Salvation

[Svo'k Lynd]

“No one’s ever really gone.”

– Luke Skywalker

"What am I doing?"

Fixing a wrong, that's what he was doing here as he eyed the desert planet from space and approached in a small ship. He wondered what people thought he was doing in his two week leave after being Knighted. There was a strong sinking feeling in his stomach as he entered the atmosphere and flew down through ten thousand meters. He looked down at his scope the readings were inconclusive, he was hoping to avoid any encounters with sentient beings and he was sure the area he was going to was likely free of them there never were any except the three of them all those years ago.

He could feel it now as he neared the ground, his muscle memory was taking over and even though he had not been here in more than half a life time, he knew exactly where he was going like had never left. That was an unsettling feeling. The thought of how easy it was to find his way around this wicked world was a sobering reminder of what he once was. He took a long breath in as the craft touched down, the darkness inherent in the planet itself tried to penetrate his defenses but he focused and held strong. He took his headset off and began the power down procedures for his ship, but he wasn't dumb. He didn't turn everything off, he left the generators running to keep the engines ready if he needed to leave immediately. He entered a passcode into the ships main computer and locked out the controls so no one but him could access them but him. The canopy opened and the sand hit him immediately stinging his face, a bittersweet nostalgia swept over him.

This had been his home for many years whether he liked it or not this is where he spent his formative years and this is where he learned the ways of the force, the Dark Side of the force that is. His blue eyes scanned the area and he saw the dwelling built into the rocks just as he did on his first day here as scared and grieving six year old boy.

He approached, cautiously. I reached out trying to feel his way around the area, but his senses were clouded by the dark side's ever present shadow in this place. Not taking any chances, he drew his lightsaber and held it in his right hand, blade still housed safely in it's hilt. As he approached the door, he punched in the code from memory just like did as a student. It slid mostly open but made a horrible grinding noise and stopped a bit more than halfway. No one had been here in years, clearly and that was a good thing. He pushed his way past the door and his hand found the light controls, they flickered on reluctantly, humming ominously as what was left of their life was unclear. He looked around his former Sith home, and shook his head. He was here for one thing and one thing only...well two things. He walked down the hall towards his bedroom, the room he had shared with his best friend and brother for six years. He pushed the door open and the lights came on, dimly. He looked to see his bed still there, just as he had left it that last time he had left for Ossus with Real. He walked toward the bed and found the spot on the wall that he had very subtly marked as a twelve year old.

He clipped his lightsaber to his belt and reached into his pocket retrieving a brown leather glove which he slid over his right hand. He kneeled down on his former bed which creaked and split in the middle where it had been pushed together to form a larger bed once Anakin had died. He shook his head at the coldness of it all and what he had done. He looked at the spot, tapped it to ensure it was what he thought it was and punched it with his right hand. The wall pulverized and a small hole opened, he reached in as dozens of insects crawled over his hand, he quickly grabbed the bag and pulled it out of the wall shaking the bugs from his hand.

"Kriffing squellbugs. I hated them as a kid and Jedi or not, I hate them now."

He opened the bag carefully and pulled out a photograph of a much younger version of himself and Anakin clad in black Sith robes, Anakin's arm extended holding the camera as they tried to look menacing as possible, but still there was a sense of innocent about them. Also in the bag as a red kyber crystal that had been made to bleed by Anakin himself, he remembered when they made their first real lightsabers, the ones that weren't given to them, he remembered the hate and anger they dumped into each of the crystals and shook his head with a look of disgust on his face. He'd deal with the crystal later, he put both items back into the bag and tucked them into his cloak.

He had to hide those items because keeping anything of Anakin's was strictly forbidden, as young Sith he had been made to purge their room of any shred of the other boy. Svo'k obeyed mostly, after Anakin had died he was made to destroy his lightsaber but secretly stole the crystal and kept the photograph of the two of them together in the safest place he could...the wall. He had coated the bag with a substance that prevented the dark energy from the crystal from being sensed. He wasn't a dumb kid, even if he did dumb things later.

Svo'k took one last look around the room and exited, turning the lights off in the house he pulled his brown hood up once more and made his way a few hundred meters into the desert. Once again sensing his surroundings as he approached the spot, he could sense it, even if time had worn away the marker he had made for him. Svo'k dropped to his knees and started to dig, after many minutes he felt the cold metal. He dug faster and freed the Sith urn from the ground and quickly pulled it out, he read the inscription in ancient Sith, a language which he never would speak again but in which he was still fluent in all aspects.

"Hey dude. It's been awhile."

A few tears rolled down his cheeks as he blinked rapidly.

"I'm taking you home my friend, so you can finally rest."

Svo'k wiped the snot from his nose as he snorted again. He felt the dark energy surrounding the urn and stood up with it and walked back to his ship. After the short hike Svo'k climbed into the ship, the items he had came for and the worldy remains of his brother in towe. He closed the canopy of the two seated ship powered on the engines. He opened a storage compartment at his left side and pulled out a container, he pulled it to his lap and opened it, a beautiful new urn with Anakin's name and date of birth and death was on it, along with the symbol of the Jedi order.

Svo'k set it upright in his lap and undid the hermetically sealed lid and set it in the copilot seat even placing the seatbelt around it to enusre it stayed still. He then leaned to his right and picked up the urn which held the remains of Anakin, he repeated the same procedure of opening the lid and set it aside and carefully with the aide of the force transported Anakin's ashes into the new urn. He remembered his friend and said a few silent prayers for him as he did so, the tears flowing freely but not breaking his concentration. He closed the lid on the new peaceful and light imbued urn and place it back in it's container. As for the old one he took one last look at as he replaced the after ensuring he had transported all of Anakin out it. Nothing could be left to chance. He nodded and opened the canopy once more threw it out and force crushed it into oblivion.

He nodded with resolve and took off, he was never more glad to free from that hell scape of a planet. Once he made the jump for hyperspace and set the ship on autopilot he had two more tasks at hand first, the crystal which he retrieved from the bag inside his robes. He took it in his hands and levitated it in front of him. He closed his eyes and entered into a deep mediation, he concentrated on the the undeniably good qualities that Anakin had possessed in life and focused on dumping all of the light sided energy he could into healing the crystal but still keeping it true to Anakin Talon, the boy who had found it and inserted into his lightsaber. After several hours the crystal began to glow a brilliant white as the dark energy had finally been purged from it and all that remained was pure lightsided energy. Svo'k opened his eyes and smiled as the crystal fell into his red and black hands once more. He could still feel it, it was undeniably still Anakin's he could feel a tinge of his friend's aura in it, but only the good side of his aura, it was good to feel that again.

Hours passed and the familiar green and blue planet came into his field of view as he dropped from hyperspace and he was ensure to scan the photo of he and his brother into his datapad.

Naboo.

Svo'k's ship entered the atmosphere and he navigated around and headed off towards the lake country where Anakin had long ago told him he was born. During his time on Naboo as a Sith Svo'k had spent days looking for a particular tree that his friend had told him he used to play under before Realm had taken him, he never found it not as a Sith. However as Svo'k's ship touched down in a small clearing a few hundred meters from an abandoned family home. There stood a beautiful tree alone in a field of tall grass and flowers that Svo'k had found several days ago, when he was ready to find it, it was if it had called to him. This was the place.

Svo'k carefully took the urn and opened the canopy of the ship and exited with his best friend and the article he had retrieved from Korriban. Svo'k made his way to the tree, a hole that had been freshly dug was covered with a tarp and was towered over with small but beautiful white headstone. Svo'k placed the urn in water tight box that he had set there earlier in the week there was room for a few other things in there as well, Svo'k knelt down and placed the original picture of the two of them on top of the urn. He then retrieved the kyber crystal and stood up. With his free hand he pulled a second brand new lightsaber from his belt, it's hilt beautifully fashioned to be an exact replica of his friend's hilt. Svo'k smiled and opened it up and placed the original but newly purified crystal inside of it. He stood straight up and raised his hood standing over the box and and urn he ignited the lightsaber it's brilliant and pure white blade hummed as held it in front of him.

"Anakin Talon, I dub thee Honorary Jedi Knight, protector of peace and guardian of the innocent."

Tears rolled down Svo'k's face as he extinguished the blade and dropped to his knees. He took the hilt and laid it flat in both hands and set it respectfully in the box next to the urn.

"May you rest in peace forever."

Svo'k wiped the tears from his face, a few of them finding the way into the box and landing on the urn.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you, you didn't deserve that. You were the best friend and brother I could have ever asked for. I hope that this at least makes up for some of it. I love you man and I always will, I wish you could be with me now, I hope someday I'll see you again."

He closed the box with the utmost respect and ensured that it was sealed. He removed the tarp and placed the box in the hole. He placed both hands on it and closed his eyes once more entering deep meditation he poured of the light sided energy he could into the wordly remains of his friend and brother and soon it too started to glow. Svo'k opened his eyes tears still staining his cheeks he managed a smile and removed his hands from the box and slowly filled the hole with dirt and covered it with grass and flower seeds.

He stood up and looked down at the headstone placing his hand on it one last time. He turned away and closed his eyes, feeling a since of grief, but at the same time closure and happiness that his brother was finally truly at peace. He nodded and opened his eyes, a blue light appeared before him....and slowly the form of twelve year old Anakin appeared before him.

"Thank you Svo'k."

He reached up and and patted Svo'k on the shoulder before pulling him in for a brief hug before disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.

Svo'k smiled, his tears subsided as he felt Anakin's light sided aura and the warm embrace of his embrace. He nodded with satisfaction and turned away and made his way back to ship...