Ask When You Wish Upon a Star

[Darth Tiamat]

Tia flipped another switch as she watched them stand around, making their decision she imagined. An eyebrow quirked as she watched the blonde give Ezra a kiss, which seemed to spark the trio into action as they rushed to the ship. The woman sat up, hearing her droid whistle and beep alerting her to all them being on board. The ramp rose and the ship took off with Ezra beside her, she wondered if he knew his Pops was a decent pilot also.

He didn't remain quiet and took her offer to ask questions. The ship broke through the atmosphere and she begun the overrides on the navigational computer, uploading the hyperspace path she took to get here.

"No, your Pops, is not Raze, and Raze is not your Pops." she answered, "Raze manifested to protect him, he was a sword and shield for Emryc, and resulted in almost a...in simplest terms, a split personality, taking the brunt of the pain and corruption as one would experience as a powerful Sith Lord." Tiamat felt her shoulder's relax as the navigational computer accepted the course.

She glanced to Ezra, "I can't begin to imagine the pain and torture his Masters would had to put him through to want to separate from yourself." she couldn't help but think of the toddler she saw and shook head to refocus, hearing the beeping of the navigational computer and signaling Ezra to pull them into hyperspace. "Raze would have never allowed for your Pops to marry your Dad, or to let yourself and your sister be a part of their lives. Raze was created to be the perfect sith tool, to ignite chaos and destroy. And now he is doing that, I was able to save Emryc, but now Raze is of his own flesh and he is wasting no time." Tiamat took a deep breath and looked at Ezra with concern.

"When we get back, you have to find your brethren. Raze went to Ithor, there are no survivors."

@Zay @Sreeya @Alhon

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra both understood what she meant and not at the same time. He witnessed and felt it in the Mortis world. He watched the dark entity pull away from his father, leaving both his parents as their individual presence in the Force. He calmly listened as Tia explained. He already had his emotional breakdown, and nothing she said could rattle him beyond what he discovered.

Until she mentioned Ithor.

“What?” He blurted out, whipping his head to look at her. He thought she was joking at first with how casually she delivered the information. However, he remembered that sometimes Auntie Tiamat and his Pops were eerily similar in their deadpan manner of speech or dropping earth shattering information without emotions tied to it. Ezra quickly whipped out his NalPhone, feeling his heart racing all over again, though there was still no service. This couldn’t be. Ithor couldn’t be gone. The temple. Jedi he knew flooded his thoughts - all his teachers, padawans like Maura or Auryn and others he had come to know. Had they really all perished?

It wasn’t too long before Ezra emerged from the cockpit to face the two boys, his face grim. He looked at Dash and Leon. Both of them had actual friends on Ithor. Ezra didn’t like people, so outside of Auryn he considered everyone an acquaintance. Even then, he was sickened at the thought of it. He felt weak. Because his mind was on one thing.

“Where is Ferrin? Why didn’t he come with you?” Ezra asked weakly. He looked from Leon to Dash, the color drained from his face, “Darth Raze wiped out the Ithor temple…”

@GABA @Alhon @Zay

 

[Dash Pavan]

They seemed to get through to Ez in the end, at least enough to get him moving. He chose the ship, which if it proved dangerous would at least be refreshing change from being chased by primitives.

Ezra seemed to warm up to Auntie Sith once they were onboard, going to ride up front with her. Dash narrowed his eyes, but they were committed now. If she really was family to Ezra, maybe she would be just what he needed right now. For his part, Dash just needed to catch his breath.

He threw himself down on seat in the corner, leaning back against the bulkhead, relaxing into the rocking of the ship. Holding the Force like that had taken it out of him more than he realised, especially topping it off with his ice wall. The poor buggers would be stuck with that for hours and the legend of this day for the rest of their lives.

Dash looked across at Leon, giving him a look that said it all. "Why could he not just be holed up in bar somewhere?" he sighed, nodding in his boyfriend's direction. They had chased Ezra across the known galaxy and into the unknown, far more than either of them bargained for. "Loved it when you gave him a real talking to though. You should do that more often".

The Rhinnalian had not missed Leon's admission about family, though he was not going to wrestle with something that sensitive right now. He shared the sentiment, even if he did have his folks back on Rhinnal too. The Order was like that, a family like no other.

Ez came through asking about Ferrin. "It's my fault" Dash said "I was in a bit of a panic about you and he was not exactly top of my list to invite along. But I only made it all harder". The Pantoran could be a dick, but he had his upsides, however much Dash might have ignored them in the past. He was lucky no one had been at death's door without their blueskinned healer in tow.

He was about to ask Ezra if he was feeling alright when his boyfriend dropped the grim news. "This super dark guy? What do you mean, wiped out?!". Dash felt lightheaded himself. He thought of Dim, Hera, Tala, and yes Ferrin. Had he been there? Was he, were they all...? "He can't have" Dash said, rallying himself "there would be Masters there, so many Jedi. He can't be that strong, can he?".

He looked from Ezra to his Auntie beyond him. Ithor was home in so many ways. If it was really gone, where would they go?

@Sreeya @Zay @GABA

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon pulled out his phone and captured the kiss. Always a bridesmaid… never a bride. Aaaaaand then they were running! The gathered mob was more confused than ever. Some of them attacked, some fell to the ground to prostrate themselves before their new god, Glub.

Baudelaire bounded up the ramp right behind Ezra expression speading into an excited amile as the thought of hopping into the pilots chair surged to the front of his mind. Then he remember this wasn't his ship and slammed on the breaks. He spotted Tia and watched as Ezra slipped in next to her. He suddenly had the overwhelling feeling to give them some space. He would have liked some given the circumstances.

He made it back to the same area as Dash, just as his buddy cracked a joke. Leon chuckled, “Nah, that’s where you guys would find me.”

An image of the vision he’d seen with Hera on their last mission flitted through his mind. The future self he’d seen then had eyes that looked like a forest on fire. He shivered involuntarily. Then shrugged when Dash gave him props, “Eh, yeah I guess. If anything I think I was being kinda self—”

Ezra entered.

The look on his face brought Leon to his feet. Before The Adumarian could say anything Dash spoke up taking the blame.

Leon was about to speak up when Ezra said the unthinkable. The information barely registered as the implication of Ezra’s last question hit him like a punch to the gut. Baudelaire was sitting. Head in his hands. Fingers gripping locks of hair as the realization sank in. For the second time a Sith had taken his home. How many more was he supposed to lose?

A familiar voice he hadn’t heard in a while crept back into his mind, “A drink. A drink, a drink, a drinkdrinkdrink.”

He shut his eyes, squeezing them tight and struggling against the urge to explode. Leon couldn’t stand it any more and calmly got up and walked away. He didn’t want to hear anymore. He’d done the right thing. He’d done what the force, the entity in which he’d given up everything for and now… now the home that he’d come to know and love was gone.

Peetwo popped it’s head out and started to nuzzle him, “Knock it off,” he said, brushing the little droid away. The BD unit watched him for a second but eventually receded into his bag.

How? How could one being be so strong that they could topple Ithor? What did it matter? He wasn't strong enough to do anything about it… Once again he was useless when it mattered most.

@Sreeya @Alhon

 

[Ezra Thorne]

“Stop,” Ezra said curtly as Leon got up to walk away. They had done enough running on account of him. Ezra always withdrew and ran. It was his coping mechanism. It helped no one in the end, and he wasn’t about to watch Leon go into a self destructive spiral.

He looked back at Dash, “Multiple councilors and Jedi Masters died,” He said calmly, “Some knights escaped, but all the padawans and younglings that were in the temple at the time were killed. The entire herdship crashed on the surface of the planet,” It only got worse the more he said. However, unlike the other two boys, Ezra wasn’t driven by an obsessive compulsion to help others or feel tremendous guilt at not having been there to self-sacrifice. It was his failing as a Jedi, perhaps. He was more calculated, and he knew there was nothing they could have done to change the outcome. Not when Jedi far more skilled than them failed, “Whatever reason we were here instead of Ithor, it allows us to fight another day.”

Ezra took a seat next to Dash, his long legs cramped in the averagely built seats. The Thorne ships were custom made for his very tall family, “The reason we kept seeing that visor…the reason that black ink was on me in the Force..” He paused briefly, turning to look at his boyfriend. Leon would be well within earshot, “..Is because Darth Raze used to manifest in my Pops’ head. So.. technically I am his son... He only recently tore himself away and became his own person. That’s why he’s out doing these things. My Pops used to keep him contained and now he’s free,” It didn’t make sense to Ezra either, but he had long since accepted that the Force was strange and the impossible became possible.

“When we get back, we have to find out what happened to Ferrin,” Ezra declared, his icy and level temperament shining through in a moment of crisis. It sounded like an action plan. Making plans and having tangible goals made it easier to cope with the overwhelming weight of everything that happened. They couldn’t allow even a moment to spiral downward and collapse, not when they were some of the only survivors. Not when Darth Raze was there just looking for vulnerable minds to influence.

@Zay @Alhon @GABA

 

[Dash Pavan]

Multiple councillors. Dash had never heard of such a thing. They were the very strongest of the Jedi. If they had been killed, what chance would any of his friends have had? He felt a pang of guilt. He should have been there, not off on a selfish expedition or chasing across the galaxy to find his boyfriend. He thought back to the moment the Grandmaster had lowered her blade to his shoulders, when she had called him an example and welcomed him to the Jedi family. Had he let that family down?

His heart warred with itself briefly, but when Ez squeezed in next to him he felt a margin better. Going after Ezra had not been a choice, he could never have left his boyfriend alone with his despair. He had done the right thing, he was almost sure.

But what was the right thing now, now they knew? "We can't fight him" Dash replied, instinctively fearful at the thought of Ezra facing this Raze. If he was so strong, the Rhinnalian could not protect Ezra from him, anymore than he could have protected Ithor. Unless you become just as strong. It sounded like Jadis' thought, but Dash knew it was his own. But was it even possible?

Ezra's explanation took all his brainpower to follow however, making him frown so hard his features nearly stayed that way. "He used to live in your Pops' head?". It was difficult to swallow on many levels. Emryc Thorne was something of an adonis, if you were into daddy types, but he never gave the impression there was a lot going on inside. Dash almost wondered if that was why there had been space for this Raze thing to hide in their all these years. "So who's head is he in now, if not him?". It was all deeply unsettling "and what does he want, is he hunting Jedi?".

Dash suddenly felt a little agitated and hot under the collar, unclasping his pauldron to help him breathe. Where would they even start looking for Ferrin, or any of the Jedi they had known. The Rhinnalian thought he felt the ship slowing down and glanced nervously at Auntie Tia. She had been a Sith, she had said it herself, how did they know they were not being delivered to this Raze right now.

@Zay @Sreeya @GABA

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon’s head felt like it was going to explode. The roiling emotions churning in his veins went ice cold when Ezra told him to stop. His fists were clenched, knuckles white. His jaw was clamped shut as his teeth ground together. Tears started to stream down his face as he forced himself to accept the loss.

It took him a moment to compose himself, but his angst was showing and he took a seat a few feet away from the other two facing the wall. He listened to Ezra. Jedi riffled through his mind like a deck of cards being shuffled.

Darth Raze. Leon couldn’t believe it. He was glad he was facing away because the initial shock had shaken him. Then he considered the separation. Any and all information about Raze was beneficial. Asking Ezra’s pops about The Darth could be enlightening, but Leon wasn’t spear heading that one.

He found himself pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration as he tried to comprehend this story. Thankfully it sounded like Dash was just as confused as he was. Leon felt a pang of empathy for Ezra. Poor guy was at the heart of this whole thing. He heard Ezra mention finding Ferrin, first. Baudelaire agreed. First step was getting the band back together, once that was done they could begin the real challenge. Coming up with a plan to defeat Raze.

All he could do right now was the bare minimum. He knew this was one of the moments The Father referred to. Leon had a choice. He could choose to rise… or choose to fall.

Leon stood.

“Let’s head to Tyferra, my ship will have the coordinates for Brighthome. That’ll be the best place to start.”

Baudelaire remembered the panicked text. He pulled out his Nalphone went back to the unknown number (@Altaris) and sent...

He's safe.

End.​

@Alhon @Sreeya @GABA