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Chapter Text

1010 I.D.

Tack Tack Tack Tack

           Catra doesn't quite remember where she is at the moment, but she does know she can't stop for anything on Etheria, not after today. Hmph. Isn't that a bad joke. Today? She had no clue why she hadn't been running years ago. She always knew she would have to run alone.

Stomp-Stomp-Stomp Stomp-Stomp-Stomp

           Shear panic spread through her veins before she could clamp down on it. With a snick her claws shot out and up the hall wall she went holding herself up the pipes, ignoring the alarming pain developing in her left arm, spreading with every beat of her terrified heart. A familiar flurry of Horde guardsmen stormed past, headed by the unfamiliar Tsubaki.

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"Lord Hordak, your reputation precedes you."

           "Unfortunately," Hissed the commander, "I have no idea who you are, nor why I should see you two personally executed for this intrusion." 

           With a feral grin and a brutal gleam in her eye, the stranger rebuked, "Because your Lordship, my apprentice and I, alongside our humble forces and their commander, wish to pledge ourselves to the Horde cause, with the promise that my position above my men remain unchallenged."

           The dictator leaned back, poor lighting showing only the red in his eyes. An imperceptible squint in his eyes, as he focused on the odd cylinder at her hip. Old reports of battles where he wasn't flashed in the back of his mind, attempting to push the front of an unknown galaxy, only to be pushed back by psychics wielding blades as hot as suns, as varied as nebulae. "And why," he growled, "would I allow a Jedi into my ranks?"

           With a knowing smirk that belonged on a beast circling wounded prey, the golden armored woman stood, lightsaber raised with flourish. With a snap-hiss, a steady blood-red bathed the room, highlighting even the Horde Lord's bat-like features. With a sharp throb, he dismissed the report. "Because I, Lady Masago of the Sith," she finished with a deep chuckle, "am no cowardly Jedi."

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           At a fork in the hall, Catra scrambles to a halt, her brain wracked with panic. Another stabbing pain, like a dagger through all the wrong nerves.

L̵̪͌̋͗̑è̴̳̗̈́̐f̷̢̢̙͇̖̐͊͘t̷̮̬͔̰͗͑̿̃̅͝

           Eyes widened with the clarity of that voice through the pain, she scrambled left, turning the corner just as a pair of soldiers ran past from the opposite end of the hall.

           Scrambling on all fours, Catra ran towards where she knew the skiff bay was, having witnessed their instructor put the keys away for months during their vehicle training. Her ribs throbbing in protest, her heart soared as she saw the maintenance opening that would let her drop feet first to freedom. It caught in her throat as she saw Shadow Weaver, just meters away from the hatch to escape, slowly turning to face her.  

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            Dangling just out of sight, Catra tightened as she heard the newly christened 'commander' Masago walk in, followed close behind by Tsubaki. Settling in, she watched and waited to observe the newcomers making waves with their acceptance into the Horde. Her left brow quirked up in confusion as Tsubaki said something biting in a language she'd never heard before. No matter, as Masago violently slamming her apprentice into a wall with a wave of her hand implied it was less than polite. 

           Ears straining forward, her eyebrows pinched together in surprise as she was suddenly able to comprehend Masago mid-sentence.

"-and when the time comes, I will decide when to claim my rightful rule over this dirtball planet, NOT YOU!"

"Of course, Nuyak Ari…"

           Whatever grasp of understanding Catra held slipped as she felt a flare wrack against her skull. With an involuntary hiss, she slipped from her retreat to the floor. She jolted to a halt as the future usurper held her left arm in a titanic, poisoned vice. "Hmph," tittered the Lady of the Sith, "No use for a potential rat in a cat's skin."

           Catra panicked as she saw Masago reach for her weapon with no hesitation. Knowing from that look in her eyes that there would be no chance to reason, she lashed out with a clawed hand guided by beating adrenaline and instinct- Ṉ̶͖͛͑o̷͔̾̔̕͝ ̴̧̣͚̆͑́k̸͉̩̒̆̊̅n̶̩͈̘͛͘ö̷̳͍͙͉w̵̳͇͎͑̊̾͘l̷̫͉͎̉͒ë̸̪̱̭͖́͐̓d̸̘̲̱̣̀g̵̹̩̀̈́͂̋ě̶̥ ̵̨̬̥͂̏̚ŏ̷̮̼̀̂f̷̧̘̥̔̐͆ͅ ̷̭̤̘̈́ạ̷̓̑͋ͅṋ̴̡͉̀ ̸̬̎̅́u̸̺̓̀̐͊n̵͚̟͐̽̔͝s̶̠̽ę̴̛̞̓̈̍é̸̗͉̟͋n̴̥͎̆̓́͘ ̸͔̳̏̓̏̕c̴̡̈́̌ư̴̪̏̓r̸̩͝r̵̬̞͕̬͛̄̂e̶̛̖̘̻̺̋́̈́n̴̨̺̥̓̏͆͆t̵͙͎͉͊̾,̴͕̫͛̏̈́́ ̸̩͎̹̄͂͛͂g̵̯͇͇͛͋͠ü̶̗̑ĩ̵̞̗͍̜͐́d̸͎̯̈́̈́̅̊i̴̟̻͖̯̐̄̃ń̴̡͖̣̅ͅg̷̗͑̀ ̸̼̭̙͓͗̀t̷̨͍̖͂h̵̯̪̗̆e̶̡̠͔̎͂̑͂ ̸̩̩̲̣́̐͋b̵͕̜̝̜͒̃̀l̸̮̜̙͊̉̂͝ŏ̸̯̉̌̽w̴̱̜. Feeling the flesh tear beneath her razor-sharp claws, she huffed as she was thrown against the exit to the room, ribs sending lancing pain in protest. 

           Nearly tripping out of the door, Catra came to a pause as two soldiers halted in front of her, before breaking into a dead run as Masago roared, "GET THAT BRAT!" 

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An unwelcome, f̴̨̨̝̯̰͓͔̩̱̙͓̞̼̹̲̖͈͉̌̉̄͛̆͘̚͘͝ą̸̢̡̧̛͖̞̬̗͓̥̠̜̰͕͔̲̻̥̥̟̮̊̓̎͂̑͛͐͘͘͝m̵̢̦̖͇͕̼̐̉͜͜ͅi̵͉̜̣͖̙͔͙̲̺͉̞̗̲͔͉͗̀͂̉̏͊͗̔͒̎͊̋̒̍̂̎̈́͘͝l̷͖͕͚̾̔̐̀͊͆͆͛̂̈͊̉̾̈͘͝͝͝ị̵̢̡̡͙̫͖̹͉̟̘͔̘͇̪̈́͋̔̈́̄̀͗̍̍̿͒͂͑͆̊͗̾̕͝͠͝ă̴͈̭̲͍̤̪̓̾̒̇̄̐̈́͘̕r̷͎̞̜̰̤̬̲̖̣͇̠͍̳̔͜ͅ ̷̩̰͍̦̝̙͉̝͉̣̪̖̭̏̾̈́̂̌̑͋̿͑̋̃̕͝r̷̲͙̪̗̫̀́͊͌̑͛̔͑̍͌͂̏̚ẻ̷̡͉̠̥͚̗̺͚̜̿͐͗̌d̴̨̞̣̪͓͍̦͊̈͋̋͌̃̽̄̓̑ ̶̩͇͖̥̫̜̖̱̼̰̥͈̹̭̪͚̤̗̜̪͔̭̐̉͊̈́͝g̴̡̡̡̡̛̺̼͙̯̖̫͈̜̬͉̗̝̪̰̖̹͓̉̓̉̓̓̿͂̇͝ͅḻ̶̛̱͔͈̬̹̝͈̹̥̉̈́́̊̋̿̎̂̅͐̌̏́̒̃̿̐̚̚͝ͅǫ̵͓͔͕̫̭͎̗͇̹͕̮̊̓̓̀̑̋̎͛̿̌̇͛͆̐͂̿͘͘͝w̷̧͖̘̻̩̱͖͍̦̺̹̩͓̎͐͂̿͊ͅ, t̷̲͆r̴͉̰̬͓̮̕̕̚i̴̛͓̦̱̞̫̬̎͒͊͝a̵̡̞̟̲͔̒̆͗͊̾͛ļ̸͔̤̾͆̍ ̶̥̥̘͗̍͜b̶̛̤̗͇͙̠͑̔̎̽ḙ̶͕̭̦̳̳͌̔̌̂f̸͗̓͠ͅo̶̬̖̪̦͆̾r̴̗̦̗͇̰̆̀̅̆͝e̵̤͖̥̦̲̽͜͠ ̵̲̮̟̈́̽̃̍Ḧ̷̞̙̫̦́̏̄ò̵̺͔̝̟̮͍͂̆̊̈̍r̸̙̱̰͂̂̅͘d̴̨̙̺̪͍̤̈a̸̙̟͖͂̾k̵̨̠͙̭͇͗,̵̨͈͈͔̘̟̒̔̓̒̀̑ ̴̡̘͎̻̪̊̏̄ȇ̴̻̼̬̀͊ͅñ̷̨̩̲̭͑͒͑̃̾r̴̘̈́̀̎̋̍̓a̸̡͈͈̜̰͐g̵̢̧͍̳͔͋ͅë̶̢̦̩͎̜́͂͗͝d̴̡́́̍ ̸͇͈͚̪̞̕y̴͖̺͆͋͊e̷͖͋̿̆͠l̴̪͓͈̙͇͊ļ̸̼͍̯̓̾̆ó̸̧̯͎́w̸̧̜͝ ̴̹̠̼͉̏̂̒̈́̀͜ĕ̷͓̈͗̾͆͒y̴̬̍́͋e̷̜̯̿̈́s̵̨̻̖͎͂̐̀͛̅̕…̶̨̛̥͒̃.̷̳̃̓̇͘

           Slamming herself against one of the protrusions in the hall, Catra let nary a whimper escape, despite the throb from her left arm. Unbidden, a small part of her mind decided now was the perfect time to ruminate on every single time the Horde Witch got her midnight claws on her. Of course, it was drowned out by the larger part of her mind hoping b̴̙́ę̷̚g̵̝̽ǵ̶̹ī̸͖ṅ̴̦g̶̛̜ ̴̝̚p̷̨̂l̶͚͐ȩ̸̽a̶̗̾d̶͓͐i̷̟̋n̶̢͛g̴̭̽ ̷̜̏d̷̛̜ī̷̧ṁ̸̙m̵̛̲i̵̖͐n̴̬͆g̴̮̈́ she could be stealthy S̷̲̿̎͜u̶̢͙̾͌b̸̤͎̍͝m̶͙̩͂̇e̸̲͆r̵̰̿͑g̸̢̝͌͑e̸͛͐͜d̸̮́͠ ̵͓͓̓̑ḷ̵̋͝ẽ̷̟̞f̶̻̐ẗ̵͓́́ ̴̞͆̿ḁ̶́̄l̷̟͆̉ȏ̴͎̬ṅ̶̗̑ẹ̶͆̋ ̸̫̋̉P̸̤͙͗L̵̤̇Ệ̵͝A̵̰̠͌͝S̴̘̯̈́̂Ë̸̜̻́͘.

           Catra swore Shadow Weaver would find her through heartbeat alone with how hard hers was beating. Waiting as she drew ever closer, pressing herself as far back as she could, she saw Shadow Weaver walk right next to the strut she was hidden in…

           …And amble right past. Turning to scramble through the open hatch, Catra squeezed her way through the maintenance tunnels. As she ignored the fading sound of stomping boots and shouts of orders, she worked her way closer to the skiff dock. Carefully undoing the screws with her claws, she slinked her way towards where she knew the skiff keys were kept. Kneeling to pick the lock, she just barely kept her ears sharp enough to hear for any approach over the sound of her own beating heart. Feeling the cylinder turn as the keys and pins gave way, she allowed herself a light snort as she snatched the starter key for the nearest skiff. 

           Catra felt a pulse at the edge of her mind moments before turning to see a lone sentry. Pausing to mentally kick herself, she dodged just as the guard lunged. Delivering a hard stomp to the knee, she ran to the skiff and hopped on, gunning it like a bat out of hell. 

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           The whine of the skiff could be heard throughout the field as the terrain shifted from the dead ground and sickly grass of the Frightzone to the healthy stretch of lush fields before the Whispering Woods. 

           Catra's ears perked up as she heard another pair of engines just as she passed the tree line. Panic gripped her heart in its gnarled clutch as she banked and curved through the trees, barely keeping up with its labyrinthine twists and turns. Her arm pulsed once more as her breath began to pick up.

The pitched whine o̶̬̖͇̪̫͛̔͠͝f̷̣̩̂̂͝ ̷͙͎̊͆a̵̠̮̜̮̞̐̀͆͌̀ ̷̡̯͖͔̓̉͜s̷͈̠̞̪̝̀̔͐k̷̮̤̘͊ĩ̶̫̠̪̩͆͋f̶̬̿̓͠f̵͓͠ ̵̨̻̫̬̆n̸͓̓̆͝o̵̖̰͘ ̷̠͓͒͊͂͠l̶̮̬̮̜̳̋ǫ̴͎̩̒͂͑͗͘n̵̪̅͐̏̋g̴͇̦͇̤̿͋̅̌͠e̸̲͔̹̳̓r̷̗̮͍͆̔̋̐̂ ̵̛̺͖́̅ú̵͕͚͝p̴̧̙͂͂͛͝r̴̙͐͂i̷͕̥̰͑̾̈͜g̸̭͗̇̇͝h̷̛̼̅̎͆̂t̶͎̯͔͚̝͊,̴̣̗̉͒̓͠ ̷̩̉ͅḿ̷̰̫͚͛̈́ȩ̸̳̖̼̪̏̋ṯ̷̲̄̈ȁ̶̫̟͖͋̕͠l̸͔̇͗͝ ̷̯̋s̸̗͍̬̫̽h̷̢̜͇̦͐͌̚̚é̶̢̪̼̞̾à̵̞͎́͗̚̚r̶̡̧̭̖͌̌̐̓͠ï̴̭̠̞̻̩n̸̼͆́͑ģ̴̻̽̕ͅ ̵̝̦̭̳͐̄̽ͅa̸̢̫͎̘̤̒͒̚̚g̵̨̫͎̏́̃ä̴̝́̈́̾̍i̵̢̟̲̿̈́͑͗͜n̸̼̠̾̐͝͝s̵̜͕̽̑̍͗t̵͓̹̹͉̄̎ ̴͎̏͑á̵̠͉͙̖n̵̡̛̙͚͋̊̇̓ ̸͇̫͊͐̇u̷̢͚̫̜̟̒̒̆n̸̽͑̓̈͝ͅf̸̩̖̎́͐͝ở̴͚̰̮̮͔r̵̨͙͈̭̱̾g̴̪̰͔̞͑̉ͅi̴̝͖͉͗̋ͅv̸̛͙͙̔͑̕ỉ̶̪̣̞͍̚n̵̡̧̝̬͔̾̕g̵̱̦͉̊̀͜ ̷̹̜̄̂̚e̵̲͘ǹ̵͓̋͋͋v̸͙̗̦̻̏̾i̶̻͙̥̺̦̇̂̚r̸͙̲̆̀ơ̶̻̭̬̌͗͒͘n̸̥͇̿̌͂̋͒ḿ̷̛̘̲̠̈́̾̋e̶̗͔̯̟͈̓̅̒n̸̩̣̠̩͐̒t̸̟͗̚͝

           She jumped, snagging a tree branch as she went, landing on a branch just her skiff caught on an outcrop and crashed. The smoke from Catra's skiff obscured the sight of the first pursuit group, causing them to snag a branch and slam into a tree, taking them out of the hunt. 

           Catra immediately began running with no true direction in mind, following the strange tug/pulse/flare in her heart. 

           After running herself ragged, picking up her pursuers some while ago, a lucky shot from a rifle baton sent her crashing to the ground. Seeing the state of her left arm immediately left her internally scoffing at her own chance of survival, its sickly, purple infection showing no chance of survival without immediate treatment, medicinal or otherwise. Weakly raising her head to see she had crashed into a camp in a clearing, she let out a rasped, " Help… " before succumbing to injury and exhaustion, the stomp of boots escorting her to the land of unconsciousness, a ragged swordsman and masked stranger approaching her weakened form…

Chapter Text

1010 I.D. 

Ronin’s POV:

DWWOOOO DWWOOOO DWWOOOO

The Poor Crow was a fine ship. It had served the Ronin well in the last stretch of his quest to return to Rei-Izu. From what Ekiya had told him, it had rendered great service for nearly two decades before that. It was also astonishingly on fire. 

Fantastic as he was at rending ships apart with the current and flare of the Force, he and Fox together were excellent at keeping things together, and the Crow was a great deal smaller than a Dreadnaught. Unfortunately, they were currently bobbing and weaving like hell to avoid the barrages from Masago’s Heir . As a bolt glanced the hull and left a furrow in spite of the shielding, he barked into his communicator, “F, Mirahi; Keep the hyperdrive stable! Ekiya, B5; What’s the status of those coordinates!?” A shrill series of whistles and beeps left him tightening his brows before Ekiya interjected, “Bad, Grim! Very, very, bad! The nav computer is busted; even with B5’s help we’re banking on chance here!” Overhearing, Fox chirped in, “Hardly the worst time we’ve banked on hope, no?” Sharing a glance, they nodded before Ronin glanced back down to his communicator, “Take it.” A quick, sharp tweep was followed by Ekiya’s sputtering, “A ch-wh-do you know what happens when you don’t get these calculations RIGHT?! ”

Kouru snarled in over the comms, “No, but I can guess what happens when we get hit again with such shoddy shielding!” With a click, Ekiya dropped the channel, presumably to focus on not dying. His field of focus extended as it was, he could feel the moment the killing shot was launched, feeling that growing pulse in the white flare of the Force. At the last moment, the Poor Crow jumped into hyperspace, a great shudder thrumming in the ship. Screwing the panel for the circuit set he was working on back, he and Fox made their way back to the main common area. There, he spied Yasaburo and Ocho comforting a queasy Lop. As the rest of the crew of the Poor Crow filed in, he shot a look to Ekiya at the lack of his droid. “We need someone to alert us when we can hop back into realspace.” Nodding, he turned back to the troupe of Jedi before him. 

Setting into the old routine discussion of who-does-what, they broke from the table as each went about their day, waiting for the call to hunker down for what would surely be a rough reentry. Checking through the guts of the ship with his daughter, he spared a glance when he thought of how she had progressed. Despite her shoddy education of Rei’Izu and his own absence, she had taken to both the lightsaber and the wrench with a bespoke ease. So absent were his thoughts he was snapped to attention by a question. “I said, ‘anything on your end, father?’.” startled, he could only shake his head in reply. Lacking as he was in her life, they still managed to settle into a decent tempo. 

Catching themselves as they shuddered back into realspace, they made their way back to the cockpit of the Crow. Gazing out of the view port, it took him moments to see the issue; there were no stars. Feeling a tightness grip his chest, it only worsened when Ekiya imputed, “I checked, B5-56 can’t place us on any star maps.” Stepping out, he was met with the uneased looks of the rest of his allies. Finally, it was Ocho, in her usual feet first fashion, who broke the silence. “Void’s teeth, how can you be so calm , Fox!!?” At this, the masked Fox smiled, “Because, once more, we are taking the forest for the trees, or rather, a lack of them,” pointing to Lop, the least experienced among them, “even she could feel it, if only she stretched out her reach in the black current.” Being put on the spot, the Lepi could only stutter out a denial before Fox shut her  down. “Nonsense, dear girl. You need not worry about trying, you simply need to do.”

Inhaling, the Ronin could feel as the apprentice immersed herself within the black current of the Force. For a moment, there was that stillness; that calm that came with an intense focus on the Force. In the next, her eyes shot open as she exclaimed, “People! Plan-er, I mean, I can feel it! A planet, with people!” Fox merely folded their sleeves together, with that quiet aura that comes from being right in one's optimism. Ducking back into the cockpit to inform Ekiya and F of a needed change in course. 

Stepping back out, the Traveler was noticeably less pleased. “So there is bad news as it turns out. The Poor Crow should be able to make planetfall, but that will be it for this poor ship, unless we turn out to be very fortunate.” Another quick discussion amongst themselves determined that the possibility of perishing on the planet was preferred to the absolute certainty of dying in the vacuum of space. 

Again, it was decided that he and Fox would remain in the cockpit, while the rest kept to their more secure quarters, meditating and lending aid through the Force from there. As the ship approached the planet, the Ronin fell into a deep trance, knowing Fox was doing the same beside him. Except, as he fell deeper, it wasn’t that Fox was beside him, or that he was on a ship - currently entering the planet’s gravity well. Everything quite simply was. His skill with the Force had always lent to the black current guiding him through the most intricate parts of machinery like water through the stream. 

It was that intimate understanding that allowed him to create and disseminate the idea of the lightsaber auxiliary among his Sith rebellion. It would be that same knowledge that would allow him to assist Ekiya in landing the Poor Crow , rough as that might be. Even as the outer paneling of the ship gave way, as one of the engines failed out in sputtering smoke, he held fast in his belief. Even as they scraped against the forest floor, they would hold true. As he receded back to the mundane world, he knew he would not last long, not against the exertion, the fading adrenaline, the general age and extreme tear on his body. As he faded to those far off realms of sleep, he knew; they would pull through. 

Chapter Text

1010 I.D.

Ronin’s POV:

There were plenty of kind and sympathetic ways to wake an ally after a rough jaunt. Prodding them with the sheath of their own weapon wasn’t one of them. The Ronin’s eyes snapped open, catching the end of his weapon just as Kouru moved to poke him once again. Ignoring the smug, cattish grin, he accepted her hand up, reattaching his respiratory mask. “The rest?” the Ronin noted the medical equipment in his room, as well as the fact that he had been moved to his own room. “Main room. We’ve been working over the problem while you were out.” With a grunt, he moved to join her and the others. 

As the Ronin joined them, he noticed that the atmosphere was rather dull. Sitting between his daughter and Fox, he noted his daughter’s evident tension as she occasionally glanced towards the hanger door. He felt her tense up as his hand clasped her shoulder, but relaxed moments later. “There were stars on Rei’Izu. Stars, and I knew what would happen, and…” 

“And you were alone.” A sharp nod on a tight face. A tug in his chest, a quiet sympathy for the fate that he had ignorantly given his daughter. “Lacking in stars as we are, I hope our company should suffice.” Fox said, leaning to speak past the Ronin. He responded in a grunt Ekiya would chide as typical. A quiet thing, in the face of her joy. “She gets that expression from you, you know.” He would have gladly debated that farce, but was interrupted by the clang of a lightsaber hilt against a crate. Turning back as F reattached her lightsaber to her belt, he nodded in acquiescence.

“The astromech…” A series of irate blats cut off Yasaburo, who furrowed his brow. “ B5-56 noted from the salvaged telemetry data that there was a village some distance away, supposedly within a walking distance.” There was a pause as the group digested this information. With a hiss of his respirator, the Ronin stood up straighter to volunteer. There was a light protest among the crew. His daughter and Lop at least attempted diplomacy, while Kouru just flat out called him old. B5-56 whistled his typical worries, but the droid knew he had no sway in the Ronin’s choices. Waving his hand he spoke back, “Please. I’m old, not decrepit. Even if things come to blows, my prowess with a lightsaber hasn’t left me.” With a long whistle, B5-56 elected that he would accompany his hard-headed master. Equally unsurprising was the Traveler voicing out, “Shall we make this an outing?” He nodded his assent, before turning to his daughter. Shaking her head, she explained, “Someone has to help determine if the Poor Crow is still space worthy, and it isn’t going to be Kouru.” With a nod, he and Fox stopped by a supplies crate before making their trek.

Making their way out the ship, the Ronin’s eye was immediately caught by the alien beauty of the planet. The odd combinations of cool greens and blues was like nothing he had seen before. B5 rolled along ahead of them, prideful of his place at the front of the walk for once. The Ronin marched along with a light smile as a flute’s half-practiced music filled the air.

The music paused as Fox mused aloud, “A musician, a masterless Ronin, and an astromech find themselves walking a path once more, eh?” The Ronin let out a chuff before he intoned, “Like a poor joke, with a familiar punchline.” Fox gave a light chuckle, “What, you managed to find a new voice to guide you in that head of yours?” Clearing the dense brush, they came upon a more obvious path. Pausing the conversation, he nodded his head to B5, who gave a quick scan to either side before going left. Marching after, he and Fox fell into a closer lockstep. He brought a finger to his prosthetic jaw and answered, “Hmm. No, but there is a rather insistent one that has been following me for quite a while now.” At this, Fox leaned in just a touch closer, and they and the Ronin fell into a comfortable silence.

Coming up to a sign, the trio paused to ascertain the fact none of them could actually read what was said there. Making their way past, they wandered about until they found what appeared to be a bar. As they took a seat within the open-air tent-bar, Fox began to whistle out a tune on their flute. Recognizing how out of place he was with his dark robes and general disposition, the Ronin kept himself just out of sight with the aid of the black current. Removing his mask, the Ronin allowed himself a small smile as he listened to Fox while sipping the complementary tea. Twitching a brow at how sharp it was, he turned his ear to the other patrons. 

Allowing the black current of the Force to flow around him, he focused on the conversation of a couple a few tables away. For a while, it sounded foreign to his ears, a bucking, carousel-like flow. Slowly, the conversation began making more sense, the worried tone bleeding into meaning. “…and my cousin Hya just had to pack up and move! I know that Rosetown is a tad closer to the fighting, but it feels like some rebels are pressing us just as bad!” Fox would play for hours at a time, occasionally coming back to the table to share a drink and whatever words the Ronin had parsed. Hours later, with a bounty of information, Fox bowed out, and they and the Ronin made their way out.

As they made their way back, the Ronin followed, B5 blatting around and drawing attention before the Ronin’s influence drew them away. Conversing as they made their way back, the pair managed to map out the current political climate of this many mooned planet. Etheria – the name of the sunless planet they found themselves on – was embroiled in a major conflict; the Horde marching forward in its oppression of the planet, held back only by the Great Rebellion and less scrupulous sellswords.

As they meandered back through the woods, the Ronin spied the setting moon peeking through the trees. Rather than make their way through an alien landscape at night, the trio opted to make a fireless camp for the night. Allowing B5 to serve as watch for the night, the Ronin stiffened lightly as Fox removed their mask while they leaned into him. Slowly relaxing like a cat to touch, he allowed himself to enjoy the comfort of another. Allowing himself to release his grip from his lightsaber handle, his hand moved to Fox’s hand, slowly and gently as he faded off to that old, dreamless, realm…

…Snapping awake, the first thing the Ronin noted was the small, feline-esque girl who had seemingly fallen from the trees. The second thing he noticed was the rapidly approaching foot soldiers, armed and tense. Gripping the sheath that held his regular sword, he shifted his balance as Fox called out to the quartet of soldiers. “And just who might we have the pleasure of speaking to?” The leader, who had a badge on their chest, barked out, “Horde business, civilian! Step back or suffer the consequences!” 

Though they kept up their innocuous tone, the Ronin could sense the tension in Fox’s voice, “What reason would the Horde have to chase down a girl?” The three thugs behind them raised their batons to aim as their commander barked out, “Horde business, now-”

“You mean to say that child is supposed to be a soldier ?” The Ronin bit out, his hand shifting to his lightsaber auxiliary sheath. Whatever sins may have weighed upon him, he had never felt guilty cutting down his “fellow” Sith who had made use of young conscripts during the rebellion. The commander began to speak before he was suddenly dragged through the air with a pulse of the white flare of the Force. The commander’s arc terminated at the end of the Ronin’s auxiliary, hidden lightsaber emitter snapping to life with a snap -HISS through the armor. Extinguishing the blade, he shoved past the body, drawing his lightsaber from the auxiliary and batted away a flurry of shots from the panicked soldiers. 

With a recycled shot returned to the central soldier, the other two broke formation and made to strike him physically. Flicking away each blow, he lunged as Fox tripped up one of the soldiers through the Force, bringing his lightsaber down in a diagonal chop, striking clean through. He rounded on the last soldier who could barely keep their baton between themself and his lightsaber. Forcing the baton down, he felled the last soldier with a great slash through their armor. 

Extinguishing the blade, he turned to see Fox over the girl, inspecting her arm. Even from here he could see the infection. “This is no ordinary sickness.” Fox said, worry evident in their voice. “I know,” the Ronin spoke in a low voice, “Just as I know that there were only three people in the greater galaxy who could do something so cruel. Ronin had personally killed two of them. “Can you slow the damage?” he asked, as he picked up the girl. Fox nodded, their hand over hers as they made their way back.