The silence stretched on for longer than I liked as we all just stared at each other, not saying anything. I looked around the room after a moment and saw the Padawan crouching behind some metal boxes and food rations the pirates kept here....eating what was stored. He stopped as my eyes fell on him and then another awkward silence started.
I turned back to the Jedi Masters.
"Well, if it's all the same to you three, I'd like to get off this ship. So if you can just jump up here, might need a boost since it's kind of high, we can be on our way and maybe rescue your other Padawan."
Still they continued to stare at me. Which got a little frustrating.
"Look we don't have much time. I don't know how long the Captain can keep these guys thinking an army is almost through those sealed doors and they might rush you all soon so if we can hurry this along, that would be great."
Still they waited. And my anger grew some more.
"Fine, if that's the way you want to do it," I replied, backing away from the hole I had made. I took a few steps back and centered myself, again reaching out for the Dark Side and pulling it into my body, increasing its power, strengthing my control of the Force. I could feel the Masters' tension and Force preparedness grow but they weren't my target.
I reached out and took ahold of the Padawan, shaping a huge hand to grasp his body and wrenched with all my might. This took some effort and I grunted at the exertion of it but I was able to pull the child up and through the hole in one try. I heard the boy cry out in surprise as he was suddenly lifted up and brought down in front of me within arms reach. This single act brought me to my knees as my strength all but left me.
The Padawan froze when he landed and then looked at me, the complete fear evident in his eyes. He didn't so much as crawl as scurry like a womp-rat away like his life depended on not being anywhere near me. The next moment the Jedi were leaping through the hole lightsabers at the ready to cut me down, at least I was pretty sure it was like that in their minds.
I let a lazy smile cross my face and I struggled to stay upright so they could see how far away the Padawan and I were. A bit I had ready to play out kind of got stuck in my throat from my fatigue and all that came out was, "Hey."
(Obviously not my smoothest conversation in the world but you work with what you got.)
The Female Jedi Master checked on the Padawan as the Male approached me. His Blue blade held at the ready and looking like he was going to cut me down. The anger on his face was amazing, I never knew you could have so much of it and still be a Jedi. The Dark Side was close to this one which brought color back to my skin, although it wasn't very helpful.
"Sith Scum, how did you get out of your bindings aboard the Royal Siren!? What are you doing here!? Is this all part of your master plan to rid the galaxy of Jedi!?"
My head swam trying to keep up with this guy and to remember to breath properly. He obviously didn't even care that I was barely holding myself up and just that I was Sith was what he focused on. And that blasted ship name keeps up.
"Master Shaddoc!"
The shout of the Female Jedi Master brought the man up short. His fingers were gripping his saber so tightly I thought the hilt would crack from the pressure. His face was contorted in anger and a silent rage. I didn't want to be pleased that these emotions could be brought out of the 'emotionless Jedi' but I won't say I didn't have a small satisfaction from it. The man though, Shaddoc, stepped away from me after another few moments and returned to the Female Jedi Master and Padawans' side.
I turned my attention to her then.
"Do you understand the situation we're in?" She asked me plainly. It didn't look like she had any hateful feelings towards me but I could tell through the Force that she was at least wary of my presence. That was kind of obvious though so it didn't help.
"Do you, Master Jedi?"
Her mouth formed into a thin line at my rebuttal and question to her question.
"You came aboard this vessel to rescue us you said, why?" She asked another trying to get answers out of me. Her eyes bore into mine and I dared not to look away. She was obviously the logical reasoning one between the two Masters and if I could convince her to keep working with me until we returned to the ship, things would go a lot smoother.
"Because the Captain asked me to. And it seemed to be the Will of the Force that you both found me when you did so it seems we need to stick around a little longer and see where it goes."
This brought even more confusion to their group mentality than before and I really didn't know how to assuage their skepticism and we also didn't have the time.
"Look, whatever the reasons were, we're here now, at this moment, and I'm helping you. There doesn't need to be more than that until we are all safely aboard the Captains ship and away from these pirates. So will you please help me to stand up because it's getting harder to do that myself?"
There was silence that reigned for quite some time which is when I noticed the blaster fire from the Captain had not started up again. I didn't really know what that meant but suddenly she rounded the corner and looked upon our situation at a glance.
"I ran out, the blasters all overheated or ran out of energy cells! We need to move now before they realize something is up! Why are you still standing around, let's go!!"
The Captain approached me and I held out my hand. She clasped my forearm and helped me stand up.
"Here, a stim shot. It should be enough to get you back to the ship if we don't get stopped and held down along the way but we need to move" she turned towards the Jedi then after injecting me with the quick stamina and held me up until it took effect. "I see you've all met, good. Can we go now?"
"Captain, you let this man out of his bindings? With all we have told you about him?" The Female Jedi Master asked, starting to sound more against me by the minute. Master Shaddoc had a look of utter fury meanwhile and the Padawan was lost with everything going on.
"Look we don't have time to play who is the bigger evil here Master Wamo. He didn't kill me when I let him out, he hasn't tried to kill you, and these pirates are definitely going to kill us all if they get the chance. So, if you want to call it lesser of two evils then fine but I'm taking my chances with him. If you want to stay here, be my guest but then our business is finished and I don't need to worry about you anymore."
Now that I could focused on them because of the stim shot taking effect, I saw the Female Master was Mirialan. The green skin and face tattoos should have been a giveaway but it hadn't been the first thing I noticed after cutting the hole. The Male Jedi was a plain looking human and the Padawan was a skinny Lasat boy. The fur coming into focus more as I looked had a weird pattern to it. How these three came to be a group was beyond me but I'd heard the Jedi didn't have any rules on which races joined the Order.
There wasn't much to discuss after that it seemed in my mind but apparently to the Jedi they still had to think about it. I didn't waste more time as I turned to the Captain.
"Lead on Cap," I took hold of my lightsaber again and turned away from the Jedi.
She glanced at me and took one last look at the Jedi before turning around. I kept pace with her in case something happened and after a moment I could hear the Jedi following us. I looked over my shoulder and called out, "Are any of you hurt? Can you still defend yourselves?"
Master Shaddoc kept quiet, not even bothering to answer me. Master Wamo on the other hand was at least okay with communicating with me.
"Just fatigue and starvation. We were attacked and boarded right as we were about to eat. We've been fighting for hours and although the Force can sustain us, we also need to eat every now and then."
Thinking back to the meal I ate in their place reminded me we're working on borrowed time. Their hunger won't hold out from how much fighting they've done and my strength won't hold up from being stuck in one position for months. We weren't fighting at our peak and needed to leave.
"Alright, here's the plan. The Captain and I will take the lead. I don't have qualms about killing these pirates and we can't be hesitant on how we fight. We do not stop, we do not wait. This is a sprint, a speed run. If you don't understand that you'll get left behind. Padawan!"
The Lasat's head snapped up and focused on me, I saw he had become unfocused since I was the one giving commands. We didn't need that right now, me being a Sith didn't matter when our survival depended on how fast we moved.
"If I see you lolly gagging at the back like a newborn Bantha you won't have to worry about growing up to become a Jedi. You'll die on this ship and be forgotten."
That caught his attention and he looked over at his Jedi Masters in surprise and fear.
"Don't look at them, boy! I'm in charge right now and you'll do well to listen. If you can't, well, I'm sure there are other Force Sensitive children in the galaxy for these two to find and train. Isn't that right, Master Jedi!"
I glanced at Master Wamo and gave her a wink. Master Shaddoc saw this and was about to blow a fuse but she beat him to it.
"Please, Sith, don't put the fear of the Whills into our Padawan already. He is still learning and is susceptible to whatever you might say."
I would have laughed at that statement if we hadn't turned the corner and saw the sealed door was now open and the pirates were just starting to creep out and check the corridor, looking for the 'army' no doubt.
I wasted no time and sprinted forward, calling upon the Dark Side and building it inside of my body. As I neared the front of the advanced pirates, who were probably supposed to be cannon fodder, they caught notice of me and turned in my direction. To bad they would still be cannon fodder.
The activation of my lightsaber and the angry yellow glow made them hesitate and cry out in fear.
I passed through the group, slashing as I went and cutting off legs, arms, anything that would create a shock value for the others and stop these guys from fighting. I stood in front of the entrance that the rest of the pirates waited in and raised my lightsaber high, bathing the room in the almost sick yellow hue and stopping the band of killers in their tracks. I finally lashed out with the Dark Side that I'd built up and set a bolt of lightning into them. It struck the first pirate in the chest and blew him back into the nearest group which then let the Dark Side electricity pass to three more just from touch alone. Their screams filled the room and drove more fear into the pirates. I drank it in, not totally revitalizing myself after that attack but enough to drive the vibroblade into the throat.
"Do you see my power scum!? I have an army behind me. More blasters than you could count! Lightsabers in the dozens! You dare take my prey from me!? Those Jedi are mine to kill, and mine alone! And you thought you'd make money off of them as slaves? You will tremble in fear from the power I wield!!" Another bolt of lightning leaped from my fingers and struck the ceiling arcing across the technology there and shorting out the lights. The only thing that could be seen was the yellow blade in my hand, the auxiliary lights were slow to turn on.
The screams of these aliens was music to my ears. They started scrambling around and over one another to get away from me, which led them back to where the Jedi used to be. A few managed to get a couple blaster shots off on me but only because the fear in them reflexively squeezed the trigger. I was able to easily swat away any that came to close.
"Now! Run!!"
I bolted to my right, the rest of the group hot on my tail and not slowing down. Well, almost.
"Pick up the pace boy! I wasn't kidding when I said you'd be left behind!"
The Lasat picked his knees up higher, I could feel him become more terrified but didn't dwell on the reasons. Adrenaline was the only thing pushing my body now. That last blast of the Dark Side was a little more than I could handle and I knew it. Being over dramatic was not something I'm good at.
We may have a head start from my little display of power but it wasn't by any means a big one. Even with my threat to the Lasat boy, I was the one slowly lagging behind.
The Captain had just turned the last corner that would lead to the docking tube when a blaster bolt hit the bulkhead to my right. The strike of it brought me back to my senses, making me realize how out of focus I really was. My lightsaber was in ignited again the next moment and none to soon as I deflected the next three away from the group. I tripped and rolled, realizing very quickly even with my hindered brain functionality that trying to defend us and moving rapidly were not things I could do simultaneously. As I stood back up I turned my back on the only way to escape and started to fully commit myself to defense. Doing this made all of my instincts scream out in alarm, this was almost the complete opposite of my nature but it seemed I couldn't stop myself from doing it.
"Sith!!"
"Keep going! I'm right behind you!" I ground out through clenched teeth. It took all of my concentration to just keep deflecting the blaster shots away and I couldn't even move. My arms started to tremble from the strain and the sweat fell off my face nonstop. I tried to think of an exit strategy, something that I could do that would get me out of this. I tried to think at all and nothing came. Everything was just a blank as my vision was completely filled red.
Suddenly a hand was on my shoulder, gripping me hard enough to turn my attention away. Right there was Master Shaddoc, looking at me like he wanted to me to strike me down with every fiber in his body. Instead he was yelling at me and it took a moment for my ears to catch up to what he was saying.
"Attune yourself to the Force later Sith! You've pushed back the pirates, now let's leave while we still can!" He pulled me back to where everyone else had disappeared to but my eyes were still glued to the other end.
Somehow I had stopped every bolt from passing by me seeing as how there were no scorch marks behind where I stood. A handful of dead pirates laid on the ground back where we came from.
That was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.