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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 1893249" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 83: Student in the ForceBy the time Landau, Akan, and Light had reached the south entrance to Haladin, they met with the Imperials and Trker-Hon. The Narani they’d been fighting were already all dead, or had fled. As the remaining troops spread out to clean out the rest of the city, the Topsider notified the others that he was leaving. When questioned, he said that he was leaving to rally the stronger of the Topsider tribes together so that this attack would gain even more attention among the reptiles of the planet.    Though in the north, Hansen’s force had encountered stronger resistance, they were also soon within the city and assisted in the clean out of the city. It did not take long for the Imperials to recapture the main garrison. Word spread through the Imperials until it reached those in command that a meeting was to be held there. Akan, Landau, and Light arrived at the garrison first, assisting with the clean up of the mess within. It took a while, but soon the main room was passable at first glance. As long as one ignored the blaster scorches on the walls. But that didn’t matter anymore. They’d succeeded. Jen and Voort arrived not long after, with the former in a strangely good mood. She had quickly embraced Akan upon seeing him, nearly squeezing what little energy was left out of him. The others laughed at this, but Light was soon treated to the same greeting and that got a smile on Akan’s face. Stepping to the side, he gave Voort a quick glance, “What’s with her?”    “She beat me,” Voort said flatly, though there was a grin tugging at the edge of his face.    Akan just raised an eyebrow, not asking anymore and deciding that it wasn’t a bad thing. Small talk ensued for a few minutes until Hansen arrived, and then all of them took a seat and things were summed up. Losses were minimal on both sides. Most of the Narani had simply taken off when their slugthrower ammunition had run out. Most of the casualties had occurred within the city itself from Narani hiding in houses and buildings. But the city was secure(or at least as secure as it would be) and they had done what they’d set out to do. Easily, too. No one put aside the thought that it was a little too easy.    The situation within the city was better than they’d expected. There were four operable landspeeders and two higher altitude airspeeders within the small garage. Weapons were strewn throughout the city, and though they were all slugthrowers, one couldn’t complain too much. None of the Narani had surrendered, though. It was not surprising, but Akan had at least expected one or two to back down and allow themselves to be captured. They didn’t. Those that didn’t run, either allowed themselves to be killed, went down in a blaze of fire, or took their own lives. It was disturbing really, and the Force itself even felt like it was shuddering.    The Force. That was an interesting subject brought up once the main topic was behind them.    “He is searching,” Voort said simply.    Light nodded to this, “He knows who is here. And our...my...Dark. The two of them are under his power.”    Akan sat back some and thought on this, “How soon can we attack the facility in the desert?”    It was direct, and almost off topic. But Landau was able to field this without too much trouble, “We need to wait until Trker-Hon gets back to analyze the situation,” he paused, not liking what he was about to say, “It could be a matter of weeks.”    Everyone seemed to accept this with a depressed nod except for Jen. She gave them all a critical look and asked, “Why do we have to wait so long?”    “Too many things to prepare for,” Landau answered, “We’ll be preparing a large ground assault. He has many Narani under his control and I wouldn’t doubt much more. We also have a few spies that should return soon to give us more detailed information. The more we know, the more likely it is that all of us will survive.”    Sighing heavily, Jen nodded. Her eagerness to get this over with was strange for Akan to see. She was changing before his eyes. He’d met her as a quiet scientist who could hold a weapon, and now she was more like a warrior with a good amount of brains to back it. Voort had done that to her, most likely. Again, that anger towards Voort attempted to grow. Akan wasn’t stopping it like he should have, ignoring the fact of his own influence on Jen. It was that damned Imperial. Akan hoped that this would all be over with soon so that he could deal with Voort. The man was a danger to all of them. But still...Voort was necessary for them to survive.    The meeting split up, with everyone going their own ways and working on their own things. Though it wasn’t officially stated, they now had time for a break. Rest. Leisure. As long as eyes and ears were kept alert, what one did was mostly up to them, now. Water and food would be no problem within Haladin, as the city had always been very well stocked. Voort and Jen had slipped outside, walking down the streets to a more quiet and empty area. It was the first section cleared by the troops, so they new it was alright.    Jen was mostly silent, and it was obvious she wanted to say something. Following her eyes, Voort figured it out. He unhooked the large lightsaber from his belt and tossed it to her. Surprised, Jen caught the hilt with both hands. As she looked it over, he said, “You can fee things, can’t you?”    Slowly, and as if she wasn’t completely paying attention to his words as she inspected the weapon, Jen nodded, “Yes.”    “You shouldn’t let a talent like that go to waste,” commented Voort, leaning back against a building and watching her with a smile.    She looked up to him, tilting her head slightly before turning her attention back to the weapon. She hit one of the activation switches, and stared for a long time at the orange blade. Over the soft hum of the lightsaber, Jen asked, “Will you teach me?”    That question had caught Voort off guard. He gave her a surprised look, though didn’t take any time to think on it. Quickly, he said, “No. No, I can’t. I...I would be the worst possible person to teach you about the Force.”    Looking past the orange blade, almost through it, Jen’s face became confused and almost worried, “Why?”    After a heavy sight, Voort just said, “I learned only about darkness. I know only about darkness. I have learned to moderate it, but it is still very dangerous and evil. I...I...” he paused, trailing off and closing his eyes, “I know the horrors of the dark side better than most. I couldn’t bear losing you.”    “But...but if you can...” she trailed off when Voort looked up at her with a strange glare.    It was a look of anger that worried her even more. It faded when he spoke again, “You can’t. You’re my light. That can’t fade. I couldn’t live.”    Slowly, Jen managed a nod. She idly allowed the weapon to swing gently, listening to the hum of the blade and dazzled by the power it seemed to give off, “Then who will?”    Voort thought on this, and eventually said, “Akan knows the light, but he’s...he’s dangerous. He is not stable, and he is only a boy. He needs to grow up more before he takes on even more responsibilities.”    Part of Jen felt she should argue that. Just defend Akan as any good friend would. But no...Voort was right. Akan continued to bury his past and everyone could see how unstable he was. He was a liability to all of them, and no matter how good a friend she was, defending him here was stupid. She did, however, make a decision to attempt to help him. How she’d do that, though, wasn’t on Jen’s mind just yet.    “Shadow,” Voort said, interrupting Jen’s thoughts suddenly, “She could teach you. She is very strong and...and having known Marix, I know you could learn much from her.”    “But she isn’t...”    Smiling, Voort said, “Not Light. I don’t understand all of that, but it isn’t Shadow. This Light is nearly as dangerous as Akan is.”    Voort had looked like he was going to say something else, but the sudden switching off of the lightsaber created a sphere of silence. Neither of them spoke, and Jen simply stepped over to him and handed him the weapon. He took it, but allowed it to drop to the ground when Jen leaned into him and rested her head on his chest. Quietly, she said, “I just want to get off this planet.”    “I know...I know...” Voort spoke more to himself than to her, feeling the same way. Carefully, he brought his arms around her and held her. There were still going to be many more days of fighting and risking life. Voort yearned for the day he could simply live. Yearned for a day that Jen would be safe. Perhaps when Sadrak was finally gone...</blockquote>

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