young volcanoes [padme/ani]
Feb 4, 2014 10:14:01 GMT -5
Post by Kyubey on Feb 4, 2014 10:14:01 GMT -5
The Sith Order is dangerous. Fortunately, most of its members are cocksure idiots who make my job all too easy.
That’s what you get, Sidious, I think, hidden in my shadowy perch above an alleyway. The stupid will always flock to promises of power. Your own Order will consume itself from the inside, given enough time. I clutch the handle of my saber, unable to keep myself from smirking. Though I’m certainly glad to speed it along.
I hadn’t intended tonight to be a hunting mission. When I left our base (a rundown warehouse with no heat and a colony of rats,) I’d just wanted a bit of fresh air. The padawans were underfoot with all their cleaning chores and our one functioning computer kept beeping insistently with messages from the Council. It was just too chaotic in there for me to be able to think. The Sith had been awfully quiet for the past few days, after their attack on our Academy. Regrouping for so long seems implausible – and then showing mercy on us is out of the question. As a leader, the responsibility for figuring out their plan falls to me, and I just couldn’t clear my head long enough with rat traps going off every thirty seconds.
I was barely out of our territory when I stumbled upon this motley crew: a Sith and two apprentices, likely not even his own, stalking around in the alleyway. Their antics and conversation are too inane for them to be on official business. They’re being vultures: acting on their own to kill Jedi and advance in rank. Cowards, all of them. And I’ll make them regret hunting down innocents who just lost their home.
Springing down off my ledge, I land on the shoulders of one of the apprentices – a large boy wearing robes two sizes too small – and deftly snap his neck. He drops like a stone, and as his companions turn in horrified surprise, I roll back onto my feet and unsheathe my saber, smiling as its tar-covered blade bursts into blue flames.
“You wanted a Jedi?” I say. “You’ve found one.”
The other apprentice, much younger than the one I just killed, fumbles with the hilt of her training sword, and the fully-fledged Sith does little better. I allow them but a second before I lunge, swinging the super-heated metal so close to their faces that they have to step back, blinded and burned. The Sith slashes in retaliation and I parry, still advancing on their ground to drive them into the wall. With a clang, the apprentice drops her sword, but her superior proves to be more tenacious.
It only takes a few seconds longer for me to disarm him as well, and I savor the look of surprise as his blade flies out of his hand. The Sith I kill are so used to victory that they think themselves above defeat. Seeing their disbelief fade into despair is almost as satisfying as ending their wretched lives. The tip of my saber at his throat, the Sith sinks to his knees, holding his hands up in surrender.
“You have bested me, Jedi,” he says, somehow finding the nerve to look me in the eye. “I ask only that you give me an honorable death, and that my sister be allowed to return to her home.”
“Why should I do anything for scum like you?” I spit back at him, glancing over to the girl to make sure she hasn’t yet run away. She hasn’t – she grovels but a few feet away, trying in vain to hide her tears. “You were poaching Jedi refugees for your own gain. I will show you as much honor as you’ve shown us.” I push the blade closer to his face, and he jerks backward from the intense heat, hitting his head on the wall behind him.
“You must understand, we were doing what we had to!” He turns away, unable to look directly into the light. “Those who did not kill a Jedi during our…assault on your Academy are subjected to terrible punishment. My sister and her friend were to be tortured if they did not bring in a kill within the week.”
“Perhaps you should have thought of that before becoming Sith,” I don’t give him time to respond before I draw the saber across his neck. The girl cries out a few feet away, and I turn to her, unable to look at the young monster with any pity.
Still, she is young and defenseless. Not cut out for the Academy she serves. I won’t take her life, but her dark intentions must be punished. I lash out with my free hand to restrain her, flip open my hidden switchblade, and cut a deep gash across her sword hand.
“Let that be a reminder of the pain your Order has caused,” I say, standing up again as she clutches her bleeding hand in shock. “I’ve shown you mercy today, Sith. If I come across you again, I will not be so kind.” I turn on my heel, leaving the girl to do as she will.
If I know the Sith – and I do – they will finish the job for me.
It takes several minutes for me to notice I’m bleeding.
The cut is on my wrist, and not terribly deep, though it is leaking red onto the sleeves of my robe. The burns surrounding it are not very serious either; the Sith probably just got lucky with one of his swings. I shouldn’t have let him touch me – the fact that I did bothers me more than the actual pain does. But it’s more important to get this bandaged up than sulk over my wounded pride.
And I know just the place to go.
“Damn it, Padme,” I complain under my breath as I finally hoist myself through her window, “why do you have to sleep on the second floor of this place?”
I don’t know if my noise has woken her up or not – I’ve made the climb to her room enough times to be fairly stealthy about it. Actually, I don’t even know if she’s in here or not, without the moon or streetlamps to help me see. Either way, I don’t want to bother her with my first aid, so I quietly push open the door to her bathroom and root around for the medicine cabinet inside.
The last week has been one of the worst of my life. After the Sith attacked, I had to deal with the Jedi Council, relocating our base, protecting the refugees – I’ve had no time to tell Padme anything of what’s happened. My near expulsion. My rebellion. The Sith bounty on my head. Coming here was just too dangerous, and though I longed for her every night since the attack, I’ve had to keep her in the dark for her own safety.
“I’m sorry, my love,” I whisper, hoping that I can get myself patched up before she has a chance to come in and worry about me. “I couldn’t live with myself if I put you in harm’s way.”
That’s what you get, Sidious, I think, hidden in my shadowy perch above an alleyway. The stupid will always flock to promises of power. Your own Order will consume itself from the inside, given enough time. I clutch the handle of my saber, unable to keep myself from smirking. Though I’m certainly glad to speed it along.
I hadn’t intended tonight to be a hunting mission. When I left our base (a rundown warehouse with no heat and a colony of rats,) I’d just wanted a bit of fresh air. The padawans were underfoot with all their cleaning chores and our one functioning computer kept beeping insistently with messages from the Council. It was just too chaotic in there for me to be able to think. The Sith had been awfully quiet for the past few days, after their attack on our Academy. Regrouping for so long seems implausible – and then showing mercy on us is out of the question. As a leader, the responsibility for figuring out their plan falls to me, and I just couldn’t clear my head long enough with rat traps going off every thirty seconds.
I was barely out of our territory when I stumbled upon this motley crew: a Sith and two apprentices, likely not even his own, stalking around in the alleyway. Their antics and conversation are too inane for them to be on official business. They’re being vultures: acting on their own to kill Jedi and advance in rank. Cowards, all of them. And I’ll make them regret hunting down innocents who just lost their home.
Springing down off my ledge, I land on the shoulders of one of the apprentices – a large boy wearing robes two sizes too small – and deftly snap his neck. He drops like a stone, and as his companions turn in horrified surprise, I roll back onto my feet and unsheathe my saber, smiling as its tar-covered blade bursts into blue flames.
“You wanted a Jedi?” I say. “You’ve found one.”
The other apprentice, much younger than the one I just killed, fumbles with the hilt of her training sword, and the fully-fledged Sith does little better. I allow them but a second before I lunge, swinging the super-heated metal so close to their faces that they have to step back, blinded and burned. The Sith slashes in retaliation and I parry, still advancing on their ground to drive them into the wall. With a clang, the apprentice drops her sword, but her superior proves to be more tenacious.
It only takes a few seconds longer for me to disarm him as well, and I savor the look of surprise as his blade flies out of his hand. The Sith I kill are so used to victory that they think themselves above defeat. Seeing their disbelief fade into despair is almost as satisfying as ending their wretched lives. The tip of my saber at his throat, the Sith sinks to his knees, holding his hands up in surrender.
“You have bested me, Jedi,” he says, somehow finding the nerve to look me in the eye. “I ask only that you give me an honorable death, and that my sister be allowed to return to her home.”
“Why should I do anything for scum like you?” I spit back at him, glancing over to the girl to make sure she hasn’t yet run away. She hasn’t – she grovels but a few feet away, trying in vain to hide her tears. “You were poaching Jedi refugees for your own gain. I will show you as much honor as you’ve shown us.” I push the blade closer to his face, and he jerks backward from the intense heat, hitting his head on the wall behind him.
“You must understand, we were doing what we had to!” He turns away, unable to look directly into the light. “Those who did not kill a Jedi during our…assault on your Academy are subjected to terrible punishment. My sister and her friend were to be tortured if they did not bring in a kill within the week.”
“Perhaps you should have thought of that before becoming Sith,” I don’t give him time to respond before I draw the saber across his neck. The girl cries out a few feet away, and I turn to her, unable to look at the young monster with any pity.
Still, she is young and defenseless. Not cut out for the Academy she serves. I won’t take her life, but her dark intentions must be punished. I lash out with my free hand to restrain her, flip open my hidden switchblade, and cut a deep gash across her sword hand.
“Let that be a reminder of the pain your Order has caused,” I say, standing up again as she clutches her bleeding hand in shock. “I’ve shown you mercy today, Sith. If I come across you again, I will not be so kind.” I turn on my heel, leaving the girl to do as she will.
If I know the Sith – and I do – they will finish the job for me.
* * *
It takes several minutes for me to notice I’m bleeding.
The cut is on my wrist, and not terribly deep, though it is leaking red onto the sleeves of my robe. The burns surrounding it are not very serious either; the Sith probably just got lucky with one of his swings. I shouldn’t have let him touch me – the fact that I did bothers me more than the actual pain does. But it’s more important to get this bandaged up than sulk over my wounded pride.
And I know just the place to go.
* * *
“Damn it, Padme,” I complain under my breath as I finally hoist myself through her window, “why do you have to sleep on the second floor of this place?”
I don’t know if my noise has woken her up or not – I’ve made the climb to her room enough times to be fairly stealthy about it. Actually, I don’t even know if she’s in here or not, without the moon or streetlamps to help me see. Either way, I don’t want to bother her with my first aid, so I quietly push open the door to her bathroom and root around for the medicine cabinet inside.
The last week has been one of the worst of my life. After the Sith attacked, I had to deal with the Jedi Council, relocating our base, protecting the refugees – I’ve had no time to tell Padme anything of what’s happened. My near expulsion. My rebellion. The Sith bounty on my head. Coming here was just too dangerous, and though I longed for her every night since the attack, I’ve had to keep her in the dark for her own safety.
“I’m sorry, my love,” I whisper, hoping that I can get myself patched up before she has a chance to come in and worry about me. “I couldn’t live with myself if I put you in harm’s way.”
