Broken and Running

[Ashe Sieris]

Ashe had packed her items, spoken with the land lord, and made arangements. Her appartment was cleared and everything was out of it. She no longer lived there. It wasn't safe for her there now that the Sith knew where she is and what she is. She takes one last look around her appartment to make sure she didn't forget anything, and then leaves with her packs. She didn't have much stuff, just a back pack and a duffelbag. She wasn't sure if she was ever going to return to Coruscant. Atleast, not for a long time.

Ashe quickly made her way to the space ports of Coruscant and hired on a ship and crew to take her away from this planet. The young renegade jedi took a last, longing look at Coruscant as the ship left the planet and headed into hyperspace. The ship traveled for days as they headed for the distant planet of Yavin in the Mid Rim of the universe. Ashe was rather silent the entire trip, the crew of the ship finding it rather odd but leaving her be. The captain told the rest of the crew that she was paying enough to do what she wanted within her own room.

The ship, finaly, landed on the moon of Yavin IV. The remains of the old rebel base made a good enough landing pad for the ship. They opened the hatch for Ashe. She nodded a thank you to them after paying them the final ammount due and made arrangements with them for suply drop offs every few months. She, obviously, was not planning on leaving for a while.

***

Days later

***

Ashe had been training out in the dense jungle of Yavin IV for nearly a week straight, only stopping to eat, meditate and sleep. She had gone deep within the jungle were, she hoped, no one would find her. This place was familier to her, as she had grown up on this planet, training with her master. She had escaped from it, years ago, with the Rebels. Now she was back again, trying to get back in touch with her lost master.

Now, she sat within the branches of one of the tall trees in the jungle. Her eyes were closed as she sat there with one leg dangling off the branch and her other leg pulled up to her chest. She reached out with the force, looking for anything. A calm breeze blew through the trees. A haunting noise whistled through their branches. Something was amiss today. Something was not the same as it had been for the past several days she had been there. She was searching for this now, but was still unsure of what it was.

[Kyle Krogen]

Yavin IV had always been a source of refuge for Kyle Krogen during his wandering years. He came there so often that it became his only real home. The planet itself was quite dangerous with it's wild animals and dense jungles. But it also was a planet that acted as a wellspring of force energy. The force energy itself was dark and tainted with evil from whatever malicious acts that had occured here, perhaps by the creators of the magnificant stone structures; temples in all appearences. Something dark had happened there in the past and the darkside had left it's mark there, weakened over time but never fading away completely. It was one of those planets that most force users avoided because of the dark aura. It had a way of preying on the mind and tainting the souls of those that travel there. Kyle had been touched in similar ways, but his fall to the edges of the darkside had given him insight on the taint of the planet and to help him avoid soccumbing to the darkness again.

Perhaps the oddest point of interest on Tavin IV was the spirits. Many force users were not attuned to seeing or hearing the spirits of the dead, but Kyle had been cursed with the 'second sight' which aloud him to see and hear the spirits of the dead.

Right now he sat next to a pool of cystal clear water. A small trickling waterfall dripped down from the rocks above the pond, the sound was soothing and instilled a sense of peace within Kyle. He closed his eyes and stilled his mind, letting his thoughts travel outwards from his body and into Yavin IV as a whole.

He could hear the voices, the screams and chants in some barbaric langauge. The screamed out into the night begging for their deity to come back and save them. The word "Sith" was spoken often, although what meaning it held to those saying it was unknown to Kyle, but it was obvious that they regarded the holders of the name quite highly. Then the voices of the barbaric tongue fell away and new voices floated in. For the longest time he heard nothing but the grunts and growls of wild beasts, and then everything went silent.

Kyle opened his eyes and looked out to the pond before him, a perplexed look crossing his face. What did it all mean, and what had happened to the speakers of the odd tongue? Perhaps historians would one day be able to discover the truth, or maybe they already did and Kyle just hadn't heard. Whatever the outcome Kyle would forever carry those strange voices with him and hopefully, one day, he'll figure out what happened here to taint the planet so profoundly.

He rose from his place and strode through the foilage. He had constructed himself a crude hut in the forest so that he had a place safe place to sleep protected from the wild animals. The building itself was constructed of stone and timber taken from the forest, bound together with sturdy vines and mud. The building was always in pieces every time Kyle returned to Yavin IV, but he had always been able to put it back together quickly enough. True he could have simply stayed inside the comfortable quarters of his ship, the Valiant; which was in a clearing nearby. But he prefered to slepe outdoors during his stays on Yavin IV, it just made him feel that much better. Plus it aloud him shorter walk to the pond.

He stumbled into his hut, unlocking the many homemade locks that kept the wild animals out. He went inside and sat down on the chunk of moss in the corner that served as his bed. He was tired, but only mentally so. His body had never been stronger. He found himself wandering out into the force again, but this time instead of just voices he felt a presence, and one that was nearby. He could not pinpoint the location precisely, but he could tell in what general direction this presence lay. At first he thought it may have just been an over intelligent animal or perhaps a smuggler trying to hide his cache on the planet. But no, this presence stood out too strongly.

It had to be a force user...

Kyle shot out of his hut, only stopping long enough to lock it again. He moved out into the forest towards the presence. He came closer, and closer, and closer- Until he was right ontop of it. He slunk through the foilage, doing his best to remain silent. He looked around but say nothing. It was then when movement over his head caught his attention; a foot danging off the side of a tree branch. Kyle hunkered down behind a bush and unclipped one of his twin lightsabres from his belt and held it unactivated in his hand.

He would watch and wait and hopefully see what this person was up to.

[Ashe Sieris]

Ashe had been sitting still and silent in the tree for hours, alowing the force to flow through her body. She felt, more tham heard, The trees speeking to her... or more, their shadows speeking to her, telling her of times long past. Telling her of the things that they have seen, felt and heard through out the hundreds of years that they had grown there. Images flashed through her mind as she let her mind wander farther and farther into the force.

An image flashed through her mind. This one was much more clear and quick then the last ones. They had all been going through her mind a bit slow and misty, like a lost dream. But this one was vibrant and alive, like it had recently happened, or that it was happening right now. It was only one quick vision for a second of a man. She had never seen him before but something about him seemed different.

The darkness of the planet surrounded and clouded her mind. The shadows seemed to be trying to block out this vision from her. 'Why?' she wondered. 'Why try to block me from some random person that is on the planet. They mean nothing to me...' But that was what the darkness wanted her to feel. It edged through her, trying to corrupt her and take her. A coldness gripped her arm, eminating from the scar on her right palm. She could feel someone getting closer to her. Their aura was strong but she couldn't place why. Her mind was too clouded with other thoughts. She tried to focus on this person but her mind drifted to Zereth.

He stood before her, eyes staring at her. Darkness surrounded him but a light from behind her lit up his form so she could see him. His glaring look and his deep red eyes. She got lost within his eyes, but it was not like it had been before. Now she felt trapped within them. Struggling to get away and to escape from the darkness that was quickly growing to consume the light behind her and shadow both of their forms. She battled them, fighting against the corruption at all costs... then she saw Him again.

The vision of the man from before hit her through these thoughts and visions of Zereth. This new person, she could feel them growing closer to her. But there was still darkness around her vision of him, clouding him slightly. She couldn't make out his face but there was a light coming from behind him. Then suddenly, it was all clear.

Ashe's eyes flew open and she quickly hopped to her feet, crouching down on the branch. Her eyes darted around the trees and folage around her. She slowly placed her hands on the tree branch, giving herself better balance and looking a bit like a large cat while doing so. The shadows that the tree cast gave her a dark look. She moved out along the branch, not moving it an inch as she does so. Someone was out there. Now, she felt it and knew it. 'Who are you....?' she thought to herself.

[Ambrose Braeden]

The stone built Shrine was filled with the Darkside. Ambrose could feel the hate and anger and passion flowing throughout his body as he knelt in front of the Sith Shrine. The dew of the morning had already collected itself upon the leaves of grass on the ground. As he knelt, his eyes closed, the Vampire could feel and sence everything around him. A small animal was running, another one was eating the leaves off of a twig. As he knelt, Ambrose knew that he was not the only occupant of the fourth moon of yavin. Ambrose had to be cautios of who or what was around. Before he dissapeard, Ambrose's teacher taught him many things. 'Concentrate Ambrose, Concentrate on your hate and anger.' He could hear the voice as if it was yesterday.

As the Sith stood to his full height, Ambrose quickly opened his eyes. He could feel a ripple in the force. Ambrose stretched outward with his feelings once again to try and feel the presence once more, and again it was there. Ambrose had learned how to cloak himself in the force, and now that skill had come in handy. He quickly bent the force to his will, becoming its master like so many times before, and he knew that he was not to be detected while he kept his focus.

As he walked, monotoring his surroundings the whole time, Ambrose could hear them now. A slight thud was heard through the tress, and the Sith turned his head in the direction. Ambrose stood behind the trunk of a tree, looking through the startings of the branches at the one woman he was astonished to find here. It was Ashe, the last time he had seen her was on Courscant. That had been a darker meeting between the two, but productive none-the-less. As he stood watching he could see another being, but they were not visible to each other. The Vampire stood completely still, to not make a sound.

[Kyle Krogen]

Kyle could not take the suspence anymore. He did not want to just sit there and let whatever or whoever it was get away. The chances of the person being a renegade darksider was much higher then the chance of it being something else. It was Kyle's duty to put down the forces of darkness, but only in the form of combat that preserves himself from falling into the darkness. But then again, he had never been one for rules. So screw defensive tactics.

He crouched down, bending his knees and letting his body slide downwards. Then like a spring being released he launched himself up into the air. He overshot the branch that the person was climbing along, as was his plan. He sailed up over the tree and landed on it's uppermost branch. The grace in which he descended was inhuman. He landed on the branch without causing it to buckle or wobble under his weight. The force played valuable part in slowing himself down, but Telekinesis had been employed to hold the branch steady.

Kyle slowly slithered downward, climbing down from one branch to the next. His movement were slow and precize, his stealth rivaling that of some of the galaxies most notorious thieves, and for good reasons too. Kyle had spent most of his life as a thief and gangster on the Coruscant streets. As much as he had tried he had never been able to leave that past experience behind. So instead he employed what he had learned as a thief: to move quietly, to identify which objects and surfaces would create the least noise- or the most. Other skills had be learned other then stealth. Skill with the knife and club, methods of back stabbing, and other cloak and dagger stuff.

He moved down, always down. Never across and never back up. He continued to press downward towards the place he sensed the presence. He would not let it allude him now. Finally he rested on the branch above the one that the person was shuffling across. Leaves and thin branches blocked his vision of the person's face.

There was only one thing left to do.

He let go and stepped off his branch and dropped down to one below. This time he did not slow himself down or steady the branch with the force. He let his weight smack into the branch and set a ripple down it's length and towards the person. The ripple shook the branch and knocked the person loose. The person fell downwards but was saved from a bad headache by a wave of Kyle's hand that slowed the person down enough so that they it only hit the ground with as little pain as possible.

Kyle droppe down also and rather more gracefully. He hit the ground near the fallen person and looked down. He found not the ugly sithling of the darkside as he had expected, but instead found a rather attractive dark haired woman, "Who are you and what is your business on Yavin?" He asked, his voice calm and even. His hand holding the lightsabre back into the long overflowing sleeve of his coat, hiding the silver weapon from sight.

[Ashe Sieris]

Ashe felt something bush past her, like a sudden wind behind her as Kyle jumped into the tree above her. She spun around on the branch, glaring about, looking for anything. Someone was here... possible two people. One of them seemed... familer. But not the good kind. This one was dark. It was rather clear to her. A darkness had fallen apon the area. Her eyes dart around, staring around at the shadows and trees.

Suddenly, something alerted her of someone coming down from behind her again. She spun around just as the branch's quivering hit her. The turning combined with the quivering of the branch and her attention being on something else caused her to slip off the branch. Half way through the air she felt the force wrap around her but it was not her controling it. She regected the assistance of what ever force user was helping. She wasn't sure if she wanted that sort of help. She guided herself down with the force and landed crouched down, on one knee with her left hand on the ground. Her right hand instantly shot towards her lightsaber and she pulled it out activating it.

The man that had knocked her off the branch landed infront of her as her yellow blade hissed through the air. She flipped it over in her hand once as he spoke to her. Her eyes remained on this stranger the entire time. He was only one of the two people she had sensed around here. Where was the other one. She knew that who ever it was was close to her. Little did she know that her back was too him and that he was very close behind her.

"Who are you and what is your business on Yavin?" were the words that came from this mans mouth. A thought ran across her mind. 'How dare he demand to know what I am doing on MY planet! I was the one raised here and trained here. I am the one connected to this moon, this world!' A slight growl escapes her throat as these thoughts dodge across her mind. But she quickly stops herself, blinking slightly. She gained control over herself again, taking a few quick breaths.

Her eyes dart around to see if anyone is nearby. No one seemed to be but she didn't trust it. Her eyes drift back to lie on this stranger infront of her as he lightsaber hums in the air, still in her hand. Several words slip out of her mouth in a language he can not understand before she finaly answers his questions.

"I am Ashe. I live here."

[Ambrose Braeden]

As the Jedi leaped into the air, Ambrose had lost sight of him for a few minutes until he dropped down the branches. He could see the two fall to the ground, the male a little better than Ashe. When she rose to her feet he saw the familiar blade resideing against her palm. From his view, the Sith could see the male Jedi palming his arcane lightsaber hilt. With a few simple gestures, the familiar cold metal was against his palm, the Vampire's thumb hovered over the control switch as he knelt down, still concentrating on cloaking himself.

Muffled words could be heard, but not much more. He knew that if he planned on hearing anything, he would have to get a closer look. But he knew that moving from his spot would eventually reveal himself the the company. He was not willing to take that risk. For now, he was fine with his hidden place, spying upon the two Jedi.

[Kyle Krogen]

Kyle watched and listend to the woman, keeping her sabre in view at all times but never activating his own. She gave her answer and Kyle found it silly. It gave him a name but other then that it jus showed that she was mad. If she truly lived on Yavin then she must be either incredibly smart or amazingly strong to survive the wildlife for such a long time. Kyle could only stay on Yavin for so long before the wildlife located him and started attacking his dwelling. A week was usually all the time he allowed himself. A week was long enough for him to meditate on whatever was bothering him, but it was short enough to leave the planet before the animals came at him and before he became too tainted by the darkside.

"You live here, do you?" He said, his eyes locked on hers, "Then you must be a darksider, for only a darksider would choose this place for a home and anyone who was not a darksider would become one after being touched by this taint for so long. Now put that weapon away before you sentence yourself to death," It was a bit more forward and arrogant then normally associated with a jedi knight, but Kyle was not your average jedi. He was a dark yet just jedi, like the rebel jedi Kyle Katarn. He knew both sides of the force and as such he was influensed by both.

[Ashe Sieris]

Ashe's eye darted around, traveling from Kyle to the area around her and back to him. The other person was still there.... But where? Or was she just imagining things? She knew that staying on Yavin IV too long could start to play tricks on one's mind but could it have possibly happened this quickly? She severly doubted it. Her eyes kept darting, searching for this being. When Kyle began talking, her eyes raced back to him.

Then you must be a darksider

Those words echoed through her mind, taunting her. Kyle noticed her eyes shift when he said these words. Weather she wished to believe it or not, the truth was that the dark side had slowly begun to taint her. But she had lived on Yavin IV before and nothing had happened then. But things were different now. Her master was not here to protect her from the taint and ontop of that, she had already become tainted slightly before she had returned to Yavin IV.

"You are fighting a loosing battle Ashe" Ambrose's words dodged across her mind. She remembered when she had met him almost a month ago. His words held some truth but she would fight them until the end. "You must give into the shadows, Focus on the Shadow's, master them. Focus..." His words haunted her thoughts. Her hand burned to fight this man infront of her. To use the shadows to strangle the life out of him. The thought ran across her mind but she blocked it out.

"I'm a jedi." she mutters, clenching her eyes shut, trying to block out the memories and emotions. They were welling up within her. Her left hand clenched into a fist. The shadows of the forest begin to flicker and twist. They reacted to her emotions, driving them to be stronger.

'Fight him... kill him.... You must, you want to. DO IT!" the shadows shouted in her mind. A growl begins to grow within her throat. Her eyes fly open, staring at him.

"I'm... I don't want to be a dark jedi... i'm sorry..." the words are barely muttered out of her mouth then suddenly, the shadows around them burst forward, wrapping themselves around Kyle's arms and legs, pulling him towards the ground to pin him down. At the same time, other shadows were warping themselves around Ashe, but not in a threatening way. More like an embrace, wraping around her right arm and up along her neck and face, creating strange tattoo like markings, black and twisted.

'Help me' were the words that ran across Kyle's mind from the girl.

[Ambrose Braeden]

Ambrose could see the shadows start to bend to her will as she clenched her fist in rage. Without warning, the jedi was forced to the ground, the darkside of the force etching itself up his body like an infection. Ambrose smiled at this movement from the girl. Without saying a word, he used the Darkside of the force to touch Ashe's mind. He had touched her mind befor, he could do it again.

Kill him Ashe, he is going to kill you if you dont finish him now.

[Kyle Krogen]

The words were a surprise. The woman said she was a jedi and not a dark jedi. The thought of discovering another jedi filled Kyle with a sense of satisfaction, a feeling that turned him blind to the danger he was in. The shadows erupted and entangled him, the material causing the sensation of burning where it's darkness touched his flesh. He struggled for a moment, his lightsabre tumbling from his sleeve and falling to the ground with a clink. Then to make matters worse a invisible hand pushed him down and then pain through is body.

But Kyle withstood the blow and pain and let himself grow stronger by it. He used the pain to clear his mind of other things and then, eventaully, cleared the pain from his mind as well. Such an absence in the mind was dangerous because it let other things, anything; good or bad, fill that empty space. This was one of the things that had brought the Jedi Order to it's knees. But Kyle was not as blind and naive as those jedi. He let the force fill that absence and let it's energy pulsate through his body.

He gritted his teeth and concentrated. From inside his black robes flew a silver rod. There was a clicking noise and a silver-blue beam came to life at the end of the blade. The blade whipped through the air as if weilding by an invisible warrior. The blade came down on the shadow tendrils that pinned Kyle to the ground. It had taken only moments before all the tendrils were cut and Kyle was free.

He hand flipped up onto the his feet and grabbed the floating sabre hilt out of the air and summoned his fallen sabre hilt to his other hand. A bright violet beam shot from the second sabre, "Help you?" He asked, "How can I help someone who's trying to kill me?" The lightsabres were held before him and ready.

[Ashe Sieris]

Kill him Ashe, he is going to kill you if you dont finish him now.

His words ticked through her mind, wriggling their way in like the shadows moving along her skin. Then it hit her. Like a ton of bricks it hit her. The person that was hideing... was Ambrose. The voice had been burned into her mind from the last time they had run across each other. She remembered it like one would remember the sound of their greatest fear. A darkness held her motionless, shocked that he had found her so quickly. The shadows that were moving across her skin, and the shadows binding kyle melted away. He was here... somewhere.

Ashe alowed her vision to melt into the force. Even with her back to him, the force led her sight around her and straight to him. She saw the darkness eminating around him, forming his aura. She saw his eyes staring at her and fear gripped her, causing her heart to skip a beat. Her sight snapped back into her eyes and she stared at Kyle. He could see the fear in her eyes as she took a step backwards.

"He's here..."

Her knees suddenly gave out under her and she dropped to her hands and knees, sitting back on her heels. She remembered the struggle she had put up against Ambrose last time. How he kept pushing her and taunting her. She couldn't hold up against another round of it. The pain from the fallen sticks and sharp leaves under her hands and legs brought her mind back to the present. She lifted her hands off the forest floor and looked behind her, looking directly at where he is hiding. Her saber had fallen a good ways away from her. But, if she needed it, she could retreave it. But she prayed she wouldnt have to.

[Ambrose Braeden]

He knew that she could feel his presence now. But Ambrose knew that the jedi would not know what she was talking about. He would be able to hid from the jedi a little longer, but his camoflauge had been lifted to the woman. As she looked in his direction, the two opposite beings locked eyes. He stared into her soul, and knew that she would betray her Jedi religion, he just had to figure out the trigger.

The Vampire stayed behind the tree, knowing that she was tormented by the thought of him. Although their meeting had been almost a month ago, he could still recall it as if it were yesterday. He had showed her the power she would attain with the darkside. She had tasted evil, but did she want more?

[Kyle Krogen]

Kyle followed her gaze through the forest, past the trees and over the bushes. There, hunkered behind a tree, he could see the shadowy figure of someone out there. Kyle had only to stretch out his mind through the force and he felt an extremely thicker and stronger taint then could be found anywhere on the planet.

A true darksider!

Kyle's body turned to face the figure, his sabres humming loudly in his hands, "Come forward and face your judgement," Kyle yelled across the distance to the figure. He hoped whatever or whoever it was would listen and come out, it would save Kyle the pain of having to chase after the darksider and bring them to justice- Kyle's form of justice.

He had not had much interaction with darksiders other then the few darkside cults he had rooted out and destoyed, either in the name of the jedi, his own, or the Empire. The thought of his life with the Empire sent a shiver down his spine and formed that sense of guilt within himself again. But he banished the guilt, not letting it fill the gap in his mind occupied by the force. He would vanquish this darksider, or fail in the attempt.

[Ashe Sieris]

Ashe's mind went back to the day that she first met Ambrose. He had followed her through the streets of Coruscant, back to her apartment. There, he had met up with Zereth, who said that they were brothers, and proceeded to torment Ashe through the dark side, obtaining a chip that had information about certain other Jedi’s around the galaxy. She had felt betrayed by Zereth and fear from Ambrose. A shiver ran up her spine as she thought about that day.

Ashe focused her mind still staring at Ambrose. She could see his eyes watching her and made eye contact with him. She would not let him get to her this time. She was determined to stay strong this time. But the thought of Zereth sent a twinge of doubt through her. She tried to block it out of her mind but it was still lurking there. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and stared at Ambrose again.

"I will kill you..."

Ashe muttered these words then suddenly, her lightsaber sprung into her hand, activating it. She turned quickly, leaping into the air and began running at Ambrose, hatred towards him in her eyes. Her feet flew towards him and within a second, she was beside him, swinging her blade around towards him. The blade sliced through the tree he was beside and went towards him, the force guiding it and strengthening it.

[Ambrose Braeden]

"I will kill you..."

The moment she started to move, Ambrose instinctively manuvered his thumb over the activation switch. With a slight click, the green blade that he had seen so many times before protruded outward from the hilt. The smell of burnt ozone filled the air once again. Ashe was now bearing down on him. Ambrose concentrated on his hate for the Jedi, it infused his muscles, made him quicker. With speeds faster than a normal human, the Vampire brought up his blade to block Ashe's lightsaber from reaching its destination. As the sabers clashed, the two beings stared at each other. Their eyes piercing each others soul.

"Ashe, you dont want to do this. He is the enemy. You have already taken action against the Jedi and you expect him not to retaliate? He is going to use you, use your abilites to try and defeat me, then he will turn on you. Think about it Ashe, search your feelings, you know it to be ture."

[Kyle Krogen]

Kyle remained where he stood as Ashe shot off and away from him in the direction of the hiding darksider. Eventually he started to move, but only at a brisk walk. His sabres deactivated themselves without any physical touch from Kyle's fingers. He moved in a wide circle that brought him into view of Ashe and Ambrose but without putting him dangerously close to them. He recognized the situation, it was Ashe's fight now and all Kyle could do was sit on the sidelines and possibly play the supportive role.

He could see that Ashe was losing her fight against her inner demons. Ambrose not only appeared to be the better swordsman but also a manipulative schutta. Ashe was weakening, "Fight it Ashe. He seeks to turn you against yourself. You know the darkside is not the answer, yet your mind is tainted by it's darkness. Fight it, banish it from your mind, and in doing so you have defeated your worst adversary. This man before you is nothing compared to the darkside. He can only destroy your physical body, but the darkside will destroy your mental essense and your soul. Push it off, reclaim your former light and achieve victory."

[Ashe Sieris]

Ashe could feel both their words within her. The argument was within herself but being affected by what these two force users said. She could see the logic in both but at the same time neither. Her scar on her palm burned with the urge to kill one of them but she knew it was wrong. Ambrose and Ashe's blades were still locked and her eyes were still connected with his. Then a voice came to her mind. A voice she had forgotten years ago.

"Listen to me, young one. Do not allow the taint of the darkside to control you. You and I are tainted but we can not let that determine how we live. Ashe, only you control yourself.'

Her long dead master's voice echoed gently through her mind. The glare that she had focused on Ambrose disappeared as her eyes widened slightly. The same words had been said to her long ago when she was much younger. She slowly takes a few steps back, lessening the strength she was placing behind her saber until the two's blades were no longer locked. Her blade deactivated as she lowered her arm down to her side.

Ashe turned her head until she was looking at Kyle. The difficutly that she had faced in backing off suprised her. She never thought it would be that hard to stop herself from fighting someone.

[Ambrose Braeden]

Although he did not show it, Ambrose was a little suprised at the move made by Ashe. As she backed off and deactivated her lightsaber and turned to face the Jedi, he did not know what she was doing. Although he did not deactivate his lightsaber, Ambrose let the blade fall to his side, the green hue shining its color upon the surfaces around it. Ambrose took a step backwards from where he was standing, just incase.

Ambrose turned his head to look at the Jedi, wondering what he was doing, what he was saying to her. Maybe the conflict was building up inside of her and she now was going to kill the Jedi, the Vampire did not know.

"Ashe, why are you letting the Jedi, who have abandoned you, influence you?"

[Kyle Krogen]

There was a crunch of a footfall on dirt and then a gloved hand settled on Ashe's shoulder, "Never lose hope in the force or it's light," His whispered voice entered her ears, it was cool and gentle and had a soothing quality, "As long as you have faith you are strong," And with that he lifted up his head and looked at Ambrose, "Be gone fell daemon and bother us no more," He said as he moved around Ashe and stood between her and the darksider, "The Jedi never forget their own. True they are often lost in the eb and flow of time, but in the end we always come back for those that wandered away. You," At this he raised his hand and pointed an accusing finger at Ambrose, "Are the spawn of jedi who could not control their powers. In their bitterness they fell to hate and with that hate they seperated themselves from their fellow jedi and the light. They went out into the world and found the distant planet of Korriban. There they fell into greater evil and became the sith. You are nothing more then a fading shadow in the darkness, a spawn of ancient powers that no longer exist as they once did. The darkside grows weak and stale, for it is full of decay and death. Only the living giving energy of the light sustains the world, and it's power even sustains you and your sith. For without any light there would be no life. So forsake the darkness and return to the light, or be vanquished in it's blinding purity."

[Ashe Sieris]

Ashe heard Ambrose's words. It stirred something within her, as most of his words did. But this time, she repressed it and pushed it away. Her eyes rose to look at Ambrose and meet him eye to eye. He knew that she would not listen to him this time. But he could tell by her eyes that she was too far along the dark path to fully turn around now. He could see the darkness ebbing into her spirit and soul. But it would not take her this day.

"Go, Ambrose."

[Ambrose Braeden]

"Go, Ambrose."

A small click was heard as the green blade retracted itself into the arcaich hilt. Clipping the lightsaber hilt back onto his belt, Ambrose looked back at Ashe. He knew that he had already tainted her soul, he would just have to wait for it to take effect, much like a virus.

Ambrose turned and walked away, and as he vanished into the distance she could hear his last words.

"The next time we meet, it will be you who seeks me out, not the other way around."

[Kyle Krogen]

Kyle said nothing until the dark character had faded from view and he could sense his taint no longer. Yet he lingered longer without speaking, until he was certain of what to say next, "I pray that you never have to deal with that vile creature again," He said at last as he walked up beside Ashe and looked ahead at the area of the foilage that Ambrose had disapeared into, "Such creatures of darkness should not be aloud to walk so freely about the galaxy. There is no telling where they will pop up next, what destruction they will cause, and how many souls they will send to the abyss," His eyes looked sideways at Ashe now, "But somehow I feel that you did not walk away from this meeting unscarred. Am I right?"

[Ashe Sieris]

"The next time we meet, it will be you who seeks me out, not the other way around."

Ashe watched him walk away and disappear into the forest and shadows of Yavin IV. She did not wish to believe his words but, somehow, she knew that he was right. Her eyes lowered to the ground as Kyle spoke to her about Ambrose and about herself. She does not look up but keeps her eyes averted from meeting Kyle's gaze.

"The darkness of this planet scars everyone. One does not come to this planet without expecting the push..."

[Kyle Krogen]

"The darkness of this planet scars everyone. One does not come to this planet without expecting the push..."

"How true," Kyle commented, "But I can feel the seeds of darkness festering in your soul," He turned away and looked off into the foilage. Kyle was an a extrasensitive force user, which meant he could feel other people's emotions states, attitudes, and mood like reading words off a page. He could feel the darkness growing in Ashe's soul, but only because he had seen those same seeds take root in his own soul so many times in the past. Every time he had given up another part of his life in order to rip the seeds out and cast them to the wind.

"Is there anything I can do you help you?"

[Ashe Sieris]

"Unless you can change the past and what has happened.... I doubt it."

She raises her eyes to look at him. She puts her saber away but keeps her right hand closed in a loose fist. She can feel the rune burning on her palm, pushing at her to use the force against this person. But she refused. She would not attack another jedi.

[Kyle Krogen]

"Sadly, the flow of time is beyond my control," He said simply, turning back to her again, "But have you ever considered seeking out and enjoying with other jedi?" He could ask for her to join his academy, but could he trust her? "In the days of old we were an order, now we are only a rabble of survivors and their apprentices. We need unity to survive, fellowship to kindle hope, and love to save ourselves from our own individual darknesses."