literature

Star Wars: The Darkness Within, the Light Without

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“NO!” Kahan shouted as the saber sank into Hanabi's stomach.
He split his blades and slashed his way through the militiamen between himself and Hanabi just in time to throw his blades aside and catch her as she fell, a look of utter shock on her face.
“M—Master...it hurts....” she murmured weakly.
Kahan nodded gently, barely in control of the emotions raging within him.
“Just hang on a moment, hold on Hanabi.” he brought his com online. “Sly! Get back to my ship and get Triage!”
“Sir?” the clone trooper asked in confusion.
“DO IT NOW TROOPER! Hanabi is hurt!”
Sly didn't ask again, severing the link as Kahan ran his hand over Hanabi's pained features.
“It'll be okay.”
She nodded, trying to smile.
“D—don't worry Master...I—I think I'm going to be alright.” she winced, clenching her teeth and smiled at him. “Promise me something?” she murmured as her eyelids fluttered weakly.
“I'll consider it.” he replied gently.
She smiled. “That's just like you...you never commit...hnn!...to anything.” she forced her eyes open and she looked at him with a gentle smile. “Don't—don't leave Aira-ty alone...you two...are good toge—“ her eyes widened for a moment, and then rolled up into her head as they closed and her face went slack.
“Hanabi?” Kahan whispered. “Hanabi?” he shook her gently. “HANABI!” he shouted, clenching his eyes against the tears that tried to force themselves past his eyes.
Silence hung in the air, save for the rippling roll of thunder as the clouds began to darken.
Conradin looked at the Master holding his apprentice and finally spoke gently.
“I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...I was only defending myself.”
Kahan laid Hanabi's body down and stood, turning towards Conradin, his face shadowed by his hair.
“You're sorry?” he said darkly, he raised his face, his blue eyes blazing angrily. “YOU'RE SORRY!?”
Conradin took a step back. Why did he sound so loud? For that matter, why did he seem to grow in size? What was happening here?
“Please,” he tried cautiously. “Just take her, and your men, and withdraw...I don't want anyone else to be hurt.”
Kahan's face twisted in a snarl. “You don't know the meaning of hurt you Separatist brat,” he gazed at Conradin viciously. “Believe me, you're about to learn.”
Conradin tried to speak again but shouted suddenly, dropping his saber and clutching at his head. It felt like a nest of vipers had sunk their fangs into his skull.
“You're a good duelist,” Kahan said as he strode forwards, walking around Conradin as he knelt on the ground. “And a decent hand when it comes to telekinesis, something I've never mastered.” he knelt down and grabbed Conradin's hair, yanking his head back and gazing into his eyes. “But when it comes to the mind, you are nothing compared to me.” he smiled wickedly. “I am going to break you.”
Conradin tried to resist, tried to use the techniques he'd learned from Dooku but Kahan's assault swatted them aside as if they were nothing. He tried raising stronger barriers but Kahan battered through them with the force of a turbolaser and suddenly Conradin's mind was fully exposed.
“I will not spare you.” Kahan said in a disturbingly calm voice as he stood up, watching Conradin writhe and twist on the ground in agony. “You accuse the Jedi of being evil, of being corrupt, allow me to show you just how evil we can be.”
Aira-ty shook her head as she got to her feet. Her mind was spinning dizzily, she felt like she'd been drinking all night long. That was when she noticed the screaming. What in space was—she spied Kahan standing over the enemy commander who was convulsing on the ground as if he were being electrocuted though nothing was touching him. Then she spied Kahan's face and felt a tickling of fear. He looked terrifying...like he was going to murder someone. Even when Hanabi had been kidnapped he hadn't looked that—Hanabi! Her eyes focused on the limp girl's form and suddenly she realized what must have happened while she was unconscious.
“This,” Kahan said coldly. “Is what you fear.”
Her eyes focused on him again and she cringed as a fresh scream escaped from the enemy commander's lips. She couldn't stand by and watch him torture someone like this. She stood and rushed towards him, stifling the terror that his expression brought forth in her mind as she wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed her face against his back.
“STOP! KAHAN STOP IT!” she shouted. “This isn't you!”
Conradin stopped screaming as the pain receded, his mind going blank as he lost consciousness, now released from the grip of Kahan's mind.
Aira-ty stepped back as Kahan turned towards her, a look of surprise on his face.
“Aira-ty?”
She reached up and touched his cheek. “I'm right here...you still in there General?”
He blinked slowly, shaking his head. “I—he—“ he looked away. “I'm here.”
“Good.” she said quietly, licking her lips and then giving in as she wrapped her arms around him again. “Don't ever do that again...you frightened me.”
Kahan said nothing for a moment as he ran a hand through her hair, closing his eyes and leaning against her.
“Hanabi is—“
“She's fine boss.”
Both of them turned to find Triage and Sly standing over Hanabi's body.
“Say what?” Aira-ty asked. “There's a hole in her stomach!”
“I don't know her species,” Sly said quietly. “But—“
“—her body excretes a natural healing solution.” Triage provided simply. “She's healing herself.”
Kahan paused and looked at Hanabi's limp form for a moment with a frown.
“She's not dead?”
“No, she'll recover sir.” Triage assured him.
Aira-ty watched as Kahan turned his eyes back to the collapsed enemy commander pensively.
“You didn't go that far.” she said, instantly reading what he was thinking.
He took a deep breath. “But I wanted to.” he sighed heavily. “I wanted to....” he looked back to Aira-ty. “You stopped me.”
She smiled, running a hand through her hair as she looked away nervously. “Yeah, well you were pretty scary there for a moment...I didn't know if I could stop you.”
His gaze was strange now as he put a hand on her shoulder.
“Thank you Aira-ty.”
Her face flushed slightly and she looked away with a wave of her hand.
“It wasn't a big deal.”
“Sir, we need to get Hanabi back to the ship.” Sly said. “She's stable but she'll still need bacta.”
“Right.” Kahan said, kneeling down and lifting Hanabi in his arms gently.
“What about him sir?” Triage inquired, his photoceptors turned towards Conradin's unconscious body. “I could kill him quietly, stop his heart or inject—“
“No.” Kahan said, looking at the fallen commander with a shake of his head. “He's suffered enough today.”
Aira-ty smiled as he began walking away, moving to catch up to him. That was the General she knew and...she stopped the thought in its tracks, her smile faltering. She wasn't going to fall into that trap. Never again.
Don't ask me, I have no idea where this came from but this scene came to mind and I decided to write it.

This has no bearing on my larger Clone Wars project and should not be considered to be an indication of where/how the story goes.

Other than that, enjoy.

Kahan and Triage are my OCs
Aira-ty and Sly are :iconrayn44:'s
Hanabi is :iconbret13:'s OC
Conradin belongs to :iconlordhadrian:
Star Wars and all its trappings belong to Disney...I can't believe I just wrote that.

Rayn and BrET did a collaborative project here: rayn44.deviantart.com/art/The-… inspired by the fic, so take a look and see what you think! I believe they did quite a stellar job.
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Chieflplus13's avatar

For once I wanted to see her smile