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

[Riley Elin]

Riley could only focus on the images, her jaw dropping in horror. When he spoke, she barely heard him. She was witnessing all this for the first time. All the truths about him being Sith, all her fears and doubts, all of it came flooding back. He had slaughtered the local militia groups, and she knew there would be swift retribution from the Hutts.

She was jerked back to reality when the Rodian moved abruptly and Ender reacted at once.

“NO!” She called out to him, wanting to prevent another massacre. Riley tried to take a step but collapsed against him, having to grasp onto his shoulder, “No more, Ender. Don’t hurt anyone, please. Let’s just get out of here,” She pleaded with him both with her words and her eyes.

The other patients and nurses screamed and scattered, and they had a small window to escape. Riley was slower than usual, but she hobbled along to keep up. Her heart was racing, and she had a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts. She thought about the way he looked at her, the feeling of elation she had when she awoke to find him, but...she also replayed the images from the Holo in her mind. She saw a cold, calculated killer. She saw a judge, jury and executioner.

After a moment, they were out of the medbay, and she looked up at him, “I will get you killed, Ender…” She said quietly, “Hutt will be hunting you everywhere and I won’t be able to keep up. And...and the Sith...what will they do?” Riley was alarmed at the countless endings this story could have, and almost all of them ended with either one or both of them dead.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender didn't need to view her to know how she felt about what she saw. He easily felt it through the force as she had no ability to hide her emotions. It was disgust, fear, and confusion all wrapped into one. They weren't unusual reactions to him but it felt different when it came from Riley, different enough where he actually cared about it. The Holo continued as if it really wanted to reveal all of it and confirm each feeling that she had.

The two of them had been about to leave until the Rhodian tried to be a hero. A quick shot of anger coursed through him but that's when he felt Riley collapse against him and yelled at him to stop. Once she touched him, Ender's focus immediately was torn away from the crowd as he helped her stand on her feet. The message in her eyes was clear and was practically begging him not to do anything to anyone else. "Okay, okay. Let's go." He murmured as he helped her to get out of the med way while everyone else ran. The Rhodian who had hit the wall earlier had gotten up and ran right past them even as he gave up on his attempts to call.

When they were far enough from any prying eyes, he finally let her walk on her own but kept close in case she needed it. Ender had been silent completely since they let the med bay and waited for what was to come. When she finally spoke and that she would get him killed, he scoffed softly in response, "You won't get me killed." But after the words left his mouth, he thought about vice versa and it was a high possibility that he could get her killed just for being with him.

Riley made a good point that she wouldn't be able to keep up once they were actually found. Then she brought up the Sith, that wouldn't be that big of a problem. "They'll either leave me be to handle it myself or they'll try to kill me. But I suspect they'll have a hard time finding a Sith to do that." It was most likely the avenue where he'll have to figure it out himself or pay a small price when he returned home. Ender finally stopped as he continued to see that she was still limping. "We can't keep continuing like this. You by chance know any quarantine districts around here?" He had a small idea.

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley sighed, realizing he was stubborn as a mule. She would never be able to talk him into fleeing for his own safety. Her thoughts lingered on what he mentioned the Sith might do, and she was left with a sick feeling in her gut, “You would have to...leave the Sith?” She asked quietly, almost hopefully. She wanted to ignore that reality about him. Nothing he had done ever suggested he would ever hurt her, but unfortunately the same didn’t apply for others.

She nodded at his question, “There’s one a few miles from here but…” She looked around, “We don’t have any way to get there,” There were speederbikes and speeders parked along the street, but they were all chained up to avoid theft. She had a feeling he may ignore that small tidbit.

Riley had to keep a hold of him to keep walking, “Why are you a Sith by choice, Ender?” She couldn’t help but ask. She had her own skeletons to share, but she wanted to understand him first. She didn’t know why understanding him mattered so much, but that lingering look he gave her stuck with her even now.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Riley didn't really approve of his answer and their outlook but it was the truth. She was given some hope that he may leave the Order as she asked him but he shook his head, practically instantly. "No, they'll just leave me to solve my own problems. I wouldn't leave the Sith by my own choice." When he had discovered the mask, the real one, it almost had made him leave the Order but he had backtracked from that decision. The Sith was all that he knew and it was a way of life that couldn't be transported somewhere else. He was a killer, through and through.

She informed that there was a quarantine district not too far by but pointed out they had no way to get there. Ender could only smirk back at her, "When there is a will, there is a way." There was a small lot not too far from them and he slipped his arm through her's. It let her use more of him as a support and passed them off as a couple instead of an injured doctor and a wanted Sith. To confirm Riley's fear, they were heading straight for the speeder bikes.

When she asked why he was a Sith by choice, he didn't respond at first. His gaze was trained forward on purpose as he seemed to debate what to say to her. After a moment though, he gave in and just told her, "I wasn't. I was just a kid." The memories were faint but they were there. "Some scientists discovered me and took me from my home. They cut me open and ran experiments on me for who knows how long." There were minute details left out but it was the gist of it. He meant it literally when he said he had been cut open and not an exaggeration as some would put it. It was one of the main reasons he couldn't remember anything before waking up in the lab.

"After I escaped, I had no idea what I was doing. Anything really just to stay alive." Ender finally brought his gaze down to Riley, "A Sith found me and brought me in under his wing. It's all I've known ever since." They were fully in the lot by the time he finished speaking and approached a speeder. With a quick flick of his wrist, the chain around it continually wrapped around itself before it snapped. He swung one leg over after and got on the seat, one of his hands resting on the handlebar as he looked to Riley, "And that's my story."

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley tried to protest his methods at getting their ride, but she knew it was pointless. She listened to his story, grimacing as he described being cut open. Her mind immediately went to all the scars he would still have, and then that led to wondering about how else everything looked under… She had to shake her head to clear her thoughts. She blinked a few times, hoping Sith didn’t have instant mind reading abilities.

“And this Sith...did he or she raise you as a parent would?” Riley asked, her question almost clinical. She couldn’t help but try to profile him and understand his attachments to such a ruthless organization. Did he feel like he owed someone something? Did he he feel anchored to the Sith? Perhaps she could find ways to help him away from it.

Riley watched with a lack of amusement as he casually uncoiled the chains with the Force. She sighed and swung over the speeder after him, holding onto him. She told herself this was okay because these vehicles likely belonged to gang criminals anyway.

She remained quiet as he started driving, thinking over his words. Riley wanted nothing more than to take him away from the Sith, “I don’t think you’re a bad man, Ender,” She said quietly with a sigh, tilting her forehead against his back, “I think you can rise above it. I think we can..” Her words drifted off. She could only hope he hadn’t heard anything at all over the engines.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender couldn't read thoughts but he could sense how she felt. As her mind drifted to him, he didn't know exactly what of but he could guess from his words. His lips formed into a smirk but didn't make it obvious for her sake. Luckily for him, it wasn't vice versa. But he was surprised when she asked if the Sith raised him like a parent. A small laugh came out of him at her response but when he saw that she was serious, his smile disappeared and he exhaled softly.

"No. I was raised like a soldier." A soldier isn't exactly what he would put it as but it would help her understand it more. "Achieve victory through all means, push distractions out of the way, all the bullshit that you expect from it." Ender turned on the speeder and it roared to life in response. She wasn't a ride but it was better than their feet and he knew she could accept that. He let her get snug around him before peeling off and onto the street.

The speeder wasn't going particularly fast and he was able to catch what she said before it drifted away. They kept replaying over in his mind, specifically her voice as well. There were so many ways he could prove her wrong and fail to provide evidence for the other side. Ender hadn't realized what he had gotten himself into and how terribly this could end the more she found out. He let out a response, it tossed into the wind as well whether she heard him or not, "Then you haven't truly met me yet."

After a while, Ender pulled into a nearby street and found what was the gate that would let them into the next district. He found a suitable spot to park the bike and got off first to help Riley. When she was off, he looped his arm through her's and led her to the wall, and avoided the searchlights the best they could. Better than being stuck in quarantine for weeks. Once they were at a vacant part, he turned to Riley, "You ready to hop over?" She would be able to tell from his tone that he was serious.

 

[Riley Elin]

Riley didn’t hear his words, but she was also too caught up by his other ones. Raised as a Sith soldier? He grew up shaped and molded to serve a purpose. Where, then, did he gain his humanity? Why did he go out of his way to help her? All of this time he could have pushed his own agenda. Was it truly because of her ties to the virus?

Her thoughts carried her all the way to the quarantine facility. She slowly eased off the speederbike, still leaning on him to walk. The thoughts of the recent events played several times in her mind. Her assistant had turned into one of the Frenzied. She could remember the stench of countless zombies burning. She could see the scared civilians that ran at the sight of Ender. And she could remember the stinging pain of getting shot.

When he asked about the wall, Riley simply blinked at him, “I… how?” She looked up skeptically. She could barely walk, a wall was out of the question. However, she turned to him then, looking to the wall and then back to him.

“You’ll….you’ll stay here, won’t you?”

 

[Darth Invictus]

It didn't take long for Riley to understand what he meant when he asked her about the wall. "You'll make it over." Ender turned his gaze to the wall and peered directly at it, clearly looking past it as he sensed signatures littered behind it. When she asked if he'll stay here, he glanced down at the ground and then back to her as he sighed through his nose. "No, I'll leave shortly after you do. A different section of the wall." Surprisingly, it was easy to tell her what he was doing then he thought it was going to be. Maybe because it was better for her.

Ender rubbed the knuckles of his hand with his other as he explained further, "You were right partially. One of us will be killed if we stayed together and it will be you. Here's your chance to get out while you're still intact." There was no need to point out that she got shot in the back when she felt it every step. "Can't figure out that cure with merc's hunting you down, right?" It was a rhetorical question and an easy reason to think as he stopped rubbing his knuckles. The force weaved through his fingers as he prepared to lift her up and depart himself.

The force would gently wrap around her legs and then the rest of her body as she was lifted in the air. Ender brought her over the wall and to the other side with barely any pressure. There would be a patrol coming soon enough that would be able to pick her up and keep her from walking. Ender reached through the wall and spoke through the force to her, his voice able to be heard in her head, See you around, Doc. She would feel the slight connection separate after that as he left his side of the wall and went to get off the planet.

/end