Trust In Death
Chapter One
There was fire. Everything around him was burning. He saw bodies, some dead, other's thrashing around like Kowakian Monkey-Lizards. He moved to help the ones that were moving, but a few blazing pieces of stone falling from the sky changed his mind. He knew, somewhere in the depths of his mind, that he was on a mission. He was trying to save a life. But his primal instincts in control at the moment. He ran through a doorway, when out of the flames burst an armoured figure with more flames bursting from his back. He immediately came up with a plan. He jumped, flying through the air, acrobatically spinning and twisting to avoid the blazing debris. He landed on top of the armoured figure. The figure began to thrash around, not unlike the burning people he had seen before, except instead of falling down, the both began to shoot straight up into the air. He smiled, the armoured one was falling right into his trap. Once they were clear of the building, he would leap off the figure, shooting himself out and launching the figure back in. But, the one thing he didn't account for was that the figure might be more skilled than he thought. As they both shot out of the roof of the building, he prepared to jump, but, in a split second, the armoured figure spun around, dumping him off. Then, the armoured figure proceeded to complete the spin, grab him as he fell, and then shot away from the burning building, which was now just a skeleton of durasteel bars. As they flew away, the smoke in the air began to fade, and his head cleared.
"Oh no." He said, as he realized who was carrying him.
"Don't you ever leave me in a burning building again Zerrick!" Shaela shot at him as she flew away with him in her arms.
"Yes ma'am," Zerrick said dimly, as his vision darkened at the edges and he slowly slid off into unconsciousness.
Lilith shivered as she walked briskly by the guards of her master's chambers. Her footsteps echoing loudly as she walked, she began to contemplate on what her master wanted. Darth Naelec was a Dark Lord of the Sith, and a Dark Council member to boot. He had served in the Dark Council for almost thirty five years, making him almost the longest lasting member. But, then again, what do you expect of an eight thousand year old Anzat Sith Lord? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the four guards flinch and straighten as Darth Naelec's voice came on the speaker's hidden in the walls.
"Enter, my apprentice." Lilith noted her masters perfectly calm, monotoning voice. He only did this when either seducing some unlucky sentient for his brain feed, or when he was extremely angry, which he almost never was. Lilith knew her master's reputation for fun and an excitable personality. She wondered what in the galaxy could have caused this much anger in a being who prided himself on his ability to keep a positive view on everything. As the black doors slowly growled open, which must have been an intimidation attempt for anyone visiting him, Lilith pondered on whether or not to even go in. The last apprentice who had gone in when Naelec was like this was now a small pile of dust in his museum. She shook off the thought, knowing her chances of backing out now were none. She slid through the small opening in the doors, and stood at the edge of the darkness, trying to gauge her masters position.
"Looking for someone apprentice?" A voice called from directly behind her. Lilith nearly jumped and screamed, but she held it to herself.
"Yes master, I am answering your summons." As she bowed, Naelec put a hand under her chin, and lifted her head. As always, she let loose a small sigh when she saw his appearance. He was a mildly tall, well-muscled humanoid. If not for the facial tendrils, he would have been instantly mistaken for human. But even with the snake-like appendages, he was beautiful. She remembered back to her Sith trials, when she first became Naelec's apprentice. Her trial had been unknown to her, until her master had called her up to his quarters one night on Korriban. She though she had been in trouble, for she had just failed to retrieve an artifact from the tomb of Ajunta Pall, the first Sith Lord. Once she had arrived though, her master had been sitting at his desk, smiling like a fool. She had immediately felt an extreme romantic feeling for him. She knew now that he had been using his extraordinary Anzat telepathy on her, but then, she thought she loved him. She would have done anything for him. Thankfully, she had been able to break his mental control over her, and she had sworn that no one would be able to control her like that again. So she had decided to follow the path of the Inquisitor, and she had amassed a great knowledge and ability in the arts of Sith sorcery. She snapped back to the present, in time to her her master say
"My spy network has been attacked. Twice in the last week, one in Nar Shaddaa, and one on Ziost of all places! I am enraged." He paused and stared hard at her.
" But of course you knew that. You will hunt down and destroy these dissidents. And if possible, leave one alive so I can find out who has the audacity to attack me. Now, leave!" Naelec shouted the last part as he threw Lilith out of his chambers. Lilith spun and thrashed as she flew, but she couldn't find leverage to stop. She eventually shot out the door and crashed into one of the troopers guarding the door, almost knocking him out of his armour.
"Ma'am! Are you alright?" The trooper inquired as he helped her up.
"Yes, thank you for your concern." Lilith said to him sweetly. Then she spun on her heel and stalked out the door.
Nex really didn't like T9. The droid was sarcastic, excellent at what he did, and an overall nice droid. But, he was so like Nex, he felt like he had to dislike the droid. And he was so lost in his thoughts on why he didn't like T9, the droid had opened the hangar door, and proceeded to poke him with the computer connecter stored in T9's body.
"What! Can't you see I'm busy?" Nex yelled at the droid, to which T9 spouted a long stream of beeps and blips which Nex guessed meant he had just been sitting there drooling. "All right, all right, I'm coming." Nex follow T9 out of their ship, a Corellian XS Stock light freighter Nex had dubbed the Rogue Knight and looked around, even climbed up onto the ship to look.
"There's nothing here! You brought me out here for absolutely no reason at all." And then Nex's eye's lit up.
"Is this payback for kicking you earlier? I told you I was sorry, your just so short and-" T9 began beeping and bonking Nex toward the ships hangar door, then turned around and used his connection to the ship and shined a few spotlights on a singular spot on the horizon.
"What is that? All I can see is a pinprick of orange . . ." Nex began muttering to himself about losing his marbles, whilst the small pinprick of orange came closer and closer, until it became an armoured figure carrying something big in it's arms. T9 beeped suddenly and happily.
"What? Shaela? She wouldn't be flying, she's out with Zerrick and . . . wait. Did you say flying here?" Nex ran out to where T9 sat beeping like a maniac, and finally spotted what T9 had.
"Is she holding Zerrick? Wait! Don't answer that!" He stopped T9 as he was about to let loose a string of beeps on why she had Zerrick.
"I'll get a medpack, you make sure they land ok, got it?" Nex didn't wait for an answer and ran into the Rogue Knight. Ok, medroom, where is it? Why do I never remember this? He thought to himself as he ran. There! Nex bolted into the medroom, shifted through every single cabinet, until, in the last one, he found the medpacks.
"Why are they never in the first place I look, only the last." He muttered to himself as he ran back outside. There, Shaela had already landed, and had Zerrick suspended on top of T9. Finally, a good use for that oversized tin can. Nex thought to himself. He ran up to Shaela and Zerrick, bent down and injected Zerrick in the arm with the medpack. Zerrick's unconscious body gave a jerk, then fell still.
"Is he . . ." Nex couldn't finish his sentence, because he was afraid of being correct. "No Nex, he's just unconscious." Shaela explained to him. Nex let out a long breath of relief, then flopped down on the ground.
"When was the last time we had a vacation? I mean, you, me and Zerrick? Sorry T9, my dream doesn't have tin cans in it." He told the droid when it beeped.
"Let's get him inside." Shaela ordered him. "Also, I don't think we've ever, or ever will get a vacation from Darooga." Nex sighed,
"Why, of all the Jedi in the galaxy, does Zerrick have to have the least fun one as his master." He muttered to himself. He and Shaela carefully carted Zerrick into the ship, whilst T9 sped by, beeping something about preparing the ship or else they'll all die.
"Um, please tell me if I'm wrong, bit did T9 just say we would all die?" Nex questioned Shaela. She looked as shocked as he did.
"I . . . I think he did." Nex took one last look at Zerrick's pale, sweating face, then raced to the cockpit. As he turned the corner and leaped into his pilot's chair, T9 warned him of five Sith MK. VI Interceptors speeding towards them.
"Aw, kriff it all! T9, tell Shaela that once she's done stabilizing Zerrick, she needs to get to the turret. I'll try to keep them off us for now!" Nex shouted to T9 as the little droid rolled away. Nex began a long stream of flips and maneuvers he either learned from his family, his teachers at the Corellian Academy, and a few he made up himself. The Rogue Knight spun, it twisted, it did death defying drops, but apparently the Sith had sent their best. The fighters kept on them, and did not seem to want to keep them alive. The fighters let loose with concussion missile, proton torpedoes and lasers.
"Since when do Interceptors have that much weaponry?" Nex mumbled to himself. Suddenly, one of the Interceptors disengaged and flew around the Rogue Knight. The Interceptor then began a suicide run straight toward Nex. No matter what he did, the fighter always stayed on him.
"No, no, no!" Nex screamed to no one in general. His friends were going to die, and it was all is fault. Then, from the Rogue Knights top turret, a bolt of green energy shot out and detonated the incoming fire.
"Now that's how you kill Sith!" An ecstatic voice came over the comlink.
"Shaela, if I didn't know you'd punch me, I'd kiss you!" Nex said with glee.
"Back off lover boy." Shaela scolded him, but Nex could hear the joking tone in her voice. Laughing, the both of them proceeded to spin, turn and blast the remaining fighters. Once they knew they were safe, Nex took the few seconds to plot a course to Corellia, where they were supposed to contact Master Darooga for their next mission. Once they were off, Shaela climbed down from the turret and strolled into the cockpit, smiling like a fool.
"That wasn't half bad!" She told him. Nex burst out laughing, and soon, they were both shaking in their chairs. Then, a voice called to them.
"Hey guys, just so you know, I don't appreciate the rocking and rolling." Shaela and Nex looked up and saw Zerrick standing there, with a sarcastic scolding look and his face. He looked back and forth at them, then burst out laughing.
"I have so missed making jokes, you know. So, what happened?" Zerrick looked from Nex to Shaela.
"Well, first you and Shaela landed and came in, then T9 and I took off, then we fought some Sith. You know, the usual." Nex explained.
"Well, that's good, because I'm going to sleep now." Zerrick barely finished his sentence before he tumbled down. Shaela jumped forward and caught him. She slowly helped him up and escorted him to the medroom.
"Damn Zerrick, how many times will you faint on this mission?" Nex said to no one in general.