Illuminating the Darkness

[Jake Daniels]

Jake kept the little prairie dog down. Each time he saw the hint of the top of the gunman’s head, Jake fired a shot. That was a crucial mistake. Even though the man apparently had a rifle and Jake but a pistol, he was pinned. Daniels, for the moment, had the upper hand. Unfortunately none of his shots were doing what they should have; ending a life. Behind him he heard a command.

“This way.”

He fired once more, the knelt down to look backwards. Jake was stunned. Feral and predatory. The woman had managed to jimmy open a window; giving the trio a perfect avenue of escape. Her eyes; the vibrant browns stared down upon Jake, pleading with the man to move it. Her next command brought a smile to his face.

“And toss me a blaster.”

A farmers daughter would know how to shoot. Breaking open windows, demanding a gun. Was healing really what her mentor taught her? Jake fired another shot when one barely missed him. Rania had obliged, pulling a gun from her ankle and handing it to Evangeline. Before Jake could fire, someone else did it for him. From behind, Evangeline let loose a clean, steady, and dead on the money shot. As the little prairie dog lifted his head, the red energy burst smacked him right in the forehead. Jake watched the distinctive jerk backwards, along with a wild shot that hit a wall near the gunman.

Jake looked back at Evangeline with an expression of shock and pleasure. Rania summed it up with one simple statement.

"Hotdamn, she can shoot too? Total package this one!" Rania said.

Jake couldn't hide the grin. Evangeline stared down upon him, like a warrior Queen fighting beside a King. A look of a woman whom seemed dead set on remaining until the stubborn hide of a human got his butt moving. Her eyes holding a fierceness that even a day prior Jake hadn't completely seen. As the man turned to head into the parking lot, she let loose a command.

"Jake," Her tone exactly like yesterday; caring, reassuring, with a hint of don't think you aren't coming, "It's time to go."

Jake didn't want too. He had always fought like a true Commander. He left only when his men were off the ground. First in, last out. Why was that going to change now? He again weighed his options. Everything about Evangeline from the way she was perched, the way she stared down upon him, to the way she spoke, indicated she would stay. She would face death itself to ensure he remained safe. He couldn't risk her. He was a Sith. There was no denying that. She was different. He could feel he was different around her. Evangeline Cross... was to be protected; not harmed. That feeling. That distinctive pull he had started feeling towards her intensified as her eyes slowly narrowed, as if daring the man to refuse.

"Fine." Jake relented. "Rania first." Rania made her ascent and then escape. Jake looked at Evangeline as he neared, "You next. Then me." Evangeline positioned herself half in and half out of the window. She extended an arm and Jake took it. She wasn't disappearing without reassurance Jake was coming.

Once the trio were outside, Jake took a moment to get his bearings, "My hotel is several miles north. Let's move. We can contact Umako from there. Have him pick us up."

"Agreed." Rania replied.

They started their walk and Jake refused to hide his weapon. The man’s left index finger twitched; the signs of a soldier at the ready. It played dangerously with the trigger, prepped in a moment’s notice to let off another round. The trio got no more than a block when the earth beneath them violently shook. Instinct took over. Jake grabbed both women, pulled them tightly into his frame and dove behind the nearest object. This time it was, what appeared to be, a public waste bin.

Screams ripped through the air as debris rained down around them. Smoke filled the skies. Sirens blared. People ran about in panic. Jake didn't need to see what happened. He knew. Slowly he allowed both woman free of his incredibly tight grasp.

"Oh my..." Rania's voice trailed off.

"The Inn." Jake replied. He didn't look. He didn't need too. He knew there was a crater where they had just slept. Had Jake been the same stubborn fool like he normally was, had he refused Evangeline’s order to go, they both would have ended up dead.

His little Gem had saved him three times. First, getting him to safety after yesterday’s bombing. Second, killing the gunman. Third, getting his bum out of that room. She was amazing. It was really that simple.

Jake double checked his weapon. Eight shots were his estimate. It was taking everything inside to maintain total self-control. Jake could feel the darkness; the urge to let it out. The urge to be the violent Sith and rampage until he found his attackers. He managed, albeit barely, to refrain. He managed to do what was needed. That pull he felt towards Evangeline? It's what kept the old red and yellow eyes at bay.

Then Jake saw a glimmer off a nearby object. Again, sun to glass. It bounced a little, growing slightly larger as whatever caused it was growing near. Daniels waited. He focused. Then he stood. Extending his left arm, the man let loose two shots.

"Eight... seven..." he was counting down each shot he used now.

The first missed. The second grazed a new gunman, whom like the first made a beeline for the nearest cover. Walking wasn't going to work much longer. A second gunman? An explosion in their hotel room? As the attacker tried to rise again, several police speeders entered their little area. Officers jumped from their vehicles and immediately began an exchange of fire with the attacker. This distraction was what Jake needed.

"Let's go." He barked.

They made their way onto the nearest street. The answer to their walking problem slammed on its brakes then let loose on its horn. Jake lifted his weapon and pointed it right at the driver. Like a rehearsed Russian ballet, Rania already motioned for Evangeline to get into the car while she went to the driver’s side door.

The Twi'lek opened it, pulled the driver out and climbed in. Evangeline took front passengers seat. Jake kept his weapon aimed at the driver as he slowly rounded the vehicle and climbed in.

As Rania sped away, Jake let out a long held breath.

"What the hell was that?" Rania shouted.

"The bombing yesterday was a hit." Jake replied. "I recognize them. They were seen on some surveillance images yesterday. Persons of interest. They are a cleanup crew. The one Evangeline killed, then this one are first wave. Confirmation spotters. If confirmation fails take the next step; eradication. The bombing in the room was an attempt to kill anyone still inside. The second gunman was coming around to ensure no one got out. If they're anything like what I've encountered in the past there is more than two."

"A hit? Who the hell did you piss off now, Jake?" Rania replied as she swerved around one car and then another.

"A lot of people, like usual." Jake said as his attention fell to Evangeline in the front seat, "No one that would go to this much trouble to kill me." His little Gem? Now that was a different story. Jake was having those suspicions again. Again Evangeline knew how to break through cruddy security censored windows and she could shoot like a highly trained marksman. What professions in the galaxy taught someone like that? Master thieves. Was that what her Mentor had been? Was that what he trained her too be? Had her Mentor been killed on a score gone wrong? The jealousy of an insane former protégé turned rival would also make a lot of sense. Was she secretly like Jake and the Smugglers? The ideas that floated through his head were exciting.

Then the rear windshield shattered as a blaster shot barely missed Jake. The man fell to his side instantly, raised his pistol and looked towards the rear-view mirror, "Lower it." Jake ordered.

Evangeline angled the mirror so Jake could see as he lay across the back seat. A beige van was closing in on them fast. A driver with a passenger who was sticking his weapon out of the side like one might expect in a low budget car chase scene from a b-rated action movie. A second shot flew past the vehicle as Rania swerved wildly.

"So Evey, want to have a shooting contest? Loser buys dinner." Jake asked with a playful seriousness.

​

[member="Evangeline Cross"]​

 

[Evangeline Cross]

It happened in seconds.

One moment, Evangeline held Jake’s hand as they jumped from the window. The next, there was an explosion—the tiny inn was reduced to rubble. Evangeline felt sick to her stomach as the all-too-familiar smell of smoke and burning flesh filled the atmosphere around them, but there was no time to slow down and process anything now. That would come later. She was only glad they had gotten out alive—again. She briefly wondered if they would always be this lucky.

But it wasn’t over yet. There were more gunmen, Evangeline could sense their shadowy presence even through the thick clouds of ash and unfurling chaos. She was at Jake’s side in an instant as he unleashed two pops of blaster fire at their would-be assailants, covering him in case of any other surprise attacks.

The familiar wail of police speeders screamed into the fray. It was the opportune moment to escape. Evangeline looked to Jake.

“Let’s go,” He barked.

The girl was right behind him. She would have followed him anywhere.

In and out of traffic they weaved. Speeders swerved to avoid them, but one driver was not so lucky. Evangeline furrowed her brows. What was Jake doing? Her confusion turned to shock as she watched the man who, hours earlier, had held her in his arms as if he was afraid to break her lift his blaster and threaten the driver. He didn’t threaten the driver with words, of course, but he didn’t have to. Rania was already ripping the unfortunate gentleman from the driver’s seat, stealing the speeder to use for their own devices: escape.

Suddenly, Evangeline felt the pang of her own suspicions. A fleeting uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach as she wondered how honest Jake had been about his profession—even about his identity. He was a wickedly good liar. She had witnessed that for herself. And the almost…ruthlessness with which he dealt with people who stood in his way—first the detective, now this driver—sent a prickle down her spine. The fluidity with which he and Rania stole the speeder seemed to Evangeline as if they had done this many times before.

But there was no time for questions now.

In a stream of dark curls, Evangeline leapt into the speeder and curled into a protective ball in the passenger’s seat—not out of fear, as other young ladies might have done, but rather to shield her small body as she focused on resetting the blaster for more fire. The jaunty click of the weapon in her hands confirmed that, come what may, she would be ready.

For a moment she simply breathed, allowing the thickness of her lashes to rest on the smooth tops of her cheeks as she closed her eyes and focused. Calmed her pumping heartbeat. Willed the adrenaline coursing through her veins to clear away. Lightly, ever so lightly, drew on the Force. She needed it. They all needed it if they were going to make it out in one piece.

It was here that Evangeline zoned back in to her companions, catching the tail-end of Jake’s final remark, “No one would go to this much trouble to kill me.”

Evangeline froze, dark eyes snapping open. She knew who would go to this much trouble to kill someone. The only problem was, Jake was right. That someone wasn’t him. It was Evangeline.

Variss Jorah was more than just a Sith Lord—he was, by all accounts, criminally insane. That was partly why the Jedi Order had kept Evangeline locked away like a princess in a castle for months after Darth Jorah, a former Jedi and student, had slaughtered her Master. The twisted Nautolan had an agenda and people to help him execute it. He wasn’t a lone wolf, as most Sith were, but rather operated like a crime boss. He wanted more than just to harness the Dark Side and use it for himself. He wanted to spread darkness like a disease, using it to manipulate weaker beings into carrying out his will. That was what was most frightening about Jorah. He could be in many different places all at the same time. Yesterday, he was there in the form of a bomb planted by a henchman. Today, he was there in the form of his hired gunmen. Evangeline could not be sure, of course, but the closer they got to Jake’s hotel, the more she knew it to be true. She was starting to feel him now, the way she had felt him yesterday in the rubble of the café. She could no longer deny it: he was here, and everyone around her was in danger because of it. Evangeline might have felt an ache of horrible guilt but was rudely interrupted.

Crash!

The rear windshield shattered as a renewed round of blaster fire rained glass into the zooming speeder like a million different razor sharp crystals. Evangeline had ducked briefly before rising to turn and assess the damage—and to ensure Jake was still there. His voice slaked her momentary concern.

“Lower it,” He ordered, lifting his blaster and flashing his eyes toward the rear view mirror. Evangeline fell in line with his command, her own blaster at the ready.

“So Evey, want to have a shooting contest?” She heard him say through the tumult, unable to suppress her internal surprise and pleasure at his use of her childhood pet name. It sounded good on his voice. “Loser buys dinner.”

Evangeline smiled.

“I hope you’re ready to pay,” She said smartly, narrowing her eyes at him like a little feline. “I’ll be hungry tonight.”

With that, Evangeline rose from the passenger’s seat and draped the upper half of her body out of the open side window, the wind whipping through her hair as one hand gripped the inside of the speeder while the other hand lifted her blaster and squeezed off a round of rapid fire. She easily picked off the man hanging from the passenger side of the beige speeder, watching him roll away until he disappeared from sight as their chase hurtled onward.

Evangeline threw herself back inside their stolen speeder to reset her blaster.

“A little help, please!” She called over her shoulder to Jake as a giant thud rocked them all in their seats. The driver of the beige speeder had now taken it upon himself to ram their speeder violently, a cruel attempt to run them off the road.

She saw Jake rise and lift his blaster, aiming squarely for the the driver—but just as Jake opened fire, the driver gave them one last crash. Everything shook, nearly throwing Evangeline from the vehicle. Jake had hit his mark, though. The driver was slumped facedown in his seat, the dead weight of his body sounding out one long, final, perpetual honk of the horn before the speeder crashed into the earth, spraying debris and shrapnel into the bright blue sky.

Rania cheered. Evangeline might have cheered, too, had she not noticed what the driver’s final crash had done. Jake’s broken elbow now hung at an even odder angle than before, even in his silly pink cast. The incoherent expletives of pain that slipped through the grizzled man’s now harshly gritted teeth were familiar and understood by Evangeline. She furrowed her brows in concern and instinctively reached back a hand to run her fingers across his forehead as she had done the day before, gently sliding her open palm down to cup his cheek, thumb rubbing in soft circles across his sweat-studded skin. Her eyes said We’ve done this before, you’re okay. Ever the little mother.

Without moving her hand, Evangeline turned back to Rania and interrupted her stream of excited, triumphant chatter with a serious tone, “Jake’s wounded—it’s his bad arm. How long until we reach the hotel?”

Rania immediately sobered. “Not long—here we are!”

Any shred of relief that had washed over the trio dissipated as soon as they crossed the threshold of Jake’s hotel room. The place was a disaster. Evangeline briefly wondered if the man had ever been taught to clean up after himself, but Rania swooped in to rescue her floundering thoughts.

“Now I know you didn’t leave your place looking like this, Daniels,” The Twi’lek said to Jake, emerald eyes as wide and full of shock as Evangeline’s. “Someone got here before we did. Someone sacked the place. But who would do that?”

Evangeline was silent. The shock had bled from her whole body, and in its place came a steely look of revelation in her dark eyes. Something had caught her gaze on Jake’s disheveled bed. It silently called to her, dark energy radiating off of it in waves. As she slowly approached, she saw that it was a note. Even without her name scribbled across its front, Evangeline would have known it was for her.

You cannot protect your lover,​

just as you could not protect your Master.​

Now the old woman will die, too.​

Evangeline’s heart all but stopped. Adita.

[member="Jake Daniels"]​

 

[Jake Daniels]

“A little help, please!”

Jake laughed, “Yes Ma’am.” Even Jake knew he gave off a cocky little smirk when he spoke. Especially with a little Gem he had met not but twenty four hours prior.

When Jake rose everything happened so suddenly. He could see the fear in the drivers eyes the moment Jake took aim. That’s when he sped up. That’s when Jake fired. That’s when the man slammed into them. Jake’s body bounced around the back seat. His left hand momentarily dropping the pistol, which slid across the trunk of the vehicle before falling to the street behind them. His right arm however took the brunt of his impacts. The man went up. He went down. Side to side. Then back down. How he went back down; that’s what caused the nearly stomach churning new injury to the arm.

Though heard Rania and Evangeline both cheer. He howled in pain. His forehead burst forth fountains of sweat while the man couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. Glancing through watery eyes, he could see the cast had cracked, his forearm now had its own bend. He didn’t smell blood. At least that was a positive sign. The break didn’t puncture skin but based on how it looked from outside the cracked cast, it wouldn’t take much more to push the broken bone through flesh. Jake swore only on two occasions. When he was in a fight and when he was hurt. This definitely qualified as hurt and that explained why he let loose a slew of words that would make even a Galactic Marine blush.

He twisted, turned, tried anything he could to relieve the pain. Then he felt fingertips. Soft, silk like fingers caressed his forehead before Evangelines palm cupped his cheek. The tenderness of her touch, the affection in her eyes that dulled the pain enough for the man to hold still. Her gaze told him he’d be ok. He would believe her.

Jake listened as Evangeline asked how long until they would be there. Rania replied just as they arrived. Jake was helped in by Evangeline but even before he entered the room the man knew there was something amiss. The first thing he noted as the curtains. He had closed them completely. They were slight astrew. Yes Jake was meticulous when it came to his personal space.

“Damn it.” Jake spat as he looked around before his arm brought him to a knee. Evangeline was force to let him down as his sudden dead weight would have yanked her to the floor with him.

“Now I know you didn’t leave your place looking like this, Daniels.”

“You’re damn right I didn’t.” Jake spat back.

“Someone got here before we did. Someone sacked the place. But who would do that?”

Jake didn’t care. He was too injured to even use what he came to fetch. Rania seemed to read Jakes mind. As Rania knelt on the other side of the bed to pick up some of Jakes clothing, she discovered his lightsaber hiding under the bed. Someone had seen it. Someone didn’t care it was here. Why not take it? Rania wasn’t stupid. She understand Jake hadn’t told Evangeline that he was a Sith. Instead of revealing the lightsaber, she wrapped it up in a bundle of Jakes clothing and set it aside. She glanced at the Knight who nodded his approval.

Jake pushed himself against the wall while sitting on the floor. He finally noticed Evangeline holding a note; a simple piece of paper. Her expression was one of silence. Her demeanor one of shock. Jake now knew a troubling truth; Evangeline was the target. Not him. Someone had picked a fight with his little Gem. That meant someone was about to die.

He let out a groan as his arm screamed at him.

Rania was at his side, “We need to get this off. I have to see how bad it is! Evangeline I need your help.”

Evangeline was at Rania’s side after a few moments.

“Whatever it is you do to keep him still, please do it because this is going to hurt.” Rania explained.

Evangeline held Jake close, as she had on the bed. His head was on her lap. One hand cupped his cheek, the other wiped away the waterfall of sweat that consumed his face. She ensured Jake kept his gaze on her. The look between them intense. An unspoken passion from man to woman. The loyalty from lover to lover. Everything just seemed to pour out as icy blues met deep browns. Where as Jake had felt very little when Evangeline nurtured him previously even she couldn’t dull the pain that he was about to experience.

He let out a blood curdling, ear numbing scream as Rania ripped open the cast. Two halves of the previously cracked cast were simply tossed aside as the severity of Jakes new injury came into view. It was swollen to the point that the skin looked like it would shred with the slightest of touches. A bone could be seen at the mid point of the forearm; the second break. Even Rania felt sick looking it at.

“He can’t go on.” Rania explained.

“I know.” Evangeline replied.

“Like hell I can’t.” Jake snarled as he tried to push himself up. He failed as Evangeline's hands kept him down.

It didn’t matter. None of it. He didn’t care what her background was, didn’t care about how she learned to break security alarms or shoot with perfection. He cared about her. He would be there for her as she had him. Broken armed and all, the man would be by her side.

As Jake tried to push himself up, Evangeline kept him down a second time. She shook her head. Confusion was all that could be read from Jakes expression; even as the pain in his arm reverberated through his entire frame.

Rania had used this moment to take a look at the note that was left. It was not what she had expected. The Twi’lek had thought Jake would have been the target of some rival Sith. But this was for Evangeline. Some madman was targeting her. Who would target someone whom seemed so innocent in nature? This make shift hit list spoke of her failure to protect her lover, which Rania assumed was the seriously injured Jake. It spoke of her Master, which the Twi’lek took as Evangeline potentially having been a slave. That would explain her high level of modesty. But it also spoke of an old woman. The way it was phrased meant that she was still in danger, whoever she was.

“Jake listen to me.” Rania said, folding the note and sliding it on the floor to Evangeline, “You’re going to lose that arm if I don’t get you actual medical care. We need actual bacta. The break is just too severe. You can’t be moved.”

"Just watch me.” Jake protested. He tried to get up. Evangeline's firm but nurturing hands prevented his rise. A third denial. He glanced up at her, a momentary look of betrayal mixed with a plea 'don't do this'.

“Evangeline has to go Jake. I will stay with you until Cody and Umako arrive. I’m sure Evangeline has,” Rania paused for a moment as she thought of how to phrase the next part, “family that is worried about her.”

Then Rania looked at Evangeline, a simple plea through her eyes to do what needed to be done. She didn’t understand what was going on between Jake and Evangeline. In all honesty did they truly understand, and could they fully appreciate, what had formed? That unspoken bond? A slight nod from the Twi’lek confirmed it was time. Like a band-aid, this had to be done quick to ease the pain Rania knew was about to crush the pair.

[member="Evangeline Cross"]​

 

[Evangeline Cross]

Holding the note in one shaking hand, Evangeline now knew that she was responsible for bringing so much death and devastation to the idyllic planet of Serenno. Patches of Senqa were in flames, the citizens’ beloved café and historic little inn destroyed. Innocent people were dead. Families were left fatherless and motherless. Now Adita would die, too, if Evangeline did not move quickly enough.

But her guilt was heavy. It weighed down her heart and was enough to crush her soul between her ribs. Stupid girl. Foolish girl. She wanted to rewind time and scream at herself to stay hidden at the Jedi Temple. To stay far away from this sweet planet and save it from the storm that rolled in the moment she arrived. If she had stayed away, none of this would have ever happened.

She never would have met Jake.

That thought snapped her to attention. It washed away her guilt like a dash of ice water. It acted as a call to arms, awakening her from the maudlin trenches of her self-indulgent guilt and swiftly hurtling her back to the moment. The thought of him gave her strength. She knew what she had to do, even without Rania prompting her on.

The girl crumbled the note into a ball and let it fall to the floor. Thick lashes lowered to the hurting man who lay in her lap, as vulnerable and fierce as a wounded animal. His icy eyes melted into the warmth of her own deep gaze, pleading with her, begging her to let him rise, to fight, to stay by her side, and she knew in that moment that saying goodbye brought them both the same heartache. Evangeline would be strong for him. She would be strong for them both.

“Rania’s right,” The girl murmured, running her fingertips through the thin buzz of his hair. She was an observant little thing, to the very last. She had noticed over the past day how quickly the touch of her petite fingers calmed his warrior spirit and dulled his pain. “I have to go.”

It was here that Evangeline paused. The ghost of a smile, tender but sad, glimmered over the corners of her full lips. She gently leaned over him and pressed a kiss to his head, just as he had kissed her own dark curls that very morning. It was sweet, innocent. It was a mark of friendship and of trust, but not a mark handed out lightly. It was a mark reserved for lovers.

Maybe in another life they would have been lovers, as that wicked letter had suggested. Evangeline could not think about that now.

“I hope you live a good life, Jake Daniels,” She whispered against the shell of his ear. And then she was gone.

The hum of the speeder tore away from the civilized walls of Senqa and plunged into the depths of the dense Serennoan forest. Evangeline weaved in and around the thick shoots of tree trunks, summoning the full reach of the Force to guide her as she powered forward at full speed. No more holding back. Jorah had taken so much, but she would not let him claim Adita.

The old woman’s hut was quiet, almost ghostly when Evangeline arrived. It held none of the usual warmth and cheer that the girl had come to associate with her Master’s old friend. Instead, the windows were dark, and a gruesome premonition lifted the fine hairs on the back of Evangeline’s neck, prickling all the way down her spine. She did not need the Force to tell her that something terrible lay ahead. Evangeline braced herself.

Vrrrrrummm.

The azure of her lightsaber hummed as it ignited, illuminating the shadows of the little hut from where Evangeline stood, poised in the doorway.

There was silence, then:

“. . . Evangeline?”

The girl almost buckled at the knees. She could see where the voice was coming from now. It made her stomach turn.

Adita was curled in a far corner of the hut, decrepit body mangled and bloodied on the floor. She had been tied up and beaten, flayed, strangled—the crimson marks and purple bruises engraved in the deep wrinkles of her skin told the atrocious story. Evangeline cried out. She was at the old woman’s side in an instant, disengaging her lightsaber and throwing it aside, forgetting everything else at the sight of her Master’s dearest friend, dying.

“Adita,” Evangeline murmured through the choke of tears, unable to keep her voice from shaking as emotion welled in her deep brown eyes. “Adita, I’m so sorry . . . what happened? What did he do to you? I wasn’t fast enough . . . I’m so sorry . . . ”

“My child,” The ancient woman said, gently smiling through the cracks of her bloodied, withered lips. “It doesn’t matter. I am old. My time in the universe is over.”

One shriveled hand lifted to caress Evangeline’s cheek. Evangeline captured it in both of her own hands, tenderly cradling it against her face as the tears that she had been holding in for what felt like days—months—began to flow freely.

“You can’t go,” The girl said, voice barely above a whisper.

“I can,” Adita corrected. “And I will. I have old friends to see.” The old woman managed a chuckle, but just as quickly coughed, wracking her whole body. “Your Master will be so proud of you. I am so proud of you. Neither of us will ever be truly gone.”

Evangeline could only furrow her brows, face contorting with anguish as she squeezed the old woman’s hands, pressing them to her tear-stained lips.

“Go now,” Adita commanded, voice suddenly firm. “He’s here. He will find you. You must leave before he does.”

Evangeline shook her head. “I’m not leaving you here to die alone.”

Adita gazed at the young woman. She was starting to fade. “I’m not alone,” She said softly, and closed her eyes.

Silence.

Evangeline internally screamed. Buried herself in the old woman’s body and let a fresh wave of sobs shake their way free through her shoulders. The letter was right. Evangeline could not protect anyone she loved. But this was more than just being ‘her fault.’ This wasn’t about her at all. This was much bigger than any pathetic amount of human guilt a girl could briefly torture herself with just to feel self-righteous. This was about an evil so dark and so powerful as to permeate the galaxy and extinguish any source of goodness and light. Darth Jorah was winning his crusade, and Evangeline felt powerless against him.

“Looks like you’re right on time.”

A slick voice dripped through the gloom. Evangeline’s heart dropped. She would have recognized that voice anywhere. Slowly rising from Adita’s lifeless form, the girl lifted her deep brown eyes, still sparkling with emotion, to defiantly meet the wicked stare of the hulking Nautolan who stood in the doorway, his amphibian-humanoid body filling the entire opening. Those giant black eyes shone with unhinged mirth, taking in the sight of the tiny beauty for the first time since he had struck their Master down, only months ago.

Evangeline wasted no time.

“Why?” She demanded of him, ignoring his opening quip and getting right down to business. “Why have you done all of this? Why cause so many people so much pain?”

“That’s a boring question,” Darth Jorah remarked, slowly loping toward the young woman, whom he outsized by at least three times. “But I’ll indulge you because you’re cute, and I like reliving the moment where I watched the light go out in your Master’s eyes.”

Jorah paused, pretending to think. “Oh, that’s right—he was our Master, wasn’t he?”

Evangeline’s eyes tapered, lips tight and teeth gritting. “He believed in you,” She said, almost accusatorily, biting back the emotion. “He believed in both of us.”

“He was a fool!” Jorah snapped, his voice losing all of its slickness as it rumbled like thunder from his deep chest.

There was a moment of silence as the Nautolan stalked closer. A terrifying calm had re-settled over his bulbous features. He stopped directly in front of Evangeline, thick lips spreading into a lewd smile as he lowered his words to an oily purr.

“We both know why Master Dane chose you over me,” The Sith began quietly, as if revealing some deep dark secret. “He couldn’t stare at me the way he stared at your tight young arse. Come to think of it, I don’t blame him. Why don’t you have a seat on my lap, make yourself comf—”

Evangeline had had enough. She flung an open palm toward her lightsaber on the ground, summoning it to her hand—but as it flew through the air, its path suddenly changed course! The girl looked on in horror as she saw the hilt of her most precious weapon land cleanly in one of Jorah’s hands as the other hand summoned her body in with the full weight of the Force. Evangeline was tired and weak. Her resistance proved futile. Within seconds, she felt herself rushing into Jorah’s outstretched palm, those meaty fingers curling around the slenderness of her neck.

The girl struggled.

“You’re sick,” She choked out, small hands uselessly grasping at the much larger ones holding her captive. “He was like my father. He was a good man, a noble man, and you hated him for it. He was everything you could never be.”

“You’re right,” Jorah snickered, running a sharp fingernail down her smooth cheek as he held her body close. “He was weak. I would have taken you when I had the chance.”

With that, Jorah threw the girl down to the floor like a ragdoll. Evangeline winced in pain, slowly rolling herself over onto her belly and trying to scramble closer to her lightsaber. Jorah kicked the saber away, crouching low to the ground and grabbing the back of Evangeline’s head with his fist, yanking her hair upward so he could look her directly in the eye.

“You want to know why I’ve willingly cut down so many people?” He asked, his bulging face inches from her own as he crouched down to where she lay, his giant orb-like eyes black and unblinking. “All I really wanted was power. Pure, unchecked power. And knowledge. But the Light censored that, most of all your Master. I had no use for him.”

It was here that Jorah paused, licking his lips, imagining the world of pain he was about to inflict on this fallen angel.

“And I will have no use for you after I’m finished having my fun.”

[member="Jake Daniels"]​

 

[Jake Daniels]

Jake held Evangeline’s crumpled note in his hand. He hadn’t spoken since she left. She actually left. Tears slowly dripped from the man’s eyes, darkening a small spot on the carpet beneath his head. The sounds of two voices; that of Rania and now Cody, the second member of her crew, filled his ears. He understood that they were talking; arguing really over where to take Jake for treatment, but he didn’t understand any words that were spoken between the duo.

She left him.

The Jedi Order abandoned him to a tormented fate with the Sith. His own Master forsake him; forcing him to sleep as a popsicle on Dantooine for four hundred years. His men betrayed him by placing him in that very cryotube. His wife and sons passed on; leaving behind a devastated and psychologically damaged man. Now he lost his little Gem.

She actually left him.

Jake was lifted to his feet by Cody, who wrapped Jakes good arm around his neck. Slowly he was strolled outside and up the hatch of the weighting freighter which had made a traffic snarling landing on the street. Rania emerged with Jakes rolled up robes and hidden lightsaber. In seconds Jake was placed on a seat in the dining area while Cody went to alert Umako that it was time to fly.

A catatonic Jake simply sat in his chair, now staring at the crushed note in his hand. His silence was frightening. Terrifying. It reminded the trio of the first time they met Jake. The anger. The sadness. The unpredictability. Yet Jake was still. His mind was working and working hard. Memories, sporadic moments of conversation, invaded his fragile psyche.

‘There is a shard of light in you Jake. Please, don’t ever forget that.’

Rania and Cody were know next to Jake, both checking over his arm. A new cast kit had been pulled out, along with several bottles of liquid acetaminophen. Along with those were bacta banages. It wouldn’t do much but whatever the body could absorb was better than nothing. Why the pair worked on Jakes arm, applying the first of the bacta bandages, Jake's mind continued.

‘You are a weapon of your Master. An extension of her will. Because of her, you have been granted the honor of protecting the Siths Dark Council.’

Cody held the bandages as Rania wrapped a first roll of cotton padding around the arm. Still no physical reaction from the Sith Knight to stimuli that should have caused agonizing pain; especially as Cody had to push the boney protrusion slightly so Rania could get the wrap around firmly.

‘Your new assignment is to look after Lady Reticea. You will do for her as I have trained you. You will do as you are known for. Protect. Guard. Be her shadow.’

Rania brought the plaster and cotton outer wrap onto the pile of cast. Cody unrolled another pink cast roll and handed it to the Twi’lek who immediately began finishing off the new protective covering. She slammed the end of the roll onto the cast. Again Jake made no motion. Cody waved his hand in front of Jakes eyes. His pupils didn’t budge.

‘You are wrong! You are not some mindless drone. You are not sum blunt object to be used as your Master sees fit. You are Darth Gravis. You are your own man. Now take the galaxy by the balls and do what you do best!’

Jake then felt a jolt. A sharp, pin prick that caused his eyes to look directly at Cody. The dark skinned human nearly fell backwards as Jakes icy blues stared at the man whom had begun injecting the Knight with the limits of what a body could take with regards to medication.

Jake stil said nothing.

Something else invaded his mind. This time it was no memory. This was the present. The here and the now. Jake saw a Nautolan, a beast of a man leaning over his fallen little Gem who was sprawled on a floor. Jake saw the alien lick his lips, the look in his bulbous black eyes being most unmistakable. The imagery of what was about to happen to Evey, the agony she was about to go through, that wasn’t going to be her fate.

“And I will have no use for you after I’m finished having my fun.”

As Jake stared down Cody, his icy blues slowly gave way to fiery blend of red and yellow. Cody and Rania backed away as Jake slowly stood. He finished the last injection himself then allowed the need to fall to the floor. The Sith Knight, the scourge of the Jedi Order, the will of Lady Silencia, glanced at his double packed casted right arm and sneered.

“Turn us around.” Gravis growled. “My little Gem’s in danger.”

“She’s long gone. We don’t have a way of finding her.” Cody replied.

“That’s not true.” Rania replied. “I placed a nanotracker on the pants I gave her.” Jake and Cody looked at the Twi’lek, “Hey I like the way I look in them.”

Cody nodded and went to Umako.

Jake stared down Rania. He handed her the note, “Save this.”

“Ok.” Rania was curious but didn’t question it.

He was filled with the purest of anger. The entirety of his face now turned burgundy. This wasn’t a blush. This wasn’t a playful flush. This was a sign, a warning, that Jake had been brought to his breaking point.

Rania knew that look too. The demon behind those Sithy eyes; again Ambria returned to her. She had never met a man like Jake. A confliction within a confliction. A man with so many skeletons in his closet that he needed not just one home, but two, and even then a couple of storage units to hold them all. A man who was a walking paradox of a Sith. Dark, with tendencies of Light. A man who would kill with ease yet held a loyalty not seen in others of his kind. That look though. Rania couldn’t take her eyes off of it as it seemed to broadcast to the galaxy that someone was about to die and it wasn’t going to be quick.

“We’re here.” Cody said running back.

“Take this.” Rania said holding out Jake's lightsaber.

“I won’t need it.” Jake replied. The Knight made his way to the rear hatch of the ship and pressed the descent button. Slowly it opened. Below them was the revelation of a small hobble of a home. The darkness. Jake felt it. He consumed it. He would use it.

Daniels held onto the side railing as Umako swung the ship violently. The front door and nearly every window blew inwards on the hut heralding their arrival. Jake continued to absorb the darkness; using it to fuel his anger and his rage, using it to tend to his wound and dull the pain faster than any amount of pain medication would. Then he jumped.

Darth Jorah came to the front door. He barred his teeth as he looked up at the rear of the ship. Twi’lek and dark skinned Human taunted the Sith, whom raised his hands in an attempted use of a force attack.

THWACK!​

​

Jorahs head snapped backwards as a bright pink cast cracked the Sith Lord in the teeth. The Nautolan stumbled into the darkness of the home. Jake glanced at the vessel and made a motion for the ship to land. Umako now having turned the vessel so he could watch Jake obliged and went to find a nearby clearing. Umako knew Jake. For him this was personal. This was vengeance.

Daniels entered the home, the vibrant sunlight behind him bursting forth over his shoulders like fire. A demon from the depths of the underworld having risen to reap unholy hell on the world. His attention remained completely focused on Jorah.

Jorah came in, Jake again cracked him with a good hit from the cast. A mighty knee to the gut and a vicious upper cut sent the Sith Lord to the ground. Then Jake sought out his little gem. The thought of Evey subdued his fiery eyes, returning them to their icy blues. She was hurt. Her perfect angelic skin marked with small cuts and bruises. Jorah had been toying with her. Her face held a its own blemishes; finger nail cuts to both cheeks and what looked like a shiner forming around an eye. Part of the shirt she wore had a tear in it. The Nautolan was in the process of starting a more devious assault on the fragile frame of the fallen little angel.

“Evey, it’s Jake.” Daniels voice was tender, affectionate, and reassuring. His hands moved strands of her hair from the womans eyes so she could see.

His little Gem said nothing. She was hurt.

When Jake looked around he spotted the mangled, tortured body of an elderly woman. The woman from the note. Evey wasn’t going to suffer. Not anymore.

“I was just about to have a little fun.” Jorah hissed as he came to a stand.

Jake ignored the man for the moment, instead the tenderness of his left hand caressed the little Gem. His thumb gently rubbing her thick brows before he gently and quietly leaned in, “All will be right.”

Then he slowly rose and turned his attention back towards the Sith Lord. Jake could feel his power. The intensity of darkness that enveloped the Alien. Yes Jorah was strong but he picked a fight with the wrong Sith Knight.

“You can join us. Have a grand ole’ time with her?” The Nautolan licked his lips. That seemed to be a little tick of his.

Jake stood stoic. Unmoving. Unflinching. With Evangeline behind him Daniels allowed his eyes to return to their fiery state.

“I am going to kill you.” Jake growled. There was no theatrical threat to his statement. It was the tone. The bone chilling tone that told all in the room that it was not have been the first time the man had ever uttered those words.

Jorah summoned a lightsaber to his hand. The blade burst forth revealing the azure coloring; and odd choice for a Sith Lord. Daniels eyes narrowed. What unfolded next was nothing short of astounding. Jorah brought his blade in with great skill. Jake recognized the style the Sith Lord took as Ataru. A quick hit and run lightsaber form that was actually used by Jake himself on missions for his Master. The swings were perfect, as was the Sith Lords technique, but Jake bounced around like a jack rabbit in hunting season. He landed his own counter punches at every opportune moment. It was only seconds before Jorah felt the frustration boiling up from his continued misses.

There was more to Jake Daniels than he had allowed Evangeline to know. How could anyone so easily avoid such trained swordsmans attacks?

Daniels waited, watched, and anticipated. When the right swing came through, Daniels ducked then charged in. A punch to the thigh hobbled the Lord. A jerk upwards, bringing the back of his head to the underside of the Nautolans chin knocked the Lord backwards, then a second punch to the chest sent him to the floor.

Jake quietly came back to a full stand. Not once did he turn around to Evangeline. She would have seen the fiery eyes of the Sith. Thats now how Jake ever wanted her to see him. He didn't want her to see the demon that lived within. He simply stepped back and waited; acting as an unmovable barrier between the perverse and the pure.

Jorah snarled, "I'm going to have my fun with both you!"

The Lord came in again. This time in a Makashi style attack. The trained Knight knew this fighting style as well. The swings, once more perfect and fluid, were simply no match for the unpredictability of a human fighting with everything he had. When Jorah made an overhead slash, Jake caught the man’s wrist. Fiery eyes stared into the dark abyss of another. Human and Nautolan. Sith to Sith. Slowly Jake twisted the hulking wrist of the Lord, forcing the alien to drop the azure saber. As the Nautoaln opened his mouth to cry out in pain, Jake filled it with pink cast.

Then he fell and Jake was on him. Hit after hit with the cast, Jake kept the Sith Lord pinned. Every illicit thought of what might have happened to his little Gem. All of the pain Jorah caused Evey. All the pain he caused Jake. It all burst out as the new cast cracked and splinted across the bloodied, battered, broken, and bruised face of the Alien.

The scary part about all of this? Jake was enjoying it. He was enjoying the destruction of an alien that which marred the skin of his Gem. He enjoyed the pain he was inflicting. Jake didn’t do this for Jake. Jake did this for Evey. As he continued to beat on the man beneath him, Daniels understood something very important, very striking. He would do anything to protect her.

Then Jake placed a hand to the Nautolans neck and he squeezed.

The Lord gasped for air. His arm's swung at Jake, who clocked the forehead of the Lord with his broken casted arm again. His hand tightened across the front of the thick neck.

“Jake.” Rania’s voice for the moment distracted the Knights concentration.

Jorah saw his opportunity. A force push sent Jake across the room, crushing the man into a small cabinet. He came to rest next to the body of Evey's fallen friend. Daniels shoved himself right back up, the pain still nullified by the darkness that encompassed his aura. The massive amount of drugs that courses through his veins simply amplified his ability to not feel at the moment.

Jorah was gone. The bastard fled.

Instead of chasing after the Lord, Daniels turned his attention back to Evey. The icy blue having once more returned before they fell upon the little Gem. Coming to kneel beside her, Jakes hands cupped her head and lifted it upon his lap. Reaching down, Jake briefly rubbed the tip of his nose against her own. A sign of pure and unadulterated affection between them. He could have sworn at her. Could have scolded her. Could have said any number of things to his little Gem. He wouldn’t though.

Rania went to check on the elderly womans body.

Jake simply ran his fingers through Evey's hair and whispered with watery eyes, “You don’t get rid of Jake Daniels with such a cruddy goodbye.”

[member="Evangeline Cross"]​

 

[Evangeline Cross]

“Evey, it’s Jake.”

The voice came as if from a dream. Evangeline was only half conscious, and until that moment, she had expected to die. Jorah, ever an opportunist, had seized upon the girl’s naiveté at rushing to the old woman’s aid, knowing full well what would happen when she got there. She would find Adita either dying or already dead, and it would break her—weakening her sufficiently so that Jorah could finish what he had started months ago, when he killed their Master. It was an effective trap that had unfolded seamlessly.

However, the fatal flaw in Jorah’s plan was that he had not anticipated Jake Daniels. In truth, Evangeline had not anticipated him, either. When she had kissed his head and left the outer limits of Senqa, she believed that was the last time they would ever see one another. After all, she had completed the task that she had felt called to do—save the man, heal him, get him to safety. She had done just that, leaving him in the capable hands of his friends. There was no other reason for her to remain by his side. That’s what she told herself, anyway. Her heart was not so convinced.

And so when Evangeline heard his voice, through the loud hammer of the throbbing pulse in her bloodied skull, she felt sure it was the end. She must have been hallucinating now, slipping into a dreamlike state before each of her organs shut down and took her away from the living forever. At least the last voice she would hear would be Jake’s, even if it was only a dream.

The touch of a large, warm hand against the coolness of her forehead brought her back to earth. Evangeline furrowed her brows, fading back into reality as a hazy curtain seemed to be pulled away from her eyes. As she slowly opened them, she realized she was still laying on the floor of Adita’s hut, and Jake Daniels was towering above her. It wasn’t a dream at all. He was really there. He had come back for her.

Evangeline felt a rush of life return to her limp form. “Jake . . . ?” She tried to say, but she was shocked at the sound of her own voice. It was weak and hoarse, feathering past her lips as nothing more than a whisper. The girl wanted to throw her arms around his neck and bury herself in the now familiar comfort of his strong, sturdy chest, without thought or care for propriety—but when she attempted to rise, she found that her body could not move. It was as though a thousand weights were pressed down on each of her slender limbs, and a searing pain ripped through her system like a current. Her deep eyes winced, falling from Jake to survey the trail of lesions, gashes, and bruises that now littered her fair skin, and it was here that Evangeline realized the full extent of what Jorah had done—and what he would still do, if she did not act. She would not let him touch Jake. The girl attempted to rise once more, but Jake pacified her with another sweet caress and the gentle rumble of his voice, “All will be right.”

Evangeline could only give him once last sweep with her large eyes, those widened almonds looking up at him and seeming to say I trust you before watching him rise.

What happened next was a blur, or so it seemed to Evangeline. The girl was still not in her right mind, with Jorah having knocked her around enough—“toyed” with her, as he would have gleefully said—that it seemed as though he had knocked fluids loose in her brain. Evangeline’s equilibrium was horribly off. As her eyes watched the combat unfold between the man and the Nautolan, the two hulking warriors seemed to be moving in slow motion. Sometimes, it seemed as though the floor had turned upside down and they were all hanging from the ceiling like bats. More than once, Evey attempted to rise, to move, to rush to Jake’s aid—to do anything really, but her body refused. The pain was enough to make her stomach feel sick and her eyes to drift in and out of a thick haze. It was because of this that Evangeline would believe she was only imagining things when she thought she saw Jake engage in several forms of combat that she would have recognized in any state of mind—combat styles that were usually only employed by Force sensitives. She blamed it on the haze.

No amount of haziness could block how Jake moved, though. His body was like a lion’s, large and surprisingly agile, ruthless and born to kill. It might have frightened anyone else to see what the man was capable of, but nothing but raw emotion ruptured through Evangeline’s heart in a surge of warmth. It was terrifying and thrilling, watching him rip into the Nautolan—not because Evangeline enjoyed violence. That could not have been farther from the truth. Rather, it was because she knew he was doing it all for her. A lion protecting his lamb.

The energy surrounding them suddenly shifted, and Evangeline sensed that the end of the battle was drawing near. Jake delivered one last crack of his cast to the cranium of an unsuspecting Jorah, whose meaty palm dropped Evangeline’s lightsaber to the floor. It disengaged immediately, rolling several paces before gently stopping at the girl’s side. She summoned enough strength to slowly, painfully, turn, pocketing the precious weapon where it could not be seen. She was just in time, too. Jorah had fled.

Silence settled over the hut. Jake was upon her in an instant.

Evangeline, though a deeply empathetic creature, was also highly practical and not prone to mawkish displays of emotion. She had already cried once, for Adita. For her Master. For all the other innocents who had been taken from the planet far too soon at the hand of Jorah. So it was with the deepest surprise that she felt the pinprick of further suppressed tears as Jake gathered her into his arms, cradling her wilting body as if she were the most precious thing in the galaxy. Her brows furrowed through the emotion as a weak smile stretched across her bruised and swollen lips—a smile that was not light and joyful, but rather held all the tender, pained relief of a woman who had danced with death and come out the other side, badly beaten but alive. All because of this man.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply when his nose rubbed against the dainty, upturned slope of her own, the most primal of greetings between two natural mates. His fingers ran through her hair and she never wanted him to stop. His touch made her feel like she was still alive, despite feeling as though the whole world and everyone she had ever cared about was burning down around them.

“You don’t get rid of Jake Daniels with such a cruddy goodbye.”

The roughened warrior whispered, his soldier voice unable to hide the emotions she knew he felt, too. They were written all over the grizzled canvas of his face. That beautiful face she had now come to associate with strength and safety.

Evangeline shook her head, unable to hide the light he brought to her eyes. “You shouldn’t have come back,” She said weakly, but her smile betrayed her pleasure. The truth was, she had ached for him the moment she had left. It had simply felt wrong without him by her side. She had gone nineteen years without him there, to be sure, but now that their lives were intertwined, something in Evangeline told her there was no going back now. With a great effort, she lifted one hand to caress his face, from sturdy cheek to chiseled jaw. “Thank you.”

His darling gem was bruised and gashed from head to toe, skin cool to the touch from loss of blood, that crowning glory of dark curls tangled and matted against her neck. Despite this, Evangeline thought only for him. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of his cast.

“Your arm . . .” She said, frowning, attempting to rise one last time but failing.

Minutes passed as Evangeline faded into another haze. Rania and the boys had thrown themselves into prepping med kids and getting the ship ready to accommodate two invalids. They were nearly ready for take-off.

“I don’t know about you two,” The Twi’lek said, suddenly appearing in the doorway of the hut. “But I’ve had my fill of Serenno. You lovebirds ready to get out of here?”

Evangeline was barely lucid. She rolled over in Jake’s arms, the mist of her deep eyes falling on the lifeless body of Adita in the far corner. She felt unspeakable pain. She would not leave until they gave her Master’s dearest friend a proper burial.

“Adita . . .” Evangeline murmured, looking in her direction.

Rania’s eyes followed, realization dawning there. “Of course,” The Twi’lek replied, her habitually lively voice immediately sobering. “Don’t worry. We won’t leave until the boys and I give her a proper rest.”

Evangeline felt something inside her nearly break as she nodded her approval, squeezing her eyes shut into Jake’s lap as her consciousness succumbed to merciful oblivion.

[member="Jake Daniels"]​

 

[Jake Daniels]

“You shouldn’t have come back,” Jake frowned at that statement. He could tell she was relieved though. It was written in her eyes. When her hand met his cheek, the man pushed into it. Then he heard something she never have to say to him. “Thank you.”

“Your arm . . .” Jake kept her down when she tried to rise. His turn to deny her. Yet he simply did it to keep her safe. The womans body had been through too much. She had been through too much.

“Don’t worry about it. The crew packed me up with so much pain killers that I can’t feel a thing.” Now that was the honest truth. Jake probably had been given more than he should have for a man of his age and the seriousness of his injury. It worked though. Any adverse effects that might occur could be dealt with when or if they happened. “Let’s just worry about you now.”

Jake hadn’t left her side. He wouldn’t. His left hand continued to run its fingers through her hair, working out any tangles that had formed with a gentleness he very rarely displayed. His eyes continuing to scan what was to him, even in its battered state, perfection. Why though? Twenty-four hours since meeting and he was stuck to her like glue. The bond. The unifying force that ripped at him, screamed and demanded like a child in a toy story, ensured that if he was not with her then he wasn’t complete. Yet kneeling here, with his little Gem on his lap, Jake was content.

“I don’t know about you two but I’ve had my fill of Serenno. You lovebirds ready to get out of here?” Jake gave only a passing glance at Rania. This was where Jake hated parts of himself. He was limited in the force. He always would be. The man had enough skill for basic abilities like telekinesis and some telepathy but healing? That was way out of his league. If only he was strong enough to tend to her wounds. To be able to heal and make them go away as though they never existed. In that respect, Jake failed his little Gem.

“Adita . . .” Jake looked at the lifeless body of Evangeline’s fallen friend.

“Don’t worry. We won’t leave until the boys and I give her a proper rest.”

Rania was right about that. This, Adita, as Evangeline called her. She’d be given proper respect. Jakes attention shot back to Evangeline when she suddenly went limp in his arms. Momentary panic overtook Jake as he gently shook her.

“Evey?” Jake asked.

Rania was by his side in a flash. Jake placed two fingers to her neck. He felt a pulse. Rania set a finger beneath her nostrils. She was breathing. Both were good signs.

“She seems stable. It could have been a lot worse given the circumstances. We need to get you two on the ship. You both need bacta wraps. Bandages won’t cover it.” Rania explained.

“No.” Jake replied. “We stay right here. Head back to the ship and bring what supplies you can. We’ll start the burial. Hopefully she wakes by the time we are done.”

Cody arrived at the door of the hut, “Game plan?”

Jake looked around, “Grab the little sofa. We’ll lay her on it. Rania, take the quilt off the bed.”

Both did as instructed and once the trio were outside, Cody set the loveseat sized piece of furniture down. Rania helped Jake wrap Evangeline in the quilt while Cody reemerged from the hut with a pillow. When she was curled up on it, the Twi’lek left to fetch the medical gear while Jake and Cody began searching for the right spot to place Adita.

.::.Several Hours Later.::.

Digging into hard earth was backbreaking work. Cody and Jake dug a two and a half foot wide by eight foot long by six foot deep hole into the ground just behind Adita’s home. Jake, using one arm, shoveled up a last bit of earth into a small bucket before taking it and handing it to the Umako, the captain of the the Smuggling trio. Under protest from Cody, Jake had been given several more injections of pain medications to aid in keeping the agony subdued. He wasn’t siphoning the dark side anymore. He had to keep the pain at bay somehow. The Togruta male disappeared from view then reappeared seconds later. Reaching down, he helped pull Jake up by his left arm. Cody came up second.

Jake glanced at Evangeline whom hadn’t stirred once while on the small sofa.

“She's ok, Jake. You and I have been checking her every few minutes. I just got back from checking her myself.” Rania said. “I already replaced the first set bacta patches and wraps around her body. The superficial wounds should heal in the next day or so. The internal ones… the ones we can’t see… those will take some time.”

Jake understood what she meant. The mental anguish, the grief. The woman had lost two people very close to her in such a short amount of time. Unlike what Jake had gone through in his life, he would ensure that Evangeline knew someone was there for her. Jake would be there.

Always. Forever.

Daniels looked to Rania whom had been respectfully preparing Adita’s body. The elderly woman had been cleaned and changed into the freshest and nicest clothing she owned. Her entire frame was wrapped in her nicest sheets. Stitched into the linen were various flowers that Rania had searched for and found from the surrounding area.

Cody and Umako had taken two ropes and stretched them across the opening of the grave. Weaving them around nearby poles they had stuck into the earth, the concept was simple. Once Evangeline said her goodbyes, the ropes would be untied and she would be lowered in. Then the grave would be filled using the large pile of earth that Umako had set up using the buckets next to it. Nothing would happen until Evangeline was ready however.

The grave was simple; a representation of Adita and her home. Hopefully it would what Evangeline wanted for her friend. Quietly both men placed Adita’s body on the ropes then walked too Jake.

“When we leave the planet Evangeline is staying with me. Umako can you fly her ship if I get you to the landing platform?” Jake asked.

“Of course.” Umako said.

“Cody will fly yours?” Jake asked.

Umako nodded.

“Good. Head back to the ship then. I’ll try and wake Evangeline.” Jake said.

The Knight came to a kneel once more beside Evangeline, “Evey.” Jake whispered. He wiped his dirty hands against the only clean part of his shirt he could find. Gently he let his thumb rub against her cheek. “It’s time, my little Gem.”

Rania hadn’t gone far. It would take two to lower the ropes. She would help Jake to do it. Over twenty four hours she had watched a Sith Knight grow attached to a woman he had only just met. Something special was there. Though what she had with Evangeline was nothing compared to what she had with Jake; she still counted the little human as a new friend. Rania, like Jake, was there for her friends.

When Evangelines eyes slowly opened, Jake helped to bring her to a sitting position. The man now rubbed his left hand on her quilt covered shoulder. Gently Jake helped Evangeline stand. Together, with his good arm wrapped around her, Jake brought his little Gem to just a few feet from the grave. Before them was Adita, resting on the ropes.

“Please take as much time as you need.” Jake whispered. “We aren’t leaving until you are truly ready.”

[member="Evangeline Cross"]​

 

[Evangeline Cross]

“Evey,” That familiar voice murmured, once again calling her back from the haze of a dreamless sleep. This time Evangeline knew that the voice was real, and that it belonged to Jake. “It’s time, my little gem.” He wanted her to come back now, from wherever it was she had slipped away to. Even in sleep Evangeline obeyed her protector, that giant wolf of a man who was so gentle to her even after ripping another man apart, slowly returning to him from her state of unconsciousness.

It took a moment for the haze to clear from her big brown eyes. She blinked up at him through the curl of thick lashes, taking a moment to register where she was and why he had woken her. Looking around the dim little hut, Evey remembered. The fresh memories were all flooding back into her now, and suddenly it felt as though her heart was not a large enough container to house so much pain. She felt full to bursting.

But the girl was not one to dwell. It was not the Jedi way. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and pushing the pain in her heart out of her body like the shore gently pushes away the tide. The emotions would continue to wash over her, lapping at her skin for days, weeks, even months, and she would let them. ‘Acknowledge your feelings, child,’ Her Master had always counseled. ‘Don’t suppress them, but don’t let them rule you. Simply coexist.’ Master Dane had been a wise man.

When Evangeline opened her eyes, they were calm. Full of acceptance. She nodded to Jake as his strong hands helped her rise to a seated position.

“I’m ready.”

The girl shook as the man helped her stand. It was like a baby deer finding her legs for the first time, all quivering knees and knocking ankles. The shivers that racked her small body were only partly from the physical exertion of powering through the excruciating pain of her injuries. It was common for victims of shock or trauma to experience intense drops in body temperature, and Evey was no exception. She leaned heavily into Jake, both to alleviate the pain in her limbs from walking and to warm her trembling frame.

Rania and her men had constructed the perfect resting place for Adita. Evangeline felt overcome with gratitude as Jake brought her a pace or two away from the cleanly cut opening, her eyes filling with emotion as she turned to the Twi’lek woman.

“Thank you,” Evey said, from the bottom of her heart, before returning her somber gaze to the peaceful form of her Master’s friend. She felt her hand reach for Jake’s.

“Please take as much time as you need,” He whispered, his voice a comfort as it pressed against the top of her dark curls. “We aren’t leaving until you are truly ready.”

Evangeline stood in silence. In one gentle motion, she slowly stooped to the earth, scooping a handful of dirt and sprinkling it into the grave. She rose, still shaking, and nodded to her companions. That was it. There would be no weeping here, nor any histrionic vows for vengeance. Though her heart ached, the girl was a Jedi. She took this moment to come to terms with all that had unfolded on the little planet of Serenno. It was now time to move on. To make the galaxy a safer, more peaceable place where—perhaps one day, little by little—these tragedies would become less. It was time to illuminate the darkness.

[member="Jake Daniels"]​