"Twinstar"
By: Elisia Melouet - Jedi Padawan
Dargus Kandran - Crimelord, Kandran Syndicate
Kace Mordin - Traveler, Jedi Master

Location: Drogen Shipyards and New Plouton
Date: Selene 25, 3 ABY

***

Elisia had recovered rather swiftly. She had worked hard. The only sign of her recent experience had been that she was a little more subdued then normal. She had worked hard and though she knew Kace wasn't pushing her, she pushed herself. She was sitting practicing her letters while Kace meditated. The vid buzzed. She looked at Kace; she never got calls, so it had to be for him.

Kace's eyes came open and he stood in one easy move. He crossed to the vidcom and tapped the button to answer.

"Kace? Are you there? I can't see you. Something's wrong with the video feed," Yelara said in a frantic whisper.

Kace frowned. "What's wrong, Yelara?"

"I-I don't know. Everything. Look, I just need you, Kace. I convinced Dargus to let me out for a while.I told him I wanted to go shopping. I-I can't go back to him, Kace, but he'll kill me. Look, can you.can you meet me on the surface? Fivlesh's bazaar in New Plouton," she said urgently.

Kace glanced back to where Elisia worked at her letters, then back to the screen. "I'll be right there," he said.

"Thank you, my love. You don't know how desperately I need you right now. I'll see you soon," Yelara replied before the transmission was terminated.

"How long will you be gone?" Elisia asked quietly from the table.

Kace disconnected the connection, his frown still in place. He glanced to Elisia again. A couple weeks ago, he would have had no problem dropping down to the planet without a second thought. Recent events had made Kace Mordin much more cautious. The voice was definitely Yelara, but the rest of it he wasn't sure of. He didn't trust any of it. It all smelled like a trap. Yelara was with Dargus again. And with Dargus meant pushing him as far away as possible. And, pushing away did not mean comforting.

"Grab your things," he said to Elisia. "We're going out."

"I am not going," she said quietly. She was not going with him to meet his girlfriend. "I have my letters to copy. I will leave the security locks on."

He moved close to her. "Please," he said. "The voice was Yelara's, but I don't trust that it was her. She's with Dargus, and she wouldn't want-- she wouldn't want me around. Please, I don't trust Dargus, and this is his station. I'm going to take the ship down. Please? I can't leave you here."

She looked up at him torn. "Then don't go," she said softly. "Don't go to her."

Kace watched Elisia. He nodded once and moved back to the vidcom. He tried to trace back to the origin of the call and found he couldn't. Kace sighed. I'm sorry, he thought. She spent all her time with Dargus, and expected him to drop everything and run to her. She sounded frightened. She said she needed someone to talk to. He looked back at Elisia. If she needs me that badly, she can find me. He brought up the directory listing for Commerce City and placed a call to Fivlesh bazaar and explained he was supposed to be meeting a woman there, and had them pass a message that he couldn't make it, but he would be on the shipyards.

He turned back to Elisia. "I'm not going."

Elisia smiled and nodded. She went back to her studies. She had finally won a round over the infamous Yelera. It made her feel good. About an hour later, the comm beeped again. Elisia was fixing them something to eat.

Kace turned from watching Elisia's dinner preparations and answered the vid.

"Kace, where are you? I'm afraid. I need you. Why aren't you here?" Yelara asked with a strange desperation in her voice.

"I'm not certain," Kace said. "There have been some strange things going on around here. Did you get my message? I left you one an hour ago with Fivlesh's."

"Uh.yes, I got it. But it's you I need, Kace. If Dargus finds out I snuck off the ship, he'll hunt me down and kill me. He's probably already got men tailing me!" Despite the fear conveyed in her voice, there was also an irritated edge to it. Noticing the edge herself, she paused a moment and continued calmly. "Why won't you come, Kace? Don't you love me?"

Kace smiled. "I thought Dargus let you out so you could shop," he said. "I'm sorry, Yelara, I can't leave the station right now. Do you think you could meet me here?"

There was a long, quiet pause on the other end, before Yelara spoke again in a frantic stammer. "What? He.he did let me out shopping.he. Look, Kace, I'm just so scared and confused. I need you. Please!"

"Oh just go get her," Elisia said with exasperation. "How long will it take to jump down and pick her up?" She slammed a dish into the sink.

Kace muted the microphone and turned back. "I will only go if you're with me," he said. "I won't risk having Dargus Kandran showing up here to drug you and rape you. I can't risk it. You can stay in the ship, stay in your room in the ship. But, I won't leave you alone."

"Fine! Whatever!" She turned off the food and went to get her cloak.

Kace swallowed hard. He reinstated the mic. "I'm on my way," he said. "Fivlesh bazaar."

"Oh, gods, thank you, Kace! Fivlesh Bazaar. I'll be waiting by the musician's stand. Please hurry. I'm not sure how long I have before Dargus' guards track me down." There was a contained excitement clearly present in her voice, but as quickly as it appeared it vanished when the transmission ended hastily.

Elisia came out of her room, clearly unhappy. "I am ready."

Kace grabbed both lightsabers and a pair of blasters. As he started toward the door, he pulled a cloak around his shoulders. As Elisia approached, he could feel her anger. He hated feeling like he was being torn in two. And, he hated seeing Elisia as upset as she was. "Let's go," he said his voice distant as he moved through the door.

Elisia followed him to the ship. She didn't have much to say. She helped him release the docking clamps and cycled the door to seal it while he fired up the ship. She went to the cockpit to watch. She liked watching him because she didn't know how to fly. The trip down to the planet was quick. The longest time was spent waiting for the shield clearance. The ship set down smoothly near the bazaar. She looked up at him, her eyes clearly showing she was not pleased at being dragged along.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't want Dargus to be able to get to you again. Not until you're stronger. I won't be long. And, if my suspicion is correct, I'll be back sooner than that. I know you're upset with me, but please don't leave the ship."

She nodded her agreement. She cycled the doors after he left the ship to secure them. She sat frowning. How would she react when she met his love? He had told Elisia he loved Yelera. Could she smile at her and be all nice? She didn't think so. She decided that maybe she would go to her room and lock it. Just as she was entering her room a banging on the side of the ship drew her attention.

Drovan had anticipated this reaction having watched the Jedi master for two days. He had arranged for a back up group to await the ship here. Once the ship had left the spaceyards, the men had been activated.

Elisia hit the commlink. "Who is it and what do you want?" She knew it wasn't Kace, he would have just unlocked the ramp.

"Hey, are you Elisia? Some men jumped this man from this ship. He was askin' for ya," the man said through the comm link. "You better come quickly, I think he's dying."

Elisia reached out with her senses, but she was still weakened and couldn't sense him. Her heart froze. "I will be right there." She got her saber and put it on her belt behind her back. She cycled the ship ramp and hurried down. "Where is he?" she asked as the ramp went back up.

"This way, ma'am," the man said and hurried off towards the bazaar. Elisia had a very very bad feeling. Kace couldn't die, that would... Where would that leave her? With Dargus? The man turned a corner. It was a narrow street and half way down he stopped at a door. "We carried him here, it's my sister's house."

Elisia proceeded him to the house and the door slammed shut. The man outside smiled and leaned against it. His job was done, now he just had to watch out to make sure they weren't followed. Then he would get his turn.

***

Kace stepped into the bazaar. His senses were heightened to their fullest and he could feel the dread in the air. He moved swiftly to the musician's area, knowing exactly what he would find. And, he was exactly right. No Yelara. He reached out his senses as he turned back to the ship. As he neared one of the food venders, movement in the pair of goggles he wore caught his attention. Kace broke into a run. He relayed an order to the drones to pursue, but it appeared that something was jamming the signal. The drones only relayed the video images. He growled in frustration and moved himself even faster. His body was a blur of motion; Jedi heightened speed, covering ground faster than most speeders. The ship was in front of him. Both lightsabers jumped into his hands, igniting into fiery blades. Dargus Kandran. The man would pay.

Kace shifted into hunter mode. His senses spidered out over the city, searching for Elisia. He would find her soon enough.

***

Five thugs appeared out of the shadows of the old beaten up warehouse that Elisia had just entered. "Hello, pretty girl, nice of you to join us," the leader said. One of the other thugs engaged a security lock on the door. Now no one could get in and no one could get out. Not even blasters would get through this door. All five thugs laughed at the girl.

"Now, boys, have at her! She's ours for the taking!" Five large men, all humanoid, made their way to take hold of the girl. One grabbed her left arm, another grabbed her right arm; they then flung her back against the wall and circled around her, smiling ravenously. The leader started to come near her and the men parted as they let him through. It was dark and the shadows concealed their numbers. Elisia was in trouble, or so it seemed.

Elisia's mind screeched in fear. She reached out with all her effort to send her thoughts to Kace. Help....Kace. Help. She pulled her vibrodagger and held it out shakily in front of her. She turned on the leader and swiped at him. Her speed surprising him, she slashed his shirt. Her sudden movements were followed by her best defense. "I wish you would leave me alone." She put all her will behind it.

"Sorry, little pretty, we're not weak minded. Your mind tricks won't work on us. We'll be having our fill of ya and then you can go on your merry little way. Put her on the floor boys," he replied and backhanded her for slicing at him and ruining his tunic.

The realization of what the meant to do first struck terror into her, the four others jumped her and wrestled her to the ground. Terror was replaced by a sudden cold rage. As the leader reached out and tore her shirt, she threw him back from her mentally. She twisted loose and came up with her lightsaber in hand.

Kace saw the man outside the house before the man saw him. Both lightsabers went back to his belt. This one was going to be messy. As Kace closed the distance in a heartbeat, the man only had time to gasp as Kace slammed him aside with Force-enhanced strength. Twenty meters away, the thug slapped against the pavement with a wet smack, and crumpled into a heap.

A quick look at the door told him it had a decent lock on it. He reached out with his mind and gripped the door at each of its edges and pulled. It groaned against the first tug, but the second sent it fluttering back across the street. He stepped into the darkened room that seemed light compared to the crackling aura surrounding him.

"Get away from her," he said, his voice cold as a Hoth moonrise.

Elisia used the interruption to go in swinging. Before the man beside her could even flinch, she cut him down. She didn't even hesitate to turn on the second. She could hear the leader behind her. "Kill him. If we don't do this, Gorda will never pay us. Hundred thousand credits bonus if you take him out." He however, turned his attention on the girl.

Two men broke off and pulled their blasters firing rapidly at Kace. The men were fast on their blasters, but not faster than Kace's lightsabers. He drew and ignited both before either man could pull the trigger. Time seemed to slow as the bolts streaked out to find their target. Instead, they only found two crimson blades that deflected them harmlessly away. Kace closed the distance, still deflecting the blaster fire. He slashed both blades simultaneously, cutting both men in half, their bodies toppling to the ground.

As one of the others rushed forward, vibroblade held high, Kace killed the blades and returned them to his belt. He squared himself against the charge, and when the man was within range, spun with his leg arcing high. He felt boot find bone. The body continued across the room, but the man's head bounced back against the wall where Kace had kicked it. He turned ready for the rest.

Elisia was faced off with the leader, her back to Kace. Her mind was totally focused, she was in a cold rage. She hated men. She hated all of them. Her eyes burned into the man in front of her. Seeing how quickly her companion had killed his men, the man threw down his weapon. "I surrender. I surrender!" Elisia continued to advance on him slowly. The leader was backing up as she moved forward, the look on the girl's face did not bode well.

With blinding speed, Kace was standing behind the leader, the hilt of his lightsaber pressed into the man's back. "Where you going," he said. "I think you're about to die. Why don't you tell us who you're really working for before you go though." Kace leaned close to the man's ear. "I'll know if you lie, scum. Did you know I was trained by a Sith Lord? Do you know how many methods the Sith devised for torturing information out of a man. Who are you working for?"

"His name is Gorda. One of his men hired us to defile Dargus' future bride," he said in terror.

Elisia wasn't looking at Kace, she had eyes only for this man. Her shirt was ripped and her eyes were wild. "You should have told him no," she said with a deadly tone. Her saber was now inches away from him face. She was breathing hard and all she could feel was cold hate.

Kace smiled. "Wrong answer," he said. "I hope your affairs are in order because you're about to die. At least the good thing is the universe will be filled with one less scum." Kace moved away but erected a wall of Force behind the man so he could move back no further.

The man's eyes were wide with terror. The little thing in front of him suddenly didn't seem so little. "I am sorry, mistress. Please don't kill me." The man dropped to his knees begging for his life. She stared at him. She felt no pity, no remorse. He was going to rape her. He was going to do it for money. He was going to do it for a man she had never even met. Her rage boiled higher as her eyes locked with his. The man began to choke and his hands went to his throat. All she could do was stare at him. He suddenly had a different face and her rage flew even higher.

Kace watched as he saw the tendrils of Force from Elisia wrap themselves around the thug's throat. He looked at the girl and at the man. Darkness enveloped her. The sudden realization that he could lose her to the darkness hit him. "Elisia," he said, both with his mind and voice. "Not like this. Not with this darkness."

It appeared she wasn't listening to him. For the longest moment she did not move, man and girl locked in visual embrace. Then suddenly she thrust forward with her saber. She pulled it free and shut it off as she turned on her heel and headed for the door.

Kace followed. "Elisia," he called, moving quickly to catch up. "Elisia!"

"I see you are not near death's door," she said coolly. She had to get out of the warehouse. She did not slow until she was out in the sunshine again.

"Death's door?" He didn't hide his confusion. "I never was. I never have been. I was on my way back from the bazaar when I saw the men at the ship. I got to you as fast as I could. They told you I was hurt to lure you out?"

"Yes!" she said. "I was worried, they said you asked for me." Her words held no emotion. She looked up at him, the child in her eyes - gone.

Kace clamped down on his rage. "I was never in any danger. This was all a trick so they could get to you." Inside his mind, Kace berated himself for his foolishness, for swaying from his plan. "They wanted me out of the way to get you." "Well, they got me," she said coldly. "I take it that Yelera was not in the market?"

He shook his head. "No, she wasn't. I imagine she's still in Dargus' ship, in Dargus' bed." He shrugged. He realized his feelings toward Yelara held a bitterness he had not noticed before. To her, he felt like he was a convenience. He glanced down at Elisia. "I am sorry for all of this. I know that won't make any of it better, but I want you to know I am. I think we should return to the station soon. I don't want to be around these people right now."

They returned to the ship. Each lost in their thoughts. Each was facing their own demons. There would be time to talk later.

---

"Aftermath"
Kace Mordin - Grey Jedi
Elisia Melouet - Padawan

Location: Drogen Shipyards
Date: Selene 25, 3 ABY

***

The flight back to the ship and subsequent walk back to the apartment was completed in near silence. There was a hard edge to Kace that wasn't there before. He could feel it. The adrenaline rush did not touch him. The rush from things much darker lingered, but only served to throw him further into his brooding. Leaving the planet was necessary. Staying much longer would have forced him into doing things he would surely regret later.

As they neared the apartment, one of Dargus' goon squad was coming from the other direction. Kace looked up and caught the man in his gaze. The guard stopped in his tracks and quickly stepped back. Kace could see the fear in his face, could feel it emanating him in palpable waves. If the man had possessed a tail, it would have been tucked neatly between his legs.

Kace sent the man a silent command. "Leave."

The guard turned and fled back the way from which he had come.

Kace tapped the sequence that would open their apartment. The door slid wide and they stepped inside. Kace pulled his cloak off and tossed it aside. He left his lightsabers where they were on his belt as he grabbed one of the bottles of water from the refrigeration unit. He drained it quickly and returned to the main room.

In the center of everything, the vidcom sat, taunting him. The anger inside him turned to ice. He stepped close, lightsaber coming into his hand and igniting. He struck once, straight through the unit, sending a shower of sparks into the air. He returned the hilt to his belt and dropped onto one of the couches.

Elisia did not even flinch. "Who is Gorda?" she asked quietly. For the first time in her life, she wanted to hunt someone down and extract such a painful vengeance. The shock of killing someone was beginning to hit and she didn't want to think about it. Though her life had been hard, she had never killed a person before.

"A diversion," he said. His eyes were unfocused, staring out into nothingness. "Gorda is a Hutt. And, from what I understand, one of Dargus' enemies. Though, the attack today was Dargus' doing. I can feel his taint all over it. He just wants us to think it's Gorda."

"Perhaps your hatred of Dargus is beginning to taint your instincts. There was no memory of Dargus in the man you questioned." She sat down beside him. "He called me Dargus' future bride." She did not know this man beside her. This was not the Kace she had lived with for almost three weeks.

Kace nodded. "I guess we know Dargus' plans for you then," he said. "Dargus knew I would be there. He knew I would be able to pull the information out of the man's head. He made sure the thugs thought they were being hired by Gorda." He looked at Elisia sitting next to him, and much of the anger he was holding disappeared. He shook his head. He leaned forward, covering his face with his hands. When he finally sat back he appeared much calmer than a few moments before. "I'm sorry. It's just that, Dargus has tried to grab you twice already. I can't believe this Hutt is actually becoming involved in this. It has to be Dargus." He closed his eyes, fighting off the churning emotions warring inside of him.

She sat quiet for a moment, her own mind in a turmoil. "That doesn't make sense. First, Dargus may have drugged me to...well for his own purposes but he sent me back to you. Secondly, if he wanted...if he wanted me, he wouldn't send someone else to attack me like that. That just doesn't add up." She looked at him in total confusion. She wanted to trust his instincts but she knew he hated Dargus and the math didn't figure in her mind.

The man's face pleading for his life began to make itself known and she shivered, shock finally beginning to settle in. In the silence, she had been able to nurse her anger and hold the hate she had felt. Now that it began to ebb, the realization of what she had done began to take hold.

"In my time since showing up here, I have found that little does add up," he said. "I think he wants more than what he's indicated so far. I don't know what it is, but I can't shake the feeling that Dargus is behind this. I feel it in everything around me. Even now, with my anger gone, I still feel it." Kace pushed away from the couch and moved to the far wall.

His blue eyes held a haunted look. He leaned heavily against the wall. It felt like his veins had been pumped full of raw sewage, filling every part of him with something cold, a darkness that flowed within him. His body slid down the wall until he sat heavily on the floor. "Dargus wants me to train you. But, he's testing. Pushing and prodding, searching for what will break us, what will push us over the edge. None of it makes sense. He has to realize his ysalamiri won't protect him. He has to realize his ship isn't impregnable. He has to know that if pushed, I will stop at nothing." He shook the thoughts away. "I haven't succumbed to my darkness like that in over a year. I swore I would never again embrace it like that. I swore I--" Kace closed his eyes again, not wanting Elisia to see the pain that filled them. "It has been a day of broken promises."

"It is my fault. I should have stayed in the ship," she said quietly. She was destroying him. She could see it. Dargus would leave Kace alone if not for her. She had broken her promise to stay in the ship and his words brought it home. "I am not a very good student. I don't listen," she said with a strange finality to her voice. "You should not train me. Who knows who else I will kill?" His words about her trying to kill him one day haunted her as did the drawing that she knew he still had. "I will go to the house of women on Tae'Karada. There I cannot hurt anyone and no one will be hurt because of me."

She wrapped her arms around her legs. She suddenly felt ill as she remembered plunging her saber into the leader. She rushed to the bathroom and was physically ill. She bathed her face and slid down the wall.

"I know how you feel," he said, with a wry smile. He moved closer and sat next to Elisia. "You are a good student; I want to continue training you. And, the fault is mine. I knew it was a trap, but I went anyway. The trick they played was an old one, but still effective. If our situations had been reversed, I would have done the same. If I thought you were hurt, I would have gone too." He put a hand on her shoulder, his eyes watching her with affection. "Please stay with me and let me teach you. The trip down to the planet was rougher on the ship than I would have liked, but maybe when everything's fixed we can find somewhere else to go. There is still a lot for you to learn." And, I don't think I could handle losing you completely, he added behind his shielded thoughts.

"I killed someone," she said quietly. "I didn't kill him because I had to. I killed him and I wanted to." He could hear the horror in her voice as she relived the event in her mind. "I did something to him first, I don't know what but I know he couldn't breathe. I liked it." The last words were whispered in shock and horror. "I wanted him to suffer and he was. If you hadn't..."

He nodded, a sad look crossing his face. "I know," he said. "And, if you hadn't, I would have. I wanted him to die too. For what he tried to do to you, I would have killed him a hundred times over. Whether by your hand or mine, he wouldn't have survived the day. Until that last, when I said something, I wanted you to do it. I wanted you to make him suffer, to destroy him completely." He looked at her and touched the damp hair on her forehead. "Are you feeling any better now?"

She shook her head. She felt shaky and drained. "If you wanted that, then why did you stop me?" she said looking up at him. The innocence that had been a part of her seemed to have just disappeared. Her eyes held a haunted and hunted look.

Kace looked away, focusing on the sink. "I didn't want to lose you to the darkness," he said softly.

"But you were in darkness." She didn't understand. "I know what you mean by darkness now. I could feel it pulling me. I wanted to stay there, in control, never being afraid again."

He nodded. "When in the darkness, your life is ruled by anger, hate, and fear. You may not feel afraid, but the fear is most definitely there. There is no room for love, compassion, or tolerance. There's no room for friends or trust. If we were to embrace the darkest parts of ourselves, things would be very different between us. Our relationship as student and teacher would change. My teachings would lack compassion and concern. You wouldn't like me in my darkest. I don't want to go back to that. I don't want to fully return to what I was."

"I don't feel the same as I did before. Everything seems different," she said sadly. "I don't want to be that way. Yet, I couldn't control it either." She looked up at him, fear evident.

He nodded, feeling the same. The innocence that she'd lost... He turned away again, hating himself for allowing it to happen. "I will start teaching you control. Exercises to help control anger and hate. It helps in most cases." It didn't help me today though. "Maybe with time, you can get back some of what was taken from you today. I will help however I can."

She turned to him then, burying herself against him. She began to cry softly. Tears of fear, tears of loss, tears of anger, poured from her soul. She took comfort in his presence, knowing that he was the only thing that stood between her and something so terrible that she didn't even want to look at it again.

Kace put his arms around Elisia, pulling her close and trying not to let himself fall prey to the emotions she was feeling. He squeezed his eyes shut against the tears forming. He held her against him, as if letting go would send them both drifting off into the darkness closing in. Maybe together they could hold it back. Together they might be able to stay in the light.

---