Public Yavin 4: Echoes of the Enclave

[Voice of Light]

✧TAGS✧ Tilon Quill | Gem-in-Trash | Casaana
The Jedi's eyes fluttered open at the soft pat of Gem's hand on her cheek. Her gaze was glassy and her breath a shallow whisper that caught in her throat. Blood stained the stone beneath her in ruby red pools, seeping from where the weight of the column crushed into her side. It was clear to Gem the moment she saw her up close...there was no saving this.​

"Hey, stay with me. You saved me, let me try to return the favor,"

The Jedi tried to smile, but it barely reached her lips.

"…No… no moving it," she whispered, her voice hoarse and willed with tremors "If you lift it… I'm already… already gone."

The dying woman looked at her without fear in her eyes, but they held the sorrowful melancholy weight of acceptance.

Her eyes drifted toward the ceiling as if trying to find the stars.

"Don't... move it. I can feel it... my insides. If you lift the column, I'll bleed out."

She gave a faint, tired smile as best she could before going rather still.

"Not your fault. You're kind... That matters."

The Jedi squeezed her hand suddenly, tighter than expected for someone in her condition.

"Listen. Deeper in the temple... vornskyr.... At least three. I saw one take down a knight without making a sound. . ."

She coughed hard as her voice dropped to a hoarse whisper.

"But There was something else... Something lower... Leave this place... Save yourselves..."

Her eyes glazed over a little, but she pushed through it, desperate.

"You're still breathing. That means you've got a chance. Don't waste it on me."

She released Gem's hand slowly, her fingers falling limp.

"Tell the next ones not to be proud. Proud Jedi die loudly...."​

[OOC] Choose your path.

✦ Path of Mercy — There is no death, there is the Force

"She knew it was the end… but she wanted it to mean something."

Honor her wish and let her die in peace. You will gain a final message, a Force vision, or a whispered warning as she slips away.

✦ Path of Defiance — "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

"Compassion without wisdom is recklessness—and the Force punishes recklessness."

Lift the rubble and try to save her. She might die in pain, [Roll 1d100]

✦ Path of Control — "Power is the right to decide who lives beyond their time."

"What is death to the willful, if not another leash to claim?"

Forcibly use the Force, embracing the Dark Side to bind her fading spirit to a talisman or relic. Her soul lingers—useful, tormented, and yours… for now. [Roll 1d100]

 

[Tilon Quill]

Tilon knelt by the dying Jedi. He was a poor healer; Gem had done far more than he could have. Weighing the probabilities of the situation with his Suerton-trained instincts, he found no good way forward.

"You held on long enough to warn us," he said, "which might've saved us. A Jedi's first duty is to preserve life. You've done that. Thank you. I'll ease your pain if I can. Be one with the Force, Jedi Knight."

His father had an arcane trick for taking others' injuries upon himself. Tilon stretched out as far as he could, mentally, and took the dying Jedi's pain with a grunt. He broke out in a cold sweat immediately. The dying Jedi fell unconscious with relief on her face.

Tilon looked up at Gem-in-Trash and Casaana

"We need to get the last survivor to medical care, the Padawan on our ship. That's our duty. Jedi Knights and Masters can handle recovery and memorial and clear out the threats."

 

[Casaana]

Ship: Sojourner Shuttle
Equipment: Jedi robes sans cloak and outer tunic, Field Jacket, Utility Belt, Blaster, Lightsaber
Tags: Voice of Light | Gem-in-Trash | Tilon Quill

From atop her perch, Casaana watched a young cat-person (Cathar?) scramble out of the ruins and over to a fallen Jedi. Frowning, she extended her senses out, nearly falling over on discovering she was still alive! The Master had been so near death, and Casaana so distracted by the Guardian and worry over a fellow Padawan, that she hadn't sensed the quietly ebbing life force of the wounded woman. She felt ashamed as she climbed back down, quietly accepting the lesson to be more mindful of her surroundings in the future.

By the time she got to the Master's side, Tilon was already comforting her, and Casaana could feel the work he was doing through the Force. Her words and Tilon's caused her to shudder. It seemed as if today was conspiring to bring back two of the worst events in her life to haunt her on this jungle moon. The huge amount of death and fallen comrades when the Alliance had tried retaking Tython, and being hunted across the surface of Myrkr. At least there weren't pirates trying to run her down. Probably. Somebody had set all this in motion and brought those beasts here.

Sitting down next to the others and the wounded Master, Casaana reached out a hand and laid it on the dying woman's shoulder. She wasn't going to try anything with the Force, not with someone already working on her, but she could give the Master some small bit of comfort. Let her know she wasn't alone in her final moments. She couldn't think of anything to say, so settled on a quiet, "May you be with the Force." But that left the other Padawan who wanted desperately to save her. "The vornskr are too dangerous to split up, and these wounds are beyond the help of a droid. Our duty now is to survive and report this, like Quill says." This would be difficult for the youngster, the pain of being helpless to act, but it was part of growing up. Casaana had gone through it herself, as she was sure everyone had.

 

[Gem-in-Trash]

Force Theme​

Gem held her hands over the Jedi, still trying to manifest the Force in some way - any way - that she could. She had known that this Jedi was unlikely to make it. She accepted that.

Didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Okay. What's your name?" Gem asked. The Mirialan smiled faintly.

"Saela Venn," she said, in basically a whisper.

"Well, Knight Venn, it was good to meet you. If only for a short time," Gem said, holding her hand. The Jedi smiled, and closed her eyes. A moment later, there was no Saela Venn. The pillar holding her down - and her together - touched the ground when there was no longer anyone under it.

Gem stood up, and wiped her eyes, turning back towards the others.

"Yeah. Let's get back to the ship. Whoever they send, they should bring Battle Droids, I think. More Jedi would be," Gem looked at the pillar, "They would have difficulties."

Gem held out her hand - despite her sorrow, she knew she should still remain focused on staying alive. It was a trick she had read about from the Yuuzhong Vong War. She wasn't looking for the presence of a lifeform, but the absence of the Force. If the Vornskr were here, stalking them, Gem wanted to know before they were successfully ambushed.

"Saela Venn," Gem muttered to herself, "Saela Venn."

She wasn't going to forget.

Casaana Tilon Quill Voice of Light