Guardians of Light

Destiny

Lexa was seated in the captains chair, flicking over the console controls with experienced precision as she became accustomed to the stolen ship. It was only a small vessel, used by the Sith Lord and his accompanying force to infiltrate Kaan's ship. It had served its purpose on that mission and now it was at the Jedi's command,  advancing steadily against the backdrop of the galaxy with its new captain seated where the Sith had been calling orders not hours earlier.

"Are you going to stand there and stare at me the entire time, or come and be of some use?"

Braced against the doorway, Clarke pursed her lips at the biting comment, deliberating for a moment whether it was in her best interest to aid the woman at all. She had hoped to merely observe, to witness what change had overcome the Jedi in hopes of reversing the almost unrecognisable transformation that had taken place. 

She reluctantly abandoned her observations and settled into the second chair, casting a doubtful eye over the unfamiliar controls. Clarke had piloted many a ship before but she was far from an expert. 

"Where are we going?" she inquired, noting how the Jedi fluidly entered coordinates into the navigation computer. 

Lexa said nothing and concentrated on engaging the hyperdrive engines, eager to leave her brother's vessel and the memories it contained far behind. She could sense the other woman's unease as the silence lingered, despite her best efforts to mask its existence with a composed exterior, there was no fooling a Jedi.  

It went without saying that they were both working to their own ends, but neither had yet revealed their hand. 

"You can fly this ship well enough without my help," Clarke finally said, unable to bear the deafening silence between them any longer. The bleeping tones and roaring engine only served to heighten her concern about the rash decision to accompany the Jedi and she wondered whether this had been a mistake. 

"No, but I do require your help," the Jedi replied evenly, double checking the nav computer before completing the jump to hyperspace. She didn't elaborate further and Clarke's irritation grew at the vague comments. 

"With what?"

"Understanding why you're here."

The Jedi abandoned the controls for a moment and settled her dark gaze on the woman who was so clearly uncomfortable in her presence. Since their departure the smuggler had been uncharacteristically quiet, seeping with evident unease after only a short time aboard the ship. 

Clarke was almost relieved when the Jedi resumed her inspection of the controls, releasing a breath unconsciously once free from the piercing stare. Just being near the woman was difficult. The holocron had emitted an aura of darkness that unsettled even the most pure of heart, but the effect was amplified ten-fold from the Jedi. 

Even with her unskilled connection to the Force, Clarke was unable to ignore the tendrils of pure evil that curled from the woman, projected without conscious thought to bathe her in its dark shadow. It was beyond wrong. 

"You can hardly bear to be in the same room as me, let alone look me in the eye," the Jedi continued, adjusting a dial to her right with a quick movement.  "What do you hope to gain?"

"I told you, I want to understand."

"You don't want to understand and you never will. Not with your mind closed to the truth."

Clarke flexed her fingers minutely and clasped her arms in her lap, painfully aware of how tense her body was becoming with each second that passed. The sickening sensation in her stomach was from fading, quite the opposite, and there was no way the reaction was going by unnoticed.