With my Firefly stowed in my pocket, I hurried back to the ship. There was no need to run—drawing attention would only raise suspicion. Moving down the dark road, blending into the shadows of the late night, I reminded myself that it was better to remain unnoticed. The less I was seen, the better. Just another figure lost in the fog of the city, no different than anyone else walking the same lonely streets.

But even as I kept a steady pace, a heavy weight pressed on my chest—the murder. I didn’t want to think about it. I couldn’t afford to. Sallos had been a problem, yes, but it didn’t change the fact that I had taken a life. I hadn't even paused to think until the body hit the floor. That was when the reality sank in. The guilt gnawed at me, but I couldn’t let myself slow down. I knew there was no going back from this. The weight of what I'd done would follow me, but I couldn’t afford to think about it now.

I could feel my hands shaking, but I kept walking. I had to keep moving forward. I couldn’t afford to let the past catch up to me. Not now. Not when we were so close to escaping. The Firefly was a constant reminder of that—an extension of myself, a symbol of the power I was still learning to control. But it was also a constant reminder of the danger that lay ahead. As I rushed to the ship, the adrenaline masked the weight of my actions. But I knew that, once we were safe, the guilt would return, and I’d have to face it.

As I reached the ship, I made a mental note that it was a good thing I’d taken most of the purer Phrik alloy pieces to the ship earlier, before Sallos had snuck into the hangar. The pieces would be useful, even if I never figured out how to smelt them properly. My steel bearings had always worked to deflect lightsabers, but the effort drained me—sometimes more than I was willing to admit. The process left me exhausted, each movement taxing my strength. But the Phrik alloy... that was something else. Unlike the bearings, which could only withstand so much before I hit my limit, the Phrik alloy was a shield—a defense against another Force user. And I could use it alongside the bearings as both a defense and offense, combining it into my combat style.

But I pushed those thoughts away. I couldn’t afford to dwell on the danger we were in. Sallos wouldn’t be the last threat. The Empire was still out there, relentless. They wouldn’t stop until they had us. But I couldn’t focus on that now. I couldn’t focus on the unknown Sith Lord hunting us across the galaxy. Not yet.

I punched the code into the ship’s door, the familiar beep bringing it open. My legs felt like they could barely hold me up, but I stumbled inside. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. The second the door closed behind me, the tears broke free. I nearly collapsed, the weight of what I’d done crashing over me.

“Roan!” Teya’s voice broke through my haze, her footsteps quick and light as she rushed over to me. Her hand landed on my shoulder, steadying me as I swayed.

Retra was close behind her, her voice laced with concern. “Oi, what happened?”

“I…” The words wouldn’t come. My chest tightened, and I could barely speak. I felt the tears stinging my eyes again, the grief rushing back. “I killed someone.”

Teya’s hands were warm on my arms, grounding me. “Roan…” she whispered softly, her voice full of empathy, but still there was a flicker of disbelief.

Retra stepped closer, her presence strong but measured. “Calm yourself, Roan. Just breathe. Whatever happened, we’ll figure it out.”

And that’s when I felt it—Xanthe’s soothing influence, the calm she sent through me, like a cool breeze settling my nerves. I could breathe again, the tension in my chest loosening.

“I killed someone,” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper now, still shaking, still unsure of what to do next.

"How? Why?" Teya demanded, her voice firm with concern.

"That bug, Sallos... he broke into the hangar and saw me activate my lightsaber. Mike tried to stop him from leaving, but... he shot at him twice. I blocked the first bolt, but then, without a second thought, I sent my new weapon after him—like it was one of my bearings." I explained. I had done it on instinct. My weapon of choice until now had always been non-lethal. The bearings could kill, but I hadn't chosen that—at least not until now. The weight of Sallos' life felt like a stone in my chest.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Sounds like he had it coming, Roan," Retra assured, placing a hand on my back to steady me. She and Teya had both known about my earlier discovery of the crystals and Phrik—both of them had checked in on me at Mike’s shop.

"I don’t like that it came to this, but he didn’t leave you much choice," Teya said quietly, her voice softer but no less understanding.

"Let’s just get out of here before our Sith friend comes after us," I said, changing the subject as best I could.

The girls exchanged a worried glance before nodding, leaving me to myself for a few moments.

"Can you take over piloting, Teya, for a bit?" Retra asked, her voice calm but purposeful.

"Sure," Teya responded.

"Roan, you said your saber is ready, right? Let me see it," Retra said, a hint of excitement in her voice despite the tension.

I smiled, summoning my new weapon out of my pocket, and activated it. The green blade thrummed to life, filling the small space with its resonant hum. The hum vibrated through the walls as the blade cast a bright, steady glow.

"Cool, isn’t it?" I said, almost giddy despite everything.

Retra laughed, "It’s so tiny! Mine’s bigger!" She activated her own saber, a longer, brighter blade springing to life.

Teya joined in, activating her lightsaber after hurriedly setting the autopilot. "Mine’s more of a grower, but not a show’er," she teased, her tone light but with a playful edge.

I rolled my eyes, suppressing a grin. "Really? No maturity from either of you?" I asked, mock-offended.

The girls laughed, and for a moment, I could almost forget the storm of emotions inside me. Just for a moment.

"I've been meaning to ask how did you get a new lightsaber so fast?" I inquired.

"Oh, well it's not like with Jedi and unaligned users. We dark siders take crystals or lightsabers from others and Force that crystal to do our bidding by channeling the dark side through it. That's why it turns red. Each Dark side user has a primary emotion we utilize to draw on the Force just like Jedi. Most Jedi use peace, calm, compassion, or selflessness but there are many other light side emotions like love," Retra lectured.

"Interesting and which dark side emotion do you use?" I asked.

Retra blushed, "Passion," she replied hurriedly.

"pfft," Teya laughed.

"So Roan you've met my family, what are yours like?" Retra asked once again changing the subject to take what had happened off my mind.

"Roan was a slave when he was a baby. The order bought him when he was a few years old," Teya chimed in.

"Oh, sorry Ben," Retra said, embarrassed.

"It's fine, my mother wished better for me, and I guess even though the order didn't work out for me, I got what she wished for," I responded.

There was a moment of silence before Teya broke it, "Roan, do you remember being a slave?"

I didn't answer at first. My ability gave me dominion over the Force, but it also did so for myself. I had vivid memories going back to my first year of life.

"Tell me you don't," Teya pleaded.

"I don't forget things, Teya," I explained.

"No wonder, Roan. No wonder you are so hurt by the order abandoning you," Teya cried. She didn’t understand. But that didn’t stop the words from cutting deeper than I expected. The Order hadn’t just abandoned me. They’d left me with nothing.

"Seriously, you remember being a toddler? You were a part of the order with such an ability and they let you go?" Retra shook her head in disbelief.

Suddenly, I felt the presence of our Sith Lord nemesis again. The fracking monster had tracked us sooner than expected. Retra rushed to the helm, and Teya to the gunner's seat. I felt the presence of him, but after what happened last time, he didn't dare try to invade my mind.

"He's powering up his cannons!" Retra alerted.

I focused on the bolt as it built within its barrel and noticed a fleet of Empire ships parked at a nearby refueling station. I almost hesitated with the thought of redirecting the bolt may cause someone else to perish but I banished the thought. I can’t afford to let the emotions carry me, not now. Not when the Sith Lord is closing in.

An idea entered my mind and I smirked. "I've got an idea!"

I knew there was no going back from this. The weight of what I'd done would follow me, but I couldn’t afford to think about it now.

The cannon's energy bolt targeted our thrusters, but he didn't anticipate my increased power and control.

As the tauntaun-sized bolt zoomed through space, I redirected it to hit an Arquitens-class light cruiser, a much smaller cousin to the Star Destroyer belonging to the Empire. Soon, many TIE fighters began coming out to attack our mutual enemy.

"Retra, set course to our next destination," I added.

"He won't just let us go," Retra said.

Another bolt of energy built in the Sith Lord's ship’s weapons, but this time I used the Force to impact the energy bubble, setting it off. The barrel took heavy damage, disabling it.

"Now he'll be too occupied to come after us now. Unfortunately, Teya, you get your wish. After this, the Empire will investigate and realize he was after us. They will come after the new unknown Sith Lord and whoever he's after."

Teya smirked but didn't respond.

"Looks like we don’t get to take an easy path, huh?" Retra said, activating the thrusters at max speed. “We’d made enemies of enemies—but that didn’t make us safe. The Empire was still hunting us, and the price for surviving would come due sooner or later.”