Kelta Rose reached out and grasped the Force, gripping it as she would the hilt of her lightsaber. With every bit of strength she could muster, she wielded it like a weapon, bringing it to bear against her terrible, unseen, unfeeling foe. Her attack did nothing, like a lightsaber blade fizzling away from the touch of cortosis ore. The Jedi wanted to scream in frustration, but instead used it to fuel yet another futile attack against her enemy.<\/p>\n
With the sensitivity she had always possessed, she could feel the damage the disease had done to Halyn Lance. She could feel the frayed nerves, the damaged senses, and the battered mind and soul. The Zabrak warrior had been as brilliant as a star throughout the long siege of Iridonia, burning as brightly as a Force-user, but now she could sense only the faint embers of his life slipping away from her grasp.<\/p>\n
She attacked the disease, a creation of the Yuuzhan Vong, with everything she could muster, but her attacks seemed to slide over it, away from it, no matter what technique or approach she used.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t know if hours had passed, or minutes; time seemed to travel at its own pace when she was so deeply entwined in the Force.<\/p>\n
Kelta reached for the Force again, but before she could renew her assault against the disease, a vision flashed into her mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cA Jedi Knight uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never attack,\u201d Master Skywalker said to the class of potential Jedi.<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta sat cross-legged on the ground, feeling a trickle of the Force\u2014a sensation she had intentionally avoided since before the birth of her child, Adreia. Now, on Yavin IV at Kativie\u2019s urging, she reluctantly listened to the Jedi Master\u2019s words, sitting amidst a group of students all younger than herself.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut Master Skywalker, you participated in attacks against the Empire, even as a Jedi. You participated in attacks at Endor, at Bakura, at Mindor, at Wayland, and a lot more places that I don\u2019t remember,\u201d a younger student spoke up. \u201cDid you not use the Force during that?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI did,\u201d Master Skywalker acknowledged. \u201cI used the Force while participating in those actions, but those attacks, as you call them, were in the defense of free sentients everywhere.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIsn\u2019t that just semantics?\u201d another student asked.<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta plucked a small white flower from the ground next to her, studying it as she listened to the discussion.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes it is, and no, it isn\u2019t,\u201d the Jedi Master replied. \u201cTo some degree, yes, it is semantics. On another world, if you were to lift a blaster and kill someone, would it matter if you did it for cold-blooded reasons, or in defense of a victim?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d the first student said, \u201cand I already know where your point is going. But\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe person who died at your attack would say you took offensive action, particularly if he had not yet threatened a life,\u201d Master Skywalker said smoothly. \u201cAnd yet, as a Jedi, the Force showed you his intention\u2014did it matter if he had not yet acted upon it?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The student leaned back with a troubled look on his face.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe difference is in your intent,\u201d Master Skywalker explained. \u201cDo you raise your weapon in defense of another life, or to exhibit dominance?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta studied the flower closely, turning over the Master\u2019s words in her mind. It was a familiar argument to her\u2014she was all too-acquainted with the nature of the dark side. Her first master had tried to subtly corrupt her; her second had warned her and showed her the dangers of the dark side, and the importance of defense.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDoes it matter?\u201d another student, a Twi\u2019lek girl, asked quietly. \u201cThe results are the same.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTo act in the defense of another is to allow the Force to guide your actions; to dominate is to slip into the shadow of the dark side,\u201d Master Skywalker warned.<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta shook her head at the vision, unsure of what the Force was telling her. She reached out for the Force again, and another memory assaulted her.<\/p>\n Kelta stood over her first master, blade in hand, looking down at the broken woman with no small amount of contempt. \u201cYour dominion over me is over,\u201d she said harshly.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou have been slow to come to this point,\u201d the old, old woman said, her face far younger than her years. \u201cBut you have finally arrived. You will be a capable weapon.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a weapon for you to use,\u201d Kelta warned. \u201cYou have no control over me. I am my own woman.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t I? We all serve a master, young Listener,\u201d the woman said. \u201cThe Jedi Knights of old served the Force, or so they believed\u2014they have always been servants of the Republic. The Sith Lords serve their own base desires, and trade their humanity for their power and become slaves to the dark side. It is the nature of existence to serve something greater than yourself.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll never serve you,\u201d Kelta declared. \u201cYou\u2019re a monster. You tried to turn me into your tool so you could rule Nam Chorios, because you don\u2019t have the strength to overthrow the Hutt yourself.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThen what do you serve, Kelta Rose?\u201d the dark woman asked her.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI serve no one,\u201d she snapped. \u201cIf I find a cause worthy to support, I will serve it, and the Force will guide me. But I\u2019ll never let someone manipulate me. Not again.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta turned her back on the woman and walked away, leaving her alive. In hours, she knew she would be off the planet in a \u201cborrowed\u201d little Z-95 Headhunter, even if she wasn\u2019t much of a pilot. All her life, she had been manipulated and controlled\u2014from the Elders to her ex-boyfriend and now Taselda, they all tried to turn her into something to fit their needs. But she was her own woman now, with the Force at her back, and the galaxy would burn before she would submit to someone else\u2019s machinations again.<\/em><\/p>\n The Jedi Knight staggered from the vision, a flood of old emotion overwhelming her. She remembered the horrors of her first apprenticeship, her flight across the Outer Rim, the Headhunter giving out in that forsaken little starport, only to be \u201crescued\u201d by a Zabrak flight instructor looking for someone to run the books at his flight academy\u2014which directly resulted in Kelta joining the Rebel Alliance, and serving for the next two years as part of a Rebellion starfighter wing.<\/p>\n She tried to grasp the Force again\u2014she needed its power if she were to save Halyn\u2019s life\u2014but instead of responding it struck her with another vision of the past, the history that had hurt her so many times, over and over, in spite of her best efforts.<\/p>\n Kelta sighed as she descended into the seedy little bar. She had stopped at several of them across the Outer Rim as she had fled from place to place, and she noted wryly that they all seemed to be alike. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, she reflected that trying to find work was difficult given her skills. <\/em><\/p>\n She had been raised in relative isolation, prepared to be a figurehead for a people she had rejected. She was a mediocre pilot and had never spent time farming or ranching. She\u2019d never picked up a hydrospanner to fix anything herself, and she\u2019d never even had a chance to perform physical labor. Her education had been limited\u2014she could read and write Basic, of course, and knew her basic math, but so much of her youth had been wasted on the traditions and history of her tribe of Listeners. That knowledge was worthless in the wider galaxy.<\/em><\/p>\n So as she sidled up to the bar and ordered a very mild drink she had learned she could tolerate, she wondered what profession she could find for herself. Her options were <\/em>very limited, she reluctantly concluded. She could try to get on with a freighter crew and do manual labor, or find someplace where she could learn to farm. The brief possibility of selling herself crossed her mind for a second, but she firmly banished that from the realm of possibilities.<\/em><\/p>\n Of course, the state of the Z-95 Headhunter made her options even more limited. She didn\u2019t know if the little starship would hold out through another hyperspace jump or two; she didn\u2019t have the funds to properly maintain it, and the stresses were starting to show. The idea of another hyperspace jump gave her a deep sense of forboding.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNeed to find work,\u201d Kelta muttered to herself. <\/em>Someone to serve, a little voice treacherously added silently.<\/em> Someone who will use me and protect me and\u2026<\/p>\n Shut up, she told the little voice firmly. <\/em>Just shut up and go away.<\/p>\n \u201cC\u2019mon, I haven\u2019t had a chance to say anything yet,\u201d a deep male voice said in her ear, allowing Kelta to realize she had said the words aloud.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSorry,\u201d she said, throwing the stranger a little smile. Her eyes were drawn upward to the top of his head\u2014instead of hair, he had\u00a0<\/em>a vestigial array of horns.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a Zabrak,\u201d the male said.<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta blushed. \u201cSorry.\u201d <\/em>I really sound like a backwater girl. Of course, I am<\/em> a backwater girl.<\/p>\n \u201cDid I hear you say you\u2019re looking for work?\u201d the Zabrak asked.<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta nodded. \u201cMy Z-95 is about to give out,\u201d she said to the stranger. \u201cSo I\u2019m looking for a job on a freighter. Know anyone looking?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d the Zabrak said. \u201cMe.\u201d He smiled at her, and Kelta noted for the first time he was rather striking with his dark tattoos and easy smile. \u201cI run a little flight academy on the Outer Rim\u2014training rookies on Z-95 Headhunters. I\u2019ve got some positions open, Miss\u2026?.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cKelta Rose. I doubt I\u2019d be much of a flight instructor,\u201d Kelta said, her smile failing her. \u201cI\u2019m not much of a pilot.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m actually looking for someone to take care of the logistics of the flight academy,\u201d the Zabrak said. \u201cSomeone to take care of the books, ensure we have supplies requisitioned in a timely fashion, have the necessary staff for cleaning, maintenance, cooking, and so forth.\u201d He looked deep into her eyes. \u201cHuh. I\u2019ve never met a human with violet eyes before.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta\u2019s mind raced. \u201cI\u2019ve never done anything like that before,\u201d she said casually. \u201cI\u2019d be willing to give it a shot, though.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cExcellent. My freighter is here, the <\/em>Starwind. I\u2019m parked over in Docking Bay Eighteen. I\u2019ll be leaving here in twelve hours. If you\u2019re not there by then, I\u2019ll assume you turned down the job offer.\u201d The Zabrak laid down several mismatched coins and waved to the bartender. \u201cThis should cover my drink and hers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n As he turned to go, Kelta asked, \u201cWait, what\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHalyn Lance,\u201d the Zabrak said with a smile before he walked out the door.<\/em><\/p>\n He\u2019ll use you like the others have, the little voice told her. <\/em>Don\u2019t trust him.<\/p>\n But as she weighed her options, she reached out to the Force and could sense no ill intent from the Zabrak. There was plenty of secrecy\u2014his mind seemed locked up like a safe\u2014but his intentions toward her were decidedly benign. With the Headhunter on the verge of giving out, she decided it was worth the risk.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Kelta growled aloud to the Force. \u201cI don\u2019t have time for this. I have to save him first.\u201d<\/p>\n The Force ignored her protestation, though, and when she tried to grasp the power again yet another vision flooded her senses.<\/p>\n She was on Rori, in the swamps outside Zephyr Base. Her master\u2014her first true instructor in the ways of the Jedi\u2014knelt in meditation a half-dozen meters away. Kelta mirrored his pose, feeling a trickle of Force-energy floating through her, like water dripping from a leaking faucet.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTo be a Jedi Knight is to be committed to the defense of everyone,\u201d Master Sprint intoned. \u201cIt is not a profession\u2014it is a way of life. It is total: every day, every hour, every minute, every second, you are a Jedi. This is not a commitment you can walk away from.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSo I just wander around the galaxy, looking for evil to smite?\u201d Kelta snarked.<\/em><\/p>\n Korris chuckled at that. \u201cThe Force guides us to where we are needed,\u201d he answered her. \u201cHow else would you have found an instructor now, when the Jedi are all but extinct?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta did not have an answer for that.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTo be a Jedi is to surrender control of your destiny to the Force. The Sith believe they can control the Force and thus control their own destiny. To be a Jedi is to control your own desires\u2014your will must be subjugated to the Force, or you will fall into the trap of the dark side.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta gasped for breath. The visions were coming too suddenly, too intensely for her to handle.<\/p>\n Then the Force showed her Luke Skywalker, a conversation only a few months ago.<\/p>\n \u201cKelta, you\u2019ve been with the Jedi for a long time now. You have secrets that you don\u2019t share, and I understand that. But\u2026\u201d the Jedi Master uncharacteristically hesitated. \u201cSomething limits you. Your potential lies untapped because something in your past still shackles you. And the Force has indicated that\u00a0<\/em>you are the one who needs to do this.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>I believe this, Kelta Rose, is what is needed not just for the Jedi or for the New Republic, but for\u00a0<\/em>you personally<\/em>. I have no evidence\u2026only what the Force has led me to believe.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Jedi Knight found herself lying on the floor staring upward, breathing hard. She began to reach out for the Force yet again, but stopped before she made contact with the energy flow. Think, Kelta. Halyn is dying, and everything you spent hours doing didn\u2019t work. Now, whenever you reach out for the Force to try again, you\u2019re confronted with visions. What\u2019s the common factor?<\/em><\/p>\n Control.<\/em><\/p>\n She considered that for several long moments. Control. It\u2019s always been about control. People have tried to control me for my talents, and I\u2019ve sought to control myself, to control the Force. I\u2019ve not fallen to the dark side and become a Sith, but maybe I\u2019m going about it wrong. I\u2019m trying to use the Force; the masters have always told me I need to allow <\/em>it to control <\/em>me.<\/p>\n The solution was deceptive in its simplicity. It can\u2019t be that simple. To allow the Force to control me would mean I\u2019d have to let down my defenses. Every time I\u2019ve done that, the pain I feel from others through the Force overwhelms me and cripples me. If I try this, in a war zone, even if it doesn\u2019t kill me it may cripple me to the point that I can\u2019t help Halyn.<\/em><\/p>\n She dragged herself up to her knees and laid her hands on the Zabrak\u2019s chest. She could feel his hearts beating oh-so-slow, too slow for any living sentient. I can take the risk, because the alternative means he dies.<\/em><\/p>\n With Halyn\u2019s life in her hands, Kelta prepared herself for several long moments, breathing deep and cleansing away her fear, her pain, her anxiousness. When her mind was settled, she dropped her hard-built defenses against the Force.<\/p>\n The Force struck her with the impossible strength of a hurricane, sweeping her up in its energy.\u00a0 She thought she heard herself scream as the energy flooded all of her senses, blinding and deafening her. It seemed to overwhelm her, threatening to rip away her very identity and leave her a mindless shell.<\/p>\n Her instincts screamed at her to slam her walls up, to push away the Force. If I do that, Halyn is lost<\/em>, she found the strength to tell herself. If I hang on, there\u2019s a chance\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n Almost as abruptly as it begun, the storm subsided, and Kelta sensed she was in the eye of the proverbial storm. She found herself there, floating in a sea of warm power, energy that strengthened her, comforted her, gave her insight.<\/p>\n With the Force came the familiar anguish of the citizens of Rak\u2019Edalin\u2014the pain of Zabraks who had lost friends, lovers, children, parents, and homes in the bloody invasion. But for the first time she could ever recall, it didn\u2019t debilitate her. She could sense their pain with the absolute clarity she always experienced, but it was separate from her, and it was not hers.<\/em><\/p>\n She marveled in the clarity the Force granted her, but not for long.<\/p>\n She had surrendered herself to the Force with a purpose, and she could sense time was critically short. Kelta did not reach out with the Force for Halyn, however.<\/p>\n The Force reached out with her.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excruciating pain. Pain flowed from his fingertips to his shoulders, across his chest, down his abdomen, all the way out to his toes.<\/p>\n Pain.<\/em> Pain that made a man want to die; pain that debilitated and crippled. Pain felt only by dying men, by those burned head to toe, of a sort that could only be felt by breaking every bone in the body.<\/p>\n Pain.<\/p>\n Pain.<\/em><\/p>\n It had been over a year since Halyn had felt pain, and he wondered if he had finally died and been sent to a galactic hell. Maybe it\u2019s a hell reserved just for Iridonians<\/em>, he thought distantly\u2014Iridonians who have done horrible, unforgiveable things. Maybe I\u2019ll see Arsani<\/em>.<\/p>\n In the course of a year, he had forgotten just how painful<\/em> simple physical pain could be.<\/p>\n He found the strength to open his eyes, and light stabbed him like vibroblades. He immediately shut them again, grimacing. Abused cheek muscles added their protest, and Halyn felt for a moment like every part of his body was informing him, with great detail, what a horrible person he was.<\/p>\n But for all his faults and all his mistakes, there was one thing that Halyn wasn\u2019t: a quitter.<\/p>\n He opened his eyes again, rode out the shock of pain and light. His eyes refused to focus, but he persisted. He tried to swallow, his mouth and throat impersonating a desert, but still he persisted. He blinked, again, and again. Slowly moisture formed on his eyes, teardrops providing a protective shield. After long minutes, his eyes quieted their protestations enough for him to focus on the ceiling above.<\/p>\n I\u2019m in the <\/em>Cathleen\u2019s med bay<\/em>, he realized. And I\u2019m still alive. And I\u2019m feeling pain again. Unless this really is hell.<\/em><\/p>\n He tried to raise his arm; his muscles, filled with lactic acids, promptly told him no.<\/p>\n But his eyes had eventually yielded to his demands, so he kept up, slowly working his arms. He began by lifting just his fingertips, then his hands, then his forearms.<\/p>\n As the pain faded from harsh intensity to dull throb, he realized that two hands were laying upon his chest\u2014hands smaller than his own, feminine but hardened.<\/p>\n He slowly turned his head to the side to see the hands\u2019 owner. His neck opined that it was very likely broken, but he did his best to ignore it like his other treacherous limbs. Halyn\u2019s eyes focused on a sweat-stained and greasy mass of red hair, elaborately braided like always.<\/p>\n It took him several attempts to open his mouth before he croaked, \u201cKelta\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The Jedi looked up at him, amazement in her eyes. She was exhausted, he could tell, but her violet eyes burned with a new intensity, a new power<\/em> he could not recall seeing there before. \u201cHalyn,\u201d she whispered. \u201cHalyn, you\u2019re going to be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDying,\u201d the Zabrak managed. \u201cSorry I didn\u2019t tell you. You deserved to know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d she whispered. \u201cYou\u2019re going to live. The Force healed you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLiar,\u201d Halyn said. \u201cNot a healer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t heal you, Halyn. The Force has healed you.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn tried to sit up, but Kelta felt impossibly strong when she pushed him back down.\u00a0\u201cNo. You need to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe war,\u201d Halyn said stubbornly as he tried to push himself up again. \u201cStill fighting\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can feel what you\u2019ve done to yourself,\u201d Kelta told him. \u201cMore than even you know. You really couldn\u2019t feel anything, could you? That\u2019s how you kept up with the Vong. You never felt your own exhaustion, you couldn\u2019t feel your own ripped muscles or torn tendons. You pushed yourself literally past a living being\u2019s breaking point because you couldn\u2019t feel it.<\/em> You\u2019re paying the toll now.\u201d<\/p>\n The Zabrak pushed up against her hand again. \u201cNo time to rest. Not until it\u2019s over. Even if I\u2019m going to live.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n But Halyn had pushed himself up to sitting and was swinging his feet off the medical cot. Pain flared from his joints as they bent; inflamed tissue felt like fire. But he persisted, refusing to be held down or coddled. \u201cI need to rest,\u201d he rasped, \u201cbut afterward. There will be time then.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta sighed. \u201cI would\u2019ve thought being taken to the edge of death would have made you smarter than this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s happened since I collapsed?\u201d Halyn asked. \u201cI remember giving the order to fire. Then nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Cathleen<\/em> leveled Rak\u2019Edalin,\u201d Kelta reported. \u201cI don\u2019t know anything after that, because I came down here with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn nearly collapsed when he slid off the cot, but the red-maned Jedi caught him until his abused legs found their strength to stand. \u201cWho\u2019s in command?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI told you, I don\u2019t know,\u201d Kelta said with tired exasperation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to find out,\u201d Halyn said, his voice coming back. \u201cIt\u2019s not too late for the Vong to reverse our gains.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to rest<\/em>, Halyn,\u201d Kelta said.<\/p>\n The Zabrak felt the pain fading all across his body\u2014not away, unfortunately, but to a tolerable level. Strength was returning to his limbs. \u201cAfterward,\u201d he repeated.<\/p>\n The medbay door slid open to admit a new figure. Halyn turned and saw the huge, unmistakeable form of a Wookiee berserker. \u201c\u2019Ello, Anishor,\u201d he said with a pained smile.<\/p>\n The Wookiee stopped dead in his tracks. <Halyn?> he growled, his voice quiet and disbelieving. <Halyn?><\/p>\n \u201cKelta had a Jedi trick left,\u201d the Zabrak said.<\/p>\n The Wookiee roared in delight and bounded across the medical bay, wrapping both the Zabrak and the Jedi in a hug that lifted their feet clear of the floor. <Halyn! Kelta!> he laughed. <You\u2019re alive!><\/p>\n Halyn\u2019s head swam as the Wookiee spun them around the room. \u201cEasy, Anishor,\u201d he wheezed. \u201cI\u2019m still trying to live here.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wookiee chuffed with laughter as he set them both done. Halyn staggered a bit, but his legs held. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on? Who\u2019s in command?\u201d he asked breathlessly.<\/p>\n The Wookiee was still grinning, his lips peeled back in a smile that would have been intimidating to anyone else. <How did you save him, Kelta? I can smell the difference on him now\u2014the scent of death is gone!><\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s in command, Anishor?\u201d Halyn repeated. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n The Wookiee finally sobered, his eyes shifting from the exhausted Jedi to the revived Ul\u2019akhoi. <Your sister has taken command. The Vong have landed reinforcements from their fleet, but they\u2019re not much\u2014our forces outnumber theirs by a good margin. The fleet stays in position to threaten Iridonia.><\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s get Kativie down here to talk strategy,\u201d Halyn rasped.<\/p>\n The Wookiee hesitated, and Halyn knew in a heartbeat that something was wrong.<\/p>\n <Your sister has accepted a duel with the Yuuzhan Vong commander,> he said slowly. <She left orders for the inevitable battle and left the Cathleen<\/em> with Senator Alari as her second, not ten minutes ago.><\/p>\n \u201cWhere?\u201d Halyn demanded. His legs protested again as he started to walk toward the medbay door.<\/p>\n \u201cHalyn, you\u2019re in no shape\u2026\u201d Kelta began.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere?<\/em>\u201d Halyn demanded again with all the strength he could muster.<\/p>\n <The site where the Council stood,> Anishor said.<\/p>\n \u201cRaise her on comlink,\u201d the Zabrak said as he continued his persistent line toward the medbay\u2019s portal.<\/p>\n <She left it behind, intentionally,> Anishor told him. <She said she didn\u2019t want any distractions.><\/p>\n The door slid open at Halyn\u2019s touch. \u201cSo what aren\u2019t you telling me, furball?\u201d he muttered. \u201cThere\u2019s something else, or you wouldn\u2019t have hesitated before telling me where she\u2019d gone.\u201d<\/p>\n <Kativie is on the edge of the dark side,> Anishor said bluntly. <I don\u2019t know what will happen to her if she fights this duel.><\/p>\n \u201cThen I guess we have to stop it,\u201d Halyn said as he slowly walked out into the corridor, his stride becoming steadier and stronger with each step.<\/p>\n The turbolift door slid shut around the three of them before anyone spoke again, though Anishor and Kelta exchanged looks that Halyn pointedly ignored.<\/p>\n \u201cHalyn,\u201d Kelta said quietly, \u201cI know better than to think I can stop you. But please, you need to live.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot at my sister\u2019s sake,\u201d he said bluntly.<\/p>\n <Your death will not help her. Your demise is what sent her to the brink already.><\/p>\n The turbolift stopped near the quarters where Halyn maintained his private armory. His motion was almost fluid by the time he reached the door\u2014the pain was largely under control now, though to himself his motions felt sluggish.<\/p>\n He shrugged his duster into place as Kelta and Anishor watched him, both their eyes pained. He slung a zhaboka across his back and, after a moment of hesitation, reached for the simple sword he had found in the Starwind<\/em>\u2019s hold.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the hope of Iridonia,\u201d he murmured as he slung the blade from his belt, under the big duster.<\/p>\n \u201cHalyn,\u201d Kelta said wearily, \u201cI don\u2019t have the strength to go with you right now, and I know I can\u2019t stop you. Well, I could, but you\u2019d never forgive me if something happens to Kativie. So here.\u201d<\/p>\n She handed him an object with a small smile. \u201cThink of it as a token of my affection.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn took it with a raised eyebrow. \u201cA token, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. I love you, Halyn,\u201d she said. She stepped forward and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.<\/p>\n Halyn\u2019s eyes widened, but he embraced her in return. If I really am alive, and I\u2019m going to live, then this is what I want<\/em>, he told himself. More than anything. But I have to finish this first.<\/em> He could read in her eyes understanding, and when their embrace ended, he said, \u201cI love you too, Kelta.\u201d<\/p>\n He turned reluctantly and looked up at Anishor. \u201cI\u2019m going to need a second.\u201d<\/p>\n Anishor\u2019s eyes widened. <You\u2019re crazy.><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll work.\u201d<\/p>\n <If it doesn\u2019t kill you.><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a distinct possibility.\u201d Halyn shrugged. \u201cAre you in or out?\u201d<\/p>\n <You are my honor brother,> Anishor answered.<\/p>\n \u201cThen let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kelta Rose reached out and grasped the Force, gripping it as she would the hilt of her lightsaber. With every bit of strength she could muster, she wielded it like a weapon, bringing it to bear against her terrible, unseen, … Continue reading