Ask Hellfires

[Crix Aran]

The pair of holocrons he had been working with for months by this point had given him a starting point but that was it – he needed to find what he was looking for himself. Not only because the guardians of the holocrons thought it would be a good ‘teachable moment’ but because even with their combined knowledge the most he could look forward to was a vague idea of where it had been before it had, naturally drifted off course after literally hundreds of years since it's last known positioning.

That it's last known position had been in relation to Illum, a planet which had been converted into a superweapon, moved and destroyed? Well tracking down something based on that was hard enough.

It was a mixture of luck and the will of the Force that had gotten him where he was today - with a merchant vessel having sent him a message that they had caught sight of something out in the wilds of space that they couldn't rightly tell should belong anywhere else because they had never seen it's like before. Having met up with the large prospecting vessel, Crix had landed his ship within it's hanger bay with his Padawan in toe as the two of them hunted the most stupidly elusive space station.

Sighing a little bit as he came out of his meditation, Crix eyed his Padawan for a moment longer as he let her naturally come out of her own trance. She was progressing nicely but there was something coming he could feel through the Force and it probably explained a lot about the elusive nature of the station. He could feel a threat approaching through the Force, something like a shiver down his spine - a bad feeling.

"Finish up." he instructed his Padawan, "We're going to be having company soon."

As if to prove him right, the general alarm began to sound throughout the prospecting vessel before it was replaced with a more specific alarm - pirates.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Clove, to be honest, had no idea what Crix was looking for. Something about a long-since-disappeared space station? But the half-Zabrak was so excited about getting a new lead that she didn't question him or the station by the time he dragged her along towards the hangar bay of a large vessel. Plus, she always enjoyed his company and the strange adventures he managed to get them into.

Well, besides Jakku.

It also gave her the chance to give him a belated Life Day present. That is, if she could just find the right time. Because, just as she was about to hand him the gift, they decided to meditate. So, with a huff, she hid the gift in the back pocket of her Jedi robes and sat down in front of her Master.

It was more difficult than usual to enter a meditation-like state for whatever reason. Obviously, she realized that part of it was due to the nervousness of giving the gift. But there was something else going on, and unlike Crix, she wasn't too well tuned in to the sounds of the Force or gut instincts. As a result, she couldn't pinpoint what was causing the unease that crawled up and down her spine.

Eventually, the half-Sephi was able to slowly sink into a meditation-like state. But it didn't take long for Crix to gradually shake her out of that trance.

As her eyes slowly opened, the girl's ears twitched slightly. It always took her a while to wake up from meditation because she felt as if she had leaped out of a fluffy, comfortable cloud. Every inch of her mind and body was relaxed, at ease. She had to shake her shoulders and rub her eyes a few times before she realized something was on. Crix confirmed that realization by telling her that they were about to have company.

"Company? I'm going to take a wild guess and say they aren't the friendly type?" Clove gave her Master a faint smile.

He didn't have to answer because the hull's alarms began to sound, warning them of an approaching vessel. The sound then changed to something she didn't recognize, and her ears were less than happy with the higher-pitched beep. The girl's large eyes scanned the room they were standing in, looking for a monitor with the alarm message telling her what was going on. After not being able to find one quickly, Clove sighed and returned her attention to Crix. "What are we going to do, defend the hangar bay?" She was getting better at knowing what to do when something happened on the ground, but she was still a little unsure up high in the darkness of space, trapped between a few metal walls. Thankfully, Crix was there to help her.

---

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tag @Nefieslab ​

 

[Crix Aran]

It was cute that Clove thought she could hide the fact that she had bought him a life-day present. He had done the same but he was waiting on her to actually give him his before he handed over the present he had gotten for her. Honestly, it had taken a bit of work to get her little present so he was hoping she enjoyed it.

But, for now, they had guests.

Ah his cute little Padawan was just too cute sometimes – company that was friendly? They were Jedi, no one was ever happy to see them these days and everybody was ill company as of late. It was one of his petty pleasures to help them anyway and watch as they swallowed their hot tempered words about the Order long enough to actually thank them for their help.

Crix paused and looked back at the hanger bay. They had options when it came to repelling boarders but he had to admit that most of them were not great. Most of them involved either getting into a dogfight or waiting for them to show up at the bridge.

“An excellent idea, Padawan.”

He grabbed his com-link.

“Captain – Knight Aran here. Mmhmm, yes they do appear to be pirates. Yes I do have a plan, captain, we’re going to open the doors.” He winked at his Padawan as the Captain, predictably, exploded at the response, “If we open the doors, they come in a way we can counter straight away. No need for them to blow holes in your ship either.”

With that done, the hanger bay doors began opening – the shields the only thing keeping atmosphere in the hanger bay. Crix took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he handed Clove his second saber. This wasn’t the time for training sabers after all.

“We’re the line between the pirates and the good merchants of this ship dying, Clove. They have knowingly disengaged any other hope of repelling these boarders because they believe in us.” He gave her an expectant look, “Are we going to let them down, Padawan?”

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Crix's wink was more than amusing, especially when it was followed by the captain screaming on the other end of the commlink. Clove couldn't help but giggle, despite the fact that the situation was pretty dire. It was a scene straight out of a silly holomovie. But then she realized what opening the door meant, and she quickly stopped giggling.

They were funneling the pirates, and they were the only line of defense.

If Clove had to be honest, it was a clever plan, but it was also mildly terrifying. There was no room for error; if they made a mistake, an entire ship of kind merchants would die. Well, so would the two Jedi, but it was their own plan after all. Even so, after everything they'd been through and all the lessons he'd taught her, she felt somewhat prepared when she accepted his second lightsaber.

And that was a first.

She nodded her head towards the half-Zabrak after a few deep breaths in and out to calm down any nerves she might have had. "No, Master, we aren't going to let them down! We'll defend these sweet merchants and their ship!" Clove had no idea if they were actually sweet, but they'd been treating the two Jedi with kindness and hospitality, and for now, that was more than enough. Sugar, even if they weren't kind she'd still do it.

The half-Sephi took a few steps closer to the opening door to make sure there was less space for the pirates to sneak right past them, her fingers tightening around the hilt. Her sensitive ears twitched twice as she focused on the sounds down the corridor, waiting for the first sound of footsteps in their direction.

---

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tag @Nefieslab ​

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix was proud to see that Clove was so dedicated to the defence of the innocent, that she was getting quietly confident enough in herself that she was able to plant herself like a tree. To plant herself like a tree and tell the dangers of the Galaxy that they would not take a single step beyond her. It was a stance he had encouraged within her but to see it coming out now was enough to give the Knight no small measure of pride.

“That’s right, Padawan!” he agreed as he ignited his main lightsaber before holding his free hand out in front of him in a defensive stance, “Temper yourself with your kindness but do not let it endanger you. Remember that.”

Ahead of them, the doors to the hanger opened and a truly odd-looking ship came in to land. It was clearly some form of freighter that had been modified over the years to be more efficient for raiding other vessels but there was just something about it that nagged at the back of his mind. Parts of it looked to be scavenged from other ships.

Like an Ugly Starfighter but the size of a freighter instead… and some of the parts he recognized he only recognized from history holovids.

As the ramp of the freighter opened up, there was a wave of noise that was both in the Force and not at the same time. Crix’s eyes widened as two dozen armed men and women poured out from the freighter with a collection of strange weapons. Seeing four or five poorly maintained lightsaber-based weapons would have been shocking enough but, to a man, the raiders seemed to be wearing an odd mixture of armours, brown robes and blank-faced white and silver masks.

The noise of the charge ended abruptly as the raiders saw them – drank in the sight of two Jedi with their robes and their pristine lightsabers at the ready.

… you could hear a pin drop.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

"I'll remember, Master!" Clove nodded her head in response to Crix, then activated the half-Zabrak's secondary lightsaber with a swirl of her hand.

When she heard the first footsteps shuffling aboard the Starfighter... thing, she had to concentrate on keeping her breath as calm as possible. Was it an Ugly Starfighter, or something else? Because it was unusually large for an Ugly, more like a Freighter. And no matter how deeply she dug into her memories, there were many parts she couldn't place. How odd.

Still, there was no time to linger on the strange ship because the Ugly Freighter's ramp opened with a steamy huff. The half-Sephi bowed her knees just a little more, her ears fixed even further. This was it. It was now or never. There was no turning back; they were going to confront those pirates and demonstrate that they had chosen the wrong job for a living. They were going to protect the ship and get to that strange space station!

But then she noticed the men and women rushing out of the ship and crowding the hangar bay.

What?

Clove looked at the men and women carrying relics of the past with a silent shock. She'd seen holovideos with those masks before. Jedi Temple Guards. They shouldn't be alive anymore, as most, if not all, of them vanished after the Clone Wars. And why, even if they were still alive today, would they be here? Why were their masks old and damaged and their lightsabers were barely maintained, and what was up with their armor anyway?

No. They were either Temple Guards from the past or Jedi Hunters.

Clove's ears flattened onto her head as she moved the lightsaber closer to her body in a more defensive position. Nobody said anything; the silence was so deafening that she could hear her own heart flutter nervously in her chest. But she wasn't going to be the one to break the silence. What could the half-Sephi possibly say to them, even if she wanted to? 'Hai! You have some old relics! How'd ya get them, good old friend?'

For a split second, her gaze was drawn away from the crowd and toward Crix. And, based on his wide eyes, he was as surprised as she was.

---

​

tag @Nefieslab ​

 

[Crix Aran]

Of all the things he expected, meeting a bunch of raiders dressed up in scraps of Temple Guard armour with broken lightsaber parts spread out was not one of them. They looked like there had been six full sets of the armour and they had done their very best to ensure that each member of their raiding party had at least one part of armour from a set on them.
None of them were wearing it properly.

Crix decided that he was curious but not curious enough to risk lowering his guard and potentially causing harm to befall his cute little Padawan. He leveled his lightsaber, pointing to the group of raiders with his glowing blade – they seemed to flinch ever so slightly but seemed curious about his blade.

It was, after all, noticeably more stable than the cobble-together lightsabers and lightsaber-axe-heads he could see amongst their numbers.

“You may surrender.” He called out to them easily, “Or this will go badly for you all.”

There were some muttering amongst the group of raiders as they spoke amongst themselves about the situation. Crix quirked an eyebrow at Clove and nodded towards the group as if to convey ‘Are you seeing this too?’ to his Padawan without words. Speaking of words, the group seemed to be talking in rather antiquated ways.

In the end a single teenage girl stepped forward and nodded to them before pointing to Clove.

“Honour Combat – 1 takes on 1.”

Stilted Basic aside, it was clear that she was challenging Clove to a duel. Crix eyed the teenage raider in her mis-match of armours and the temple guard mask she was using as part of her breastplate. Her lightsaber’s hilt was bare and stripped back, the yellow blade strong but crackling with energy along it’s length.

“Your call, Clove.” He told her Padawan simply, “If you’re not comfortable with it, we’ll find another way.”

There was always another way after all.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

The last thing she expected from a group of people she hadn't expected was for them to mutter amongst themselves. And when Crix gave her a puzzled look, she returned it, her eyes screaming 'what is even going on here?!' and her lips curled into a confused smile. When she returned her attention to the group, they were still speaking in a language she understood, but it was difficult to follow along.

Then a teenage girl, not much older than herself, took a step forward. And she invited her to an 'honour battle,' or a dual.

The half-cheeks Sephi's flushed and her ears twitched. While her own skill had improved over the last few months, the girl ahead of her appeared to know what she was doing. Except for the crackling lightsaber and the mask worn as a breastplate. Especially the crackling lightsaber. How did they get such a thing?

"Hmm," Clove hummed, weighing her options. Because, while she would prefer to avoid fighting altogether, depending on the rules, she may be able to end the conflict by winning just one singular fight. "What are the rules of the honour combat? What happens to the winner and what happens to the loser?"

---

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tag @Nefieslab ​

 

[Crix Aran]

Honour was something that people tended to think of as a universal constant but that was incredibly narrow-minded. Every species was different and every culture even more so – humans had spread across the Galaxy and yet they had so many separate cultures that it bordered on the absurd. These peoples’ ideals of honour had every chance of being far from their own.

As it was, they were right to be cautious but not overly so. The warrior kind of shuffled slightly before accepting a mask from one of her fellows – she then tossed it for Clove to catch.

“You become masked. Combat is conducted masked.”

She tapped the mask that made up part of her torso armour.

“Become de-masked? Lose. If the pain becomes too much? Lose. If perish? Lose.”

Okay so a variation on something Crix had heard of before. Losing the mask was like losing a flag or something similar – pain was yield and perish was, obviously, to the death. The rules of the match weren’t anything he hadn’t expected but he did call out for one last thing.

“What happens to the person who loses?”

The group started banging their weapons to their chest and cheering as the challenger grinned.

“Loser loses all. Winner takes everything and person the loser has and absorbs into their clan.”

Huh… neat.

He patted Clove on the back and gave the group a smile… it was full of teeth and they kind of paused a little bit.

”Why, my cute little Padawan, I do believe these people have volunteered to become the guardians of Brighthome. After all, when you win their fates are yours to decide – and you will win.”

He had faith… and he also unnerved her opponent with said faith.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Clove gracefully caught the mask in her free hand and spun it twice, examining the old Jedi Temple Guardians symbol.

“Loser loses all. Winner takes everything and person the loser has and absorbs into their clan.”

Clove, to be honest, had no idea what the girl was talking about. If she lost, was she supposed to join them? Or did Crix end up in their possession? Or the Jedi Order as a whole?

Ultimately It didn't matter because she had already decided to accept by the time they finished explaining everything. This was the best way to protect the entire ship; one single fight and it'd be over regardless of the outcome.

Clove looked up at Crix for a brief moment when she felt his hand patting her back. He looked so confident, with so much faith in his eyes. She then returned her gaze to the girl, noticing the difference brought about by her Master's faith. He was trying to disarm them long before they began their battle. Clever, just like always. "Guardians of Brighthome, huh? It's got a nice ring to it." She told Crix with a soft yet playful smile.

While the challenger became more unnerved, Clove grew more confident. It was never too much, overconfidence was a great way to get yourself killed. Never, ever underestimate your enemy. But it was enough to convince her that, yes, she had a chance. She could actually win if she gave it her all.

"One last question, is there anything forbidden? Such as the Force?"

After asking the question and ever so casually mentioning the Force, her gaze was drawn to the men and women to study their expression. They'd surely realize they were Jedi, and how Jedi were blessed with the Force. Perhaps the challenger was Force-sensitive as well? Or, Perhaps, they were unfamiliar with the concept of the Force, or saw it as something like witchcraft and magic, as some cultures did.

Regardless of the girl's reply—unless it was absurd, like "no running"—Clove nodded and took a few steps forward to stand closer to her, her fingers gripping the hilt more comfortably.

"I accept the Honour Combat." Clove slid the mask over her face with the same grace she caught it with.

---

​

tag @Nefieslab ​

 

[Crix Aran]

Ah she had caught onto what he was doing – caught onto how he was playing with them for lack of a better term. The truth was that he absolutely was playing with them, toying with their emotions both in the Force and with his words and actions. Nothing as noticeable or as malicious as an emotional attack so much as it was him connecting with their emotions and using what he knew about them to his benefit.

There was a general sense of confusion about what, exactly, the Force was and that was helpful. Their manner of dress and their, frankly, ancient ship told him that they were very much a local concern – likely because they didn’t really have any true access to the wider Galaxy. It painted a picture and it was one he was interested in fully seeing once it was done. The opponent just kind of shrugged.

“Use all talents.”

That was a “Yes” to Force use as far as Crix was concerned – he nodded to Clove to tell her that was how he was interpreting it. If they decided to take issue with it, Crix was more than willing to damage them before they could try and ‘punish’ his padawan for having talents they hadn’t expected. For the time being he stepped to one side and crossed his arms instead, content to watch.

The challenger grinned before launching themselves at Clove with a strong overhead strike with her crackling yellow lightsaber, the attack powerful. It was, also, rather telegraphed to try an overhead strike like that.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Use all talents?

Crix's nod confirmed Clove's suspicions: the Force could be used. And really? Clove had asked about all of the rules in order to keep things as fair as possible, even mentioning the Force. It's their own fault for not asking about the Force if it turns out they didn't understand what it meant. Plus, they had the Force as a talent, and they explicitly stated that they should use all of their talents. So why not use it?

Despite this, she chose to keep her cards close to her heart. If they were truly confused about the Force, she'd have an ace up her sleeve. And it wouldn't be wise to reveal it during the first clash of their weapons.

Clove managed to take one deep, collected breath to center herself before the challenger grinned and charged forward. The attack was painfully obvious even to Clove, who wasn't a natural warrior and had to train for many hours just to be considered decent. The girl was going for an overhead strike, and she was going for it with a lot of power. And because of that power, the challenger was forced to commit to the strike until it was completed, even if she missed.

Clove held her ground for a few moments, waiting for the challenger to get close enough to commit to her swing. And once she committed, Clove, relying on her agile feet, stepped to the left, away from the blade's obvious path and toward the challenger's right side. Within these steps, Clove swung her lightsaber towards the girl's right shoulder just as the challenger finished swinging. It was a light and quick horizontal swipe, just enough for the tip to burn through her bicep's muscles and tendons if it made contact.

Clove continued her quick steps towards the back of the challenger, regardless of whether she hit or not, before backing away. She wanted the distance not only to see if her attack had worked but also to see if she could lure the challenger into another powerful but telegraphed attack. That way, she'd be able to quickly exhaust the girl.

---

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tag @Nefieslab ​

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix watched as the enemy over-extended for a very basic attack and Clove was able to deftly duck to one side before coming in with her own counter attack. The woman yelped in pain even though she had managed to all-but throw her entire body away from Clove’s approaching blade. Her cobbled together armour might as well not have existed for all the support it gave her.

The tip of Clove’s blade carved an angry red line through armour, cloth and flesh along the attacker’s upper right arm. If Crix was right, she had likely cut into the muscle but hadn’t hit bone due to the shallow nature of the attack.

Screeching in pain, the challenger threw her left hand up towards Clove and Crix felt his eyes widen as a Force Push thrust out from the woman’s hand aimed at Clove’s gut.

He wouldn’t have guessed that the woman was a Force Sensitive but, in hindsight, he probably should have done. She hadn’t blinked at the idea of using the Force and she had chosen to arm herself with a lightsaber – it required either some Force Sensitivity of a whole lot of martial experience to fight with a lightsaber.

Even seasoned warriors with a blade were caught off guard when using a lightsaber. It was completely unlike literally any other weapon in the Galaxy after all – it required a deft touch. Still, it was clear that the woman was mostly untrained. Crix folded his arms and called out to Clove over the sound of their adversaries shouting and cheering.

“Show her what true training gives a Jedi, Clove!”

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

A slash through the shoulder was all she wanted. Clove didn't want to take away the girl's entire arm because she was young and had a bright future ahead of her. No, a simple shallow cut was enough to make using the arm difficult until it healed properly. Plus, to win, she didn't have to kill the challenger. Simply exhaust her enough to remove the mask from her face, or make her give up due to exhaustion.

What she didn't expect was for the Force to suddenly whisper a warning in her ear.

Wait, it warned her? For what? The challenger was quite a distance away, screaming in pain—then Clove noticed it. The girl was channeling the Force. She was force-sensitive as well. Sugar!

Even with the warning, Clove didn't have enough time to get out of the way, so all she could do was plant her heels on the ground and bend her knees as hard as she could, bracing herself for the impact. The Force Push reached her guts, pushing her backwards and sucking the air out of her lungs.

But it wasn't as bad as she had expected. The girl's lack of training meant that Clove endured far worse during her own personal training with the Jedi. Clove didn't have to struggle to regain her footing and take a few deep breaths to try to reclaim what she'd lost.

Recovering, on the other hand, gave the challenger the chance to retaliate. Clove swirled the force around the challenger's body with her index finger, pulling her forward towards Clove and the wall behind her, hoping to beat her to the punch. Then she'd wait for the girl to get closer, her lightsaber extended, as if expecting the challenger to land directly on her blade. Her position was as paragraphed as it could be. But just as she almost got in range of the challenger's blade, Clove once more ducked out of the way—towards the challenger's left and away from her weapon—while swinging her blade. This time the blade traveled down, towards the girl's left thigh.

If the trick had worked, the tip of her blade would have burned through the muscles, again missing any bone but hindering her movement. If it wouldn't, Clove would still jump out of the way. And well, now there was a wall the challenger was flying straight towards.

---

​

tag@Nefieslab​

 

[Crix Aran]

Well his cute little Padawan hadn’t been dashed against the wall like debris – which was progress to be sure.

Crix watched as Clove did her best to recover quickly but she actually had time to do so without too much in the way off pressure from her opponent. Although the raider woman did push herself forward again, she did so with much more hesitancy than before and her lightsaber seemed far less quick as her dominant arm was very clearly injured.

Even the raider, however, knew a telegraphed move like Clove’s opening wasn’t the end goal and she did her best to pivot to the right. The Pull from Clove put her off balance as she came in closer but the woman would still manage to spin her left side back away from Clove’s blade at the same time bringing the blade spinning up from the bottom left of Clove’s vision.

The rising attack had been made, initially, to cut through Clove’s face but with the spin she was forced to put into her action, it was far more likely to score across Clove’s ribs on her left side if left undefended.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Clove had hoped that the Force Pull would send the girl flying, but she wasn't as lucky and instead, it sent her tumbling, which turned into a spin not long after. Clove could only guess it would result in some sort of counterattack, and she was right. Clove rushed the Force through her body, bursting it against the girl with a Force Push, the brunt of the power point-blank against her already damaged arm and lightsaber.

The goal was to push the already unbalanced challenger over before the lightsaber could completely reach her, and hopefully disarm her at the same time.

Clove could only hope that the Force Push, combined with the fact that she was already moving away from her weapon and towards the girl's non-dominant side, meant that the lightsaber didn't strike her. And even if she wasn't quick enough, she might still be able to stop most of the lightsaber's damage. Regardless of the outcome, Clove maintained her momentum, stepping away as quickly as her nimble feet could carry her.

Clove dared to look down at her ribcage, checking for any hits, all while feeling her stamina levels drop; the Force Push drained a fair amount of energy, and she needed to win the fight sooner rather than later.

---

​

tag@Nefieslab​

 

[Crix Aran]

The Push to an already unstable opponent was more than enough.

With a strangled cry of pain, the raider clattered to the ground onto her injured arm and immediately released her lightsaber. Disarming hadn't been one of the conditions of victory however - death, destruction of the mask or forfeit were the only ways to actually win the match. He couldn't tell what some of the chants from the raider gang actually meant (they sounded like really old slang) but he could tell they were anxiously awaiting what they believed to be the final moment of the challenge.

Despite her pain, despite the way she needed to use her free hand to press at her injured arm to keep from crying out, the opponent Clove had faced stared right back at his Padawan in silence.

She refused to forfeit.

"Clove."

He called out to his Padawan to draw her attention, simply, to the fact that the match wasn't over yet at this stage. She still needed to actually finish the match... and there were only two ways to do it. It was not for him to decide how she should end the battle however, it was something of a test of his Padawan's character.

"You must end the match."

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Her heart was racing like crazy as she patted her ribcage, but there was nothing there. There was only a sliver of burned cloth and that was it. Her large eyes then danced towards the girl who was laying on the ground, holding her arm and making sounds she knew would be on her mind for a long time.

But... why were people still yelling and cheering? Hadn't she won? The girl was clearly done, her weapon arm ruined.

For the first time since the fight, Clove turned her gaze to Crix, who called her name. It was clear that she was confused and somewhat bothered.

"You must end the match."

Clove's brow furrowed behind the mask as she realized what was going on, and her gaze returned to the girl. She wasn't forfeiting. Why wasn't she forfeiting?! Was it part of the honor? Would her community punish her if she gave up? Was that it?

Fine.

Clove approached the girl's lightsaber and lifted it from the ground, deactivating it in her hand. She slid the hilt onto her belt after giving it a quick look, making sure it couldn't be pulled off without breaking the hook. Now that the lightsaber issue was solved, Clove turned her focus onto the challenger instead. Clove approached her with a few big steps, all the while challenging the Force through her own body, preparing herself in case she did something funny.

If nothing stopped her from getting closer, Clove knelt down on top of the girl's leg. It wasn't hard enough to hurt her, she wasn't going to be petty and torture her, but there was enough pressure to keep her from getting up. At the same time, her left hand reached up for the girl's left wrist, firmly wrapping her fingers around it. That way, she could keep the raider's hand against her badly injured shoulder, supporting it while also limiting her ability to fight back.

Given the raider's state, it may have been a bit of an overkill, but she wasn't forfeiting, so the fight was still on. Clove didn't want to risk anything getting in the way of her ending the fight right there and then. even if it meant being overly careful.

Plus, it still looked like a proper fight, which meant the challenger wouldn't be shamed by her peers. Or so she hoped, anyway. Because even if they were scavengers, she didn't deserve any of it.

Clove deactivated her lightsaber only after the girl was locked in place, and she moved the hilt onto her belt, right next to the other. Her newly free hand reached for the challenger's mask, pulling it off. There was no hesitation when she released the Force she had been challenging into her arm muscles, allowing her to toss the mask against the wall with more power than usual. The mask shattered, ending the fight on impact.

Clove let go of the challenger's wrist without looking back at the mask or at Crix before carefully wrapping her arms around her in a hug, avoiding the damaged shoulder. "Good fight. You are a very good fighter." While her voice was softer than usual, it was loud enough for everyone else to hear. "Do you want me to fix your arm?"

---

​

tag@Nefieslab​

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix was very much of the opinion that the battle was over and that Clove had won but it wasn't about what the two Jedi believed. If they wanted to take advantage of the odd customs of the raiders to their benefit then they needed to make sure that they abided by their rules. One of their rules regarded the end of their ritualistic combat and they certainly seemed excited to get to it.

When he considered that it might involve one of their own being executed? He decided that he just didn't understand how some cultures worked and, oddly enough, he had very little desire to understand that aspect of this one even if they were a rather interesting group.

The woman she had been fighting was unable to put up any resistance - despite her tough attitude, she was barely able to stay conscious with the pain of her wounds. She was a strong person but sometimes strength just invited more pain and she was learning that today he would say. Still, she struggled against Clove's almost gentle treatment of her regardless until the mask was removed.

At that point she tried bucking Clove off of her but there was no chance she could stop it before Clove shattered the mask. The challenger went limp and Clove would clearly see that she had started crying. She weakly tried to hit Clove as the Padawan hugged her but it was without any kind of strength she possessed before. Instead she sobbed into Clove's shoulder.

"Without mask I am... without soul... without a peoples..."

Crix left that minefield for his Padawan to deal with as he stepped up to stand beside her and looked at the group of raiders. They all seemed a mixture of defiant and resigned about the results of the battle but none of them were quick to challenge him. He stood there silently but he let the Force fall around him like a thick blanket and they could feel it.

"The battle is over - we have won." he called out to the raiders, "You set the challenge, we beat it. You work for the Jedi Order now... take us to your base."

The Force was singing and he thought he knew exactly just where their base was... but it wasn't until one of the raiders nodded and spoke up that he allowed himself to smile.

"Brightest Home is yours, Master."

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

The half-Annfyn simply held the raider in her arms, ignoring the weak attempts to hit her. But then the hitting stopped and she instead began to sob against her shoulders. Clove was frozen for a moment; she hadn't expected actual tears and was at a loss for what to do. Her parents, nor the Jedi, had never taught her how to deal with crying enemies who had just tried to stab her. But her mother had taught her compassion, so she was going to rely on that.

Especially when those sobs tugged at her heart.

"You have a soul, you silly." Clove responded softly, her hand supportively brushing over the girl's back. "And Crix and I can be your people," She paused for a moment. Was she really going to offer that? Yes. Yes she was. "Come with us. We'll look after you, train you, teach you whatever you want, and give you a home where you won't have to fight for your soul or your people." Clove shifted back to look directly into the raider's eyes as her tone became more resounding. "Would you like to be friends with me?"

She wasn't sure if Crix would agree, but she was willing to fight Crix if it meant ensuring the girl's safety. Well, not physically, but verbally! Plus, she came up with the idea thanks to him and Sebastian, so it's his fault if he doesn't want it!

While mentally preparing herself to support the girl no matter what, she sensed, not only through the Force but also through her bond with Crix, that there was good news. Brighthome would finally be theirs; after Crix's long search, the station would be in the hands of the Jedi. While it was newsworthy for celebrations and hugs, her gaze was fixed on the raider for the time being. She'd celebrate once she knew the girl had accepted her offer and was in good hands as well.

---

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