Private A Painful Reunion

[Jax Thio]

Location: D'Qar
Equipment: Trench Longcoat, DC-15 Side Arm Blaster, Jax's Prosthetic Arm, Jax's Second Lightsaber, Promise Ring to Jairdain
Tag: Myvette Faeli

"Come on......"

Jax sat on the bench near the spaceport of D'Qar, by this time he could only feel small packets of the Force but he couldn't control it. It was like shattered glass splattered all over the floor. Picking up the pieces was one thing but putting it back together is an impossible task. Jax knew that the Force is with him but he couldn't feel it, he could harness its energies anymore. There had to be a way to reconnect again. Taking a deep breath, Jax closed his eyes trying to concentrate. His thoughts were disturbed a chill ran through his body, voices of doubt telling Jax that he would never regain his Force abilities again.

"You don't deserve it!" It told Jax. "You made a deal with the devil and you lost! It's done! You failed!"

"Focus....." Jax mumbled trying to reach the currents of the Force, trying to feel the pilots passing by trying to make their next space run. Jax heard echoes of the Force his heart swelled, it was weak but he could actually the harmonious heartbeat of the Force again.

"Come on..... Find your center, connect." Jax took a deep breath however he could feel cold, that dark, dreary feeling.

"No....." Jax saw the red eyes and gaunt face of his father: Darth Carnifex watching him. The former Jedi opened his eyes his face full of sweat, he looked around his heart sinking with dismay.

"I can feel him," Jax said losing his connection to the Force.

 

[Myvette Faeli]

Atomized…when she heard the news she…she couldn’t believe it. Not in a shocking, grief-filled kind of way but as in she actually knew it wasn’t true. Myvette’s felt people die before, her lack of eyes gives her an insight into death that most people even force sensitives could never dream of. It’s one thing to allow yourself to see through the Force, to trust its whispers but it’s another matter entirely to have those faint callings be the basis of your reality. If Jax dies he will fade from her vision and become a part of the Cosmic Force where not even the Miraluka can hope to find him. He wouldn’t even really be a person anymore, he’d be energy a cog in the wheel of life.

But he’s not dead yet.

Myvette wasn’t exactly sure what she would say when she eventually got to Jax but one thing was certain…he was coming back with her. It didn’t matter what crazy techniques or fighting styles he’d learned on his way to becoming a master, she didn’t care about the massive difference in strength between them, whatever it took to bring him back she’d do it and she’d do it gladly.

Somehow (and she was hopelessly clueless as to how) he’d been transported to the outer rim all the way from Empress Teta by a feat of the Force that in all honesty had no right existing in the first place. Maybe this is where that psychotic lord of misery wanted to send him, perhaps he made his way here on an odyssey best left for another time, either way as she approached the spaceport her energy washed over the area and picked up on a presence she knew well enough by now.

He’s here. And he’s…injured? Fatigued? I can feel his strain, his lack of energy. He feels nothing like he did on Alderaan and Coruscant.

Myvette made a beeline for him her steps heavy with a determination that dared someone to stand in her way. Myvette got close enough to him to see the beads of sweat running down his chin and she frowned, it wasn’t all that long ago that she had the same troubles he was having now. She knew now, she knew all along, she’d heard the whispers and rumors cascading through the temple, felt the despair it brought on the wind and coldness it left in her soul and his as she looked down on him.

He was right, she couldn’t help him that much is clear…and yet…

Myvette sat down next to Jax and folded her hands. She spent what felt like days thinking about what to say, and now when granted the chance to say everything she could think of nothing.

How typical of her.

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

Location: D'Qar
Equipment: Trench Longcoat, DC-15 Side Arm Blaster, Jax's Prosthetic Arm, Promise Ring to Jairdain
Tag: Myvette Faeli

Jax's heart continued to thump rapidly once again feeling the Force leave him. It was frustrating to be so close to reconnecting with the Force yet the moment he was about to take that step, Jax was pushed back by fear and the flashing images of his father. He felt like a Youngling going through the basic exercises. Yet while a Youngling has a natural connection to the Force, Jax had nothing. Why did the Force leave him? Was it because he exerted too much dark energy during the battle of Empress Teta? Or did he: A warrior of light chose the more destructive path that led him to ruin?

The Force is nature, a flame that permanently burns bright. It displaces those that are considered a threat to the natural harmony of light and dark. Did Jax pervert the gifts that he was given? Was he even a person? Or just a creation of Carnifex? Jax was so distraught that he didn't even notice the familiar person sitting next to him. Turning around, Jax eyes were filled with shame seeing his old Padawan a broken shell of a man.

"Myvette......" Jax whispered. "I knew that you were the only one who knew that I didn't perish. I'm surprised that you decided to come all this way to see me. You should be training with Valery Noble ."

 

[Myvette Faeli]

Myvette’s eyes would have watered if she possessed them, his battle with Carnifex wasn’t as forgiving to just break his body but instead, Jax had his spirit hollowed out before having the shattered glass thrown back inside. Another might have questioned what could have happened to put him in this state but Myvette knew just by looking at him or rather his conscience.

The last time they talked Jax held a brilliant blue aura inside him with tiny nips of red desperately trying to break inside, break him. It seemed the darkness had succeeded because the blue had faded and been replaced by a dark murky red that seeped in and around him. Myvette was so occupied studying him that she almost didn’t register his question. The Force whispered her response in his mind.

“Did you really think…I’d just let you wander out here? Alone? What did you honestly think was going to happen here? That I’d just… forget about you? Of course not!”

Myvette slumped down on the bench until her back laid flat against the seat. The longer she looked at Jax the more dead his aura looked, it was scorched and battered from how deeply embedded evil had become. It was rooted in him as a seed, and he had watered it of his own volition she could see that now.

“You unlocked a strength you never knew you had…and why? Because you felt the need to protect someone.”

Myvette continued to slump until now she sat on the ground and her back was against the bench leg.

“That is…what you were trying to accomplish, right?”

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

Location: D'Qar
Equipment: Trench Longcoat, DC-15 Side Arm Blaster, Jax's Prosthetic Arm, Promise Ring to Jairdain
Tag: Myvette Faeli

"You should've forgotten about me."

That was cold to say something like that, but Jax didn't want Myvette to follow him. She didn't want her to suffer the way Dreidi Xeraic did under his father. The former Jedi needed to handle this on his own, he needed to deal with his mistakes and if he invited anyone, he was close with and they got hurt. Jax could never forgive himself just like he had never forgiven himself nearly killing Aveline Cuiléin at Korriban years ago. "I'm at shadow Myvette," Jax looking away from his Padawan. "One that no light will shine on."

Still, Jax should entertain Myvette's question she came all the way to see him. Maybe the Force was trying to bring them together, but Jax couldn't tell it was frustrating being stripped of the Force. "I wanted the power," Jax said. "It was quick and easy a way to save my stepdaughter, but it was a trap. A trap that I thought I was clever enough to sidestep but when the lights shone bright, I withered and gave in to who I was."

Jax closed his eyes still averting his gaze from Myvette. "I don't know If I really wanted to protect her or maybe If I was craving power all those years ago." He lamented. "Now, I'm just struggling to figure it all. Who am I? What can I do to purge this darkness?"

 

[Myvette Faeli]

Myvette sat there contemplating his words for a while. He’d fallen into the trap that many Jedi had before him, in order to protect a loved one his love for them had turned into hate and spurred him on until he was an agent of darkness if only temporarily. Such a cruel tactic to use someone’s love and turn it into hatred, only a seasoned lord of the Sith could have done something like that to a master.

“I’m never going to forget about you, master. Even if I died I’d still hear your echoes and follow them.”

Myvette stared at the sky and like every other time she has it wasn’t very fulfilling, just a gray visage of black swirling shapes. It was like having every day be a rainy day. Myvette wasn’t sure what to say here, she expected this kind of thing to be reversed but now that she’s been thrust into the role as the comforter she was falling flat.

“I’m a light, and I’m shining on you.” Myvette touched Jax’s hand still looking at the sky. “I don’t really know who I am either, I was kind of hoping you could help me with that.” She smiled sadly. “But then again, I don’t think anybody really knows who they are. That’s the best part of life, finding your place. Are you going to let someone else decide who you are?”

Myvette didn’t really understand where all this wisdom was coming from and why she didn’t have it before (sure could have helped her) but it didn’t matter. Perhaps it was the Force enriching her with answers, with the power to save her friend.

“Life wouldn’t mean anything if everything was mapped out from the start. If everything was designed to follow a destiny or something like that. I never thought I’d be able to speak with…anyone again, even mentally. You may have fallen into the trap but you are still alive, and you can still go about fixing...whatever happened to you. Though I think I already know on some level..."

Myvette pushed herself back onto the bench and adjusted her mask. “A wise man once told me something along the lines of "It’s our belief that determines whether or not we succeed or fail.” Myvette nudged the man in the arm. “I just hope he follows his own advice.” Maybe she was being a bit snarky but this is just who she is, maybe all Jax needed was a bit of humor.

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

Location: D'Qar
Equipment: Trench Longcoat, DC-15 Side Arm Blaster, Jax's Prosthetic Arm, Promise Ring to Jairdain
Tag: Myvette Faeli

When he first met Myvette, Jax saw a girl with great potential but lacked the self-confidence to realize it. She was a shrinking violet, retreating to her corner whenever she thought she failed a task. It took Jax many training sessions for her to come out from her shell. He never gave up on Myvette, taking the girl under his wing to show her that nothing is impossible with the Force. Life creates the Force as the Force creates life and Myvette was a strong person with the potential to be stronger than Jax, or even stronger than the Sword of the Jedi Valery Noble his sister in law.

Jax was always there in Myvette's time of need but now here she was travelling all this way to the Outer Rim telling him that she was her light. " Jairdain once told me that," Jax thought. "That she would be my light."

"It's not like I haven't fallen into despair," Jax said. "It's just that I don't where to go, I feel lost like a blind man trying to crawl through a battlefield."

It was then Myvette nudged him in the arm telling Jax what he told her all the way back in Alderaan. "It's our belief....." Jax mumbled a smile spread across his face. That's what he was missing all along, in the crux of it all, the answer of his lack of connection was staring him right in the face. "That's it!"

Jax then hugged Myvette tightly, tears starting to form in his eyes. Hope often came in the most unexpected ways, Jax never anticipated that his Padawan would track him down and give him the key to reconnecting with the Force.

"I missed you." Jax whispered to Myvette. "My Padawan."

 

[Myvette Faeli]

A wave of rosy red washed over Myvette’s face as Jax pulled her close in an embrace she hasn't really felt from anyone in a while. Jedi distance themselves from their emotions so when you are surrounded by them most of the time you don’t really see hugs being openly exchanged on the regular. This was something new a sensation she couldn’t really call shock, it was more akin to an epiphany. On some level, Myvette didn’t think she could succeed here but that just goes back into the lesson on faith she supposed.

Myvette yanked her hood forward to hide her blush and the small smile threatening to crack through the girl's lips. “I missed you too…and I don’t think I’m the only one. The last time someone saw you, you were-actually forget that last part.”

Myvette remained still in Jax’s embrace but now she took his hand in hers and squeezed. Myvette wasn’t really sure what she intended with the gesture but it made something pop into her head.

“This probably isn’t the best time to mention this but I honestly thought I was going to have to drag you back with me.” She said flatly the Force conveying the emotion even better than her thoughts could. “I’m so relieved right now, I wasn’t sure HOW I was going to manage it…”

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

Location: D'Qar
Equipment: Trench Longcoat, DC-15 Side Arm Blaster, Jax's Prosthetic Arm, Promise Ring to Jairdain
Tag: Myvette Faeli

For the first time since he got teleported to the fringes of the Outer Rim, hope swelled inside Jax. His apprentice found him and gave him the answer that he needed to allow the Force to flow through him again. "I'm sure there's people who missed me," Jax said releasing his hug from Myvette. "But right now, I can't go back. Not until I regain my connection to the Force again. You provided me the answer to why I lost Force abilities Myvette."

He gave the young girl's hand a squeeze in return before getting up and looking up at the sky. "Ever since I gave in to the Dark Side," Jax said. "I've been afraid. Afraid of what will happen if I allow the Force to come into me."

Jax clenched his fists sighing heavily. "He'll come back Myvette," He whispered. "He'll take continue to tempt me until I break once more. I needed to hide, I needed to stay away from the Jedi until I can take care of him but at Empress Teta...... It was too much."

 

[Myvette Faeli]

It was beginning to become uncanny just how much their roles had reversed in contrast to Alderaan, now it was Jax who needed confidence in himself to connect with the Force and Myvette who needed to…well that’s where a problem begins. She was only a Padawan and a novice one at that, her ability to channel the Force efficiently and safely was still in question and now she needed to help another on that journey. Myvette’s hands began shaking as she reached into her satchel and instinctively pulled out a bar of chocolate that had already been opened.

She tried to calm herself by rationalizing, Jax was a master so it wasn’t him learning to channel the Force safely as much as it was him rediscovering the way. Albeit he had arguably the most powerful Sith Lord in the galaxy corrupting his thoughts and stalling his recovery. He said he was here hiding but the girl couldn't help but wonder how one hides from the evil within themselves.

“No.” Myvette took a deep breath. “It’s not just him, it’s you too. You really thought you could handle him on your own…but the fact is that wasn’t true and everyone except you saw it.”

Myvette’s hand began to close around her chocolate. “You wouldn’t even tell me what was going on when it was staring me right in the face, you knew I could feel your turmoil and you left me in the dark. Why? Because you didn’t want me to worry, because you thought I couldn’t help you even a little??” Myvette’s hand closed tighter around the candy, as her thoughts became more irritated and more painful.

I aPpreciATE YOur oFFer, BUt yOu cAn'T HelP ME. thERE Are many tHINGS beYOnd YOur UndErstANdINg. What a load of!

Myvette’s hand crushed the chocolate into pieces which glowed with a faint blue aura as they fell onto the grass having almost…exploded? Myvette looked at her snack and scowled. Why was she getting so angry about this? Perhaps it was because the girl never actually took the time to process how she really felt about all this. The moment she sensed where her master would be Myvette immediately set off which didn’t allow much time to contextualize what this all meant to her.

“I wouldn’t have been of any help to you on, Empress Teta. I know that much. But…why did you have to hide this? What did you think I’d think less of you? I’m not that shallow! And I’m not just going to stop worrying about you because you told me to. Clearly, that hasn't ended well!”

Myvette breathed deeply as the connection faltered her focus waning along with her temper. Adjusting her mask Myvette took a moment to center herself.

“Sorry,” she said her mind refocusing, “can we just agree that maybe solo isn’t the way to go from now on? If you insist on hiding from the Jedi at least don't hide from ME.”

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

Location: D'Qar
Equipment: Trench Longcoat, DC-15 Side Arm Blaster, Jax's Prosthetic Arm, Promise Ring to Jairdain
Tag: Myvette Faeli

"I did seek help Myvette," Jax responded softly. "But at the end of the day, it's up to me to handle the darkness that was dormant inside of me long since I was born."

But he shouldn't deny Myvette's help, he was grateful that she came to him especially when he was broken, lost, and confused. "But you're right," Jax continued. "I shouldn't have hidden this from you Myvette but I was afraid that you would try to follow me even in the depths of hell. To him, all he wants is me and my abilities and if you got in his way, he would use you the way he used Dreidi."

Jax sighed. "Too many got hurt because of me," he said. "You would've followed me on Empress Teta and you would've been a victim to Carnifex."

He closed his eyes. "Yes Myvette," Jax said. "Carnifex is my father."

 

[Myvette Faeli]

Myvette’s heart ached for Jax, he felt so guilty about what happened on Teta but was it his fault? Could she honestly blame him for what transpired? She would like to believe she knew better than that and could rise above Jax in that sense, but you never really know what choices you’ll make under pressure, what decisions you're presented with when it comes down to the wire. Perhaps springing the dark lord’s trap was the man’s only option or even worse than that maybe it wasn’t and Jax was too clouded, too fearful, too angry to see it. But that was just speculation.

“That would explain a lot. Because of your familial bond, he can attack your mind and soul in place of your body.”

Myvette’s hands held a tight grip on her coat her brow sweating as she grits her teeth in a mixture of emotions. This ran so much deeper than she could have conceived and it gave her drive. She WILL help him, even if as he said she would have to follow him into hell. But that just spurred Myvette on, it made her angry, intensely angry that he was right in that her connection to him was…a weakness.

The fact that he had anything, anyone to care about made those things susceptible to being targeted. Her presence was a burden but it was also something he sorely needed. Myvette slammed her fist into the wall behind her in anger the steel warping under her Force enhanced strength.

“It’s not your fault that Carnifex used your love to push you toward hatred. It’s not your fault he’s your father and it’s CERTAINLY not your fault that you need to handle this alone…because nobody else can. He used that against you because that’s one of the reasons he hasn’t turned you, your connections are a strength that he doesn’t have. A sociopathic murderer like him could never have the same connections you do. Evil fills him so much because he doesn’t have a soul, when he dies he’ll be nothing but malice.”

Myvette pushed the hood off her head. “He has to break you down, destroy what you love and turn that into hate because he can’t understand how you could love things. You're his son what capacity do you have for love?! He doesn’t understand what it means to you, only that love is the obstacle to getting you on his side, love is the thing he used to pull you down but let me tell you something…”

Myvette poked Jax’s forehead with two of her fingers strengthening the connection she had to his mind. “You’ve got to be below someone to drag them down. And Carnifex is trying to pull the entire galaxy down.”

Myvette stood up and adjusted her mask. “But you're not doing this alone, you want to protect me and the others from harm? If you die, if you fall into darkness, that’ll be a far worse pain than any cut or any bruise. You are the one, who gave me back my eyes. I was blind not just physically, but spiritually which is a far worse thing.”

Myvette fixed her jacket over her body before pulling her satchel into place. “You haven’t exactly been dealt the best hand in this life,” Myvette tapped her throat while a grin split her face from ear to ear, “but at least you can order at a restaurant.”

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

Location: D'Qar
Equipment: Trench Longcoat, DC-15 Side Arm Blaster, Jax's Prosthetic Arm, Promise Ring to Jairdain
Tag: Myvette Faeli

Jax gulped when Myvette told him that he was the one who gave her confidence and ignited her spirit. He wanted to make sure to leave something for the next generation, but Jax didn't anticipate that the same generation would go back to help people like him. "Thank you Myvette," Jax said giving his padawan a small smile. "I'll try not to think that I'm like my father."

But with the way Jax was attracted to the Dark Side as a quick fix and the way he let it consume when the darkness festered his heart he wondered if he was closer to his father than the rest of his siblings. "Love is the answer to the darkness Myvette," Jax said. "Love and hope as long as you have both you can keep the Dark Side at bay yet the Sith are cunning. They will twist love and hope and turn against you, just like how Carnifex used my love for my friends against me."

He wasn't sure if Dreidi Xeraic will ever forgive him for falling to the Dark Side, even though Jax was able to control himself it came at a cost of her being emotionally scarred. "I did teach you how to communicate telepathically," Jax grinned hearing Myvette's joke. "If you find that intruding other people's minds to be creepy you can always write it on your Holopad."

Jax turned to the Spaceport. "I need to get my abilities back," he said. "And the key is to believe we're going to have to go to a place where the Force is more prominent."

And he knew just the place.

 

[Myvette Faeli]

Myvette threw her head back and sighed audibly, a rarity as she kept even sighing to herself many days. He was back to casually dropping life lessons in the heat of idle conversation, the true mark of a Jedi Master. Well, almost the true mark. While a Jedi relied on their inner strength and fortitude as well as their wit and compassion, without the Force Jax was merely a wise man, and that wouldn’t be enough to beat someone like Carnifex.

As she said, Myvette had not prepared for if she actually succeeded in convincing Jax and the young Jedi was unsure of where they would go next or what they would do. Fortunately, it seemed that Jax had taken the lead and knew precisely where they would head next.

“Even without the Force, you seem so in tune with your destiny.” Myvette rolled her shoulders, cracking them. “So where are we headed? If it’s somewhere strong with the Force then maybe I’ll get something out of it too,” Myvette beamed.

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

Location: D'Qar
Equipment: Trench Longcoat, DC-15 Side Arm Blaster, Jax's Prosthetic Arm, Promise Ring to Jairdain
Tag: Myvette Faeli

Jax smiled feeling reinvigorated, he now has a direction and with his apprentice by his side, he actually felt like things were looking up. "We're heading to Ach-To," Jax responded. "Deep into Eternal Empire territory, though I have good relations with many high officials the Eternal Empire tends to be very protective of their borders."

The Jedi Master smiled. "But I find my way into their territory," he said. "Where's your ship Myvette? I'll give you the coordinates."