goodness!”

 

Arielle chuckled quietly, of course she had “I’ll be there in a minute!”

 

She pulled the little data key, to which she’d downloaded her findings in the library, out of her pocket and tucked it away in one of the drawers of her desk along with her datapad before making her way towards the sounds of giggles and laughter that had begun to fill the ship.

 

“So we’re stealing from our Masters now are we?” she quipped cheerfully and joined her friends at the mini bar.

 

Kira gave a casual shrug and grinned “He’s got more than he could ever count. I’m sure the man is a secret boozer.”

 

“Hey I approve, this stuff isn’t half bad” Doc took a swig from the fine liquid and let out an overly exaggerated moan of delight “So what’s this thing Saresh needs us for? I’d hoped for more days off.”

 

“I don’t have the details really, just that we’re expected on Makeb but you’re free to take some time to yourself if you need it. You know that.” Arielle offered as she searched the cupboards for a clean glass.

 

“And leave you on a strange planet without my medical superiority? I wouldn’t dream of it.”

 

“Are you implying I tend to need your medical superiority?”

 

Doc gave her a sheepish grin and quickly turned his attention back to his drink. Truth of the matter was she’d only ever once needed his skills as a doctor and that had been for a simple case of the flu.

 

“I could do with some time off actually, if you wouldn’t mind Master Jedi.” Sergeant Rusk piped up “There’s some things concerning my former team that I’d like to discuss with General Garza on Coruscant.”

 

“However long you need Rusk” she smiled gently and began pouring herself some wine “I hope it’s nothing too bad?”

 

“I’ll find out when I get there--thank you.”

 

“It’s fine, we’ll drop you off on Coruscant tomorrow. I’d like to pop by there anyways and resupply before we head for Makeb.”

 

“I wonder what business the Republic could have on a planet like Makeb. I looked it up, it’s some fancy holiday resort place. Nothing like the type of dives we’re usually sent to.” Kira mused and a happy twinkle formed in her eyes “Perhaps we’re all being rewarded some classy vacation for our services!”

 

Arielle snorted and quickly moved the glass of wine away from her lips “I highly doubt that--we’re Jedi remember? We’re not supposed to care about such things.”

 

“And yet Saresh got us VIP access to that new club on Coruscant. What was it again, Onyx whatever something.. I forget the name but I remember the guys.”

 

“You’re in rare form tonight” she tried hard to sound disapproving but failed miserably “I’m gonna head to bed. You guys take it easy on the rest of that bottle, we’re starting bright and early tomorrow.”

 

Arielle hopped off her stool and put her now empty glass away in the sink before heading back to her private quarters. She’d barely set foot inside when Lord Scourge, as she’d expected, came knocking having quietly waited for her to take her leave of the others.

 

“Not tonight Scourge, I really need some sleep.”

 

“I won’t be long. I just wanted to ask--your search in the library, did it bear any fruit?”

 

She raised a brow at him and folded her arms “I thought you opposed to me looking into a cure?”

 

“I’ve considered your arguments from the other night” he admitted in a soft tone “and what I told you months ago still holds true so if you honestly believe there’s a chance then I’d like to find it.”

 

“Mmm good.” Arielle began fluffing her pillows before shoving them in the right place “In that case you’ll be happy to know our trip to Makeb has a second purpose. From what I’ve been able to gather, Makeb is likely the planet on which the story I told you of took place. The description fits.”

 

“So our meeting with Saresh is just an excuse?”

 

“A convenient coincidence actually but I’ll take it. Hopefully whatever Saresh wants from us won’t take up too much of our time.”

 

He stood leaning against the doorway as he watched her finish making the bed before pulling the sheets straight and considered for a moment what an odd ritual that was right before going to sleep but then shook it from his mind.

 

“Your comment earlier today..”

 

“Is not something I’m going to discuss Scourge, not right now.”

 

“Okay..” he could sense something was different between them but didn’t understand why “Have I done something to upset you?”

 

Arielle looked up at him and sighed as she crawled into bed “No, it’s not you I’m just, tired.”

 

“Alright.. I’ll leave you alone.” he flicked off the lights in her room and turned away “Good night Jedi.”

 

A sense of guilt overcame her as she watched the door close slowly but she urged herself to say nothing and instead try to cast it from her mind. Every quiet moment she’d had in the past few days she’d spent thinking about her bond with him and through it all one thing had become glaringly obvious to her--she’d begun to like him a lot more than she wanted to or felt comfortable admitting to.

 

They arrived on Coruscant early the next day and after resupplying their food and medical stock and waving Sergeant Rusk off, they’d quickly moved on to head for the Space Station above Makeb where Arielle had met with Supreme Chancellor Saresh. To her great displeasure the situation on Makeb would require more of her attention than she’d initially thought but she was certain that barring any other complications, she’d still have plenty opportunity to chase after the gem as planned.

 

After meeting with their local contact Shalim Avesta at his base, Doc stayed behind with Teeseven while Kira, Lord Scourge and Arielle set out to track down Shalim’s missing niece.

 

“How do we always end up playing hide and seek with someone else’s family members? Can no one look after themselves these days?” Kira muttered and grabbed onto Arielle’s arm as another quaking hit the planet.

 

“It’s what we signed up for remember? Help the people of Makeb and bring them into the Republic.”

 

“Defeat the Hutts and send their slimy remains back to Hutta.” Lord Scourge added in a surprisingly cheerful tone and Kira snorted.

 

“Yeah..” Arielle frowned his way “That too I suppose.”

 

“So where was this Limbo girl last seen?” Kira climbed to the top of the road and shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand as she looked on across Makeb’s landscape.

 

“Lemda and the last readings she transmitted back to base were recorded just up ahead.”

 

Arielle paused and reached into her backpack for her water bottle and datapad. So far she’d been making notes on every area they’d travelled through to get a better idea of the planet’s layout while marking any location that appeared to have a cave entrance.

 

“We’ve got trouble incoming.” Lord Scourge folded his arms and gestured his head towards the Imperial guards he’d spotted.

 

Arielle crouched down against the edge of the ridge they were on and signaled for Lord Scourge and Kira to do the same “What’s the Empire doing here?” she whispered quietly.

 

“I don’t know but that woman over there” Lord Scourge slid closer to her and pointed at a darkly clad redhead that led the charge “is Darth Nox. From what I’ve heard in rumors she’s the newest member of the Dark Council.”

 

“You’re still in touch with your Imperial buddies Scourge?” Kira frowned in hushed tones as the group drew nearer and now passed by just underneath the ridge.

 

“I never had buddies, just those who owe me for their continued miserable existence.” he retorted and ducked quickly when one of the guards glanced up “They’ve kept me well informed over the past few months.”

 

“Stop!” they heard Darth Nox order and Arielle cringed “I sense other Force users nearby--show yourselves!”

 

Arielle took one look at the other two and vehemently shook her head, urging them to stay down. The last thing she wanted was for the Empire to know they were there and she especially didn’t feel like a confrontation with any kind of Darth, even if the odds seemed in their favor. Her efforts had little effect though as Lord Scourge rose to his feet and jumped down.

 

“You there, Pureblood. You’re not alone, where are your friends?” Darth Nox inquired and already readied her weapon.

 

“Friends?” he feigned ignorance “I’m just out here with a special lady enjoying the leisures this planet has to offer.”

 

Darth Nox scoffed “Don’t play me for a fool. I’m a member of the Dark Council and you will submit and answer my questions. Bring her out.”

 

“And what sort of foolish upbringing did you suffer that you honestly think you can make any sort of demands to me?” he threatened as his anger suddenly rose and he approached her slowly, his hand already on the hilt of his sword.

 

He eyed the woman and recalled the little he knew of her “I can smell the stench of slavery all over you.”

 

“What in the seven hells is he doing?!” Kira hissed at Arielle as the two remained hidden.

 

“Testing the limits of his immortality..” Arielle groaned and prepared herself for the fight that was no doubt about to take place.

 

Darth Nox, insulted and enraged by his remark, raised her hand and splayed her fingers before sending a massive wave of pure purple lightning his way “You’ll suffer for that!”

 

A smirk crept upon Lord Scourge’s face as he gathered his strengths and faced the assault she sent his way, resisting as he slowly pushed his feet forward and continued to approach her “Is that all you’ve got?”

 

“No, I will bring you down to your knees Pureblood.” she retorted and commanded the guards at her side “Take aim!”

 

At the sound of her command, Arielle couldn’t help but jump up and join him and Lord Scourge threw her a disapproving look while Darth Nox watched her with a keen eye. It didn’t take her long to recognize the Jedi from the many holo images that had circulated through previous Dark Council meetings and suddenly she knew exactly who she facing.

 

“My my look at this.. the Jedi who struck down our Emperor which makes you” she turned her attention to Lord Scourge and grinned wickedly “the former Wrath, traitor to the Empire.”

 

She twirled around with joy and clapped her hands together “Oh this is just perfect. The Dark Council’s gonna love me for bringing you both in.. Take them alive!”

 

Now Kira leaped down too and joined at their side with her saber staff ready as the three of them faced the dozen or so guards with Darth Nox “Well let’s dance then shall we?”

Another fun read! Thank you! I'm eager to see how this fight with Nox and her men works out. And, I also wish to thank you again for your special hello. I had a hard time, tearing my eyes away from that to get any work done lol. <3

Another fun read! Thank you! I'm eager to see how this fight with Nox and her men works out. And, I also wish to thank you again for your special hello. I had a hard time, tearing my eyes away from that to get any work done lol. <3

Hahahaha!! Yeah I was doing some boredom Googling and found that among fan art, couldn't resist sharing.

Note: I apologize in advance for the 'fight scene', it's not exactly my strong suit and I'm still learning as I go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the core of Makeb shook violently once more, the sounds of gunshots and clashing blades rang through the air like thunder. Arielle found herself quickly surrounded by several Imperial guards and repeatedly danced out of the way to avoid their shots. Her lightsaber struck one of them in his gut before she elbowed the next guard in his face and sent him tumbling back. She looked over to Lord Scourge who gave her a quick nod and the two rolled across swapping positions while Kira focussed on another twosome off to the side.

 

“You know I could have easily done this alone right?” Lord Scourge hollered over his shoulder and swung his blade down violently at a guard to his left separating his head from his body.

 

Arielle grinned and called back to him as she faced Darth Nox “But where’s the fun in that?”

 

“You’re both mad!” Kira shouted and knocked another guard unconscious with her saberstaff.

 

“And soon you’ll all be dead! Come on Jedi show me your moves!” Darth Nox challenged and gathered the Dark Force around her before throwing an endless volley of lightning in Arielle’s direction.

 

She caught the energies on her lightsabers and began pushing back, effectively closing the distance between herself and the Darth until she was a mere few inches away from her “I took down your Emperor, do you honestly think you can do better than he did?”

 

The vigor that suddenly washed over her was intoxicating and before Darth Nox could ever respond, Arielle spun around and struck her hard with both of her blades destroying the barrier that had protected her opponent thus far. She took another swing at the woman and smirked at the face that paled before her when her weapon cut through Darth Nox’s fine armor and revealed a large gash across her arm.

 

“Oh you’ll pay for that you little-” Darth Nox growled furiously and threw her hand up to knock Arielle far back, sending her hurling against a nearby rock formation.

 

Arielle groaned, feeling a sharp sting across her lower back but only for a moment until she scrambled up to her feet, her tongue tasting the blood that seeped from the corner of her mouth and it only served to fuel her further “That was cute Nox but you’ll have to do a lot better than that to bring me down!”

 

Lord Scourge spun around fast and in the process ran his sword through two more Imperial guards before he looked Arielle’s way. For just the briefest moment he observed her fight and found himself surprised though pleasantly so at the manner in which she spoke to the Darth and fought her off. He’d never seen her take on such an attitude before.

 

Darth Nox cried out as Arielle leaped forward to her position and swiped at her legs, just barely missing though it brought the Darth off balance and she stumbled back “I’m gonna enjoy killing you Jedi.”

 

“Yeah?” Arielle gloated and looked around at the collection of death and disabled Imperials “You and what army?”

 

Darth Nox now looked around and to her horror discovered she was the only one left standing at this point while Lord Scourge and Kira knocked out the last remaining soldier “I don’t need them!” she hissed angrily.

 

“As you wish.” Arielle shrugged and steadied her footing before raising her lightsaber at the woman once more and taking a swing at her head.

 

Darth Nox raised her own weapon and caught the strike on her blade as the two began pushing back against one another digging their heels into the dirt. Through channeling the Dark Force, Darth Nox momentarily gained the upper hand and began shoving Arielle back until the latter spun her second lightsaber around in her free hand and used it to take another jab at her opponent.

 

She successfully sliced Darth Nox across the stomach leaving a searing cut and shoved her back against the ground once more “You can’t win this Nox, leave. Leave now before I’m forced to send you back to your Dark Council in a body bag.”

 

“Arielle!” Kira gasped in shock at her words as she watched the scene before her.

 

“What? I’m giving her a choice, I haven’t struck yet.” Arielle turned to her and gave half a careless shrug.

 

In the momentary distraction, Darth Nox climbed back to her feet and gathered whichever strength she had left within her before sending out a powerful and massive wave of power. The force of the blow knocked all three of her enemies back and dazed them just long enough for her to make her escape and by the time Lord Scourge regained his senses, she was gone having disappeared from sight entirely.

 

Arielle frowned and looked around as well “I literally gave her the chance to walk away and leave and yet she had to go and pull the vanishing act theatrics.” she muttered dusting off her clothes.

 

“Are you sure about that? Because you looked like you were about to kill her.” Kira pointed out visibly unamused when she joined her Master’s side.

 

“I wouldn’t really have killed her.”

 

“You should have.” Lord Scourge cut in “Now she’ll inform the Empire of our presence here and they might come to take advantage of the situation.”

 

“I doubt that” Arielle considered as she read over the scroll that she’d taken from Darth Nox during their fight and smiled brightly before handing it over to Lord Scourge “Check this out, seems like she was here on personal business.”

 

He took the aged piece of parchment from her and looked it over before a faint smile crept upon his face as well “Thank you Darth Nox.”

 

“Why, what did she do? What’s on there?” Kira felt entirely confused and reached to snatch it from his hands but he pulled back “Come on, share!”

 

“If it concerned you, we’d tell you. Alas it does not.”

 

“Seriously?” she spun around to Arielle “Is he serious?”

 

“I’ll explain later, promise.”

 

“Yeah you’d better, I’m getting sick of this weird behavior between you two.” Kira muttered mostly to herself.

 

Arielle ignored her comment as she turned back towards the ledge and grabbed onto a nearby tree branch to pull herself up so she could climb back to the edge they’d jumped down from earlier and retrieve their equipment. The moment she did though she felt a sharp sting shooting through her lower back once more and winced over in pain.

 

“What’s wrong Jedi?” Lord Scourge frowned as he came up behind her.

 

It wasn’t until then that any of them noticed the torn back of her shirt nor the blood seeping out from it. Lord Scourge grabbed the hem of her top to pull it up slightly and revealed a large gaping wound along her lower back and left hip.

 

“And when were you going to tell us you were injured?” he scolded while turning her around to face him.

 

“The moment I’m one second away from dying” she snarked and rolled her eyes “I didn’t know how bad it was, I barely felt it at first.”

 

“It must have happened when Nox threw you back into those rocks, judging by the dirt among the blood on your clothes.” Kira noted and shook her head.

 

“You should probably head back to the plantation and have Doc look it over.”

 

“We can do that later. It doesn’t hurt too bad and I can manage until after we find Lemda.”

 

Lord Scourge raise a brow and casually reached out his hand pressing his index finger against the bare skin directly surrounding her injury causing her to wince once more as tears sprang into her eyes.

 

“Doesn’t hurt huh?”

 

Arielle shot him an angry glare “It wouldn’t if you didn’t poke at it.”

 

“Just head back to the plantation, Scourge and I can handle things from here.” Kira suggested as she climbed up the ledge herself before helping Arielle get up there as well.

 

“I’ll comm Doc and let him know you’re on your way.”

 

“Fine” Arielle resentfully gave in “But keep an eye out for Nox, she might still be lurking around somewhere.”

 

“If she is I’ll finish what I started.” Lord Scourge noted and took the backpacks Kira handed to him before he slung them over his shoulder.

 

Arielle sighed and grabbed her own gear before wishing them luck and taking off back to the shuttles. She hadn’t wanted to admit it but every step she took hurt as the pain shot through her entire lower back and she was grateful when she finally got into the shuttle which soon after landed at the plantation where Doc was already waiting for her.

 

“Now aren’t you glad I came with you after all” he smirked and reached his hand out to help her climb out of the vehicle.

 

“Funny” she muttered as the two walked up to the medical center “It’s not so bad, just throw some kolto on there and I’ll be as good as new.”

 

“Oh you’re a doctor now too?”

 

“Yep, graduated with honors within the two hours since you last saw me.”

 

Doc laughed and held on to her to offer support until they made their way inside and Arielle hopped onto the exam table.

 

“Would you mind lifting your shirt up a little and inching the waistband of your uh, pants down some?” half a blush crept onto his cheeks as he asked “I can’t really see the full extend of your injury otherwise..”

 

The apologetic and slightly uncomfortable look on his face elicited a small chuckle from her as she obliged and then lay down on her right side while Doc adjusted the overhead lamp to get a better look.

 

“So Miss, do you go for a tumble with the rocks often or was today just a one off special?” he joked trying to keep the mood light and comfortable as he began cleaning her wound out.

 

“Nah it’s all part of my new training regiment really. Tomorrow is fire so be prepared.”

 

Doc snorted and reached for the bottle of kolto next to him before he carried on in a more serious tone “You know you’re lucky? Judging by this cut and the way it grazed your side, you could have been impaled had you fallen in a slightly different angle.”

 

“I wouldn’t exactly call it falling as much as flying but I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

 

The pain that had been nagging away at her began to subside slowly underneath Doc’s gentle touch and Arielle relaxed herself, her mind drifting off to recall earlier events and the scroll she’d found. A slight smile spread across her face at the thought of being one step closer to curing Lord Scourge.

 

“I’m almost done babe..” he mumbled quietly and began stitching up the largest cut along her side.

 

“Hey Doc?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“What’s love like?”

 

He frowned at the unexpected question that suddenly escaped her lips and thought for a moment “You mean the love for family and friends or..?”

 

“No I mean true love between two people. I know you’re kind of an everybodies’ man but, have you ever had it? What’s it like?”

 

“I’m not certain that I’ve ever experienced true love to be honest. I’ve loved some of the women I’ve been with, I almost married one of them. It’s a sensational feeling like you can handle everything and anything the world throws at you as long as that person’s by your side. You’d do anything to see them smile and that smile.. it will fill your heart with joys unlike any other.” he mused as he finished the last of her stitches and applied a kolto patch to her hip to seal the wound off.

 

“At least, that’s how I’ve experienced love so far. If that made it true, who knows?”

 

He rose to his feet and helped her sit back up “Why do you ask? Did Moracen’s situation pique your curiosity or is there someone..”

 

“No nothing like that” she abruptly cut him off and flustered slightly “I was just curious..”

 

“Well that’s a shame, he’d be one lucky man.”

 

She chuckled quietly and shook her head deciding to not say anything else on the matter.

That Doc, he's such a charmer. I do enjoy him as well. And that wily Nox, that was quite a fight they had there. Looking forward to the next part! Good stuff.

 

 

“So basically from what we could gather, this entire planet is falling apart and we need to get people out of here. The Ark is the best solution we’ve got.”

 

Kira busied herself relaying everything she and Lord Scourge had discovered after rescuing Lemda Avesta from the shelter she was holed up in. It turned out that the Hutts’ constant drilling into the planet’s core to harvest Isotope-5 had actually destabilized the planet so badly it was about to collapse entirely.

 

Arielle gave her a look of concern before her eyes darted to Lord Scourge’s who mirrored her own feelings.

 

“Don’t worry though, we’ll find a way to save everybody.” Kira promised and tried on a reassuring smile as she took her hand “And when we do we’ll come pick you up here. Just take it easy for now.”

 

“I’m doing better and we’ve got work to do.”

 

She pushed herself up from the cot she’d been napping on but Doc rushed to her side and stopped her “Slow down, I’m the doctor here remember?”

 

“Yes you are and I’m glad you were here to patch me up but now that you’ve done that, I need to get back out there okay?”

 

A slight sense of panic started to take root inside of her as she realized that should the planet blow, the chance of finding Lord Scourge’s cure would blow up along with it possibly destroying his only chance.

 

“I’ve got to go Doc.”

 

He shook his head and gave her a worried look “I don’t see why you’re getting so worked up when Scourge and Kira have a handle on things.”

 

“That’s not…” she sighed deeply and buried her face in her hands, unsure of how to explain it to them or if she even wanted to.

 

“Is this about that stupid scroll you got from Nox?” Kira chimed in and gave her a questioning look.

 

“It is.” Lord Scourge decided and nodded at Arielle as he realized they would have a better chance if they told the rest of the crew the truth.

 

“There’s a story.. a very old story. That story tells the tale of Caerna, an ancient sorceress who placed a curse on her former lover and his fiancée.” Arielle began explaining as she hopped out of bed and tried walking around slowly.

 

“The key to that curse is a gem known as the Gem of Mah’eana which holds the fiancée’s mortality trapped inside. Now we know the gem is right here at the heart of Makeb and the scroll that I took from Nox provides a clear map to its direct location.”

 

“Okay but I don’t see why you’d want this gem? Are you trying to reunite two old lovers? Is that why you asked me about true love?” Doc frowned not understanding for a moment what she was getting at.

 

“No. Breaking the gem and unleashing the mortality inside.. it could, hopefully, cure..”

 

“Scourge. You’re hoping it would cure Lord Scourge.” Kira finished the sentence for her and turned away “That’s the big secrecy from the past weeks isn’t it? Your nightly get togethers? He’s convinced you to cure him.”

 

“Actually,” her eyes shot Kira an annoyed glare as she heard the judgment dripping from her tone of voice “I’ve convinced him to let me find a way to cure him. And why not?”

 

Kira glanced at the Pureblood for a moment and bit her lip, trying to decide whether she should speak her mind or not before taking the plunge “Because he’s Scourge, did you forget that? The man who served the Emperor for over three centuries.”

 

“I mean Arielle, he knew who you were when you met on Quesh and yet he challenged you when we set foot inside the Emperor’s sanctum. He stood by idle as the Emperor brought you and the other Masters down to their knees and warped your minds. As we were captured and caged and then he spent weeks keeping you under close guard, parading you around the fortress like some Sith slave.”

 

She took a deep breath and let out an exasperated sigh “And even once we escaped and he pledged his so called loyalty to you which by the way is rich coming from a man who’s betrayed two of his former allies, he stood there on Dromund Kaas at the Emperor’s shuttle encouraging you to let us die because taking down the Emperor was more important than our lives!”

 

Kira finished her rant as silence fell across the entire room. For a moment, none of them knew what to say though Doc actually made his way over to the visibly upset ginger and pulled her in for a hug. Arielle however felt her anger rise, equal to Lord Scourge’s growing annoyance next to her and it took all of her self restraint not to lash out.

 

“I know exactly who and what he is Kira” she started as calmly as possible “Scourge has done things that… look those things don’t even matter anymore now. The past is the past and I’ve made peace with that and despite all his horrific crimes over the past centuries, he’s also done good.”

 

“And what good is that exactly?” Doc couldn’t help but pitch in, still feeling somewhat resentful towards the Sith that had joined their crew.

 

“Do you think we would have known of the Emperor’s intentions for the galaxy without Scourge? You were there on Belsavis, Voss and Corellia, care to imagine what would have happened if we hadn’t intervened? Do you think I could have stood against the Emperor a second time and this time victorious if it hadn’t been for Scourge’s assistance and guidance?”

 

“That may be so but” Kira took a pause and tried to form her words carefully as she could “I think perhaps, and I can’t believe I’m preaching Jedi platitudes here but.. I think you’ve been getting too close to him and it’s clouding your judgment.”

 

Another deafening silence fell across the room until Lord Scourge, whose anger and annoyance had now peaked, kicked back against the cart that held Doc’s medical equipment and the items clattered loudly across the floor.

 

“You ignorant, ungrateful and foolish child! You have no idea who I am or what I’ve gone through to get where I am today!” he seethed and spat out his words at her “It’s so easy for you to preach!”

 

He fought the urge to lunge at her as he carried on his tirade “The Child of the Emperor redeemed by the noble and precious Jedi Order. You really think you’re in any position to judge me?”

 

“I left that life behind me a very long time ago Scourge. I walked away from it!”

 

“So did I!”

 

“After you tortured and killed how many people for centuries?!”

 

If looks could kill, Kira would have dropped dead on the spot right there and then as Lord Scourge fumed in pure anger “So many that I won’t mind adding another one to the count but you’re not worth it and at the end of the day I don’t need your permission or approval for anything.”

 

Arielle tried approaching him to calm him down but he shrugged her gesture off and stormed out of the room slamming the door hard.

 

“Are you happy now?”

 

“Seriously Arielle can’t you see? Don’t you see him for who he is even as he stands here and threatens me?” Kira gasped and slowly shook her head at the woman she’d always looked up to.

 

“The way you always defend him, always stand at his side, blindly jump into battle because the immortal man may get injured and don’t think we haven’t seen him sneak out of your room in the mornings several times over the past few weeks. What are you doing?”

 

Arielle angrily slammed her flat hand down against the exam table “Damnit Kira it’s nothing like that!”

 

“I defend him as I would any of you! I stand by him as I’ve stood by you when we discovered the truth you tried so hard to hide! I’ve jumped into battle for him as I would for anyone on my crew and the nightly visits? It’s one of the few times I’m alone and he feels comfortable enough to talk. All night long some times. There’s no sin there and the fact you all know about it should tell you we’re not exactly being secretive about it either!”

 

“He’s no saint, he’s not innocent. He relishes in the kill and has a knack for torture, I know this. I know the man he is but that’s not all he is either. There is an essence of good in him too, even when it’s selfishly motivated and… I’m Jedi. You and I both and you know we’re supposed to do whatever we can to help others. To ease their suffering. To do the right thing which for me is curing him. He’s earned that.”

 

“But what about us Arielle?” Doc worried as he turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder “What if regaining his emotions amplifies his natural anger and rage which is so strong already that he manages to experience it even with this curse upon him? He could turn on us, all of us even you.”

 

“He never would.”

 

“How can you be so sure of that? The things I’ve read about him on the HoloNet..”

 

“I know and I understand your fears, both of you but please trust me. Trust in my judgment.”

 

“Your judgment when it comes to Scourge is extremely flawed, I can’t trust in it.” Kira sneered.

 

Arielle slipped away from Doc’s attempts to calm her down and reached for her backpack on a chair nearby “Then don’t but I really need to do this and I hope you’ll both understand. I’m not even asking you to help me retrieve the cure just, to take care of evacuating Makeb while Scourge and I go find this cave.. please.”

 

“I don’t understand. I don’t understand how you can choose finding that man a cure over helping us save the people of this planet but if that’s what you want to do, so be it.” Kira gave her a sad and disappointed look.

 

“Doc and I will take Teeseven and do what we can to claim the Ark for the evacuees and you can go find that damn cure but honestly, I hope it fails. I hope it doesn’t exist because Arielle, the thought of him becoming able to reciprocate whichever feelings you clearly do have for him? It terrifies me.”

 

“Kira I don’t-”

 

“Stop. Stop lying to us and stop lying to yourself! I’ve known you long enough to see you’ve changed. Two or three years ago you would have never put the fate of one before that of an entire population the way you’re doing now and I’ve seen you change whenever he’s around. You get this unique smile that seems reserved only for him and this twinkle in your eyes.. so stop claiming there’s nothing there, it’s a lie.”

 

Kira gathered her datapad and backpack as well and turned to Doc “Come on, let’s go help those who actually need it.”

 

He sighed deeply as he looked back and forth between the two women before hugging Arielle close “I don’t fully agree with your choice here either but.. be safe please. Watch those stitches, try not to pick any fights and I beg you, if this quest for a cure is too dangerous, don’t go through with it. Good luck.”

 

“Thank you, be safe out there as well and comm me if things take a turn for the worst. And… look after her.” she whispered to him before turning away from his embrace.

 

She watched as Doc and Kira took their leave of the medical center, leaving her behind with mixed feelings of anger, confusion and upset. She’d never before argued like that with anyone on her crew and the very thought that she’d upset Kira bothered her more than she’d been willing to admit in the moment.

 

Concerns for another day she decided as she opened up one of the medicine cabinets and grabbed some pain relievers just in case before stashing them into her pocket and walking outside as well. Every step she took stung a little but that didn’t matter now, she wanted to get this done.

 

“You wanna go find that cave?” she tried a smile at Lord Scourge when she caught up with him at the shuttles.

 

He gave half a shrug and followed her as she took the scroll from his hands and inspected the map before punching the coordinates into the shuttle’s navigation system “Get in then.”

 

He hesitated for a moment “Are you sure you still want to do this even though those two-”

 

“Yes Scourge, I do. They were just caught off guard and we probably should have said something sooner but that doesn’t matter now.”

 

“Nothing about the hatred in that room just now had anything to do with being caught off guard.” he climbed into the seat next to her and pulled the side door shut “It sounded like a long time coming.”

 

 

Doc kept a close eye on Kira as the trio maneuvered through the streets of Talaos City. She had little issue taking out any droid or guard that came upon them but he was more concerned with her emotional state. He’d seen the tears in her eyes after her fallout with Arielle and he realized this was the first time he’d ever actually seen the perky ginger distraught, not much got to her otherwise.

 

“Is it wrong that a part of me doesn’t want to return to the Defender after this?”

 

Doc stopped in his tracks and took her hand, “It’s understandable Kira.. I take it this is the first time you two have ever fought?”

 

“It is and it’s stupid. We used to be so close almost like sisters and then you and Rusk came along which was fine really but him?”

 

The anger inside of her flared up as she reached out with her free hand and slowly lifted a nearby trashcan up through means of the Force before hurling it towards a guard posted outside the Hutt Embassy.

 

“You should have heard her as she fought Nox. Gloating, taunting, mocking. She never used to be like that but ever since he’s come along she’s been different and honestly? It scares me and it hurts.”

 

Teeseven chimed in with a series of beeps that could only be translated as “Sith=evil” but it was enough to elicit a small chuckle from Kira and Doc.

 

“Between all the nightly visits which she claims are harmless, though I disagree as even his words are dangerous, and the fact he’s always hovering around her.. it feels like my best friend is slipping away from me. And not just that but she’s turning into someone I no longer recognize. Leaving us to take care of a planet full of innocent people so she can instead dig through caves to find His Sithlyness a cure? That’s not who she is.”

 

Doc bent down to roll the unconscious guard into the nearby bushes before the three of them made their way inside the luxurious compound. Kira stunned the man operating behind the desk before connecting Teeseven with the computer console.

 

“Perhaps she feels she owes him, you know? Maybe that whole speech about doing the right thing because she’s Jedi was genuine.” Doc offered as he stood guard to make sure no one else would interrupt their activities.

 

“That’s why she believes she’s doing it, yes. I disagree. I think a part of her has come to care about him more than she’s willing to admit and she’d secretly like to find out what could be but she can’t, not unless he regains his emotions.”

 

Doc quietly stared outside as his mind filled with her words matching many of his own thoughts. He’d come to love Arielle like a friend, after she’d spurred his initial advances and the influence of the Sith Lord hadn’t escaped his attention either no matter how hard he tried to deny it to himself.

 

“She might be a good influence on him, should he come to love her. It may soften his edges.”

 

“A man like Scourge? Never. He was a vile and sadistic monster long before he became immortal and regaining his mortality now won’t fix that. Maybe it’s time to inform Satele about all of this.”

 

His attention snapped back to Kira “No. We can’t. If we do that we’ll lose her for good, she won’t forgive us.”

 

“I’d rather she hates me for the rest of our lives than see her in his arms, following him down a Dark path she won’t be able to come back from.”

 

“Let’s not be too hasty--their endeavor might fail. The cure may not even work so let’s not report her to the Jedi until we really have no other option.”

 

Teeseven finished overriding the commands and Kira quickly offered altered instructions to the security droids before they continued further on into the Embassy.

 

“Look at you being the calm voice of reason Doc, when did that happen?”

 

“I have my moments?” his smile was kind and tender and for the first time ever, Kira saw in him something other than a simple sleaze.

 

A sudden blaster shot fired right past her as more of the Hutts’ men appeared trying to prevent their access to the information center. Kira raised her staff and crippled them swiftly while Doc injected them both with a sedative and carried the men off to the side.

 

“So have you ever considered, you know, defiance of your Code?”

 

“Why? Would you be asking me out if I had, Archiban?”

 

The grin on her face was a far more pleasant sight to him than the sadness he’d seen there earlier “Well not if you continue using that name.”

 

“Let’s get out of here alive first and off this planet and then I might consider having a cup of coffee with you on the Defender. You know, kind of like we do every morning?”

 

He laughed and dug his hands into his pockets as he followed her deeper inside the building “Come on Seven, time to fill that pretty memory core of yours with more data.”

 

“Pretty memory core? You’ll really hit on anything won’t you?”

 

His quips and support had done a world of wonder for her and though her mind still felt troubled over earlier events, they didn’t weigh down on her as heavily any longer.

 

 

*~*~*~*

 

 

“I can’t help but notice that your mind isn’t really here Jedi.”

 

She gave him a quick glance over the shoulder as they climbed down the deep and steep tunnel leading along the massive drill the Hutts had placed at the core of Makeb. For a moment it had seemed like the chamber in which the Hutts equipment sat was a dead end until they’d discovered a small crevice along the walls, just big enough to allow them both entry to the secrets hidden below.

 

“My mind isn’t anywhere right now, it’s trying hard to block out the Dark essence that lurks all around these tunnels.”

 

“Mmm I sense it too, almost more potent than the Emperor’s.”

 

The strange Force that lingered had a luring effect on him. It was one of the darkest he’d ever felt and the closer they drew to the gem, the more overwhelmed he became as suddenly all his senses amplified. A minor bruise he’d acquired in battle earlier that day now nagged at him, a small hint of pain.

 

“Scourge, are you alright?”

 

He hadn’t noticed the time pass or his own movement but in the blink of an eye he found himself standing beneath the large amethyst center of the platform, gazing up as it’s purple reflection cast down across his face. The human girl who’d once been chained to the gem was a mere ghostly figure now, not quite the bag of dust and bones her past enemy had hoped for.

 

Lord Scourge smelled a vague scent of honey coming from the left of him and the bright fires that spewed up from the lava actually hurt his eyes.

 

“I can feel Arielle.. my senses are awakening somehow. The gem.”

 

Her eyes followed the direction of his gaze and she smiled “Good. Hopefully that means this will work. Are you ready?”

 

She’d already explained the ritual to him, the sacrifice he’d have to make and he nodded as Arielle reached into her backpack and brought out a dagger. Lord Scourge unclasped his cloak and upper body armor, bearing his chest and he spread his arms out wide.

 

Arielle approached him and exhaled deeply before bringing the dagger up to his left arm and digging it into his bright red skin opening up his veins and slicing the blade down across until she reached his wrist. The blood she drew began flowing freely, trickling down his arm and onto the platform beneath his feet slowly seeping into the deep grooves.

 

“The other one as well.” he encouraged, gritting his teeth as the process surprisingly enough hurt him a great deal.

 

She swallowed hard and hesitated for a brief second before repeating the same process along his right arm and then took a step back. The Dark energies he’d felt had begun beating down her defenses as well and they brought back rushing memories of her time at the Emperor’s fortress, calling upon any darkness that had ever dwelled within her.

 

“Let me in…” a fleeting voice echoed through the cave as an unknown force shot through both Arielle and Lord Scourge leaving a harrowing chill within them.

 

“Ignore it, Jedi. Shield yourself.” he warned and tried bracing himself against the dark onslaught though his strength waned and brought him down to his knees.

 

As if she were bound to him, Arielle too collapsed to her knees and her eyes flashed a bright red for a split second before she cried out at a distant memory “Master Orgus.. nooo..”

 

The ground beneath them began rumbling and shaking as another quake hit Makeb or perhaps it was the ritual to blame. Lord Scourge’s blood had continued to flow rapidly as time passed by far more quickly than either of them were capable of noticing and by now the grooves had filled up completely.

 

Whichever thrall held him before dissipated and Lord Scourge’s deep cuts quickly healed themselves, closing off as if they’d never been there to begin with. He crawled up to his feet and looked around as the blood that had collected began to rise and gather, creating a large vortex around the amethyst before freeing it from its shackles.

 

“That was.. what was that..” Arielle gasped for air as she too rose up and joined at his side.

 

He reached out his hands in time to catch the gem as it fell down from its suspension and now rested in his palms “Something dwells here.. something old and evil, angry.”

 

“Did you see..”

 

“I saw and felt it, every memory I’ve ever created rushing through me, flashing before my eyes. I’m surprised you did too.”

 

“Whatever that was must have drawn upon us both.”

 

Arielle wasn’t sure how she knew but something told her the spirit of the sorceress Caerna lingered after all these centuries, more malevolent than she’d ever been and it wasn’t until now that they noticed the bones that decorated the platform upon which they stood.

 

“Take the gem and let’s go. We’ll finish the rest of the ritual somewhere far from here.”

 

At his words, the lava that protected and guarded the area spewed up in anger and shaped into a basic resemblance of a figure to block the entrance and exit. The grounds rumbled again shaking the walls of the cavern and rocks began to crumble down.

 

Arielle stared at the lava imbued creature “The prince.. I don’t think we’re allowed to leave here with that gem..”

 

Lord Scourge ignored her words and closed his fingers around the amethyst before approaching the exit. He tried to walk around the fiery monstrosity but it seemed to follow his every movement obstructing the way through.

 

“You may not leave here… not before I am restored… not before my love and I are united once more…”

 

A soft female voice spoke to them in harmonious tones as the ghostly figure once wrapped in chains now floated freely towards them and Arielle’s eyes widened in shock “Lissandre..”

 

“Return to me my mortality, free us.”

 

“We didn’t come here to reunite you with your lover.” Lord Scourge hissed as he slowly backed up to the center, away from magma prince.

 

“But your friend… her heart is pure, her soul is light… she can break the gem, she can heal me…”

 

“No. Your suffering will endure for another millenia. For eternity!” a cold and snarling voice echoed from the far back of the caverns as the woman who’d hid herself in the shadows emerged.

 

“Nox? You followed us here?!” Arielle couldn’t believe what she was seeing as Darth Nox strode towards them through the lava completely unaffected by the heat.

 

“She never followed you here, she beat you here but I’m afraid Nox isn’t home right now.. although it is a shame, she had such devious intentions it’s no wonder we fit so perfectly together.”

 

Lord Scourge growled and protectively stepped between Arielle and Darth Nox “The Dark entity, the overwhelming Force we felt.. the sorceress. She’s taken over Nox.”

 

“Well aren’t you the clever one?” Caerna cackled gleefully and clapped her hands together “Now be a good little… whatever you are and hand over the gem, please.”

 

The ghostly form of Lissandre rushed to the side of her deformed Prince as both Arielle and Lord Scourge backed away slowly as well from all three of them.

 

Lord Scourge knew that if any one of them got their hands on the amethyst it would be game over so instead he took the Jedi’s hand and opened his mind to her alone, projecting his thoughts to her best as he could manage and she gently squeezed his hand in return letting him know she understood.

 

“Today please.” Caerna drawled as she eyed the pair and tapped her foot.

 

Then, sudden chaos ensued. Lord Scourge had thrown the gem up straight in the air and as it came back down, Arielle raised her lightsaber and caught the stone on her blades effectively splitting it into two halves before each piece found its way back into Lord Scourge’s palms.

 

The moment the now broken amethyst connected with him he felt its power surging through him. A scream of agony escaped his throat as every ounce of pain he should have experienced in the past 300 years suddenly soared through his entire body crippling the Pureblood and bringing him down to his knees once more.

 

All three of the eager bystanders rushed over but Arielle was quick to draw up a Force barrier around herself and Lord Scourge fighting hard as she could to keep them at bay. Caerna fired volleys of dark energy balls their way trying to penetrate the shield while Lissandre’s ghost wailed at a high pitch frequency, piercing Arielle’s mind and tearing at her concentration. Arielle tried all she could but the onslaught of their enemies began to beat her down and her own strengths abandoned her. Her knees buckled and her vision blurred before she collapsed and fell unconscious.

 

The magma figure joined by the ghostly spirit of his lover, threw itself at Lord Scourge the moment Arielle’s barrier dropped but Caerna raised a hand at the former man and froze him in place. Her powers continued to channel his way targeting him as well as his lover until they were both joined inside a massive obsidian statue to their likening.

 

“There you go my Prince, reunited with your lover at last.”

 

She laughed wickedly before turning her attention to Lord Scourge. A devious grin curled around her lips and her heels clicked rapidly across the stone plateau as she approached the Pureblood and prepared to pry the gem’s halves from his hands. Another quake hit the core of Makeb and further destroyed the cavern all around them while Lord Scourge and Caerna engaged in a fierce struggle for possession of the split amethyst that continued to exchange his immortality for the mortality it offered. He felt it tear at his soul and torment every nerve in his body but refused to let go as Caerna’s nails pierced into the back of hands and began to draw blood. The ceiling above them burst open sending giant chunks of stone crashing down towards them and then everything turned black.

Wow great chapters! My apologies for being behind in my reviewing. I really enjoyed the fight between Kira, Arielle and Scourge, that was great. Really fun conflict to read, and also I enjoyed the moments with Kira following, that she spent griping to Doc. Good stuff there. And of course, the conflict for the gem, fun stuff! And a great cliffhanger! Nicely done!

 

 

A tender morning breeze danced across the fields outside the Jedi Temple on Tython as the earliest rays of sunlight broke through the clouds. For the briefest moment the world seemed a place of sheer beauty and peace and Arielle tried a smile as she gazed out of the window of her old room.

 

She had no idea how she’d wound up at the Jedi Temple in the first place. Her last memory was the inevitable collapse of the cavern on Makeb and the battle she’d fought against storybook characters yet somehow when she’d awoken she’d found herself in her old bed, the one she used to sleep in when she was still a Padawan.

 

“This morning has all the makings for a beautiful day, don’t you think?”

 

A voice she knew all too well interrupted her thoughts and she spun around to look upon her former student’s face “Kira..”

 

“It’s good to see you finally awake, you’ve been asleep for almost two days.”

 

The ginger closed the door behind herself and turned to take a seat on the divan beneath the window sill “How are you feeling?”

 

Arielle looked away and wrapped her arms firmly around herself before her wavering and insecure voice dared ask the one question she most dreaded “Is he dead?”

 

She could still hear his screams, the agony that had torn him apart when the gem had begun working its dark magics on the immortal. His cries had eluded to the purest form of pain he experienced and she feared he hadn’t survived the ritual.

 

“Scourge? He’s alive. They’re keeping him in my old chambers under heavy sedation… he’s, not well.”

 

The hint of relief she felt upon hearing he lived faded again just as quickly at the last of Kira’s words and Arielle sank down onto the divan as well “What does that mean, not well? Did it work?”

 

“Grand Master Satele thinks it did, for most part. You were both unconscious when we found you but he regained his senses soon after we arrived back here on Tython. Began screaming endlessly, ripping his sheets apart and tearing at the curtains. Yelling about things only he seemed to be seeing and experiencing, crying out that everything hurt… Satele had no choice but to subdue him.”

 

Kira watched her former Master pale away as the tears welled up in her eyes “I broke him… all I wanted was to help him, to give back what the Emperor took from him and instead I’ve broken him…”

 

“No no no, you haven’t broken him.” Kira pulled Arielle into her arms and rested the redhead’s head against her shoulder.

 

“Satele believes that with time, he’ll become his old self again. It seems as though everything he failed to experience over the past centuries is now catching up to him all at once and it’s overwhelming him, it’s too much but he will be alright eventually.”

 

Arielle let out a short sob and brushed her tears away with the palm of her hand “What if he doesn’t? What if all these sudden feelings and emotions will cripple him for the rest of his now mortal life?”

 

A small sigh escaped Kira’s lips and she fought back her own harsh opinion on the matter. The thought that told her both Arielle and Lord Scourge should have considered these consequences before they engaged in such dark rituals. That perhaps this was the price for their foolish endeavor but she didn’t voice those words, not right now.

 

“Have faith Arielle. Satele has been at his bedside often over the past few days trying to ease his subconscious through the process.”

 

“She has? Truly?”

 

“Mmhm and you can ask her all about it later on. She’s asked me to send for her the moment you’d wake up which I just did so no doubt she’ll be paying you a visit shortly.”

 

Arielle nodded sadly and tried to push the instant panic that washed over her aside. No doubt the Grand Master would have quite a lot to say about her choices and actions.

 

“How did you find us and what happened?”

 

“You and Scourge were gone all through the night and into the next morning and none of us had a clue where you were. Doc tried to call you but no one answered. Eventually Teeseven sliced into my comm device and opened a line to yours then used the wavelengths of that frequency to establish coordinates for your location. Quite clever really.”

 

Kira got up and took the carafe that sat on the table before pouring them both a glass of water “We took a shuttle and then some speeders to get down to the core of the planet where we found both you and Scourge lying unconscious underneath some extremely weird statue.”

 

“What about the sorceress?”

 

“The who?”

 

“Caerna. Darth Nox. The sorceress from the story, she possessed Nox and attacked us…”

 

“There was no one else in the caves, just you both.”

 

Arielle sank back in her seat and thought for a moment. If Darth Nox wasn’t in the caves when they were discovered then it meant she possibly got out and survived which also meant that Caerna had survived and could be out there right now posing as a Dark Council member. She shuddered at the idea.

 

“Thank you..” she eventually smiled to Kira “Thank you for coming to our rescue despite.. you know, our fight..”

 

“I still don’t agree with what you’ve done Arielle and even now your concern for Scourge and your upset over his current state worries me but there’s absolutely no way we would have ever left either of you behind to die.”

 

“Right.”

 

Silence fell between the two friends until a small knock sounded and Satele poked her head around the door.

 

“May I come in?”

 

“Of course” Kira answered in Arielle’s stead and got up before excusing herself “I’ll give you both some privacy.”

 

Satele watched as the younger Jedi hurried out of the room before she turned to Arielle “How are you feeling today?”

 

She barely managed a shrug and the smile she’d hoped to fix upon her face failed miserably too. She could sense it coming, whatever it was and it unnerved her a great deal.

 

“I’m not mad at you Arielle..” Satele started carefully and hesitated “However, I can’t help but feel disappointed you didn’t trust me enough to tell me what you and Lord Scourge were up to. That you didn’t seek my help in curing him.”

 

“You would have never approved if I had..”

 

“A Dark Side ritual? No I wouldn’t have approved but we could have at least looked for another way. Perhaps a healing ritual to imbue him with the Light Side of the Force would-”

 

“No. He would never allow it. He’s Sith.”

 

Satele sat herself down opposite of Arielle and thought for a moment “I see. So, he’d rather risk both of your lives because he fears the Light and you’re okay with that?”

 

“It was never his idea to begin with. It was mine. I discovered the story, I did the research and I convinced him it was worth trying and I don’t…”

 

Her voice trailed off. She’d wanted to say she didn’t regret it for a moment but then her thoughts went to Lord Scourge and the current suffering he endured.

 

“You both put yourselves in grave danger. You messed with Dark forces you had absolutely no business messing with and yet that’s not even the part that worries me most.”

 

Yep, now it was coming she knew. No doubt Kira had told the Grand Master literally everything.

 

“You ignored the sensible objections of your crew, your friends. You waved off their fears and concerns and you abandoned them when they needed you to fulfill the mission you’d initially agreed to carry out.”

 

“I had every intention of-”

 

“I’m aware of the unforeseen circumstances but that changes little. You chose to pursue this cure rather than assist the people who needed you, especially knowing the planet was about to fall apart. Such selfish pursuits are not the Jedi way Arielle and Lord Scourge’s influence over you seems to pose a far greater threat than I could have imagined.”

 

Arielle scoffed at her words and got up, turning her back on the Grand Master as she took to stare out of the window “It’s got nothing to do with his influence. I was confident that the Jedi I’ve trained for the past few years could handle the job, assisted by Doc and Teeseven and that we could divide our strengths and forces to accomplish as much as possible within the little time we had left.”

 

“I know that’s what you believe and on some level it may even hold true but there’s a bigger issue here that you’re not seeing--you care about Lord Scourge too much.”

 

“I care about all my friends and I’d do anything to help them, to keep them safe no matter the cost.”

 

“And therein lies the danger. The lengths you’ll go through, the price you’d be willing to pay. Can’t you see that’ll inevitably lead you down a path from which you won’t be able to return? This time you both survived and many refugees from Makeb were saved but what about next time?”

 

“There won’t be a next time, I’ve learned my lesson trust me.”

 

She meant it. Between the chance that Lord Scourge may never fully recover from the ritual and the idea that an ancient sorceress now walked around freely within the Empire as a result of her actions, Arielle realized she’d taken a far too great risk and perhaps on some level it had been selfish.

 

Satele got up and joined at her side, gazing out at the courtyard before them where by now several Padawans and younglings had gathered for their daily training “I remember the day you first set foot on Tython.”

 

“I never trained like they do...”

 

“No, you didn’t, I remember that too.”

 

A long forgotten childhood memory tickled at the back of her mind and though nowadays her relationship with the Grand Master was a purely professional one, she couldn’t help but wonder.

 

“I remember you from when I was a little girl. You were there when I was brought to the Jedi and you’d visit often in between battles, usually bearing gifts until one day you just.. stopped and disappeared. I never understood why.”

 

Satele smiled gently “I had to. You were a child without a mother and I..” she paused and sighed “I’d say that’s a discussion for another day.”

 

She placed her hand upon Arielle’s shoulder and gently urged the Jedi to look her in the eye, taking a more serious tone “I know you’ve been through alot and I know some of those events have changed you but don’t lose sight of who you are, who you’ve always wanted to be.”

 

“I understand the bond one can form with the people who fight at their side daily. You share a unique experience together and in that experience you’re united and closer than ever, I’m no stranger to such things…”

 

The words hinted at something Arielle couldn’t quite wrap her head around, something she never would have guessed but there was a truth to them, she could sense it.

 

“But it’s important that we remember who we are, despite those close bonds. There’s a unique sort of danger that comes with caring too much about another person. They can inspire selfish and destructive acts and worse so, they could become a tool for the enemy to use against you.”

 

“I don’t know how to not care Grand Master and I’m not sure I want to.”

 

“I know and understand which is why I’d like to suggest you use this time to distance yourself from Lord Scourge..” she started and held her hand up in defense when Arielle opened her mouth to protest.

 

“Try it. For now he’s still heavily sedated and he will remain so for quite a while until he’s no longer plagued by the after effects of the ritual. Use that time to focus on yourself and perhaps reevaluate things.”

 

Arielle wanted to object and argue, to make Satele understand that all she wanted right now was to sit at his bedside until he woke up but she thought better of it and nodded sadly.

 

“Take the time you need to recover fully and then when you feel ready, come see me in my chambers.”

Edited November 15, 2016 by JennyFlynn

Every fiber of my dark little heart wants to scream at Satele to buzz off lol. I enjoyed the chapter very much, though now you have me worried about Scourge. Looking forward to more.

A/N:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The young man paced through Satele Shan’s chambers as he waited for her to grace him with her presence. He had his hands clasped behind his back and eyed the few decorations she had on display, scoffing at the fact that none of them had any sort of personal touch to them.

 

He didn’t much care to be meeting with the Grand Master, never had even though on some level he ought to. The atmosphere always felt tense and uncomfortable between them and the Jedi Temple only served to further his sense of estrangement.

 

“Ah Agent Shan, I’m glad you could make it.”

 

He gave her a courtesy nod and sat down at her insistence not the least bit surprised at her cold greeting which he was more than happy to throw back at her.

 

“Grand Master.”

 

‘Mother’ seemed like such a foreign word on his tongue anyways.

 

“I’ve been informed that Colonel Darok and yourself are making secret plans to launch an attack on the Sith Academy on Korriban, correct?”

 

“Correct though, obviously not that secretive.” he arched a brow at the woman before him and gave her a meaningful look.

 

“Little gets past me Agent, it’s a trait.”

 

A short chuckle escaped the back of his throat. Was the woman who’d abandoned him as a baby really trying to take credit for his skills as a spy?

 

“I believe I may have someone who could be of great assistance to you for this mission. She’s a highly skilled and experienced Jedi who’s currently.. well let’s just say I believe this mission could serve as a good reminder to her of who she is and why she joined the Order in the first place.”

 

Theron couldn’t help but snort at her very suggestion “You mean you’d like me to babysit one of your Jedi on what could be one of the most important and volatile missions in decades?”

 

“She’s highly capable I assure you.”

 

“And tell me, what exactly has this Jedi done that makes you think she needs a reminder of who she is? Which of your precious rules were broken this time?”

 

Satele said nothing and instead reached inside her drawer to pull up Arielle’s files “This will tell you that which requires knowing. Look it over please and take my suggestion under consideration.”

 

He sighed and leaned over the desk to accept the report from her before skimming through the documents briefly “Ah the Hero of Tython, that’s interesting. I thought she was a flawless and shining example of everything you Jedi embody.”

 

She didn’t care much for the tone of his voice and ignored his comment entirely “Let me know as soon as you can please Agent.”

 

He gave her a playful and somewhat mocking salute as he got up and took his cue to leave her presence quickly. He knew he shouldn’t be but a part of him felt a sense of disappointment at the fact that once again her only reason for wanting to see him had been purely from a professional point of view. Some things never changed.

 

 

*~*~*~*

 

 

Arielle lay back in bed staring up at the ceiling above her, the way she used to when she’d still been a Padawan. Her eyes always focused on the little discolorations among the white paint and the small flecks that had come loose over the years. One of the spots vaguely resembled a bird while she imagined the other to be a little Twi’lek baby and she smiled softly to herself.

 

It was about all she could do to pass time right now. Her injuries had healed but she hadn’t felt like seeking out anyone’s company, not when the only person she actually wanted to see remained unconscious and forbidden to her. She’d tried to tell herself Kira’s intentions had been good but she couldn’t help feel betrayed and didn’t doubt that Doc likely shared Kira’s sentiments so his company was out of the question too.

 

She glanced over at the blank canvas that sat on an easel by her window and then at the painting she’d finished working on before. It held every shade of red she could have used and it made her wonder which of her conflicted emotions those represented exactly. Love was the first inclination that screamed at her but she tried to push that aside.

 

Love wasn’t something she’d ever cared for or wanted. She understood and accepted that others would cherish those feelings for a special someone but she never had and always thought she never would. Even now as she struggled with what she knew versus what she felt, she wasn’t certain that the things she did feel stemmed from any actual sense of love or if she merely thought they might because the people around her had argued against it so strongly. Which feelings were her own and which had settled within her due to another’s influence?

 

A small sigh escaped her lips as she pulled her sheets back and climbed out of bed. Laying down didn’t help. Thinking didn’t help. Nothing she did or had done over the past few days provided any answers and everything piled up to make her feel more restless than she’d ever been.

 

She didn’t even bother changing out of her nightgown and quickly grabbed her weapons before storming out of her room. The urge to fight something, anything, had grown so strong and she swiftly rushed down the flights stairs to the main hall inside the Jedi Temple.

 

Once outside, she relished in the cold evening air that hit her face and then her eyes caught the little droid training area she’d tested her combat skills on years ago.

 

“Just what I need..” she grinned to herself and strode over to the console where she set the preferred parameters for the programming and then marched over to the center of the platform.

 

The droids began to spawn all around her and through a series of strikes she began taking them apart one by one. A brief flashback to her time at the Emperor’s fortress dashed through her mind and she laughed bitterly at the irony that the mundane and repetitive training she’d hated so much back then was now the thing that gave her any sense of relief.

 

“Better watch out Arielle, the slaughter of stupid droids might be a path to the Dark Side too.”

 

Another wry laugh escaped her lips at the words she’d muttered to herself and with another flurry of attacks she sent the last remaining droid crumbling down into several pieces.

 

“And what exactly have those droids ever done to you?”

 

She spun around and eyed the stranger that casually leaned back against the control console.

 

“Who’s asking?”

 

“Just a guy who can’t help but wonder why someone like you would be out here late at night dressed in..” he eyed her nightgown and smiled “that while unleashing some serious mayhem upon a bunch of innocent droids.”

 

“You do realize these droids were practically created with the sole purpose of being torn to pieces by whoever wishes to train here, right?”

 

“That still doesn’t explain the attire or odd hour of the day.”

 

“You’re right, it doesn’t and I can safely say it’s none of your business. Good night.”

 

She turned on her heel and quickly strode off before he could crack another comment at her. In her current state she was in no mood to talk to anyone, much less a far too curious stranger and she rushed back inside the Temple to retreat to her room once more.

 

 

*~*~*~*

 

 

The following morning after much deliberation with herself she decided to finally go see Satele again if only to find out what the Grand Master had in mind for her while secretly hoping she’d perhaps gain permission to go see Lord Scourge at last.

 

“I’m glad to see again Arielle, please do take a seat.”

 

“How’s Lord Scourge doing?”

 

She hadn’t wanted to ask immediately knowing Satele wouldn’t approve but she couldn’t help it. Each time she’d asked those who guarded his room and those who looked after him, they’d all neglected to give her any answers and urged her to discuss it with Satele instead.

 

“He’s showing progress. I sense far less turmoil within him than I did several days ago.”

 

“Can I see him yet or..?”

 

“As I said last we spoke, I’d rather you wouldn’t for the time being.” Satele had managed to force a smile onto her face but the clear devotion for Lord Scourge that she still sensed coming from the Jedi before her continued to worry her.

 

“Now onto why I asked you to come see me, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

 

At her cue, Theron, who’d overheard the entire conversation so far, emerged from the meditation area in Satele’s chambers and joined them as he took the empty seat next to Arielle.

 

She groaned slightly upon seeing him and recognizing him from the night before “You..? Oh goodie.”

 

“You two have met before?”

 

“Briefly. Who is he and why is he here?”

 

“SIS Agent Theron Shan, pleasure to meet you Master Jedi.”

 

“And why am I meeting with an SIS Age.. wait, Shan?”

 

Arielle’s eyes darted back and forth between the Grand Master and the Agent next to her and suddenly Satele’s speech from a few days ago began to make sense to her. Everything she’d said about forming attachments with those close to us in daily battle, how she understood almost as if she’d been through it herself. She had and the result was sitting right there in front of them.

 

“He’s your son.. ”

 

Satele bowed her head for a moment and sighed “Yes, he is but that-”

 

“You never told me. Why? I mean when we spoke the other day and you cautioned me against attachments, I could feel you were holding something back and yet you never said.”

 

A part of her felt lied to and betrayed and though she tried to maintain her calm, her nagging upset prevailed “Do you not see the hypocrisy of this?”

 

“Arielle I promise you, this is not why I brought you here to meet with us.”

 

Satele lowered her eyes and half scolded herself for not thinking this through fully. For failing to predict the meeting would send the wrong message to her Jedi and expose her own past instantly, raising questions she wasn’t willing to answer yet.

 

“Perhaps I should give you both a minute..” Theron offered and rose up from his seat but the Grand Master shook her head at him.

 

“No Agent Shan that won’t be necessary.”

 

“Yes Agent Shan, it’s not likely your mother will own up to her duplicitous behavior” Arielle sighed deeply, this all felt like too much suddenly.

 

“You know what? Forget it I don’t.. I don’t even want to have this discussion right now. Why am I here?”

 

“Agent Shan and his colleagues have been preparing a mission that’s vital to the war and I thought you might be of assistance to them. That it could be good for you.”

 

Arielle raised a brow and snorted slightly “You mean you found a reason to get me away from here and away from Scourge.”

 

“The fact you’d even make that accusation only further proves my point.” Satele commented disapprovingly.

 

The younger of the two Jedi tried to still the rising anger inside of her and took a moment to consider her options. There were so many things she wished to say right now but she knew if she did, there’d be no turning back. She also knew that as long as the Grand Master had any control over Lord Scourge’s condition, she didn’t want to take any risks and decided to, for now, go along with Satele’s plans.

 

“Fine. I’ll go with Theron and his people.”

 

She made a brief apologetic gesture towards Theron and hurried out of the room before losing complete control of her emotions and saying something she’d regret.

 

“That went well.” Theron commented dryly as he glanced up at his mother and then rolled his eyes at her stoic expression.

I feel the same way about Satele as you do, I never liked the woman, I tried to be fair as much as I could, but I had no qualms about having her as an antagonist either...or even an outright villain. I enjoyed seeing your Theron Love his attitude toward his own mother. I can see that he and Arielle working together will be very interesting

I feel the same way about Satele as you do, I never liked the woman, I tried to be fair as much as I could, but I had no qualms about having her as an antagonist either...or even an outright villain. I enjoyed seeing your Theron Love his attitude toward his own mother. I can see that he and Arielle working together will be very interesting

It's tricky because I imagine her to truly do care for her son and having struggled with giving him up yet there's a side to her that's so focused on her 'job' and responsibilities as a Jedi that she's internally constantly at war with herself and it makes her appear colder and more distanced than she is. I literally have no idea yet where she'll be and end up as my own story goes on. And I enjoy Theron, he's a fun and cool guy and wanted to introduce him slightly different than the game does in Forged Alliances.

 

 

As a result of her anger with the Grand Master and their temporary fall out, Arielle had decided she no longer cared to do as was expected and had managed to sweet talk her way past the guards outside of Lord Scourge’s room. She was more determined than ever to see him.

 

She cautiously approached his bedside and felt her heart sink at the sight of him. The powerful Pureblood she’d come to know him as now lay there frail, restless and covered in cuts and bruises still as a result of the cave’s collapse.

 

“I’m so sorry Scourge. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you when they attacked us and I’m sorry I failed to realize what the ritual might do to you..” she whispered sadly while she sat down on the edge of his bed and took his hand in her own.

 

“I should have considered the consequences, the inner workings of your restored mortality but I was too caught up in the very idea of you becoming whole again… It was stupid of me.”

 

It’s not like she was actually expecting him to respond and yet the sound of silence only further inspired her own sadness. She reached her free hand out and gently touched her fingertips to his face, caressing her thumb along his forehead in the faint hopes of reaching his subconscious.

 

“You’ve really done a number on me you know that?” the makings of a confession escaped her lips.

 

“I don’t know if this has always been just a game to you but do you remember what I said to you in the laundry room last week? I don’t think you’ve ever considered what it might do to me if you were to successfully awaken such feelings inside of me.”

 

She thought for a moment about her own words and gave a wry laugh “And what if I had fallen for you while you weren’t cured, what would you have done then? Laughed at my feelings for you upon which neither of us would have been able to act? Coaxed me into another man’s arms? What was your end game in all of this Scourge?”

 

“I think I have though. Fallen for you that is and I don’t know what to do. I realize now more than ever that these type of feelings are far less uncommon among Jedi than I once thought but that doesn’t seem to help me any. I don’t even know if you actually cherish any kind of feelings for me at all or if it was just part of some cheap entertainment for you.”

 

She swallowed hard and bit back the small tears that dwelled in her eyes “It must have been a game, of course. Up until now you weren’t really capable of any kind of feelings were you? So how could any of it have possibly meant something… Maybe it’s a good thing you can’t hear me right now, you’d get such a kick out of knowing I actually fell for you and your twisted ploy..”

 

“That’s the whole problem though Scourge. My current dilemma. I did fall for you and I’ve tried to deny it, I’ve tried to ignore it, I’ve argued my friends over it but… I’ve got all these feelings inside of me now, all these thoughts of you and these foolish hopes only the most naive woman in the world could ever have and I don’t know how to stop it. How do I get back from this? You’ve made me long for things I never…”

 

Arielle slid away from him and slowly approached the window to look up at the skies as she finally allowed her tears to flow.

 

“All my life all I’ve ever known is being Jedi. It’s what I’ve wanted ever since I was a little girl. I know the Code inside out and I’ve always honored it even when those around me didn’t. I believed in it and I was more than willing to make the necessary sacrifices. For the greater good you know? I stood by it, always but then you came along…”

 

“You with your enticing words, your physical temptations. Your promises of all the things I could have, that I could experience if only I gave into them. You know you didn’t even have to try so hard? I’ve felt drawn to your presence from the moment you set foot in my life and I can’t explain it. Maybe it’s this thing between us, the Force that has been pulling us together from the start to serve your vision.”

 

She glanced over her shoulder at the Sith who still lay motionless in his bed “I wish you’d wake up. I wish you’d open your eyes and tell me I’m a fool. Tell me not to treasure any feelings for you because none of it ever meant a thing. Tell me to move on and honor the Code because I don’t know what to do Scourge. I need you.”

 

Another thought entered her mind and brought a frown to her face “I’m leaving tomorrow. My bags are already packed and I’ll be off on some mysterious mission with… oh you’d laugh if you could hear this. Satele Shan’s son. Can you believe she has a child? She must have had love once, based on what she told me. It angers me quite a bit. Her telling me I care too much for you and yet she herself… Whatever. Her words no longer concern me, she’s squandered that.”

 

“I don’t know when I’ll be back and a part of me is afraid you won’t be here when I do return. Perhaps they’ll move you elsewhere or perhaps you’ll wake up and decide to leave us, to go back to the Empire. I hope you don’t Scourge, I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

 

The back of her hand wiped away the tears that lingered on her cheeks as she approached his bedside once more and leaned forward. Her lips lightly touched against his forehead and she whispered her goodbyes to him before forcing herself out of the room, making her escape before she’d lose the courage to leave him behind.

 

A part of her felt better now, more relieved now that she’d finally said the words she’d been hiding from out loud and for the first time since their return to Tython, Arielle opted to head down to the cantina to enjoy lunch with everybody else.

 

“I’d hoped to see you.” Theron smiled and approached her with his own tray of food when he spotted her in the corner.

 

“Are you ready to head out tomorrow?”

 

“Hi Theron. Yes of course you may sit down, by all means, thank you for asking.” she snipped a little as he’d already taken up the seat next to her.

 

“Ah good, you’re still mad then.”

 

Arielle threw him a glare and began poking her fork around at the pieces of fruit on her plate “I’m packed and ready to go--care to tell me what this big mission is all about?”

 

“I will brief you and the rest of your crew when we depart from here.”

 

“The rest of my crew..?” she frowned.

 

She hadn’t expected the others to come along, she hadn’t even seen them in the past few days though most of that was her own fault. She’d deliberately avoided them and she’d sent Kira and Doc away when they’d tried to visit her in her room.

 

“Trust me, this isn’t a one man job. Or woman in your case.”

 

He gave her a sideways look as she idly played with her food “Is that going to be a problem? I heard things between you guys are a little.. rocky, at the moment.”

 

“Understatement of the year.”

 

“Satele she, I mean I overheard you both mention Lord Scourge? He’s the Pureblood Sith who used to serve the Emperor, right? And who joined you to help when..”

 

“He is.” Arielle pushed her plate away and instead reached for her caf.

 

“And then I fell for him. Spent weeks denying it, chased after a cure for his immortality and of course that didn’t go as planned and now my crew despises me and your mother’s busy judging me which is pretty rich coming from her.”

 

The melancholic tone in her voice didn’t fall on deaf ears and he leaned into her “Your friends? I met them briefly. They miss you and they’re worried, stop hiding from them.”

 

“And Satele.. I’m not about to throw a pity party here but she’s never really been much of a mother to me. She showed more care and concern for you yesterday, in her own weird way, than she’s ever done for me. Things will work themselves out.”

 

“Mmm. She didn’t bake cookies with you, read you bedtime stories?”

 

Theron started laughing and shook his head “Nah, she didn’t even raise me. I rarely saw her or heard from her and nowadays when I do see her it’s all business related you know?”

 

“And my esteem for Satele just keeps on rising..” Arielle noted sarcastically before putting her cup of caf back to her lips. She decided against telling him that Satele had in fact done some of those things for her when she was little.

 

For a moment neither of them knew what else to say and Arielle began digging back into her food again, almost resentfully while watching cheerful groups of Padawans exchange some giggles and laughters in the opposite corner of the cantina.

 

“So this Lord Scourge, you and him are..?”

 

“Nothing. Well, friends I suppose. Hopefully still.” she sat back and stared at her plate, suddenly feeling nauseous just thinking about him.

 

“Who knows what the ritual’s done to him, who he’ll be now that he’s cured if he ever even makes it out of this comatose state Satele’s keeping him in.”

 

He watched the distant look on her face “You really do care a lot about him.”

 

“It was bound to happen some day right?” Arielle shrugged.

 

“So what’s your deal then? Are you like uh, the guy, what’s his name again?” she snapped her fingers a few times as though she tried to spur her own memory “The one who’s an Agent but used to be Jedi?”

 

“Ardun Kothe and no, I’m not. I’m not even Force sensitive which is fine really, I feel quite at home with the SIS.”

 

“Gotcha. Any chance you guys are looking to hire another Jedi?”

 

“Possibly. But you don’t mean that.”

 

She eyed the little cliques of Padawans and younglings hurry in and out of the cantina and smiled gently “No, I don’t.”

 

“Whatever’s going on with me right now, this has always been my home..”

 

“It wasn’t always though, right?” Theron remembered the little things he’d read in her file.

 

Arielle looked at him for a moment trying to decipher how much he knew exactly “I wasn’t born here no..”

 

“Relax, I’d be the last to person to judge someone based on their parentage.”

 

“Thank you.. I’ve never made a huge secret out of it but people tend to frown a little when they find out. I’m sure it contributes to Satele’s over protective preaching as well.”

 

“No I’m fairly certain that’s just part of who she is.”

 

She laughed. Unlike his mother these days, Theron actually made her feel at ease and he was surprisingly easy to talk to though she wondered if that was truly in his nature or if that was just part of his adapted skill set as an Agent.

 

“Are you still in touch with them?”

 

“What?” Arielle frowned so caught up in her own thoughts she’d already forgotten what they were just talking about.

 

“Your parents.”

 

“No.. I know my father died before I was born and my mother handed me over to the Jedi once she realized I was Force sensitive and that’s the last I’ve ever seen of her. I don’t even remember it all that well, it’s just a memory that’s fueled through knowing.”

 

Suddenly another thought entered her mind “Hey if Satele’s your mother.. who’s your father? Anyone I’d know? If you don’t mind me asking.”

 

Theron chuckled and looked down into his near empty cup of caf “I don’t mind you asking but the answer to that requires the type of drinks they don’t serve here at the Temple.”

 

“Fair enough” Arielle decided and grinned “I guess I’ll keep then.”

What a beautiful confession. It was truly heart-rending. I fully expected him to wake up and say something snarky, or Scourge-y. It really touched me. I'm also enjoying the exchanges between Arielle and Theron. I'm really curious where it will all lead to, and now that I know more about Arielle's parents too. Makes me wonder who mom is, and where she is. Looking forward to more! Keep it up.

 

Lord Scourge tossed and turned in his bed as he tried to escape from the images that continued to flood his mind. His past memories, his visions and his fear had all begun to melt together just for the sake of torturing him while his body didn’t feel like his to control and he was powerless to fight the horrors he witnessed.

 

 

Arielle danced around inside the Emperor’s sanctum, scantily clad in a black and laced gown with a blood red trim along the sides. She smiled his way and blew him a kiss across her hand before giggling and twirling around on her bare feet. The Emperor sat on his throne behind her, watching the Jedi who appeared to be entirely oblivious to his presence until Lord Scourge called out to her.

 

“Behind you!” he yelled and tried to rush over to her but his feet wouldn’t comply.

 

The young Jedi spun around and her eyes widened when the Emperor raised his hand up to her and through the Force grabbed her by the throat, choking her slowly.

 

Lord Scourge still couldn’t move and any objections he made died in his throat before ever reaching his lips. The rage within him quickly reached epic proportions as he stood by and was forced to watch the harrowing scene unfold before him.

 

A dark cloud crackling with energy drew up all around them as the Emperor slowly lifted Arielle up higher, her feet now dangling aimlessly above the floors of the inner sanctum. With an elegant flick of his wrist, he suddenly snapped her neck ending her life instantly and Lord Scourge felt the tears burn in his eyes as he watched her limp body fall back to the ground accompanied by the Emperor’s mocking laughter.

 

Suddenly the vision before Lord Scourge blurred out and vanished before making way for brand new surroundings. He found himself on a dark and barren planet, one he remembered from times long ago and he could practically taste the death that lingered all around him.

 

“Scourge my love, join me?”

 

He spun around at the sweet sound of Arielle’s voice, relieved to think she was still alive but his joy was short lived. She sat upon the Emperor’s former throne, a crown atop of her head while massive piles of skulls and bones littered the ashen ground before her.

 

“Just like you spoke of my love. My throne, my crown and you at my side always.”

 

The devious glint in her eyes that under any other circumstances would have caused his heart to skip a beat now instead elicited a sense of fear from him.

 

“What have you done..”

 

“What I was always meant to. I stopped the Emperor and performed the ritual myself. The galaxy belongs to us now and we shall build our new Empire upon the ashes of those who’ve tried to stand in our way.”

 

“No! You weren’t..”

 

“Isn’t this what you always wanted my love? What your vision foretold? All your efforts spent grooming me for the Dark Side?”

 

The warm laughter that escaped her lips quickly turned shrill and then the Emperor’s voice replaced Arielle’s as the same mocking laughter Lord Scourge had heard before carried on.

 

He closed his eyes trying to block everything he saw and heard out and when he opened them again, the scene before him had changed once more.

 

Lord Scourge found himself staring straight into Arielle’s deep blue eyes but it was as though she couldn’t see him. She looked around frantically until an elderly man joined at her side. He preached to her words that Lord Scourge somehow couldn’t make out and though the man bore a new face, he recognized him as the Emperor.

 

The barren wasteland they’d stood in before had now been replaced by Coruscant’s famous buildings and yet, it wasn’t quite the Republic capital either. It was darker and overcome by destruction, the city’s soldiers lay dead in the streets and across the plaza.

 

“None of this is real.” he heard Arielle say clearly.

 

Lord Scourge watched her break down in tears but each attempt he made to reach her somehow seemed to only further push him back until she vanished from his sights completely with nothing but her last few words lingering in his mind.

 

“None of this is real…”

 

His eyes finally snapped open and he found himself staring up at Grand Master Satele who hovered over him and seemed to be channeling the Light side of the Force. Lord Scourge’s arm flew up in an instant and he grabbed her by the throat snapping her out of her focus.

 

“What’s the meaning of this!” he barked angrily while Satele used her fingers to pry his hand away from her neck.

 

He released her slowly and Satele coughed several times before sinking back into the chair that sat next to his bedside “I was attempting to reach you through the Force to calm your mind. You were dreaming, violently.”

 

The images of all he’d seen hadn’t left his mind yet, neither had the fear and unease that he’d felt “Did you see? What was that?”

 

“I saw it, all of it.”

 

She looked concerned and even somewhat frightened herself, disturbed by what she’d witnessed “I cannot presume to know what it meant, only you have those answers.”

 

“None of those things have ever happened and Arielle would never..”

 

His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes, lying back and pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers “She would never take the Emperor’s seat and commit such gruesome acts.”

 

“Not even out of loving devotion for a man who’s ruled by the darkness within himself?”

 

The meaning behind her words didn’t fall on deaf ears and Lord Scourge sighed deeply “She wouldn’t, your Jedi is stronger than that and even if she could ever love me, she’d never forsake her calling.”

 

Satele softly smiled to herself as his phrasing made it clear he had no idea of Arielle’s feelings for him, something she hoped he’d never find out either.

 

“That last moment though on Coruscant.. it was, different somehow and the Emperor he wasn’t.. He was like another man.”

 

Satele nodded “I felt it too. A certain sense of significance though I cannot begin to guess what it could mean.”

 

He grabbed the pillow beneath his head and sat up slightly “Where is she? Arielle. I have to talk to her.”

 

“Another time perhaps. She and the others left here this morning.”

 

“Left for where?”

 

“An urgent mission. I’m afraid I cannot provide you with the finer details but rest assured, they’ll be back soon, safe and sound.”

 

Lord Scourge didn’t appreciate her tone of voice. She sounded far too pleased about the fact that the entire crew was gone and he alone was left behind and far away from Arielle.

 

“So would you care to tell me the details of this ritual you and Arielle performed? It seems to have done quite a number on you.”

 

His red eyes flared up at her “We found the gem, smashed it and I absorbed its mortality. Then the cave collapsed.”

 

She arched her brow at him “It appears to have worked though yes? You seem, changed.”

 

“Let me go jump out of the nearest window and find out.” he snarked suddenly having lost all his desire to speak with the Grand Master.

 

She wasn’t wrong though. He felt different, more alive than he had in a long while. The silken fabric of his sheets gently caressed his skin, a sensation that had been lost on him for the better part of his life. He could smell the fresh air that entered the room through his window and the world suddenly seemed so much brighter.

 

“That seems rather extreme. No I’d actually like you to accompany me to Coruscant so the more qualified medical staff there can sample your blood and DNA structure to see what other effects this ritual has had on you.”

 

“Can’t that wait until the others are back?”

 

He wasn’t exactly jumping for joy at the thought of heading off anywhere with just the Grand Master to keep him company.

 

“It could but I’ve already prepared them for your arrival.” Satele claimed and shielded her mind off fully to ensure he’d not catch onto her lie.

 

She felt grateful for her own quick thinking. She’d been trying to think of ways to get him away from the Jedi Temple, not just to keep him separated from Arielle even longer but also because despite their best efforts, the majority of those on Tython felt uneasy about his presence there especially with how restless he’d been. The Dark Side of the Force in him had been fiercer than ever and everyone felt it.

 

Lord Scourge groaned slightly and threw his bedcovers aside before climbing out the opposite end of where Satele sat. The armor he’d always donned lay over a nearby chair and he quickly snatched the pieces up one by one while getting dressed.

 

“I assume the rest of my belongings are still on the ship?”

 

“I’m afraid so but any necessities can be bought on Coruscant I’m sure.”

 

Satele pushed her chair back and rose to her feet, announcing her departure from his presence “I’ll have some dinner brought to your room so you can regain your strengths and then I’ll expect to see you at the shuttle bay in an hour from now.”

 

The urge to strangle her rose with each word she spoke and Lord Scourge was grateful to see her shut the door behind herself quickly.

 

He dug into his pockets to retrieve his comm and frowned when he saw the little indicator flicker red. He clipped the little device open and hit the button before Arielle’s holo image appeared before him.

 

“Scourge? I don’t know when you’ll get this, right now I don’t even know if you’ll ever awake again but when you do.. if you do.. I just want you to know that I… well, I didn’t leave you behind if that’s what you’re thinking. I rather wish you were here actually. Anyways… please know I’m thinking of you and I’ll be back as soon as I can. I… -- be well Scourge.”

 

The holo image disappeared again in the blink of an eye though that didn’t stop Lord Scourge from staring down at the communicator in his hand. He felt something. Something he hadn’t in hundreds of years. There was this erratic thumping inside his chest and this unexplainable force within him urged him to hit play on the message once more.

 

He sank down to the edge of his bed and repeatedly played the recording she’d left for him. There was something she’d been trying to say but hadn’t.

 

The woman who’d come to bring him his dinner went by completely unnoticed to him and rather than touch his food, Lord Scourge lay back in bed and recalled the visions that had startled him from his sleep earlier. He’d hated most of what he’d seen and those thoughts would haunt him for days to come but there’d been one fraction of a moment which he hadn’t minded and it was that one he chose to cling onto for now.