Ask Nar Shaddaa Galaxy In Crisis: The Path of Good Intentions

[Riley Elin]

Riley stopped slightly short of the building, looking around frantically. What was she going to do, exactly? She didn’t have magical powers or super weapons. She was just a girl with degrees in medicine and science. She thought of how much her parents had sacrificed to put her through school. Was it all for this? For her to do something absurdly foolish because she was just that stubborn?

She looked around as the cracks began to get wider. And that was when a little light bulb went off in that brilliant mind of hers. There was a reason her parents went through all that trouble - she knew how to put her brain to use rather well.

Riley saw two swoop bikes leaning against one another near the building. She went over and popped open the fuel tanks, letting some of it spill out. She then looked over at Ender.

“Can you do...anything with fire? You know, anything to ignite this? If we can start a controlled fire here and I lure them over, it’ll incinerate them,” Riley explained quickly, “I studied their cells under a microscope to analyze the impact of exothermic chemical process of combustion on the malignant metastases and noticed that-” She cleared her throat, “Fire kills them quicker. Can you do fire?”

 

[Darth Invictus]

After a few moments, one foot was lifted after another and he made his way to join her. It would've been easy for him to leave but he was here for her and what she knew and he couldn't just abandon the woman. After a moment, he joined her and commented, "If we don't make it, I will still haunt your spirit." When her eyes went over to the speeder bikes, his gaze tracked her's until she walked over to the bikes and pulled off the caps, the gasoline gushing out and forming a large and reflective pool.

Ender arched his eyebrow at her and she started to rattle off her scientific reasoning behind her plan before she eventually realized who she talking to and just asked for fire. The look on his face said it all until she asked the simpler version."You should have just said that, Doc." He took a step closer and outstretched his hand toward the pool to flick his fingers. But he stopped before he could ignite and turned to find a pile of trash near them. Ender walked over before slamming his foot down the middle of a wooden plank to snap it in half. It was disgusting but it would do, his fingers aimed toward the top before he flicked them, the very end of the shortened plank catching on fire.

The plank was handed over to Riley, "We only got one shot with this. Make it count." When she took it, Ender made his way toward the building and spoke before she could, "I'll be the one to lead them here, stay safe. You just make sure to get that fire started when it's time." He was already off to find an entrance to get inside. The infected that were pressed against the glass was passed by him but that wasn't all of them and he wanted to make sure they didn't waste their trap. When he finally arrived at the broken window they jumped from, he glanced around before using the force to propel him up and inside.

It would only be a minute or two before Riley would start to hear erratic blaster fire. Screams of infected would accompany afterward as they tried to locate the sound. The sound of blaster fire would continue until she would hear a door being barged through. Ender would jog around the corner, firing once more into the air before tossing the gun over to the side. "Yeah, They're coming!" He called out to her before turning around to face the direction they were coming as he continued to step backward with his lightsaber in hand.

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley opened her mouth to argue, but she knew it was useless. When Ender fixated on something, there was no changing his mind. She was left awkwardly holding a burning plank next to a pile of crap. Riley watched him bolt in the other direction, and she stood ready to ignite the fire.

As he disappeared for a moment, she felt uneasy and a sense of dread. Riley looked around nervously, wondering if she had just been left alone. Isn’t that what Sith did? They were known to be treacherous, and they supposedly committed all kinds of horrors in the past. Riley chewed on her lip, weighing the definition of a Sith against what she knew of Ender as an individual.

Before she could ponder further, he rounded a corner and yelled that they were coming. Riley’s eyes popped open and she quickly worked to set the fire. To her horror, it was a very small flame, and it was not nearly enough to kill the horde.

“Shit!” She screamed aloud, thinking about how they just doomed the entire district. Riley quickly looked around for another idea, the entire group of zombies charging at her.

Riley finally found a solution by digging into some of the nasty trash and spilling it to make a bridge to the speeders. The flames rapidly traveled through and finally ignited into a massive inferno near the two speeders. This created a huge column of flames and the zombies saw her near it.

She screamed and jumped back in the last minute, the zombies driving into the fires. There were terrible screeches and shrill wailing as they burned, the rancid stench of their flesh tinging the air. Riley slowly stepped back, watching their skin melt off as they tried to attempt to walk towards her.

The sight was horrific and it was worse than anything she had seen before. She was rooted in place, unable to run away as she stared in terror.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender put one foot back after another as the horde increased in speed and size as more of them flooded out and towards the two of them. He stopped far enough from the gasoline so that it wouldn't burn him once the fire started. "Now, Doc!" But he didn't feel the heat of any engulfing blaze behind him afterward and instead heard her curse out in response. His eyebrows scrunched together before he turned around and saw only a small flame that would be violent enough to kill a dog if it crossed.

When he turned back around, the horde was descending upon him and he immediately activated both the blades of his lightsaber. Ender twirled it around him and it cleared his personal space of infected as some were just simply cut in half as they walked into the blades. When he noticed her through it leading the flames to the speeder bikes, he pushed off the remaining zombies with a simple push of the force before leaping away and on top of a fire escape of a nearby building.

When the fire finally struck the bikes, it exploded into an awesome flame and Ender had to turn his face away for a moment before he instantly searched for where Riley was. The sounds were regrettably something that he was familiar with and could zone out until he eventually found her. When he did, she was just simply staring at the pain and destruction of people she used to know and of those who tried to kill her. It wasn't something easy to watch and she would only see the sight for a few more seconds before Ender landed on his feet in front of her and blocked it for her.

He simply stared at her for a moment as no words came out but his eyes told her everything that Riley needed to know, that she should look away. Ender quickly turned around to face the horde before whipping out both of his hands as they were aimed at the blaze and horde. The zombies were pushed back off their feet and the flames grew in strength and lashed out like they were alive, surging forward and slamming into the rest of the horde as the flames would collide with the rest and made sure they all completely burned to a crisp. When his arms were pulled back, the flames extinguished with them, leaving only scorched aftermath as the ground and side of the buildings would be completely black.

Charred corpses littered the ground but Ender simply turned to face Riley again after a second of collecting his breath, concern in his voice still, "Are you alright?" What she witnessed wasn't a daily spectacle to her like it was to him and it etched into her eyes as she remained frozen. He took a step closer toward her with his hand out but that's when a voice pierced through the air. "Help! Help!" Riley would be able to see Ender's jaw clench in response before he turned around slowly to face the noise with Riley behind him.

A mixed group of humans and aliens ran towards them, some wearing lab coats, others with civilian clothing. "Please, help us! We need to get out of here." Ender didn't say anything as they approached but when they closed the distance, he ignited his lightsaber but kept it aimed at the ground as it made the entire group stop.

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley weakly nodded as Ender arrived near her. She wasn’t used to seeing such horrors, and she wasn’t prepared for the smell. She gagged a few times before finally stepping away from the mess. She covered her mouth to keep the stench from reaching her nose.

She thought of what happened, and she thought of her assistant. Riley was quiet for a very long moment, disturbed by how out of control the virus was. She shook her head, looking up at Ender. She had judged him for being Sith, but who was the real monster here?

“Ender I have to tell you something..” She began, prepared to tell him how she was ultimately responsible for the zombie virus. If she could tell anyone now, it would be him.

However, she was cut off with the appearance of others on the scene. They rushed up to the two and cried out for help. Before Riley could say anything, Ender ignited his saber. They screamed and jumped in response.

“No!” She cried out, rushing towards Ender. She put her hand over his, glaring at him, “There’s no need for this,” Riley said firmly, willing to remove her her hand only when he switched it off again. She turned to the others then, watching as they shuffled backwards.

“Wait! We can help!”

They scattered from having seen the saber, terrified of the videos they had seen of the Arcanist mercilessly slaughtering people. Sabers were especially terrifying in Nar Shaddaa now, and anyone wielding them was actively hunted.

"Damn it!" She cried out in frustrations.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Riley was about to tell him something and it was clear he was listening but before she could finish, the other survivors arrived and interrupted. Ender wasn't really in a trusting mood, especially after Taria and that was evident with his saber. All he saw was a group of possible infected that could turn on them any minute. He was about to step forward to tell them to get lost or worse but that's when he felt warm fingers slide over his hand and stop him.

He stopped to turn and to look at Riley, his eyes locked with hers as they stared at each other for a moment, her words reinforced by iron. It was only a few seconds but he did eventually shut the weapon off as she peered at him, something within him giving as both of them were no longer illuminated in the crimson light. It was too late however as the group that approached left in a hurry and scattered from the scene.

Ender wasn't particularly hurt by this chain of events but he could easily sense the frustration that exuded from Riley. He understood that she wasn't a Sith but it was strange witnessing it. Compared to him, she was brimming with empathy and compassion.

He eventually stepped toward her to close the distance, his hand lightly placed on her shoulder to reassure even if she didn't want it, "We don't know if they were infected or not. We can't just readily trust anyone we meet. I'm sorry Riley." In his mind, it was an honest apology but one he thought was pointless. They were just lucky Riley was there to let them leave safely if they truly weren't infected.

He glanced around their surrounding area of charred bodies and walls momentarily before dropping his hand from her shoulder as he clipped his lightsaber back on his hip. "We should get moving. All this noise probably attracted a lot of attention, alive or dead." They had already been through enough and he didn't want to deal with Sec-forces too if they were even around. Ender didn't instantly move however as he stood beside Riley, his gaze calmly fixated on her while he waited, "You ready?"

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley watched everyone scatter in different directions. Where would they end up? Would they die as they turned a corner? Would they be savagely eaten and torn to shreds by any zombies that got on the loose? And it would be entirely because they didn’t help.

She turned to look at Ender as he suggested leaving. Riley’s eyes narrowed, “How do you do that, Ender?” She said, her voice more stern than she wanted to project, “How do you just see helpless people and walk away? How do you sleep at night peacefully knowing you could have done something and didn’t?”

Riley turned to face him fully, “Is that what Sith are? People that don’t have guilt or conscience?” She found her voice rising, “You left the cave full of zombies and didn’t look back. You were about to leave behind that building full of zombies. You just watched civilians scatter in different directions and didn’t even cast it a second thought.”

She realized she was yelling at him for no reason, and she bit her lip. Riley looked down at the ground, realizing she had curled her hands into fists, “I’m...I’m sorry…” She sighed, “I guess I’m thinking of how much I would try to change things if I had your abilities...they are truly a gift.”

She paused for a long time, “But I guess they come at a great cost..” Riley looked up at him again, into his eyes which had those flecks of gold in them that always lingered.

‘Your humanity,’ She thought, but didn’t say aloud.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Once more, Riley worried more and more about the people that were long gone by then. It was easy for him to sense the guilt that tore at her insides. Ender still remained beside her, his face passive as he simply watched her and felt the buildup for what was to come. She eventually asked him about how he just let people fend for themselves amongst other related questions. But those questions began to become colder as she went on before it completely turned into her venting and yelling at him.

Ender remained silent the entire time as he stood there and just took the brunt of her words. Even as she laid into him, the muscles on his face didn't even twitch. It was her moment and he was going to let her have it. It was better for it to be settled than being let built up in the future. His eyes flicked to her hands as he spotted her fists, her knuckles almost white from her clenching them. When she relented and commented about the price that he had to pay for it, he chuckled but there wasn't much humor within it. "Yes. I have given my pound of flesh to be what I am." Literally and figuratively. Memories of the doctor unwillingly came to his head as he recalled them vividly.

"I do what I have to in order to survive. Nothing is guaranteed with my powers, even my own life. I don't know those people and neither do you. You burden yourself too much with others when they wouldn't do the same to you. As far as we know, the moment they saw my lightsaber, they abandoned you and left you to a murderous Sith to do whatever he pleases." Ender spoke bluntly and from a perspective of having to actually live off the galaxy and what it offered to him to make it. It was never some textbook experience, it was a bloody brawl each time and one where he had to earn the victory.

"The universe is endless. There will always be a problem to deal with but I can't just fix every single one I come across. The moment those people left, as far as I'm concerned, they put their life in their own hands. If they live, that's on them, if they die, that is as well. I came for you, not them." It was just the way he saw it and it was formed from years of living a lifestyle that suited the mentality for it. Ender didn't have some Jedi or Sith save him when he was in danger. He did it himself when push came to shove and he made it out the other side.

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley was consumed by her thoughts, actually a bit terrified from how she had lashed out at him. However, she looked at him again when he spoke. He kept a perfectly calm resolve, and it was almost not human. He was always calm, always collected, always measured. It was what set him so far apart from her, and it had never been more apparent.

When he explained that the civilians had just abandoned her with a Sith, she opened her mouth to argue. However, she couldn’t come up with any counters. She had appeared just as surprised to see the saber as they had, and they ran all the same. It hit her like a punch in the gut. She hadn’t even considered that angle.

But that didn’t mean they didn’t deserve the help. As a doctor, she had been taught to help all of those in need, not just people she favored. It was an oath she had taken, and one she took seriously. Creed, principles, personal beliefs, none of it mattered when they needed the help of a doctor.

After a moment, she blinked at him and asked very quietly, “Why are you burdening yourself with me then?”

 

[Darth Invictus]

When Riley didn't respond at first to his statement, he figured that the conversation had reached its end and that it was time for them to move. He felt the battle of emotions inside her as the reality of the galaxy conflicted with her oath to protect anyone that she came across. It was always a harsh collision when someone finally got spat on by reality. Ender continued to look at her, ready to depart still and about to until she asked why he burdened himself with her. It was a question that he wasn't expecting and it stopped him in his tracks as his silver orbs connected with hers.

Ender didn't know what to say at first as a pull in his gut attempted to answer for him non-verbally. It was something that he hadn't really felt before and didn't know how to explain. He appeared stumped for a few seconds, "I..." The answer still didn't come, at least not in the way he wanted to present it. Riley would be able to see him visibly appear to dig deep in order to get to his logical reasoning behind it and push away everything else, "At first, it was because you can actually fight this disease. It's too dangerous for both sides and you're more needed against it than me." There was a pause momentarily as he didn't know how much to say.

"That is still my reasoning behind it Riley, but..." Ender was about to continue but that's when the pair of them could hear the sound of sirens splitting through the air violently. He instantly closed his mouth but his eyes remained open and readable. Riley would be able to see them convey what the rest of his sentence would have been, a flicker of something before his usual mask of calmness slid over him once more. "We need actually leave. Now." He was still a Sith and he had already been arrested with a record attached to his name because of it.

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley watched him as he spoke. Few words came out, but a world of expressions displayed on his face. It was more specifically in his eyes. She was never good at outright reading people, but what she saw made her freeze in place. He flickered only once. It was the first time she had seen him do that. He faltered just for a second. It was the thinnest, hairline crack in an iron resolve. The mildest chink in the armor. One that was almost impossible to notice, but it was there.

“Ender…” She began, but the sound of sirens shook her from her thoughts. Her eyes were wide, and she felt as if she had been frozen in time for a while. She weakly nodded as he mentioned leaving the area, and she followed with him.

Riley began to run behind him, hearing a lot of commotion behind them. They were about to turn a corner when she felt a sharp pain. It filled her whole body, and she suddenly felt very weak. Riley tried to call out his name, but it died as a whisper on her lips. She collapsed on the ground behind him, several more blaster bolts firing at the trajectory where she had been standing.

Bolts that had been intended for him.

 

[Darth Invictus]

They had stayed long enough, in fact heavily overstayed their welcome and both of them started to run to the nearest alley. Riley had begun to say something but they couldn't risk standing around. Footsteps soon followed after them and it made him push his legs even harder. Ender even pushed himself ahead of Riley and he reached out to see how far she was. But that's when the shots rang out and when he didn't feel the intense heat burn into his spine, he immediately slammed his feet into the ground and spun on his heel to turn around and see what happened.

The last thing she would see would be Ender running after her, his hand outstretched as he reached for her despite the distance. The moment before she blacked out, she would catch the tiniest glimpse of his silver eyes transforming into a stark and predatory gold.

Riley collapsed in front of him, unmoving. Without hesitation, Ender's emotions flooded through him like a tsunami and he let them take control. His rage burned red hot and it was the coal that burning fire needed that was Ender. His saber immediately flew into his hand, both blades activating as he spun it around him in a circular motion, deflecting the rest of the bolts into the nearby walls. He didn't even where the bolts were coming from or who he was being shot at by as the next thing he knew he was doing was leaping through the air and directly into a group of people. Ender's lightsaber twirled endlessly, cutting everything down that dared stand in his blades' path.

Everything was just red, if anything moved near him, he didn't even look before striking out. For those that tried to run away, they would quickly be met by the force and would experience either broken bones or be dragged back to him. By the time he was finished, Ender finally shook his head and glanced around. Body parts were littered everyone, scorch marks accompanying them as they covered the ground, walls, and people. Ender stood in the middle of it all, broken bodies by his feet as he breathed heavy.

His eyes shone a vibrant gold as he reveled in it, the rage coursing through his veins and giving him a powertrip that he hadn't experienced since Talak. But images of Riley snapped through his head and he immediately deactivated his weapon before turning around, "Riley." Without hesitation, Ender rushed over to her and slid to her on his knees as he placed a hand on her, and gingerly turned her over. "Riley!"

 

[Riley Elin]

A full day would pass by before Riley came to. The only med bay nearby was a discreet one run entirely by droids. It was still under Hutt jurisdiction, and they had limited time there. Ender would have to make himself as scarce as possible for her to still get care. Riley had to be dropped into a bacta tank to repair the bolt that had shattered into her vertebrae. It was a miracle her spinal cord had been missed, but the damage was significant.

Riley slowly came into consciousness, groaning in pain. Her vision was blurry for a moment, and she had all sorts of things hooked up to her. She had been moved to a bed only hours prior. She was surrounded by the noise of droids, and she felt like vomiting. The smell and taste of bacta assailed all her senses.

“Where am I…” Her throat was dry, and she felt entirely weak. Her vision was slowly beginning to adjust, her eyes stinging from the liquid that had seeped into them.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Riley hadn't been responsive at all when she got shot. He didn't have any healing powers like the Jedi and that meant his options had been limited. Ender hadn't known what to do as he had only handled minor injuries and he took her to the one place that could actually heal her. The med bay wasn't noteworthy but it was still in Hutt territory and it put him on edge. The soldiers that had shot Riley had met a violent end when they faced Ender and the scene that had been left behind was pure carnage. The two of them were most likely being hunted, at least him if anything.

Ender remained in the small lobby, his back against the wall as he had his arms crossed and just waited. The droids had been insistent that he couldn't see her during the healing process and it made him nearly lose it when they told him. But they were droids and felt no fear and he had no choice but to accept. It resulted in Ender pacing around the lobby, constantly reaching out with the force in order to sense Riley and be a judge of her condition while also making sure there wasn't anybody following them or about to attack. By the time Riley woke, he sat himself down in a chair with his fingers locked and energy spent, his gaze burrowing into the ground as he waited.

The droid that stood over Riley turned it's head, its eyes lighting up, "Good to see you awake. Please, do not move, you are still not fully healed." It gingerly placed an arm against her shoulder in order to keep her against the bed. "You are located at Med Bay Aquilla. Your male associate brought you here." As if on queue from the droid's words, the doors to the boom busted open and nearly struck the walls as Ender walked in, his eyes immediately finding Riley's as they locked gazes. He simply just stopped in his tracks and stared, his shoulders visibly dropping as stress left his body.

A droid waddled behind him, it's arms in the air and outstretched. "Sir! Please, you can't be back here. You must wait in the visiting area." Ender didn't even respond to it, his gaze still on her as he eventually only said one thing, "Riley."

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley’s vision focused as she looked up and saw Ender. She couldn’t help but smile at him, and it lit up her whole face. She was genuinely happy to see him, and that was clear as day. The droid muttered something, and she was quickly distracted. Riley glanced over at the medication being pumped into her and scowled.

“Is this standard issue..” She went into a long rant about the pharmaceuticals and the chemical composition of the drugs. The droid, being a droid, answered her questions. Poor Ender was suddenly subjected for about five minutes of a debate that sounded like two people speaking an entirely different language.

By the end of it, Riley was yanking the needles out of her arms and scowling at the droid, “-Even you yourself haven’t been software patched recently. You ought to be barred and have your licensing taken away!” She tried to scramble to her feet and began to topple over, preparing to eat it.

 

[Darth Invictus]

When he saw that Riley was responsive and actually looked back at him and smiled, he involuntarily smiled back at her. The last time he saw her, she smelt like burnt flesh and couldn't even move. Something inside him reacted at the sight of her like this but he pushed down to not make a scene. Ender was about to open his mouth to say something but then Riley's attention got completely sidetracked and attempted to have a whole debate with the droid medical staff that helped revive her. He just simply exhaled as both of them started to use jargon he just didn't understand.

When she started to yank out needles and other machinery, he finally stepped forward, "Hey, easy..." But Riley was too worked up to even hear what he said as she threatened to bring the whole operation down. When she got on her feet and failed to support herself, Ender immediately dashed forward, both of his arms wrapping around her, and pulled her in tight against him for support. "One step at a time, Doc. Let's fix you up before we start reprimanding med bays." Ender gently brought her back to the bed, to at least sit down as he stood in front of her with one hand on her hip.

He stared down at her to make sure she was actually okay before directing his attention to the droids. "Sorry about... all that. Is she able to be moved?" The droid glanced between the two of them before eventually answering, "Yes but she is not fully healed. It could cause extensive damage and prolong her condition even longer." The machine then directly just looked at Riley, "You should stay here a few more days. Any significant damage could cause permanent effects." Ender's jaw tightened at the droid's words, thinking over a million possibilities of what to do. Realizing where he was afterward, he cleared those thoughts and gave a nod toward Riley, "How are you feeling?"

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley was thankful that Ender was there to catch her, but her focus remained on the droid. She grumpily looked at it while Ender eased her down to sit. When the droid began to explain very matter of factly that she needed to stay, Riley scoffed.

“You will have me dead by tomorrow!” She pointed angrily at the droid, reaching over Ender’s arm to do so, “Where is your license to practice? I want to see it. Also, when were you last programmed and updated for medical procedures? Does that bacta tank meet regulation?”

The droid lowered its clipboard and calmly looked over at Ender, “There is a 68.4% probability of her doing fine if she were to be moved to another location…”

“Oh good, glad I have your permission,” Riley hissed at the droid, trying to sit up without having to lean against Ender. She was seeing red and needed to calm down. After a moment, she finally turned to look at him, being able to appreciate just how close they were. Her face grew warm all of a sudden, as she realized she was in a ridiculous gown and throwing a huge fit.

“I um…” She blinked at him, “Th-thank you for bringing me here.”

Riley looked him over quickly, "You didn't get hurt too, did you?"

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender had hoped that by setting her down she would calm a little and realize the condition she was actually in. Instead, she got at it once more with the droid and he had to eat his smirk as he just watched the exchange. Well, she was definitely coherent. The droid just gave up talking to her and instead filled him in on what it thought her chance was once they moved her. When she told it that she was glad that it had the droid's permission, it gave her a nod, "You're welcome." It walked off afterward to leave the two of them.

He looked back to Riley, the percentage replaying in his head as he wondered what to do. But it washed away when he saw her turn red, a slight grin appearing on his face as she thanked him for bringing her to the med bay. "It was the least I could do for letting you get shot. Hopefully, you won't kill me for letting them put you in the bacta tank." When she saw the concern in her eyes, he just shook his head, "Just cuts and bruises. Nothing serious, don't worry." Adrenaline and anger still coursed through him and he figured his answer would be different in the morning when he could actually feel it. After he answered her question, Ender brought his gaze to her eyes and got lost for a moment as he wanted to say something but the words wouldn't come out.

But after a pause, he seemed to realize the closeness between them as well and took a step back as he removed his hand with him that he had forgotten about. "You probably want to get out of that thing. I'll let you change." Ender gave her a nod before turning around and making his way out of the room to do that. He went back to the lobby outside of her room and sat back down in a chair as he put his head in his palm. The point of him coming to the planet was to rescue her, instead, he got her shot and nearly paralyzed. Ender didn't know what to wrap his mind around but they were still being hunted and her moving was inevitable.

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley mumbled incoherently in response, entirely embarrassed from the exchange. She couldn’t deny the sudden loss of warmth from him abruptly stepping back, and she hadn’t even realized where his hand had been. She could tell he hadn’t either. Riley quickly pushed everything from her mind, letting him leave the room before exhaling slowly.

It was a few minutes before she emerged again, and this time in much more presentable clothing. Riley was limping slightly as she walked, and her steps were wobbly. She tilted against a wall a few times to support herself as she made her way towards Ender.

“You didn’t let me get shot, Ender,” Riley said when she found him again. She placed her hand on a nearby bench to keep herself up, "We just got caught up in.."

That was when she noticed several people looking over at them. At first, she thought nothing of it, but they all stopped what they were doing. It was then that Riley focused on what was being played and it was the local Holo news. It was video footage of the incident on the streets. There were body cam videos of a red saber and flashes of Ender popping in and out of the frame, along with the sounds of screaming.

“Ender…” Riley whispered, her eyes widening, “What….what happened?”

His face was going to be splashed across the entire Outer Rim.

 

[Darth Invictus]

As the morning started to come around, more and more people started to file into the med bay. It may have not been up to snuff for Riley but it was all people had around them. Ender slumped in his chair a little as he raised his collar slightly to cover his face enough that it would take a second look to see who he really was. It had been somewhat comfortable when it had just been him and Riley but there were many unknown faces in the building with them. Hopefully, she was getting dressed quickly so they could leave.

As if on cue, he sensed Riley coming down the hall and eventually heard her, able to distinguish the limp from the irregularity in her footsteps. He turned to see her use the wall as a support and he pushed himself out of the chair and closed the distance between them to make it easier on her. Ender opened his mouth to object to her statement as she picked up where they left off. But her words were stopped short as her eyes went past him and he arched his eyebrow at her. When he turned back around, he saw the small groups of people stare at him as well before he looked to the Holo.

It was him, in his full "glory." He moved with unnatural speed on the screen, quickly cutting down anything in his path as flashes of gold would appear from time to time with his eyes. Ender's gaze remained on the screen as his jaw tightened slightly while he answered, "As I said, I let you get shot. I just returned the favor." His words were cold and held no remorse for what transpired.

The people inside were past the point of being caught staring at them and one of them continually glanced over to the desk. Ender's gaze followed his and he realized the public comm unit that was there. "I think we outstayed our welcome." The person that stared back at him, a Rhodian, dived for the desk after he spoke but instantly the force lashed out with his command. It pushed the Rhodian into the wall while also having the comm yanked out of the desk and into Ender's hand. The others inside screamed at his display of powers, with some rushing deeper into the building, the corner, or just huddled in a corner. It didn't even scratch the surface of what he could do but everyone was terrified.