Chapter 7: An Unexpected Partnership

It was a little strange, fighting alongside a Sith warrior and her Twi’lek partner. Especially since the people they were fighting against were, until very recently, considered part of the same Sith Empire that their new allies currently represented. Nadia planted a kick to the chest of one of Malgus’s soldiers, sending him flying backward where he was quickly cut down by the double bladed purple lightsaber wielded by the Sith warrior. The two Twi’leks were taking down a small group of enemies as well, Kayora deflecting blaster bolts with ease while the other fired her dual pistols with pinpoint precision, dropping troopers one after another.

The Sith had introduced herself (begrudgingly) as Juri; she was an orange skinned Zabrak, with intricate facial tattoos, a ring of small horns around the crown of her head, and her hair consisted of three thin braids that ran from the top of her head down to her neck. Her blue-skinned Twi’lek friend was named Vette, and she was definitely the more talkative of the two. Both of them had the telltale scars on the back of their necks indicating they had once been fitted with a shock collar, which caused Nadia to feel a jolt of sadness at their past tribulations.

The last enemy fell, stumbling backward before crumpling into the snow, missing their left arm. Juri deactivated her lightsaber as her partner sauntered over to her, spinning her blasters in her hands. As soon as Vette reached Juri, the Zabrak grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in for a quick but passionate kiss. Okay, maybe more than just battle partners, Nadia thought to herself. Keeping her arm around Vette’s waist, Juri looked across the snow at the large metal structure that jutted out of the mountain it was built into.

“Stealth fighter supposedly landed in there,” she stated in her clipped Imperial accent.

Kayora nodded. “My intel agrees. Let us continue our push before they have any time for reinforcements.” With unanimous consensus, the group headed toward the front door of the base, a gaping maw of metal posing as a striking contrast to the clean white snow that surrounded it. The opposition was fairly minimal as they made their way across the open area, which wasn’t too surprising since they had moved beyond the most intense fighting. A pair of New Imperial paratroopers descended on jetpacks to their right; one was immediately shot out of the air by Vette, the other cut down as soon as he landed with a swift arc of Nadia’s lightsaber. It was a laughably futile effort, and Nadia wasn’t sure whether the paratroopers were incredibly loyal or incredibly stupid; either way, it felt like a terrible choice for the two of them to have decided to attack.

The interior of the base looked incredibly similar to the Republic outpost Nadia and Kayora had initially landed at. More than likely this used to be a Republic base, or maybe even both this base and the outpost were from some previous faction that had a presence on Ilum. Regardless, there was nothing particularly of note in regards to the design of the base; fairly sparse, various control consoles scattered about the room, a few fortifications for the interior defenders. At least it appeared the heaters were working, because there wasn’t a layer of ice over everything.

Their footsteps echoed on the high ceiling as they approached a small group of individuals, most likely hostile. The man at the center, a blue-skinned Chiss, raised his head as they got closer.

“These must be the upstarts that snuck through the outer defenses,” he said dismissively, crossing his massive forearms in front of his chest..

“More like tore through,” Vette snapped back.

“No matter, your progress ends here. We serve Lord Malgus and the New Empire, and your impertinence shall-” the commander’s rant was abruptly cut short as a purple lightsaber blade burst out of his chest. He opened and shut his mouth, then let out his last exhale as the blade disappeared again, retreating through the hole it had created. The commander toppled sideways, revealing Juri standing behind him, a grimace on her face. Nadia whipped her head to the side, where Juri had been just moments before. Vette grinned broadly.

“Juri’s able to bend the force around her to essentially make herself invisible,” she said matter-of-factly. “Comes in handy a lot of the time.”

Nadia could only stare in fascination as Juri cut down the two New Imperial officers who had been standing next to the commander, leaving only a final masked Sith, standing with his bright red blade at the ready.

“Surrender, and you will be treated fairly,” Kayora called to the Sith, whose head kept flicking back and forth between Juri and Kayora. Apparently deciding that Kayora would be the easier target, the Sith let out a war cry and sprinted toward her. Raising his lightsaber, the Sith brought it down on Kayora with a speed that could have only been achieved by channeling the Force into the swing. With an almost disinterested air, Kayora flicked her own blade up and to the side, deflecting the incoming attack into the metal plating underfoot. Another twist and she had brought her blade back up, cutting right through the waist of the Sith, who dropped to the ground and lay still.

“Don’t know why you bother,” Juri commented, stalking over to the security console against the wall.

“Everyone deserves a chance for peace,” Kayora responded calmly.

“Juri prefers her enemies in pieces, so almost the same,” Vette chirped as she checked the bodies for anything interesting.

“Does that mean you’d prefer us in pieces?” Nadia snapped, before quickly regaining control over her temper. “After all, we are considered enemies of the Empire.”

Letting out a huff of amusement, Juri tapped a couple of keys on the console. “My enemies and the enemies of the Empire are not always the same.”

Her curiosity piqued, Nadia cocked her head to the side. “Are you not serving the Empire though? Do you not seek to support their rule?” She felt a hand rest on her shoulder, and looked over to see her master smiling gently.

“Another time. This is no place for such conversations.”

Making a noise that Nadia assumed was agreement, Juri jammed her finger into another key. There was a bright chime, and the large doors to their left began to slide open, revealing what looked like a small hangar beyond. Without waiting for the others, Juri moved with purpose toward the newly unlocked destination. As the rest of them hurried to catch up, Vette chuckled. “You’ll get used to that.”

The next section of the base was indeed a hangar, though a fairly small one. Probably would only be able to fit a handful of fighters, maybe one larger transport. At the moment though, it only held a single ship, presumably the stealth ship that they were after. On the deck in front of the ship stood three figures: two Voss and another, who Nadia suspected to be a Sith, judging by their blood-red skin and facial features.

“I see that Commander Folex was not as effective as I was hoping,” the Sith mused, stroking his chin pensively. “There are still four of you, which I believe was the starting number that assaulted the base, was it not?” He spoke as if not expecting a response, obviously one who reveled in hearing his own voice. “Ah well, more for me. Once I strike you down and the Voss join Darth Malgus, we will finally be able to end this petty squabble between Empire and Republic.”

“Do the Voss truly plan to join Darth Malgus?” inquired Kayora, directing her question to the Voss woman who stood at the Sith’s side.

Nodding, she elaborated. “I have had a vision. Whoever the victor of this battle is I shall pledge my allegiance to.” She kept her hands tucked within her long flowing robes, obviously not planning on participating in the foreseen battle.

“And you do know how the Voss love their visions,” drawled the Sith. “And once I, Darth Severin, am the victor, the Voss will pledge their allegiance to me, and thus to Darth Malgus’s New Empire.” Suddenly Severin raised his hand, sending a shock of lightning toward nothing in particular. “Ah ah ah, none of that.” There was a sharp inhale, and Juri flickered into view at the edge of the lightning, obviously having been hit by a few of the bolts.

“Hey asshole, how about you don’t shock my girlfriend,” Vette yelled angrily, leveling both pistols at the Sith lord.

Severin laughed, though it was devoid of any humor. “Well then, in that case, I’ll just shock you instead!” Another bolt of lightning shot from his hands, but was intercepted by Nadia’s blade as she leapt in front of the blue-skinned Twi’lek, who immediately opened fire. There was a cacophony of conflicting noises as lightsabers were ignited, blasters were fired, and battle cries were let out. Nadia made sure to keep herself between Vette and Severin, at least until Kayora launched herself into the air, coming down on the Sith like an avalanche, her blade blurring as she rained a flurry of blows on her opponent. To his credit, Severin matched her, keeping Kayora at bay while he looked for an opening.

The third person that had been present in the hangar, another Voss, had stayed slightly back from the melee. Looking over, Nadia saw the Voss making intricate hand motions, muttering something under their breath. A burst of light emitted from their hands, enveloping Severin and seeming to give him a boost in power. A savage swing knocked Kayora off balance, though she was able to roll safely away from the follow up. 

Nadia prepared to engage the Voss, but Juri beat her to it. The Zabrak appeared seemingly out of nowhere, startling the mystic. They brought their hands up quickly, projecting a shield that was just enough to angle Juri’s lightsaber cross away from them. Their defense was short-lived though, as Juri tore a chunk of metal out of the floor with the Force and slammed it into the mystic’s torso. The sheer force of the impact sent the Voss sailing across the room before striking their head on the wing of the stealth fighter, snapping their neck with a nauseating crack.

With that enemy dealt with, Nadia turned back to their main opponent. Without the boost from the Voss, Severin was once again trading equal blows with Kayora, though it appeared he was losing ground. A blaster bolt from Vette caught him in the elbow, forcing him to pivot slightly to attempt to cut off Vette’s angle. This had the unfortunate side effect of giving him a weaker defense against Kayora’s strikes, and the next one struck hard. Though Severin managed to avoid any injury from it, he was sent staggering toward Nadia, who wasted no time in bringing her lightsaber down. Clashing blade to blade, Nadia drove her own saber down the length of Severin’s before it slipped down across the hilt, severing his fingers.

Crying out in pain, the Sith dropped to his knees, but to Nadia’s surprise, grabbed his lightsaber in his other hand and attempted to rise. Though it was a valiant effort, there really was no hope left for him, especially against all four of them. Just as he got to standing, Juri’s blade made a clean swipe down the center of his back, which Vette followed up with a volley of pistol shots to the chest. Falling back to his knees, Severin’s gaze attempted to seek out the remaining Voss mystic, who stood with her hands clasped, watching as she had the entire battle. With a final gasp, Darth Severin slumped down, lifeless.

As the four of them turned to face the mystic, she fell to her knees. “As the vision foretold, I declare my allegiance to the victors.” She looked up, eyes wet with tears. “I pray for my family that you will allow us to make up for this lapse in judgment.”

Kayora glanced at Juri, and after a wordless exchange, activated her communications device. “Republic command, this is Master T’ven. I have several prisoners in need of a pick-up. Treat them with care.” Immediately after Kayora got the confirmation from the officer on the other end, a call from Felix came though.

“Kayora, hope this means you got to the stealth ship?”

“That’s affirmative, Felix.”

“Good. You and the Sith with you need to get aboard that ship immediately. We’ve got word that Malgus is planning on a strike with his fleet, and that ship is the only way to get in. You’ve got to get in and take him down. I’ll give you more instructions on the way.” The comm went dead. Kayora turned to Nadia.

“I’m going to need you to finish up here while Juri and I confront Malgus.”

“Are you sure master?” Nadia questioned, concern lacing her voice. “We are stronger together.”

“That we are, but I need someone I trust to oversee the end of this battle. There will still be some who resist surrender, and you must ensure that those who do surrender are treated fairly. Besides, I will have Juri with me, and you have seen that she is a capable warrior.”

“Yes, but I’m not sure I trust her.” Nadia spared a look toward the subject, who was currently locked in an embrace with Vette, tongue down her throat. A pang of jealousy shot through Nadia, and she tore her eyes away.

“I think there is much more to Juri that we know,” Kayora said, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Knowing the discussion was over, Nadia gave Kayora a quick hug before she could overthink it. “Be safe.”

Kayora blinked, then gave Nadia a full smile. “I will.”

—

Cleaning up the rest of Malgus’s forces didn’t prove to be much trouble. After word got out that both Folex and Severin had been killed, a large swath of the enemy forces who were still fighting gave up on the spot. There were a handful of fanatics who fought to their dying breath, but the combined forces of the Republic and the Empire were able to put them down without many casualties.

Nadia spent a majority of the time chatting with Vette, who was actually a pretty fun person to talk to. They talked a little bit about their experiences traveling and debated on whether Kayora or Juri had the better ship. After helping a small contingent of troops clear out a bunker of New Imperial troops, Vette leaned against the wall of the bunker and fixed Nadia with a knowing look. 

“So … you’ve got it bad for your master, huh?”

Nadia’s eyes widened and she threw up her hands. “Goddess, does everybody know?”

Vette laughed brightly. “I’d like to think I’m more perceptive than everybody, so I think your secret crush is mostly safe. Obviously except for the other person who brought it up.” Vette winked as Nadia groaned. “You gonna do anything about it?”

“Besides fantasize when I’m by myself?” Immediately Nadia slapped a hand over her mouth, astonished that she’d let that slip out. Vette burst out into another bout of laughter.

“Fuck, you have got it so bad,” she said through her guffaws. Nadia’s face was the color of a Sith lightsaber as she covered it with her hands.

“I don’t know what to do,” she mumbled through her fingers. “I thought it might fade away the longer we worked together, but it hasn’t. If anything it’s gotten stronger.”

“If I were you, I’d ask her about it,” Vette suggested casually, as if that wasn’t the most terrifying option in the world. “She seems like the kind of person who would take it well even if she didn’t feel the same.”

“Yeah, and then I’d die of embarrassment,” Nadia retorted.

Vette appeared to contemplate her next words more deliberately than she usually did. Appearing to come to a decision, she looked back to Nadia, her expression much more serious. “Have you thought about the fact that there will be more instances like this?”

Confused, Nadia glanced around them, attempting to puzzle out what sort of instances Vette was referring to. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Times where she will have to do something on her own, or at least without you there.” Vette continued to stare at Nadia, with what she could now see was a trace of concern. “I heard how distressed you were when you were not able to join her in assaulting Darth Malgus. There will be many more times like that.”

“It’s not that I don’t think she’s capable,” Nadia started before Vette cut her off.

“Of course not. But you’re going to worry. No matter how bad ass your lover is, you’re going to worry terribly when they’re gone, and it won’t subside until they’re back.” A sad smile graced the Twi’lek’s face as she seemed to be thinking of a specific memory. “You’ll learn to live with it, and it may lessen, but it will never go away.”

A heavy silence fell between them as Nadia turned Vette’s words over in her mind. It was true, she already felt anxious any time she was not able to accompany Kayora on a mission. Which was silly, since Kayora was far more skilled than Nadia, but it didn’t stop the ball of anxiety that formed when she was potentially in danger.

“I don’t mean to dissuade you, and I still stand by my previous suggestion,” Vette said, almost completely back to her previous attitude. “I just wanted to make sure you had thought about that angle, before making your own decision.”

Nadia didn’t respond for a beat, letting her own internal ramblings calm down. “Thank you Vette. Truly.” She gave the other woman a sincere smile as Vette pushed herself off the wall.

“Come on, let’s go back to the forward outpost to wait. Hopefully they’ll be back soon, and you can get back to your unrequited pining.” Nadia smacked Vette on the arm as they headed back.

—

Nadia shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun that had decided to peek out from behind the clouds as she watched the stealth ship come in for a landing. The ship looked no worse for wear, which was a good sign, though they hadn’t heard much from the occupants besides the request to land. With a hiss, the landing gear extended and the ship touched down, hydraulics straining as it settled onto the landing pad. The ramp extended and the door slid open, revealing Kayora and Juri, both looking exhausted. Upon closer examination, Nadia was able to witness how brutal the battle must have been. There were several black marks across Kayora’s armor, and one hand was covered in dried blood. Juri had the beginning of a black eye and one of her shoulder pauldrons was completely missing. Definitely concerned at their state, Nadia took solace at the fact that both of them were up and moving on their own. Slowly making their way down the ramp, Juri made a beeline to Vette and Kayora’s eyes lit up when she saw Nadia standing there, waiting to greet her.

“Nadia, hi, I wasn’t sure whether you’d be here,” Kayora said, her exhaustion obvious even in her voice.

“Of course I’d be here! Gotta have somebody to be your welcoming party.” Against her better judgment, Nadia spared a glance over to their temporary allies. Vette was in Juri’s arms, legs wrapped around her waist, as they rested their foreheads against one another. Not as explicit as they might’ve been, thought Nadia. “Are you ready to get back to our ship, or is there anything else that you need to take care of first.”

“If they need something from me after I just defeated Darth Malgus on his space station that was in the middle of self-destructing, they can wait,” Kayora stated firmly. “I need to sleep for about a day.”

“I’ll make sure nobody disturbs you, master,” Nadia said with a smile. “Come on Kayora, let’s get out of here.”