Private The Relic That Knew Her Name

[Juniper Le Fey]

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Near Dathomiri Space-

As the ship broke through the atmosphere to make a landing at the pad below, Juniper let out a sigh of relief. Living job to job didn't leave much room for fuel reserves, and in typical Le Fey fashion, she was skidding into the finish on empty. She made it, though, and that meant another payday and a bit more fuel to last her until the next hunt.

As the hunter made her way down the docking ramp onto the landing zone, she took in the sights around her. She had never been on this planet, but from what she could tell, it was agricultural. Farmland stretched as far as the eye could see, broken only by scattered structures and slow-moving equipment. She wasn't sure why her contact chose this planet out of all of them, but her job wasn't to ask questions. It was to collect and deliver.

This job, in particular, came from another hunter- one who had been chasing some ancient treasure and was willing to pay handsomely to have someone else finish it. So Juniper did what she did best. She tracked the relic down, secured it, and brought it here. Easy enough. Or so she thought.

As Juniper made her way toward the hangar bay doors, she could tell something was off. The usual security that checked manifests and credentials was replaced with what looked like mercenaries, and flight control never pinged her for her ship's ID. The men didn't move to stop her either. They just watched. It didn't feel like a meeting point. It felt staged. Either one of those things could've been overlooked, but all of it together made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Keeping her head on a swivel and Pathbreaker close by, Juniper continued forward through the hangar doors. As she opened them, she was stopped by one of the mercenaries carrying a large blaster and equipped with heavy armor. "Juniper Le Fey, our master is excited to meet you. Refrain from drawing any weapons and bring the cargo this way." Their voice was heavily distorted by the armor, to the point you couldn't make out if it was masculine or feminine.

Juniper complied, hitting a button on a remote as a small hovercraft came out of the rear of the ship, carrying the large box on it. It slid into place behind her, and the group continued forward.

It was becoming more and more obvious that this was not normal. She was hypervigilant now, taking note of everything they passed in case she needed to make a break for it. This wasn't a place she wanted to get lost in, and it didn't feel like a place that would let her leave easily. There was no small talk as they continued either, just silence between the synchronized steps of the mercenaries and the sharp ping of Juniper's stilettos against the metal floors. It wasn't even five minutes before they arrived at the hangar where her contact was waiting.

As the hangar doors swung open, Juniper was greeted by the sight of even more mercenaries, all equipped with heavy blasters and even heavier armor. In the center of them was a massive Zabrak male, equipped with multiple lightsabers hanging from his side and an array of what appeared to be anti-Force shackles. His horns were chipped in multiple places, some sharpened to a fine point, likely to be used as a weapon.

Things were starting to click for Juniper in ways they hadn't before. Whoever she was working for was in the business of hunting Force users. She glanced at the shackles for a moment longer than she meant to. Not something she'd ever want used on her.

As the groups met, Juniper broke the silence first. "Nice to meet you. I'm Juniper. Gotta say, it wasn't too easy getting this. Had to break a few skulls." She gave a bit of a chuckle as she spoke. She reached out to meet his grip, but he didn't take it. Instead, he motioned toward the box hovering behind her, taking a subtle step back.

"Is that the artifact?" he barked, his eyes trailing Juniper instead of the box, as though he were sizing her up. "Please, go ahead and open the box. Bring the artifact here and place it in this case."

As he finished, the Zabrak snapped his fingers and three guards immediately jumped into motion, grabbing a large case and bringing it forward. They placed it before Juniper, and then the awkward silence returned, heavier now, pressing in on the space between them.

Juniper sighed and went back toward the large crate. Normally she would use the Force to open the box, but seeing as she was working with some kind of Jedi hunter, she decided to use her strength instead. The sorceress popped the top of the crate off, and as she did, she could feel the shift in the energy in the room. It felt like all eyes were on her now. The Zabrak was staring intently at her, studying her every move. It was uncomfortable, to say the least.

After the top of the box was off, Juniper took the front of the box off as well, revealing the artifact to the group. When she did, the Zabrak's eyes narrowed like a hunter catching scent. His lips curled into a smile that was more hunger than joy. "Bring it here. Now." His tone was tight, leaving no room for misunderstanding. Juniper blinked slowly. She normally had no time for men's shit like this, but once again he seemed very dangerous, and she really needed the money.

Ready to comply, Juniper reached for the relic, her hand barely touching it before she felt a shock run through her system, like she had just been struck by lightning. Her eyes erupted white, and actual lightning began dancing across her body. Finally, her eyes rolled back into her head as her vision began.

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Spoiler: Vision

It's cold. Not the kind of cold from a winter storm, but the kind that freezes you to your bones.

She can't see anything.​

But she can hear.

Voices.

Chanting.​

Chanting in a language Juniper couldn't understand, but whoever was listening could. It sounded ritualistic.

Soon the cold was replaced with warmth.

Then-

Fire.​

Next, it was like going down a dark slide, images flying past, each one more mysterious than the last. It felt like Juniper was flying through history. She could make out pieces, small details, but it was mostly feeling.

Whoever was tied to this relic was powerful.

Ancient.​

The Force around them didn't feel like anything she had felt before.

Then one last image.

A warm touch.​

A mother's touch.

A hand setting a small basket down. Careful, deliberate.

Fingers brushing against a baby's cheek.

For just a moment, everything felt still.​

Then-​

Black.
​

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As Juniper jolted back, her entire body was wracked with electricity. Pink bolts of lightning danced down her body, her eyes flashing with pink and white. She could see the Zabrak glaring at her, not with surprise, but with recognition.

"So it answered you." His tone was cold, almost scarily devoid of emotion. "Don't move." He started reaching for his cuffs as he finished. Juniper knew she only had a few seconds to get out of here before they were swarming her. She also knew that whatever this relic was, it was tied to her mother. She was sure of that.

"Damn it, I really needed the credits..." she said as she grabbed Pathbreaker and drove the heavy end of it into the knees of the first mercenary that tried to approach her. She followed that up by slamming the next three into the hangar walls with the Force. Finally, she made eye contact with the Zabrak as she launched a huge wave of Force lightning toward him, the pink tendrils reaching out and licking at all of the mercenaries.

As the light settled, a few of them had fallen, but the Zabrak stood tall, his armor absorbing the lightning. He let out a hearty chuckle as he approached. "You witches will all burn. I will hunt you all down." He unleashed a massive stream of blaster bolts as he spoke. Juniper leapt to the left, behind a support beam to avoid being hit.

Witches? What did he mean? Juniper was no witch. She was a Dark Jedi who had trouble controlling her Force powers. What was a witch?

She didn't have time to ask any questions as she bolted out from cover, using the Force to increase her speed. She leapt into the air and slammed Pathbreaker into the ground, sending more mercenaries flying. Their blaster bolts came rapidly, but she did her best to stay hard to hit. It wasn't long, however, before she was overwhelmed, the sheer volume of fire forcing her back step by step until it felt like the end was close.

Juniper wasn't going to die like a punk. She was going to take as many of them down with her as possible, so she began to gather her energy. It wasn't long before lightning and pure Force energy surrounded her, absorbing the blaster bolts as they struck. This was something Juniper had never done before, more power than she had ever used in her entire life, something deeper than instinct, something pulling from somewhere she didn't understand.

...then it went black.

She was out cold, her body giving out under the weight of what she had just unleashed, but the Force still clung to her, keeping her alive even as everything else inside that hangar was reduced to ruin.

Except the relic.

So the two of them lay there, motionless in the aftermath, surrounded by scorched metal and the fading echoes of power, as the dust settled and the silence returned, waiting for whoever, or whatever, would come to claim what remained.

Vytal Noctura