Ask I Don't Sympathise

[Wodan]

Wodan was looking back at the slowly disappearing pair of Altair and the older woman. So he didn't see the big buff dude blocking the street, forcing Wodan to clatter into the man. “Watch where you're going.” He growled at the man before spotting the woman from earlier, so she had gone and told someone.

Taking a step back, he took a good look at the lump, he was clearly not a proper member of the resistance. His face was pox marked, with a toothy grin, his clothing choice made Wodan look like the Firrerrian Prince he was. He was probably just some thug with a criminal record using the Resistance village as a place to lay low without having the cops come after him.

“I have issues with big lummoxes with thick heads.” He snarled at the thug. Wodan was pissed enough at the situation, he didn’t need some wannabe gangster getting in the way. If it wasn’t for the woman behind he would have crushed the man’s throat in an instant. Anything to get this bloody mission and day over with.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself before he continued. “We had a falling out over a job, he said I had to cover his shift. Didn’t tell me it was a double. Now if you please, I need to get going before I’m late.” It was obvious to both the giant meathead and the woman he was not in a pleasant mood. He just hoped the lummox would get the hint and leave him be.

_____​

Meanwhile, the old lady had introduced herself as Matilda, her sons were Larry and Gordon. Larry had a wife and two children of his own, but they didn’t visit much after he moved to the big city. Gordon was a little more present, but he was always getting into trouble, she couldn’t remember the amount of times she picked him up from a police station.

“Come in, come in.” She said, motioning the Tiefling through the open door into her little house. It was hardly furnished at all, only a few personal effects and basic furniture. As she passed the counter, she would turn down a pair of personal photos. “So how about some lasagna.”

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

The man growled, “Watch it,” He said before lightly shoving Wodan back with a hand on his shoulder, “We don’t want any hotshot little kids stirring up trouble here. Especially when Angie here says she has never seen you before,” Slightly past the bulky man, the woman glared and huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

However, unless the Firrerreo lost his temper again, the buff man eventually stepped out of his way, glaring after him, “Stay out of trouble. If I catch you pulling nonsense again, your ass is outta here,” He jerked a thumb towards the exit.

The path to the water tank was otherwise clear. Throughout the journey, Wodan would see more of the base. He would see thriving activity with families, children and liveliness all around.

---​

Altair could already smell the delicious lasagna in the house, along with the strong smell of mothballs. The walls were covered in pictures of families and cats. It vaguely reminded him of his great aunt’s house.

“Yes, in fact, let me help you set the table,” Altair went to work doing just that. He glanced through the window towards the water tank to see if Wodan was anywhere near it. A part of him was convinced the Acolyte would muck everything up and start a fight with that temper of his. The other part expected him to blow the operation and chicken out of it last minute.

“So.. lots of people with weapons walking around,” Altair said to Matilda with the pretense of making conversation, “All part of this resistance group I keep hearin’ about?” He asked as he set the plates down, "How do you locals feel about it?"

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

His blood was still up from the encounter with Altair and Wodan wanted with all his being to just snap this pisspot's little neck. But the Tiefling’s words were jabbing in the back of his mind, that ‘smug’ look on his face, the way he seemingly looked down on the Firrerrian. He couldn’t have it, no, Wodan would complete the mission, just to show to the Tiefling he wasn’t exactly what Altair thought he was.

“I get’t, now I am gonna be late and I don’t wanna the foreman to kick me ass.” He gave the wannabe gangster a nod and slipped past the larger man and the woman beyond him and headed up the street towards the water tower.

____​

“Oh thanks deary, can you set it for four though. Gordon and Angie normally stop in for tea as well.” She mentioned to the Tiefling, as she went about getting the salad out of the fridge, cutting some larger vegetables up.

When he mentioned the weapons he hand slipped a bit on the chopping board, luckily missing her fingers but cutting the zucchini into a rather odd portion size. “Better if you don’t call them the Resistance darling, they don’t like that word.” She replied, Matilda continued chopping the vegetables but at a slower pace than before.

“And they are just fine, keep to themselves and help out around town.” Looking up to make sure he was setting the cutlery right, she smiled at him before finishing off the salad. “How long you been in town?”

___​

Walking through the streets, they became less compact the closer he got to the tower, space between the buildings opened up allowing space for kids and families to enjoy the sun and fresh air. The Firrerrian had to keep his head down and eyes averted, not because he was trying to be overt, but he knew that looking at all those innocent faces would rattle his nerves. “They are not precious to me.” He mumbled to himself as he rounded the corner onto the water towers street.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair didn’t miss the way Matilda’s hand slipped just a bit. He pretended not to notice, keeping his gaze trained ahead, “What do they like to be called then?” He asked curiously. Through it all, he had to keep his anger in check. He could vividly recall when he was ambushed and taken as prisoner. He would never forget the sound of the vibroblade that came dangerously close to his horns. He would never forget the echoing laughter of the resistance soldiers that mocked him and passed around his horned helmet as a trophy.

He was caught slightly off guard by her question, lost in his own thoughts, “Hmm?” He quickly looked at her, “Sorry,” Altair smiled sheepishly, “Haven’t been here too long. I was lookin’ for work and heard y’all could some extra hands here."

“Now you said Gordon’s always gettin’ into trouble,” Altair suddenly remembered what she had been saying earlier, “How so?”

—​

Meanwhile, Wodan found his path largely unhindered. What he would hear, however, was children playing or people chitchatting. A few women were catching up on the latest gossip. Every now and then, people dressed as soldiers marched through the streets, carrying weapons. Wodan’s sensitive hearing would pick up some idle chatter about people being uncomfortable with their presence. Here and there Wodan would catch shouting matches between what appeared to be locals and resistance fighters. It was obvious that there were seeds of distrust between the groups and it was a shaky coexistence at best.

The water tower loomed ahead but would require a bit of a climb up a long ladder. Given the profession he was posing as, Wodan could likely blend in rather well. Even then, he would have to appear as inconspicuous as possible to keep from rousing suspicion.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

It was becoming harder and harder for Wodan to keep himself to himself, his eyes wanted desperately to claw themselves away from the floor to take in the faces of the men, women and children. His ears couldn’t help but pick up little words and phrases, ones which made these people turn from numbers to human beings. He clenched his fists even tighter, his nails digging into the soft flesh of his palm, small droplets of blood appearing around his fingers.

“They are not precious to me.” He mumbled again, hoping that the second time would stick with him longer than the first. Blindly trudging forward, he quickly found himself at the bottom of the water tower. Looking left and right he saw no guards, no one was even paying him a look as he stood at the bottom of the village’s only water source.

The Firrerrian took a deep breath, before opening the gate and taking hold of the bottom rung of the ladder.

___​

“They don’t really have a name. But I would warn you not to call them that. Especially when Gordon turns up.” She replied as she put the final vegetables into the salad bowl and began tossing through some dressing. “He got caught up in this whole resistance to the Sith thing. Now he's out every night, doing all sorts of things. I am just worried what will happen if the Sith do turn up.” Matilda finished with a sigh as she put the bowl down on the side. In that moment Altair would see the weight of woe fall heavy on the old woman, visibility ageing her before the Tiefling’s eyes.

A few moments later, a giant of a man walked through the door. His voice bellowed through the small home. “Hey Mam, I’m home. What are you doing here?” He said squaring up Altair.

___​

Wodan was about half way up, when one of the metal rungs gave way, the Firrerrian was able to easily grip onto the rest of the ladder to stop his fall. But the break away rung spun down below him, clattering into the head of a passing guard. He immediately turned his head to view the now scampering Wodan trying to get to the top of the water tower as quickly as possible.

“Hey you, what are you doing up there.” Wodan ignored the guard and kept going. “Answer me.” He shouted again raising his weapon towards the Firrerrian.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Wodan’s day just got from bad to far worse. There was a crowd gathering on the ground below him and he had become a spectacle. Some were telling him to get his ass down, others were expressing concerns. All of it meant he was completely exposed and extremely unlikely to complete the task.

“Get down now!” A soldier yelled as he began to climb up the ladder towards Wodan. Most of them seemed to believe he was in trouble, though a few Resistance soldiers were extremely suspicious.

Meanwhile, Altair looked up when Gordon stopped in. The tiefling was unfazed by the man squaring him up, used to such treatment often.

“Your ma invited me for some food, so we’re just chillin’,” He said unassumingly, “Nice home,” Altair added, making it clear he wanted no trouble.

Gordon opened his mouth to say something but glanced beyond Altair and out the window. His face scrunched up and he soon exited the house. Altair looked back and saw the crowd all looking up at… oh for fuck’s sake. With a wave to Matilda, he exited the house and made his way towards the water tank. That had been the main focus of the mission and with Wodan and his theatrics, he couldn’t see a feasible way of completing it. Was this on purpose? Had the Firrerreo intended to sabotage this?

Altair looked around, attempting to find a way to cause a diversion so the crowds wouldn’t stare at Wodan. Failing to find anything useful, he knocked over a giant dumpster. There was a crash, and he hoped it would draw their attention. Instead, it only made the Resistance soldiers more suspicious. Two of them walked over to grab Altair by the arms, “You’re coming with us,” They said gruffly while leading him away, “You look way too familiar,” One of them said, “I think we dealt with you before.”

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan had scampered to the top of the water tower, much to the annoyance of the baying crowd which had assembled below him. All were staring, most were shouting at him to get down, some, mainly the villagers seemed concerned for his safety. But the soldiers were suspicious their voices were more harsh demanding he get down or else. Most had their weapons raised, while others were searching around to see if he was alone.

It was then he saw Altair appear at the edge of the crowd, the Tiefling looked in his direction before he tried to make some kind of distraction tossing over a wheelie bin which only seemed to get him picked as part of this stunt. Altair’s distraction however not only pulled the guards attention away but also Wodan’s, the Firrerrian not noticing that one of the fighters was now at the top of the water tower.

Reaching into his jacket he grabbed the vial of poison, quickly shuffling around the tower he tried to find the ladder which would lead him on top of the tank so he could drop it in. Two steps up the rung and he heard the tell tale sound of a blaster power bank charging up. Turning he saw the guard slowly moving round the edge of the tower his weapon raised. “Alright son, down you get.”

Without saying a word Wodan stepped down from the ladder. “What are you doing up here son? You could get yourself hurt.” Wodan’s mind flashed through with a hundred different stupid excuses, hiding from work, his parents, a women, because of a women or a man. “I just…” Before he could say anything the guard’s eyes caught glimpse of the vial in his hand, his eyes narrowed realising he was up here for something nefarious.

Wodan without conscious thought stepped forward, his free hand slamming up into the barrel of the blaster, a shot rang out over his shoulder as the Firrerrian tried to disarm the man. In the confined space and with one hand trying to protect the vial of poison, the resistance guard was putting up plenty of fight against the Sith.

It lasted only a few seconds, shouting escalated down on the ground. Then another blaster shot went off silencing the crowd below. A moment later the guard collapsed at Wodan’s feet, his body slumped to one side before sliding off the edge, plummeting to the ground below, in his hand the vial of poison shattering on impact. Screams erupted from the crowd below as Blaster fire began raining down on Wodan.


@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair’s heart began to race as the soldier dragging him mentioned him being familiar. Memories of his time in New Alderaan flashed through his mind and his entire body stiffened. As he heard the bolts ring out, he saw the commotion atop the tower. Moments later, the guard that was up there fell and landed with a sick crunch, resulting in collective gasps and shouts. All hell broke loose and there was no salvaging the situation.

All of this happening at once made Altair panic. Without warning, he unleashed a concussive blast of the Force to send the men dragging him away flying in opposite directions. He saw multiple soldiers firing their blasters at Wodan and Altair didn’t hesitate, breaking into a run towards them. Wodan would see several of the men shooting at him abruptly yanked by the Force and flung off to the side. A few were smashed against hard surfaces, leaving them dead or unconscious.

Altair grabbed a rifle off a dead soldier and ran around the water tank, spotting Wodan. Without a word, he used the Force to hurl the rifle at the Firrerreo, recalling that he had decent aim from their training exercises, “Clear out the immediate area so we can bolt!” Altair shouted moments before a bolt grazed his shoulder.

The tiefling grunted in pain, turning back to launch the man that shot him into a speeder. They would have to fight their way out, but it was clear Altair was still desperately trying to avoid random civilian casualty. Their escape relied on Altair clearing out soldiers on the ground and Wodan successfully picking off reinforcements coming their way. The water tank provided the Firrerreo a solid vantage point over the whole village.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan stared down at the crumpled body of the old guard, he was at least twice his age, hair greying at the side. Was any of his family in the crowd below? The Firrerrian’s eyes were locked on the body as blaster bolts began to fire up in his direction. One skimmed dangerously close to his face, snapping his attention from the blood soaked body. Dropping to his knees to get some cover, he tried to survey the situation below him like the instructors had taught him.

His eyes caught commotion to one side, the horned figure of Altair wasn’t hard to spot nor was the blaster flying directly towards the Firrerrian. Using The Force to pull it out of the sky and into his grasp, Wodan laid down on his stomach, trying to get the steadiest of positions so he could cover the Tiefling.

The commotion below him was pure chaos, resistance fighters pushing against the tide of scattering civilians made even the simplest of shots difficult less he hit an innocent bystander. From his vantage point he could see a group of guards pushing in from the West side towards Altair. Taking aim he let off a trio of shots, the first crashed into its intended target sending the fighter to his grave. The second two however found targets just of the innocent category, a women and an elderly man, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time felt the burn of plasma in their backs before everything turned to black.

Wodan’s face pulled away from the weapon's sight as the innocent bodies clattered to the floor. “For fucksake.” He cursed to himself, why couldn’t they just move in a straight line? Why couldn’t he just shoot straight? Not wanting to look back down the sight he turned and shouted to Altair at least he could give him some warning. “You have friends from the west, too many civilians to get a clear shot.” He hoped the half-true excuse would save him from any hairdryer treatment the Tiefling would give him if they survived this.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair had just tossed back a few more armed guards when he saw Wodan pick off a woman and an old man. The tiefling whirled around, “What are you doing?!” He hissed up at the Firrerreo. All he could see was panic in the acolyte’s face. He heard the ‘explanation’, but Altair didn’t buy any of it. Things were getting desperate and they had little time. However, the tiefling had decided to make up his mind as he saw Wodan stricken with doubt. This time the Firrerreo was getting fired at from all sides - freezing up would guarantee that he died right there and then.

Without warning, Altair coiled the Force around Wodan. Putting his strength into it, he tossed Wodan bodily from the vantage point of the water tank and clear over the barbed wire tall fence that marked the perimeter of the base. The throw was perfect to where Wodan would land safely on the opposite side. However, right before Wodan disappeared over the wall, he would see Altair get tackled by multiple soldiers from behind and drop face down into the mud. The tiefling had used all his focus on safely throwing Wodan out, leaving himself trapped in the base.

On the other side, Wodan would hear sirens and alarms as more vehicles raced to the entrance of the base. However, he was completely out of harm’s way and had a clear exit away from this.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

He looked down at the Tiefling as he called up to him, the Firrerrian not sure how to accurately put his failure into words which didn’t make him out to be the coward Altair thought he was. Before he could gather his thoughts into any kind of sentence he felt the power of The Force erupt from the Tiefling coiling around his body. For a moment he tried to resist, understanding what Altair was doing, but part of him wanted to be free and away from this, more so than continuing the battle. So he let go and allowed The Force to peel him away from the metal structure, with an almost gracious arc Wodan flew from the water tower over the fence. Relief washed over him as he realised this entire escapade was finished. Even if it was a failure at least they made it out alive. That was when he saw it, in the split second before he passed from view as his Golden Orbs locked with the Violet eyes of the Champion, Altair assaulted from all sides, tackled to the ground.

The Force released its hold from the Acolyte as Altair dropped, but as seemingly always the Tiefling’s aim was true and Wodan dropped into a small collection of bushes cushioning his fall. “Shit, Altair.” He shouted, as he scrambled out of the bushes and looked back at the village. He could hear sirens across the village, an alarm rousing every soldier in its walls to action.

The gates off to his right were a hive of activity and already men were pouring out to try and find him. “Fuck.” He shouted again kicking at the ground, what was he to do. He couldn’t go charging back in there now, he would just end up caught. But he couldn’t leave Altair in there alone, as much as the bloody Sith poster boy got on his nerves Wodan liked the man, respected him.

A guard ran round the corner pulling his attention away from his inner conflict, a blaster shot whizzed towards him, Wodan just ducking in time. The blaster still in hand from the tower he quickly raised it and placed a hastily aimed shot into his chest. More was coming and no matter what he chose to do, Wodan needed time and space.

So he ran.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

He couldn’t believe he was here again. Altair could barely focus with the drugs in his system, and this time the Resistance fighters knew better than to skimp on the dosage. Evidently they had studied up on tiefling anatomy and knew they could process toxins quickly. From his blurred vision and through the haze he could make out that he was in some sort of transport speeder. There were no windows in the speeder and he was seated next to several armed guards. His hands were bound behind his back.

“I thought for sure that idiot climbing the water tower was with this guy,” He overheard one of the guards talking.

“Me too, but then this demon just tossed him like a rag doll over the fence,” He whistled and demonstrated an object flying with his hand, ending with a splat, “We’ll prolly have to scrape his guts off the ground next time we go on patrol.”

“Oh man, the cell boss is gonna love that we caught the demon of Ossus!” Altair could practically hear the giddiness in his tone.

“Yeah, the Jedi will get some nice coverage for this,” Another guard said, “This one’s been the source of all kinds of trouble. He killed that Jedi on Agamar, then Ossus and of course New Alderaan.”

From the outside, the gates of the base opened as the unmarked speeder exited late at night. It was destined to go to the nearest spaceport to fly back into resistance or Jedi territory. Altair could barely put his thoughts together. He knew what he did with throwing Wodan to safety. It allowed the acolyte to run and the entire thing looked as if Altair turned on him so the guards wouldn’t think they were together. While it ultimately cost him his own freedom, at least the Acolyte managed to escape. Aadya or Vahliri would grill him for his stupid selfless acts, but Altair still didn’t know any better. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate. He would have to plot his own escape this time - he wasn’t going to embarrass himself by needing the ladies to show up again.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan was exhausted, his chest hurt as his lungs tried to grasp at the oxygen in the air as he collapsed onto the floor outside the tents he had found Altair at only a few hours earlier. His face was covered in streaks of grime, where tears turned to anger and back to tears as he retold the story of the day within his mind in the hour it had taken him to run back towards the camp. Turning over onto his back his chest still continued to heave, his heart pumped at a dramatic rate as he looked up at the slowly darkening sky.

“What a bloody shit excuse for a Sith.” He said to himself, he was a hundred percent confident that anyone else in his situation, well wouldn’t have gotten themselves into it. Altair no, Arla no, Vahliri No, Asher No, Draugr fuck no. I mean even Caerllion and Andrej could probably do a better job than him now. Tears began to well within his eyes again and he had to clench his eyes and fists shut just to pull away from that shit sorry filled state.

He let out a scream as his heart beat finally began to return to normal levels. “Come on Wodan, you need to do something. Altair wouldn’t leave you to fucking rot in a jail. You have to at least bloody try.” He spoke to himself as he pulled himself up from the dirt, rolling over to look into the tents. Crawling into the main tent, he found his Imperial Armour and began pulling the armoured plate back on. “The bastard is precious to me. But I'll be damned if I have to say it to him.”

A few minutes later and he re-emerged from the tent, both his and Altair’s lightsabers hung from his belt. Wiping any residue from his tears from his face, he picked up the blaster and started making his way back towards the resistance camp. As he walked Wodan tried to tap into that feeling of failure, of weakness, the fear it brought. It was a path into the Dark Side he could use today, rage, anger and pain were all second to that fear. Fear he was too late, that Altair was already dead.

He jogged alongside the road they had used to get to the camp the first time, he needed speed now and the cut path was the quickest way he could get back to the resistance headquarters. What he would do when he got there, well he would come to that when he got there. He just knew he had to get back before it was too late.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

As Wodan made his way over, he would be able to make out the lone cargo speeder making its way across the empty road. He would be able to feel the distress Altair felt in the Force from the speeder passing close by. The tiefling was still drugged and out of it. The conversations around him faded in and out, but he knew they were all about what they would do to him.

“I’m surprised they didn’t send other vehicles with us,” One of them mused, “You’d think transporting such a dangerous Sith would call for some extra protection.”

“Why? He’s totally out of it and he’ll be that way the entire time.”

The transport crossed over into rougher terrain, slowing it down. It was a basic vehicle composed of a driver and three Resistance soldiers sitting in the back with Altair. The moon was high in the sky, bathing the empty fields in light but still casting shadows. No one had spotted Wodan at this point.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

There was a fresh burning sensation running through his calves up to his thighs as Wodan pushed hard up the slight incline. His breath was ragged already, all the emotion and physical exhaustion pushing the Acolyte to his limit. Only the image of Altair’s violet eyes devoid of life kept him going, kept the Fear pumping, the Dark Side flowing.

That fear spiked the moment he felt Altair’s distress, it was like a lighthouse in the crashing seas of Wodan’s despair. Snapping his head, eyes and every sense towards the direction of the transport as he drifted off towards his right. The long moving object had left the main road he was running up and was making a direct route to the capital through the farms and homesteads. “Altair!” He screamed, his voice breaking as floods of emotion took over. He almost collapsed his hands on his knees, heaving great gulps of breath. “Altair!” He screamed again into the black void as the speeder disappeared from view.

What did he expect from the scream, that the sound of his voice would somehow summon the Tiefling to his side. “Fuck! Come on Wodan.” He called to himself. “You have to get moving.” His body was a wreck, but his emotions even frayed pushed him forward. “Come on.” Closing his eyes he tried to pull further onto that Fear, allowing it to penetrate him, Fear turned again to despair, but with all his will he had to keep it from consuming him. Leave that empty hole inside just big enough for the flame of the Dark Side to manifest but not large enough to swallow him whole.

Red and yellow lines flickered through his golden eyes and the Dark Side took hold. Its power flowing into his body, removing all exhaustion and strain. With all the power he could muster Wodan sped across the field, wheat slapped against his face the force of the blow slicing the skin as he passed.

A moment later and the speeder came into view, dark against the night's terrain only the pale light of the moon showed its silhouette, with no windows to the rear he had no option to make an easy entrance. Catching up with the speeder he leapt onto the rear of the vehicle, the bright red light of his ignited sabre illuminating the rear of the speeder. With a single slash he cut down into the rear repulsor unit an almighty explosion followed suit as Wodan jumped backwards off the speeder, rolling to a stop in amongst the wheat.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was still drifting in and out of consciousness when he thought he heard his name. Did he? Nah, it had to be his imagination. He felt a pulse in the Force, something tugging at his psyche from a place in his mind he didn’t know existed. The image of Wodan briefly flickered into his mind before disappearing again like an image flickering through a bad holonet connection. The tiefling squinted and blinked, a throbbing headache gripping his mind.

The men around him appeared to tense, looking around suspiciously moments before an explosion erupted. The back of the speeder erupted and a fire broke out, the men around him screaming as they quickly tried to exit the vehicle. The driver screeched to a halt, the front crashing into a tree. Altair groggily looked around, glancing up at the men yelling and shouting. He used the chance to abruptly launch himself at one of them, slapping his head full on into the face of one of the soldiers. There was an audible crack as multiple bones in his face broke, blood spurting forth. The tiefling lumbered out of the vehicle, losing his step as he stepped through the fire and landing with a thud on the ground below. His hands were still bound, but at least he was out. Altair was on fire, but it was mostly his clothing that was impacted. He rolled off to the side in the grass, attempting to get away from the soldiers.

Two of them sprang out and quickly looked for the source of the commotion. Altair still had no idea what was happening as he attempted to stand in his severely drugged state. The Force wouldn’t come to him and he felt like a limp noodle.

“I SEE HIM!” One of the soldiers looked through the scope of his rifle to take a shot at Wodan. The other quickly followed suit.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

The way he hit the floor and rolled took the air straight out of his lungs, as he heaved to get it back in the dust from the crops caused him to cough. The speeder was now ablaze, shining a bright light across the field as Wodan tried to pull himself to his feet. Only one leg under him and the blaster fire began, with a desperate baseball like swing he deflected the first shot off into the distance. The second one whizzed past his body as he stumbled upwards. A third slammed into the dirt next to him, the fourth was battered away with his saber.

He was now advancing on the pair, their hunting rifles packed a punch more so than a normal blaster, but at the cost of a low fire rate. A fifth was deflected off to the side again, but a quick sixth slammed into his shoulder spinning him on the spot. The hot plasma burned into the duraplast casing of his armour, the pain almost caused him to black out. A cold like burn that radiated out from his shoulder across his entire body. Wodan’s eyes flickered again with the yellow and red of the Dark Side as he reached out. The Force latched itself around the neck of the two guards.

They levitated slowly off the floor, rifles were quickly dropped as they squirmed against the invisible hand at their neck, clawing at their own skin to try and relieve the pressure. A glint of a fang shone in the firelight as he snapped the pair’s necks. “Altair.” He shouted, his voice hoarse from all the emotion.

Stumbling forward the pain still pulsating across his body he spotted the Tiefling’s burning body. His eyes shot wide, not because of the flames but of the resistance fighter raising his blaster towards the back of Altair’s neck. With a frantic wave of his arm he shoved Altair to the ground just as the blaster went off. The fighter didn’t see what happened next; his body was almost vaporised by the Lightning that struck him.

Wodan lumbered towards the downed Tiefling collasing to his knees next to the man. “Altair.” Was all that escaped his mouth as he fumbled with the restraints around the man’s wrists.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair could hear bolts being fired and commotion all around him, but he was still heavily under the influence of the drugs injected into his system. He barely managed to stand before he was knocked down all over again. His vision was blurred, his head was dizzy and the loud noises made him wince. He was crawling on his hands and knees in the grass, sporting a splitting headache that made his eyes water.

He heard Wodan say his name, staring at the Firrerreo in shock as he began to undo the binds on Altair’s wrists, “W-Wodan?” He asked quietly, blinking through the headache to look at the other man, “The.. soldiers..” Altair looked around. There was nothing but silence around them. Nothing but Wodan in front of him and the exhaustion in the other man, “You came back…you fucking idiot you came back,” He said hoarsely and in complete disbelief, chuckling to himself as tears brimmed his eyes. Unfortunately, this was a bit much as he promptly had to turn and vomit right into the grass. After retching for a bit, he spat and finally began to feel better, wiping his mouth off with newly freed hands.

Altair turned back to face Wodan, “The vial….it was never gonna kill them…wasn’t gonna kill the civilians,” He finally admitted, “Was just…gonna make them shit a lot and start them bickering,” Altair looked down, “I switched the vials…I….went around a Sith directive..” He stared down at the ground. He was afraid of admitting this to Wodan, but the man had gone out of his way to save Altair. Wodan deserved to know the kind of man he had risked his life for.

“I wanted to prevent any civilian casualty,” He whispered as he slowly raised his head to gaze at the Firrerreo again.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

He couldn’t help but smile when Altair called him a fucking idiot for coming back. The fear and self-loathing which had been the sum total of his emotions since Altair had thrown him over the settlement wall was finally giving way. Relife and some sense of pride in being able to save the Tiefling began to fill him, though as the fear disappeared so did the power of the Dark Side which had been flowing through him causing a wave of exhaustion to pass over the Acolyte.

It was then that Altair hit him with the bombshell, the poison was fake. What the actual fuck, Wodan fell backwards onto his arse, the flames from the speeder illuminated his shocked face for the Tiefling. That shock would slowly devolve into anger and frustration from the Firrerrian, Wodan though didn’t know what to say or do at that moment.

Altair had literally chewed him out for not having it in him to be a Sith. To the point Wodan’s emotions had gotten the better of him and the Noble had turned petty snapping back with Clove’s name, enraging Altair and dangerously risking their friendship. Fuck, had he been willing to loose their friendship over he two face lie? Why hadn’t he just told Wodan? The Acolyte didn’t even know the mission parameters, Altair was briefed directly, he could have lied to Wodan from the start? He had no need to tell him they were poisoning the well, then they wouldn’t have gotten in that stupid fight and almost tore themselves apart.

Wodan reached up grabbing both sides of his hair in frustration pulling on the roots, the flash of physical pain giving him something to concentrate on less disappear into a well of his thoughts. He didn’t know what to say or really think, he didn’t care about the mission and that Altair had gone against orders, it was the fact he had lied to him and risked their friendship over that lie that was destroying the Firrerrian inside. Shit, were they really friends?

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair plopped back down to sit on the grass, sensing the distress that went through Wodan right then. He felt sick and it had nothing to do with the drugs still leaving his system. The tiefling sighed as he stared at the ground, knowing what was going through Wodan’s mind, “I was too ashamed…too afraid to tell you,” He admitted, “You know if there’s enough suspicion, Sith can delve into your mind and extract the truth. It was safer to keep you in the dark,” His face revealed he was being genuine - Sith Lords like Raze were notorious for simply extracting information instead of bothering to ask.

Now that the mission was a complete failure, there would be some scrutiny unless they managed to salvage the same result somehow. Altair buried his face into his hands, sighing, “But after you came back for me, I couldn’t keep bullshittin’ you,” He said quietly, “And I ain’t gonna do that to you ever again no matter the cost,” Altair promised.

“But unless we fix this somehow, there will be an inquiry,” Altair said as he looked back at the acolyte.

@Braden