CHAPTER ONE
The Lost
Lenora's mood deteriorated with each twig and branch that swiped against her side, with each spiderweb she broke with her arms and peeled away from her face. She was at least thankful she chose to wear a long sleeves. Feeling a slight chill in the air on this otherwise warm day she spurned the bare-midriff that was her usual fare. The unexpected trek through yet another Tython forest wore on her patience and she doubted she would have agreed to go had she worn less.
The forest was dim as if near dusk but a peek up through the trees revealed a bright sun shining high overhead.
"How much further?" she asked her guide as she tugged at a wisp of hair from her ponytail that had gotten tangled around a thin stem protruding from a tree branch she partially ducked under.
"We'll be out of the forest in a few minutes," Nalen responded without looking back.
The stocky Twi'lek with blue skin seemed indifferent to Lenora's discomfort. He wasn't sure he even wanted her here but the other two members of his entourage insisted he take her with them. They didn't seem to struggle as much as she did to walk through the wilderness.
"The Flesh-Raiders don't like the woods. They seem to stay only in the open places," he added.
"Well, that's one thing they have going for them," she answered while spitting out whatever had just flown into her mouth. Nalen wasn't amused.
As promised, the three Twi'leks and Lenora cleared the forest in only a few minutes. Nalen adjusted the blaster slung across his back and straightened his vest. Lenora stretched her back and tried to pick a few more broken sticks out of her hair. The other two sat on the ground taking the time to catch their breath without a word.
Nalen sized up Lenora. While almost every Jedi he had seen had been in good shape he could see she was better than most. She looked annoyed by the long uphill hike through the woods but not fatigued at all. He wasn't expecting that.
"Have you ever fought a Flesh-Raider, Jedi?" he asked.
She turned to face Nalen just realizing that he was watching her groom herself.
"I have," she said as she finished grooming and threw her ponytail over her shoulder.
"How many of them could you defeat, fighting them at the same time, would you say?"
The other two Twi'leks' attention peaked as the two warriors seemed to size each other up.
"Why do you ask? Is this a competition?"
"No. I couldn't take more than one, assuming I had enough distance between us. It takes at least four of five shots with this," he said patting his blaster, "to bring one down. Up close, hand to hand, I wouldn't last a second. You Jedi though seem to do all your fighting up close."
"Well, I'd say three without too much trouble. Four might start to become problematic because they swarm. One might be able to grab hold of me, and then I'd be in trouble."
"So four then?" Nalen asked.
"I thought the villagers said there was only one anyway."
"It was one that attacked, but there will be more. This is where they live. I'm wondering what our cutoff will be."
"Let's just hope it's still one."
The other two nodded in approval of such hope. Nalen paused to allow a respectful time to pass before following up a positive thought with an accusation.
"The Jedi could wipe them out, you know?"
"They're sentient," Lenora reminded him.
Nalen laughed in disgust.
"They are no such thing. They are mindless brutes that don't deserve to live."
"They are sentient. This is their home too. They have as much right to be here as any of us do. They will just have to learn to limit their hunting to animals. Learn to ignore us."
"Easy to say while you sit safely in your Jedi Temple. We have to fight these things every day."
"I can't speak for the Jedi. But I can tell you, at least, we're not about to wipe out a species for your benefit. That's not what we do."
"Let's get this over with," Nalen concluded the conversation before it really got started. "Hopefully we can at least save one life today."
Lenora nodded in agreement and let the conversation end. She didn't want to go down that road anyway. The other two Twi'leks were rested enough to continue.
"We're close now, but we'll go around the east side to stay downwind. These things are blind and practically deaf. As long as they don't get a whiff of us we'll be able to get pretty close."
With that Nalen led the group off to the east.
The next part of the journey was much easier. While they still walked uphill, there were no trees or bushes to navigate through, just a relatively flat, rocky terrain. It was about another half hour when Nalen crouched against some rocks along a ridge overlooking a valley several yards below them.
"Damn," he whispered under his breath as he took a seat on the floor. The other three pulled up next to him and peeked over the ridge.
He counted at least twelve Flesh-Raiders in the valley. Probably more nearby. In the middle of the beasts a small Twi'lek boy, no more than seven years old, laid curled up in a ball except for one leg that jutted out in an unnatural position. One Flesh-Raider sat on a stump very close to him. The rest moved around, grunting, occasionally shoving another one or threatening one another with a club.
Nalen got angry.
"Your Council should have sent more," he said in a harsh whisper.
"They didn't send me. I just happened to be here," Lenora corrected him. She looked over the ridge at the large number of Raiders, then back to the boy. He didn't move but she could sense that he was still alive.
"He looks hurt, but he's alive…hey!" she exclaimed as she pulled Nalen's blaster that he aimed at the boy away from his shoulder. He yanked his weapon out of her hand.
"I'm not going to leave him to these monsters. I will end it painlessly. Another one lost while you Jedi do nothing."
"You can't kill him. We're here to rescue him."
"Rescue is no longer an option. I can get off one shot and then we'll run."
"You can't."
Nalen's temper flared again.
"This is shocking to you? We make these decisions every day. This is how we live. If you don't like it go tell your masters to do something about it."
"Don't kill him. I will get him out."
The three Twi'leks just stared at her. Nalen wore his anger on his face. The other two were more curious and sad.
"Look, you three go back to the village. I'll try to rescue him. If I have to fight I won't be able to protect all of you."
"You two go back," Nalen said to his companions. "I'm staying here. I won't let that child suffer. If you get caught, I will finish him and flee."
"I understand," Lenora said solemnly. "Just give me time."
The two left as instructed. Lenora waited for them to get some distance away before she slid away from Nalen to begin her descent.
"Listen," Nalen called to her, still in a harsh whisper although with less anger. She looked back.
"Look. I'm only going to have one shot, and it's for the kid. If they get you, I mean, I might not be able to get two shots. I'll have to run."
Lenora nodded and started walking down the ridge into the clearing below.
The naked landscape offered no chance to hide her approach. She stepped carefully down the slope. She kept her balance even as the ground frequently gave out under her steps sending small rocks and clumps of dirt rolling down the hill. She kept her breathing steady.
The Flesh Raiders didn't seem to notice her approach until she was very close. The first to notice her raised its box-shaped head into the air and took a deep breath. It snorted out an exhale and turned to face Lenora. One by one, they turned in her direction. The smallest of them stood over seven feet tall. Their blubbery bodies glistened with sweat and their stench made Lenora want to wretch. She pulled her lightsaber hilt from her side and held it up high in front of her parallel to the ground. The sun, still high in the sky, reflected off the metal.
The creatures acted confused by her presence and they made no immediate effort to attack though the hostility was growing as quickly as their curiosity was subsiding. Lenora ignited her saber. Two green beams shot out from both ends. The sudden burst of light and whooshing sound startled those creatures closest and the hostility dropped momentarily. Lenora moved slowly through the group keeping the saber high. She hoped it would be enough to keep them from attacking.
Having reached the center of the plateau she started backing up to the young boy. He opened his eyes when he heard the lightsaber turn on. He watched Lenora backing up to him. The one Raider that seemed to be guarding the boy stood up and moved a step back away from Lenora. She stopped moving and turned slowly showing them all the green light.
"Are you ok?" she asked the boy, "can you walk?"
"No," he answered through sniffles.
Lenora lowered herself down to one knee and turned her head to look over her shoulder at his leg. The break was obvious. The attention she paid to the boy seemed to increase the grumbling among the Raiders.
"Listen. I'm gonna have to carry you out of here. When I pick you up, it's really gonna hurt. You have to be brave, ok?"
The boy wiped his nose with his sleeve and sniffled again. Keeping her saber up high she reached behind her and took him by the hand. As soon she touched him a Raider's grumble elevated to a fierce growl. She let go of him and stood back up facing the angry brute. His anger spread to the whole group and they quickly took positions surrounding her. She swung around trying to generate as much noise as possible with the lightsaber but they would not be deterred. The closest raised a club high in the air. Before it could swing down with it Lenora sent a telekinetic burst at the creature. She had somehow learned to direct and concentrate the power into a small area of effect. The concentrated blast slammed into the creature's chest. The impact was not hard enough to knock the beast down but the blast injured it severely. It turned and staggered around clutching its chest before falling onto its knees.
Lenora flourished her saber again but the noise had no effect. The circle of meat started to close in on her. For an instant she felt as if she could hear Nalen's thoughts. She felt his tension rise as he raised his rifle and took aim on the boy. She thought of grabbing the kid and seeing if she could use a burst of speed to get them out but she never tried running up such a steep hill with a ground that was giving way, while carrying someone. It didn't seem like much of an option.
"I don't want to hurt you," she shouted at the dumb creatures.
Clubs began to descend on her from all directions. The attacks were clumsy and slow and she had no trouble ducking under them and cutting them with her saber. But the creatures did not retreat. Her movements put her in the center of a group of the Raiders. On cue they all closed the distance to her. She could not dodge and had no choice.
She picked one and leapt forward decapitating it and with a shoulder charge knocked the blubbery body over to escape from the circle. The attacks continued unabated. Another flourish with the saber removed an arm. A low swing took off a leg. But still the creatures kept closing in. She was losing track of them all and allowed one to get too close to her from behind. She stabbed it through the chest, killing it instantly but its forward motion caused it to fall on top of her. She ran forward trying to get out from under it, right into the arms of another Raider. She stabbed it in gut and raised her saber up into its chest. It took only a moment for it to die but it was enough time for it grab her leg as it did. Pinned in place by the dying creature she swung wildly at the circle in all directions. Pieces of the creatures flew through the air after each swing while she yanked desperately at her leg to get it free.
She suppressed the panic that was bubbling up inside her. She used a controlled swing to attack one beast while using the opposite side of the saber to cut the beast's arm off that held her in place. She jumped away from the crowd and killed another Flesh-Raider as she landed.
As quickly as it started the attack stopped. Six of the creatures lay on the floor dead. Two more retreated from the scene with missing limbs. The remaining creatures just stood there watching her.
Lenora held her saber up, as she did when she started. The creatures did not retreat. They just stood there grumbling. She stared them down, one by one. Finally one of the beasts turned his back to her, walked a few paces away and sat down resting its club across his lap. Two more snorted and backed away from her and went back to growling at each other. Soon there was only one still paying attention to her though at a safe distance.
She worked her way back over to the young Twi'lek. He had started crying when the battle started and now was breathing deeply trying to stop. Lenora dropped to one knee and pulled him up into a sitting position by his hand. She bent over him and he threw his arms around her neck. She secured him around his waist and stood up. He shrieked when his leg moved as she lifted him off the floor. She bounced him up onto her hip and he squealed again.
"I know, I'm sorry," she tried to apologize to him. Keeping her saber up she moved slowly back the way she came. The Flesh-Raiders ignored her as she made her way back to the ridge.
At the top she and Nalen stood face to face. He just shook his head at her.
"I almost took the shot," he said.
"I know."
"I guess you can actually take about seven."
Lenora looked back down the hill at the pile of dead bodies.
"Who knew? At least now we know self-preservation is an instinct they possess after all."
"Do you want me to carry him?"
"I'll take him for now. We don't want to move that leg too much. We'll switch off when I get tired."
The two left and walked back to the Kalikori Village. She never did get tired and carried him the whole way.
