Private Bated

[Asha Seren]

There were no cities to be found upon the world of Osadia, no charted settlements betwixt the lofty forests. It was a difficult place to find, kept secret from the Galaxy, and as such it was the perfect planet to lay low upon.​

​

The Galaxy was tense, worlds were being threatened, and a call to action had been made. Jedi far and wide would be converging in the Core to stave off the approach of the Brotherhood of the Maw and their dark supporters; once upon a time she would have stood against them too, but these days Asha Seren had little to offer. Her connection to the Force was tenuous at best, her return to the land of the living had brought with it old metaphysical wounds, and she had nothing with which to defend herself.​

​

As such, there was nowhere safer for her than a world belonging to no star maps.​

​

Cale had brought her here just a few days prior, and she'd set up in one of the only structures the planet had to offer. Once it had been an Academy, though these days it lay dormant and empty. Still she had rations to keep her going, and the shelter afforded by the building itself. She'd survived worse, and the forest was surprisingly tranquil. Just the place to rest her mind in meditation.​

​

It had been some time since she'd been released from the Vornskr's grasp, and in that time she'd always had the company of another. Being alone again? That was admittedly strange. Still he'd be back in time, right?​

​

Provided nothing went awry in the meantime. If that happened, who knew how long it would be before she got off world again...​

​

Thank the Living Force for commlinks then.​

​

Tracyn Ordo ​

 

[Tracyn Ordo]

No, it wasn't ideal. Not by a longshot.

The ship was nearly rusted through, much of the wiring harnesses barely functioning or somewhat at best. And yet, he was glad to have it. It was ferrying him to his destination, to his calling.

He named it the Return, in honor of...whatever spurred him to go to Tython. But for now, he was star-side, at a Orbital refueling station. A worker, clad in a spacesuit, began the dangerous but necessary task of refueling his starship.

He stopped, turning his head. A feeling. A presence. Nearby. On a planet. Like the warm light of home. The feeling of entering your home after a long day. Comfort. Joy.



Love.


It can't be her.


He raised his head up, uttering a single word, reaching out to test that old bond, just to see, just on a whim, hope running deep in his soul.

"Asha?"

 

[Asha Seren]

Her mind was rarely actually quiet these days when she meditated. Sure it helped to stave off the worst the Wound had to offer, and it kept the Force from rearing its head and making her sick, but beyond that? Well, beyond that it was a lot of reminding herself to breathe, to focus, a lot of memories returning slowly and surely to the forefront of her mind after years of repression. Voices drifted this way and that, echoes of the past.​

​

All had been uttered with her disjointed accent, that strange mix of Cadinthian twang with Panathan propriety, and an undertone of Concordia binding them as one. Once a well traveled and learned individual, how far she'd fallen since rebirth.​

​

And yet one word among them was uttered with another voice entirely. It stuck out like a sore thumb and ripped her from the relative tranquility of her mind. Breathing deep, she shuddered and glanced this way and that with narrowed and suspicious eyes toward her surroundings. Was someone here?​

​

"Show yourself" she called out, suppressing the natural fear which wanted nothing more than to rear its head. Nothing stirred in the shadows, however, no footsteps to be heard, no stray breeze moving what little fabric still remained upon the walls. Silence.​

​

Silence and a gnawing familiarity beginning to blossom within her core.​

​

She closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and drew inward once more. Reaching for that voice which had momentarily taken over her thoughts. She couldn't call back, she couldn't relay her thoughts to whatever entity was seemingly trapped within her, but for a moment, just a moment, she allowed her presence to light up in response.​

​

Even that made her stomach churn with the sickness she'd been hoping to resist.​

​

Tracyn Ordo ​

 

[Tracyn Ordo]

He'd been suffering for years. Day in and day out. Each day was a struggle, an uphill fight. To stay alive, to stay positive, to stay on the light side of it all. It'd be so easy to give into the anger, the hate he once felt. The darkness he knew was in there, deep down, lurking.

And she was the balance, the light in his darkness. She made it all worthwhile. The struggle, the pain. All the battles and all the hours spent, not for him-

But for her.

For his child.

He felt her. Like she was sitting there. Brown hair. Olive skin.

He reached back out, reaching out to the co-pilot's seat. His hand was trembling. He needed to know- needed to see if it was his isolation, his fear, his lack of contact with the force. For her, it was by design, for him, it was by choice.

She disappeared in the force as quickly as she came.

He reached back out to her, trying to lock on to her. He only managed a flicker of it, like the crackle of a fire- a warmth. A flash of orange, white-hot heat. Love. Pure love.

He grasped the controls, and pulled away from the refueling station. No navigation systems for the moment. It was purely by the force now.

He was coming.

Asha Seren

 

[Asha Seren]

It took her quite some time to settle her stomach after that.​

​

No more meditating, instead she sought out a source of water to rinse her mouth out. It was night time at this point, and up above the night sky was nothing short of perfection. Stars lined the blanket of inky darkness, and as she wiped her brow of feverish sweat she couldn't help but admire it.​

​

Back on Cadinth it had been just as bountiful, that night sky pierced through with a billion systems that shone as mere pinpricks. Out in the desert there hadn't been any light pollution to speak of, it had just been Asha and Nyx and that wide expanse.​

​

Here it was even more quiet. Just a woman and the edge of everything.​

​

She lay down, slowed her breathing, and just watched it all. Her thoughts were troubled, confused by what she'd heard, by the voice that did not belong, but looking toward the heavens helped to offset it some.​

​

One day she'd travel freely among them, one day she'd be stable enough for that.​

​

For now, she'd settle on watching them twinkle instead.​

​

Tracyn Ordo ​

 

[Tracyn Ordo]

The stars streaked by, the planet coming into view. The starmap, barely functioning as he looked over the planet. It was beautiful. Tranquil. Quiet. Solitary.

Someplace he'd go too. He thought Jedha was the place. Maybe she thought similarly to him.

Osadia, it finally read. No listed cities. No settlements. No starports. A small military presence. But nothing concrete. He closed his eyes as he entered the atmosphere, his ship's hull and shields screaming as they were hit with the re-entry heat.

Once stable, he opened them again, searching with the force.

That familiar feeling of fire drew near Asha again. He was searching for her. His presence in the force was like that of a warm winter fire- a sort of play on his name, either by happenstance or perhaps by cheeky design.

His ship streaked across the sky, intent on finding her- or finding out what was claiming to be her.

And not just any woman, her. His. She was his, and he was hers.

And he was coming for her.

Asha Seren

 

[Asha Seren]

A star streaked across the night sky, and she followed it with her gaze. Such was supposed to be lucky, wasn't it? That was something she'd been told as a child, many moons ago, and it was something she'd told Nyx, and later Thurion Heavenshield and Kobe... The thought of her lost boys was enough to pull her focus from the sky, but even as she tore her gaze away something strange was noticed.​

​

That star did not disappear into the aether.​

​

Instead it continued to jut across the blanket of darkness with increased velocity until it grew into something more than it had been.​

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A ship.​

​

She pushed herself back to a seated position, and then to her feet, watching as it began its descent from the planet's atmosphere. Had Cale Gunderson returned already..?​

​

No.​

​

That wasn't his vessel.​

​

But if not his then whose? This place had long since been deserted, after all.​

​

Fear spiked within her, and she began to retreat back toward the deserted Academy. Had the Vornskr finally grown tired of the hunt? Had he waited 'til she was alone once more to resume the game of cat and mouse?​

​

She cursed under her breath. It had been foolish of her not to acquire some sort of weapon... But maybe, just maybe, she could improvise. After all, things had been left behind within the academy's compound.​

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Tracyn Ordo ​

 

[Tracyn Ordo]

He landed, barely taking time to do the proper shutdown procedures. The ramp couldn't lower fast enough. The excess air couldn't be vented fast enough. The landing gears couldn't deploy fast enough.

He stood by the door, hand on the door handle, ready. He was wearing his spacer clothes, a dark gray shirt and navy blue pants, with a utility belt- his lightsaber dangling from it, and nothing else. He stepped out, several hundred meters from the temple.

He felt the force around him.

Tranquil. Peaceful. As a temple should be. But it seemed more like the ancient academies he knew. His boots made contact with the earth at his feet, and he stood, wind softly blowing as silence overtook the plains that he stood on.

And not a soul in sight.

He began to make his way to the academy, unsure of what he would find.

Asha Seren

 

[Asha Seren]

It was impossible not to hear the ship landing close by, the hiss of air escaping the previously pressurized cabins, landing thrusters, it was a noisy ordeal. Inside the Academy, Asha's boots clacked against the ground as she rushed to find something that could pass as a weapon. There was something to be said about a frantic mind, however, and clarity wasn't principal among it.​

​

She knew it was foolish. There wasn't much she could do to keep Kaine from dragging her back to Panatha if he wanted to try, his prowess in the Force alone would be enough to overwhelm her, never mind whatever weapons he might be carrying. But she was an Epicanthix, and they were a warrior people. There was no fate inbound which involved her rolling over without a fight.​

​

But the more she scoured, and the closer the approaching footsteps came, the more she realized that the accompanying presence wasn't, well, his...​

​

By this point she'd picked up some heavy old stone vase, intent on throwing it at whoever crossed the threshold, but she faltered at the last minute and instead simply stood and stared, watching from the shadowy corner of the entrance chamber.​

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If not Vornskr, then who..?​

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Tracyn Ordo ​

 

[Tracyn Ordo]

Time was a cruel beast.

His life was no more enduring than the grass he walked on, the Republic he fought for, the Army of Light he fought with, and all the countless things he did trying to uphold peace in the galaxy.

But his love for Asha Seren would echo through eternity, through the stars. In fact, he had literally gone across the stars and across space to find her. He got closer, feeling his feet getting heavier and heavier with each step.

He stopped, sensing her near the temple. For a moment, for a time, silence.

He called out her name, just to be sure. A hand hovered near his lightsaber.

"Asha?"

Asha Seren

 

[Asha Seren]

Waiting with bated breath, Asha Seren peered through the darkness and waited for the arrival of whomever it was.​

​

Only they paused just shy of the threshold, and without the Force as her ally she couldn't rightly make sense of who it was. All that she knew was that the choking grip of Bogan was not permeating the air the way it had back on Panatha. No, it was not the Vornskr.​

​

Then a voice. That same voice which had echoed within her mind, only now made tangible. It echoed through the Academy, and all at once she knew it for what it was.​

​

Or more, who it belonged to.​

​

Even with how long it had been, and how isolated an existence she'd lived until recently, she would recognize it anywhere. The Force had distorted it, but hearing it for real? Yeah... There was no denying it,​

​

Was it a trick?​

​

Though caution bade her to pull back into the shadows, Asha took one step forward. She shouldn't have, she knew, because even if this wasn't a trick of Kaine Zambrano she would only be endangering him... She couldn't have him, nor could she seek out the others.​

​

But she had taken that first step against her better judgement, and slowly with just the pitter of her feet she approached the entrance. She should have said something, called out, but she couldn't. What if it was all just an illusion waiting to be shattered?​

​

Her heart ached.​

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Tracyn Ordo ​

 

[Tracyn Ordo]

He didn't say a word, not for a long while. He breathed deeply, words failing him for a while. He stopped staring at her, before closing the distance, roughly ten feet away from each other.

He looked around.

It was a peaceful place.

"I'm not... dead am I? This is what I would picture if I was." There was only a moment between that thought and the next, offering no chance of a reply. "I still love you. I don't know if you're real or not but I-" The normally stoic man finally broke down, years of guilt, loss, and tragedy finally coming to a head. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to collect himself.

"Just- please be here."

Asha Seren

 

[Asha Seren]

He entered the Academy and for a moment it was as though all the air had been pulled from existence. She stared with wide eyes, a deer in headlights at the sight of him stood before her. How long had it been? Cale had eluded to decades, and for her it had been in isolation. Each day a struggle to comprehend, she couldn't rightly lament what had been lost.​

​

But he...​

​

He'd lived through it all. There'd been no respite in the Nether for him, nor had there been a torturous return to life and then death, over and over again. He'd been here, in the Galaxy, alone. Their sons were dead or gone.​

​

Their sons.​

​

He fell to his knees and that was all that was needed to get her moving once more. Vornskr be damned, they'd figure it out if this was part of his devious plans. They'd make it work... Stronger united, right?​

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Right?​

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She sank to her knees before him, and one trembling hand reached out toward him. Was he real? Would her hand touch skin or would it fall through the form wrought from her imagination?​

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Swallowing back her fears, she touched her palm to his cheek and the sudden intake of breath made her shock palpable.​

​

"Kobe..?"​

​

An affectionate name she'd used for him long ago, in their days in the Enclave... A name they'd passed on to one of their sons. If it really was him, he'd know that much. There'd be no shock or surprise at hearing it said, surely. Further proof that this wasn't just another Kaine game...​

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Tracyn Ordo ​

 

[Tracyn Ordo]

X


The touch he hadn't had in over two decades.

The woman he wanted for two decades. The woman he was supposed to be with.His other half, the thing he was missing.

"It's- it's me. It's really me."

There wasn't a force trick he knew that could work on her at this level. He wrapped his hand around hers, leaning into it. He wanted to confirm the suspicion that she had- hers was out of paranoia, his was out of disbelief.

If Tracyn was to die- the first thought he would want to see was not the Force itself. It wasn't a council of Jedi, his old friends, his Masters, the wisest in generations.

All Tracyn wanted in the galaxy, and all he needed- was right in front of him.

Asha Seren

 

[Asha Seren]

And there it was, that much needed confirmation.​

​

It broke through the rest of her doubts, and much in the same way he had crumpled to the ground she fell against him. The whole thing was almost too much to comprehend. He'd aged, but surprisingly time had been kind on him. He suited it. By comparison, Asha looked more or less as she had the day they'd last seen one another. Kaine had never let her progress past that point, he'd always pull her kicking and screaming back from the void and into a clone that reflected his victory over her.​

​

With any luck, this would be the last body her soul would inhabit. With any luck she'd age again.​

​

For now none of that really mattered.​

​

A thousand questions jumped to mind, yet she couldn't force the words to form upon her lips. What even was there to say..?​

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Tracyn Ordo ​

 

[Tracyn Ordo]

Time

He sat there for a while, in utter disbelief, comfort, and joy. An odd combination to say the least. He wanted to know so many things. Where she had been. Why she was here. If she was alright. If she remembered it all.

He could only say one thing, and meant it more than anything.

"I'm glad I found you again, Asha."

He embraced her, arms engulfing the woman he wanted nothing more than to hold until the suns burnt out and the stars consumed themselves.

Asha Seren

 

[Asha Seren]

His words served to rouse her, and even as she leaned into his embrace, even as her own arms wrapped tightly around him as though it was the only thing keeping her in tact, fears began to rear their ugly head.​

​

"You shouldn't be here" she whispered, words contradicting the way in which she clung to him. Her presence in the Force was strange and fractured, some might say sickening, a sensation which spiked as she spoke. Even now she couldn't be certain this hadn't all been planned. Even now she couldn't know whether Kaine was hoping to take out the rest of those who remained near and dear to her.​

​

She'd tried to avoid them all. Tracyn, Thurion, Jericho, Josh... Nothing untoward had happened to Syn though, had it? No great horde had descended from the heavens to rend him from existence when the pair had reunited.​

​

Still it was impossible to quieten that part of her mind which questioned why it even was she'd been freed. For what purpose.​

​

"I have missed you, cyar'ika" she breathed; what use was it to push him away now that he was already here? If the Vornskr wanted to take him from her, he'd have to get past her first. Not that she was much to contend with these days.​

​

Perhaps that would have to change.​

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Tracyn Ordo ​

 

[Tracyn Ordo]

No, he shouldn't have been there.

He should've been there a long time ago.

"You're free now. I know you- you're looking for a way to confirm I'm really here, that this is real. This is."

A silence for a moment, then Tracyn drew his lightsaber, holding it out for her to take.

"Hold it. It's real, Asha. Take it. You're a Jedi, like me. It'll feel real."

The sneaky part? The Solari crystal in there. Any tom foolery from Sith magic would be (in theory) quelled on contact.

Asha Seren

 

[Asha Seren]

Was she free?​

​

In many ways it did seem that way, but she'd somehow traded a physical prison for a mental one of her own devising. A world away from worlds, off the charted path, yet it was somehow here that they'd been reunited. It was bizarre...​

​

A lightsaber was produced, and once ignited she shied back from it and from him. The glow felt more like a glare, painful to behold, and as much as she wanted to reach out and take it she could feel the Force pulsating through it. Could she stomach another churning of her gut?​

​

How long had it been since she'd last held a saber?​

​

Asha swallowed, fears reigniting within her core. Her eyes shifted this way and that, looking past him and out beyond the Academy for signs of anyone else. She'd felt him, she knew he wasn't a manifestation, but did that keep him from being a pawn? Or her from unknowingly being one herself?​

​

Her expression shifted, doubt and uncertainty making a home there. One hand lifted, reaching toward it, though she faltered at the last moment. Her trembling hand hung mere inches from the hilt.​

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"He didn't send you?"​

​

Her eyes looked directly into his. Surely she'd know if he was lying... Right?​

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Tracyn Ordo ​

 

[Tracyn Ordo]

She was rightfully nervous- whatever bound her, kept her in captivity. He felt it in the air. He was feeling again in the force. He blinked a while, wondering how to respond to her. So he tried to tell her the truth- at least, as he understood it.

"No- I think you did."

He wasn't truthfully sure if she even meant to- but she did, nonetheless.

Asha Seren