Ask Iron

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera anticipated that the machine would turn to block her blades, something deep within her knew that her 'mother' was someone who also knew the ins and outs of lightsaber combat. Any droid that her family would make would know of the difficulty of a dual strike and move to guard all angles. That assumption is perhaps why Hera did not expect the droid to react in the manner that it did. As Hera and Dash leaped at the droid, it spun and swung both blades at Hera.

The sheer force of the blades coming into contact with Hera's own threw the Jedi Knight as if she weighed no more than a ragdoll. Hera, soaring across the room, hit the far wall hard enough that the 'THUNK' of the armored woman's impact reverberated around the room. And, for a moment, Hera did not rise.

Lucky for Dash, though, the machine chose to target solely Hera. His blade found purchase in the mechanisms of the machine's leg, sliding up the machine's armor and into the knee joint of it's left leg. With a hiss, it fell to one knee and swiveled around, aiming to swing its left-bladed arm at Dash now. The blade was so large that, if it made full contact, it would take more than a chunk out of the Padawan, and it swung from left to right- aimed directly at Dash's midsection.

As the machine reacted to attack Dash, Hera stirred, coughing and gasping for air. She did not rise immediately, though, she knew that something in her chest had definitively broken.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

The machine reacted quicker than Dash expected, and Hera too by the looks of it. Its twin blades slammed against his Master's own and sent her hurtling backwards with the force of the blow, her armoured figure crashing into the far wall. "Master!"

Dash wanted to run over, but kept his head, driving his saber at its legs as he had planned. The blue blade connected, slicing into its knee joint and sending the machine falling forwards. It merely propped itself on one knee though, reversing its stance and swinging its left blade straight at Dash.

With no time to draw the Force and most of his saber wedged in it's knee, Dash did the only thing he could think of, letting go of his hilt and dropping to the floor. The massive blade swung over him like a fatal bird of prey, missing him by inches and he knew he only had seconds before the other one was brought to bear.

He kicked out at the damaged leg with his own booted foot, hoping to knock the crazy thing off balance even more, readying to spring up and pull his blade free.

@Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

The machine's first blade swung over Dash's head as the Padawan dropped to the floor and it immediately brought its other arm to bear. It swung at Dash while he kicked out at the machine's leg, and luckily for Dash it seemed to work. The second arm missed by a few inches as the machine lost its balance and wobbled through its second swing. Seeing the Padawan temporarily disarmed, the machine pulled up its weapon arms and aimed to slam them down on Dash as he readied to spring for his weapon.

The twin machine blades would never find their target, however, as Hera's form seemed to almost appear behind it. Twin blades of orange and blue swung down simultaneously for the machine's neck, crashing into the Durasteel and severing the head from the body. Unlike the Magna-guards of the modern day, this machine was old, and the arm blades immediately turned off as the machine fell to pieces across the floor.

As she stood over the ancient monstrosity, Hera's labored breathing could be heard over the hum of her blades. A deep, rattling wheeze escaped as she attempted to speak. "How-heehh, arrre you- Ok? Dash?" Every word seemed to elicit a sound of pain, but she did not bend or lose her footing as she spoke, more concerned about her Padawan than anything else.

The moment Hera finished speaking, a light flickered on at the end of the tomb. Resting atop an old stone coffin sat a large tome, seemingly perfectly preserved. Hera hesitated though to move towards it, not out of fear, but out of pain.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

His booted foot connected with the machine and sent it skittering sideways, but it was a machine not a person and was not capable of losing focus. It raised its weapon arms even as it fell, spying that Dash was laid on the floor and defenceless. He saw the two yellow blades coming down and knew it was too late to defend with the Force. He was going to be killed by an old droid in a dusty tomb.

A flash of orange and blue at the last second was the only warning he had. The droid's blades guttered out moments before they would have carved him up, the two sockets going dark. A second letter Dash realised the banging to his left was the machine's head bouncing and blowing apart on the hard floor. Then his Master was stepping into the light again and he realised she had decapitated the thing just in time.

He did not need his old medical training to see she was still hurt, springing to his feet and moving to support her side. "I'm fine, Master. Alive thanks to you. Are you OK?" She had taken a pretty big hit not long ago and would surely need some medical help. He would have carried her to any hospital in any case, but he was flooded with so much gratitude right now he felt he could do whatever it took.

A sudden light up ahead gave Dash a start and he leant back across to pull his saber from the defeated droid. "What's this?" he thought aloud, challenge and anxiety in his voice. But the light seemed little more than illumination, highlighting a coffin and a large book resting on top of it.

"Oh" Dash said, realising and dropping his guard a little. "I guess this is....your mother?".

@Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera grinned at Dash, then winced as she had unconsciously attempted to straighten up. Keeping the smile, she responded quietly, "Yeeh, I'm- ok. Broke, something. Not bleeding, internally, just need, to get back." At that moment, she turned toward the light. Her smile faded and her gaze hardened as she looked at the coffin. Slowly, Hera made her way over to where the tome and tomb sat.

Wordlessly, Hera brushed the tomb off and placed it aside to better examine the coffin. Placing a hand on it, she waited a full minute in silence. Her face twisted in a mixture of anger and grief before a realization came upon her. As face softened, Hera picked the book up and turned to Dash. Looking at her Padawan for a long time, Hera allowed her smile to return as she spoke, "I am, not, alone." She would not elaborate on what she meant by that, instead deciding that talking anymore was too painful.

The rest of their walk and ride home was uneventful, even though a little painful. Hera kept the book close to her the entire time, using it almost as support when she moved and breathed. Her injuries, while incredibly painful, had not punctured anything internally. She just needed to see a doctor and rest. Once they reached the village and returned their speeder bikes, Hera would stop one last time to come over to Dash.

Without any explanation, she pulled him in for an embrace. While holding him like an older sister hugging a sibling she hadn't seen in a long time, Hera whispered.

"I am not alone."

@Alhon