The Knight, Death, and the Devil

Chapter 11: A Fistful Of Sand

The sun shone brightly overhead, filtered through the gently swaying branches of the tree above him and forming a corona of light around the head of the woman leaning over his face. Leaves left the branches, pulled off by the gentle fall wind and carried overhead in swirling eddies of air that rustled the woman's short hair. Torin couldn't make out her face, but he thought he recognized her. Not just her, but this place—this feeling. The woman leaned forward, planting a kiss on his forehead. Indistinct images and vague sensations coalesced into concrete reality as he awoke and his senses returned.

Sand tore through the air , ripping past the metal framework hanging above him and rattling the steel skeleton. A bird-like face tapped at his forehead with its beak, feathered neck flaring aggressively as Torin's eyes shot wide open.

"Ah!" He scrambled to his feet, swatting at the animal looming over him. With a panicked screech it skittered off on all fours, quickly disappearing from sight into the rolling mounds of red dirt surrounding the crashed pod buried in a pile of rusted gravel. Over the roar and whistle of wind he heard shouts. His raised arm did little to block the sand that stung his face and wormed its way into every wrinkle and fold of his clothing. Partially obscured by the orange haze were two figures grappling with each other, their incomprehensible shouts barely audible over the wind's roar.

"After everything I've done for you!" Vathamma came into view first as Torin scrambled across the uneven terrain. She spun around to reveal her fists wound up in Nomi's shirt. "I took you in! Fed you, clothed you!"

Nomi yanked on the Sith's black hair, drawing an angry scream. "I am not your slave anymore!"

Her former Mistress wrapped her hands around the Togruta's neck and pushed her into the rusted earth. Torin raced over and pulled Vathamma off of her, Master and Apprentice falling backwards while the other woman rolled onto all fours and gasped for air.

"Let me go!" Elbows shot out, striking the ground on either side of his head. "I'll kill her!"

"That's why I'm—" A blow to the face made him release his grip. He clutched his aching nose while the Sith scrambled to her feet.

"She betrayed me!" She screeched at him, pointing towards her slave. Torin walked over to a curved scrap of escape pod hull jutting from the ground and sat down on it, holding his head in his hands.

"That woman, she knew me. I don't know how, but she did. They're going to think I'm a Sith!" The prospect of a rescue had grown more and more remote during his time on Balmorra, but his brief encounter with the Jedi had sealed his fate. No Republic force would come for him—and if they did, it would not be on friendly terms.

"You are Sith," Vathamma said. "Focus on something important, like getting your Master off of this horrid planet." Her hands hardened into fists that shook at her sides. "I will tear Andar in half."

Only Nomi remained calm. Exhausted, yes, but calm—almost peaceful. Her face was tilted towards the sky, eyes flickering open and closed to blink out the sand.

"Did that crash rattle your little brain?" The Togruta's lack of concern only made Vathamma angrier. "Do you understand that we're stranded?"

Not a hint of fear showed on Nomi's face. "My sister will be safe. I do not care what happens to me."

Vathamma shot forward. "I'm glad to hear that!" Her raised hand sparked, little blue bolts of electricity jumping from one finger to the other.

Torin slid between the two and held out his hands, not daring to lay them on the Sith. "Let's not tear each other's throats out now, alright?" He pointed at the smoldering wreckage of the Dominator visible past a long line of hills. "We should get there before someone else does."