Private Rapture

[Cato Harth]

Cato looked on defeatedly while Inanna spoke brutally and plainly about the people here. Yarrow grew a satisfied smirk, "Hm. She speaks the truth."

Cato suddenly turned to the little man, bewildered, "What? What the hell was all that about trying to help me then?!"

"I do want to help you, Knight Harth. But you must see that your methods are… breaking down. You see only diminishing returns each night you go out. You must realize there is only one way left to save these souls."

"I know you ain't saying what I think you're saying…"

"Nar Shaddaa must be purged, Jedi Knight. Think of the greater galaxy. So much to be saved. So much pain we could extinguish all at once." He looked at the baby with a frown, "Your attachments run deep. This child… is yours?"

"Get out."

"Too deep. Perhaps Nar Shaddaa has corrupted you as well. You must leave it all behind Cato," He stretched out a hand, "Join us."

Cato summoned his lightsaber to his hand, igniting it in a final warning.

"In order to be saved. One must be willing to save themself," Yarrow sighed, "I'm sorry it's come to this, Cato." He pulled Serena towards him, his telekinesis too strong and too quick for Cato to fight back. The two minions drew yellow crossguard sabers to defend against any further attacks. Then Yarrow would begin to leave, Serena hovering close beside him.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

For what it was worth, Yarrow seemed to agree with her. But he had come to a very different conclusion of what to do about Narsh’s pesky crime problem. Was he suggesting they destroy the moon? Kill everyone, and call it purified?

“You’re insane,” Inanna said.

He spoke of attachments. She sensed what was coming, her blood running cold as she saw Serena ripped from Cato’s grasp. Then white hot. The rage which had gripped her earlier came back in its most potent form yet. All she could see through the red was Yarrow walking out with her baby.

Yarrow’s two henchmen stepped forward, but their movements were slow and sluggish. Inanna’s power, stifled and suppressed by her fear and self-doubt, spilled forth in a flooding torrent of dark energy, hampering them. She lunged forward, her blade slicing through the first minion’s arms before impaling him through the chest. A second later she was on the other one, swinging at his head, and in the next she was in the hallway at the top of the stairs, running after Yarrow, murder in her eyes and in her heart.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato was stunned at first, but when he snapped out of it he nearly fell into a rage not unlike Inanna's. She had reacted quicker, already dispatching the two guards before chasing after Yarrow. The only thing stopping Cato from losing himself was seeing it happen to Inanna. There was a tangible darkness that pierced his heart, and caused him to falter. "Wait-!" He called feebly.

Yarrow continued to walk, Serena hovering beside him and crying for her parents. When he sensed Inanna approached, he countered with even raising a hand. He struck with a burst of raw telekinetic energy toward her stomach, his power clearly beyond either Cato or Inanna. A Jedi Master. How one in his position could be driven to such madness was a thought that could only pass Cato's mind fleetingly. Right now, he was only focused on his family. "Such anger, it comes to you naturally," Yarrow mused at Inanna, "Disappointing." He stepped out into the street, where he was picked up by a mobile lift, that ascended him up into the sky.

Cato flew out into the street, likely after Inanna, and looked up to see the sight. It looked as if Yarrow and Serena were flying straight toward the sun. But he realized on closer inspection that the bright beam of light as a massive engine, one of many surrounding a station shaped like a halo. Even down here, directly below it, there was a gust of wind and heat that sent trash and clothes whipping against the wind. "No way…" Was it some kind of superweapon? Other civilians were coming to figure out what was happening. "He's really gonna blow this whole damn place up."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

The bone-crushing force of the blast caught her in the stomach, launching her through the wall behind her. Had she been human, she would’ve been looking at likely fatal injuries to her organs and a broken spine. But thankfully, Inanna was not human, nor was she an ordinary Shi’ido.

She pulled herself out of the rubble, black with blood and bruises, and staggered after Yarrow. But it was too late. He was already gone, taking Serena with him.

Yellowed eyes registered the space station in the sky, the wind and the ominous power radiating from it. There was a panic in the atmosphere of Nar Shaddaa, sharper to her now that her senses had been reawakened. But she did not care about the people here. All that she cared about was getting her baby back.

And then there was Cato. At the sound of his voice, she looked over at him. To say that she looked bad was an understatement. In the span of just a few minutes, she had fallen, embracing the darkness. This was Inanna at her worst, the way she had been under the torturous training of Vanessa Vantai, where all that mattered was survival.

She was not crazy or psychotic to the point of lacking common sense, however. Running at Yarrow clearly hadn't worked. They needed a plan. “Well,” she began. “What are we going to do about it?”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato did a double take, only now seeing fully just how fast she had plummeted into this state. His heart broke at the sight, and he was at a loss for words.

Then there was a sudden sound of blaster fire, and an impact. Cato looked up to see a duo of starfighter droids strafing the monolithic weapon. One of them was taken out by automated defenses, while the other pulled off to avoid retaliatory fire. "Those are… wait-"

"You'll need help," a voice from behind spoke up. It was Dathan Carnage, clad in his trademark armor and cloak. He looked between the two heroes expectantly, "Last I checked you can't fly, Moonlighter."

"How did-?"

"Jahira."

"She told you?"

"I was very persuasive."

"Gross."

"Focus, fool," Carnage stepped forward, "These idiots want to destroy our world. That is not in my interests. And I know it isn't in yours."

"It's more than that, Dathan. He-" Cato cut himself off this time. "It's personal."

"All the more motivation," Dathan clicked a button on his gauntlet, and one of the fighter droids veered overhead in their direction, "I've kept tabs on this group from inside prison. It's like they appeared out of nowhere, but they've a greater arsenal than you could imagine." His gaze cast downward, "Greater than mine, I admit."

"So you want our help?" Cato smirked smugly.

"It's your best chance."

"…Alright. But after this, you're going straight back to prison."

"We'll see about that," Right on cue, the starfighter droid landed, opening up its cockpit for Cato and Inanna.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Starfighters screamed overhead, attacking the structure. Would Serena go down in flames along with Yarrow’s toy station? Terror spread through her at the thought, sobering in its agony.

But their efforts to take down the thing in orbit were in vain; one ship was destroyed, while the other was forced to retreat.

"You'll need help."

Inanna jumped at the sound of the voice, on guard again. After all, the last time they had seen Dathan Carnage, he had put Cato in the hospital. Now apparently he knew Moonlighter’s secret identity, among other things. “How did you get out of prison?” Inanna demanded.

But she couldn’t complain too much. Not when Dathan was presenting them with a means to reach the station. She glanced at Cato briefly before entering the cockpit of the starfighter, sitting down and strapping in.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Carnage tilted his head at Inanna, "I've had ways out for some time now. But somtimes it easier to continue my work under the radar." Nobody expects the guy serving time in prison to be making moves on the outside. But it seemed Dathan's influence went even father than they realized.

"Didn't think magicians revealed their secrets," Cato remarked. Dathan just looked at him, a knowing look in his eyes. He then turned back to Inanna, sensing the darkness lingering on her person.

"You're doing well, it seems," He nodded, "This suits you."

Cato pointed at Dathan as a warning, but the masked man just chuckled while they hopped into the starfighter. He brushed his cape over his shoulder, revealing a pair of thrusters on his back that propelled him up into the sky. "Show off," Cato muttered, taking control of the droid and veering up into the sky. Up close, the station looked a lot bigger, "You should have some blaster controls back there. See anything?" There was an airburst that rocked their ship with a shaky thud, "I need to find us an opening. A dock or something. Keep those turrets off of us!"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Of course prison wasn’t going to hold him for long. Of course he was playing them all like fiddles. She shot him a hate-filled glare, but faltered as he praised her descent into darkness.

No. No, she didn’t care what the masked freak thought. Cato’s heartbroken expression whenever he looked her way was harder to ignore.

Aboard the starfighter, Cato took the controls. Inanna was supposed to fire the guns, but after squeezing off a few shots at the turrets, it became apparent that they weren’t going to last long. “Tell me when you find it,” she said, continuing to do the best she could with the blasters. “Do you trust me?”

Under better circumstances, he probably would’ve said yes without hesitation. But now… well, she didn’t know what was going on inside his head.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Inanna did her best with the main cannon, even if skills were lacking. It was the least of the worries right now. Cato turned around and flew straight on towards the station, allowing him to use the forward blasters. He hit one of the defense turrets, taking it out of commission. Unfortunately, they traded hits, with one of the other cannons getting a good hit on them flying directly past. The cockpit rocked violently, but they still had control. Cato opted not to look at the damage for peace of mind.

“Do you trust me?”

Hell of a time of ask that question. Cato paused a bit longer than he'd have liked, and replied, "…That's usually something someone says before they do something crazy," He glanced back, before the action forced him to turn his eyes back to the station, "What crazy thing are you doing?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

As the starfighter jerked violently, Inanna stood up, clinging to the walls for support as she made her way over to the pilot seat. She was standing behind him when he looked back.

"…That's usually something someone says before they do something crazy. What crazy thing are you doing?"

“Getting us out in one piece before this thing gets blown out of the sky,” she replied. There wasn’t much time to explain in detail what she intended to do, so she let her body do the talking. Wings had begun to sprout from her back, a pair of green batlike ones she had sported during her days as a S’kytri’s girlfriend. They spread out, filling the narrow space of the cockpit.

“Where’s the opening?” she asked, peering over his shoulder.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato watched distractedly as Inanna grew a pair of wings within the cockpit. The act was enough to make her point, "Right." He crawled out of his seat, and unlocked the hatch.

"Uhhh… there!" Cato pointed out towards a small hangar opening on the outside rim of the station. There was an explosion from inside, highlighting their destination. "Party's already starting. Ready when you are."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna wrapped her arms around Cato’s waist. Once, in happier times, she had offered to fly him around. They had never got around to actually doing it before now.

"Uhhh… there!" Cato pointed out towards a small hangar opening on the outside rim of the station. There was an explosion from inside, highlighting their destination. "Party's already starting. Ready when you are."

In spite of everything, she gave him a gentle squeeze before flinging open the hatch with telekinesis and flying out. Her wings spread, she glided on the wind, arcing toward the hangar.

Already she could see more of Yarrow’s robed minions inside, waiting with weapons drawn. “I’ll throw you at them!” she shouted to Cato over the wind. “Get ready!”

Once they cleared the opening, she released him, turning her attention upon the rest of their foes.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato crossed his arms over Inanna's as they flew off, the moment of trust interrupts by loud, lashing winds this high up in the sky. The fighter droid continued on its trajectory, before it was show down by the station. The explosion reflected in Cato's eyes, but the idea of that having been them just a few moments earlier could only be reconciled for a split second, and then it was back into the fray.

“I’ll throw you at them! Get ready!”

"Ready!" He replied quickly, drawing his new saber hilt from his belt. They flew through the hangar's magnetic shield and into the chaos: Those eplxosiosn from before were coming from none other than Dathan Carnage. He was engaging with a group of acolytes, blasting them with a dizzying array of technological weaponry and Dathomirian magick. Cato was thrown from Inanna's grip, and he dropped down to subdue one of the guards. He ignited his orange crossguard blade, clashing with a yellow one not unlike it.

"New weapon," Dathan commented, "Just how many sabers do you have?"

For once, Cato had no retort, just focused on the fight in front of him.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Say what you want about the Dark Side, it got the job done.

After dropping off Cato, Inanna closed in on Yarrow’s henchmen. A trio of the yellow-robed figures came at her, lightsabers drawn. She activated her lightsaber’s doubled-bladed configuration and hit them hard.

By the time Carnage’s banter with Cato reached her ears, she was surrounded by dismembered limbs, smoke rising from charred flesh. She moved on to the next set of minions, mowing them down with her saber, telekinesis keeping them distracted.

“Can one of you access their computers and figure out where we need to go?” she asked.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Yes." Both men said. They exchanged sideways glances and suddenly it was an unspoken competition. Once the hangar had been cleared of guards, both Cato and Carnage approached a terminal and began a digital break-in. Dathan coolly went to work, Cato's constant looks at his foe's progress indicated a bit less confidence. In spite of that, it was Cato who managed to bypass their security and gain access first. "Bingo," He quipped, though there was no cheer in his tone, like he was forcing himself to maintain the persona.

"Control is in the West Sector of the ring. The hangar— We— are in the South Sector," Better than starting on the opposite end of the station, "There's energy output in all sectors. My guess is they all come together to form their big doomsday weapon." Given the design, it seemed the ring was essentially the conduit for a massive energy output. Like if the Death Star had been stripped down to exclusively the components it needed to blow something up.

"Let us be on our way then," Dathan replied, his hands behind his back as he began to hover off towards the next corridor.

Cato grimaced at the villain, before turning to Inanna. They found themselves alone for just a moment, and at a loss for what else to say, he said, "We'll find her.."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

After a competition between the two to get the information fastest, Cato emerged with the revelation that Control was to the west, while they were currently in the south. Carnage sped off ahead of them, while Cato paused for a moment.

"We'll find her..."

Inanna looked at him. There were a thousand things she could’ve said, but none of them seemed right. It was too early for an apology and a kiss was too easily misinterpreted. Plus, they were pressed for time. “I know,” she eventually said. There could be no other outcome to this that she would accept.

She did reach for his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before she pulled him in the direction Carnage had gone.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

“I know,”

That was all Cato could really hope to hear. They were still in this together. The fight still ached in his stomach, and they hardly had time to even process it before their lives were thrown into even greater chaos. He just took the hurt as a sign that it still mattered. That hadn't changed. A sudden squeeze of his hand made his heart flutter like a teen crush all over again, before he was forced to swallow it and do his duty as both father and hero.

Serena was still captured. And Cato would do whatever he had to if it meant getting her back.

Trailing behind Carnage, they saw the villain was in a rare bind— His arms were entangled by lightships and pulled in opposite directions. The culprits were a pair of female acolytes, dressed in similar but more armored variants of the traditional cultish raiments. And standing in front of Carnage was a large droid, one that looked more like a towering knight than a machine. It battered against Dathan's face and chest, trying to make a dent in his suit, but so far unable to finish the job. Just ahead was a large sealed door leading to the west sector, the console to gain access already sabotaged; A last ditch effort to slow the intervention of the heroes.

Cato leapt forward, and swung at one of the maiden's hands. With her weapon tied around Carnage, she had no choice but to let go of it if she wanted to avoid having her arm severed. She did so, and her breastplate deflected what would have been a fatal follow-up strike from Cato. Dathan whipped around the loose whip, entangling it now against the war droid.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

They were back on track. But when they caught up with Carnage, they found him in dire straits. Entangled in the lightwhips of two female acolytes, the Dathomirian was being beaten and battered within his armored suit by a hulking droid.

While Cato attacked one of the acolytes, Inanna moved in on the other, who pulled her weapon free from Carnage to avoid being disarmed like her sister had been. Perhaps it was the Dark, but her thoughts turned back to her training sessions with Vanessa. The Sith Lady wielded a lightwhip infused with darkness, barbed coils made from beskar sprouting alongside the tendril of red plasma. To be on the receiving end meant pain, upon which Vanessa would feed. To prevent her from growing stronger, one had to learn how not to be hit.

Inanna ducked beneath the lightwhip that came lashing toward her, activating her lightsaber. The acolyte tried to put more distance between them, but Inanna was relentless, closing the gap every time. Her two yellow blades bounced off the acolyte’s armor, but soon she spotted a gap at the hip. Dropping to one knee, she aimed upward as her opponent swung downward, goring her diagonally through to her shoulder. Inanna was already turning toward the droid before the acolyte’s body hit the floor, ready to keep fighting.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Inanna took down one of the Sisters, and after a brief bout, Cato did as well. He entangled her whip with his sword and used the opportunity to get in close, using his advantage to impale her through her weakly armored abdomen before she could unbind the weapon. He turned to see Dathan recovering, but he was then telekinetically lifted into the air by… the droid? "That's new," Cato remarked, astounded at the sight of a machine linked to the Force.

It threw Dathan aside, and Cato charged in to take his place. He slashed at the droid's chassis with wild swings, turning metal to slag with the heat of plasma. He did some damage, but the droid landed a backhand, launching the Jedi backwards and into a console. The chest plate that had been cut through revealed a faintly glowing crystal nestled in the center compartment. The machine then turned to Inanna, approaching with menacing intent.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Both Dathan and Cato were knocked aside by the droid, though not before doing some significant damage. Inanna just had to finish it off.

Spying the crystal at its center, she resisted the telekinetic force it exerted upon her, instead pushing it backwards with a blast of the Force. Then she was in motion, dodging the heavy metal swings it took at her. One blow connected, knocking her off her feet, but she rolled and got back up. The droid’s assault was relentless, but she was determined to reach its heart.

At last, yellow plasma plunged into the Shard, shattering it. The force of the explosion knocked her backwards amid a hailstorm of jagged crystal, the droid falling to its knees and then toppling forward with a loud thud.

Cato Harth​