Ascension - Jedi: Fallen Order (Fanfic)

Chapter 13: Stranded

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, running a couple fingers over the healing burn on my cheek. The skin was black, charred, and red with irritation. The injury wasn't as painful as I'd expected, then again, I had felt worse pain. The torture, the isolation, the acknowledgement that there was no going back to the same old me. These were permanent, and I was sure that I would get many more. It was my life now, and I welcomed it. I'd been on my own for so long, that it was engrained in me that it was the only way I could live, and now it would continue that way. 

My home base was in Nur. I stayed there doing other tasks when I wasn't hunting down Jedi, or force-sensitives. Despite what most said, we had a multitude of other tasks.

A transmitter beeped on my bedside table. 

'Twelfth Sister, the rebel ship The Mantis was spotted flying through a core sector of the galaxy. Lord Vader's orders to go after him are immediate.'

Cal. It had been a couple months since our encounter on Abregado-Rae. Him and his friends must have finally found their way off the planet. Walking over, I picked up the transmitter.

"That's good news. I'll be heading off alone, I don't need soldiers to get in my way."

'Are you sure?'

"Yes. I'm sure."

'Copy that.'

I threw the transmitter down and picked up a thin, metal metal mask that covered the lower half of my face, partially concealing the scar that marred my skin. I didn't want to fail my given mission and end up getting killed. I wasn't weak, not anymore. I couldn't be a disappointment again. My old master, Jaro Tapal, would be dissatisfied with me and the way I turned out; but he was long gone.

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Using a small, stealthy, and maneuverable ship with firepower, I hopped across a sector or two to the last location I had been given of the Mantis's whereabouts. Dropping out of lightspeed, nearly on top of the coordinates, I glanced at my scanner, finding my target who was steadily moving toward a lush looking planet that was covered in large amounts of water. From the name on the scanner, the planet was called Ralltiir. I'd never heard of it before, having not travelled to most of the Core worlds in the galaxy before. I had lived on the Outer Rim nearly all my life. 

Setting my guns up to shoot, I picked up speed. The Mantis, who had probably seen an Empiric ship appear on their scanners, gunned it down toward Ralltiir, trying to evade me as I chased after them into the planet's atmosphere. With how mobile the enemy ship was, it was beginning to become difficult to navigate through the greenery with such a big ship. The mantis was slim and maneuverable. 

"Come on, Greez. You're good, but not that good." I mumbled, chuckling as I swung my ship up and then down to try and get better aim from above. One of my shots brushed the long fin that swiveled around the ship. The mantis took a sharp left , flying along the coastal cliffs, it was a bit of a risky move on his part, being out in the open meaning more opportunity for me. 

A beeping noise made me glance at my scanner, and I could see three red dots closing in from behind, I glance behind me through the narrow window to my left, I could spot  the X-Wing starfighters. Maybe I'd been a bit to cocky to come alone. No. I could do this. Slowing down my speed on purpose, I waited for them to get close, and then slammed on the breaks. The starfighters flew past me, and I gunned it, opening fire on one after another as I chased and shot them from the sky. With all three gone, I turned back toward the Mantis, who had tried to escape during the chaos. 

Picking up the speed, i began to raise my ship up over the trees as I turned back toward the mainland, traveling inland after them. As I chased them, the space between us was getting shorter. A few warning beeps caught my attention, but the warnings were to late, as new starfighter positions had not shown up immediately on my scanners this time, and I realized communications had been compromised. They'd gotten me on that. Damn it. Something hit my ships hull, causing the vessel to shake, and the controls to spark and malfunction. As I tried to turn away, something else hit my right engine, which cause the ship to spin downward rather violently. There was nothing I could do except to hold on to the consul, until my ship touched down, sliding and flipping along the grassy terrain in an open field coming to a stop shortly thereafter.

I jerked awake at the sound of X-Wings landing near my ship, finding myself hanging upside down in my seat. Unbuckling myself, I hit the metal ceiling with a bang.

"What was that?"

"Whoever it is, they're still alive in there. Keep your guard up, it down three of our guys with no problem."

Rolling onto my hands and a knee, I pulled my light saber from off my belt, taking off my mask to spit blood from my mouth before placing it back on my face. The red light lit up the interior of the ship as I carved a door for me to get out on the bottom of the ship. Using the force, the man-made door shot up into the sky, allowing me to float up, and jump down into the tall grass. 

"It's an inquisitor!"

Using my saber, I deflected the shots at me, using the pull of the force to bring them to me to kill, or shove them away and knock them out. As I did finished deal with them, my ship exploded, and I was knocked away from the blast, looking up at the sky as my vision faded, to see the Mantis, and a couple more X-wings descend to my location.

___________

The cell I sat in was freezing. Three walls, the ceiling and the floor were constructed  of pure Phrik, an indestructible metal that even I couldn't force my way out of. The front of the cell was barred with Phrik. Having already looked around to what I could see, it was nothing but a dark cave-like hallway. I was curious as to why they would put so much trust into a material, but when a certain red-head appeared in front of me, I knew why. 

"Cal Kestis... you're becoming quite the nuisance. I'm getting rather tired of chasing you around the Galaxy" -I smiled behind my mask, getting up onto my feet- "Although, it seems we're now at an impasse. I'm in here, and you're out there."

Cal's face remained calm. "You're ship and transmitters were all destroyed. The Empire doesn't know where you are Y/n."

 Walking up to the bars, I leaned on them, resting my forehead against my arm. A small sneer appeared on my face. "So what's the plan? Are you going to keep me in here until I grow old? I might find a way out long before that." 

He also stepped forward, inches between us now. "Cere had a padawan who turned to dark side. She was unable to save her. I won't let that happen to you. You still have a choice, Y/n. You have the choice to do good, to be good. I want to help you."

I dropped my arm, glaring at him. "It's too late for that. I'm a killer. I made the choice to be this way because I couldn't resist the dark side. After I left you on that pathetic little safe haven, I got captured, and my friend watched me get tortured and turned into an Inquisitor, before they killed him. Just as I was alone as a Jedi hiding from the world, I am something better, still alone, but I don't have to worry about anyone but myself."

"Being alone and in hiding is not a way for a Jedi to live. I'm sorry for how long you were alone, and because of that..." His voice faded as he looked at me, then my cell. "Please try to understand that I want to help you. I know you're not a bad person, Y/n."

A ping of sadness hit me in the chest, I swallowed hard, my glare becoming more solid. I kicked the metal door, the ringing of the loud bang reverberating throughout the empty chamber. "GET OUT! I don't want to hear it. Get away from me, Cal."

Cal said nothing, and turned away, walking back the way he had come. I was left alone, his word's digging into my mind, and I hated it.