The Sith Empress
by AJ Marks
Part 30
Jessica strode through the ranks of her former army, or anyone who dared come near her. She was following her gut which was telling her she was needed close by. She wondered what she was doing helping the Jedi in this battle, but the answer came quickly to her mind. One part of her rationalized it was revenge for those trying to rebel against her, the second, she was doing this for one small Jedi. She had to know what happened to her.
Making her way into the compound she continued on where she had a feeling she was needed, and hoped her gut was right in the direction she went. Another lightsaber blocked her path, which she quickly dispatched, not caring who stood in her way.
Her current attacker was a former Sith, his red lightsaber crossed with hers. She moved quickly dispatching him before continuing on. She was in full Darth Rizon mode even as she moved further on. She noticed that several were now aware that not only was she on the battlefield, but they had lost their command ship. The ship she had programmed the command ship to plow into held the backup commander. It was satisfying to know she had taken out both easily.
She had easily sabotaged the ship, rigging it to plow into another ship. She didn’t care about the crews anymore, they were not loyal to her at all. She learned how Tyi had manipulated the others against her.
Those who dared to stand in her way appeared fearful, yet still challenged her. It was a testament to her failure, one she wanted to wipe away forever.
The next man who blocked her path quickly found himself on the ground from a quick slash as she continued on her way. She felt she was near where she wanted to be but could not explain it, only that she was pulled in a certain direction.
Turning the corner she looked around in the next room seeing that there had been a battle here, several people lying on the ground but one form caught her attention. Running across the room she crouched down feeling an unexpected pain from the sight in front of her as she saw the person she wanted to see.
With shaking hand she turned the body over to find the truth. Gaia had been struck in the chest as she fingers brushed the blonde’s cheek. She mentally noted that the skin was still warm to the touch even as he became aware of others entering the room.
“My lord,” a voice said causing her to look up to see a group of Sith warriors standing there looking confused. “There is no commander, and the remaining ships have either left or are engaged. What should we do?”
Raged filled her as she struck out not caring who was in her way. The soldiers in front of her were caught off guard as her raged crashed over her, completely unaware of what she was going, only the pain and emotion overwhelming her. She proved unstoppable to the group in front of her.
Too soon she had finished off the last of the group and was left standing in the middle of the room. The battle had done nothing to ease her emotions before moving back to the blonde’s side. Brushing her fingers across the lips she saw them part slightly. Hope flared through her body. Gaia was alive, but needed help now!
*****
Luke relaxed a bit, with the new information that the Republic fleet had arrived, and the way the enemy fleet fled after the destruction of two of their ships, the ground forces had become disorganized. They used that to counter attack and now fighting was only in a few areas.
He had felt the wash of almost pure Dark Side energy which surprised him. he hadn’t felt something like that in a long time as Kyle made his way over to where he was.
“I think we should be careful,” Luke suggested.
“Right, I haven’t felt such raw power in a long time,” Kyle stated.
“I haven’t since the Emperor was killed,” Luke said and even then he wasn’t sure as he never really knew how powerful the Emperor was, or how his own power might compare.
They approached the corridor which he had seen the dark-haired woman go only to see Master Fie-Tel walk up to them as well, wielding his own lightsaber.
“Things are winding down,” he said to Luke.
“Good,” Luke replied as they look on to see a figure making its way down the corridor and into the open.
All three were waiting for anything until Luke noticed that not only was it the woman he had seen earlier, but she was carrying someone. It took a few seconds until he realized she was carrying Gaia who appeared to have been injured.
The dark-haired woman continued forward without any worry approaching them.
“Where are your healers?” she asked, direct and in charge looking at all three of them.
“This way,” Fie-Tel said.
Luke watched warily as Fie-Tel led the woman off before turning back to Kyle.
“Any idea what just happened?” Kyle asked.
“No idea,” Luke said. “But I think I should follow and see what is going on.”
“I’ll go and check on the others, make sure the battle is really over, look for any pockets of resistance,” Kyle said.
“Good idea,” Luke said, knowing that they were cleaning out pockets of resistance for weeks after the last attack.
He watched Kyle head off before moving around and looking at the wounded, checking on a few others while slowly making his way to the med-lab. He felt nothing from the Force, which meant things had probably settled down a bit, even as he walked into the med lab, seeing the doctor, Fie-Tel and the mysterious woman. The doctor saw him and made his way over giving him a report of the injuries.
At last he came to Gaia, and he looked over at the patient and the dark-haired woman before looking aback at Luke.
“I’m afraid its not good news, she’s suffered severe trauma to her system. We’ve done all we can, but we’re still losing her. She just doesn’t have the energy to heal,” the doctor said.
Nonsense,” a new voice said causing everyone to look over to see a newcomer. Luke recognized the man as he had spoken to him earlier in the mysterious visit not long ago but had never gotten his name.
“I’m a doctor, I know my job sir,” the doctor said in a miffed voice.
“For a normal human, and perhaps even for Jedi, but she is more than that,” the man said looking around at the others in the room before his gaze came to rest on the dark-haired woman. “Ah, and there she is, her savior,” he said taking almost everyone by surprise.
Luke exchanged a glance with Fie-Tel who was as confused, but worried about Gaia as well. The man approached the woman and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.
“You want her to live?” he asked her, looking her in the eyes.
“Yes,” the woman said, looking at him and then back at Gaia.
“Then lie down with her, hold her, believe in her,” the man said.
The idea seemed obscure to everyone, but the woman hesitated as she looked down at the bed and then back at the man.
“She needs your help, do it and it will give her the best opportunity to heal,” he said to her.
Luke watched as the woman did as the man said but still seemed skeptical of why she was doing this.
“You two have a special bond, you know what I speak of. Doing this will trigger what is known as a healing sleep among us,” he said to her.
“And this will help her?” the woman asked/
“Yes, she is using all of her energy to remain alive, but its not enough to heal. The healing sleep combines your energy with hers,’ he said. “Trust me on this one.”
“All right, but if she dies so do you,” she said.
Luke noticed that the man seemed merely amused by the threat as she took off her cap and then carefully took hold of Gaia trying not to hurt her. It was an odd mix for Luke, seeing the gentle way she moved around before the man waved them to leave the room. Luke walked out watching as the doctor rounded on the stranger.
“Now, what is going on?” the doctor said.
“As I said, a healing sleep, its complicated,” he said back to him.
“Who are you?” Luke asked.
“My name is Trona, and those two woman have something special that I know about,” the said to them.
“Special?” Luke asked.
“Yes, it is something few have, fewer speak of it, and we hide what we are,” Trona said. “Their special bond will allow one to help the other heal if they are hurt, we call it a healing sleep.”
“And this helps?” the doctor asked.
“Yes, in this case, the Jedi, Gaia, requires more energy than her body can deliver to remain alive and heal. In this case the other woman can help provide the energy she needs to remain alive and heal,” he said to them. “They will be hungry and thirsty when they wake up.”
“You spoke with me earlier,” Luke said confronting him.
“Yes, I had to give you some information, but I cannot say more without endangering my people. We are oddities and at one time hunted for what we have,” the man replied.
“I understand,” Luke said as Kyle walked up to him.
“The compound is clear,” he said to Luke.
“Good, its been a long day and hopefully things will return to normal for a while,” Luke said.
“No kidding,’ Kyle said before looking towards the med lab. “So, any idea as to who our mysterious visitor is?”
“Nope, but I think we’ll find that part out later,” Luke replied. Things had been hectic for a while, and he hoped things might settle down.
*****
Gaia felt herself pulled into reality from a warm and comfortable place that she had been in. Even as she became aware of what was going on around her she felt the warm not leaving but continued to surround her. It felt wonderful to her and with some reluctance she opened her eyes recalling everything which had gone on. To her surprise she was on a bed in the med lab.
It took her a few seconds to realize there was a pair of arms holding onto her. She wasn’t sure what was going on but slightly turned to see a sight she was sure she’d never see again. There in front of her eyes was the Sith Lord, Rizon.
The same Sith Lord who had her captured, then tried to seduce her, and then helped free her. Somewhere along the way she realized she had fallen in love with her and wanted to know her better. Gaia realized this line of thinking was way too complex for having been shot and was now recovering.
“Its good to see you’re awake,” Rizon said as Gaia looked up into blue eyes.
“Am I dead? After all, you’re here,” Gaia finally asked.
“No,” Rizon replied, as Gaia felt teas come to her eyes. She felt the arms tighten around her in gentle comfort. “So, how are you feeling?”
Gaia took a moment to go over her condition and despite everything felt all right. She hurt where she had been shot, but that was to be expected and told Rizon so.
“I bet you’re hungry?”
“And thirsty,” Gaia replied realizing that she was hungry and thirsty as another thought came to her. “Did the academy fall?”
“No.”
“I think this all requires a long explanation,” Gaia finally said. “But first, what is your name?”
That caused a slight chuckle before the reply. “Its Jessica.”
“Jessica, sounds so much better,” Gaia replied.
“I think I better go inform the others you’re awake, and I’m sure your masters have a few questions for me,” Jessica said.
“Go easy on them, they are nice people,” Gaia said.
She watched Jessica smile a bit, before slipping out and rearranging the pillows so she’d be comfortable before heading out of the room. Gaia couldn’t wait for the explanation of what had happened, but wasn’t disappointed that Jessica had come back.
End part 30