Monday, June 26, 2006

Chapter Eighteen

Somehow, Vader got himself and Sentinel, and their lightsabers, her satchel, and his right hand, back to the hover craft.

Somehow, he flew one handed, using the Force to activate anything he truly needed a right hand to do.

Somehow, he was able to focus on just getting back to the ship, while Sentinel murmured and moaned in the passenger seat. He had put the passenger seat in it’s most reclined position, and laid her there. When he glanced over, he noted that her forehead was covered in perspiration, and her hair was becoming soaked from it.

The sun had set. But Vader had no problem finding Shareed on the horizon, at the far end of the dune sea. It was lit up with bright golden light, which he found rather ironic considering during the day it was a silver city.

He flew the hovercraft directly to the ship. The area was devoid of activity. He could hear the noise of festivities going on in the heart of the city. He recalled reading that there was some sort of carnival going on this week, with a party every evening. Good. No one here to witness a rather conspicuous Dark Lord entering his ship.

He had left his visor and their robes and other parts of their costumes back at the ancient temple, as well as the holographic recording equipment. On his last trip carting their stuff from the temple to the hovercraft, he had stopped to destroy the holo-recordings with several swipes of his lightsaber.

So now the hovercraft was sitting in front of their ship. Before exiting the hovercraft, he thought better of it, and instead Force activated one of the ship's cargo-hold ramps. Once lowered, he pulled the hovercraft right into the ship, alongside his fighter, and then raised the ramp.

He left everything except his hand and Sentinel in the hovercraft, carefully carrying her to the medcenter, with his amputated right hand laying on her stomach. Their lightsabers were both attached to his belt. He lay her down on one of the beds, and the droids flocked over to evaluate her condition.

He retrieved his hand from on top of her stomach, and collapsed in a chair next to the bed.

A droid approached him questioningly, and he handed the hand to it, and extended his right arm for it to work on. The droid took the hint, and immediately started work on re-attaching his right hand.

The other droids were performing body scans on Sentinel.

One rolled over to him. “She is running a high fever, and is delirious.”

“Check her eyes.” Vader said. He was exhausted to the core of his being. Had this day really happened?

The droid that had been speaking to him rolled back from having checked Sentinel’s vision. “Her eyes appear to be, possibly, covered by a thick red glowing field of flesh. Do you wish me to try to remove it and restore her vision?”

“No. Leave it alone.” Vader leaned back in his chair, causing the droid restoring his right hand to him to have to roll forward.

He watched the droids fuss over Sentinel. There was nothing really they could do other than give her medication to reduce her fever, which they did. Their scans showed that nothing was wrong. The blood-work showed that nothing was wrong. The only physical evidence of something dreadfully wrong was her eyes and her fever.

Vader was gravely worried about her.

The droid finished on his hand. There was some exposed metal visible through his damaged glove... but the droid replaced his sliced up glove with a spare.

He was the walking, talking spare-parts man. No original upholstery on this frame, he thought.

He stood up over Sentinel. Her fever was responding a little, but she wasn’t waking up.

From the sounds she was making, her dreams were very unpleasant.

He tried to connect to her, gently probing her shields. Oh, yes, her mental shields were up... which was amazing considering how sick she obviously was.

He pushed very lightly on them, gently trying to get them to let him in. The shields seemed almost to recognize him, and lowered just enough for his access to her very troubled mind.

He caught her dream. She was reliving his nearly killing her, but from the perspective of a third person. He saw his red aura, her mixed aura, and the child’s blue aura. He saw himself move to strike, and found himself wanting to pull back from reliving that moment. But he saw how his aura had flashed bright blue, and he had stopped.

Very strange. He had seen Force aura’s before, but never in such distinct colors, never with the Light and Dark side separated out like that. She was perceiving the Light side and the Dark side, in herself and in him... and not just the general strengths of their Force abilities.

He felt ambivalent about the fact that he had any light side left in him. Of course, this was her impression, her vision, and might not have anything to do with reality.

Her vision continued, showing him killing the child. And her reaction.

All evidence of blue aura had been destroyed. Her aura had gone an intense bright red, inside and out. And it had a shape to it. It reminded him of something... reptilian.

Her vision’s perspective moved to include the obelisk. It was glowing bright red, as well! And the red was leaking, then pouring, straight into her, until it had left the obelisk and was entirely surrounding and permeating her.

And then she attacked!

Vader found himself sitting on the floor of the medcenter, trying to figure out why he was no longer standing over Sentinel. He realized the last part of the vision had knocked him back -- literally knocked him off his feet.

What is INSIDE her? Vader thought.

He stood back up, stood over her.

“Sentinel...” he said, gently. She was writhing in the bed, as if in pain or distress.

“Sentinel.” he said more forcefully. No response.

He sat beside her bed, and took her right hand in his newly restored right hand.

“Sasha...” he said, thinking maybe using her real name would help.

Her eyes popped open. Those red, glowing, pupil-less eyes. All the writhing stopped.

“Sentinel?” he tried again.

She sat up in the bed, pulled her hand from his and shoved her sweat-soaked hair away from her face. And turned to face him, her lips parted as if confused.

“Sentinel, how are you feeling?” Vader asked.

She looked at him. Her mouth closed, and she smiled.

“Sentinel isn’t here anymore.” she said.



Goto Chapter Nineteen

3 Comments:

Blogger Kenya Starflight said...

*shudders*

*gapes*

*runs out of room screaming*

6/27/2006 2:03 PM  
Blogger Bill C said...

I wonder if they make these in red...

8/19/2006 5:43 PM  
Blogger Sith Snoopy said...

Oh, those are awesome!!! I want a pair!

CREEPY!!!

8/19/2006 8:52 PM  

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