[fic] Star Wars: Another Choice.

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Toryal looked down at the sleeping twi’lek form next to him and smiled softly as he heard the sound of an infant’s soft cries at the other side of their small bed. Vette stirred slightly in her sleep at the sound, Toryal smiled again as he softly kissed the top of her head and got to his feet and headed over to the small crib that was next to them and looked down at the crying form of his and Vette’s child. “Shhh…it’s alright, Anris.” He said in a gentle voice as he gently picked up his month old daughter and began to gently rock her in his arms.

 

He smiled down at her as a soft giggle came from the child as he continued to gently rock her. “Don’t worry…we’ll reach our destination soon. And then a whole new world will be open to you.” He said quietly as a small tear appeared in his left eye and rolled down his cheek. He knew what was coming would not be easy for either him or Vette but they had agreed: It was the best chance their child had for survival. He looked down at the wide green eyes and blue skin she had inherited from her mother and the single small horn she had inherited from Toryal. It hadn’t been an exceedingly difficult birth but of course there had been a few complications but they had managed to get through it with flying colors. Both Toryal and Vette hadn’t thought they could have a child due to the fact that they belonged to two very different species but it seemed the force had decided otherwise.

 

They had been forced to keep the pregnancy secret from everyone outside the crew of course, Toryal knew he could trust them all with his life but the Sith Empire wasn’t known for accepting aliens in its ranks and alien hybrids even less. Both Toryal and Vette knew that his position as the Emperor’s Wrath would keep his various enemies at bay for a short time but not forever. Once she entered the Sith Academy she was going to almost certainly be killed by a fellow student or one of Toryal’s many enemies once she was beyond his reach.

 

He felt the bed shift slightly as Vette got up from the bed and looked down over Toryal’s shoulders at their little girl and he felt a few soft tears hit his neck. “It’s not fair. We shouldn’t have to do this.” She whispered sadly.

“I know. But we agreed. It’s the best chance she has for survival. If she goes to the academy it’s almost certain she’ll be killed or turned into something dark and twisted.” Toryal said quietly as he continued rocking Anris. Vette nodded and placed a soft kiss on the top of Anris’s forehead. “I checked the computer a few hours earlier. We should be approaching the rendezvous point in a few minutes.” Toryal said quietly as he handed Anris to Vette and headed to the shuttle’s cockpit.

 

Vette looked down at her little girl and let the tears run down her face as she kissed her again on the forehead. “Remember Anris…Mommy will always love you.” She whispered as she felt the shuttle drop out of hyperspace.

 

Toryal’s voice was soft and sad and tears were freely running down his face as he came back down into their little cabin.

 

“It’s time Vette.”

 

“I know.” Vette whispered as they felt the shuttle shudder once as it docked with what was most certainly a larger ship. The two figures stood in front of the docking hatch and Toryal placed both of his lightsabers on the ground as Vette placed her twin blaster pistols on the ground as well to make sure their contact didn’t think this was an elaborate trap.

 

The docking hatch slowly opened and a small cloud of cold air accompanied the sound of another hatch opening. A hooded figure could be seen with a lightsaber strapped to his belt. The figure threw back his hood to reveal a bald head with kind blue eyes. He was wearing the plain robes of someone who didn’t seem to want to be noticed and once Toryal watched as he slowly took the lightsaber off his belt and laid it down on the floor. The figure looked at Toryal and Vette and his eyes looked at the child Vette carried in her arms.

 

“Emperor’s Wrath.” The figure said simply as a greeting.

 

“Hero of Tython.” Toryal greeted in return.

 

Rothor, who was otherwise known as the Hero of Tython to many of the Jedi after he had defeated Darth Angral slowly stepped forward and watched as the tears rolled freely down Toryal’s and Vette’s faces and for a brief moment he didn’t see two imperials with no options left: but rather he saw two parents who were doing what they saw as their only choice.

 

Rothor had received the message from a spy in imperial space four days ago with a short message detailing what was happening and coordinates. For a brief time, Rothor thought that it could be a trap until he had received another message from the republic spy. The only item he had received was a holoimage of a Zabrak and Twi’lek carrying a small child that clearly had Zabrak and Twi’lek features.

 

It was at that moment that Rothor had decided to take the risk.

 

He could see the Twi’lek woman’s face was nearly soaked with tears as she handed her daughter to the Jedi who quietly and gently took her. “I give you my word, she will be treated well. No harm will come to your child as long as I live.” Rothor said gently as he looked down at the child who seemed to have fallen asleep.

 

“I will hold you to your word Jedi.” Toryal said quietly as the two parents took a last look at their child. “We didn’t have much time to prepare this, but when she is old enough to understand…please give her these.” The Zabrak said quietly as he handed two items to the Jedi. One was a small holographic data recorder with what appeared to be logged holographic projections…and the other was a small holo-photo that showed an image that nearly brought a tear to the Jedi’s eye. It was a holographic image of Toryal and Vette with large smiles as Vette held the baby in her arms.

 

A small beeping sound began to emit from a nearby control panel. Toryal turned to look at it. “We need to leave. The window of opportunity is closing.”

 

“I understand.” Rothor said gently as he turned and hurried towards the hatch even as Toryal and Vette turned and headed for the bridge of the small ship.

 

Vette turned to look at Toryal as they began to enter coordinates that would allow them to rendezvous with their crew aboard the Fury

.

“Did we do the right thing?” She asked quietly as the small ship entered hyperspace.

 

“We did. If she stayed with us, she would have eventually have been killed. We have too many enemies for it to have ended any other way.”

 

Vette turned to look out cockpit windows.

 

“You’re right.” She said quietly. “There was no other way.”

 

 

 

 

Years Later

Tython

 

 

Remember Anris, what we did we did so you would survive,” The holographic image of Toryal said quietly. “I had far too many enemies in the Empire for you to live a long or normal life. I only hope the Jedi can give you a safer life than you could ever have with us. You will always be my daughter and your mother and I will always love you.”

 

Anris looked down at the holographic image of what she was told was her mother and father along with an infant she had to assume was herself as a baby. Tears filled her eyes as she looked down at the image and then up at the Jedi Master had delivered to her.

 

“Master Rothor…I…I don’t know what to say.” She said quietly as Rothor looked down at her. “I was born a sith?” She asked in astonishment. “No.” Rothor said quietly. “Your Mother and Father never trained you in the ways of the Sith. As soon as you were born they knew that they didn’t have much time to get you to safety. They came to the decision that the Republic and the Jedi could keep you safe.”

 

“Are they…Are they still alive?”

 

“As far as I know yes. “

 

Anris let the tears flow down her face. “I can’t believe it…my parents were Sith…but they gave me up to the Jedi so I could survive and have a better life.”

 

“Remember Anris. They loved you with all their heart. Don’t ever forget that.”

Anris looked down at the holo-image and smiled despite the tears.

 

“Maybe one day…when there is peace with the Sith Empire…maybe I can meet them.”

 

Rothor placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

 

“There are always possibilities Anris. And I think that one day…you will meet them.

[machievelli]

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Balmorra

Two years later

 

 

 

You can do this Anris...Just remember the Jedi code. The young Jedi thought to herself as she stared at the small squad of Sith troopers moving past her location. Nearly all of the remaining sith troopers on the planet were gathering for what looked like a last ditch effort to retake the Balmorra Arms Factory. The battle of Balmorra had been going on for many years now but it looked as if the Balmorran resistance and the Republic would finally be able to take back the planet once and for all. However, if the Empire managed to retake the Balmorra Arms Factory the battle would most likely continue for months if not years.

 

There is no emotion, There is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge

There is no passion, there is serenity

There is no chaos, there is harmony

There is no death, there is the force

 

The Resistance had been monitoring Imperial codes that they had managed to break the most recent one had provided some very interesting information. This squad was carrying important components that could power some of the remaining Imperial Walkers and was planning to meet up with a larger Imperial squad holding an area near the lower Sundari outpost. If this squad managed to get through, it would threaten all the resistance holdings in that area. And so Jedi Knight Anris had been dispatched to stop the squad from reaching it's destination.

 

Her hand went down to her lightsaber and she slowly began to gather the force around her as she prepared to leap towards her opponents only to feel a sudden disturbance in the force above her. She slowly looked up and saw a dark masked figure above her wearing black armor with the insignia of the Sith Empire on the chest.

 

“Jedi. You should have stayed on Tython.” The figure said simply as he jumped from the outcropping above her and landed directly in front of her with his lightsaber ignited. Anris took a step back and she pulled the lightsaber from her belt and held it in front of her with both hands on the hilt. “You can fight or you can run. Either way, I will complete my mission.” She said quietly as she stared at the figure. The imperials didn't seem to be aware of anything going on as they continued moving on. Either they notice the battle going on or they knew who this was and had the utmost faith in his ability to stop her.

 

If the Imperials did notice her and did decide to get involved however she would have to deal with this mysterious sith and a squad of Imperial troopers and she knew she would be hopelessly outmatched if that happened. She freed one of her hands for a moment and threw back her hood, revealing her blue skin tone and the single horn on her head. “I feel I should warn you. I've fought my share of Sith before.” She warned as her opponent seemed to freeze as she threw her hood back. “What's the matter, Sith?” She asked mockingly. “Scared?”

 

The Sith's lightsaber hit the ground and deactivated.

 

“Anris...” The figure said in a shocked tone.

 

“How do you know my name?” She asked in a tone that was tinged with confusion and shock. She looked down at the Sith's lightsaber and realized that the sith had made no effort to retrieve the lightsaber. All he was doing was staring at her from underneath the mask. “I asked you a question: How do you know my name?”

 

The Sith raised his hands up towards his mask and Anris heard the faint sound of a lock that presumably held the mask to the Sith's face deactivated and the mask hit the ground with a thud. Anris's eyes widened in shock as she saw the Sith's face. A red Zabrak face with black tattoos covering it with a scar going down the left side.

 

“I know your name.” Toryal said quietly. “After all, you're mother and I were the ones who gave it to you.” Anris's lightsaber hit the ground and deactivated just like her father's had as she recognized the figure from the hologram she had viewed nearly once a day. She had never thought that they would meet like this, on the war-torn world of Balmorra.

 

“Dad.” She whispered as a small device on Toryal's belt beeped once and a female voice began to sound from it.

 

“Toryal? Are you there? What happened? Did you find the Jedi?”

 

Toryal slowly reached down to his belt and grabbed the device before speaking into it without breaking eye contact with Anris. “Vette. You need to meet me here now. You need to grab whatever you can and meet me at the cliff near the Lower Sundari Outpost as soon as you can.”

 

“What's the matter? Are you in trouble?”

 

“Anris.” Toryal said simply into the device. For a brief moment, Anris didn't hear anything. Not even breathing. And then she heard the voice whisper three simple words that brought a tear to Anris's eye. “Our little girl?”

 

“Yes.” Toryal said quietly. “It's time. We've been planning for this day for a very long time. It's time to leave.”

“Be there as soon as I can. Don't do anything.” Vette said as Toryal shut down the communicator and raised his hand above his head.

 

“I surrender. I surrender myself to the Jedi.”

[Chevron 7 locke]

Tython

Jedi Council Chambers

 

Anris turned to look at her father as he stood in front of the assembled Jedi Council for judgement. As soon as Anris had reported what had happened on Balmorra, the council had ordered her back to Tython with Toryal and Vette as fast as she could. Although he had given his daughter to the Jedi to save her, despite the number of Jedi he had spared over the years, the Jedi Council had still decided that he must be judged for the crimes he had committed against the Republic in his service to the Sith Empire.

 

And to the surprise of nearly the entire Jedi Council, Toryal had agreed to submit to the Jedi Council without a fight. His armor and lightsaber were sitting on the floor, leaving him in a simple grey shirt and pants as he stood in front of Satele Shan as she looked over the former Emperor's Wrath. Toryal stared straight ahead.

 

"The Jedi Council has heard of your actions during your service to the Sith. You killed countless Republic solders as you fought across the galaxy. Is this correct?"

 

"Yes."

 

"You caused destruction on nearly every world you set foot on. You were responsible for the loss of a promising padawan known as Jaesa Willsaam when you turned her to the Sith. Is this correct?"

 

"Yes."

 

Satele Shan looked the former Emperor's Wrath directly in the eye, as if she was staring directly into his soul.

 

"I have also heard tales of the mercy you have shown to your enemies. You had the opportunity to kill Jedi Master Yonlach on Tatooine, You had the opportunity to kill Master Nomen Karr on Nal Hutta. Instead you sent Karr back to us. You had him at your mercy and yet, you let him live. Why?"

 

"Because I do not enjoy killing." Toryal said simply and Anris felt pride surge through her. "I never kill unless it is in self-defense and even then I regret it. To kill indiscriminately, for no reason is not my way. To be cruel for no reason is not my way. If I had sent Karr to Darth Baras, he would have taken his time in killing him, instead I saw that even though he called upon the Dark side in our fight on Hutta, I could sense compassion and mercy in him. That is why I sent him back to you."

 

Master Shan looked over at Anris and kept a neutral expression on her face as three figures entered the chamber. Two of them carried Lightsabers on their belts while the third was a blue skinned Twi'lek who looked over at Anris and smiled before looking back at Toryal.

 

"Masters Yonlach and Karr. You have had dealings with this Sith. You both fought against him. You have both seen what he is capable of. If you have anything to say, now would be the time.

 

Master Yonlach stepped forward and bowed his head. "I fought against the Emperor's Wrath on Tatooine. I fully expected to die. I expected to feel his lightsaber pierce my heart but it didn't. He simply wished to send a message. In his time on Tatooine, he didn't take a single life unless he was attacked first."

 

Master Yonlach looked over at Master Karr and nodded as the other Jedi stepped forward and he looked over Toryal before turning to look at Satele Shan.

 

"It is true, I fought this sith on the world of Nal Hutta and during the fight I called upon the power of the Dark Side and yet I still failed to defeat him. I expected to die that day, I expected him to gloat about how he had stolen my Padawan from me and then I expected him to kill me but he didn't. Instead he sent me back to Tython where at the time I refused to commune with the force for many months before I had a realization."

 

Karr turned to look at the Wrath.

 

"If I had continued down the path I was going I would have ended up being the very thing I fought against. I would have become a man who took pride only in the fight against the Sith and his victories against them, not in saving the lives he should have. I would have become focused solely on the battle and not in the results of the battle. I'm almost certain that I would have sacrificed innocent lives, I would have done anything to achieve victory."

 

"But you...when you defeated me, I was shown that my way was not the only way. I learned that I can be wrong and that I was wrong."

 

Toryal simply nodded at him as Karr looked down at the ground. "I ask only one question: What became of Jaesa? Is she safe?"

 

Toryal let a small smile appear. "You would be proud of her, Master Karr. Jaesa has saved the lives of many sith who have chosen to forsake the Dark Side. Many of them owe their continued lives to her. She has become an underground force of change in the Empire and has taken a padawan of her own."

 

"Good." Karr said quietly. "If I ever do get the chance, I would speak to her...apologize for what was said before I was sent back to Tython."

 

Satele Shan looked at the Wrath and raised an eyebrow before turning to look at the Jedi Council. "I ask the Jedi Council...is this truly a bad man? He gave his daughter to the Jedi to save her life, Through his actions he and his apprentice Jaesa have managed to save many, many lives and he continues to follow the Light Side and resist the Dark Side."

 

The Council debated amongst themselves as they whispered to one another before a Twi'lek Jedi approached Satele.

 

"Release him."

 

Satele Shan nodded and picked up the Wrath's Lightsaber and handed it to him. "You are free to leave."

 

Toryal took the offered Lightsaber and shook his head. "With Respect, Grand Master, I would like to stay amongst the Jedi, even if it is only for a short time. My wife and I...we wish to visit with our daughter for what little time we may have here."

 

Vette moved past Masters Karr and Yonlach and grinned as she pulled her daughter into a hug. "We missed you every day you were gone..." She whispered as she held her daughter close. Anris could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I...I'm glad I'm going to get a chance to meet my mother and my father." She said as Toryal approached her with a large smile on his face.

 

"I've been waiting to meet you for a very long time..." He said softly as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Now that I'm here...we can finally get to know our daughter."

 

Vette smiled widely as she let go of her daughter. "Now...is there a cantina around here? I want to buy my daughter a drink." She said with a laugh.

[Chevron 7 locke]

I had no idea my mom could drink this much. Anris thought to herself with a smile as Vette finished her sixth glass of Juma juice and smiled at Toryal and Anris. She showed absolutely no signs of being intoxicated at all. Her father on the other hand was on his fourth glass of Juma juice and looked as if he was about to fall out of his chair.

 

"Was he always like this? Dad, I mean. He doesn't look like he's doing too well." Anris said with a laugh as Vette smiled widely. "Yeah. He never could out-drink me but he did try on a number of occasions. The last time he tried was around two years ago and he woke up on the top of a Jawa Sandcrawler in the middle of the Tatooine desert."

 

"...Where did you wake up if I may ask?"

 

Vette's smiled turned into a smirk. "I woke up in our bed rested and refreshed. Took us an hour to find him."

 

Anris shook her head and laughed. Her mother had told her many stories about herself and her father. Some funny, some sad and some that showed her the kind of man her father was.

 

She looked at her father as he fell forward and his head hit the table with a thud. Anris looked over at Vette. "Is he alright?"

 

Vette laughed. "Yeah, he's fine. We just need to drag him to his quarters later and he'll sleep it off, Like I said, he can't hold his own."

 

Anris looked down at her drink before looking back up at Vette. "I..I don't get something. Dad is a sith...the Emperor's Wrath. He's fought Jedi Masters and Knights and he even fought against some of the instructors I trained with...what I'm asking is...why did he let them live? He sounds more like a Jedi then a Sith."

 

Vette sighed and sat back in her chair. "You know, I thought the same thing when I first met your father. I was locked up in the Korriban jail for stealing relics from the tombs. I kept getting shocked by the jailer, bad guy, no sense of humor and he liked to torture the prisoners. Toryal was instructed to take me and force me to trip some switches in the tomb of Naga Sadow so he could get into a locked room."

 

Vette let a small smile cross her face as she chuckled. "He managed to finish his trials on Korriban and the minute we got off that rock, he removed the shock collar that the jailer had attached to me. He told me it hadn't been his idea and he would have taken it off sooner if he could have."

 

"At first, I was a bit uneasy around him, I'd heard a lot about the Sith but your father...he was the direct opposite of that. He was always so kind to me and he tried to spare his enemies whenever he could. Eventually...I fell in love with him and he fell for me. He saved my life so many times I've lost count. And I've saved his life more then a few times as well."

 

Anris looked at her father and giggled as she heard soft snoring coming from his mouth.

 

"So...how did you two end up married?" Anris blurted out before she shut her mouth and her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. Vette giggled slightly.

 

"He would always try to make me breakfast when we got off our sleep cycles or when we got back to the ship. One morning, he served me breakfast in bed and when I opened up the napkin...there it was. It was a beautiful silver ring with a small piece of a lightsaber crystal in it. He must have picked up the crystal back on Illum and had been working on the ring for quite a while without any of us knowing. We've been together ever since."

 

Vette leaned back in her chair. "So...what about you? Anyone catch your eye yet?"

 

Anris's cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red. "I...Uh...well, yes."

 

Vette smiled. "You are so lucky he's still asleep." She laughed as she pointed at Toryal who was now snoring loudly. "I don't think he'd be happy to hear his daughter was dating."

 

"You aren't going to tell him are you?"

 

Vette smirked.