Author's Note

This has been long overdue for an update. But we are back. Thank you all for your patience. ^^

First Day Of Sith Training

The following day, Flurry began to make preparations to try and escape Exegol. She didn't know how, but damned she'd give it a shot at least. Without Luster knowing, she snuck one of her Sith outfits from the closet, thankful that it at least fit her size close enough. Flurry then swiped the helmet, testing the filters to see if she could breathe, and thankfully finding the right adjustments so that wouldn't be an issue.

She waited for Luster to leave for the breakfast hall, and then while she wasn't looking, she took her chance. Flurry snuck past several guards, and made it to the elevators, checking carefully if anyone was watching her.

Slipping down into the hangar bay, she hid and dashed behind several crates as she worked her way to one of the shuttles that was parked by. An Imperial officer typed on the datapad as he examined the shuttle, doing a daily maintenance check before the pilots took off to do the supply run. Unbeknownst to him, a dark and cloaked figure peered behind him, casting a shadow over his body.

He turned around, seeing a cloaked figure that was not Midnight, Luster, or any Inquisitor. She looked like the dark lords, for sure. And she wore a mask that was most likely meant to intimidate any enemies around her, as she breathed heavily, although rather exaggerated.

“Leave. Now,” the figure said with a booming voice.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot—” and the poor man was shoved through the Force, thrown off his feet and landing on his back.

“Silence!” The figure roared. She looked down at the officer, standing with her hands on her hips. “My name is Darth Vader,” she said, placing a fist over her heart.

“I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Very amusing, Flurry.”

That voice sent chills down Flurry’s spine. Slowly, she turned around and saw Midnight standing there.

“Wh… how did you—”

"If you were attempting to impersonate a Sith Lord, you should have put more effort into your projection. Resorting to shouting and threats too early only makes you look childish. Furthermore, if you had bothered to read the schedule on the datapad in your quarters, you also would have learned I was meeting with Admiral Tagge this morning at nine-thirty and would have known I was too close for your scheme to pay off at that time."

“… hold on, are you actually… helping me?” Flurry paused.

"I am instructing you, Flurry. Consider it overdue advice,” Midnight concluded. “Now come, we have work to do. You may resume your duties, officer.”

Flurry was dumbfounded. She had checked everything, there wasn't any way she could have seen her! But knowing she was defeated, at least this time, she followed her auntie anyway, leaving the officer to conduct his work.

Midnight paced back and forth in front of Luster and Flurry, in the middle of the back courtyard. Several stone beams were resting on mounts, all the while lightning flashed above the skies above. Midnight stood the tallest, even standing far from them across the courtyard.

"Both of you come from different backgrounds. Luster, you have spent most of your life studying under my wing, while Flurry was taught to fight in isolation from her two mothers. Mandalorian and Jedi teachings combined, along with the teachings of the Rebellion should make both of your training quite the visual spectacle. But we need to see just how much you know. Let's start with the basics: reflexes."

Without a second of hesitation, Midnight grabbed a nearby crate and sent it flying towards Flurry's head. Upon instinct, Flurry lifted her arms up to catch it before it got too close, pushing it to the side and planting her feet firmly to stand for combat. Midnight lowered her arm that made the move, observing her niece's moves.

"Good feet position, arms at the side, important stance. But what if your enemy comes from behind?"

Another crate came flying at Flurry, right behind her. Flurry looked back and dashed to the side, rolling back onto her feet in an agile position ready to leap for another attack. The crate slammed against the ground, and Flurry turned her eyes back onto Midnight.

"Excellent dodge. Now I want to see Luster try something similar," Midnight focused on her student.

That same crate came flying at Luster, and she extended both arms out to force it far away from her, sending it flying across the courtyard to slam into one of the stone posts. Her eyes glared heavily on the crate and she stood straight, as if nothing in the universe could stand in her way.

Midnight lifted a hand to move another crate, and sent it flying at Luster from behind. This time however, Luster waited as it got close and with a swift move, she pulled out her saber and slashed it in half before it could even touch her.

"Very well done," Midnight complimented. "Both of your strategies were valid, it does not matter whether you dodge the attack, or take it head on, what was important was that you anticipated it and were ready to combat against it. Now, let's try another form of training," she ordered, stepping closer. "Sparring."

Midnight tossed two wooden blades to the students, something that while would hurt it would not do any lasting damage if they used them.

"You two are going to practice against each other. I want to see how much you two know. It shouldn't have to be said, but I will say it anyway. No one dies in my presence, understood?"

"Yes Master," Luster nodded.

"Excellent."

Both teens looked at each other, exchanging shared but apprehensive looks. Standing apart from each other, they took defensive positions, holding the wooden sabers straight. Another flash of lightning overhead accompanied by clapping thunder echoed throughout the planet.

Flurry's fingers clenched tightly around the handle of the blade, looking across at Luster. Trying to stay calm and focused, she twirled the blade around, as if to entice Luster to come and make the first attack. Luster made the first move, making a silent dash and swing at her stomach. Flurry moved the blade up, pushing Luster away and moving to strike back.

Grit teeth with silent growls came from Luster, harnessing her negative energy for the fight. Flurry in the meanwhile, kept a focused watch on her combating participant, not letting her intimidate her in the slightest.

"Peace is a lie. There is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory," Luster whispered to herself.

Flurry took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. When it came to strike, Luster charged forward, only for Flurry to block her wooden blade, locked as both of them tried to dominate force over the other through physical strength. Midnight silently judged them, wondering as to what would come next.

Pushing her back, Flurry swung a leg around and kicked the wooden blade out of Luster's hand. She twirled the handle in a complete circle, if only to show off some skill she learned through her years of training. Luster backed away, but Force-yanked the stick back in her hand, backing farther as Flurry pushed harder, not letting her get the upper hand. She swung from the sides, and from below, never once going above. Flurry knew going above would risk her entire body to be exposed to a saber's shank.

"We have no lords or masters, so command can't be destroyed," Flurry began, pushing a quote back against Luster now. "With what weapons you destroy, we fight with our fists...."

She pushed hard enough to get the wooden blade to loosen in Luster's hand, until she finally dropped it, and got a severe kick in the stomach by Flurry who sent her flying across the ground.

"... we have no species or bloodlines, so we easily rebuild with whoever joins our ranks. Mandalore is more than a people, or a planet. We are a culture that never dies. Ideas can't die..."

Trying to get up, she was met with a different blade in her face, this time from Flurry's own lightsaber, ignited and in her face. The tip was sizzling with plasma, near inches away from burning her skin.

All she saw in Flurry's eyes was cold anger. There was no light to be seen, there was only hate.

"... but people can."

"Very impressive, young one," Midnight complimented, breaking up the tension. She paced down the steps to address them both. "You both excelled quite well. There are some things we will improve next time, but you did fairly good. I must admit, I did not anticipate you to be dedicated to the Mandalorian way, I would have thought your mother embedded the Jedi path in your mental development."

Flurry could only glare at Midnight. "Well she didn't exactly care for the Jedi way, not that you give a womp rat's behind about what I think."

"I care, indeed," Midnight corrected, focusing on her. "In the meantime, you two are free to get lunch or decompress. We will meet in the training arena around three PM."

And with that, Midnight left them be, to do what they had to do to get back up and moving. Luster glared at Flurry before getting back on her feet. She could feel raw anger coming from her, yet it wasn't Dark Side energy.

"What is your problem?"

Flurry said nothing, but stomped away to leave. Quickly, Luster raced after her, unwilling to accept silence as an answer.

The doors slammed open into their quarters, with Flurry stomping inside first, kicking a nearby chair with her boot, and then taking her boot off and throwing it against the wall. Luster walked into the room soon there after, almost getting hit with the other boot that got thrown.

“What is your problem?” Luster groaned.

“My problem? How about you tell me your problem?” Flurry snapped. She slapped her bare feet on the floor, glaring at the student, and folded her arms. “I think we can cut the bantha droppings and just get right into it. I know you hate me, so why don’t you just admit it?”

Luster was a bit taken back by her bold, yet truthful remark. But she focused her attention, and spoke.

“Fine. I’ll tell you my problem. I don’t like you.”

“Gee, what a shocker,” Flurry rolled her eyes.

“I don’t like sharing a room with you. I don’t like you hating on my teacher. I don’t like you taking up my time and attention from her. And I certainly don’t like hearing you badmouthing the Empire.”

Flurry’s eye twitched. “… Say that again. I dare you.”

“I. Don’t. Like. You,” Luster repeated, gritting her teeth, seething in anger.

“Why, because I’m speaking the truth?” Flurry clenched her fists.

“You’re a liar. And you’re a Rebel. Know what I heard about you guys?” Luster asked. “You’re terrorists. You attack civilians. You steal. You raid. You killed hard working men and women who sacrifice everything to protect the galaxy. And on top of everything else, the fact you’re my master’s niece! NIECE!” Luster was almost about to rip out her hair. “How, how are you even related to her!?”

Flurry was quiet. Dangerously quiet. Her twitching eyebrows turned into crossed daggers. Her eyebrows furled, and her hands slowly opened. The young girl then started to growl like a hungry animal, dangerously eager to kill its prey.

“You do not understand anything, do you?” Flurry growled. “You think I WANTED to be related to her? That monster… is not my aunt. She hurt people. My family wouldn’t dare hurt people. In fact…”

Luster could feel energy radiating from Flurry. It wasn’t directed at her, but she did notice some things, without Flurry’s knowledge were rising up. A potted plant in a corner, a trash can, a few books from her shelf, a disposable cup to name a few.

“Since you and Midnight feel like lecturing me all the time, how about I give you a lecture? When the war ended, do you know what happened?”

Luster said nothing, now worried she was going to get yelled at some more. She could see Flurry’s fists were shaking in anger. She wasn’t screwing around, and Luster stopped being mad at her, now curious albeit scared of what she was gonna do.

“Um… the Empire rose up?”

“They did. But it came with a cost. A cost that meant brainwashing every clone trooper, manipulating their conditioning to turn on the Jedi who swore to defend the galaxy, and killing them all. And do you know how your glorious Empire repaid them? By destroying their entire home and facilities on Kamino, preventing the clones lifeline from ever continuing to exist! And all because Midnight rose up, and wiped the rug from under everyone’s feet! She turned her back on all of her friends and her family, and for what!?”

The potted plant came back down, shattering into pieces on the ground with a massive slam.

“Some twisted version of a government that’s somehow better!? How is threatening people with a blaster and destroying their property a means of ‘protecting’, that’s not protection! That’s oppression!”

The trashcan came back down, bouncing on its side and getting the contents of the can spilled.

“You call my family and my friends terrorists. You called me a terrorist. We may not be perfect, not everyone’s a saint on our side, and we’ve had our problems. But you know what, Luster? You and your philosophies aren’t any better!”

Several books from the shelf started to fall out from the rattling and shaking.

“And you have the gall to lecture me about how I’m taking time from your precious master, who’s been terrorizing the entire galaxy!” Flurry’s anger was starting to increase as her voice was being raised, and Luster wasn’t sure what to do. She was scared of her, even though Flurry was trying to inflict any pain or attack her. Flurry’s blood boiled, and it showed.

“And you know what else!? I had to watch my own mother DIE! I had to watch my aunt kill my mom, because I couldn’t stop her! I could have saved her, and I watched her get killed! And you’re complaining about me taking time from your teacher!?”

The entire shelf was lifted from the ground, almost like it was about to be thrown across the room. Luster braced herself for the impact, but… it didn’t happen. Flurry kept the shelf hovering, but she didn’t move it. Her rage started to quiet down, and her breathing was heavy. Her vengeful eyes slowly turned more sorrowful and sadder. Her eyes were watering.

Her arms slowly let go and the shelf came back down, bouncing on the ground with an echoing slam. Flurry turned away from Luster, trying not show her face. But Luster could hear her. And without control… Flurry cried. It wasn’t loud, but Luster could hear whimpering coming from her roommate.

Luster stopped being afraid. She didn’t understood before, but after her rant? Now she did. She couldn’t understand how it felt to be in her shoes, but she was more than understanding of why she was upset. Unsure of what to do, the student stepped forward, patting her shoulder. She was about to turn around when suddenly Flurry turned and yanked Luster into a hug.

Luster listened as Flurry cried on her shoulder, but she didn’t push her away in anger or disgust. She didn’t know what to do, but she slowly put her arms on Flurry’s back and patted her, letting her cry into her shoulder.

“She’s gone. It’s all my fault and she’s just… gone.”

The two Imperials walked in the open barren rocky land, outside of the fortress. The trip wasn’t too long, thankfully. Though they could have done without the lightning storms flashing in the skies. Their focus was only on one thing; investigate the ship, report back, and leave.

Unbeknownst to them, someone else was on board the Sweetie Drop. A purple dome with a green streak across his photo-receptor peaked out from a hallway, looking both directions.

“Flurry? Flurry!” Spike called out. His little legs rolled down the hallway, looking around. “Bon Bon? Sunset? Anybody? I think I was shut down by mistake!” No one replied to the astromech as he rolled around, desperately trying to find something, anything.

He rolled up to the cockpit, getting a look outside. Thunder and lightning flashed, making him shiver. “Oh man, where did we go? I really hope this isn’t Eadu…” His interface arm accessed the control panel, trying to take a look at their surroundings. Unfortunately, the coordinates on display were unfamiliar to him. What was familiar was the sign of two enemies approaching the vessel, as shown by the red dots. Immediately he rolled out of the cockpit and into the living room area where the main droids were docked. Hearing footsteps, he pulled himself into the astromech dock and let the clamps come down as he went into silent mode.

The two Imperial officers emerged into the living room, looking around the home. And then--

“Ah!” The cadet shouted.

“What?” The first Imperial questioned, coldly.

“Look at this thing.”

Both Imperials stood in front of K2-B4, sitting on a charging dock, with cables connected to him, feeding him power. And he stood there like a statue, not moving an inch.

“Is that an old T-series tactical droid?”

“Looks like it. Don’t know who painted the head purple and gold, that’s an oddly specific color choice,” the second Imperial snickered. “Should we scrap it?”

“No. It’s useless. Just let the thing rust, no way that rust bucket will turn on by itself,” the first Imperial replied, rolling her eyes and walking away.

The second Imp followed, chuckling to herself. But she stopped laughing when she swore she heard the swivel of a joint. She turned her head back, and nothing had changed. The droid still stayed where he was, on the charging dock. So what was that noise then? Shrugging it off, she left to join her superior.

Spike slowly rolled out from the dock, turning off his silent mode to see who the intruders were.

“Great. They’ll fry me an instant. Unless…” Spike thought, one of his arms scratching the bottom of his dome, thinking. And just like that, he had one crazy idea. His dome slowly turned and looked at K2, and he giggled to himself as he accessed the port on the wall.

Within seconds, K2’s eyes lighting up, and his head slowly moved up, and looked to the direction of the invaders….

Eventually the two officers chose to split up to search the ship on their own. The second Imperial officer followed a hallway, leading over to a kitchen, which she just walked past. Nothing important could be found here.

Pressing the button of a door, she found presumably, the parents bedroom. A twin-sized bed for two occupants, with some nightstands, dressers, and a few other things. On the walls, there were a few pictures on display, family looking ones at that as well. Picking up a picture, she saw a six-year-old Flurry Heart, Bon Bon, and Lyra all together in some kind of festival environment, all of which looked really happy.

Putting the picture back, she walked into the hallway and opened up another door, leading to another room which looked more like a teenager’s bedroom; messy. Clothes scattered about, hammock not made, some little toys on the floor. On a desk, there were some random pieces and parts; almost as if Flurry had been crafting something in her spare time. No idea what she was crafting, but she certainly looked busy.

On her dresser drawer, she saw some more little trinkets, like a stuffed animal of a snail of some kind, another family picture showing her wielding a lightsaber with her Jedi mother, and with an IG unit and the Mandalorian standing nearby. The imperial scoffed at the picture, until she heard something.

“Hey!”

The second imperial exited Flurry’s bedroom, hearing her superior calling out to her.

“Yes ma’am? Do you need me?”

But there wasn’t a clear reply. But again, she heard that same, “Hey!” calling out to her.

The second Imperial ran around the corner, trying to find her superior, but she couldn’t find her. Her voice kept calling, but she was nowhere to be found. Where was she!?

Almost nearing the exit, she stepped into the crossing hallway, and right in front of her was her superior, laying dead on the ground. A blaster bolt through the heart, steaming. This was just moments earlier, how did she not hear the blaster?

Realizing she had to leave, she heard the sounds of the door raising up behind her. Turning around, she was met with the tall, hulking body of the tactical droid, blocking the entrance. A small red light was seen on the side of his chest, blinking a little bit. For what reason, she didn’t know. She did know this hunk of junk was blocking the exit, and now she was locked inside.

“May I see your identification badge please?”

The officer shivered at the voice. That was the voice of her commander coming out of that droid.

“I’m sorry?”

“May I see your identification badge please?”

“Identification? You don’t need to see my identification,” the Imperial growled.

“Do not make any sudden moves,” K2 replied, this time in a more garbled and almost demonic-like tone.

“Sudden moves, what are you talking about?”

A small prodding piece extended out of K2’s left palm. For what it’s purpose was, she didn’t know. But she was concerned even more when K2 started to move. The tactical droid slowly walked towards her, joints making audible whirring and twisting sounds as he approached her, until he finally stopped smack-dab in front of her body. His head slowly glared down at her, towering her in comparison.

“I’ve had enough,” she declared, pulling out her weapon.

She didn’t react in time, as several powerful jolts of surging electricity coursed through her veins, painfully. She screamed in agony as the electricity started to hurt her, and try as she might, she couldn’t break from the attack. She couldn’t even stop the tactical droid from taking the com device resting on her belt. She only saw K2’s stone cold emotionless droid face until her body finally dropped, no longer feeling the pain. In fact, she was no longer feeling anything. Her senses were there only for a few more moments.

Enough to hear her own voice repeat back to her through a vocoder.

“Thank you. Have a nice day.”

And everything turned to solid black as she laid there on the ground. K2 stared at her now lifeless body for a moment or two, until his attention was drawn to the com device.

“KTU-4, this is Commander Devas. Have you anything to report?”

K2’s neck winced a little, but the Imperial officer’s voice came through.

“Negative. We are scouring the ship, but there appears to be no other rebels on board. We will keep searching.”

He waited for a second, hoping that the voice modulation tool would fool them.

“Loud and clear KTU-4. Keep up the good work.”

Rolling around the corner, a lone C1 unit met up with the online tactical unit.

"They didn't call anyone did they?"

"Negative. The Imperials will not interfere," K2-B4 responded.

"Good. Now come on, grab some data cards, if anyone else comes here, we gotta hide the base coordinates," Spike ordered. "In the meantime, keep a radio channel open to listen in on any communications inside that base. We gotta find out where Flurry is, and where we are."