Acceptance and Other Things(Complete)

[Darth Hauntruss]

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"] @[member="Darron Wraith"] @[member="Hanna Lissiri"]
A deep sigh came from Val'Ryss, she watched Mikhail dance about blinded by his own power. Waiting for the proceedings to find a natural pause Val'Ryss stepped between Mikhail and the Jedi Master. Her air was different to Mikhail, she let the Jedi sense, in the choas she was calm and cold. Her darkness was of a different medium, sinister yet soft like a dark wind. She glared into the master's eyes with her passionate golden Sith corrupted eyes. She was annoyed by Mikhail's advances but she regained her composure, she would have her fun.

"End this?" Val'Ryss snickered, continuing with a more aloud chuckle, "Hiss, hiss, hisssssss-" She closed her eyes and the dark spirit stirred she asked it for its guidance. So the spirit replied, "Wake up my children time for you to make an appearance..." an ancient and dark horror of a feeling bleed from her and it stretched out far and wide. It meandered into the room of the Younglings and woke them. The small children awoke with dark eyes, with no pupils. "Greet your former masters with your awoken hate! Feed on them!" Suddenly the Younglings turned into wild beasts and began to attack the jedi around them, biting, tearing and ripping at them. Val'ryss opened her eyes and turned her gaze back at the Master. "Do you sense it? The Younglings consumed with darkness rampaging across the temple ripping at their fellow Jedi, eating their flesh like they were monsters of the deep?" Val'Ryss nodded and let out soft laugh, "Hissssss. See Jedi, you have no leverage to stand on. This one controls what you protect....Now you shall listen, Jedi. Last chance, let my associate and the chancellor go....and the keys to your Youngling's safe return is guaranteed...that is if you still want them back. But by all means ignore their plight and strike us down. Personally this one would prefer you to succumb to your "duties" and let the Younglings suffer. Put it the Jedi Master's alone to choose." Silently through the force Val'Ryss contacted Master Tirdarius, "Master the trade is being inacted, the Vice-Chancellor will fall under our control and your passage out of this temple will be assured. This one humbly requests you arrive to complete this matter."

She then spoke once more to the master Jedi, now with a dark and malevolent tone, "CHOOSE" she hissed with venom.

 

[Rosa Gunn]

"Stop calling me girl," she said in a bred tone "My name is Rosa and I am far from a child." Among the Jedi, there were few ways more honourable than dying to protect what you believed in, in what you had been raised to believe in. His words were stirring questions in her mind. She deactivated her lightsaber. "You're not like other sith." she said with a frown "In fact I think you far from any stereotype of sith that I have ever come across, and you are perfectly correct I do have better things to be doing that getting in your way. But then there's better things, and there's the right things."

the faint smile that had formed had dropped dramatically as the darkness erupted from the younglings across the temple. A wave of despair washed over her and she gave the sith a horrified look "By the force..." she breathed "They're CHILDREN!" She did not even try to hide her anger this time and for a moment she looked like she was going to attack him. She contemplated it, but there was more that could be done.

Turning on her heel she ran, calling on the force for speed she crossed the temple in a matter of moments appearing behind the two sith, horrified about the way the children were acting she clutched at the wall for support. Her eyes settle on the back of Val'Ryss and she straightened up, her thumb activating the saber in her hand. "You should have left when you had the chance." she said softly, anger burning inside her like she had never known. She battled to keep it at bay.

 

[Darron Wraith]

Snap her neck Wraith, I won't think any less of you.

His inner voice momentarily roared as the other Sith approached and started grandstanding, only she wasn't. She was being horrifyingly honest, and it shocked the Jedi Master to his core. His eyebrow momentarily twitched as he tried to quiet the feelings that had bubbled to the surface as he reached out with his senses and felt innocence destroyed and corrupted by the being before him. Darron's heart cried out for vengeance, his head for understanding, and his code for patience. A few calming breaths later, and he was reciting the Order's code in his head as he tried to think of a solution for the current situation. There was no way in the Force he could give up a hard political target to the Sith, but the younglings needed to be saved more than anyone. How to play this and have the least amount of collateral damage?

Darron extended his senses, and what he felt coming off the Sith answered his query.

"You seem to be two beings in one body darksider," he said as he paced to stand directly in front of the door. "I will not allow you to have the Vice-Chancellor as my code asks me to value all life, and I will never put another life above my own."

As he stood infront of the door, he acknowledged Rosa as she ran up behind the Sith. "I do offer another alternative so that the younglings can be saved," he deactivated his lightsaber and threw it to the ground. "Why not take me for the younglings and you get a Jedi Master for your efforts? Do we have a bargain?"

 

[Lord Ghoul]

"It's a trap," Mikhail said. Pale blue eyes now looked dispassionately upon the Jedi Master. "Don't release your hold on the kiddos just yet."

Some would call Mikhail Shorn a wily Sith. He was not a grand strategist, and did not meddle in galactic affairs the way some did. However, he was crafty. This Jedi Master sought to trick Val'ryss. The moment she released her hold over the younglings, Wraith would escape. Even if he did not have his lightsaber, his power in the Force was immense. A foreboding sense came over Mikhail. This was too easy.

The pale-eyed Sith's gaze went from the Jedi Master to the lightsaber on the ground. A spark of nefariousness lit in his eyes and a sudden wicked scheme crossed his mind. While darkness raged with light all throughout the temple, here was a standoff. A hostage standoff. The Jedi was too powerful to be taken as a hostage, but.... that could be amended.

"You say you put others' lives first, Wraith? Prove it." Mikhail pointed to the lightsaber lying on the ground. "Cut off your sword hand."

He let his words hang in the air for a moment. "If you're true to the ideals you keep gabbing on about you'll do it. If not, well, I always thought you were a liar." He smiled malevolently. "Once you're done, kick the saber across the ground to me. And I'll make you a promise, because you made me one. Listen closely, because I don't do this often. Cut off your hand, give me your saber, lose any other weapons you have and Hissy over there will release the younglings. If you do, I won't kill you and I'll do my best to protect you. Only seems fair, since you did the same for me." Mikhail's face became serious. "Don't.... and have the lives of the kiddos on your head. Because you were too selfish to save them. What'll it be, hero?"

 

[Darron Wraith]

"So those are your terms Sith Apprentice? My hand of durasteel for the lives of the Vice Chancellor and the younglings, and you get to escape?"

It was a choice many wouldn't make, most couldn't fight with one hand if the deal was reneged upon. Darron could though, he already was extending his senses to the lightsaber hilt in Rosa's hands should the Sith try to betray the deal. Most wouldn't make the choice, but Darron had swore long ago that he would never put another life ahead of his own. It was what had made him who he was, and he would never let another child suffer if he had the ability to change that. Jason, this is in your memory son. I do this for you and know I love and miss you dearly son. The calm expression on his face finally broke into a weak smile, just at the corners of his lips as he shook his head in agreement to the terms presented before him. While it pained him to let them go, he knew that this was the only solution that would keep the most lives saved,

Maybe it will save that boy down the line some time, he thought to himself.

Blue eyes found Rosa, and he silently begged her to stand down. Bending down to pick up his father's lightsaber hilt, he thumbed the activation switch as the green blade sprung to life. The smell of ozone was thick in his nose with the blade so close to him, and he shifted his glance back to the pair of Sith before him. In the Force he could feel their anticipation at getting a Jedi Master to do their bidding, but it really wasn't a choice for him. He had his morals and principles, and they had theirs. Unfortunately on this day, the only way to save innocent lives was to give a little and do the right thing. So in his mind, damaging a prosthetic was the easiest decision in his mind. After all, what was a little pain and maintenance to some innocent child being forever damaged because they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time?

"Fine Sith, the bargain is struck. Break it, and I will stop you with one hand."

As the last word left his mouth, he brought the blade of energy down on the prosthetic hand and watched it fall harmlessly to the ground. The metal forearm sparked dangerously and wires were exposed that normally never were. The neural sensors in it were broadcasting pain, but nothing like he had felt when he had originally had felt when his brother had maimed him. Electric blue eyes met pale blue, and Darron let his father's hilt fall from his remaining hand. "Your terms have been met, free the younglings and escape. We will not give chase...now go."

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Mikhail stared at the sparking stump. Cybernetics. He should have known. He contemplated telling the Jedi to lop off a leg, but by this point there would be more Jedi converging on their location. Time to bail. Mikhail flashed the Jedi Master a tight smile.

He clapped slowly. "Good enough. For now. I'll be sure to bring along some younglings to threaten when next we meet. Get you to cut off a few more limbs." He turned on his heel and stalked down the hallway. "Come on Val." As soon as they had gotten out of view of the Jedi, Mikhail broke into a run for the hangar which contained their shuttle. As he ran he was soon joined by other Sith. It seemed Darron Wraith kept his promises. Mikhail would remember that.

Mikhail did not want to stay in the Jedi Temple any longer than was necessary. He had already spent too much time there as it was. He reached the shuttle and went to the controls. Moments later, all Sith were on board. Mikhail fired up the thrusters and they shrieked out of the hangar, heading straight up through the atmosphere. Mikhail counted to five, then triggered the device he held in his left hand. Below, the Temple shuddered as massive explosions blew out pillars and caused a portion of the Temple to collapse in on itself. Shorn had managed to place a few charges while wandering toward his objective. Not that he'd told anyway. The Jedi would be too busy putting out fires within their precious Templ to consider coming after the fleeing Sith now.

The Sith Apprentice wondered how many more lives he had taken with the detonation. Tirdarius would obviously be most displeased that they hadn't accomplished their objective. He can suck Gamorrean balls.

The young Sith thought they had done more than enough. Not only had their attack been symbolic by showing the Jedi that Sith could reach them anywhere, but Mikhail had also made a few personal firsts. Being defended by a Jedi, Killing a Jedi, getting a Jedi Master to willingly lop off an arm. Yes, a number of firsts.

The shuttle shrieked through atmosphere and broke Coruscant's orbit. Mikhail swiftly punched in the jump coordinates. Stars stretched around them and they catapulted into hyperspace. Their work on Coruscant was done. For now.

 

[Darron Wraith]

As the Sith finally left the temple, the injured Jedi Master leaned against the wall and a smile escaped his lips. He could feel the dark taint leaving the younglings, and he had only paid a small price to do so. Walking over to the door, he let the Vice Chancellor out and nodded to his Padawan before walking off alone. With a quick pull of the Force, he summoned both of his lightsaber hilts to his hand, one at a time and clipped them to his belt. Continuing his stride alone, he pulled the sliced off hand to his flesh hand and carried it with him.

I need some rest, he thought to himself. Yes the Sith had escaped and he had given his word to not give pursuit, the day couldn't be considered a loss. Innocent lives had been saved, and he had met some new faces in this new Order he was going to have to get used to. He indeed felt like he was in a new era, but maybe this era suited him better. Or maybe he had just finally grown up and found the peace and acceptance he had always wanted his entire life. Funny how I'm just now starting to feel the things I've always wanted, and it took losing everything and two decades in carbonite to find it.

His head full of thoughts, and his prosthetic sparking. The Jedi Master made his way to the healers to see about repairing what had been destroyed, and prepared himself to account for his actions to Master Teferi.


Two Days Later...

"A Master of this Order you are, and reinstated you are Darron."

Kneeling before the Grand Master, Darron nodded his thanks and stood up to his full height. A smile on his face for the first time in a long while, his prosthetic fully repaired and dressed in the traditional robes of the Jedi. "Thank you Grand Master Teferi, I won't let you down. I promise."

"Found, the right time for you, that galaxy has. May the Force be with you."

"Yes Master," with that Darron bowed once more before leaving the room and walking out into an uncertain future.

THE END​