Chapter 5
Urban cities glow amongst vast wetlands as bright flashes of red and green light up the space around the planet of Ord Radama. A young Anhiel can be seen exiting a shuttle, a squad of commandos following closely behind her. Explosions can be heard in the distance and the fog of war blankets the area. Fire, smoke, rubble as far as the eye can see. The Jedi Knight does her best to mask her concern as she speaks, directing the question to the soldier before her, “What is the current status of the advanced team?” He replies, “General, they are making progress but the fighting has been tough. There are more Sith force users than we expected.” She nods, “We will move to support them. Send word to Commander Dulci we will arrive shortly.” The soldier salutes and moves to his tasks.
The shuttle rocks occasionally as it moves, buffeted by explosions and stray laser fire. A call can be heard from the pilot, “We are approaching the advanced team’s position.” Anhiel sits quietly, her eyes closed as she begins to focus herself for the upcoming conflict. The commandos sit quietly as well, the only sounds being made are those of gear being checked and rechecked.
Heavy fighting ensues on the ground below. Blaster bolts and explosions flash all around, illuminating what remains of the buildings in the area. The clash of lightsabers can be heard nearby as two figures exchange blows. One is a large male human, clad in black robes and wielding a crimson red saber which he uses to batter his much smaller opponent with heavy blows. The other is a Miraluka woman, clad in dark robes, a black cloth with white lace covering her eyes. She back-peddles under her opponent’s assault, the golden blades of her saber staff whirling about her as she attempts to knock the blows away. Her step falters and the Sith takes advantage of the opportunity by thrusting his saber forward. It connects with the woman’s lower abdomen.
A cry of anguish snatches the attention of everyone aboard the shuttle as it settles on the ground. Anhiel kneels, having fallen out of her seat. She is bent over and clutching at her abdomen as a burning pain rips through her core. A medic rushes to her side, but his words are drowned out by the woman’s screams. He calls to the pilot, requesting they take off immediately to evacuate the General but the request dies in his throat as Anhiel grabs a fistfull of his uniform. She rises to her feet, a low feral growl is the only communication she offers. Her eyes, normally a piercing blue, now have vibrant yellow mixed in as she moves the medic to the side. The shuttle doors open and she bounds out, purple blades snapping to life as she does.
To find where she went, one need only follow the bodies of sith soldiers left in her wake. The memory is a blur as the Jedi rushes through the battlefield, only slowing once she reaches the body of the Miraluka woman. She is alive, but fading quickly. Her breathing is ragged and Anhiel can feel the pain of the woman through their bond despite having tried to close herself off to it. The Sith enemy stands a few meters away, pacing confidently as he lets out a laugh. “Good, I had sensed another Jedi and hoped keeping this one alive would bring me another victim.” The laugh continues until it stops abruptly as the man’s feet rise from the ground. He slams into the wall behind him as blue lighting courses across his body. Anhiel strides towards him, her right arm stretched out towards the man as bolts continue to fly from her hand. The storm is erratic, uncontrolled as it is fueled by a feral drive to punish the one responsible for her partner’s pain. Anhiel continues to stride towards him, coming into reach after a few steps, letting the lighting storm end. The Sith lashes out with his saber. The strike was sloppy and made out of desperation. She bats the red saber away before following with a quick downward slash, severing his hand. Yellow and blue eyes glare down at the defenseless man as a purple saber is very slowly pushed into his abdomen. Her intent is clear in her eyes, the pain her partner felt would be repaid many fold before the Sith was allowed to perish.
The memory flashes forward, Anhiel gazes down at the fallen Miraluka while she cradles the woman’s head. She exhales her final breath, her body becoming still. A tearing sensation rips through Anhiel’s chest as the Miraluka passes. The pain is much greater than what she felt on the shuttle, as if a piece of her very soul was ripped from deep within. Her cries shock those around her before she collapses, unconscious.
“Anhiel...Anhiel! Wake up! You are safe.” Her eyes snapped open to see Athin leaning over her, his hands placed on her shoulders as he attempted to wake her. Concern is apparent in his expression, “You were having some sort of fit. Don’t try and sit up yet. You took a pretty heavy beating in the crash. You should lie down until we make it back to your forces and someone takes a look at you.” He gently pushes Anhiel back onto the bed as he asks, “What were you dreaming about?” She complies, laying back as she becomes more aware of the pain radiating throughout her body. It takes a few moments for her to take in her surroundings before she replies. Her reply comes through gritted teeth as she tries to find a comfortable position, “Unwelcome memories. I assume this is your ship? What happened?” The reason for the change in subject was clear to both parties and Athin elected to take the hint but not before giving the woman a concerned look, “Yes, this is my ship. I sensed your rather rapid descent to the planet and decided to investigate. Whoever these invaders are, they are not looking to take prisoners. Your soldiers defended you admirably but I was too late to save them all.” His face now bears a slight shadow of regret as he thinks about the fallen soldier before he continues, “But I am glad I was able to save you. We are en route to your fleet. Your Captain says we should be there in a few hours.”
The wounded Master’s face looks puzzled, numbers running through her head. “The emergency rendezvous is at least 3 days from the Eriadu system. How can we be a few hours out? Unless….” Her voice trails off as she sighs. “How long have I been out?” Athin responds with a sheepish smile, “Long enough that I was past the point of worrying. But more precisely, about 60 standard hours. You have been restless for most of it but this last fit was excessive. I was worried you would move too much and injure yourself more before you were evaluated.” Frustration would be a gross understatement for what the Miraluka felt in the air. Whatever she was experiencing while unconscious was not pleasant and he knew her pride as a leader and soldier was damaged. Immediately retreating was not normally in her repertoire. Athin bows to Anhiel, acknowledging his presence would be a burden at the moment. “Please call if you need anything before we arrive, Master Anhiel.” He takes one more long look at her before stepping out of the room. Her aura is tumultuous and the empty chasm within her core seems even more prominent than during their last meeting.
The small ship exits hyperspace to find the task force sitting quietly in the void of space. A flight of fighters immediately pulls away from the group to intercept the new arrival. The Captain of Anhiel’s late shuttle transmits the necessary codes while opening a comm link. “We have the Admiral aboard and she is injured. Notify the medical frigate we are inbound and require immediate assistance.” The request is acknowledged as two fighters take positions on either flank of the ship, guiding it into the medical ship. Aboard the Shadow Redeemer, Rend leaps to his feet having felt the presence of his master followed by her condition. Specialist Veruna looks up quickly from her datapad as the Padawan rushes from the room. She calls out as she moves to follow, eventually catching up with him in the hangar. Sun rests a hand on Rend’s shoulder once he stops, “I just received word. It will take a few minutes to have a shuttle prepped, Rend. They just landed and it will take time for the assessments to be completed.” The Padawan nods, running a hand through his hair as Sun sees to having a ship prepared.
A few hours later, a voice tinted with irritation fills the moderately sized patient room “I am fine, Rend. It is just aches and pains. Nothing that impairs my ability to work.” Rend moves to speak again before a raised hand cuts him off, “Enough, Padawan. Bring the data that was gathered during the attack. I wish to review it.” The Padawan hesitates, frustration rising due to his master’s stubbornness until another voice catches his attention. Rend is shocked a moment as he appraises the Miraluka, having never met one in person before. Athin, having just stepped into the room, clears his throat before speaking with a measured tone “Master Anhiel, you were knocked unconscious for quite some time. It would be best if you allowed yourself a bit more time to recover.” He does not voice the rest of his concerns, not in the presence of others other than Anhiel. The long breath the Admiral let out was closer to a growl as she leaned her head back. “Very well. Rend, I will leave the review of the data to you and specialist Veruna. I expect to be briefed on your findings once I have…recovered.” Rend appears to want to speak again confused as to why she backed down but stops, seeing the unknown Miraluka bow lowly as if to send a hint to the Padawan, “Thank you Master Anhiel. Rest well. I will be nearby if you need me.” Rend bows quickly as Specialist Veruna snaps off a salute, each respectively stating, “Yes Master.” and “Yes Admiral”.
The trio exits the room, Athin the last to leave as he closes the door behind him. Rend turns to face him, hesitating a moment before speaking “Thank you master…” His voice trails off as he realizes he does not know the stranger’s name. Athin offers a light smile, “Athin, just Athin. And it is no problem. Master Anhiel has always been very strong willed, even as a Padawan and a Knight. How recent events unfolded is undoubtedly not sitting well with her.” Rend appraises Athin with an inquisitive look, “How do you know my master?” Athin leans his head back as if contemplating the question, “I spent some time living near the Enclave beginning around the time she ascended to Grandmaster of your enclave. We would often speak near the large planetary map about various things. Prior to that, we occasionally crossed paths for various reasons.” Rend nods slowly, now a puzzled look on his face as he pondered the words, speaking to himself internally “I have never known Master Anhiel to be big on regular conversations.” He follows up with another question, “How did you find her on Eriadu?” The Miraluka chuckled lightly, “That is a story she will have to tell you. I won’t dare to injure her pride any more than it already is. But you should not worry about her. She has been through tougher scrapes and I will remain here until she is recovered.” Rend bows slightly, still puzzled by Athin and his relationship to his master, before departing with Specialist Veruna.