For a few seconds the battlemaster simply stayed there holding her dead allie. Her eyes closed, tears dropping onto the sand as her mind swirled with sadness. It was the most emotional she could recall being in sometime, and certainly the first time her padawan had seen her like this. She’d buried too many friends in her life. Kyla’s eyes came open and she carefully placed Elav’s corpse down. Then she picked up both of his lightsabers, folded his hands together on his chest and placed them in his lifeless palms. She would return when calmness came back to Tython and give her old friend a proper funeral. 

“We have to go back to the temple. Our day is not done yet. Stay strong San, the Force guides us.” The master Jedi said, slowly bringing herself to her feet as she gave her deceased friend one last glance before her eyes went to the speeder. Kyla wiped her face, her expression still red from the intense sobbing. She then climbed aboard the vehicle, her feet kicked on the ignition and the engine roared to life. There was no time to waste. 

San Anin has not moved from her spot, standing there as she looked upon the dead Jedi Knight that served to remind her of her inability to save fellow members of the Order. Slowly she turned back to her master and shuffled over, the turbulent winds dragging her robes all over the place as each heavy footstep brought her closer to her master. Her shoulders seemed to move up and down as the small sounds of crying made through the winds.

“If I- I could have- my fault,” were the words that gave way to low tear driven muttering as she cried. The sight of the dead knight had brought back terrible memories of her dead master, the one before Kyla had taken her under her sterner wing. “Just l-like him,” she sobbed as she got on the vehicle with her current master.

“It wasn’t your fault, San. You did all you could. I’m proud of you, you saved my life,” Kyla stated softly, turning around on the bike to wrap an arm around her saddened padawan. “Those things weren’t natural. We’re lucky that we survived and now we will put an end to this chaos. Elav will never be forgotten, he will receive a proper burial deserving of a true Jedi like he was.”
The battlemaster took one glance at Elav’s corpse, in the state she had left it. He looked peaceful now. She knew his spirit was with other fallen Jedi amongst the Force. The greatest thing that they could do in his memory was to stop whatever was causing the instability on the Jedi homeworld. Kyle ran her hand underneath San’s eyes, wiping the tears from her eyes. As she did this a look on confidence came onto her face, showing that they had to move forward. Times were desperate on Tython,  

“I k-know I could h-have saved him! I-I could have- I-I I know- I…” San Anin grew silent as she looked upon her master, slowing her breathing. The Kel Dor didn’t know what to say or even do for that matter, barely out of her initiate trials and having witnessed the deaths of two Jedi. She did not want to see other Jedi die because of her own weakness and inability to fight, but she knew that she merely did not have the heart to fight. This conflict had grown ever since she watched her first master call to be hands of a Sith, and in that conflict, anger and sadness fought for control of her mind.

“We w-will avenge them both,” the Padawan said in a sorrowful voice.

“Vengeance is not the way of the Jedi, my padawan. Revenge consumes you, twists you, clouds your conscience and becomes an utter obsession,” Kyla stated with certainty as she kicked down on the ignition pedal hard, rocketing them out of the Rift and through the mountain range. Her next words tinged with a remembered sadness. “I was once like that, after my capture by the Sith all those years ago. Vengeance is toxic in every way.”

As they sped through the beautiful snow tinged mountain range Kyla’s eyes scanned their surroundings. Another shake of the ground caused a small avalanche to tumble down a distance from them, shaking the foundation of the towering mountains. As the speeder continued towards its destination, they powered across the grassy  plains. Her skin crawled as the Force echoed throughout the sweeping fields of green, shimmering in the trees. Nature itself on the world had been shaken by the arrival of the dark side. Every animal she saw was frightened, the roaming herds of grazing Uxibeasts had fear in their eyes as the two Jedi flew by them. It was even more reason for Kyla to stop this chaos and bring peace back to the beautiful world.

“Master Vondin, do you come in?” A male voice echoed inside of her comm device, it was another one of the Jedi masters. She wondered how long they had been trying to contact her. 

“I’m here, heading back to the temple with San Anin. We’re both alive.” She replied, holding her comm to her ear as they continued on their path back to the temple.

“We’ve been trying to reach you for a while now, the council feared the worst. The planet is in disarray, we have Jedi still unaccounted for in the chaos. Were you at the Rift?” The voice said, sadness and uncertainty evident in his words.

“Yes we were, along with Elav Chiyoa. Though he was killed in action. We were attacked by these lumbering monstrosities that emerged deep from the canyon, the dark surrounded them. We are going to put a stop to this, we have to.” Kyla replied, pausing briefly as she mentioned Elav’s death. Her expression turning to a frown at her friend’s sacrifice in battle. 

“Elav’s death is a hard one to take, he was a noble Jedi knight. I fear he will not be the only that dies if we don’t stop this. But we need you back at the temple. We are deploying Jedi to the desert, we tracked a massive disturbance moving to there. A colossal creature. There are things buried in that desert that could lead to more chaos on Tython. Where the Force flows more uncertainly.” 

“A creature? I’m heading there as soon as I can, with my padawan. We are going to stop this.” The battlemaster said assertively as the temple’s front courtyard came into view. She blinked at the mention of an enormous creature, though was unflinched in her determination.  

 A few Jedi and temple guards stood outside, relaying orders and keep the situation under control. The skies were still a terrifying shade, but the temple was in one piece. Its foundation sturdy and strong, more importantly the Jedi within safe and secure. She slammed the brakes on the speeder, bringing it to a halt near the front steps. Then she hopped off the sleek vehicle, motioning for San to follow. The gathered personnel glanced at them, the driven Jedi master not stopping for any chit chat. 

“What are we doing, master?” San Anin asked, moving after her master as she looked at the other Jedi. The sight of the others made her dip her head, not wanting to look at them or be seen by them.  

“We’re going to get my ship.” Kyla stated with a glance to her padawan as they both walked through the temple’s front entrance. Jedi were gathered inside the building, seemingly huddling with each other while head counts were made. Accounting for any who hadn’t made it back to the temple. 
“Kyla!” A familiar voice called out to her, causing her to slow down in her stride and look in the direction it came from. A male zabrak in the robes of a Jedi master appeared in front of her, a gruff expression on his face. Diagonal blue lines and dots were tattooed on his face, a tradition of his species. 

“Master Uakro, I thought it was your voice I heard on the comm link.” Kyla stated, not stopping in her stride as her fellow Jedi master walked alongside her.

“I’m glad that you and San Anin made it back safely. You’re heading back out there already?” Uakro asked, no surprise evident in his words. Kyla was known as a woman of action after all, he was just unsure if it was the best idea to bring along her padawan.

“We are heading to the desert in my ship. We believe whoever crash landed in the Rift and caused the chaos on this world hijacked a transport we took. We were one of the first ones there, along with Jaslyn Dayne. Though we lost contact with her as she managed to stow away on the transport as it flew away.” The battlemaster said, some of the Jedi she passed giving her strange looks at the dried blood splotches on her armor. The trio kept walking through the main hall into the back of the temple.

“So that’s where Jaslyn is. She was unaccounted for. I do not particularly agree with you heading out there, just you and your padawan. We are gathering together teams to send there. Who knows the dangers that could be now unsurfaced. Are you sure this is the best course of action, with your young padawan? Are you ready for what may be out there, San Anin?” Master Uakro asked San as the three of them walked through the hangar bay doors, Kyla’s personal starfighter sitting near the center. Sigils of the Jedi order marked on each wing. 

“I.. I- I don’t k-know. B-but, my M-master need-ds me,” San Anin said, not bothering to look at Master Uakro as her self given shame continued to hang over her mind, unable to cast them away despite Kyla’s words. The padawan’s heart and mind was confused, trying to sort through all the different feelings and emotions that surged through her. It was those emotions that were her weakness, spurred by the death of the Jedi Knight and the memory of her former master. The day proved to be one continuous trial for the young girl, a trial that she was most unprepared for. 

San Anin let out a sigh and ran a hand over her breathing mask before she continued, “I-I’ll help Master K-Kyla n-no matter w-what happens.”

Uakro replied with a nod, noticing the nervousness and confusion in the padwan’s words. The uncertainty in her reaction obvious. The Jedi master did not believe this girl was ready for such a dangerous mission, even if she was under the tutelage of the renowned battlemaster Kyla Vondin. The zabrak put his arm around Kyla, then lead her to the side, away from San.

“I don’t think San Anin is right for this type of mission. I can sense the emotions stirring within her. I know your strong Kyla, but this is no simple task. Who knows what might happen out there?” Uakro said calmly, his eyes quickly dashing from Kyla to San then back to the battlemaster. 

“With all due respect Master Uakro, that is utter nonsense. San is strong in the Force, she has my back in every sense. She’s devout to the light side, she saw the horrors unleashed by the dark side on its arrival to this world. She helped me defeat them, without her I’d have been brutally killed by those monstrosities. I’m totally confident that she will help me stop the darkness thats come to Tython.” Kyla replied assertively, certainty evident in her words. 

Even as she walked away from her fellow master Jedi, no time to debate or doubt her chosen padawan. Part of her was clearly displeased with Uakro’s words, but Kyla did not allow herself to voice this displeasure. She raised a hand towards San as she strolled towards her personal starfighter, motioning for her padawan to follow her. The cockpit rose open, revealing the pilot’s seat and a more compact passenger seat tucked behind it. As the battlemaster climbed inside of [i]the Valiant[/i] her astromech droid beeped a greeting. 

“We’re heading out immediately, San. I need you to be confident, but not cocky. Clear your mind of any vengeance filled thoughts. Let the light flow through you, let it guide us to victory.” Kyla said to San Anin as the battlemaster strapped herself into the pilot seat. It had been some time since she had flown her striker-class starfighter, she missed the comfort being in the pilot’s seat brought her. 

“A-as you wish, Master,” San Anin said, giving Uakro a parting glance before getting into the passenger seat. She was small enough to find the compact space a bit comfortable and with a singular released breath, she began to meditate, following her master’s instruction and attempting to clear her mind of all the sorrow and vengeance that she had felt today.