Master Fay put her hand on Aubrie's head. "I am a Jedi Master. Do not think me so weak that I cannot deal with a Sith."
"Now go," she said.
Aubrie refused. She shook her head and drew her lightsaber intent on standing with her and fighting against the Sith Lord. Hoever Zule wrapped her arms around her and dragged her away. She pulled Aubrie down the corridor. Aubrie looked back and shouted to Zule to let her go and that they needed to go back.
Master Fay stood alone as the Sith walked toward her. He laughed as he came closer. "Perhaps if you had used them both as a distraction you could have scored a lethal hit upon me," he said.
"Perhaps that is your way Lord of the Sith," Master Fay said. "But it is not mine."
She unclipped her lightsaber and once she did her presence in the force exploded outward. It battled against the Sith's darkness making the air feel heavy between them as Dark and Light clashed in the corridor .
"Master Fay," he hissed, savoring the name. "The elusive sage. The Jedi who refused to sit at the Council's feet, yet clung to their feeble ideals. How I have longed to see your corpse laid out beneath my boots."
He stepped forward, slowly, his presence pressing down like a weight. "All your wandering. All your meditations. You thought it made you wise. You thought distance from the Order gave you clarity. But it only made you slower to see. You are arrogant. Blind. Like all the others."
His voice twisted, thick with venom. "You call it the will of the Force. I call it cowardice. You let the galaxy burn while you whispered riddles to farmers and children. The Jedi path... ha! A path of denial, weakness, and death."
Master Fay stood still, maintaining her composure even now. The flames from the explosion behind her cast light across her face, but she did not blink.
"You seem to have misunderstood," she said softly. "I have never followed the Jedi path. Perhaps they set me upon it, but it has long since become mine, and mine alone."
Sidious's expression curdled into a snarl, and with a snap-hiss, the crimson blade of his lightsaber sprang to life. Its glow painted his lower face in blood-red shadow.
"Then you will die on it."
Sidious swung his lightsaber in a wide overhead arc that forced Fay to leap back, her blue blade rising to meet the red one as she twisted her body sideways and redirected the momentum of his strike into the deck plating where it gouged a molten scar. He pressed forward immediately with a series of powerful downward chops each one delivered with both hands and enough strength to crumple durasteel if it were a simple vibroblade and Fay met each blow by stepping into his guard and angling her saber to turn his power aside sending the energy flowing past her into nearby consoles that sparked and exploded from the redirected force.
She countered with a quick thrust at his midsection but he batted it away with a contemptuous flick and unleashed a blast of Force lightning from his free hand the jagged blue energy crackling toward her and Fay crossed her saber in front of her to absorb it the lightning coiling around the blade and feeding back into his palm making his fingers twitch but he laughed through gritted teeth and poured more power into the attack until she staggered back a step her arms burning from the effort to hold the barrier.
"You fight like a coward, typical of all Jedi Masters," Sidious said as he cut off the lightning and lunged with a brutal stab that she sidestepped and turned into a sweep of his legs and vaulted, landing lightly behind him and slapped her saber against his shoulder the impact searing his cloak but he spun faster than she expected and brought his palm up into her ribs cracking bone and sending her skidding across the floor. "The Jedi way weakens you. So much power and you deny it, you could've been so much more but you fear the dark side."
Fay rolled to her feet and met his next charge by catching his descending saber with hers and using the clash to pivot and hurl him sideways into a bulkhead his body denting the metal but he rebounded instantly with a Force push that lifted her off the ground and slammed her into the opposite wall her vision blurring for a moment as pain lanced through her back. "I do not fear the dark side, I only fear the endless path that it sets you on," she replied calmly as she dropped into a crouch and sprang forward her saber weaving a tight pattern of deflections that turned his flurry of strikes back on him one bolt of his own redirected lightning glancing off his arm and scorching flesh. "Your chase for power consumes you, and it will take more and more of you as you travel down the path until there is nothing left."
"Let me show you what the path of power has given me," Sidious roared and channeled a massive Force wave that tore up the deck plating and ceiling between them sending jagged shards flying toward her and Fay extended one hand to redirect the debris turning the lethal projectiles back at him where he used his force lightning to annihilate them and closed the distance with a leap his saber coming down in a two-handed overhead smash that she blocked at the last second the impact driving her to one knee her arms quivering from the strain. "Power only consumes the weak and I will be the most powerfully Sith Lord to ever live," he snarled as he rained down more blows each one heavier than the last forcing her to roll aside and rise again her blade a blur as she parried and slipped away redirecting his fury into the walls that buckled under the force of his strikes. "You are one of the most powerful Jedi Masters in the order and yet you're this weak!!!"
Fay slipped under one of his wide swings and countered with a precise slash at his thigh that caused a gash but he kicked out with his other leg catching her in the chest and hurling her through a doorway into an adjacent corridor where a squad of clone troopers opened fire their blasters barking blue bolts that she deflected into the ceiling while Sidious strode through behind her laughing as he Force crushed one clone's helmets and hurled the trooper into his squadmates bowling them over. "See how your abilities fail you," he said as he blasted lightning at the clones who turned on him their shots missing in the confusion and Fay used the moment to circle back her saber redirecting a bolt from a clone into Sidious's path where it forced him to move aside giving her time to press him with a series of rapid stabs that he blocked with growing anger .
The clones recovered and fired at both of them bolts crisscrossing the hall and Sidious swept his arm to lift a trooper and use him as a shield the body absorbing shots before he tossed it aside and unleashed lightning that arced through three more clones vaporizing their armor in explosions that lit the corridor. Fay dodged a bolt meant for her and turned it back toward Sidious who absorbed it with his hand and countered by snaking a severed power conduit at her she sliced it in half and closed in again and redirected his saber strike. "Strength without wisdom destroys the wielder as it has destroyed you," she said as she parried his thrust and twisted to send him stumbling past her into a group of clones who fired wildly at him before he crushed them all with a gesture their bodies folding inward like crushed tin cans.
Sidious whirled back to her with a roar and Force leaped across the hall slamming into her with his shoulder that knocked her saber from her grip momentarily she caught it mid-air and blocked his downward chop the blades locking as they grappled their faces inches apart his breath hot against her skin. "Wisdom is the lie you tell yourselves to justify cowardice," he hissed as he broke the lock with a headbutt that split her lip and followed with a knee to her gut doubling her over before he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her his fingers digging in as she choked and clawed at his arm. "The Sith embrace truth. Power. Your code only serves to binds you in chains... through power I gain victory, through victory my chains are broken... the Force Shall Free Me."
Fay brought her saber up and severed his grip forcing him to drop her and she rolled away as he blasted lightning that scorched the floor where she had been she rose and met his charge by stepping aside and redirecting his momentum into a bulkhead that melted and cracked under the impact. They fought on through the corridor Sidious swinging massive arcs that she always turned aside, managing to counter his overwhelming power through sheer control and finesse.
"You fight in vain Master Fay... Let me show you the true power of the Dark Side...". He raised both hands and lifted a massive cargo crate from the floor. He hurled it at her with crushing speed. Fay twisted aside and the crate smashed into the wall behind her, metal crumpling like paper. She lunged forward with her saber, but he caught her in a Force grip and slammed her into the ceiling and laughed as he did so. Plating buckled around her body. He released her and she fell hard, ribs cracking on impact. Pain flared through her chest, but she rolled to her feet, blood dripping from her lip.
"You feel it now," Sidious said. "You feel the overwhelming power..."
He ripped the floor up in a wave of durasteel. Shards flew toward her like spears. She deflected some with her saber and pushed others aside, but one sliced her thigh, another her shoulder. She staggered, breath coming in gasps. He laughed and collapsed the hallway behind her. Walls folded inward, debris raining down. She leaped through a gap as the ceiling caved, landing in the next section.
Fay stood, saber raised, but he sent her flying through a bulkhead. She crashed into a control room, consoles exploding around her. Sparks burned her arms. She rose again, coughing blood. He followed, tearing the walls apart as he came. He lifted her with the Force and threw her through another ceiling. She hit the level above, bones jarring. He appeared above her, lightning crackling from his fingers. Bolts struck her saber. She held it up, arms shaking, redirecting some back at him. He absorbed them and laughed.
"Weak," he said. "You cling to your ways like a fool, but I can feel your fear... your anger... your regret?"
He ripped a support beam free and swung it like a club. She blocked with her own force, the impact driving her to her knees. He slammed a force pus into her in the chest. She flew back, crashing through a railing. She landed on the lower deck, vision blurring. He jumped down and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her. His fingers dug in. She choked, saber falling from her grip.
"Yes... I can sense your regret, but for what..." he said.
She pushed against his grip with the Force, breaking free. She rolled away, grabbing her saber. He hurled lightning. She caught it on the blade, redirecting it into a control panel. Explosions erupted around them. She stood, blood streaming from wounds and burns covering her body, but she was still breathing. She raised her saber.
Sidious grinned. "Tell me what is it that the Great Master Fay finds herself regretting before her end... I sense great pain in you... I sense..." Sidious laughed maliciously. "I see... to think the legendary wandering Jedi would feel such things... it is truly a shame yo not let you explore those emotions."
He tore the deck apart beneath her. She leaped as it gave way, landing on a platform. He followed, saber raised. She met him, blade to blade. He overpowered her immediately, driving her back. She redirected his strikes, turning his power against the walls. Explosions caused them to collapsse around them. She slipped through the them, surviving each blow. He hurled more debris which she pushed it aside, but in the end he sent her flying again. She crashed through a wall and struggled to rise once more.
"You cannot win," he said.
Fay stood, a serene smile on her face. "That is the difference between us Sith, I do not need to win, and I am not afraid of losing, but until I fall I shall still fight with all I have."
...
Aubrie struggled against Zule's grip, her feet dragging as she twisted to look back down the corridor where Master Fay stood alone. "Let me go! We cannot leave her like that. She needs us!"
Zule pulled her harder, her cybernetic hand clamped around Aubrie's wrist like a vice, her other arm looping around Aubrie's waist to keep her moving. "We cannot go back. We will just get in her way and get her killed. She would have to protect us instead of fighting. You heard her. Go."
Aubrie hated the words even as they sank in. She hated the fact she had to leave Master Fay behind, the Jedi who had guided her through so many doubts, who had shared quiet lessons on compassion amid the war's horrors. Fay's face flashed in her mind, the way she had placed her hand on Aubrie's head and spoken with such certainty. Aubrie did not know what else to do. The station shook again, distant explosions rumbling through the deck, and Zule's pull kept her forward. They ran together, Aubrie's free hand clutching her lightsaber hilt, her breaths coming in short gasps as guilt clawed at her chest. "She is going to die because of us. Because we ran."
Zule did not loosen her hold. "She won't die, she can hold him off until we come up with a real plan, we will go back for her!" She said resolutely.
They reached the hangar bay, the doors hissing open to reveal the Vengeance sitting silent amid the chaos, repair droids frozen in place, engineers nowhere in sight. Aubrie's eyes scanned the ramp, hoping to see Scout waiting. "Scout! Are you here?!" She shouted, but there was no answer, the ship was empty.
An alarm pierced the air then, a piercing wail that overrode all other sounds, the overhead speakers crackling to life.
"Attention all personnel: evacuate the station immediately. Gravitational containment failure imminent. Twenty minutes until star collision."
"Repeat: evacuate immediately. Proceed to nearest escape pods."
Aubrie's eyes widened, her heart slamming against her ribs as the words sank in. The station crashing into the sun. Master Fay back there, facing that monster alone, and now this. Zule's face hardened, her grip tightening. "We have to find them. Maybe we can get the scanners on the ship working."
They rushed to the ship, Aubrie stumbling over a fallen tool as she boarded, Zule pulling her up the ramp. The hangar felt too quiet, the absence of the repair crews a hollow scent that made Aubrie's stomach turn. As she walked to the ship she spotted the scattered remains of SD8—twisted metal limbs and sparking circuits strewn across the deck like broken bones. Her breath caught, a sharp pain blooming in her chest as she knelt beside the droid's core, the photoreceptor shattered but the data port intact. "SD8," she whispered, her fingers trembling as she pried open the panel and lifted the core free. "I'm sorry. I promise we will fix you."
Zule placed a hand on her shoulder. "Aubrie..."
"Aubrie! Zule!"
The voice echoed from the bay. Aubrie's head snapped up, hope flooding her as she and Zule rushed back to the ramp. Scout and Vaylin burst through a side door, Scout waving frantically while Vaylin covered their rear.
"Scout!" Aubrie called, relief crashing over her as she jumped down, Zule right behind. They met in the open space between crates, Aubrie pulling Scout into a quick hug before stepping back. "You are okay. Where have you been?"
Scout panted, her face flushed. "Long story. We need to get out of here the station is falling apart! Wait where is Master Fay?"
Zule nodded at Vaylin. "Good to see you both. But we have bigger problems. Master Fay is in trouble."
Aubrie jumped in, her words tumbling out in a rush. "A powerful Sith Lord attacked. He destroyed SD8 and slaughtered everyone in the bay. Master Fay stayed behind to fight him. We tried to trap him in a cargo bay and jettison it into the sun, but he stopped it and came after us. We have to go back. We have to help her."
Vaylin interrupted, her voice firm. "We need to get out of here. The station is on a collision course with the sun. Twenty minutes. We cannot fight him and survive."
Scout crossed her arms. "We are not leaving her. Not after everything she has done for us."
Aubrie nodded fiercely. "She is out there alone... we need to help her."
Zule gripped her saber hilt. "Agreed. We find a way to pull her out."
Vaylin shook her head. "You do not understand. He will kill you all. We run now or we die with her."
Aubrie ignored the comment and turned to Scout. "Can you get the ship running? I tried to before, but there is something stopping the ship from starting."
Scout nodded. "Yes, those would be the magnetic clamps, but don't worry the warp drive is an unregistered power source. I can use it to jump-start the engines. It should override them."
Aubrie gave a small smile. "Good. Get the ship running."
Scout frowned and stepped closer to Aubrie. "Wait... what are you gonna do?"
Aubrie hesitated, then squared her shoulders. "I'm going back. I have to get Master Fay out of there. I don't know how yet... I'll find an opening, draw his attention. We pull her out, then we fly out of here."
"You're not going alone," Scout said, almost instantly. "That's crazy."
Zule moved beside her, expression tight. "That's not a plan. That's walking into your death, the exact thing Master Fay wanted to prevent."
"But three of us could help, maybe if we worked together?" Scout offered. "If we hit him from different sides, we might have a shot. Just rush him, throw everything we've got."
Zule nodded. "Overwhelm him. Get Fay and run, maybe that could work."
Aubrie shook her head. "It won't work. He's too strong. You saw what he did to SD8 and those engineers and to me. He didn't even slow down. If we charge in, he'll take us apart before we get near her."
Scout looked frustrated. "Then what do we do?"
"No," Aubrie said. "But we need to be smarter. We can't fight him straight on... we'll lose for sure. We need something else. Something that gives us an edge."
Scout paced a few steps, then turned. "The station's falling apart. Maybe we use that? Reroute energy somewhere and blow a conduit in his face."
Zule raised an eyebrow. "And blow Master Fay up with it?"
"Okay maybe not a good idea," Scout muttered.
Zule crossed her arms. "Or we split up. One distracts him, the other two grab Master Fay and get her out."
Aubrie's head snapped toward her. "No way. We split up and the bait is the one who'll die. He'll pick them off like it's nothing."
Scout chewed her lip, thinking. "Okay, then what? We need something. Anything."
Vaylin stood there, her arms crossed, listening as the guilt built inside her. It started as a small knot in her stomach when Aubrie mentioned the Sith, growing larger with each word they spoke. The man who created her, who twisted her into a weapon, now hunted her friends because of her. She watched them argue, their faces set with determination, and the guilt swelled until it pressed against her ribs, making it hard to breathe. They did not know the full truth, the darkness she carried, and they planned to risk everything because of her presence. The knot tightened, her hands clenching at her sides as memories flashed: Teth, the merging, the power she unleashed. She could not let them die for her mistakes.
"Enough," Vaylin said, silencing them all. Her voice cut through the debate like a blade. "I will not let you enact any of those foolish or suicidal plans."
All of them looked at her with confusion, though Scout a little less so, her eyes narrowing as if piecing something together. She hesitated for a moment before she met their gazes. "I am the reason he is here.... So I will deal with him."
Aubrie's face mixed concern and confusion. "What do you mean?"
Zule stepped forward. "Explain."
Vaylin took a breath. "He is here because when I used to be Darth Tenebra, he was my master." She unveiled the truth that she had tried to keep hidden... one she was sure that even Jaden did not know or at the very least only suspected.
The words hung in the air, shock rippling through them. Aubrie's hand went to her mouth, eyes widening as the pieces fell into place. Zule's face hardened, a flash of anger crossing her features. Scout stared, her earlier suspicions confirmed, but a hint of betrayal stung her eyes.
"He has come after me because he is worried I will unlock my full memories which will include who he is," Vaylin continued.
"You know who he is?" Scout asked.
"No," Vaylin replied. "But he created me. So it is likely I know many secrets he has hidden inside my mind with his vile alchemy."
"I will fight him and distract him," Vaylin said. "He should come after me and leave Master Fay alone. That will give you time to get away."
"No," Aubrie said, interrupting her before she could finish. "We are not doing that."
This confused Vaylin. "What do you mean it's the perfect plan?"
Zule nodded. "She is right. We are not."
Scout put a hand on Vaylin's shoulder, her touch gentle but insistent. "Even if you have hidden stuff from us, Vaylin, you are still part of the crew. We are not going to sacrifice you. Not for Fay, not for anyone."
Aubrie and Zule agreed, their voices overlapping in solidarity. "We find another way," Aubrie said.
"Together. No one gets left behind."
They started talking again as they tried to come up with an idea to deal with the Sith. Scout suggested rigging a power surge m to create an electrical burst in the corridor, stunning the Sith long enough for a rescue. Zule countered with using the station's failing gravity fields to disorient him, pulling him into a zero-g section where they could maneuver better. Aubrie built on that, proposing they collapse a bulkhead to separate him from Fay, then extract her through a maintenance tunnel. They debated details—timing the surge with the gravitational failure, positioning for the collapse, signals to coordinate without comms. Vaylin listened, the guilt easing as she realized they saw her not as a threat, but as a friend.
Vaylin stood there with a smile on her face as she looked at her friends. Yes, friends. The word settled in her chest like a warm ember, chasing away the cold doubt she felt before. They chose her, even knowing the darkness she carried. Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them back.
"Thank you," Vaylin said, her voice thick. "All of you. For that."
The moment hung, but Vaylin's resolve hardened. They did not have time for a perfect plan. The alarms blared evacuation countdowns, the station groaning under failing systems. She raised her hands, lightning crackling from her fingertips and struck Aubrie and Zule, stunning them into unconsciousness. They slumped to the deck, eyes closing as the energy coursed through them.
Scout jumped back, shock widening her eyes. "Vaylin! What did you do? Why?"
Vaylin lowered her hands, the lightning fading. "We do not have time to come up with a perfect plan. You need to get these two on the ship and get the ship running. We do not have time to argue."
Scout looked sad as she realized what Vaylin meant to do. Her shoulders sagged, the weight of it hitting her. "You are going after him."
Vaylin nodded. "Yes. I will draw him away from Fay. Buy her time to escape. It is the only way."
Scout breathed heavily as she composed herself. She knelt by Aubrie and Zule, checking their pulses, relief flooding her when she felt steady beats. "You cannot do this. We can figure something out."
Vaylin shook her head. "The station has minutes left. Fay needs that time. I will give it to her."
Scout stood, tears glistening in her eyes. "But..."
Vaylin stepped closer. "I need you to tell Jaden something important."
Scout nodded, leaning in as Vaylin whispered into her ear. Vaylin stepped back and took Aubries lightsaber from her belt, clipping them to her own. "I will see you soon."
With that, she turned and ran from the bay, her cloak billowing as she vanished into the corridor, leaving Scout alone with the stunned pair and a ticking clock
Vaylin left the bay and rushed through the corridors. She unleashed her presence in the Force, letting it bloom outward like a storm cloud breaking open. The darkness within her surged, filling the passages with her signature, a beacon that screamed her location to anyone who could sense it. She had no trouble finding her old master. His malevolence pulled at her like a chain, guiding her steps as she turned corners and leaped over debris. She ran faster, her jacket snapping behind her.
(AN: So Vaylin has decided to sacrifice herself for her friends. I guess that confirms that even with her Sith self merged she still cares greatly for them. Anyway hope you enjoyed.)
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