Private Old Friends

[Yenna]

Empress Teta/Residential District​

Late Afternoon/Blacked out​

The war against the Maw was raging on Empress Teta, thousands dying all around as the war machine continued to march through the Core towards Tython. Yenna hated places like these, though she was no stranger to death and suffering by now. Her work as a healer kept her in places like these all the time, good thing too considering the dangers the wounded were facing. The dreaded Maw coming to either kill them or enslave them in their army. They were animals... the least she could do was help the wounded and, if needed, fight off the horde.

The medical facility was hastily set up, and even then it wasn't big enough to help an entire planet besieged on all sides. At least she could get some form of rest with the doctors taking over from her, though her new duty was to help look for more wounded. With the bombers having done their runs, many buildings laid in ruin with a lot of their occupants trapped and injured. Breathing a heavy sigh, she tried to take a sip from her flask, only to be reminded that she finished it hours ago when trying to clean a patient's wounds. The doctors weren't happy about it, but it did help in the end... especially when she lit the wounds on fire to burn off any infection. That was likely her worst decision of the day.

Hopping over a large piece of rubble, the little green Jedi looked around. She could feel a presence nearby... though something was wrong. Unclipping a hilt from her belt, she continued on with her search for more wounded, and the being she felt closing in.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

The fallen Knight had went to great lengths to avoid as much involvement with the current galactic conflict that spread throughout the galaxy like wildfire. Not because he had chosen a side, he was indifferent about the combatants within this current conflict. It seemed like the galaxy couldn't go a single day without some new galaxy wide conflict - the Mandalorian Wars, the Clone Wars, the Galactic Civil War, the war with the Bryn'adul - it was all the same patterns of conflict and then a short peace, followed by more war. Cadere, the man who was once Cas Tynen, a man who had seen the horrors of war himself, was well beyond caring about the galaxy's cycle of suffering and death. This Second Great Hyperspace War would eventually end, with or without his interference.

No, the Dark Jedi had a purpose of his own, a goal in which's path he could not falter. Cadere needed to accumulate more knowledge and power in order to finally bring an end to the Lord of Hunger Darth Insatious . The masked Kiffar had received intel from one of his 'master's' spies, planted within the ranks of the Concord's forces stationed on Empress Teta, a hotspot for the current war right now. The intel detailed of a starmap, leading to the location of a Sith artifact of interest to the Dark Jedi. According to the books he'd acquired from the late Darth Quizitus, the artifact held teachings of an ancient lightsaber form.

Cadere's shuttle ripped through the clouds of the wartorn planet, descending toward the smoking streets below. If the intel was correct, a medical facility supposedly housed the starmap. What it was doing in a medical facility was anyone's guess. The engine's roar boomed through the sky as it neared the facility, picking up even more speed. However, a strange feeling made him question himself, his otherwise powerful stance had softened. Something... familiar had washed over him. A feeling he hadn't felt since...

No, it couldn't be. He thought to himself, pushing the notion into the back of his mind.

Coldly and calmly, Cadere uttered "Fire."commanding the pilot to begin opening fire on the armed forces down below "Don't damage the facility." the Dark Jedi added, for risk of destroying the starmap. Cadere then approached the shuttle door with three Death Soldiers behind him, "We'll draw their fire, flank them." Cadere ordered the small platoon of Mandalorian warriors, the Al Galaare, sworn to serve Darth Insatious and now, Cadere.

With a swipe of his hand, the doors swung open. The shuttle was close enough to the ground for the Dark Jedi and his backup to leap out. Transitioning into a forward somersault, Cadere landed into a crouched pose and immediately began deflecting and redirecting blaster fire, with the Death Soldiers wreaking havoc in the chaos. Meanwhile, the Al Galaare took to the skies in their jetpacks, flanking the enemy from above.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

The familiar presence drew ever closer until the little green Jedi saw a strange ship bearing down upon the city, firing at a nearby facility before touching down. Yenna shoved her concerns aside and rushed towards the building, hoping to save whatever innocents were still trapped in there from the same fate as the millions of others in the attack of the Maw.

But as she crested a mountain of rubble and looked down at the new arrivals, her heart sank. She knew these soldiers. They tormented Cas in the past... and the figure leading them was powerful. Again, she shoved her concerns and feelings of doubt aside and rushed in, using the Force to hurl several of the troopers through rubble and buildings before she drew her hilt from her hip. "Stop!" She shouted at them as her cyan blade ignited. Several bolts were redirected to their shooters above and around her as she aimed directly for the Sith among them.

Several pieces of debris were flung at the tall figure as Yenna approached quickly, slicing and blocking as she moved. "Pick on someone your own size, why don't you?" She quipped as she gripped a nearby trooper of his and flung the armoured figure at him. "This facility, you will not enter." She stated as she held her lightsaber at the ready, her golden eyes carefully watching him and his soldiers.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

That familiar presence persisted, but he refused to dwell on it as he and his subordinates tore apart the enemy forces. The sound of blaster fire shredded through the air, jetpacks roared in the skies, Cadere's crimson lightsaber hummed aggressively as it deflected blaster fire and cut down any infantry in its path. He had one goal, to reach the facility and recover the map. Nothing was going to stop him.

Not even the pieces of rubble and debris that flew in his direction, serving to only be destroyed by the Dark Jedi's lightaber or his command of the Force. It didn't take him long to figure out the cause of the projectile debris came from the presence he felt, a Jedi no doubt. Although he could not make out the figure within the smoke and rubble, he saw the color of their lightsaber which further reinforced Cadere's suspicions on the identity of thie Jedi.

His suspicions were proven true, there she was, another tie to that old life - the life he had to sacrifice. Yenna, the former apprentice of Cas Tynen, standing opposed to him wielding the lightsaber that housed the crystal of her former master. She had grown in the years since he last saw her, stronger and more confident, she was like a blinding ray of light within the Force. His repeat encounters with Mathieu allowed Cadere to better steel himself and lock his feelings toward his former life. Seeing Yenna, while a surprise, would not deter him.

Meeting the Jedi Knight's quip with silence, then came another projectile, this time a living one. Lightly waving his arm, the trooper was swatted out of his way with the Force.

"You won't stop me." he declared, his modulated voice matching his icy demeanour. Looking toward two of Insatious' genetically engineered soldiers closest to him, a simple nod ordered the Death Soldiers to break away from the skirmish and sprint toward the facility like olympic level athletes. They would find the map while Cadere would keep the small Jedi occupied.

With a twirl of his lightsaber, the fallen Knight broke into a sprint and darted toward Yenna before she could interfere with the Death Soldiers. The two had trained together in the past, at one point they knew each other like one knows the back of their hand, but after so long separated they were two different people, had different experiences. Cadere was interested to see what Yenna had learned in the past few years. Upon reaching combat distance, Cadere swung his lightsaber in a downward arc and followed the attack with an upward strike in the opposite direction.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yenna's gaze was locked onto the figure as he turned to face her fully. Her attacks didn't do much, but she would have been disappointed if the Sith was taken out that easily by such an attack. He gave the signal for his troops to continue into the facility before his fury was directed at her in an instant.

The little green Jedi reached out with the Force to bring a massive part of the roof down on top of the enemy troopers as she leapt through the air, her lightsaber meeting her opponent's blade with a flash of light as she twirled away. As his blade came up, her block catapulted her into the air while she released a powerful push from her hand.

The fight wasn't going to be quick or easy. And as the other troopers around them dealt with their foes, their weapons would soon be trained on her. At least she was a small target.

Yenna continued to twirl, jump and slide with several quick blows and parries around her foe, gracefully in control of her power and utilizing it efficiently to get the most out of herself without tiring too soon. Though she had another few tricks up her sleeve.

She leapt back with another push as she plucked her flask from her belt. "A bit slow, you are. Less precise, you are, when you are cranky." She commented as she took a sip, her lightsaber idly resting in her hand with the tip barely above the ground. With a grin she held the flask out towards him. "Have a drink." She commented, waiting for him to make his move.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Yenna had simultaneously protected herself from his attack and managed to stop the troopers from advancing toward the facility. She'd used the momentum of Cadere's attack to propel herself into the air, before unleashing a telekinetic push which the Dark Jedi blocked, throwing his forearm in front of his body and erecting a telekinetic barrier that only served to jerk his body upon impact with Yenna's push. The green Jedi pressed on, using her size and athleticism to her advantage, attacking Cadere and defending herself from any strikes he'd returned her way.

As the Dark Jedi defended and returned attacks, he felt a sense of pride toward Yenna. Tynen's old apprentice had indeed grown in strength and skill. Even inherited the reckless overconfidence from her former Master too. If she continued treating this like a game, it would soon be her downfall - just as it was his.

Cadere lifted himself up off the ground, corkscrewing himself sideways, the Kiffar narrowly avoided the follow-up push sent by the small Jedi Knight. Feeling a gust of air caress his robes, Cadere landed gracefully in an upright position, as if his momentum was nonexistent to him. She took the time to send another verbal jab toward Cadere.

So much like him.

His crimson visor leered at the Jedi Knight as she took a sip of her flask. She was too reckless now. If she was dealing with someone who had actually wanted to kill her, this would have been a much different squabble. Stretching his right arm forward, Cadere's palm opened swiftly. Milliseconds after, Yenna would feel her flask contort and compress within her grasp before being turned into a metallic mess.

"Your overconfidence will be your undoing." the masked Dark sider proclaimed. He was unbothered by the fact that Yenna may recognise his voice, he had already dealt with the heartache of disappointing those he cared about with his life choices. If she recognised him, whether by his voice or tainted presence within the Force - he was prepared to deal with the fallout. "Keep her occupied." he commanded through his mask's commlink, ordering the Mandalorian fliers to engage her.

Following that, Cadere kicked off the ground and leaped backward into the air. While in the air, the fallen Knight lifted two fingers from his lightsaber hilt and unleashed a powerful push in the direction of the green Jedi with his left hand. In quick succession, he curled the fingers on his right hand and telekinetically grabbed a broad sized piece of debris and hurled it in the direction of the apprentice.

Tucking his knees in, Cadere transitioned into a backflip and prepared to land further away from Yenna and continue onward to the facility.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yenna's golden eyes flicked down as the Sith crushed her flask within her hand, finally speaking up to comment on her blatant taunting. But as the little green Jedi's mouth opened, no words came from her. And with him so close to her, she had another trick up her sleeve.

A bellow of fire poured from her mouth, setting everything ablaze in front of her as blue flames turned to golden hellfire. As the Sith's troopers closed in, that same danger turned towards them before the Jedi finally stopped with her rather controversial trick. After figuring out how to utilize it, the constant drinking turned into a rsther useful surprise. Unfortunately, it didn't do much to the Sith as he jumped back and let loose with a force push towards her.

Yenna immediately jumped into action, hopping into the air on top of one Mandalorian to slice at his jetpack before immediately hopping to the other. But something about the man's voice stuck in the back of her mind. His presence was also bugging her again. It all fell into place as she finally turned her attention to the massive slab of debris coming at her. Reaching out, she swung the debris around herself and slammed it into the ground in front of the man to halt him as she touched down just outside of saber range. "Cas!" She shouted, waiting for his reaction. It was the final nail in the coffin for her. Despite the Force telling her, and his voice confirming it, she refused to believe it was him.

"Be you, it can not..." She muttered, wrapping the Force around his helmet to yank it off his head...

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

That was a new trick, an impressive one at that, it was mere luck that Cadere managed to avoid Yenna's bellow of inferno - if the facility wasn't already his goal, he would not have anticipated Yenna's trick.

After finally feeling the ground reach his feet, Cadere marched with purpose toward the facility. Unbenknownst to him, the green Jedi Knight was in tow behind him. Temporarily, Yenna's place on the Kiffar's list of priorities had fallen several slots, even as she landed in front of him in defiance. His demeanour beamed with annoyance, Cadere's thumb pressed down on his lightsaber's ignition switch. Cadere was prepared to engage once more. That was until he heard her call out to him, using the name he hadn't heard since Mathieu, the name he hadn't gone by for years. It worked, however. She had managed to capture his attention.

As the name reached his ears, he froze, then stopped and observed the petite woman in front of him. The Dark Jedi's lightsaber remained ignited but there was no longer any sign of hostility, his composure had visibly relaxed - as if the name 'Cas' was some sort of kill switch.

"Be you, it can not..." her voice conveyed disbelief, just like Mathieu's.

Cadere remained silent but his guard continued to decline. Although Cadere and Yenna had not seen each other in years, and despite the former's shift in allegiance - their unique bond in the Force remained. Because of this bond, it allowed the two to feel certain delicacies in the Force when near each other, tiny shifts that no others, unless bonded, could sense. The Kiffar could feel Yenna's unique touch in the Force, immediately, his guard re-erected and the Dark Jedi's left arm shot forward.

"Stop!" he exclaimed as he released two fingers from the grip of his lightsaber and released a telekinetic push with the force of a freight train. His right hand clutched onto his helmet, preventing it from being removed by the minute Knight.

Whether his push managed to impact with her or not, it was bound to break her concentration and force her to release her grip on his helmet. The helmet was what helped Cadere dissociate from Cas Tynen, to make the atrocities he had and will ever commit easier to bare. The Dark Jedi would not allow her to remove it.

"Stay out of my way, Yenna." he commanded with venom in his tone. Cadere's grip around his lightsaber tightened as he aimed it in the direction of the Jedi Knight "I won't hesitate to run through you and every last person in that facility." Cadere's voice continued to rise in tandem with his rage "Continue to defy me and you'll be responsibile for what comes next." he warned her.

She was starting to become a nuisance, they all were. Always getting in his way, stopping him from doing what needed to be done. He was doing this for them, to keep them safe from Insatious, to return Ki'an's family back to him. He wouldn't stop, he couldn't stop until that monster was dead at his feet, and he would do everything in his power to make this come to pass. Including immersing himself further within the Dark side, killing others in coldblood, and yes, even fighting his friends. They wouldn't understand, but they will once this is all over.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

There was no denying it anymore. As she stood in front of him, she could feel the unmistakable presence. The name was the last giveaway as he completely froze in place at the mention of it. But it all crashed down when she tried to remove his helmet and a powerful push sent her flying back in hopes of stopping her. But while the little green Jedi went flying, her grasp around his helmet didn't falter. The helmet was tugged along as she flew back and crashed into a massive chunk of debris, her lightsaber falling from her grasp as she dropped to the ground with a heavy grunt.

For a small moment, she didn't move or make a sound as she tried to regain her breath. The hit was bad, but she pressed through it as she forced herself back onto her feet and picked up her lightsaber with a shaky hand.

"Continue to defy me and you'll be responsible for what comes next."

Gasping for breath, a hand held onto the side of her chest as she gazed up at what she already knew. Tears threatened to roll as she took a step closer to him. "It's... you... you, it really is." She muttered, loosely holding onto her weapon by her side as she stood in place. "Cas... why? Do this, how can you? Lie to us... to me... my brother, you are." A sniff rocked her body as she wiped at her eyes.

"My fault, this is not... how, Cas?" She muttered. Something didn't feel right in her chest. Definitely some kind of damage from that hit. Still, she couldn't let him walk past for whatever crusade he was on. She had a duty and saving him was becoming her top priority. Her cyan lightsaber ignited in her shaky hand as she raised the blade in a poor defensive stance. "Cas... help you, let me. Please..." She practically begged him. "To me, talk, please."

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cadere's Force push seemed to take effect, but it hadn't broken her concentration as he could still feel the tugging sensation, as well as Yenna's touch in the Force. Although his right hand remained pressed on the helmet to prevent it from being removed, it would be difficult to remove in one go due to the separate components that went into forming the helmet.

Yenna's attempt to remove his helmet only provided Cadere with a feeling of his neck being pulled, a discomfort akin to a light choke that threatened. When she hit the pile of debris, Cadere finally could feel it stop and reached for his throat, shoulders rapidly rising and falling as he caught his breath. Angered at the pain that was brought on by her attempt to remove the helmet, Cadere went on to warn her and threaten the safety of those inside the facility, he did all this while still clutching at his throat.

In the brief pause of their duel, she tried to take the little time she had to talk to him, try to get through to him. It was moot. Nothing was going to deter him from doing what had to be done. She continued to call him 'Cas' which only served to anger him even more as it festered and irridiated around him like a toxic cloud.

She wanted to 'help' him, pleaded for him to let her.

His expression was colder than the one his helmet presented. "You can't help me." he stated "None of you can."

The ignition of her lightsaber told him what he needed to know, she would remain defiant and continue to oppose him. For that, he would punish her.

"I warned you, Yenna."

His right arm raised and his palm faced her, with it, he capitalised on the bond they shared and used it to bridge their minds. With that, he bombarded her with a series of nightmarish visions, exposing her to his own personal experiences as well as digging from her own fears and experiences buried deep in her mind. It wouldn't last long, he knew she would find a way to break the connection or fortify her mind's defenses - but it was enough to give him the time he needed.

Cadere darted in her direction, jerking his right arm inward and forcibly heaving the pile of debris behind Yenna with the aim of knocking her off balance. When within lightsaber distance, the Dark Jedi struck at his former apprentice in a horizontal motion, following it with a downward strike in a diagonal angle. All while using his superior reach to his advantage and staying on the outside of the green Jedi if she were able to retaliate.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

The will to fight was lost almost entirely as he spoke up. Tears rolled down her dirtied cheeks as she gazed up at her former master, hoping that she could still get through to him. "Cas..." She muttered, taking a step closer. "Right, this isn't. Right, you are not. Let me help you, you must!" She continued to plead, to try and get through. But all of it cam crashing down when his hand faced her and her mind felt torn.

A hand came up as she winced, memories flooding her mind from long ago. Both his own... and the life she left behind. The streets of Coruscant, the mistakes she made, the people she lost. She fought to try and cut him off, but the damage was done. The memories continued to circulate even when a chunk of debris crashed into her and sent her to the ground with a horrible thud. She barely had enough time to see his lightsaber coming down at her. She raised her arm to block his blade while her hand reached out to hold him in place. But her strength was fading. She could feel it, and he could likely feel it too. "Master..." She wheezed as she shut her eyes to try and hold on. To him, to her weapon, to her sanity... to the Light side of the Force.

The last wall shattered, and a shift in the Force erupted from her.

A piercing scream broke past her lips, while an immensely powerful Force blast blew everything and everyone away from her. Yenna pushed herself off the floor and back onto her feet, but the bright and hopeful gold was gone when she opened her eyes to look at him. The grief evaporated, replaced by a deep scowl as a sickly yellow started to seep into her eyes. "A coward, you are." She muttered, a deep trill seeping through with each word.

With a deep breath she reached out and dragged every trooper from their places, and with one powerful push they were eviscerated from existence in a cloud of dust. "Help, you don't want? Done with you, when I am, help you'll need."

Like a bolt from a blaster she zoomed towards him, her cyan blade a flurry of movements as she hopped and skidded around him with unnatural speed and an aggression she was never known for. "The Dark Side, you think you know? Studied it, I have! Learned to fight it, I have! But you?" She jumped back as electricity crackled around the digits of her right hand. "Ignorance and cowardace, all you know is."

A torrent of lightning blasted from her fingertips towards him, fuelled by more than a century of grief and anger, honed by decades of studying, and directed to the person she cared for most before he turned against her and used their bond to hurt her. Rushing forward once more, the little Jedi attacked once more with ruthless precision, amplified by a dangerous and uncontrolled wade into the Dark Side.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Despite the attack on her mind and a piece of debris being smashed into her back, she continued to defend herself, barely. The fallen Knight could sense her strength faltering as he hammered away at her defences, his urge to kill her gnawed away at his capacity for reason, pushing it aside Cadere fought to immobilise her at most. She called him 'Master', but it was in vain, she was not speaking to her Master - he had been dead for many years now.

A spark. There was a hint that something had switched within her, something lurking deep within was awakened. A shriek of unflitered rage left her lips, and the spark he had sensed prior had now lit into a fire. An invisible wave with the force of a dreadnought had thrown Cadere and several objects around them away from the green Jedi, launching him several feet.

Tucking his legs in, Cadere shifted into a backward somersault and used the Force to slow himself down as he prepared to land on the rubble below. Landing on the ground, the Dark Jedi slid a few feet backward before coming to a halt. His visor locked onto the Jedi's features, scanning her from the distance, he looked into her eyes and saw pure malice. The fire he sensed, it was the Dark side awakening in her.

Watching as she tore apart his infantry with her command of the Dark side, he turned to her, grinning behind his helmet. She was more powerful indeed. Her raw strength in the Dark side was a wonder to behold. "You're strong with the Dark side, apprentice."

Then she came for him, moving like the speed of light she was a green and cyan blur from his perspective. Cadere raised his lightsaber, defending himself from the aggressive flurry of attacks that came from her. As she jumped and maneuvered her way around him, striking him at almost every angle, Cadere utilised his mastery of Shien and continued to block and parry the small Jedi. As she continued to attack, she also talked down to him. Believing herself to be superior within the Dark side of the Force.

Cadere merely watched as Yenna unleashed the lightening from her finger tips, moving his right arm in the direction of the lightening that left her small fingertips. The books he had managed to scavenge from Quizitus' library taught him many things, now would be the time to apply it. His hand met the lightening as it travelled through his palm until there was nothing left, seconds after the lightening reemerged from his palm and the Dark Jedi would direct it at the green Jedi.

"What would Sakadi say if she could see you like this. or Mathieu? All this power and you were afraid to use it, you're weak, just like him." Cadere antagonised, condemning both her and his former self.

The Dark Jedi feasted on the Dark side that flooded around both him and Tynen's former Padawan. Her hypocricy knew no bounds, she condemned him for his fall, but here she was utilising the Dark side with no hesitance. Cadere amplified his own strength within the Dark side, focusing his rage with the recollection of his hatred for Darth Insatious and the memories that followed. She had exhausted his patience, she would either leave or die - whichever came first.

Watching as Yenna came in for another attack, Cadere raised his arms and summoned a hoard of wreckage behind him before thrusting both arms forward and unleashing them at Yenna. Intended to merely delay her movement toward him, Cadere took command of the fire that surrounded them, utilising his pyrokinesis the Dark Jedi manipulated violent force of nature into the direction of the Jedi Knight.

"You will always be weak and pathetic." he said, grasping the hilt with both hands "Your reliance on alcohol, your insecurity, your inability to let Cas go, your unstable mental state." Cadere continued as he enhanced his speed with the Force, meeting Yenna's lightsaber as he moved like lightening "They will all be your downfall." he concluded, jabbing his lightsaber in the direction of her shoulder. Pulling his lightsaber back, Cadere then motioned to swing his lightsaber toward her neck

"Like I destroyed your Master, I will destroy you!" he yelled. Nothing was going to get in the way of him killing Insatious, not Mathieu, not Sakadi, and not Yenna.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Cas didn't even flinch as she sent torrents of lightning at him, merely absorbing the power before shooting it right back at the little green Jedi. With a scowl, Yenna held a hand up and absorbed the power, dissipating it as she glared up at her former Master. "When I get there, cross that bridge, I will." She spoke up, charging at him again.

Several chunks of debris flew at her, though it didn't slow her down at all as she masterfully hopped and somersaulted along the wreckage, right into the inferno he sent her way. Emerging through the fire, Yenna's blade was poised to strike at his neck as her other hand bent the fire around her. "Fire?! Really?!" She shouted, resuming her unrelenting torrent of strikes, jumps and parries. The attack at her neck was merely another pivot for her to jump to an open angle, swinging at his legs before taking off again. "Destroyed nothing, you have! Nothing but a coward, you are! Destroyed yourself, you have! Away, you pushed us all! My master, to think you were..." With another powerful push, she hoped to stagger him to try and destroy his lightsaber, even cut off his wrists if she had to.

"Consume you, you let your emotions. For yourself, feeling sorry will do nothing. If a spine, you had, perhaps whatever this is, you would have achieve already." She hopped back, levelling her sword towards him. But as she looked around, and back to him, the realization hit her. What she was doing, what she allowed to take hold of her.

Yenna stumbled back as she took hold of her head, shaking it as she took a deep breath to calm herself. She gave in, after decades of fighting it, trying to suppress it all, she allowed herself to delve into the Dark Side. She felt cold, and disgusted, as she looked back at Cas with a broken spirit. It all dawned on her, the revelation that her master was gone. Consumed by the Dark Side, all but dead to those he held close at one point.

Holding her hands out, she warped a Shield around her and reached out to the building. What remained of the building soon caved in, collapsing on the troopers and knowledge inside. She continued to force it down, destroying whatever she could to halt him and his men.

Cadere