The Death of the Wolf’s K’thri teacher.
Mactire stood there on the grassy plains of Corellia, as a cool breeze gently brought the wind and sent shivers down his spine. Making the back hairs on his neck stick up, like a warning sign. His dirty blond hair was matted down by sweat, he could feel it sticking to the base of his neck. He shook his head lightly, sending sweat all around his head, and into his blueish-gold eyes. A very rare mix of colors even for a human. If you looked at him, you at first would notice that he was short in stature, only about 1.60 meters tall, below average height. He stretched out his arms, looking at his tribal Wolf tattoos going down them, stopping just right above his wrists, with their jaws opening up. He always wondered where he got them, but that thought was always on his mind. Along with many others. He wore a grayish-black tunic without sleeves, with lose black pants, and heavy black combat boots.
He knelt down to the ground slightly resting on his toes, while picking up his bracers. He tied them on tightly, inspecting them. People always thought he was a demon with them on, due to the fact that they each had three Rancor teeth on them. Though he always thought they were fake, he never dared tested to see if they were real.
“Mactire, you nerf-herder, are we going to keep sparing or have you decided that my style isn’t good enough for you anymore.” A low salutary voice bellowed.
Mactire looked to the left and smirked lightly. He liked looking at Sara. She was a Zabrak, and possibly twice as old as him. She had long black hair that slightly covered the horns on her head. Her skin was a deep crimson, with her tattoos being back. She wore a simple blue jacket with a heavy white collar, loose purple pants, and no shoes, or boots on her feet. Her she had her lower lip pierced with three rings on it. One in the center, and two on either side of her face. Her eyes were a piercing yellow. They could send chills down anyones spine when she looked at you with fire in them. Though for now they looked playful, and that aways made him worry.
“Alright Sara, calm down, I’m trying my best here. You know that right?” He said.
“Your best? Your best? Your best isn’t good enough, you have to do better. I wish I could train you in a circle like a proper student but then again teaching you this style isn’t proper to begin with. But you need to survive in a fight.” She said sternly.
“Yes master.” He said scarastically.
A spinning kick came towards him quickly, he tried to dodge it but it connected to his left arm and sent him to the ground. She stood over him looking down shaking her head.
“You still haven’t learned the basic rule have youuuuuu” She said as he swept his leg around her and brought her to the ground.
He twisted to his right side, placed both hands on the cool ground, pushed up and twisted landing on his feet facing her.
“Rule number one, respect the foot.” He said.
“Siths blood. You remember. There is hope for you yet.” She said as she pushed herself back up smiled at him.
“Mactire, before we continue, do you know why I decided to teach you K’thri?” She asked, with a slight sadness in her voice.
“No. I always wondered but never asked. I was just happy to have a friend after my parents…” he trailed off. Speaking of his parents often brought up anger in him, anger that always caused him to lash out, and become unfocused, and often destructive to everyone. That was why he was always alone, away from everyone. Everyone except Sara. She always understood him, and was there with him since there death.
“I was a friend of your fathers, years ago. We served in the Corellian Navy together. When they died. I knew that you would be alone, and that life without them would be hard. That’s why I taught you K’thri. Though without the head strikes.” She sighed heavily looking down.
“I know. Rule number two head strikes are for Zabrak only.” He looked at her slightly on edge.
What was it about her when she was sad, and had that distant look in her eyes that made him uneasy. He could never figure it out nor did he really want to. He slowly walked over to her and placed his hands up on her shoulder lightly.
“Sara, I forgave you long ago. I thank you for your teachings, your wisdom, and your friendship. Now can we cut this holoromance moment, and get back to work.” He said slyly.
She smirks grabbing his left arm, spinning slightly and throwing him onto his back, fast and hard. Lightly pressing her foot on his chest. Pain races through his back as he lets out a small groan. As he pushes her foot off, and pushes himself up, smiling.
The wind rushes across his back and all the hairs on the back of his neck stand up straight. He slightly turns towards the east looking at the small town in the distance. Wondering why this feeling is coming from there. As he turns back to face Sara, a loud explosion rings out across the air and the shakes the ground.
Sara’s mouth is open in shock as she pushes him to the side and starts running towards the town. Mactire, turns around and stands there in total shock. A large Corllian luxury freighter just crashed landed in the town. Mini explosions were erupting all over it and screams could be heard. The screams of all those people shocked him out of his state, and he took off running at top speed towards the town.
As she ran Sara grabbed her duffle back, and slid the strap across her chest in a single smooth motion. Her years as a medic in the Corellian Navy had taught her many things. Including how to react to certain situations, though she kept glancing back at Mactire, wondering how he would hold up at seeing what was to come. She knew that seeing bodies for the first time can cause many different effects and she prayed that they didn’t the bodies didn’t affect him in any negative way, or that the shock wouldn’t be something she couldn’t snap him out of.
Mactire caught up to her and was breathing with ease. Good she thought, he’s calm for now, let’s hope he stays that way.
“What do you think happened?” Mactire asks. Slightly straining to keep pace with Sara.
“Looks like a ship failure. But I can’t tell how. Let’s get there fast, and get to as many people as we can.” She said in a commanding tone of voice that he only heard when they were sparing.
It took them twenty-five minutes to reach the town. The destruction was something Mactire had never seen before. He stopped as he was getting closer. Seeing people running away from the burning buildings, or to houses that collapsed and were trying to get help others. Humans and aliens, working as fast as they can.
Mactire turned to Sara, as she just ran past him and towards the wreckage of the freighter. He took off after her, trying to see the destruction that the ship caused to a peaceful settlement. As he rounds a corner getting closer to the wreckage he hears a small, voice coming from one of the structures with a collapsing roof.
He bolts towards the voice, though he feels as if it was faint. He hears it loud as a thunder blast right above him.
“HELP!!! Someone please help me!!!” the voice says.
Mactire, runs into the blaze of fire that envelops the door, feeling the heat against his skin.
“Where are you? Please answer me I’m here to help you!” He says with urgency while slightly coughing, as he lightly inhales the smoke.
“Over here! In front of you!” the voice says, coughing heavily.
Mactire moves forward slowly, feeling his way around the smoke enveloped house. He moves 10 meters further in, and feels something grasp his leg. He looks down sees a Twi’lek child, with blue skin, dark wavy lines going down her lukka. She’s in a plain green dress. He slowly reaches down, and picks her up holding her close to him. She is grabbing onto his tunic tightly, as he tries to feel is way back out. He hears, voices calling out into the house those of a man and woman. Probably the child’s parents he thinks.
A structure beam creaks above him. He looks up in time to see it come down. Burning edges of dura steel come down in front of him. He turns and places the child against the wall, protecting her. Then he tilts his head to the left to see if there is another way out. But he turns his head to early and catches the tail end of the burning piece of metal coming down. It cuts him above the left eye.
“AHHHHHHH!!!” he screams in shear pain. As blood slowly starts to cover his eye.
Both paths are now blocked by the structure beam, the house starts to collapse around him, bits and pieces of hit him on his shoulders and back. He places his right hand firmly against the wall, and sighs heavily.
“Sara I failed. I’m sorry.” He says in frustration.
The wall then slowly starts to shake and then as if by a miracle a huge hole appears in the wall, with chunks of it scattering across the ground. He steps out, taking a deep breath while slightly coughing. He looks down at the child and she has one hand near her mouth coughing as well. Two Twi’lek come racing around the front of the house, to the side where he is. One is purple in a plain brown dress. The other one is green with black pants, and a white shirt on. They take their daughter and hold her close, grateful that she is alive and well.
Sara comes walking up behind the parents, nods lightly at them then looks at Mactire with a look that he’s never seen in her eyes before.
“Come on nerf-herder. We have to get to that crashed ship.” She says with pride ringing in her voice.
“Alright but I wonder how that hole appeared in the wall.” Mactire says as he walks closer to her, then next to her as they head towards the vessel.
“One day I’ll tell you, but not today. Today we have to help these people on that Freighter.” Her voice is stern. Mactire knows not to question her further when she gets like this.
They start running towards the ship again. This time they arrive at it and Mactire looks at all the carnage before him. Bodies twisted, thrown about the ground. Blood everywhere, homes crushed, with major wreckage from the ship laying everyplace.
He looks over at Sara, as she takes off her duffle bag and starts moving from one person to the next. Checking them for a pulse, or any sign of life. She glares at him, and with that glare he snaps out of his shock and starts to do what she does. Checking for any signs of life among the victims.
A loud bang rings from a piece of wreckage as two figures in Mandalorin armor appear. Their armor is a deep blood red, they are armed with vibroknives, and blaster pistols. The shoot one of the bodies and laugh. Their laughs sound metallic, as if they are droids due to their helmets.
“We did it. Glory for Mandalore.” One says to the other.
“Yes we did. Now let’s find a way off this dust ball of a rock.” The other one says. They both slowly start to walk away from the wreckage. Paying no attention to any of the bodies, or the countless innocents that have lost their homes.
“Stop right there.” Sara says angrily. She stands up straight and starts walking towards them with her head held high with a fierce tempest of a storm behind her eyes.
They stop turn and look at her. “What do you want?” one of them says, slowly placing one hand on their vibroknife.
“You caused all these innocent people to suffer and for what? Your leader?” She says sternly stopping a few meters from them.
The armored thugs look at each other and laugh then look at her. “No we didn’t do it just for our leader, or for glory. We did it cause we were hired to crash that ship by a contract.”
Sara moved with lightning fast reflexes and kicked the one on the right in the chest putting all her power behind it. The thug feel down flat on his back letting out a short yelp in surprise. The other one quickly grabbed his knife and stabbed her in the chest, logging it deep near her heart. She kicked him hard with all her might, and he stumbled back laughing.
Mactire ran over to Sara, as fast as he could. Sliding onto his knees to catch her as she fell. Tears pooled up in his eyes. Looking down at her she was smiling.
“Don’t cry Mactire. Don’t ever be sad. You’re stronger than you know it.” She sad coughing as blood slowly came out of her mouth.
“Don’t talk Sara, please save your strength we can find a doctor. We can get you help please you can’t leave me.” Mactire said with deep sorrow in his voice, feeling her slowly fade away.
“Don’t worry about me young one. I’ll always be with you and watch over you. What was in my duffle bag is now yours. Find your own path, I didn’t think that you had it in you. But you did, should have seen it from the beginning.” She said coughing harder as more dark blood came out.
“Don’t Sara, please, don’t die.” Mactire says not really paying attention to what she is saying.
“Mactire look me in the eyes.” She says forcefully. Mactire looks deep into her eyes. “You have the force, like me. Your destiny is meant for more, it is a gift from your family. My gift to you is in that duffle bag. I will always be with you. Always.” She says with the loving tone of a mother as her eyes lose their glow of life.
“Hey well what do you know you killed a Jedi.” The thug that was kicked said to the one that stabbed Sara. “You’re gonna be a legend among our clan.”
They both start to laugh, and start to walk away. People gather around with their heads down in solace for the loss of Sara. Mactire’s eyes burn from the sting of sweat, blood and tears. He slowly stands up and looks at the two murder’s walking away. He glares at them standing tall and walks towards them.
“Your mine!” Mactire says and charges towards them.
“What?” the one on the right says, turns and sees Mactire thowing a kick towards him. He grabs it and throws Mactire to the side laughing.
“Oh you want to play boy? We can play and you can join that pathetic Jedi.” The left one says laughing slowly grabbing another vibroknife and starts walking towards Mactire.
“She wasn’t pathetic she was my family!” Mactire screams and leaps up slightly placing his knee into the chest of the murderer walking towards him knocking him flat on his back.
Mactire looks down at his opponent and sees a dark skin just between the helmet and the chest plate. He places his Rancor claw bracer into it and hears the man scream and gasps, as if chocking. Mactire pushes down and out as the claws are drenched in blood, and more blood pools around the person he just killed.
Mactire slowly stands up, looking at the next guy who pulls out a blaster and points it at him. Mactire moves left, then right quickly zig zagging to confuse the other murderer.
“Stay still you!” the murderer says firing off three shots.
All three shots miss, Mactire as if he is floating on the wind, he leaps into the air, spins and kicks with all his might into the head of his target. There is a loud crack and snap as the head of the target turns quickly to the left. Mactire winces in pain slowly standing up. He looks at his leg, and feels it. Though it doesn’t appear to be broken it still feels as if it is. He starts to limp slowly towards the body of Sara. He falls down to his knees and howls at the top of his lungs for all to hear his sorrow.
The little girl whom he saved earlier cries as well. As if his howl made her feel his pain. She runs over and hugs him crying.
“Please cheer up. I know it’s sad to lose someone you care about put please smile?” she says while crying her eyes out.
Mactire stops and looks at her, then hugs her. He slowly moves his left hand to her eyes and wipes her tears away. “For you sure. I may be sad now, but I can’t let a child cry. It’s not fair when children should always be laughing.”
She looks at him confused and as he stands up and walks over to the duffle bag. He picks it up slips it over his chest then walks back and picks up Sara’s body and slowly walks back out of the town.
“Where are you going?” The little girl asks tears still streaming down her eyes.
“She always liked a hill a few miles from here. I’m going to bury her there. Then I’m going to find those who destroyed your town, and make them own up to their crime.” Mactire said and headed off to the west.
Three hours passed and he had finally reached the hill Sara always loved to take him to and train him at. The hill had a cave in it that smugglers used many years ago. She always loved hiding things in there for him. He walked into the cavern still carrying her body. He must have walked a mile back before he found spot where they used to crash at night.
He placed her body on the straw mattress that she used to let him sleep on when he was kid. Then he started to look around for a shovel. He found one just under the broken table. He picked it up and walked back outside and dug right in front of the cavern. So that she could always see the setting sun. As we went back he wondered what was in this duffle bag of hers that was now his. When he got back to Sara’s body all he saw was just clothing. Nothing else.
Perplexed he ran back out to the front of the cavern to see if anyone was there. Nothing. He would have noticed anyone carrying her body and he knew that the cave was empty. He sighed feeling like a failure to even bury her body properly.
“Sara. I failed to give you a proper burial, and more so I failed to protect you. Forgive me.” He said to the empty winds looking at the now setting sun.
He opened the duffle back and slowly pulled out at DL-44 blaster that had the sight taken off. It was turned at an awkward angle on the belt. He placed it on and it fit on the small of his back, and had the handle turned up on his left side. He pulled it out and it moved smoothly and quickly. He had to turn his head to place it back in.
“That is going to take some training.” He said with a slight smile.
Next he pulled out a vibrosword encased in a hide he never seen before that looked like it went over his back. He placed it on and the strap went down from his left shoulder around the right side of his waist. It complemented the guns angle perfectly. Of course everything that Sara had was perfect before she died. The last item he pulled out was a lightsaber, with a wolves head on each end. He couldn’t tell the metal, for it was one he had never seen before. He tried to activate it, seeing a switch on it, but nothing happened. He clipped it to his belt. Not caring that it didn’t work. One day he would fix it. One day he would bring justice to those who wronged him, and those who got wronged in the town.
He leaned against the stone wall of the entrance to the cavern, then slowly drifted off to sleep. At first light he headed north, to one of Corellia’s major cities to go to a spaceport and leave this planet for a while. He needed space form his home. He lost much over the years and he had a feeling that he would lose more, and gain more before the end. He sighed heavily wishing that Sara was there with him for the long journey. Little did he realize that she was there, she was looking at him sighing heavily from the entrance of the cavern.
“Moron, you’ll find your next master and they will train you well, and when you’re in desperate need of guidance I will be there for you always.” Sara said fading back into the force, following Mactire on the winds and on his trials ahead of him.