Ryloth Pt. 9
When Rihl went back to the chamber they'd set aside for sleeping, Ruer'jan was still awake, sitting up on his bedroll with his face illuminated by the blue light of his datapad. One of Mlitan's rebels had found his and Rihl's belongings where Ke'arsi had discarded them. The room was almost pitch dark, but even with his night-vision ruined by the screen, he could see Rihl's feline eyes reflecting what little light there was. "I know," he said quietly so as not to wake anyone else up, "I should be resting for the day ahead."
Rihl didn't say anything at first. She carefully stepped over the other sleeping Twi'leks until she could sit down next to Ruer'jan. On the datapad screen was a 2D image of Aola. Ruer'jan had pulled up the full gallery of images that the datapad held, and was slowly going through them. Shortly after Rihl sat down next to him, he came upon the one she had taken of Aola dancing with him on Tatooine to the blues band. "You don't think it was some crazy mistake, do you?" he asked Rihl abruptly. "Her going for someone like me?"
Rihl could see his eyes clearly; they were sad. He had taken off his prosthetic legs, as he usually did to sleep, but not his hand, since he needed both hands to hold and use the datapad. She knew he was ashamed of so much of his body being artificial, believing it inferior to Aola's natural beauty.
"Why shouldn't she?" Rihl tried to sound like there was nothing unusual about it. "You're good for her. For each other, for that matter. Just like you fell in love with her for who she is, she did the same."
"It's still just so hard to believe," Ruer'jan looked down at the floor. "There are so many better men out there... when we landed on Ryloth, I was sure she would see some virile young guy and suddenly not have eyes for me anymore. And then now she's..."
"That's not her," Rihl said quickly lest Ruer'jan give the idea time to sink into his head. "That's just them using the Force to make her think she's in love with that scum. None of that is real. Not like it was real when she looked at you that way."
"You didn't have anything to do with that, did you? With the Force... or otherwise? It- it's okay if you did."
Rihl took a deep breath and sat back against the stone cavern wall. "Not with the Force, no, and no more than anyone would do when her dear sister is understandably afraid to open up to the right person after having been burned by the wrong one."
Ruer'jan shivered. It was rather cold in the cave, but that wasn't why. "I couldn't bear the thought of breaking her heart. Uh, Rihl?"
"Yes?"
"Uh- well, first off, how are you? I don't want to just be talking about myself... do your injuries still hurt? Is there anything more I can do for your preparedness?"
"I'm fine. Mlitan's taken care of them. They're just a little sore; not enough to slow me down, and they shouldn't even leave a scar." She pulled up her shirt a little so Ruer'jan could see just how well one of her trample wounds had healed. Even in the small light of the datapad screen, he could see the V-shaped mark on her skin where the rycrit hoof had stepped on her, where the fur was just starting to grow back in. "And I have everything I need for the battle tomorrow." But she didn't want to let Ruer'jan avoid the real question on his mind. "What is it?"
"I-... thank you for that lesson on protecting myself from their Force influence. I just... if I fail at it... don't let me hurt Aola. No matter what. Please?"
She nodded slowly. She understood. If they managed to take control of him with their insidious Force persuasion, he wanted her to save Aola from him, even if it meant killing him herself. "I won't. I'd like it more if I didn't have to... to say nothing of how much more she would like it, but however it turns out, you won't harm her. I promise you."
It wasn't easy to see, but it looked like Ruer'jan swallowed. "Thank you."
Aola stood before the shrine to Kika’lekki, her feet perfectly framed by the veins of water that ran through the floor. Any time she moved, which was often as she fidgeted from foot to foot, she could hear the quiet jingling of the jewelry that adorned her body and face. A headdress adorned her forehead, feathers towering high over her head and draping over her lekku in a crest. Only her eyes, orange with a thin outline of red around the irises, were visible over the thin veil that hid her mouth while still hinting at the shape of her jaw and lips. The ceremonial outfit was reminiscent of the garb that many in the galaxy would associate with a slave; the aesthetic being twisted and stolen from the Twi’lek culture to make the slave girls appear more exotic. But other than bearing her arms and stomach, the similarities ended there. The brazier and sheer skirt were dyed to match her skin color perfectly, and thin chains of precious metals and jewels draped over her body and accentuated her curves. It had been explained to her that she would remain barefoot, and the cold stone floor was part of the reason she fidgeted. She felt goose bumps rise on her arms as she heard the sound of Daesha coming around from behind the shrine before she saw the High Priestess.
Daesha was dressed similarly, though her regalia was of muted tones while still just as jewel encrusted. In her hands she held a large chalice, filled with dark blue wine.
<”Are you ready to begin, Aola’rin?”> Daesha’s whispered voice bounced off the walls and echoed.
<”Yes. I am ready to become a Rihe, and gain my place az a woman of ze clan.”> Aola didn’t hesitate before responding, intoning the words as she had learned by rote.
She couldn’t see the High Priestess’s mouth, but could still tell that she smiled as she handed Aola the chalice. Reaching behind her, Daesha drew a thin ceremonial dagger from her belt and sliced the palm of her hand, holding it over the chalice. Aola felt as though she were somehow far away as she suddenly found her own hand pierced and held over the wine to drip her blood into the drink. She could not remember the pain of the prick or having said the words she knew she had to have said to have gotten to this step in the ceremony.
Daesha brought the chalice to her lips, drinking deep the mixture of wine and blood, and then again presented it to Aola. <”Drink, and become one of us.”>
The drink was very bitter and stung Aola’s tongue and throat as it went down. She was proud of herself for not coughing any of it back up. But when she brought her eyes back up to Daesha, she found the Priestess gone, replaced with the glowing visage of the Goddess Herself.
Daesha smirked as she saw Aola’s pupils expand as the young girl was taken into the vision in the blink of an eye. Such a young, pliable fool her son had chosen for his broodmare. Now she would believe she had spoken directly to the Goddess and received her blessing; to serve her husband and High Priestess in all they asked, and to bare children strong in the Force. At least, until you die in childbirth. Daesha mentally added with an outward chuckle.
With Aola so far out of it, she encircled the young girl, appraising her body. A casual brush of a hand over her stomach made the High Priestess’s eyebrows raise. Your little flower is ripe. She projected the thought to her son, who was waiting outside with the rest of the village for the celebration to commence. You will bed her tonight. No one will doubt that the child was conceived during the Bou’hada, even if it is born a few days early. Her son’s mind filled with excitement and he responded with a muted agreement. They’d had strong words yesterday about him using his emotions for strength rather than letting them control him, and for the moment her young apprentice was taking the lesson to heart.
Aola swayed a little as the vision left her, and Daesha took hold of her shoulders to keep her from falling over. <”I am here, child.”> She feigned a gasp of surprise, <”No. Not child any longer. But a woman.”> She took Aola’s hand and guided her to the doors of the temple.
Aola’s head felt heavy, as though someone had detached it from her shoulders and thrown it into a thick soup. But through ears that could barely hear she heard Daesha’s voice ring out far louder than was naturally possible, and then the doors before her opened. Her heart was hammering in her chest: this was it, if she made even a single mistake Ke’arsi would never let her live it down. She had to show everyone just how suited she was to be the wife of the next clan leader.
The music began, and as Aola stepped forward from the temple the entire village began to cheer. From either side other girls dressed similarly to Aola but with noticeably less finery stepped in beside her. They began to dance and whirl around her as Aola gathered her courage and sang, at first surprised to find her own voice ringing over the drums and music without much effort from her. She assumed it had to be something Daesha was doing, and continued to sing out the words that felt as though she’d memorized until she could say them backwards and forwards, stamped onto her consciousness until they’d lost all meaning but she sang them anyway.
The drumbeats picked up, and the dancers around her whirled faster and she joined them, her own body gracefully twisting and bending until like the others she appeared to be more water than life form. In the back of her mind she felt as though she’d seen a dance like this before somewhere, but knew it could have only been in a dream. Her own voice rose with the other girls as the dance went on and on, faster and more difficult but somehow she kept up, feeling as though she’d been preparing for this all her life.
As abruptly as it had begun, the dance ended, Aola found herself knelt on the ground and bent double until her forehead brushed the stones, panting heavily with exertion as the village people erupted in applause and cheering. It took the other girls lifting her by the arms to get Aola back on her feet, and once they did she was immediately scooped up by Ke’arsi for another dance as the celebration began.
Ruer’jan’s hand twitched toward his blaster as he saw Aola dancing with that monster in Twi’lek form. This was probably when he would have shot Ke’arsi, if he had been left to carry out his original plan. This plan was much better, because now they would have a chance to win, but the downside was that he was going to have to stay here and watch as this abomination carried itself out, because they needed to strike at the right moment. They needed to give everyone else a chance to get good and drunk off the spiced yurp.
As though on cue, two serving slaves came by, one carrying the large jug of yurp while the other ladled it into cups and passed them out came straight towards Ruer’jan. He accepted the cup for appearances sake, then just stood there holding it pretending to drink. He had to force himself to not just stare at Aola and Ke’arsi, though Aola was more beautiful than he’d ever seen her before. He wanted to be the one dancing with her.
There was a brief pause in the music, and Ke’arsi handed Aola off to Karawn for the next dance before taking his place beside his mother, at the top of the steps leading to the temple. Neither one of them seemed to be indulging, and as soon as Ke’arsi figured no one was looking at him any longer did he let his grin slide into a scowl. That made Ruer’jan even more upset, because that revealed just how much contempt the Dark apprentice had for Aola. To have all to himself the one person Ruer’jan really wanted and to see her as so beneath him as to be unworthy, was such an affront that Ruer’jan could hardly bear. He knew he probably wouldn’t get the chance to hurt Ke’arsi himself, but maybe Car’ul would let him have a turn when it came time to break the man.
So engrossed in his thoughts was Ruer’jan that he didn’t realize until the cup was to his lips. He looked around before surreptitiously spitting the yurp on the ground. His lips felt just a touch numb.
Rihl slurped hungrily and with satisfaction at the bowl of Rycrit stew another pair of serving girls had handed her. Dressed as one of the guards, she paced slowly around the perimeter of the dance floor, making sure that the crowd didn’t interfere with the dancers. Or, more importantly, with their plan. Any time someone crossed the stones or sat on a stone or stood up on one, she shooed that person off quickly. Fa’kan’s concoction of motor oil and congealing agent that coated the stones had to remain undisturbed to ensure that, when they were lit, they would buy Rihl and Ruer’jan enough time to confront Daesha and Ke’arsi. She had to give a slight nudge with the Force to the other guards to encourage them to be so vigilant when it came to the stones, but it wasn’t difficult to do.
Sweeping the crowd with her eyes, she could see Mlitan’s forces making their way to their positions, but far too slowly for her liking. After spending so much time meditating and preparing, she felt like a tightly coiled spring. She allowed that energy to seethe just under the surface as she paced her rounds.
After making a few circuits, she found herself standing close to Aola as the young girl was spun into the arms of yet another man for yet another dance. She was practically close enough to reach out and touch Aola with her hand, but instead she did it with the Force. Immediately she could tell that Aola was drugged, though she’d seen her ona drink none of the yurp that was being passed in the crowd. Her mind and very presence was shrouded, in that same darkness that she had detected the night before. What little snippets she could get from her was very spastic; one moment focusing all of her energy on the dance and the party, the next focusing on Ke’arsi and Daesha, bouncing between excitement, fear that spiked to terror, a dull stupor, euphoric happiness that clashed against overwhelming hatred. If Rihl couldn’t see her physically dancing and smiling, she would have expected Aola to be writhing on the floor screaming. Her ona almost seemed to have no awareness of herself or those around her, only for her two captors. Rihl wished she could try to make eye contact with Aola, but even if not for Aola’s condition, Aola would only see another Rutian Twi’lek looking back at her.
Rihl glanced at Daesha to find the High Priestess staring straight at her. Knowing she had risked enough to try to connect with Aola, she immediately went back to playing the role of the temple guard, turning her gaze toward the crowd and walking away from Aola.
She made her way over toward Ruer’jan, glancing now and then to see if Daesha was still looking at her. The High Priestess had turned her attention back to the revelers. Once Rihl was close enough to whisper to Ruer’jan, she told him, “Aola’s fixated on Ke’arsi and Daesha. She might react badly if she sees us attack them. You were worried about having to protect her from yourself, but more likely you’ll need to protect her from herself.”
Ruer’jan’s face turned a shade paler, but Rihl quickly assured him, “You can do it. I know you will.”
That makes one of us. Ruer’jan thought. But at the same time he steeled himself because damned if he wasn’t going to try.
There wasn’t much more for them to do but wait for the right moment at this point. Rihl spotted Car’ul as the older Twi’lek stalked about the village folk, disguised as a serving man handing out yurp. Even with the disguise, Car’ul was obviously having a hard time pretending to enjoy the festivities, and she could feel his anxiousness coming off him in waves.
The right moment would be when everyone was as drunk as they possibly could be. Some were indulging more than others, of course, and as the yurp flowed and the stew was served for third, fourth, and fifth servings a number of patrons found themselves tripping over themselves if not passing out in drunk-drugged stupors. Musicians changed out and carried on the music as the hours dragged on and it wasn’t until the night was nearly the morning that the consumption of yurp started to drop off.
Ruer’jan and Rihl had expected Aola to take at least one break from the dancing, but she hadn’t stopped once the entire time. And it looked like she wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. By now Rihl had figured out that Daesha was compelling her with the Force to keep dancing until told she could stop. Ruer’jan couldn’t believe that her energy had not seemed to decrease in the slightest after so long. Rihl put a few people between herself and Daesha to ensure that the High Priestess wouldn’t see her raise her commlink to her mouth. <”It’s time. Be ready.”>
Mlitan’s rebels moved up towards the dance floor, encircling it. Rihl and Car’ul started to move up toward the dais but still staying within the crowd, and Ruer’jan moved to the far end, waiting for Aola to dance her way to him.
The music paused for just a few beats and the man Aola was dancing with saw Ruer’jan move into position. Laughing, he spun Aola a few times before sending her to pirouette right into Ruer’jan’s arms. Aola was beaming with a smile, also laughing as she settled against Ruer’jan and the music picked up again.
As usual, Ruer’jan was caught off guard. Even though he’d been watching the dance for hours, he’d been barely able to keep up with the movements while he was watching. Now suddenly thrust unprepared into it, his only hope was that Aola could lead him. She hardly seemed aware that he was even there, and though she was seemingly caught off guard as well, after just a few moments she simply continued to dance as she had been and it was up to Ruer’jan to keep up. Ruer’jan was not the first man to dance with her tonight who didn’t know how to dance, especially as the others began getting drunk.
He nearly stamped on her foot, but managed to pull his prosthetic foot out of that trajectory just in time, though it caused him to almost lose his own balance momentarily. Aola laughed softly as Ruer’jan’s stance went wide and they nearly fell over together, but she kept her balance and as she continued to move it managed to pull him back upright. His heart was pounding in his ears.
Unfortunately, the slip up was enough to draw the attention of Ke’arsi, who glared at the clumsy buffoon dancing with his nonna. Then his eyes noticed the prosthetic feet from below the robes and his eyes widened.
When Rihl saw Ruer’jan almost do the splits, she knew they had to act now. With a primal Cathar roar, she leaped into the center of the dance floor, warstaff drawn. Screaming erupted all around her as the other dancers panicked and began leaving the dance floor as fast as their feet could take them. As the rebels started igniting the marker stones as the dance floor cleared. Mlitan and Car’ul slipped in just as the flames began to climb. The fuel proved to be very effective, creating a wall of fire that closed off the dance floor and temple steps from the rest of the square.
<”What iz ze meaning of zis?”> Daesha snapped, and Aola stopped dancing so abruptly that she stumbled.
Aola blinked as one waking up from sleep to see a tall Rutian man holding her and a wall of fire at his back. She tried to pull away. <”What? Who are you? Let me go!”> Her eyes grew even wider when she noticed his cybernetic hand and she let out a scream.
Ruer’jan wouldn’t let her go, and it was easy to overpower her as the compulsion ceased and exhaustion began to take its toll on her. But she still managed to give a decent struggle. “It’s ok, it’s me Ruer’jan! Look, we’re here to save you.” He said, nudging her to look towards Rihl.
Aola didn’t seem to understand a single word he said and she screamed again. She did turn to look toward the Cathar in the center of the dance floor, but her eyes went straight to Ke’arsi. <”Ka’re! Help me!”>
Rihl looked back to Aola, sparing only a quick glance to prevent Daesha being able to get the drop on her, which gave her only enough time for one word: “Ona!” accompanied by a focused Force probe to reconnect with that part of Aola that was still herself that Rihl hoped beyond hope was still inside her.
Ke’arsi snarled, raising his hand to strike at Rihl or Ruer’jan or both, but just as the air was beginning to charge with electricity a stone exploded on the temple column just beside him. He flinched and turned to find Car’ul and Mlitan.
Meanwhile, the other guards were beginning to see what was happening, but found themselves unable to reach the Force as the rebels charged them with weapons drawn. Without their supernatural abilities they drew blasters and swords, and the chaotic sounds of battle rose from the other side of the wall of fire.
Daesha’s glowing red eyes bore into Rihl. “I knew zis day woul’ come.” Her tone held a definite note of triumph as she slowly drew her weapon from her belt, what appeared to be nothing but another ceremonial trinket until she pressed the switch and the red bar of light sprung forth.
Rihl immediately leapt up the temple stairs, right at Daesha before the High Priestess could come to meet her, her warstaff raised in front of her. Faster than Rihl could blink Daesha parried, sparks flying as lightsaber and warstaff clashed together. Daesha pulled her free hand back, Force pushing Rihl away from her before leaping backward into the doorway of the temple.
Daesha’s tactic was obvious, but could prove fatally effective if Rihl couldn’t stop her. She remembered seeing the vision of her lying dead at Daesha’s feet: the background of that image had been the inside of the temple. And she remembered how Car’ul and Mlitan had told her of the traps the temple contained for Force users. Her eyes went to a brazier within the temple, and she reached her hand forward to pull it from its display and try to hit Daesha from behind.
The brazier flew through the air but Daesha spun, slicing the metal ornament into several pieces with her weapon. With a laugh she turned back to Rihl, curling her hand in a ‘come hither’ motion.
Aola froze in place after Rihl had spoken to her, the Force probe piercing through the shroud like a needle and shattering what she had believed was reality. Immediately the buzzing returned to her ears and she felt the ground tilt beneath her. She would have fallen if not for the stranger still holding onto her. He had one arm around her waist, the mechanical hand holding a blaster out and ready to fire on anyone who tried to come near them.
Tears stung her eyes from both the fire and the pain in her skull, but more from the latter. <”Wh-who are you? What iz happening?”> she still wanted to reach out to Ke’arsi, who for some reason had his back turned to her. Had he abandoned her?
“It’s me, Ruer-“ He stopped, remembering that after saying that just a few seconds ago she’d seemed not to understand him at all. So he switched to Ryl. <”It’s me, Ruer’jan. They had you under some control of some kind. I don’t understand it myself, but we’re here now to rescue you. Me and Rihl both.”>
Aola thought she might scream from the pain that threatened to rip her brain in two, but she tried harder to remember. These names meant nothing to her, yet she still felt like they should. She stared at the mechanical hand holding the blaster and her vision wavered, seeing a different hand there with three fingers instead of five. But when she looked back at her captor’s face she saw a visage from her nightmares; red cybernetic eyes staring down at her. With renewed strength she screamed and began to struggle again.
Ruer’jan mistook her panic for not recognizing him because his skin was blue rather than its customary pink. He didn’t think that she would struggle like this, and was forced to pull his other arm around her again to keep her from breaking away from him. <”I’m sorry! It was all my fault that he got his claws on you in the first place!”>
She froze as he held her tight, unable to stop crying and not even sure why anymore. He was holding her to himself and her face was smashed against his chest. With a mind of their own, her lekku brushed and entwined around his. She stiffened in his arms, feeling through the sensitive appendages an emotion coming from him like nothing she had ever felt from Ke’arsi. <”Who are you?”> her voice shook, and this time she didn’t mean ‘what is your name?’ <”Wh-what h-h-have ze taken from me?”>
Ke’arsi snarled as he turned to find his outcast uncle and pathetic cousin standing behind him on the dais. Car’ul’s hand was still raised from when it had flung the stone, his eyes wide as though surprised that he’d done such a thing. Mlitan held a blaster up, but did not look as though she could bring herself to pull the trigger.
<”You worthless pieces of filth.”> Ke’arsi barked, <”I’ll make sure you are both good an dead zis time!”> But before he could raise his hands, a figure came barreling through the wall of flames beside them. The flames clung to clothing and skin, but Karawn roared as he careened into Car’ul, knocking the other Twi’lek completely off his feet and into the temple wall.
<”Fa’zer!”> Mlitan screamed as the brothers became locked in combat, Karawn pummeling the older Twi’lek with fists and Car’ul trying desperately to extricate himself without seriously harming his brother.
Ke’arsi laughed and gave a few seconds thought to striking at Mlitan while she was helpless. But just then he heard Aola scream and turned his attention back on the pair that would have been lovers. That kn’ic had his arms wrapped tight around his nonna, and he was going to ensure that was the last moment of enjoyment the worthless slave ever had.
Ruer’jan saw Ke’arsi turn to face him with murder in his eyes, at the same moment that Aola asked him that question. Ke’arsi held no weapon that Ruer’jan could see, and he didn’t know how far one could use the Force on someone. So he thought he had a second of time for Aola, <”I’m not sure what they’ve taken, but I’m here to help you get it back. Because I love you.”>
Ke’arsi extended both hands and both Ruer’jan and Aola felt an unseen Force rip them away from each other, Ruer’jan’s arms around Aola notwithstanding. So violent was the Force that Ruer’jan lost his grip on his blaster too, and it clattered to the ground. They both landed hard, sprawled on opposite sides of the dance floor.
<”She iz mine, you worthless kn’ic.”> Ke’arsi said as he walked toward Ruer’jan, not even sparing a glance for Aola.
Ruer’jan scrambled to his feet, drawing his other blaster and holding it with a death grip this time. He didn’t even notice that Ke’arsi wasn’t looking to see if Aola was okay, but he did. Aola’s headdress had fallen away, but she appeared uninjured, and was crawling toward the other blaster. <”I may be a worthless kn’ic,”> he said, voice strained from the simultaneous exertion, <”But she will never be yours!”> He took off running toward her. Ke’arsi struck at him, lightning shooting from his fingertips, and Ruer’jan leapt over the spot where the stones exploded at his feet with a yelp.
Rihl would not be goaded so easily to take the fight into the temple. Knowing that hers was only one part of this battle, she was content for the moment to attack with the Force from range. Throwing objects at Daesha was only a feint. She wanted to get Daesha’s guard down enough for her to catch her in a storm of Force lightning. Daesha was not so easily thrown off, though, even when one object did manage to get past her guard and strike her on the hip. Apparently tiring quickly of this game, Daesha then upped the ante by throwing Force lightning of her own. Rihl had expected as much, and though this kind of Force duel was not her forte, she managed to hold her ground and not let the blue arcs of power snake their way into her body, except for one time when Daesha managed to aim for the hand that held Rihl’s weapon. Despite the numbing pain, Rihl did not drop the warstaff.
Just then, Daesha’s eyes widened at something apparently happening behind Rihl. Throwing one more piece of debris at Daesha just so she could have a second to look back, Rihl beheld the scene of the two Twi’lek brothers rolling around on the floor and Ke’arsi stalking toward Ruer’jan and Aola, who had become separated.
Rihl grinned wickedly. Ke’arsi had exposed one of Daesha’s buttons, and Rihl knew how to press it. After having fought to keep the fight out of the temple, Daesha did not expect the Force Rihl unleashed on her to push her backward into the temple, and she was sent toppling into the shrine, leaving Rihl with an opening to address Ke’arsi.
Just as Ruer’jan reached Aola, he was looking down and saw her hand reaching for his blaster. By this point, he didn’t know who she would try to shoot with it, so he had a mind to reach down and pick it up before she could reach it… and then suddenly it was already in her hand. There was a flash of light and a sudden smell of ozone as the blaster discharged. Ruer’jan’s head reflexively turned to follow where the blaster barrel was pointing, and beheld a priceless look on Ke’arsi’s face, the Dark apprentice’s hands covering his smoking groin area as he sank to his knees in excruciating pain.
Rihl had been about to unleash her fury on Ke’arsi, but seeing there was no need for that now, she instead went over to Karawn and Car’ul and pulled them apart physically, giving Karawn a solid blow on the head to knock him out. Car’ul scrambled to his feet, his face puffy with a bloody lip and black eye, but Rihl just smiled and gestured at Ke’arsi. <“He’s all yours.”>
Daesha’s maddened scream from the temple doorway filled their ears. Aola dropped the blaster to the ground, unsure of how it had even come to be in her hand in the first place. She was about to scream as well when Daesha thrust her hand forward and Aola’s eyes grew wide, feeling that last thread holding her mind together snap. Her eyes glazed as she clumsily stood and began walking toward the temple, staring straight ahead. With a single shot Aola had taken her most precious child away from her; as far as she was concerned Ke’arsi might as well be dead, now that he could not father children. So in return she would take Aola from them all. In her crazed mind Daesha told herself that the prophecy she’d had could still come to pass so long as she had Aola in her possession.
Rihl felt the last of Aola’s true self slip away under Daesha’s hammer-like use of the Force on her ona. Seeing what Daesha was trying to make Aola do, she knew that the priestess still wanted Aola alive. “Ruer’jan, grab her!” She gave Car’ul a push in Ke’arsi’s direction. <”Take care of him.”>
Ruer’jan jumped into action, once again wrapping his arms around Aola and dragging her as far away from the temple as he could go, until his back was almost against the still burning wall of flames. Aola barely resisted, twitching in his arms periodically but otherwise giving no reaction. He turned her around to face him, and she stared at him with an empty gaze before turning her head back toward the temple.
Rihl moved to put herself between Daesha and Aola. The High Priestess snarled like a wild animal under her headdress, her language switching to Sith, <”I am going to make her drink your blood and then use your hide as a carpet!”> the end of her statement came out in a hiss as she leapt from the temple entrance and straight at Rihl.
Daesha hit her incredibly hard; Rihl was pushed back a step and it took a great deal of strength just to keep the warstaff between herself and Daesha’s lightsaber blade. Their faces were so close that Rihl could see the outline of Daesha’s mouth through the thin veil covering the lower half of her face, blood stained teeth in a rictus grin.
Ke’arsi breathed raggedly through gritted teeth as he finally forced his hands away from his wound. To Hell with that bastard bitch and all her insignificant friends. He raised a hand and fired lightning at both Aola and Ruer’jan.
Ruer’jan saw the look Ke’arsi was giving them as he lifted his hand, and without thinking he shoved Aola as hard as he could to his left. The lightning hit him square in the chest with such force that he stood rigid, twitching and screaming in pain as the blue arcs wound around him and through him. Ke’arsi grinned, continuing to strike with all his hatred even as Ruer’jan fell to the floor still screaming.
Abruptly the lightning ceased, Ruer’jan would have just lain on the floor in pain, but the adrenaline in his system kicking his emergency implants on, spurred him into action almost before he realized it. He couldn’t feel his cybernetic hand anymore, but he picked up his blaster from where he had dropped it with his left hand and raised it to point at Ke’arsi.
He found Ke’arsi floating in midair, kicking wildly as his feet failed to reach the floor and gripping at his neck. Behind him Mlitan held her hand up, staring hard at her cousin as her father tried desperately to convince her to let Ke’arsi go.
Ruer’jan didn’t take the shot, his thoughts only for Aola who he saw climb slowly to her feet from where she’d landed after he shoved her and begin walking toward the temple. He ran over and grabbed her again, wincing as her head bumped hard against his burned chest.
Daesha swung her lightsaber in line with Rihl’s neck, but the Cathar saw it a kilometer away and barely had to move to dodge it, tilting her head to the side as she parried the lightsaber blade away with the topmost blade of her warstaff while bringing the other upward to slice the High Priestess. Daesha dodged away from the blade like a snake, hissing as Rihl grinned at her and attempting another stabbing attack that clashed harshly against Rihl’s warstaff and sent sparks flying.
Rihl had to push back harder than she wanted to to keep from getting stabbed, but she didn’t lose that grin, because now Daesha was playing her game. They continued to trade blows, appearing to be well matched in close combat as they had been in the Force duel, but Rihl was subtly maneuvering her opponent farther away from the temple entrance, using her superior reach and larger weapon to control the space they fought in.
Daesha’s eyes darted from Rihl to the temple as she realized she now had the wall of fire behind her rather than sanctuary, and she began lashing out at the Cathar even harder than before, using her free hand to Force push her opponent toward her preferred battlefield. But trying to maneuver Rihl this way was akin to trying to move a solid ferrocrete wall.
Rihl decided to show her how it was done; the old fashioned way. Lowering her staff into a blocking position, she charged Daesha. The weapon lowered as it was prevented Daesha from dodging to either side, and with a flashed look of panic the Twi’lek only managed to raise her lightsaber in time to catch the handle of the warstaff. Daesha was braced, but Rihl had size and momentum, and Daesha felt her feet sliding backward along the ground. And she could feel the heat from the flames growing hotter at her back.
Yellow eyes met red, and Daesha’s glare bore into her opponent’s. Though Daesha was having to devote all of her physical strength to keep Rihl from forcing her into the flames, she focused her mind like a scalpel and lashed out.
Pain erupted behind Rihl’s eyes, and momentarily her eyes shut in a flinch but the rest of her body remained rigid. That moment was enough for Daesha to shift her weight and push Rihl to the side, allowing her to slip out from between the Cathar and the flames, laughing when Rihl took a wild swing at her that went wide.
Rihl charged at her again, slashing this time with the staff, catching Daesha in the shoulder and drawing blood. The High Priestess screamed as Rihl continued running, once again putting herself between her and the temple.
”You cannot win.” Daesha hissed, and Rihl felt the Force persuasion hit her like a hammer blow.
“I don’t have to win, you’ve already lost.” Rihl retorted, shaking her head to try and get out from under the weight of that thought. “Even if I fall, your guards are dead and you’ve lost your only son. Your last son.”
Daesha grinned again, “But I haven’t lost a son so much as gained a daughter.” Ruer’jan’s scream rang out nearby. “You and your friends are nothing before our power. And after this day no one will remember that anything unusual even happened.” She tilted her head and added in a sing-song voice, “Except for the Cathar skull that will adorn my new headdress.”
“Fitting, because even dead I will always be above you.” Rihl quipped and saw Daesha’s eye narrow in anger. “If you survive this, maybe I’ll show you my Twi’lek skulls that I drink out of.”
Daesha snarled and whipped her hand out, attempting to once again Force push Rihl into the temple. She was flung backward so hard that she collided with the doorjamb, sinking to the ground. The High Priestess stalked up the temple steps and raised her lightsaber triumphantly. “These steps were due for a fresh coat of blood.”
Rihl couldn’t agree more, and didn’t hesitate for even a moment before unleashing a torrent of Force lightning at Daesha’s exposed middle. The High Priestess’s wails of pain rose louder and louder as Rihl climbed back to her feet, still holding her staff in the one hand while holding the other hand out to keep the lightning on Daesha. Rather than rely on the Dark Force power to slay her foe, she did it the Cathar way. The sword didn’t take Daesha’s head completely off, but she was just as dead. As her body fell limp and slowly slid down the temple steps, Car’ul’s voice rang out.
<”Please, Mlitan, don’ do zis!”> Rihl raised her eyes to see the scene before her.
<”His life belongs to your father, not to you.”> Rihl called as she strode down the temple stairs.
<”He was killing Ruer’jan.”> Mlitan said, her voice flat.
Car’ul placed a hand on Mlitan’s shoulder, <”Please, my daughter, no’ like zis. If you end his life zis way, you will only be perpetuating ze evil zat has filled him.”>
<”Don’t dishonor your family with your disobedience.”> Rihl added, though she made no more to stop Mlitan.
There was a long pause, Ke’arsi’s eyes rolling back and his twitches becoming weaker, before Mlitan slowly lowered her hand. Her cousin gulped in air once his airway was free, crouching and turning to face Mlitan and Car’ul. <”You-“>
<”You have lost, Ke’arsi’vuz.”> Mlitan said, her voice still flat. <”Your mo’zer iz dead and all of her plans wis her. Your only hope iz to concede defeat and accept our justice.”>
Still rubbing his throat, his voice hoarse, <”And what justice would zat be, cousin?”>
Mlitan stood regally over him. <”You will give yourself completely into our keeping, to have ze darkness cleansed from you. You will become a servant of ze clan, not zere leader, and swear obedience to us before everyone. You will spend your days undoing ze damage you and your mo’zer have done to zis family.”>
Ke’arsi’s orange eyes stared up at his cousin, considering her terms. His eyes darted between Mlitan, Car’ul, and Rihl behind both of them. Slowly, he stood, bowing his head. <”I will…accept zis.”>
Rihl surreptitiously raised an eyebrow, she hadn’t been sure that Car’ul and Mlitan could do it. Ruer’jan, as he held Aola’s limp body against him, couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He coughed, struggling to breathe with singed lungs, wide eyed at the event unfolding.
Mlitan nodded, her face still stone as she turned to look at her father. <”It is-“>
Lightning arced through the air as Ke’arsi struck out at Mlitan, snarling. <”You are truly fools if you sink you can change me! I will rebuild my mo’zer’s dynasty on your ashes!”> He waited long enough to see the look of terror on Car’ul’s face before unleashing more lightning from his other hand, striking his uncle in the chest.
Rihl watched as both Twi’lek’s fell to the ground. She could have easily struck Ke’arsi down, but she would make one last attempt to let Car’ul have what he wanted. Focusing the Force, she tried to feed its power to Car’ul so he could resist Ke’arsi. She found that Car’ul was weak, and would never be able to defeat Ke’arsi. So she began to shift her focus to Mlitan, who whom she now felt a strength that could possibly rival Ke’arsi.
But just as Mlitan began to respond, the lightning suddenly stopped. This time the look of shock on Ke’arsi’s face was that of being ripped away from life itself as he crumpled to the ground, a smoking hole in the center of his chest. As he fell, they could see Ruer’jan standing behind, still pointing his blaster at the space where Ke’arsi had been. There was rage on his face, and tears in his eyes. One of his lekku was wrapped around one of Aola’s, but Rihl’s sister was completely inert.
He ran up to the body, shooting it in the back of the head and several more times in the torso. “You monster! You did this to her!” Roaring, he started stomping on what was left of the head, one of his prosthetic feet puncturing the back of the skull with a sickening crunch. He lost his balance, holding Aola tight as he landed on his butt on the ground, he began rocking back and forth, nuzzling her head and sobbing.
