(no subject)

[tucky]

[Post-Barge Tiffany and Sariss!]

Comments

Stars Beyond Stars

[dark_lady_sariss]

Time passed, as it inexorably did. But she didn't simply follow along its eddies as she had before. With the Barge behind her, and choices ahead of her, for the first time in her existence, Sariss lived. She had left behind the all-consuming rage that had once animated her, replacing it with purpose and self-determination. And, of course, with a strange love she had never expected to find.

She and Makima were a strange pair. Imperfect, forged by their pasts to be weapons - and now reforged by their own hands into something new. For years now, the powerful criminals and the deeply corrupt of the galaxy had a new thing to fear - the two could, and did, topple governments when it suited them. It took time, it took effort. But they had those things in abundant supply. And, with time, their understanding of each other's strengths - and their bond - only deepened. They were justice from the shadows, revenge for the powerless. Two against the galaxy.

She wouldn't have had it any other way. She wasn't truly a Dark Jedi anymore. Nor was she a Jedi; the emerging Jedi Order had made that very clear. Unnecessarily, in her opinion. She was something more akin to a Gray Jedi - though she believed that was more of a spectrum as well. As much as she might admire, say, a Mara Jade - she was different. But that was what Force users were becoming, in the era beyond Palpatine's Empire - free of the strictures of the past, they evolved, became new things. Shades emerged where once conformity had been expected, regardless of which side one was on.

The Jedi Order...tolerated them. They did enough good that the Jedi had bigger fish to fry, as it were. Their innate frustration was a bit amusing, to them both. Sariss was difficult enough to categorize, Makima they had no comprehension of whatsoever.

And so time passed, and events unfolded, and two new legends were written into the stars. And all that time, her abilities matured. She devoted as much time as possible to the mental arenas of the Force - delving as deep and going as far as her mind and her strength would allow.

Which is how, years after the Barge and its denizens had become memories - she heard the call. A familiar voice, one in need. Though she had known many people on the Barge, there were very, very few she would have listened to, even in these circumstances.

And only one whose call she would answer without reservation.

To do so required...bargaining. The Jedi Order had gained knowledge of the World Between Worlds, a pathway kept by the Whills that connected reality and time in ways that were poorly understood, and this was likely to remain the case forever. Some things were not meant for the minds of mortal beings. But there were pathways, and with a great deal of persuading - she convinced the Jedi to give her access. In the end, it had been the voice of Luke Skywalker himself that had made it happen.

That was a moment she would remember for the rest of her days. A man who could have been, should have been, had been a sworn enemy - looking into her soul and making the choice to trust her.

And thus, she walked the path. Thus, she found her way between worlds on starlit blackness.

Thus, she found the world she wanted.