Chapter Text
Meetra Surik peeled off the long Jedi outer-robe as she strode into her rented living quarters. The day had been exhausting. She desperately needed to meditate. Or eat. The silhouette of a dark figure drew her up short. Definitely meditate. Her mind must be dangerously clouded if she’d missed the warning of another presence in the room.
The tall man leaning against her window was no threat. Rather, he held a close place in her heart as her first companion, both on this mission and in her journey back to the Force. Over the last several months he’d become a close confidant and friend, as well as a skilled Force user.
“What's wrong, Atton?” she asked as she strode to the window. “You seem troubled.”
Atton Rand rested his head against his clenched fist and peered out into the darkness. “I can’t be a Jedi, Exile.”
Meetra sighed as she placed a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “The path towards the light is difficult, but you are meant for it, Atton. I have taught you everything I can.”
“I can’t...because of what I was. What I've done.”
Meetra paused, Atton rarely spoke of his past, of the years before fate had placed them together on the Peragus mining station. The only information he’d given was of a Jedi who’d opened his mind to the Force before sacrificing herself to save him.
“There is much forgiveness to be had, my friend,” she murmured, “but you need none from me. Your actions over these past few months have proven that.”
“You don't know....”
“Let me share this burden, you shouldn’t carry it alone.”
Atton raised his head and met her gaze, anguish apparent in his eyes. “Don’t make me speak it out loud,” he whispered, “I can’t....”
Meetra placed both hands gently on his shoulders as her voice rang out strong and clear. “Ever since we met you've kept your mind guarded, closed off so I can’t see. This ability is rare and the very reason I believed you could know the Force. But it’s time to let me in Atton. To let me know your thoughts and help carry your secrets.”
A single tear trailed down his jaw as Atton closed his eyes in tired defeat. “Please don’t hate me, Exile.”
“I could never hate you, my friend.” Meetra rested her forehead against his and reached out with her mind.
Darkness. Thick smoke stung her eyes and filled her lungs, threatening to suffocate. Pain, sharp and devastating. A thousand piercing screams so loud she felt as if she were drowning.
Silence. Sharp in its contrast. Deep and painful. She knew this silence, a familiar yet hated companion. Neither light, nor dark, simply...absent.
Fire burned her hands and face as she choked on the stench. Hands reached for her, grasping at her clothing as she crawled through the bodies. Her soul tore apart piece by piece until she was empty. She was nothing.