The Art of Chaos and Darkness

Chapter Sixteen

They stopped one last time before making the final few days of travel to Moraband.

Recalling their previous luck on backwater planets, The Mandalorian set them down on a fairly crowded spaceport city. The name of the planet wasn't familiar to Valda and the people seemed to be a mix from all over. She trailed the Mandalorian through the crowded streets, becoming accustomed to the lack of restraints around her wrists. Though the shock collar still remained at her throat.

A sort of impending threat.

She could sense the Mandalorian through this bond they now shared. She had little information she could give him about it because she had never healed a fatal wound of someone before. All she knew were what she managed to read in archives on Moraband. She'd never encountered another Sith healer. As far as she knew, she was the only one.

Valda viewed the bond like an extension of the Force, because that's what it was. A piece of life force was connecting them. Therefore, she understood and knew how to utilize it better. She could control what was sent down the bond and what wasn't. The Mandalorian had no such ability. She felt nearly everything.

She knew from the moment they set foot on these streets he was monitoring and noting everything with lethal precision. He was aware of everyone else at all times, including her at his back. Not being able to see her fully gave him a small sense of unease that was held down by the knowledge the Beskar would protect his back.

Valda, of course was monitoring in her own way, through waves of Darkside energy she periodically sent out through the city. She had done it while they were still in space above the planet, trying to sense if there were any other Sith on this planet. The answer had been no. Her wound had healed quickly over the course of a day, helped by the medicines and food. Her strength returned and the more she embraced the Darkside, the stronger her body grew.

The Mandalorian and Valda made their way back to the ship. Valda found herself dragging her feet a bit and when they reached the ramp she stopped to turn and look at the city. The last planet she would see for a long while before she turned to Moraband.

"You... wish to stay here?" The Mandalorian had stopped at the top of the ramp.

Valda knew he sensed her longing through the bond. "No, not stay. Moraband is a very different place so this will likely be the last society I see for a long while."

His quiet footsteps told her he had come to stand beside her. "I thought you said you were free."

"I am. But it is different. I can leave Moraband if I wish it would just be... frowned upon. And not good for my future."

"Sounds like you are a prisoner."

Valda turned to him. "I'm not. I made this choice."

He didn't say anything else and she headed up the ramp and into the hold of the ship. A minute later, he followed. As the Mandalorian piloted the ship off the planet's surface and into the atmosphere, Valda found herself still clinging to the few senses she had on the planet. She took a breath and forced herself to let go.

She needed to get her shit under control before she got to Moraband. It was time for her to face the future. Valda took a seat in the cargo hold, on top of one of the wooden crates and folded her legs beneath her. She rested her palms on her thighs and closed her eyes.

Valda felt the Force around her, dark and light alike. The Darkside was significantly stronger, more intoxicating, more lethal. With little effort, Valda could remove the Lightside that lingered but for now she allowed it to remain. She sensed it's source, flowing from the Mandalorian. Whether he knew it or not, the balance of Light and Dark within him was nearly perfectly equal.

Valda settled deeper into her mind. Mediation had been one of the first valuable tools she'd learned. Withdrawing into to herself was something she mastered as a slave, utilizing it survive situations that otherwise would have broken her.

The Force flowed around her and through it, Valda could see the strand that connect her to the Mandalorian. It glowed, twisting and shimmering, a thousand colors reflecting off of it like water. She tentatively reached a hand out a ran a finger across it's surface. The bond hummed and seemed to glow in response.

The door from the cockpit hissed open and the Mandalorian came into the cargo hold, a hand against the front of his chest. "What..." he trailed off and beheld Valda seat on a crate with nearly every object not secured to something floating around her. Her eyes remained closed.

He took a step closer and reached out to push a packet of food that was floating towards him. Tt bobbed and then moved off the other way. He looked at Valda. "Are you doing this?"

Finally, she opened her eyes. "Yes." She looked around at the cargo hold. "Sorry." The objects fell to the ground.

The Mandalorian placed his hand on his chest again. "I felt... a pull. Like a tug inside me. What was that?"

Valda pictured that iridescent strand that stretch between them. "I touched the bond between us."

"You... touched it?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry, how? It's not a physical thing."

"It's a part of the Force. So, you're right, I didn't touch it in a physical sense. More so through the Force." She sensed his confusion but before she could say more, a memory flashed, to vivid and powerful she took a step back.

Valda saw a rocky planet, covered in greenery. The Mandalorian was there, and the child with him. A monument of rocks rose before her and then the child was seated on a large stone. Force energy exploded from both the child and the rock, the Lightside so powerful, she swore and flinched away. Valda rubbed her temples. "You have to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" The Mandalorian took a step forward. "You saw that?"

"You practically threw it at me." She shook her head. "The remnants of the temple on Tython still exist. We always suspected." Valda turned her gaze to him. "You need to control your mind, these memories of your past before you show me something I cannot ignore."

"What does that mean?"

Valda pushed herself from the crate she was sitting on. "I have no interest in the Jedi or this child. But others in the Sith Order may not feel the same. This is dangerous information for us both. If you want to protect him, you need to bury your memories of him."

"I can't just... forget him."

Valda thought of the words her master had told her with a wane smile. "Forget the past, Mandalorian. Kill it if you have to. That's the only way you will survive."