Chapter Text
The first time Eyno saw the world burn she was 20. There was no warning when everything she knew went up in flames.
There was only a beat of silence, unwelcome and tense. Then a click as ten clones of 312 th battalion unholstered their blasters, the glistening nozzles pointed between the Zabrak’s eyes. She had expected to die then. Eyno might have welcomed it had she known what would come after. Instead, she had narrowly escaped leaving ten armored bodies with glowing scorch marks behind. The smell of burning flesh was suffocating as she ran towards the escape pods of her and her master’s star ship.
As she ran the ship's alarms began to blare, a high-pitched whine that made Eyno’s body tense. With each shriek of the alarms the lights of the ship began to flash red as she ran down one of the labyrinth-like hallways. Encroaching on the other side, a small squad of the 312th battalion marched in uniform order right at her. Eyno stumbled to a halt, nearly tripping over her feet as she did but the squad had already noticed her.
“The Jedi Knight is escaping! Fire!” One had shouted, but over the sirens she couldn’t discern which one. As if her memory from minutes earlier was being replayed, the clones lifted their blasters and aimed.
Eyno was quick to have her lightsaber in hand, the blue beam igniting as the onslaught began. Eyno became suddenly thankful for her master’s lessons in quick reflexive skills. She swung her saber as she dodged the bright red burning shots. Most missed her and if they didn’t, they were redirected. She had taken down three or four of the clones, but Eyno knew she needed to get out of there before they called for backup, and she would be overwhelmed. She needed to find her master. The young Zabrak ducked away from another shot and shot back up, thrusting out her hands channeling the force, sending into what remained of the squad of clones. The firing ceased as they were rocketed backwards against the wall of the intersecting hallway. The clattering of armor could be heard as they crumpled to the ground.
Stepping over their bodies, Eyno continued down the hall, stopping at a nearby door and slamming a button to open it. It was a broom closet, racked with cleaning supplies, empty of her Master. Closing the door Eyno moved on down the hall, checking every door to every room; empty, empty, empty. Surely she was somewhere, the vessel wasn’t massive by any means. The clatter of armor alerted her attention as the shadows of another wave of clones flashed against the far wall.
Eyno gasped and opened the nearest door and ran inside. It hissed closed behind her and she flattened her body against the wall beside it, lightsaber up, ready to strike down anyone who crossed the threshold. The clattering noise drew closer and with every step her breath quickened. Then the footsteps stopped and Eyno’s heart froze and her blood ran cold.
“Haven’t we already searched this hall, Bones?” A muffled voice called from beyond the door. It was a mechanical voice, as if distorted by a helmet.
“We are to do another sweep, it won’t take long for the Jedi to come out of hiding and if they don’t we will flush them out.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good, now you and Bo take unit two down the East Wing, I’ll take unit one down the West Wing. If you find anything, it’s to be reported to the bridge. Jedi are to be shot on sight. Understood, Fitz?”
“Understood, Sir.”
There was a moment, then over the screeching siren, the young Jedi could hear the footsteps dissipate. When she was sure they had gone, she deactivated her lightsaber, the warm glow disappearing from the side of her face. Eyno sagged against the wall, leaning forward on her knees. Her legs felt like jello from the adrenaline. She inhaled deeply, trying to recenter herself. She knew those men that had been outside the door only moments before, she had laughed with them, celebrated with them, they had been friends, pats on the back when no one else was there to tell her she had done well. She didn’t know who they were now, but there would be no hugs exchanged or cheers of encouragement this time.
When her breath had evened out, Eyno finally looked up at her surroundings. She had found herself in the medical bay. The lights which were normally bright as the suns on Tatooine were flickering, throwing the room into an eerie darkness. The beds were empty, some neatly made and ready for occupation, others looked to be in a state of disarray. Eyno noted the medical droid slumped over a vitals cart, smoke emitting from its shiny metal back. Her eyes drifted to the droid's surroundings. Scorch marks blistered the surrounding walls. The beds closest to the droid were pushed around, sticking out at odd angles.
Through the dim light she could see traces of red smears on the white floors. Eyno stepped closer, her boots echoing around the room. The trail of blood led to the door of a private suite. Two identical doors to either side were untouched by the substance. The blood traveled up the door and Eyno could make out the trace of a handprint on the panel next to the door. Quickly looking around and behind her the young Zabrak saw no evidence of the blood leading away which meant whoever went in there likely hadn’t left. Moving nearer to the door, Eyno tightened her grip on the metal hilt of her lightsaber, ready to put it to use should whoever was on the other side be waiting to strike. The door hissed open.
There was no one waiting to cut her down on the other side. The fluorescent lights were striking as Eyno’s silvery eyes took in the room. The single bed was placed in the back of the room, a nightstand to the left and a vitals cart to the right. Eyno looked down to where the blood trail led towards the right where still wet blood smeared the corner of the otherwise pristine white set. When the scene in front of her came into view, Eyno felt her stomach drop and her blood run cold.
Master Tavees Neerin lay propped up against the wall, on hand laying on her robed abdomen and to Eyno’s horror the entire front of her Master’s robes were stained with blood. It coated her Master’s pale blue hands and splatters had crossed her lean face. The Mikkian woman’s eyes were lowered, watching the slow rising and falling of her chest but when she heard Eyno approach, she looked up. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of her Padawan and she attempted to sit up, a feeble attempt that led to a strained cry. Eyno surged forward consoling her injured Master. Her hands shook as she took to her Master’s side, pressing them against her stomach where she assumed the worst of the damage was.
“My Padawan,” Master Tavees’s voice was hoarse as she weakly leaned towards Eyno. “The clones, they have betrayed us, they have betrayed the Republic and the Jedi,”
“I know, Master, I know,” Eyno replied, the pit in her stomach clawing at her throat as hot tears threatened to spill.
Master Tavees raised her hand from her bleeding stomach clenching it in her apprentice’s, the warm blood sliding down the young Zabrak’s arm. “You must warn them, Eyno. They must know.”
Eyno nodded, “I will Master, but I need to help you first, we need to get out of here, we can get to an escape pod and we can call the Council. They will be able to help us and then-”
“Eyno,” Her Master’s strained voice made Eyno pause. “My time here is going quickly. I will not be able to make it to an escape pod in time-“
The tears spilled, running down Eyno’s pale cheeks. “Don’t say that Master, you will make it, we have to, I can’t lose anyone else.”
A pained smile spread on Master Tavees’s lips as she looked up at her Padawan. “My dear, you must be strong now, you must go and save yourself. You have been the most wonderful apprentice and I have learned much from you. Now it is time to take what I have taught you. I know how much you wanted to see more of the galaxy and now I hope you can but you have to live to do see the day.”
“I can’t do this without you,” Eyno’s throat felt like someone was squeezing it and it suddenly felt hard to breathe. Eyno felt her Master lean into her and she pressed her forehead against her Master’s temple. She was cool to the touch and Eyno let the feeling wash over her.
“You can. You can do so much more than you know but you must go now.” Master Travees took a ragged breath, her body sagging, “May the force be with you, Eyno Amaris.”
Master Travees Neerin slipped away leaving her Padawan to a bleak future.
Eyno wasn’t sure how long she sat there, hugging the body of her Master, hoping to bring warmth back to her, the screeching of the ship's alarms in the background, the smell of iron making her stomach weak. Eventually she stood up and stepped away, taking one last look at her Master. Pushing back another wave of tears, Eyno reached over to the bed and pulled off the white sheet and let it fall over her Master’s body. Gathering every bit of strength she had, Eyno turned and left the private room, the door hissing closed behind, sealing away the past. Now, she needed to survive.
***
Eyno narrowly dodged two more patrols, hiding behind pillars and beams, allowing herself to blend into the shadows. As she rounded the corner that would lead her to the escape pods a feeling crept over her, hot and sinister. She had only been able to identify it because she had felt it before, fleetingly before it was shunned from her psyche, a taboo and unspoken of darkness. Someone had arrived here who was saturated in it.
The young Zabrak woman shook her head, she needed to leave before whoever or whatever had arrived would find her. She unfroze from her spot where she had stopped in the hall and began down it, towards another crossroads. Her luck though must have been faltering because as she neared the end of the dim corridor, behind her was a shout and the sound of blaster fire. A red projectile exploded into the floor beside her as Eyno stepped out of range, drawing her lightsaber once more. She gritted her teeth as she deflected the fire that came closest to her. Daring to look behind her, she could see the semi circle were two other hallways intersected and the wall with the hatches to the escape pods. She was frighteningly close.
Eyno began closing the gap between herself and the escape pods, deflecting and redirecting the onslaught of blaster fire. The clones were relentless and were starting to look more like droids to Eyno than the people she knew. That blistering, suffocating feeling resurfaced, a lust for retribution and a familiar pain. Eyno’s vision clouded with tears again. She stumbled into the clearing, her back to the escape pods. tripping over her own feet as she recoiled, repulsed and angry. She dug her palms against her eyes, a feeble attempt to stop the tears and the fire kindling in her chest.
Around her the blaster fire stopped leaving the ringing of the alarms and the smell of smoke and fire. Shaking, Eyno forced herself to look up, glossy tracks running down her cheeks. A man stood in front of her. The man was dressed in black robes, fortified by pieces of sleek looking armor. He was a pale man with a long face and gaunt features. Red markings on his forehead and under his orange eyes. His eyes reminded Eyno of still hot embers. He made no move to strike her down, instead he stood and watched her with his hands clasped behind his back, like a vulture waiting for a meal to drop.
“You fight like a Sith.”
Eyno stood up stronger, staring the man down, “You look as smug a Jedi,”
He made a noise of disapproval and Eyno sniffed, doing her best to compose herself. She gripped her lightsaber, now deactivated, but ready at a moment's notice.
“You are Eyno Amaris then?”
“Unfortunately,”
The man stepped forward and Eyno planted her feet more firmly into the tiled ground below her.
“Who are you?” Eyno asked.
“I am the Grand Inquisitor,” The man replied, boastfully tilting his chin up slightly.
Eyno wrinkled her nose. “I assume you are the reason I am not dead yet?”
“That would be correct, yes. I have an offer for you that will guarantee you your life.”
Eyno let out a strained laugh. “My will to live is dwindling by the second, you better be quick.”
“My Master, Darth Sidious, would like me to graciously offer you a place among us.” The Grand Inquisitor said.
“And who would that be?” Eyno asked, “the people hunting down and killing my own people?”
The Grand Inquisitor scowled. “The Jedi are not your people, they kidnapped you when you were a child and made you into soldiers. They are not your family.”
“Your right,” Eyno agreed and the Grand Inquisitor looked taken aback for a moment before his face shifted back to a neutral expression. “The Jedi were not my family, my own brother died at their hands. Family would not do that. The Jedi have put a bitter taste in my mouth for years. But I have no allegiance to you either. I belong to no one. I don’t need anyone .”
Eyno found herself stepping back towards the escape pods as the Grand Inquisitor stepped closer.
“You may say that. Yet you are so desperate to be wanted, to find your family. You want that more than anything.” He reached out his hand to her. “We can give you that, we can create a place where you can thrive. You have so many talents that were never properly trained. Give us that chance. Join us.”
Eyno felt that fire in her chest dim, her shoulders sag with the weight of what the man in front of her had said. Then the spark struck flame as the alarms filled her ears, her fallen Master in her mind's eye and the promises she had made to her fallen brother on her tongue. There was too much unfinished business to pledge herself to a new order. Eyno snapped up, igniting her saber and arching it in front of her. The Grand Inquisitor snapped back, narrowly avoiding getting his head severed. He was quick to draw his own weapon, a doubled sided lightsaber with fiery red blades. There was a shuffle of movement as behind the Grand Inquisitor, the small army of clones had raised their blasters in unison.
“Think about this wisely now,” The Grand Inquisitor warned.
“I have,” Eyno said, “And I’m not interested.”
Eyno then turned, lunging for the emergency panel for the escape pods. She slammed her hand down on the release button and dived into the nearest pod as its doors opened up. Behind her blaster fire rained down. Eyno flattened herself against the cold metal walls of the escape pod and slammed the release button on the inside panel. The doors swiftly closed muffling the sounds of the barrage on the other side. There was a moment of panic where the pod didn’t move, then like a stone from a slingshot, they were rocketed out into wild space. Eyno slowly removed herself from the shelter of the pod and looked out the small window, watching the ship she had just narrowly avoided death on, drift farther and farther away.
Turning away Eyno walked to the front of the pod where there was a chair and small control panel. A three paneled window gave her a wide view of the surrounding Galaxy. Quickly, Eyno punched into the coordinates to the farthest planet she could think of. The little ship rattled for a moment before propelling into hyperspace. Eyno slumped back against the stiff chair, letting the exhaustion hit her . She could see her reflection in the glass panels. Her white hair, which less than twenty four hours ago was neatly braided, now was a mess, loose hairs laying on her neck and across her forehead. Soot and ash streaked across her face, there were blood stains on her robes and Eyno didn’t dare look at her hands. Perhaps that was all she needed to see, to know she was alive and free, as seconds later the world flickered in and out of focus, and Eyno Amaris let the darkness creeping at the edges of her vision take over completely.