[Fic] Tri Protiv Dvukh ("Three Against Two")

[Tysyacha]

"Time can't heal this damage anymore. Don't turn your back on me!

I won't be ignored!" --Linkin Park, "Faint"

 

"It has been some time," murmured Kreia. "I must rest." She crept

forward, the creak of her aging knees and the folds of her long robe

weighing down her steps. Once she reached the concrete plateau in

the middle of the Jedi Enclave, she sank wearily down upon it.

 

"Come here, Exile."

 

I did so. "I am afraid for you," Kreia admitted, "as I always have

been. But know this. We cradle each other's lives, you and I.

Whatever affects one affects the other. You can trust me.

And if you find you cannot trust me, trust in your training.

Trust in yourself. Every decision you've ever made has

brought you to this point. Regret none of it. Not your present

journey, nor your exile, nor your following Revan to war. Face

whatever obstacles you have to face with boldness, not fear."

 

I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you coming with me?" Despite Kreia's

words, I was still afraid. What if the Jedi Masters condemned me?

 

"The answers you'll find here are for your ears alone. Nevertheless,

I'll remain in this courtyard and rest. I must center myself."

 

She closed her eyes, and I left Kreia where she sat. She'd always

taught me to be self-reliant, to leave others to her own struggles.

Very well. I'd let her rest, and in the meantime I'd learn the truth...

 

In the center of the Enclave, I found Masters Kavar, Vrook, and

Zez Kai-Ell mulling over the restoration of their Dantooine ruins.

 

"It's been so long," muttered Vrook, and then he and the others

noticed me. The three of them stepped forward, but I stood back.

 

Kavar nodded. "Padawan," he said, his eyes full of sad wisdom.

 

"Padawan."

 

"Exile." Vrook's expression remained aloof, unlike Kai-Ell's and Kavar's.

 

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Do you know why I've called you

here?" I asked, my breathing shallow. "Why I've gathered you?"

Silence. "I need your assistance against the Sith. Without it, then

Darth Nihilus, the Lord of Hunger, and Darth Sion, the Lord of Pain,

will kill the galaxy outright. They'll destroy all life--both of them."

Remembering Kreia's words, I added, "And a 'creature of betrayals',

though I don't know who she is. She seems to be the third Sith Lord

in a triumvirate," I said for lack of a better word. More silence. Well?

Aren't any of you going to say something that might help all of us?

 

Vrook stared at me. "Where do you suppose they learned their hunger,

Exile? Whom have they always hunted in an attempt to kill the last

of the Jedi?" I nodded fearfully. "That's right. You. The Sith threat

that we face is not you, but it is tied irrevocably to you and your

actions at Malachor. The Sith can sense your presence in the Force.

Now that you have come here, you will lead them right to us."

 

"What do you mean?" I was dumbstruck. "I don't think I was followed."

 

"Wherever Jedi gather, Jedi die," said Zez Kai-Ell. "The Sith are

tracking you down, and it's only a matter of time before they find

these ruins. You pose a great danger to us, Exile, and it must end."

 

"Wait--what?" My knees wobbled a bit. "I'm sorry! I was only trying

to help! To gather your help! Please don't think I--meant to do

this, whatever I did! I didn't want to put you in any danger!"

 

"Padawan...come." Master Kavar gently beckoned me forward.

"We've witnessed your compassion, your kind and noble deeds,

as you've traveled across planets fighting the Sith. We've seen

you crush belligerent mercenaries as they sought to conquer

Dantooine. We've rejoiced at the stranglehold you put on the

Exchange at Nar Shaddaa. And on Onderon, you helped me

establish Queen Talia as the people's rightful ruler. Sadly, all

this does not erase the fact that you're wounded and broken."

 

"Because I was cut off from the Force? Because you cut me off?"

 

"You cut yourself off," reproached Vrook, "because no one could

stand in the midst of the destruction at Malachor and live! You

had to sever your bond with the Force, or else you would

have died. You had no other choice. Through cutting all ties to

the Force, you have wounded yourself, perhaps beyond repair.

This wound has caused you to have an immense capacity to

form Force bonds, leeching off the life and power of others.

 

"That is why those who travel with you follow you. Not because

you are a leader, but because you are a symbiote. They are just

as bound to you as you are to them, and yet their actions mirror

yours and not the other way around. Such bonding is dangerous,

and this is what I wish to stop. What must be stopped if the

life of this universe is to continue to survive. Stand down, Exile."

 

"Wait!" I cried. "I never consciously controlled them! That would

be the way of the Sith, which is what I've tried to fight within

the galaxy and myself all along. You can't do this to me. Master

Kavar? Zez Kai-Ell? Do you agree with Vrook? Are you going to

punish me a second time, after all I've done?!" I wanted to run, but

my legs wouldn't move. They were jelly, kinrath mucus, Hutt slime...

 

"It's the only way the Sith won't find you," said Kavar. "Our judgment

stands--exile--but you must leave without your tie to the Force. Only

then will this Sith threat come out in the open, confused at not sensing

you. They'll sense us instead, and then we'll strike them down."

 

"I--I--" Why couldn't I scream? Why couldn't I hate these Masters,

since they were betraying me in a way far worse than any Sith

could have? My eyes darted furtively back and forth and finally

landed on Master Kavar. "Please. Don't hurt me. If what I've done

might cause the galaxy to die, then I accept this punishment."

 

I knelt down and then felt my body freeze in the throes of the

Force Stasis all three Masters were inflicting upon me. However,

all of a sudden, I felt the most powerful Force Wave I'd ever known

flip me over on my back. I lay still, half-conscious, unable to move...

 

"Enough." Another Force Wave. "Step away from her. Step away!"

 

Kreia...?

 

"She has brought truth, and you condemn it? The arrogance! You

will not harm her. You will not harm her ever again."

 

"I thought you had died in the Mandalorian Wars." Kavar? So cold...

 

"Died? No. Become stronger, yes."

 

"Is this your new master, Exile?" asked Vrook. "If so, then you follow

Revan's path. Her teachings will cause you to fall to the Dark Side

just as surely as he did."

 

"As you would pass judgment on her," announced Kreia, "I have

come to pass judgment on you all. Do you wish to learn the

teachings borne of the Mandalorian Wars? Of all wars, of all

tragedies that scream across the galaxy? Let me show you.

You--who have forever seen the galaxy through the Force.

 

"See it through the eyes of the Exile." And with that, I sensed a

massive draining of the Force from three presences--the Masters--

and into one presence, the only one who still remain standing.

 

"And that is what I sought to understand," Kreia whispered when

she came near me. I could barely hear her...her words, so faint...

 

"...how one could turn away from such power, give up the Force,

and still live! But now I know. It is because you were afraid..."

 

I fell into darkness, as Kreia had, the sweet surrender of oblivion.

 

When I awoke, I was alone. It had been three against two, this last

battle of ours, this final revelation, confrontation.

 

And now, I was the only one who could either save or kill us all.

[Bee Hoon]

As always, your writing is excellent. The way you described the characters makes for a good read. The exile's confusion and Kavar's gentle explanation were well-done, but Zez-Kai Ell is a bit underdeveloped compared to the rest. And, erm, it wasn't really a battle to me, but it's all very subjective anyway:p

[Emperor Devon]

Nice job, Tysy. I'm glad to see you entering the contests.

 

I like this one. The scene with Kreia killing the Masters is definitely one of the most distinctive ones in the game, this one moreso. The grammar is correct, the descriptions are well done, and the dialogue is different from the scene in the game. It's always a bit irritating when writers copy lines word for word when writing about certain scenes from the game, and I'm glad to see that's not the case here.

 

Nothing particularly distinctive to criticize, but I felt the dialogue could've been a bit longer. It's a very long conversation in the game, and a bit short here. It felt a bit rushed because of that, but the rest of the fic is written well enough to make that a small matter. The descriptions were also done well, but I'd have liked to have seen more of them - that probably would've made the fic a bit longer.

 

Other than that my only complaint is the paragraphing. When you're reading this much text it's a bit hard on the eyes to have it clustered fair closely together rather than spread across the whole page.

 

A good fic. My score: 8.75/10

[Diego Varen]

Good Fic, as always Tysy, but I agree with Emperor Devon here that the dialogue is a bit short and you could have included the whole dialogue from the game. Anyway, well done.

[Jae Onasi]

This is one of the most dramatic scenes in TSL, and you capture it quite well.

 

I loved this description:

She crept

forward, the creak of her aging knees and the folds of her long robe

weighing down her steps. Once she reached the concrete plateau in

the middle of the Jedi Enclave, she sank wearily down upon it.

 

I could feel every bit of Kreia's age and world-weariness there, and I loved it.

 

A little more fleshing out of the Jedi Masters and also Kreia's reasoning for her killing them would make it even better, but it's not a huge deal.

 

Looking forward to more Tales from you.