Guardians of Light

Embracing Darkness

Clarke sat despondently in the bridge, sightlessly gazing out across the galaxy that lay before them. It was hypnotic and thought provoking all at once and it was near impossible to tear the eye away from its expanse. 

The crew had since filled her in on the events that had unfolded after she had fallen unconscious. Explaining how the holocron's contents had been poured into the Jedi's head; an all consuming force that had empowered the darkness dwelling in her very soul. 

On her frantic request the ship had been re-routed back to the Imperial vessel where she hoped to find the Jedi still present. It was no guarantee by any means, but she could not merely abandon the woman to whatever nightmare she had become embroiled in. They had been through too much together for that to ever be a possibility. 

The wound that Clarke had received in the midst of the encounter with Kaan was fully healed and hardly felt real. It was difficult to believe just how close to death she had come. If not for Lexa's intervention then she would surely be dead.

The blonde sighed lightly and momentarily allowed her eyes to drift shut, recalling her last conscious moments on the Imperial ship. She vividly remembered the Jedi's expression as the sabre had pierced her flesh, their eyes locked in shared torment for what felt like an eternity. 

Forgive me. 

The final words had drifted over Clarke before she had slipped into unconsciousness. Words that would haunt her for a long time to come. A light touch on her shoulder jolted her eyes open and she looked up to see Bellamy gazing out through the wide observation window, the tension evident in his expression. 

'We're here.'

Cal had insisted upon accompanying the two smugglers aboard the Imperial ship whilst the remaining crew stayed on their own vessel to prepare for a hasty departure if required. The trio gathered by the ship's exit, each silent and enveloped in their own personal thoughts. They each wore an earpiece for communication during their venture and NOVA's tone buzzed into life as they waited for departure. 

'I detect only one lifeforce aboard the enemy vessel.'

Dread clutched at Clarke's chest as she tried not to make assumptions about what they were walking into. They had one mission and that was to rescue Lexa, no matter what they had do. Within minutes they had docked onto the larger ship, an unavoidable tension heavy in the air as the door released and they stepped onto the Imperial vessel for the second time. 

There was no way of gradually easing themselves into the situation when the first sight greeting them was a broken body, lying abandoned by the far wall, bones angled in impossible directions as the small group looked on with horror. 

Bellamy soon recognised the criminal, more notably by his attire than by daring to look at the disfigured face. It was the same man that had been released from the force cage at his request and, although he deserved justice for the atrocities that he had committed over a lifetime, it was a cruel fate for anyone to suffer.  

'Let's keep going,' Clarke directed quietly, averting her eyes from the corpse and tried to ignore the doubt blooming in its wake. She had to believe that redemption was possible, otherwise this was all for nothing. 

They forged on ahead through the ship, following their earlier path towards the observation deck where the lifeforce was situated. As of yet Clarke had no idea what they were walking into let alone what she was going to do. The journey through the corridors passed with agonising slowness and did nothing to calm her nerves but she clung to memories of the woman who she had come to care for, willing herself to be strong in the face of this nightmare.