56 The Cardinal Part II

*PSHT* *PSHT* *PSHT*

I felt my body grow sluggish as the two versus one that I had found myself in dragged on. I was starting to get tired and began to get sloppy.

*PCHHT*

I winced as I felt a scorching sensation on my torso. "FUCK!"

The female warrior had just sent her lightsaber through the skin covering my rib cage. Thankfully, it was just a flesh wound. Although not life threatening, it was still unimaginably painful. It felt like the skin in that area had just been roasted over a fire.

A feeling of rage flickered through my mind before I snuffed it out. Now, nor never, was it the time to let my emotions hinder my progress. I must push through and persevere at all times.

I flipped my left lightsaber into a reverse grip and turned towards the female warrior, deciding to go all out on her and eliminate one of my remaining enemies. This needed to end soon before I collapsed from exhaustion. I had a long way to go before even being able to consider myself on the same level as my master.

I steeled my resolve and pushed off the ground, exploding towards my target. "AHHHHHH!"

Pushing my tired body to the max, I laid down my assault. I battered her with my right handed saber while sneaking in strikes with my left. She was barely blocking them as I released my full power onto her once again. This time, I wouldn't let up.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

On the sixth strike, she stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. Seeing this, I lunged forwards with my right hand lightsaber extended outwards.

*PSHHH*

My lightsaber pierced through her chest, snuffing out her feeble life. Her soul vanished as she died, hitting the ground after I pulled my lightsaber out of her.

Taking a deep breath, I sighed upon the exhale as I turned around to finish the job. I just wanted to sleep at that point. Rest was the only thing that could relieve me of this exhaustion.

-GE-

The battlefield was now quiet. All of the Imperial troopers were either dead or restrained. In addition, the five Sith that were present in the camp were also dead. It had been about 30 minutes since the battle ended.

I opened my eyes as I felt that meditation wouldn't help me recover any further. The force really was mystical. With a few deep breaths and a clear mind, I was able to find just a bit more energy to hold me over until I managed to reach a cot to sleep on.

Standing up from the small patch of grass I had found, I started walking across what used to be an Imperial Camp. I watched as our troopers either moved the prisoners of war or gathered whatever supplies we could commandeer.

After about a minute of walking at a slow pace, I found my master. He was meditating like I was just minutes ago. About ten feet to his right was a corpse wearing black robes. He was of a species I wasn't familiar with but that didn't matter.

Without even opening his eyes, my master reached behind his back before throwing a lightsaber towards me. "Have it."

I shook my head before tossing it back to him. He caught it without opening his eyes still. "I don't want it if I didn't earn it."

After a moment of silence, he nodded. "You may be strange, but you have strong morals and values. You will make a fine master some day."

I shrugged, slumping down to the ground on the same patch of grass he was sitting on. "Thanks, I guess."

Suddenly, I felt like an idiot. Without hesitation, I reached down to my belt and unclipped a small metallic cylinder. I pressed it onto my rib cage next to the lightsaber wound and then pushed the button on the other end.

The cooling sensation of bacta running through my blood quickly spread across my body. My exhaustion even receded slightly as my wound and even my sore muscles were healed at a rapid pace.

After dropping the syringe into my pocket, I cleared my mind, allowing it to connect to the force with full transparency. We had only done it a few times, but there was something special about meditating next to my master. It was oddly soothing.

The two of us sat there, unmoving, for almost a full hour before we were interrupted. "Soryn, we are heading back."

I pried my eyes open and found Galen standing in front of me. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and looked impatient. "Oh, ok. Let's go then."

My master and I stood up in unison as we started heading back towards the camp. As we walked, I got two notifications. One was expected but the other was quite weird.

[Quest Complete]

I ignored that one as levels were not really relevant any longer. In addition, the other rewards weren't really worth paying attention to unless it was an Epic quest or something equivalent.

[New Title Acquired]

[The Cardinal]

[During the Southern Battle of Kuat, a duel of unseen proportions took place. One Soryn Brenk took on and defeated four Sith Warriors. The troopers in the battalion accompanying him described the fight as the lone Jedi taking on a Sith that attacked from the North, South, East, and West. Thus, "The Cardinal" was born.]

I rolled my eyes upon reading the description. "Aghh, that's useless. Just give me more holocrons or something."

With this, I followed my fellow troopers back to our base camp. I planned on sleeping for the next three years once I got there. Unfortunately, I knew that now, since the biggest thorn in our side had been eliminated, it would be a matter of hours before the Imperial blockade was cleared. This would mean I had to leave the system and move on to wherever the Jedi Order would send me next. I hoped it would be something exciting.