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“Your reaction time is pretty good, you know?” May ignored the Handmaiden in her grasp and blitzed toward a large, open chamber within the base. From the moment she’d hauled this woman into the air, Brianna landed blow after useless blow against May’s body. “But this kind of fighting isn’t something you can use against me…”

May waved away the HK units in the room, a chamber clearly designed for large groups to spar. Another flick of her hands sent Brianna into a spin along the floor, one that the Handmaiden halted with eerie grace.

“I’ve been told that you prefer to learn about someone through combat, so I figured we could have a match,” May gave the woman an appreciative glance. Brianna kept calm and collected, focused despite her failure to harm her captor. “You’re welcome to use any weapon you’d like, but I’ll stay unarmed… I’m not experienced enough with weapons to be certain I won’t accidentally kill you.”

“You overestimate yourself, or underestimate me,” Brianna raised her fists in a practised guard, a strange martial art that May recognized. Canderous was trained in something similar, though it was less graceful when used with his hulking body. “Why have you come here? Mistress Atris has done nothing to you, or your Emperor!”

“We’re not here for Atris,” May smiled and raised her own fists. She might be focused on magical over physical combat, but she sat in on enough of Canderous’ lessons to handle herself. “That woman you serve isn’t worth this kind of effort.”

May motioned for Brianna to begin with an upcurve of her fingers, a motion that was answered with a practised set of fists. The Handmaiden danced forward and lashed out, face set in an angered mask. May maintained her smile and matched her movements like a mirror.

“Then why? What other purpose could bring you here?” Brianna’s brow furrowed as May effortlessly copied her attacks, fist against fist and knee against knee. No matter how fast the Handmaiden pushed herself, May followed her with a casual agility. “Atris is the only important person in this base, I don’t believe you’d break into our home for nothing!”

“Now it’s you that’s underestimating your own value,” May shook her head and placed a hand behind her back. Brianna’s attacks came so slowly in her eyes, it was easy to intercept them all with a single palm. “We came here for you, daughter of the great Echani General Yusanis and the Jedi Master Arren Kae.”

“You lie, I…” Brianna’s stance faltered at May’s casual mention of her lineage. She was unaware of her mother’s identity, or had been until this moment. Dan had briefed May on this young woman’s backstory, another tragedy created by the dogmatic evil that was the Jedi.

“I have no reason to lie to you, Brianna,” May shook her head and gently shifted the Handmaiden’s next combination of blows to the side. They came faster now, but with less polish, filled with the emotion visible behind the young woman’s eyes. “Your mother was cast aside by the Jedi, for the crime of having a daughter and a Partner that she loved.”

Brianna stepped back and closed her eyes. Several deep breaths later and she had reformed the cool composure she’d had at the start of their short spar. May met the woman’s gaze, unflinching and ready to continue, but the Handmaiden’s fists unclenched as her arms returned to her sides.

“This battle is pointless… I can’t learn anything unless you fight sincerely,” Brianna rolled her shoulders, a failed attempt to lessen the tension seated there. May raised a hand and waved, a simple spell that relaxed the Handmaiden’s coiled muscles. “...thanks… are you also a Jedi, like master Atris?”

“No, I’m not like Atris… and she’s no more a Jedi than I am a Hutt,” May sighed as the Handmaiden returned to the topic of her Master, a deflection from their discussion of her lineage. She needed to focus Brianna away from her mindless obedience to the fallen Jedi and onto her own situation. “You said I should fight seriously, or you won’t learn anything about me?”

May’s smile took on a slightly wicked tilt as she reached within and touched on the core of her magic. Light filled her body, channelled by her will to take the shape of complicated runes. They slipped from her skin and coiled over her body, silver-gold scripture that changed her from a young woman to a luminous Sorceress.

“How much would you learn, if I reduced this world to ash and fire with a single wave of my hand?” May’s voice resonated with terrible force, filled with the spark of her magic. Coiled serpents, winged salamanders of molten iron, crawled from the runic formation at her back. “One of these beasts would be enough to bring ruin to this planet, despite their diminutive size.”

Brianna staggered back from the tremendous heat, the air around them converted to a blast furnace by the tiny lizards that flew around May’s empowered figure. She opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by the sudden appearance of another person within the flame.

“Playing with fire, are we?” Dan reached out and scratched a salamander under the jaw, immune as the little beast nipped at his fingers. May smiled and snapped her fingers, a signal that ended her spell and returned the salamanders to their realm of origin. “How goes your conversation?”

“I’m not sure yet,” May shrugged as she turned back to Brianna. “I was just showing the Handmaiden here why fighting seriously would be very bad for her health.”

Dan laughed and let his gaze travel to the short haired woman, eyes filled with the deep blue of his ki. For a moment, his true power rippled into the chamber. It spread in a wave that battered the walls and forced Brianna to her knees. The display vashied as quickly as it came, replaced by Dan’s normal laid-back grin.

“May’s right on that one, it would take a vast amount of effort for you to be a worthy opponent to either of us,” Dan rolled his shoulders and squinted through the deformed wall to his left. “It looks like Atris has actually chosen to come with us, but I’m not sure if she’s fully on board just yet.”

“I think you broke her,” May reached out and gave Dan’s cheek a gentle flick, before she motioned toward the paralysed Handmaiden. She stared at Dan like she’d encountered a true horror, locked in position like a prey animal too afraid to run. “You go finish with the others, I’ll make sure Brianna here finds her way onto the ship.”