#xusae

something a little different today we’re moving away from the main cast of Blurred Lines to tell a story about my Jedi Knight Dzûsa, if you caught it he was mentioned in a recent chapter so for those curious I’m writing a side story for him. It’s not at all necessary to read to understand the story but it’s some extra lore, the story will have two parts released between chapters in BL.

Dzûsa gets a lead and decides to get some backup in his hunt for the sith emperor 

Dzûsa’s finger rested just above his holocommuncator, calling her was kinda awkward but he had to admit if he wanted anyone’s help Lana’s would be the best for this mission. It was still so awkward after their kiss on Yavin IV, they should’ve talked since it but then he got so caught up with the search for Vitiate and had completely forgot to talk to her. The kiss still surprised him he thought he was too jedi and too old to have a chance with her, not that he looked old he kept his body tight like a temple but still being over 40 he was officially on the older end of the spectrum at least for jedi and sith. At least he was compared to all the others Theron and Lana had called in and somehow they were more capable to take down Revan than him seriously? he was mega capabale he’d killed vitiate, sort of. Dzûsa took a second to calm down he was off topic point is he definitely liked her but he may have blown it, he took a deep breath it didn’t matter this was more important than him finding love he had a possible lead on Vitiate he had to follow it up. Dzûsa was about 60% sure it was a trap but even so he’d take anything he could to find the sith emperor, Dzûsa felt anger well up inside him he couldn’t let that happen he had to do this, he took a long deep breath like Kavaraa had taught him. He thought that part of his life was over he’d finally repented for his past through Vitiates demise but he’d failed, Vitiate was still out there which meant there was still work to do.

The time for hesitating was over he pressed the call button and within a few seconds the form of Lana appeared on the holo, she seemed intrigued eyebrows raised.

“well Dzûsa what’s this about?” straight to the point no hello seemed about right for her

Dzûsa chuckled “well hello to you too Lana, I may have a lead” Lana’s eye’s widened

“on the sith emperor?” Dzûsa nodded Lana raised her eyebrow “how concrete” that was a reasonable question, all he could say really is it was more concrete than Marr going around wild space based off what he ‘sensed’.

Dzûsa rubbed his chin “not very concrete but it’s more than just I sensed him, I got an anonymous communication to meet on Sullust and that they have information on a possible location that could lead to the location of the emperor” Lana nodded seemingly unconvinced

She frowned “you’re aware of how much this sounds like a trap” she folder her arms at him

Dzûsa smiled “oh very much so it’s why I called you Blondie” Dzûsa could see Lana visibly wince at the nickname he knew she hated it most people hated the nicknames he gave them “point is I sense the part about the information isn’t a lie”

Lana sighed “so you want my help with this?” Dzûsa nodded “why not just get your crew to help” Dzûsa gritted his teeth

he chuckled “they’re not exactly what you’d call subtle Lana and uh neither am I” a smile crept onto Lana’s face 

she nodded “I suppose that’s true you’re not exactly Darth Nox” Dzûsa frowned Nox wasn’t all that he’d had to save her on Yavin IV once she’d totally been caught. 

Dzûsa grinned “yes but I know what i get when I save her” Lana glowered at him, he knew the saving Nox part had nothing to do with the kiss but it was still funny

Lana ignored the comment “right well I suggest we take a slightly more covert ship than yours” Dzûsa nodded the galactic hero look certainly wasn’t subtle not that he minded such a look

Dzûsa messed with the console “alright well meet me at these coordinates” Dzûsa turned off the holocommunicator, maybe he should’ve mentioned what the kiss meant but he could do that in person. 

Dzûsa got up he had to tell everyone he’d be away for a bit, he made his way to the cockpit where Kira was lounging “hey Carz I’m gonna be going on a mission with Lana so you’re in charge of the ship make sure they don’t burn the place down” Kira spun around with a curious look on her face

she leant forward “ooo a ‘covert mission’ how romantic Dzûsa” Dzûsa chuckled he swore Kira was more interested in him and Lana getting together than he was

Dzûsa smiled “well maybe something after the mission but it’s important so unfortunately it will have to wait” Kira frowned clearly disappointed.

Dzûsa heard a chuckle from behind him “huhuhu do my ears deceive me or has our old soldier finally found love” Doc sauntered up to the cockpit

wow all his friends cared more about his love life than Vitiate good to know “again Caterpillar this is a mission but I’m not responsible for what happens afterwards” Doc wiggled his eyebrows at Dzûsa 

Doc smiled “don’t worry we can give you plenty of alone time” Kira nodded raising her eyebrow

Dzûsa sighed “you two are insufferable, just look after the ship ok” they nodded confidently.

Later...

Dzûsa made his way into Lana’s ship it was certainly covert they may as well be in just a transport vessel, still it would do. He walked to the cockpit where he could see Lana already plotting the coordinates for Sullust “so was I the only one you could get?” Lana smiled at him

Dzûsa raised an eyebrow “well the Basen’thor was busy with some quest for knowledge as was Nox, Gacen probably wouldn’t be that helpful, Ash from my experience tries to avoid the force and Theron’s ran off somewhere again so yep I guess I had to go with you” Lana chuckled as he sat down “I’m joking of course you were first on my list” 

Lana smiled “well I’m certainly capable, give me the coordinates for this meeting spot” Dzûsa passed over the coordinates

They were silent for a few minutes while Lana put the ship into hyperspace, Dzûsa fidgeted awkwardly “so um are we gonna talk about it?” Lana turned to him and frowned

Lana folded her arms “talk about what?” was it not that big of a deal for her? it felt like a big deal to him

Dzûsa tried his best to act natural “you know the uh kiss on Yavin IV” Lana nodded not saying a word “uh did you uh well mind it?” was he making a much bigger deal out of this had sith culture changed since he’d left? is kissing just something people did?

Lana smiled “It was nice” she paused “better than I expected” well that was something he guessed

Dzûsa wasn’t sure how to go about this “well would you mind uh more than just a kiss” Lana frowned grinning at him

“if that’s your extremely weird way of asking me on a date then sure” Dzûsa let out a sigh of relief “why were you so nervous I’ve know you’ve had a crush on me since we met”

Dzûsa squirmed “well uh after I didn’t mention it for a while it just kept becoming more awkward I just got kinda caught up with the whole search for the emperor thing and I felt bad” Lana smiled at him shaking her head

“you do know that’s a good reason Red you don’t have to be at my beckon call, I actually kinda prefer it this way” Dzûsa relaxed a bit he must’ve gotten inside his own head there

Dzûsa stroked his chin “uh yeah I guess my prior romantic experience has left me a bit stunted on how to be well normal” Lana nodded, Dzûsa knew arranged marriages can often be like that

“yes your marriage didn’t seem the most normal or ya know your choice” Dzûsa was startled how did she know that he didn’t tell her or anyone

Dzûsa frowned “how did you know about her?” Lana rolled her eyes looking unsurprised

She smiled “I like to know the details of the people I’ve kissed” Dzûsa fidgeted in his seat he tried to keep his family a secret he’d moved on from it, but to be fair anyone with a brain could put it together he’d just rather move on

he wasn’t proud of what he used to be “so you know about my past? what I was?” Lana moved over to him 

she frowned “yes a guy pushed into the sith life by his family who still somehow managed to keep his humanity” Dzûsa frowned at her he didn’t remember it like that “Dzûsa I’ve studied your history in the Great Galactic war and as far as I can tell if you were never cruel you treated it like an honourable war, the only times I saw you do bad things is when you were manipulated into it” Dzûsa grimaced that didn’t absolve him he still did those things

Dzûsa sighed “Lana that doesn’t absolve what I did I scourged countless worlds we all did even if I didn’t know the details of what I was doing I should have realised I was stupid and reckless” Lana frowned folding her arms

Dzûsa hung his head “you were young and manipulated all sith go through that but you and me we’re those who rose above it” she lifted his head up “we’re the people who can break the cycle I’m a sith and I’m not evil and you renounced it all to help the galaxy family be damned that’s far more noble than most of the jedi you know” Dzûsa couldn’t agree she hadn’t seen it the things he’d done he spent his whole life repenting for the sins he committed but that didn’t mean he’d be forgiven

Dzûsa sighed “I’m not the hero people say Lana I’m just a guy trying to make up for the things he did, I’ll help as much as I can but I’m not to be forgiven” he looked at Lana for a long second before she leant in and kissed him

Dzûsa let her but broke away quickly, Lana held his head “guess what Red I forgive you, you’re far too hard on yourself and I bet everyone else does too” Dzûsa thought back to the day he left the sith, the day he met Orgus Din he’d promised to repent and Orgus had told him something similar he didn’t believe him then either. Maybe after Vitiate was gone he may be able to rest but he doubted it.

Dzûsa smiled “thanks Lana I don’t agree but thanks” Dzûsa did his best to put the thoughts to the back of his mind the past was the past he shouldn’t look back.

Lana nodded moving back to her seat “the sith are not all bad Dzûsa you and I are living proof” Dzûsa nodded he agreed with that, he left the sith because his path would leave him to evil but Lana was different he could sense it she was in it for more than just herself.

Dzûsa chuckled “I know one which could use a good beating though” Lana smiled nodding he couldn't wait to get rid of Vitiate, he knew he could do it again and maybe then he could rest.

Later...

The ship touched down outside an abandoned ship yard the lava around it slowly encroaching on the factory.

Dzûsa looked at it discouraged “well the chances of this being a trap are drastically increasing” Lana nodded agreeing almost immediately. 

Lana got up gesturing for him to follow “well let’s go spring the trap then we’re more than capable” Dzûsa followed her doing his best to be sneaky. They made their way up to the entrance of the factory with Dzûsa’s imposing form only bumping into about three things “ok seriously Red just take it slow ok” Dzûsa nodded doing his best to keep quiet, he’d been told on many occasions he was loud so thought it best to just be silent. 

They crept into the factory through corridors full of broken down droids until they reached a large assembly line room.

Dzûsa frowned “well this is where I was told to meet the contact so either they’re hiding or we’ve been duped” hopefully that would draw them out

sure enough a voice echoed from the darkness “I had to see if it was true for myself” the voice was slightly garbled but Dzûsa swore he recognised it “if the sith were working with the traitor of the Zatân family” Dzûsa’s eyes widened no no not again not here. A form dropped from the ceiling in front of them cloaked with a mask on his signature look, Lana stepped back immediately drawing her saber. 

He clicked his neck walking towards then “who are you” Lana growled at him

Dûshto chuckled removing his mask to reveal the red skinned pureblood “oh brother have you not mentioned me to your new flame” his bloodshot eyes bearing into Dzûsa’s soul

Dzûsa stayed silent in shock why couldn’t Dûshto just leave him be, Lana gasped “I thought your family were killed after your betrayal” Dzûsa assumed she’d read about that but it wasn’t well documented

Dûshto cackled “well I’m afraid my dear not all history is accurate” a long red pikesaber ignited “and my dear brother has yet to atone for his sins” with that Dûshto lunged at Dzûsa

https://open.spotify.com/track/7uU3Jb0ELZN8ilYwwMdEjd?si=-V0l9lsESUWv0yLU5zdCeA

Dzûsa quickly ignited his blue saber deflecting the lunge he jumped back as Dûshto spun around but before he could go for a second attack Lana slashed at him, he parried the attack snarling at Lana. 

Dzûsa could feel Dûshto’s potent anger as his mind raced with what to do “you stay out of this Blondie this is a family matter” with that he threw her across the room ok that’s it Dzûsa felt himself snap. He threw his saber forward as Dûshto turned to him with a smile, Dzûsa charged towards him at such speeds the saber hit Dûshto’s pike seconds before Dzûsa crashed into him with an earth shattering headbutt, Dûshto flew backwards against one for the conveyer belts slumping down against it with a scornful look, Dzûsa picked up his saber lunging forward towards him he never wanted to fight Dûshto but he blamed Dzûsa for everything hopefully he could just incapacitate him again. As he reached the conveyer belt Dûshto rolled out the way causing Dzûsa to stumble on the edge of the conveyer, Dûshto took the opportunity to slam Dzûsa’s head against the conveyer turning it on causing a searing pain to Dzûsa’s left side. This continued until he felt Dûshto‘s hand suddenly slip away he looked up to see Lana had tackled him and was now proceeding to punch him in the face while he laughed. Dûshto took the blows but then suddenly grabbed her by the neck lifting her up off the ground Lana tried to grab her saber but couldn’t reach it. Damn it Dzûsa had never been good with the force, he charged forward tackling Dûshto before he could go any futher he saw Lana tumble out of Dûshto’s hand as they flew to the floor. He paused there for a second saber held over his brother

Dûshto smiled “go ahead Dzûsa do it or are you gonna let me live you know I’ll just come back I always do” Dzûsa held his saber up as Dûshto continued to smile, then deignited the saber hitting him with the butt with a resonant crack. 

Dûshto fell unconscious while Dzûsa was breathing heavily “I’m so sorry for what happened to our family and for what it turned you into but I will never sink to your level brother” Dzûsa got up off Dûshto turning to see Lana getting up

Lana put her hands on her hips “so at what point were you going to tell me your brother was now psychotic and hell bent on your death” Dzûsa let out a half smile

“maybe on our date?” Lana chuckled walking over to him she looked down at Dûshto “so you just leave him alive every time?” Dzûsa sighed

he looked down at Dûshto “not every time the first few I tried to get through to him in prison but he’d need someone other than me to save him, he just has too much hate for me” they had never really got on but they were still brothers, Dzûsa hoped one day he’d realise that the vendetta wasn’t worth it especially now with the sith and empire working together, evidently not.

Dzûsa still sensed he had information of the sith emperor, he checked Dûshto’s pockets to find a holocommunicator he sensed it could be important. He turned to Lana as he did she answered a call it seemed to be from Darth Marr “yes sir, right away, I’ll be there” Dzûsa’s heart sank no he had a lead “I’m sorry Dzûsa I’m gonna have to take a rain check on that date Marr wants me for some mission on Ziost” Dzûsa nodded “I have to be there right away you don’t mind if you make your own way back right?”

Dzûsa smiled “oh don’t worry about me Blondie I’ll find a way of this rock easy enough get to Ziost Marr needs you” Lana nodded looking away for a second before giving him a quick peck on the cheek

Lana smiled as she walked away “don’t tell anyone alright I’ll keep your brother a secret if you don’t rave about ‘this’” Dzûsa watched her go with a smile oh well still more of a sure thing than before

Dzûsa turned to Dûshto’s communicator he turned it on to see a face he hadn’t seen in over 30 years, the face of his sister Xusae appear on the screen he hadn’t seen her since she was 5 she was all grown up now she had long black hair and wore an unassuming robe. 

Dzûsa did his best to hold himself together as she spoke “Dûshto I may have found a lead on a powerful force nexus the sith emperor had something to do with” Xusae paused looking behind her “a planet called Nathema in the outer rim please come here as soon as you can don’t use this as leverage for you know who” Dzûsa stepped back shocked Nathema he had to go right now for his sisters sake.