[SpringsSong]

[ Topic Reviewed - Post-War ]

Xyshari. Lana.

Whispers of a war had not failed to reach the ears of the Sith and Jedi in their travels. For the longest time, they elected to ignore it; after all, it was not the war that they had come from in the galaxy they had left behind. But as time went on, it became evident that it was unwise to ignore such an event. Despite doing so for as long as they could, getting married in the process, Xyshari and Lana found themselves drawn into the center of the war.

"Not so different from the fighting back home, is it, ra svet?" Xyshari asked in a grim voice, peering out over the field of battle.

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"Minus the part where there were multiple planets on which a war was fought, and battles happening in space as well as on the ground," Lana said, sighing as she shook her head. "And all for what? Some magical jewel? Honestly, it's worse than the Empire and Republic..."

"I will not disagree with you, ra svet," Xyshari said. "Too long, our worlds were embroiled in chaos. You and Theron changed that," she said, turning to take her wife's hands. "Even if it was only a select few of us, you changed it, and you laid the groundwork for the Alliance to even be possible."

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"Sadly, I don't think that's going to be possible here," Lana said, shaking her head.

"Unfortunately, I agree," Xyshari replied. "There is no superpower threatening the lifestyle of all beings looming over them - just these two powers. Last time, the Purine forces were victorious, raising enough of a force against the Imperials to defend the Maiden's Tear," she said.

"They're not a proper Empire like the one in our galaxy," Lana said, sighing after a moment. "I heard that the Imperials of this world had two remarkably strong fighters on their side - however, one has never been heard from since, and the other defected and fights with these Purines."

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"I wonder why that is," Xyshari mused. "Something had to happen for her to choose to defect."

"Apparently, the values of the purines were more in line with her own, as opposed to those of the imperials," Lana said with a shrug. "I don't really claim to know an exact answer, my love; I only know what I have heard."

"I know, Lana," Xyshari said with a sigh as she looked around the town. "It's... really amazing how the war can seem so far away, even though we're right near the front lines."

"Yes..." Lana said, looking more at Xyshari than at the rest of the town.

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"When you think about it, we were in a similar situation on Odessen," Xyshari said after a few moments. She looked to Lana, a small, sad smile on her face. "But you were just thinking that, weren't you?"

"You know my thoughts as well as I do, love; and as well as I know yours," Lana replied. "Odessen served its purpose: unknown, unexplored, unwatched by the eyes of Zakuul. It was balanced - compared to Nathema, it felt like paradise."

"Even Korriban would have felt like paradise compared to the complete absence of any Force on Nathema," Xyshari said with a scoff.

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"Hearing a Jedi say that Korriban would feel a paradise compared to Nathema... I suppose that's saying something," Lana said with a faint chuckle. "I know you were uneasy enough on Dromund Kaas when you and Acina had to make your way through the Dark Temple."

"You've no idea," Xyshari said. "...no, that's a lie. You know exactly how I felt through that whole ordeal, because I could feel your own unease through that whole thing."

"Lorman was a pain in the ass," Lana said bluntly. "And then there was Saresh, who ignored the fact that there was literally no proof of your death."

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"Yes, the fact that you were not on the floor, writhing in pain and begging Theron to put you out of it would have been the first sign," Xyshari said bluntly. "That's how I felt when I felt my master's death. It took both Kira and Nadia to keep me on my feet and push through."

"Who knew Force bonds were so dangerous a thing," Lana commented. "So, chances are, if one of us meets our end..."

"There's no doubt about it. The other one will not be far behind," Xyshari said. "I doubt I could separate myself from this bond so easily."

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"I wouldn't want to either," Lana said, placing a hand under Xyshari's chin and turning her head to look at her. "Ever since we first met five years ago, I felt that connection between us, and when... when you killed Valkorion's physical form, I felt the storm swirl around inside of you. I felt myself dying alongside you in that carbonite prison, though I found ways to steel myself against it."

"Mostly, hunting for me," Xyshari said. "Valkorion doubtless thought I was referring to someone else... but I knew when I said, 'I found love with one of them,' and 'We'll be together again someday,' I was referring to you."

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"I could feel your... indignation when he said 'left alone, love will seek another'," Lana said.

"That's when I told him that we'd be together again one day," Xyshari said. "If only I'd known that you were breaking into the vault that held my carbonite tomb..."

"Hearing you say that gave me the strength to continue on," Lana said. "I could feel the pain you were in, as I said. Every time I felt you gasp for breath, double over in pain... it slowed my own progress, but at the same time, I found the will to drive on."

"And that will kept me moving forward, even as Valkorion taunted me."

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"What did you see in those dreams?" Lana asked after a moment, taking Xyshari's hand and leading her towards a cafe. Xyshari's initial response was a light purr, tilting her head to the side as she considered this for several minutes.

"Mostly, he taunted me with images of my companions fighting for their lives, picking... the worst things he could say about my companions, if I had to guess. Qyzen, the Trandoshan I traveled with? 'The bestial seeker', for instance," Xyshari said. "Then, he showed me Coruscant. Destroyed. I fought Satele - or a vision of her, at least - and he expected me to relish in 'killing' the Grandmaster of the Order."

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"I know you looked up to Satele, once upon a time," Lana said. Xyshari sighed as she shook her head.

"And yet, in that wilderness on Odessen, I could feel nothing but disappointment towards her. She sent so many Jedi needlessly to their deaths, and when she realized her failure, she ran away and hid," Xyshari said, putting her head in her hands as Lana guided her to a chair in the outdoor seating area of a cafe. "And then she had the nerve to preach at me."

"If you could have, I know you would have been out on the front lines during those five years, my love," Lana said. "But..."

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"...but would I have survived during those five years?" Xyshari asked, feeling the question lingering at the forefront of Lana's mind. The Sith nodded her head hesitantly after a moment, and Xyshari offered a smile.

"I'd like to think I'd have been working with you," she said. "I was sent to meet with Darth Marr, after all. Though... thinking about that, I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing in the eyes of the Council, sending me to work with a member of the Dark Council."

"He requested you specifically," Lana said. "It wouldn't surprise me if some members of the Council thought he might try to turn you."

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"As I mentioned before, Satele was... suspicious of us when she finally got my attention after we defeated Revan," Xyshari said. "She made sure that I had many, many assignments to keep me busy across the galaxy - generally in the outer rim," she said with a sigh. "However, that didn't stop Theron from contacting me about the shitshow that was Ziost."

"And then when Marr came looking for Republic assistance with Vitiate..."

"Everyone else they asked said 'no'," Xyshari said. "And I'll not deny I partially said 'yes' for the chance to see you again."

"You're... you'd really hoped that I'd be there, too?" Lana asked.

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"Why wouldn't I have?" Xyshari asked.

"Well, there was the small matter of how I'd treated you on Ziost," Lana said. "You were grateful to see that I was alive, wanted to share a few spare moments when we could steal away in the chaos... and all I could focus on was Vitiate and making sure that I could minimize the damage. I treated you unfairly."

"Unfair or no, I understood that you were just worried," Xyshari said. "The last I'd heard of anything was Theron fretting over Master Surro and how they couldn't find her after you took her to... wherever you took her to see what you could learn about Vitiate's influence over her."

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"I can't imagine he was very fond of your decision to let us take her," Lana said, her expression shifting to one of slight remorse as she offered a small nod to the waiter, who paused at their table side.

"Two hot chocolates, and two chocolate-filled pastries," Xyshari said, and Lana nodded in agreement before Xyshari returned her attention to her. "Theron heavily implied that, if Surro turned up dead, he would blame me, and that he couldn't believe I'd 'send one of my own to be an Imperial experiment', even if you were 'kinder than the rest'," she said, sighing.

"He called me kind?" Lana said with a soft laugh.

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