Gospel

[Arage Bao]

[member="Liya"]

This was frustrating.

It was easy to devolve into an 'us or them' mentality when the other side were literal monsters. Gideon was unsure if he could ever accept the perspective of his Master in that regard, that even the most horrible of Sith deserved a chance at redemption, no matter what they had done. But Liya didn't seem a monster at this moment.

Was it fair to blame the person she was right now for the sins she had committed, before something had happened with her memory?

This was complicated and he detested it. "I believe you. We wouldn't be there, if I didn't." Was that reallt true? After all, Gideon had started to heal her before knowing her like this. But it put some struggling part of him at ease.

Reassured himself that if she had been a threat? That Gideon would have acted without hesitation.

"Do you remember your name at least?"

To keep calling her Sith would only reaffirm her own belief that there was no path forward for her. He did not know what he want, but Gideon knew what Draya would have said about this. She had all the clear makings of someone looking for a path out of the Dark. Draya would have pushed him to try and help her on this path.

"Or anything else?" His fingers moved across the controls with experience. Making preliminary checks first, before starting the disengaging protocols of the hangar door.

 

[Rory Naasade]

It was uncomfortable, sitting in the co-pilot's seat with her hands bound behind her back. But she didn't say anything, didn't complain. She'd said she would do anything he needed to secure his safety and she'd meant it. Besides.....

After what she'd done, a little discomfort seemed like a small thing indeed.

Again, she didn't answer right away, but this time it was because she didn't have a response. She chewed on her lower lip, thinking. Searching. Trying to find some sliver of identity that was more than just images and feelings.

Pain.

Guilt.

A red mountain of spires.

Tawny, hungry eyes.

"No," she finally said, her voice quiet. Quiet enough that it could almost be missed over the sound of the repulsor lifts kicking in and the hangar bay doors creaking open.

"I remember....." she paused, trailing off.

Breathing in deeply, she pushed on.

"A red mountain. And yellow eyes. Other than that...... nothing."

[member="Gideon Blackford"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Liya"]

Gideon nodded without understanding.

More a nod of acceptance.

He still couldn't detect any lies from her and unless she was a secret Sith Lord the likes of Palpatine the Jedi did not think that she would have been able to cloud his judgement this much. It meant that, at least for now, he would take her at her word.

It made everything even more complicated.

"You will feel a mild tremor- this ship is pretty dated. It's a 394c, pre-breaking of Corellia, they don't make them like this anymore." But there was a hidden tone of pride there as well. There was a reason why Gideon was so acquainted with the hangar and with the ship. From all of them involved he had been one of the few with real ship mechanic experience.

Someone had to maintain them, no?

"Lean back against the chair and it should be fin- wait what." Lights that had no business beeping were beeping hard. First Gideon tried to fix the issue, fingers moving around the control panels while trying to cycle the energy levels.

Low hushed curses as it wasn't working.

Eyes widened.

"We need to go. NOW." No time to explain. He pushed himself up and pulled Liya with him, this thing was going to blow and they couldn't be around for that.

 

[Rory Naasade]

Lean back? She repressed a sharper than she wanted retort- who was leaning back with their hands tied behind them?

"Wait wha-"

But she didn't get to finish that sentence. In a flash they were up, him dragging her along behind him, stumbling, running down the slowly opening ramp and jumping clear as danger rang through the air.

SSSSCHKABOOM!

The force of the blast knocked them over, and she cried out as she fell- hands still tied and unable to catch herself before ending up catching the duracrete hangar floor with her face. She groaned, her face on fire, cheek throbbing, the wound in her abdomen protesting as she struggled to her knees.

A pair of hands helped her up, surprisingly gently-

And she realized, halfway to standing, that it wasn't the Jedi.

"Dangerous ruse," a low, thick voice whispered intimately in her ear. "But a good one."

She felt a knife slice through the bindings, freeing her hands. She brought them forward, one hand rubbing the opposite wrist as she turned.

She had no idea who it was standing behind her. Verdant skin, black facial tattoos, the look in his amber eyes said he knew her, however.

"Last one, love. Shall we?"

[member="Gideon Blackford"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Liya"]

Fire, heat blasting him some meters away, before he groaned.

His leg hurt, body hurt, shoulder, but nothing seemed to be broken. "How are you-" The ringing in his ears stopped and as the Jedi rolled around, he caught Liya's restraints cut by a figure. Sith. Black tattoos and amber burning. He had been in the battle, cutting straight through little Teesha and her brother.

No mercy.

The expression on his face hardened as he heard love and Gideon rose. Lightsaber already in his hand, fingers curled and clutching. "You lied to me, I believed."

Gideon should have known.

Should have realized.

The Sith were evil and there was nothing they wouldn't do to escape judgement. They didn't deserve mercy, did they? Draya had been wrong. The newcomer Sith just smirked behind Liya.

"'course she did, lad, lovely sing-song here has spun greater weaves than you."

Everything told him to attack now and kill them both. It would be right, would be just, but he restrained himself. Not out of mercy, but out of self-preservation. There were two now and if he was to defeat them both? He'd need his wits about him. Storming straight into the battle would only mean death.

And then his friends and family would be denied justice forever.

 

[Rory Naasade]

"What? No!"

She shook her head, confusion writ clear upon her features.

The Sith ignited his saber, giving her the strangest look.

"You can stop now," he snapped. "I know you enjoy your fun, but now is not the time to play with your food."

Everything happened too fast. Everything instinct. Everyone acting and reacting and nothing thinking. There was no time to think.

He stepped forward, toward Gideon. She moved, placing herself between them, her back to the Jedi. He wasn't expecting it, the swing of his lightsaber cut short to keep from slicing right through her. The hesitation, the confusion now in his eyes- whoever this was..... he cared about her.... didn't he? She didn't want to hurt him- just wanted to stop him.

"No more killing, please," she pleaded, her hands already on his wrists.

"What's wrong with you?" He snarled, ripping his empty hand out of hers.

"It's over-"

[member="Gideon Blackford"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Liya"]

Nothing made sense anymore.

The man was giving off one story and the woman another.

Deception, clearly, but why could he not sense it from her even now? Just as Gideon made himself ready to defend himself, something completely out of the ordinary happened. The girl rounded around and put herself in between him and the Sith. He blinked, off-balance, suddenly unsure what the situation actually was.

Steady. The calm voice poured through him, giving him clarity, shifting his hand from shaking to peace. Protect her. Protect yourself. His lightsaber angled, streaming emerald light towards the floor and then Gideon moved.

Everything fell into place.

The man had grown angry, irrational, his view of the world shifted too and amber deepened in his eyes. "You want to join him? Fine." The Jedi could see it happen, but could do nothing as the dagger slashed and the Sith almost threw her to the side. Amber eyes widened as Gideon, leaping towards him, came into view.

No place.

No room to maneuver.

Footing all wrong. He snarled anyway and lunged just as the emerald blade cut through his knee, before whipping up and impaling itself in his stomach, a twist and the Sith fell to the side. Not a painful death, no, it was a sudden. Only then did Gideon feel the sharp sting across his skin, the feeling of sticky across him.

The dagger had cut straight through robe, long gash across his arm.

But his mind had already pushed forward, turning around to where the girl had been thrown. "Si- whoever you are, are you alright?"

 

[Rory Naasade]

"I- I'm not sure-"

The cut of his dagger had been shallow, but long, a line of fire from her hip across and up to the opposite shoulder. She struggled to sit up, but everything protested and she stayed right where she was, eyes closed and one hand, slick with blood, pressed hard against her hip- the beginning of the cut far deeper than the end had been.

"I- I think it's not as bad as it looks," she managed. "Not deep enough to reach anything important-"

But it was bleeding an awful lot, wicked away by the fabric of her ruined tunic.

She was staring past him, at the body of the Sith where it lay. Too still. She knew it, even though she hadn't seen the death blow.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "This wasn't what I wanted."

[member="Gideon Blackford"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Liya"]

His strength gave out once Gideon reached her.

Crumbling to his knees he breathed out, pushing the pain of his arm away and focusing on her for the moment. She was right- the gash wasn't serious in the sense of internal damage, but she'd bleed out long before that could become a problem. His hands slipped, one resting on her stomach and the other pushing her hand away and slipping against the wound.

Pressing against it hard to calm the flow of blood under his touch.

She hissed in pain but Gideon did not stop. "You are a mystery to me." The Jedi whispered as his eyes closed and hands lit up again, bathing her skin and wound in burning light.

But the pain she felt? He felt more, because part of the healing was taking away the pain. Yet, it still had to go somewhere and once more it was taken inside of him. Teeth gritting as the deepest part of the gash slowly knit itself back together under his watchful touch. Until sweat trickled past cheek and Gideon sighed.

"It's done."

Every part of his body ached now, worse than before and not just because of the cut across his arm.

 

[Rory Naasade]

"You and me both," she said quietly, tone tight through gritted teeth.

Force healing wasn't magic. She would still need time to rest, to heal fully. But the bleeding had stopped on the worst part, and slowed on the rest. Enough that as long as she didn't attempt anything strenuous, she would be okay. She looked at him, her expression worried as she considered the paleness around his mouth, the tightness around his eyes.

"Thank you," she murmured. "Again. I don't..... understand why you helped me. Not after everything. But. I'm glad you did. I.... I'll do everything I can to.... to...."

She paused, face stricken.

"I can't pretend that I can make up for it. For.... what happened here. What.... what I did. What I've probably done before....."

She trailed off, looking back in the direction of the other sith's still form. He had clearly cared about her.... at least until she had gone against him. Why didn't she feel anything more than basic remorse at the turn of events? She felt worse that the Jedi had needed to kill than she had that the man who had called her 'love' was dead.

"But I'm going to try..... to maybe, if I can.... to balance the scales."

Slowly, together, they both found a way to stand, neither as steady on their feet as they'd like to be.

"I'll start by going with you. To the Alliance. Abide by their ruling," she said quietly, leaning slightly against him while he leaned back even more lightly against her.

"No matter what they decide."

[member="Gideon Blackford"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Liya"]

It couldn't be helped.

He wanted to be able to just... stand on his own, but he had healed her twice, attempted to heal his Master and kept him alive for moments, until Draya let go himself. Then there was the fight before it... the fight now... just the general exhaustion. It was all catching up with him. But Gideon set his jaw and steadied himself.

Drawing strength from... something.

The memory of his Master perhaps.

"The Alliance?" Gideon blinked and then nodded. It was where he was taking her, wasn't he? Justice for the murders committed by her hand and hers. It was fair, it was good, it was what they had to do to give his friends and family peace. But why did it feel like Draya was shaking his head at him right now?

"They will be...-" What? Fair? Who really believed that. Oh, they were better than the Silvers, better than the Coalition or Commenor, but they were extremists.

They didn't have much in the way of understanding and this situation was clear for them.

"Your death will not help those who lost their lives today." Gideon mumbled finally, before pulling her with- away from the burning wreckage. That one wasn't an option anymore. They had to figure out a different path and part of the Jedi thought he knew where to go next. "We still need to get off this world."

 

[Rory Naasade]

"You said before that they would give me a fair trial," she said quietly. "If that means they think I deserve to die for what I have done..... I'm not afraid."

She meant it. It was hard, here and now, to be afraid after....

After what?

She couldn't remember. Something horrible. Something far more terrifying than simple death would be. Somehow, on a deep, intrinsic level, she felt that as long as she atoned for her actions, nothing like what she had gone through would happen again. She didn't know what it was, or how she knew that, but there was a deep conviction.

And if she died, because they deemed it the appropriate punishment?

That would be atonement at least in part.

Maybe enough to keep that red mountain at bay.

"There's a fighter," she wasn't changing the subject perse, but it was easier. She might not be afraid, but neither did she relish the idea of walking potentially to her death.

"I..... I don't think I can fly one. Or that there's room for us both."

[member="Gideon Blackford"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Liya"]

He did say that.

But the truth of that statement was up in the air- the Alliance was... the Alliance. They had little in the way of sympathy for Darksiders, it was their entire ideal, so to have one walk up and admit to slaughtering an entire enclave of innocents? Especially Jedi who were trying to help in their own little way? Something told him that the Galactic Alliance wouldn't take a long time to figure out what the punishment was for that. But that was good wasn't it?

"Don't see a lot of other options honestly." Gideon said as they walked around the burning wreckage. The heat was still scorching and burning against their skin, even from a distance. She rescued him though- the Jedi didn't think he would have been able to kill the Sith, if his focus hadn't been split in that little moment.

Not while Gideon was tired, exhausted and every part of his body hurt.

He owed her.

...and maybe Gideon owed Draya as well. His Master would have been the first one to push for him to try and guide her on the right path. To teach her the ways of the Lightside and help her atone to what she had done today. This was a mess and every single option available to him seemed to be flawed one way or another. "Let's see what we can do with it." Maybe Gideon would be able to retool something, make sure they both had a seat on it.

It was one of the X-wings.

The explosion had caused it to be pushed away a bit, but it was mostly intact. The cockpit was good, a couple of dents here and there, but nothing that they couldn't figure out.

She was right though.

Looking at the thing there was no way that he could fix up a way for both of them to have a- oh forcedamnit. "We could... share the seat, I guess."

This wasn't... force's sake.

"I can pilot it."

She'd have to ride on his lap, that was going to get awkward.

 

[Rory Naasade]

I don't see about of other options.

That was true about both the Alliance and their way off planet.

She knew that they- the sith she'd come with- must have gotten here somehow. But she didn't know where they had landed- if it was even close at all.... probably not, if they had taken the Jedi by surprise.... what kinds of ships they had brought. They were both injured. There was no way they could just wander around and hope to stumble across them. They might get lucky and manage it right away. But that seemed unlikely, and she didn't think either of them had that kind of search in them. They could barely stand without the support of the other.

Looking up at the X-wing, she frowned slightly.

"I guess...." she said, tone clearly dubious.

"How far?"

She realized when he glanced at her that wasn't clear.

"I.... I don't know," she paused and swallowed. "What planet this is. So how far will we have to go in this.... to reach Alliance space?"

[member="Gideon Blackford"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Liya"]

"Outer Rim." They had picked this place because it had given them wide access to a plethora of systems and planets that needed the assistance a dedicated Jedi Enclave could offer. Healing, arbitration and conciliation, security, the important things that were bed-stones for sentients to live and even thrive out here.

It was lawless.

There were several groups active- the Confederacy (Gideon squinted hard at them, they spoke of liberty... but there were reports of former slaves disappearing from Ryloth regardless), the Remnant... that spoke for itself.

Then the large amount of criminal groups active from here to Nal Kreeta and beyond.

"It will take us..." Gideon had been about to say three days, but then he realized they were using an X-wing. That wouldn't be fast, no matter if it was a Jedi piloting it. It barely had a class 5 hyperdrive, only after he tuned it right- ...he'd have to remove the tuning. It was fine for short jaunts with proper maintenance, but this wasn't that.

"About a week, I reckon. If we use the Mara Corridor for the most part, that is." They'd have to avoid it once they passed Remnant territory, the Imperials had been flexing their muscles around it for a while now.

"I am going to do some tune-up, see if it's space worthy... can you look around and see if there is anything here we can use? Food, water, tools, anything that might help us get through the week."

 

[Rory Naasade]

A week in an X-Wing with a stranger. She didn't need to have memories to tap into, to know that was going to waffle between awkward and unpleasant. Sure, they would stop, regularly. They'd have to.

And however it turned out, they wouldn't be strangers by the end of it. Couldn't travel in that sort of proximity with someone and not get to know them.

He had to know that.

So why did he seem so okay with it? Knowing what she was, what she had done.

But then he said the last part and she frowned at him, confused. She paused, wavering for a moment- indecision was clear in every muscle of her body.

"You..... trust me?"

He gave her a slightly strange look.

"I could run. Or find something. To attack you with."

She ran her hands up and down her arms, then looked away.

"You shouldn't. Trust me. There's no reason for you to, and every reason for you not to."

[member="Gideon Blackford"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Liya"]

Granted she wasn't making it easy for him.

Because Gideon agreed with her on this one. Every single fiber in his body was telling him not to trust her and to keep an eye on her. But he had been taught by Draya and Draya had not raised a fool. Not someone who would simply ignore one detail or the other because it was convenient or easier for him. It would have been the easiest thing in the world to dismiss Liya.

Write her off as a treacherous Sith, send her off to die in the Alliance and then carry on with picking up the pieces of his life.

But Draya had not raised a coward either.

"You could, aye." A shrug followed and it was the hardest shrug he had ever made. "You could also have let that Sith kill me or join with him and kill me together."

Reasons could be found why she had done that.

But Draya had always said, if the answer is right in front of you... don't go around complicating it because your feelings are making you paranoid.

"You might not realize it, but you saved my life back there." Gideon hadn't been in any state to fight a prolonged battle, still wasn't. So, he was definitely putting his trust on her, but right now? The Jedi could use all the help he could get.

They could figure everything else out later.

"Now go. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

 

[Rory Naasade]

She didn't respond. Didn't move right away, just watched his back as he went about his own preparations. The fact that he'd turn his back to her....

She frowned.

The next time he turned around or glanced over his shoulder, she was gone.

But it wasn't for long. The pair worked in silence from there, slower than they'd like, but quicker than either of their wounds appreciated. She found a crate of meal bars- cardboard with flavor, but it would take care of their needs. She transferred the contents by the armload. Even if she had been uninjured, there was no place to stow a crate like that. But all of it fit when it was taken out and stuck wherever there was room. A biovac tent, two sleeping bags, glow sticks- the supplies where there, waiting. The Jedi had been well prepared, it was just a matter of getting everything for two people to fit. She found a first aid kit and added it, snugging it up behind the seat in easy reach.

By the time she was close to done, there was a sheen of sweat on her brow, but not from warmth. Her skin was pale, a little clammy, and it was clear that she was reaching the ends of her stamina. But she pushed on, having tracked down a basic tool kit for repairs they might have to make on the trip, and rearranging things to make room for the fourth time. Each time she managed to add something to the small cargo niche that had surely been full a moment ago.

[member="Gideon Blackford"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Liya"]

Gideon only glanced over a handful of times.

Not because of suspicion, even if there was plenty of it running through his body. No, if the Jedi wanted to pull her away from the brink and onto the path of the Light he would need to give trust. Only by giving trust was it possible to receive it in kind. It was difficult, but Gideon was not the kind of man to question his every move once the path was set.

Draya was looking down on him with favor.

He felt his Master's approval, even if he knew that it could not be real. But it was enough to confirm that this was the... right path. Not to forgive, that was not his right to give, but to help her find her path.

Make sure she did not hurt more people while giving her a chance to save herself.

"You alright?" Gideon asked as he noticed the sheen of transpiration and the paleness of her skin. He moved to check, when she stumbled, just in time the Jedi managed to catch and steady her. "You have done good, I will take over here, rest." Settling her down against some of the crates Gideon continued with the preparations.

Luckily there wasn't many of them left.

About five minutes later the Jedi was done.

"I think I fixed it up... enough that it won't suddenly shut down on us mid-trip. Can you walk yourself?"

 

[Rory Naasade]

She fully expected to meet the hard floor of the hangar bay, slam her knees into the stone- but instead he caught her, and her hands were tight on his arms. She could feel the begining of the shaking that would come from pushing already taxed muscles too far, and she didn't argue with him when he guided her to sit. She just nodded, not really knowing what to say other than a quiet "Thank you."

She'd be saying that a lot, she realized as she watched him finish the work. It seemed somehow better than 'I'm sorry'. There was no amount of apology she could make that would change any of what had happened. No words she could use to explain just how deeply the chasm of guilt ran through her. Nothing that could matter. Could make it right. So all she could do was try to balance it.... as best she could.

'I'm sorry' would be spoken for her benefit. Not his.

And she wasn't the one who had been hurt by all of this.

She frowned slightly, thoughtfully. She should hurt, beyond the guilt. That man.... the Sith.... she clearly had a history with him. So why did she feel nothing, knowing he was dead? She didn't remember killing those people, but she felt the guilt of it. So shouldn't she feel something here?

Something was missing. Something didn't add up. But it was confusing and it hurt to poke too deeply at it, so for now she set it aside.

But not far.

She had been looking at him, but not really seeing him when he approached, and it took a moment for her to focus and parse what he'd said. She looked at him blankly for a moment before blinking and processing. Then she nodded.

"Yeah," she said, pushing herself up from the crates. She couldn't have run, or even walked a great distance. But getting to the X-Wing, she could manage.

"How. Um....." she looked up at the ship once they were there. Silly question. It was obvious how this was going to work.

He headed up first, making sure she could make it up the ladder before settling himself into the cockpit. Self conscious and tentative, she climbing in, both of them taking a moment to get situated before she settled against him. She swallowed, trying to keep herself as small as possible, but it was clear from her posture there was no way she was going to be able to make the trip like that even remotely comfortably.

[member="Gideon Blackford"]