Vader is a terrible, terrible man. AGAIN. [OPEN]

[sin_and_misery]

Kenobi!

Vader's eyes snapped open as he jerked to consciousness, his last memory of Kenobi's smirk burnt into his memory. The treacherous Jedi had thwarted him again. Why he was not dead was beyond him, but the second time Kenobi had left him for dead without having the stomach to actually finish the deed would be the last

Comments

[ladyofthesands]

Arha had been waiting, quietly, watching him with wide open curiosity. He had tried to kill Obi-Wan, and here we was at the end of it; stuck to a machine. He had been burned, charred at one point--this she could tell by examining him from the side of the bed. Such would explain the need for artificial support. When he did stir, Arha moved back slightly.

"I would not advise moving until we can devise a more portable unit," she said in a quiet voice. She had chosen to wear her soft brown outfit and it was unmistakably Jed-Eye; the long sleeve puddled slightly against the edge of the bed as she eased herself upright. "This one is hardly adequate. I would ask how you are feeling, but I will take a guess that comfortable was never on such a menu."

[ladyofthesands]

"The Order has changed," Arha said patiently. "Blood ties are permitted, encouraged, needed because they are the thing that gives a Jed-Eye strength. The mistakes of another age are gone, perhaps in part, by your own doing. Your own son is married, has a family, and his ties to them are strong. Perhaps, if you stopped for a moment and used your brain instead of folding in upon yourself and pulling your hate over your eyes like a pillow to keep monsters at bay, you would see this is true."

She half rolled her eyes.

"The Jed-Eye you hate are gone. You do not listen and I have no gloating, no pity. You are what you choose to be. I cannot change this. The only thing I can change is myself." She stretched her mind out, open wide, though the wrapped anything to do with Obi-Wan up and stuffed it away like a squirrel, burying it in the sea of voices that were her ancestors (and truth, those who she had never known in her life from the one whose face she did not know). The Mothers-Within were agitated, but settled to allow sharp

[sin_and_misery]

"Stop! STOP!" Vader roared, thrashing on the bed hard enough to activate the bony, insectoid restraints. The light of her thoughts touched the places within him that were still raw and sent his thoughts skittering away from her reach, even as his physical body was kept firmly in place. Try as he might, he was still too weak to raise his shields and keep her presence out- or keep his own thoughts safely locked away. The images were of a place far too similar to Tatooine, and he remembered his own burning sands with blood pooling within footsteps, and the cries of--

"Get out," he said, hoarsely. Then, shouting, even as ravaged as his throat was from this unassisted conversation: "GET OUT! I will not be swayed by you! I have had the veil removed from my eyes, and the Emperor has shown me...he knows far better than you do how deeply the conditioning of the Jedi runs!" He was frantic now, pulling deeper and deeper within himself to stay right, to know that what he had done was the only conceivable option. He was the avatar of justice to

[ladyofthesands]

There is a veil between you and the world, one your Emperor placed before you. I do not sway anyone, I show only the absolute truth. I cannot lie in this place. Arha showed the blistering sands at dawn, the tiny scorpion that favored the rock outside her small cave, the quiet peace of her cave and the ripple of the water in the small cache that had kept her alive. She showed him the harsh beauty and the cruelty of her desert home, how she had nearly died from lack of water only to dream of it and find it. She showed him the fierceness of the desert warriors, the Fremen, and of the Jihad that followed Paul Muad'dib; her sands wet with blood and the puddles of water in the street in Arakeen. All of this at a cost.

This was a place without Jed-Eye.

But this was a place with her. She had no family but the wide stretches of sand and the creatures of the desert, left alone and pathless for long, long ears even as war tore through her planet. She healed those she could and watched others die, their bodies put in the deathstill to

[sin_and_misery]

"You cannot win," Vader panted, squeezing his eyes shut. "I will not...allow you..."

He recognized what she was showing him- as though they were half-remembered holos from his own life, snapshots of something he once knew, and had left behind. He recognized how she saw him, he was aware of his faults; but now he buried those doubts deeper within himself, attributing them to his own weakness and lack of skill in the Dark Side.

I am capable of resisting this.

And he...withdrew. Bloody sands, dying children, family, two different but somehow linked galaxies- all thoughts he sent drifting further from his mind, floating away as he curled his thoughts behind battered shields.

None of this is of any concern to me.

Further...and further...

[ladyofthesands]

Arha's fingertip barely touched his hand as she followed him. Retreat would not help when they could use his support against the Ohm. The contact jarred her and a shudder worked down her spine as she was quite suddenly able to see the devastation wrought on his body. She focused most of her energy sifting through the information streaming into her

[sin_and_misery]

I will outlast your pursuit, he said, lashing out. You are not allowed in my mind. I have one last place that is free from...

It was at that moment her assault on his mind turned to the physical. For a moment he thought he'd lost feeling in what was left of his body, until he realized he simply was not feeling...pain. Between the calm he was trying to maintain and the sudden removal of stress-

Vader began to slip out of consciousness and into a very rewarding sleep.

[ladyofthesands]

Arha let out a barely audible sigh as he slid toward sleep. Not having to focus on him combating her on that level freed her to focus all her attention on his lungs. It would take many hours of work to rebuild them and she would only do this for an hour--and perhaps place a pain block as well. She was convinced that most of his crabbiness came from pain. And he was crabby and irritable.

Obi-Wan had knocked him down fairly hard (acceptable, considering Vader was trying to murder him) and that had its own effects. Arha knew this first healing would have little effect on his lung function, but the pain would be greatly reduced. When she pulled herself out of the healing session, she found herself too groggy to move at all, and decided she wished to remain still for just a moment.

That moment turned into several.

Arha Massari had fallen into a light doze with her cheek against the edge of Vader's bed, her fingers curled beside his arm. A lazy tendril of a thought escaped, meandering in Kyle Katarn's direction.

...could use.

[mercjedi]

Kyle heard that thought, and frowned. Something was wrong. With as much speed as he could muster he ran to the mess hall, and then made his way to the Med Bay. Why was Arha here? It hadn't felt like she'd been hurt. Force he hoped she hadn't gone to talk to Vader. If he'd done something to her...he forced himself too take a deep breath, and let that emotion pass over him.

Finally reaching the Med Bay he found her dozing on the edge of Vader's bed. Not what he was expecting at all. What the hell was going on? At least she seemed to be okay. Moving forward he gently put a hand on her shoulder to awaken her. "Arha? Arha, it's Kyle. Are you alright?"

[sin_and_misery]

Vader's face curled with an expression of distaste. He murmured something that sounded like 'Jedi' and 'prying' before drifting back into his half-sleep.

[ladyofthesands]

"Mm," was all she could manage for a moment, then half propped herself up, her hair mussed as she sidled a glance at Vader. "Am fine." Her brows furrowed slightly. "He is exceedingly stubborn."

Her eyes found the food and she reached for it.

[mercjedi]

"Most people who turn to the Dark Side are. It's easier for them to keep their hate then to admit they made a mistake." Once he saw Arha reach for the food he handed to her taking a moment to glare at Vader again. Whatever she'd done it had gotten him to be quiet at least. Small mercy that. "What exactly happened here?"

[ladyofthesands]

Eating helped her stave off the need to sleep and she wolfed down what he'd brought like a starving mongrel and did the same to the wafer-esque bowl, too. Once she was finished and the last mouthful of it was clear, then she explained the situation.

"He had a tantrum like a two year old," she said, utterly deadpan, "and refused to acknowledge that the Ohm were a threat. I showed him the threat and he ran away." Like a two-year old. She set her cheek into the palm of her hand and looked wearily pleased

[mercjedi]

It took a lot to shake him up, but after what she'd just told him all Kyle could do was stare at her in shock for a moment. She'd made Vader retreat from her! Vader! To top it all off she'd started to heal him. He didn't even know where to start. It was foolish yes, but at the same time she'd fully lived up to the Jedi code. Finally recovering from his shock he reached out to take her hand

[jed_eyed]

"I have patience," Arha said, her voice weary but certain as she curled her fingers around his. Her smile was a glimmer of warmth that was more felt than seen. "I think," she said thoughtfully, "if it were an easy thing that it would have been done many years ago. I can heal, such a thing was given to me for a purpose, perhaps this is one reason."

She paused.

"I care not what others may thing about this venture. It is right to aid him in this manner--in both body and mind. Once he is ready to stop stewing in his own hate and misery, he will be a valuable and wonderful ally against the Ohm. This is not up for discussion. Darkness cannot be combated with anything but light and time." Her expression turned fierce and the hint of the desert heat she carried flashed in her eyes. "I am a rider of Worm and I do not falter when it comes to Sith Lords. One must have the patience to choose when to leap from the sands and what flap to place their maker hooks, so too, much one have patience in such a task as I have begun. Those who

[mercjedi]

"He might be valuable, but I rather doubt he'll ever be wonderful." Even if she did help turn him back to the light Kyle had the feeling Vader would always be rather unpleasant to be around. He was however impressed with Arha's determination. All the more evidence it was time for him to talk to Luke about her becoming a Knight. "Just be careful, and remember you're not alone. I'll always be here if you need me, as will the others I'm sure."