Star Wars
Shadow of the Past
By Jacob Whittington
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
STAR WARS
SHADOW OF THE PAST
The Galactic Civil War rages throughout the galaxy. The Empire's new war machine, the Devastator, is nearing completion. When finished, this powerful battle station will rain destruction on the fleets of the Rebel Alliance.
Following the betrayal of Reina Starfire, the Rebellion has scattered to the far reaches of the galaxy in fear of an Imperial counterattack.
Imperial intelligence has followed a lead on hiding Rebels to the distant city-world of Nar Shaddaa. Enforcing a blockade of the planet, the Empire hopes to trap and capture any Rebels who wish to find solace there…
1
Space.
One definition of the word is emptiness. A continuous area or expanse that is free, available, or unoccupied. Such a meaning perfectly describes the unending nothingness that makes up what is Outer Space, the region of existence beyond friendly skies and homely doors. Yet, the emptiness is also completely indefinable. One cannot touch it, study it, tell a friend how space feels, because it is pure Nothing. It is the absence of everything and only exists where everything does not. At the same time, however, space is defined by everything in it. The vast emptiness is the container of all that is, and everything exists and moves in it. Everything is connected through space, and therefore everything is connected by nothing. The billions upon billions of individuals that live, thrive, and die on the uncountable worlds dispersed in space can claim all they want that they are disconnected from one another, but in fact they are irrevocably tied to each other. For their home is shared by all, and all must coexist within space, or chaos reigns supreme, and the home burns down around its residents.
The Galactic Civil War has done nothing to support coexistence in the galaxy. It has set the universe afire with combat as entire planets are destroyed and whole populations are wiped out. In other corners of the galaxy, slavery thrives and racism is found in abundance. At its very core, the home of all is corrupt and slowly rotting from within, as conflict rips and tears it apart from without. The shining jewel that once stood for peace, fairness and justice for all has become a mockery of what it once was. Still it gleams, but the light emitted from it is sickly and meaningless, save to those who bask in it. These many men and women are images of the center itself, as cruelty, malice, and an unsatisfied want for domination turn what once were good people into shadows of their former selves.
Far and away from the galactic center, another once-was jewel occupies a tiny portion of the vast dark. Nar Shaddaa, a famous trade hub and pleasure world, has existed as a cesspit and hideaway for the darkest and slimiest beings in the galaxy for thousands of years. Orbiting the crimelord world of Nal Hutta, the moon has attracted all sorts of life from across the galaxy. Although covered in a sprawling city that was built from centuries of prosperity and luxury, the illusion of well-being is easily cast away once one looks deep enough. Pirates, gangs, and killers take refuge deep below the city-world's towering skyscrapers and thrive in the deep mess of crime and misfortune that plagues the entire planet. Such has been the way of Nar Shaddaa for as long as any alive can remember, and such it will be until the last bit of life on the gray moon has been snuffed out.
The Empire, however, was not interested in the various scum and villainy of Nar Shaddaa. The blockade of dozens of Star Destroyers, wedge-like ships as gray as the world they surrounded, was not established to prevent mobsters and thieves from coming to or leaving the world. No, the Empire was searching endlessly for members of its hated enemy, the Rebel Alliance. Though the Rebels had gone into hiding after their defeat at Ord Ibanna, the Empire had not stopped pursuing them to the ends of the universe in an attempt to squash the revolution under its heel, putting an end to it forever. A vast network of Imperial intelligence had picked up information that some members of the Alliance might have made their way to the ruining city-planet, and the Emperor was quick to act on such knowledge. The blockade was hastily thrown together and sent to Nar Shaddaa, ensuring that no Rebel who might possibly be in hiding there could leave the planet.
However, after the initial excitement of setting up the blockade, not much had happened at Nar Shaddaa, because the Empire was doing just that—nothing. Or, rather, they were waiting. A very important person was coming to oversee the blockade, and until that person arrived, all the Imperials could do was wait. Finally, they knew their wait was over when another Star Destroyer, identical to its sisters surrounding the tiny gray orb, shot into the system and began drifting towards the planet.
As the Imperator exited hyperspace near Nar Shaddaa, the Star Destroyer's captain issued commands to fly closer to the blockade. As the knifelike ship neared the planet, a lone, pitch-black starfighter dropped out of its hangar bay and turned to face the other Star Destroyers. A single thruster on the rear of the extremely tiny fighter ignited bright green, and the ship shot at incredible speed toward the blockade.
Receiving confirmation that the starfighter was away, the Imperator's captain ordered the massive cruiser to leave the system. The Star Destroyer's job of ferrying the much smaller ship to Nar Shaddaa had been completed, and it was permitted to leave.
The small fighter with the bright green thruster almost blended into the blackness of the void. The speed it was traveling at should have been impossible for a ship of its size—the craft consisted of a ball cockpit, two side-mounted solar panels that jutted out like fangs, and the single ion engine that propelled it through the nothingness. It was completely and utterly dwarfed by the size of the Star Destroyers that made up the blockade it was advancing on. As the tiny craft came closer, its pilot slowed and initiated contact with the blockade commander. Transmitting the necessary codes, the starfighter asked to be admitted to the planet's surface. After receiving and double-checking the codes, the blockade commander granted the fighter access. The pilot gunned it again and sped into Nar Shaddaa's atmosphere, descending to the maze of stalagmitic structures.
Despite the Imperial blockade, night life went on at Nar Shaddaa. Above the pits of the criminal underworld, speeders drove about the sky lanes, refugees and shopkeepers struggled to make a living, and thousands of types of droids went around performing maintenance and other such tasks. Very few took notice of the small black starfighter as it entered the flow of daily business, and if they did, they paid it no more thought—either because they didn't know what significance the tiny ship, or they recognized it as an Imperial ship on a mission and wisely chose to stay away. A sense of urgency surrounded the dark fighter as it sailed through the night. Flying between numerous skyscrapers and high rises, various neon signs and spotlights reflected off its stark black paint. The clawlike appearance of its solar panels made it appear to be some fanged bat or bug gliding through the darkness, searching for prey. But the intention of the craft's pilot was not deadly, not tonight—there was a very important and very specific reason the pilot had come all the way out here, and at the moment there was no need for killing. Not yet.
At last, the small ship reached its destination. Just ahead, a massive disturbance upset the order of Nar Shaddaa's existence. Light from both artificial and natural sources fell under the shadow of a giant. Speeders veered out of the way of the monster as it hovered over the city. Mechanical, gigantic, and cold as death, a sign of Imperial dominance made its way above the structures and sky lanes, asserting its rule over the lesser life forms.
Above the city, Star Destroyer Executioner loomed like a death threat.
Approaching the massive Destroyer, the starfighter arced up and began heading toward the larger ship's hangar bay. The Executioner looked slightly larger than normal Star Destroyers and sported two massive bulb-like protrusions on each side, displaying its role as an interdictor ship. Interdictors were designed to pull enemy ships out of hyperspace and rob them of the ability to run away using powerful gravity wells, but it was no machine or tool that brought the starfighter toward it—just a single, imperative purpose. The massiveness of the Executioner quickly swallowed up the fighter until anyone watching could only identify the smaller ship as a black spec against the gigantic wedge of gray.
Slowing down again, the starfighter drifted into the Executioner's bay and descended, floating less than an inch above the deck. A full compliment of white-armored Imperial Stormtroopers was already there to greet the ship's pilot. An officer dressed in dark gray and black stepped forward, looking expectantly at the new arrival, waiting for the pilot to exit. The officer was a younger man with light-brown hair and a face that was lined a bit more than it should have been at his age. This man was Captain Forer and he was quite proud to have been recently put in charge of the Executioner. However, his pride was somewhat squelched by nervousness relating to the new arrival. If the pilot of that starfighter was who he thought it was, then a very dark power had just entered his ship.
The hatch of the SIE fighter opened with a hiss. A slim figure fully clothed in a black flight suit and helmet hoisted itself out of the cockpit and jumped to the deck. Forer's nervousness increased. The pilot's body was unmistakably feminine, as the leather flight suit was very form-fitting, revealing evidence of agility and power mixed with a dark beauty. A silver tube hung from her belt—some sort of weapon, Forer guessed. The pilot reached up and removed her helmet. Long dark brown hair cascaded down her back and framed her pale complexion. Forer noticed that her face was both soft and strong, and quite easy to look at. Deep green eyes stood out shockingly against the contrasting paleness of her skin and the blackness of her suit, and Forer found himself making eye contact with a woman who was both beautiful and terrible at the same time, and the event only drove his nervousness to unknown depths. There was no question about who his guest was. She was known as the Shield of the Empire, but normally she went by her birth name.
Reina Starfire tucked her helmet under one arm and advanced towards the Captain with purpose. Before he could speak, she held up one hand toward him.
"No need for pleasantries, Captain. I'm not here to play games."
Her voice was music to Forer's ears and yet sent chills down his spine. He had not met many Imperial women in his ten years of service, but he was sure he would never meet one like this ever again. He did his best to steady his voice and address his superior.
"Yes, Lady Reina. We are all prepared for the task you have placed before us."
She nodded and continued past him without saying anything. Forer rapidly turned and rushed to keep up with her as she made her way out of the hangar.
"Forgive me, my Lady, but is there any word from the Admiral? We have not heard from him for some time."
Reina did not grace the Captain with a look. "I'm sure you are aware that he is busy overseeing the construction of the Devastator. After all, that is the reason you are currently in command of this Star Destroyer, is it not?"
"Of course, my Lady," Forer replied. "I just wondered if there had been any change of plans—"
"There has not. Why would there be?" Reina finally stopped and stared at Forer. The gaze rooted him to the spot. "Everything is going as planned. The Rebellion has scattered and our superweapon's completion is at hand."
Forer gulped. He recalled that rumors stated this woman had saved the Devastator from destruction by turning on her own brother. If she was willing to do that, then she would certainly be ruthless enough to kill him on the spot if he bothered her too much. It was also said that Reina was an acolyte of the Force, similar to the legendary Lord Vader. If that was true, there were many, many ways he could die a painful death at her hands. Keeping those facts in mind, Forer promised himself to choose his words more carefully.
"I meant no disrespect, Lady Reina. I have the utmost trust in you, the Admiral, and the Emperor."
She did not move save to speak. "Then you will follow the orders I give to the letter and you will not muck them up. Are we clear?"
For emphasis, she patted the metallic tube on her belt. Forer eyed it nervously, now certain that it was indeed a weapon. "Very clear, my Lady."
She continued to stare almost unblinkingly. "I'm glad we understand each other. Get the search parties ready."
"They are ready, my Lady. They await only your order to depart."
"Consider the order given."
Forer nodded. "We will find them for you, Lady Reina."
"You had better." There was no threat in Reina's voice, but there was some emotion Forer could not quite decipher. "If my brother is here, then he must be located. I have some unfinished business to settle between us."
Forer bowed. He had known from the start who the blockade was set up to trap, and he was very grateful he was not in the place of the other. "The enemy will be ours in a few short days, my Lady."
Reina blinked. "Yes. The enemy." She was silent for a moment. "Carry on, Captain." Abruptly she broke the gaze, turned, and began walking briskly down the corridor away from him. Forer stared after her. He could have sworn in those last few seconds he had seen something in those green eyes of hers—had it been fear?
The Captain shook his head and started to make his way towards the assembled troops. It was not his place to wonder about such things—best leave them to the higher-ups. His present task was to follow his orders, and his orders were to find Arluin Starfire, no matter the cost.
Far below the metal cloud that was the Executioner, the streets of Nar Shaddaa bustled with activity. Denizens of all kinds made their way towards homes, jobs, and assorted illegal activities. In the shadows of the towering skyscrapers, on the lowest levels of the city, danger lurked for the unwary. Vermin skittered by in alleyways, clutching scraps of tossed-out food. Addicts and drunks stumbled around on their own, oblivious to the presence of others. Poverty-stricken refugees sat at corners and begged for spare money. Dirty shopkeepers tried to shout above their competitors, advertising wares of various low qualities. Neon lights bathed the streets in unnatural glows, creating a surreal scene that made one Amidst it all, no one bothered to notice that in the very bottom of one of the many towering apartment buildings, there was one door that had been shut for several weeks. It did not open. No one came in. No one went out.
Through that door was a series of small, connected rooms. All were cramped, plain, and dimly lit, as well as not very clean. But the occupants of these rooms did not care—they were grateful to have been able to locate them at all. For the rooms and the locked door essentially created a safehouse hidden in plain sight—perfect to hide in if you were on the run.
The largest of these rooms was a mechanics bay. The majority of space inside it was taken up by a broken-down starfighter that had not worked in two dozen years. Other occupants of the room were a scattering of tools and mechanical parts, a workbench, and an astromech droid. The droid was an R2 unit, a barrellike, tripodal droid that was easily found in most parts of the galaxy. The astromech showed evidence of wear and tear—there were a few dents in her plating, and her white-and-purple paint was dirty and smudged. She was currently in the process of sealing a hole in the starfighter, using a welding tool extended from her chassis. Sparks flashed in the room as the droid connected two sections of plating together. As she finished, she pulled the arm back, turned her domelike head and let out a short whistle.
Summoned by the droid's call, her master stepped out of an adjacent doorway into the room. He was as unclean as his droid, wearing a jumpsuit covered in grease, dirt and other sorts of muck. His brown hair was unkempt and showed signs of having been like that for some time. Welding goggles were strapped to his head and work gloves covered his hands. In one hand he clutched a circuit board.
"You've finished the welding on that side?" he called out to the astromech. In response he got a cheerful whistle. The man stepped towards the fighter and hauled himself into its open cockpit. Opening a panel, he placed the circuit board in and made sure it was connected to the rest of the ship's wiring. Once finished, he flipped a switch on the ship's dash.
Lights came alive all around the cockpit. The sight brought a grin to the man's face. He tore off the welding goggles, revealing green eyes and kind features. Leaning out of the cockpit, he grinned at his droid.
"One step closer, eh, Savior?" She beeped back at him with mirrored enthusiasm.
Arluin Starfire leapt out of the cockpit and went to stand next to his mechanical friend, admiring their work. He had found the fighter in one of Nar Shaddaa's many scrapyards and brought it back here to tinker with. At first he had only wanted to keep himself busy, but his interest in the ship grew as they had made more progress. He was now sure that in time she would be able to fly again. The thought increased the width of his smile. He'd learned a lot about machines over the past few weeks. Reina had always been the one—
Arluin's smile died as quickly as it had appeared. He felt a pit in his gut, just like he always did when his thoughts turned to his twin sister. Arluin slumped, feeling the energy leave him. He stumbled over to the workbench to sit down. Savior beeped at him concernedly. Arluin looked his droid in her singular black eye.
"Sorry, Savior. It's her again." His voice came out ragged and choked.
Savior hooted softly. Arluin had named his droid for the time she had saved him from an oncoming Imperial walker by using his fallen ship's shields to redirect a laser bolt back at it. Being a droid, Savior was incredibly smart, but even she could not help him when it came to Reina.
Arluin sighed heavily. The incident with the walker felt like it had happened years and years ago instead of weeks. That was back when Reina was still with him. They had just made contact with the Rebels and met their new friends—friends that Reina would later betray at the most critical moment in their lives. Everything had fallen apart that day. She had joined the Empire and begun serving Admiral Merik, a dark and mysterious man who had been hellbent on capturing the Starfires. He had partially succeeded, and Reina was now in the throes of the dark side of the Force. Arluin had dueled her over the core of the space station Devastator and lost. He had barely escaped with his life.
The Starfire twins were descendants of the long-deceased Jedi Knights and therefore had the potential for mastery over the mystical Force. Arluin remained on the light side of the Force, but ever since Reina's betrayal, he had not been able to call on it. Every time he tried, a vision of Reina swam in his head. Without the Force or his lightsabers, he was no different than any common Rebel.
Arluin's chest ached just thinking about it. He missed his twin terribly. He had always been there for her, looking out for her, and he felt that he had failed her. Guilt ate away at him, and he had begun to despair—one reason he had chosen to occupy himself with the restoration of the starfighter. Out of contact with the rest of the Alliance and unsure of what to do, he could only pass time until an opportunity came.
Banishing thoughts of Reina from his mind, he looked up at Savior. "I wonder where Joshua and Allia are?" he wondered aloud. "They should have been back by now."
Right on time, a hidden door in the wall hissed open and Arluin's two friends entered the safehouse, followed by another astromech droid. Allia, a blue-skinned Twi'lek alien in her late teens, was dressed in her typical work overalls and boots with a gray headwrap adorning her hairless skull. As she walked in, her twin brain-tails, called lekku, swayed behind her.
Joshua came in after her. He was outfitted in his worn pilot's jumpsuit that was colored a faded orange. A blaster pistol was holstered on his belt, along with a variety of other small equipment. Arluin studied his rugged features and dark hair, and noted how they contrasted with his bright blue eyes. Joshua was around the same age as Allia, but Arluin knew they both had been through more in the past few weeks than they should have been at their age.
The red-bodied astromech rolled along without so much as a hoot. R2-X5 was programmed with lots of mechanical knowledge, and as such was extremely valuable to the small team, but lately he had been growing distant and quarrelsome. Ecksfive drove off into another room to charge himself.
Joshua nodded at Arluin, who was still sitting against the workbench. "Hey."
Arluin nodded back. "Hey."
Allia ignored them both. "I'm going to go change," she said, and stalked off to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Arluin sighed yet again. It was sad to see her like this.
Joshua walked over and sat down next to Arluin. He picked up a wrench and began fiddling with it. "No change since last recon," he said without looking up.
Arluin looked concernedly at his friend. "Everything all right?"
Joshua looked up at him. "Did you really just ask that?"
The young Jedi nodded off toward where Allia had enclosed herself. "I mean with her."
"It's still a dumb question."
"She looks angrier than she did this morning."
Joshua sighed and went back to playing with the tool. "I tried to talk to her again. No luck."
Arluin bit his lip. Allia had been cold to both of them ever since the failure at Ord Ibanna, where the Empire had captured her adopted brother, Barret Hadwin. Barret had gone with Arluin to help him fight Reina, and had given himself up so that Arluin could escape. He was still in the Empire's steel grip, locked away who knows where. Arluin suspected that deep down, Allia blamed him for losing her brother to the enemy. It appeared that Ecksfive echoed Allia's feelings as well.
"Maybe you should leave her alone about it."
Joshua quickly met his eyes again. "How can I? I hate seeing her like this. I have to help her somehow."
Ever since Arluin had met him, Joshua had harbored a deep care for Allia. The Twi'lek had been reciprocating his feelings, and it had appeared that there relationship had been about to blossom before everything had gone awry at Ord Ibanna. Now…
"I wish I could help you both. I don't know what to tell you, except to give it time," Arluin said, trying to console his friend.
Joshua tossed the wrench away, and slumped. "I know. I'm just not sure how much time we have anymore."
Allia's door banged open and the young woman came back into the room, wearing a loose white shirt and work pants. "The route to the hangar is still clear, and Hadwin's Fate hasn't been touched," she reported.
Both men stood up and faced her. Arluin folded his arms over his chest and nodded. When the small group had come across the hideout, they discovered a secret passage to a large hangar bay, where they kept their ship, Hadwin's Fate.
"Everything's still go on her?" Arluin asked.
"Ecksfive did a whole system readout again," Allia replied as she leaned against the damaged starfighter. "If we need to leave on her, we can."
"Where will we go if we leave, anyway?" Joshua queried. "It's too risky to try to leave the planet with that blockade in orbit."
No one had an answer for him. Savior rolled up next to Arluin and settled near his leg. Arluin unfolded his arms and patted her on the top of the dome. "One thing's for sure. We can't stay here forever," he said.
Allia looked away. Joshua stared at his feet. The gravity of the band's situation was almost crushing. The atmosphere of the dimly lit room hung heavy with despair. Arluin searched for something else to say, but found himself wishing he hadn't said anything at all.
He coughed and said, "I'm going to go get some fresh air." Joshua just nodded without looking at him. Allia did nothing at all.
"Right," the young Jedi said, and quickly hustled out of the room. Savior whistled after him, but Arluin did not reply. He was too busy remembering the good times that he had had with those same people not long before, wondering where they had went, and wishing that everything in his world had not gone so horribly, completely wrong.
2
Five Imperial shuttles soared over the towers of Nar Shaddaa. After flying several kilometers in formation, they broke off and headed for different sectors of the city. The lead shuttle angled downwards and began to descend into the deepest depths of the metallic forest. The inverted-Y shaped craft located its destination and lightly touched down, settling on the rusted metal and scrap that served as a landing platform. Residents of all species quickly cleared the area, hurrying to avoid any Imperial activity.
A ramp extended down from the belly of the shuttle, revealing a dark hold. Twenty Stormtroopers in bone-white armor poured out of it and took formation around the shuttle. One more figure emerged from the blackness of the cargo hold, a mechanized, octopus-like droid with a half dozen enormous black eyes. The probe droid floated down onto the dirty streets and began extending various limbs, testing its functionality and preparing for its job.
The Stormtroopers' leader barked an order, and the squad split off into fours, heading in different directions as so to cover more ground in less time. The probe droid drifted off into the shadows, eager as a droid could be to locate its target.
In four other locations, the exact same procedure was taking place. Imperial troops spread like viruses into the city, all hunting for the same target—a man named Arluin Starfire.
The door to the secret hideaway inched open, and Arluin crawled out of it slowly, trying not to attract attention. Before him was a packed street typical of Nar Shaddaa. Arluin wouldn't trust any of the beings in the crowd with his life, or anything else for that matter. Once fully outside, he shut the door again quietly. Doing a quick survey of his surroundings, he made sure no one had noticed him, and then merged into the bustling crowd.
He knew it was dangerous to go outside, but he had to have some fresh air. The despair had begun to get to him again, and he needed a short walk to clear his head. Besides, he thought, no one will recognize me in this crowd. I'll blend in perfectly. His dirty appearance matched that of every single creature around him. Walking in the street, he looked just like a common thief or ruffian that was a regularity on the smuggler's moon.
Arluin tilted his head all the way up and gazed into the night sky. All the neon lights made the stars invisible to him, but the artificial glow was pretty enough. It lied about the repression and crime happening all the time on Nar Shaddaa, creating a false image of enjoyment and relaxation. Arluin doubted any were fooled by it, as knowledge about the gray planet was spread far and wide. It was why he had chosen to come here in the first place—he knew it would be difficult for the Empire to locate him and his friends if they hid here.
Arluin noticed a familiar shape far off in the sky. He squinted, trying to make it out against the blackness of the sky. Finally, he realized what the shape was—it was a ship, a gigantic triangle with four round bulbs.
Arluin stopped dead in his tracks. He knew that ship anywhere. It had chased him and his sister halfway across the galaxy, under the command of one of the most evil people he had ever laid eyes on.
He can't be here. I knew the blockade was serious, but I can't believe they pulled Merik all the way out to Nar Shaddaa. Arluin stood stock still, eyes locked on the outline of the Executioner. Suddenly, he was roughly jostled and almost knocked over. The push brought him out of his trance and he looked down to find a tentacle-headed Quarren dusting himself off.
"Watch where you're going, human!" The amphibious alien shouted rudely, and left without waiting for an apology. Arluin grunted and turned around again, when another sight caught his attention.
A commotion was taking place in the streets. Aliens and humans of all sorts were backing away as four Imperial Stormtroopers marched with military precision toward him. Arluin quickly ducked into a nearby alley and stayed there until the Stormtroopers had passed. Silently, he peeked out of the alley and watched the troopers walk away.
The Stormtroopers marched over to a drug vendor and began inquiring about obtaining his merchandise. Arluin almost laughed—there was no way the troopers were allowed to use drugs while on the job. But why should they care? This was Nar Shaddaa. Their commanding officer would never know. Then Arluin noticed that the Quarren who had bumped into him was also at the stand, regarding the troopers with what Arluin took to be an angry look.
"Hey, you Stormies get outta here!" the alien yelled loud enough for Arluin to hear. "Your blockade is making my spice shipments run late! You're not welcome here!"
The Stormtroopers just laughed. This made the Quarren angrier.
"D'you know who I am, white boys? I'm the captain of the Ebony Jewel! No one laughs at me!" He whipped out a holdout blaster and aimed it at the Stormtroopers.
However important the Quarren thought himself, he was no match for the military training the Stormtroopers possessed. In less than a second, four laser bolts flashed and the Quarren fell down dead, a proud owner of a quadrant of smoking holes in his chest. The Stormtroopers grabbed what they had come for, and made it clear to the vendor that they would be leaving without paying. Packing away the addictive substances, they continued on their march.
Arluin came out of his cover and ran over to the vendor. He was a scaly, bug-eyed Rodian whose antennae were twitching nervously due to the heated events that had just happened outside his store. Arluin didn't blame him—if Imperial Stormtroopers had just shown up, killed one of his customers, and stole his merchandise, he would be shaken too. He retrieved the hand blaster the Quarren had dropped and holstered it in his belt, then stared into the Rodian's bulbous black eyes.
"Do you know what those troopers were here for?" He inquired firmly of the alien. The vendor shook his head in terror.
"White armor boys want spice! I give! They no pay! They say kill me!"
Arluin groaned in frustration. Clearly this Rodian could barely speak basic. It was going to be difficult to get information from him.
"I mean, what did they come to the city for?" He tried again, willing himself to keep his patience.
A shudder ran through the Rodian. "They look for someone! I know him not!"
Arluin experienced a tremble of his own. "Did they say this person's name?"
The Rodian's snout worked to get the name out. "Ar…Ar-loo-when…Starrrf-eye-er."
Arluin forgot all about his lack of patience. The day he had been dreading had finally come. The Empire had started searching the streets—eventually they would locate the secret hideout he and his friends were using. Panic overtook him, and he willed it down.
The Rodian went on. "They also say…find Ar-loo-when. Turn him in. Big reward from…Shield of Empire."
Arluin froze. His blood ran cold as his mind journeyed back to the howling pit that was the Devastator's core. He could vividly see in his mind's eye the narrow bridge that extended across the gap, with Reina standing on one side and himself on the other. Barret was close, his blaster pistol drawn and ready. Reina held her un-ignited saber in one hand, staring across the void into Arluin's eyes. His twin's lips moved. Above the banshee shriek of the wind, seven words wormed their way through the tension and into Arluin's ear and embedded themselves into his mind.
I am the Shield of the Empire.
Arluin was brought back to the present with a jolt. The vendor was still speaking.
"You know Ar-loo-when?"
Finally the young Jedi managed to shake his head. "No. I've never met him. Goodbye." Dumbly, he stumbled off, leaving behind a very confused Rodian shopkeeper.
As he merged back into the reformed crowd, one thought circled its way through his mind.
She's here. Reina's here.
The male Starfire was overwhelmed by emotions. Sadness, confusion, anger, and despair all spiraled inside him like a hurricane tearing him apart. He had never expected Reina would come all the way out here. Of course—she must have realized he would be here. Part of Arluin knew he had to tell the others, but the rest of him was growing numb and he found it difficult to focus his thoughts. In a haze, he wandered off into the streets of Nar Shadda, not caring where he was going or who he would find.
In the many days spent inside the bunker, Joshua felt useless. He couldn't help Arluin and Savior repair their project starfighter or run diagnostics with Ecksfive, and Allia never asked him for help with anything anymore. He was a pilot, not a mechanic or a droid, but there were no dogfights to be won underground. So most of his time was used up wandering around the gray-walled safehouse, wondering when something was going to happen, and dreading what would come of it when it did. Arluin seemed like the only one of them who listened to Joshua those days, but he was still gone. This thought stuck in Joshua's head as he paced back and forth in the bunker's main room. Finally, he gave in. He stormed into a side room and located Ecksfive. The droid was still recharging, facing a wall.
"Ecksfive, what's the time?"
The red astrodroid squawked angrily at him. Joshua rolled his eyes.
"Please don't mess with me right now. I realize I'm not Barret, but can't you at least tell me what I want to know?"
Ecksfive muttered a whistle and a short beep, then loudly informed Joshua of the current time. At hearing his answer, Joshua's brow furrowed.
"It's getting late." Ecksfive just mumbled and spun his dome around, staring at the wall again. The dark-haired pilot ignored this and rushed to Allia's room, where the Twi'lek was sitting on her messy bed, toying with a small scanner. As he entered, she looked up at him with hardened eyes.
"If you're going to try to console me again—" she started, but Joshua cut her off.
"I'm not. I've given up on that," he replied with a similar edge in his voice. His patience was running thin, and the fact that Allia was undeservedly short with him wasn't helping.
"Well… good," she said in response. This was followed by a short awkward silence. Then Allia spoke up again.
"If you didn't come here to talk to me, what was it that you needed?"
The young man stared at her. "Arluin's been gone for too long."
At this, the Twi'lek's expression softened. "Do you think—"
Joshua shook his head. "I don't know what to think."
Allia put the scanner down on a nearby table. "We should get the droids and go looking for him."
Joshua nodded. "Agreed. You should talk to Ecksfive. He barely listens to me anymore."
"I'm sure I understand why," Allia retorted, resentment returning to her face. The comment stung Joshua deeply, and his anger grew as well.
"Just go get Ecksfive," he replied sharply, and hustled off to find Savior.
From her position on the Executioner's watch deck, Reina looked down upon the sprawl that was Nar Shaddaa. She had shed her pilot suit and was now clothed in black robes, combat boots, and a flowing cape. One thought lay on her mind as her green eyes surveyed the city below. Somewhere, someplace deep in that artificial forest, her brother—her enemy—was hiding, probably unsuspecting of his imminent capture.
Reina closed her eyes. She had not sensed Arluin in the Force for weeks. Constantly the dark Jedi wondered if something had happened to their connection due to her fall to the Dark Side, and that line of thought always led to her questioning her decision to join the Empire. Whenever these traitorous thoughts bubbled up, she forced them deep down inside her—she had chosen this path because it was the only way to live a life without constant peril and poverty. As the Shield of the Empire, she had power beyond imagining, and could offer protection to any that she felt needed it.
Reina had offered Arluin a chance to share in that life, but he had refused, and instead proceeded to try to kill her. His choice always made her so angry, and her rage against him fueled her new dark powers. With them, she would find her traitor brother and make him pay for what he had done to her.
As she thought this, a small flashback of herself and Arluin as small children playing in an empty street forced its way into her skull. Immediately Reina shoved the memory away before the pain could strike as it always did. Dwelling on her past life would not help—she had to focus on the present.
Turning away from the viewport, Reina departed from the watch deck and made her way through the gigantic Star Destroyer to the cruiser's brig. Normally, the Executioner lived up to its name, and prisoners were never taken. As Reina stalked through the empty holding cells, though, she came across a single cell that was occupied. This capture had been a very special case, and he had been permitted to let live until the higher-ups changed their minds.
Reina stepped close to the cell's energy shield to get a better look at the small room's lone occupant. The man was curled up on the cold deck inside his chamber. He wore a standard black prisoner jumpsuit and nothing else. From what Reina could see in the cell's dim light, he was covered from head to toe in bruises, slashes, and burns, though the dark Jedi knew that no torture machine had been used on him—the Executioner never carried that kind of equipment, for normally it had no one to torture.
The man sensed Reina's presence and crawled up into a sitting position. Uncut brown hair and a short beard obscured some of his facial features, but the wounds inflicted upon him were clearly visible. Similarly, his deep brown eyes, caring and compassionate, shone like gems as they stared at her. Pain and weakness caused him to tremble, but his voice retained some strength as he spoke to her.
"Hello… again… Reina," said Barret Hadwin.
The dark Jedi regarded her former ally and friend with cool indifference. "Look at you, Barret. Hard to believe you're still alive."
The freighter pilot grinned. "I'm…tougher than I look." Barret's entire body shook as a ragged cough tore through him. Reina smirked.
"I doubt you'll be able to hold out much longer."
Barret ignored this. "Arluin's down there, isn't he?"
Reina's smirk disappeared. Barret noticed and laughed slightly.
"I knew it," he said. "You do still care about him."
Reina bared her teeth. "You don't know a thing about me!" she snarled.
Barret became serious and stared into her green eyes with his brown. "I know you well enough…to know that you were a good person. You were…my friend." He looked up at her imploringly. "It's not too late for you to turn back."
Reina crossed her arms over her chest, her anger fading away to bitter sadness. "That life is behind me and you know it. I'm the Shield of the Empire now."
Barret shrugged. "It doesn't…matter." He sighed. "I don't blame you for…this." He gestured at the wounds coating his body. Reina looked at him, an eyebrow arched.
"You should."
Barret shook his head, then grimaced when the act caused him pain. "It's not…your fault. It's that…bastard…Merik." Slowly he lifted one battered arm, finger extended, to point at her. "He turned you into this. But you can…turn back."
Reina looked away, trying not to listen to her old friend or the doubts he was arising in her soul. Barret turned his finger to point at himself. "It's…okay. I forgive you. I truly do. It's not…your fault."
At this, Reina broke. Her combined guilt and rage overtook her, and she quickly directed her right hand at Barret. Focusing on her anger, she formed her hand into a chokehold. At once, Barret began choking and sputtering, clutching at his throat as Reina crushed his neck with the Force. Moving her hand upwards, she actually lifted him into the air as he gasped for air. After a few long seconds, she released him, and Barret crumpled to the deck, drawing deep breaths but barely moving otherwise. Touching the cell's controls, Reina lowered the energy shield separating them. She approached Barret and towered over him, glowering down with a dark stare. Studying the dozens of wounds on his skin, she decided he needed a few more. Reina bent down over her prisoner's ear.
"If you won't let go of the past, I have ways of making you," she hissed through clenched teeth. When he didn't respond, she drew up her left hand and held it over him, palm down. Calling once more on the dark side of the Force, streaks of blue lightning flew from her fingertips and rippled over Barret. Immediately he began writhing and screaming in mortal pain. The dark Jedi who stood over him was immune to his agony, though, and increased the torture until Barret's screams echoed throughout the entire brig of the Executioner.
Joshua, Allia, and the two astromech droids pushed their way through the Nar Shaddaa streets, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. They had been searching for over an hour and had found no sign of their Jedi friend. Joshua's eyes darted this way and that, attempting to find Arluin's familiar face against the mess of aliens and humanoids. Finding no purchase, he grumbled to himself.
"Anything?" he turned around and asked the group.
"No, nothing," Allia replied, still scanning the dozens of faces around them. Ecksfive warbled a negatory. Joshua faced forward again and resumed looking.
"I wish I had X-Ray vision right now," he sighed.
Savior, who was bringing up the rear, had a sensor dish extended from a hatch in her dome. It was spinning slowly, trying its best to pick up the droid's master. So far, though, it had detected no trace of Arluin. Savior was beginning to register a troubling feeling in her personality core that she analyzed as despair. However, hearing Joshua's complaint, she hatched an idea.
The little droid switched her monocular vision to a different mode that was designed to scan for biological identities. Immediately, her sight sensors were awash with bright green readings from the organisms surrounding them. Savior twirled her dome around, getting a three hundred and sixty degree view of the crowd. At first, nothing seemed different. Then she saw a terrifyingly familiar shape floating somewhere behind them, one that did not possess a biological signature. It comprised of an oval head mounted on a squat body with long, spindly arms trailing below it. Savior recognized it at once as an Imperial Probe droid, and artificial terror shot through her systems.
Spinning her dome forward, she whistled and beeped in an attempt to warn the others. Unfortunately, her noises were lost among the confusion of the street. Turning to look at the Imperial droid again, she noticed it was not heading for them—rather, it was taking off down an alley. Curious, Savior decided to take action on her own and left the group to follow it.
Rolling as silently as possible, Savior quietly pursued the Probe droid. The dark robot drifted noiselessly down the alley and turned a corner. The stocky but brave astromech went after it. Inching around the corner, Savior peeked around cautiously to discover where the probe had gone. As her single eye made its way around, a monstrous black shape filled it—the Imperial droid had stopped just around the corner. Savior jerked back, frightened that the probe had discovered her, but it did not move to attack her. Increasing her audio receptors, the rebel astromech picked up a faint beeping noise that she interpreted to be a tracking device. Peering around the corner again, Savior observed the Probe droid and noticed that it had two antennae extended into the air. The little droid deciphered that it was searching for someone, and she had a pretty good guess who.
After a minute, the Probe droid retracted its antennae and began floating onward once more. Savior resumed her pursuit, tracking the Imperial machine through the dark alleyway until they both came out onto another street. This lane was much less packed than the one before, and was home to several run-down stores and entertainment centers. From there, Savior watched the Probe approach and enter a small, shady cantina across the street. After pausing to make sure the coast was clear, Savior rolled over and made her way into the tavern as well.
Once inside, the small droid took in the establishment. A scant few lowlifes that were all as shady as the cantina itself sat alone and sipped beverage of various kinds. The bartender stood behind his desk, wiping a dirty cup with an even dirtier rag. The lighting was dim, and the building messy and poorly patched up. Everyone was too busy in their own heads to notice the large, black Imperial probe droid sneaking up on one of the customers. Savior identified that the customer in question had brown hair wore a filthy mechanic's jumpsuit. As he sat deep in his own thoughts, the Probe inched closer and held up a thin arm towards him. On the end of the arm was a stun device, crackling with energy—
Savior shrieked loudly, making everyone in the cantina jump in surprise. The man in the jumpsuit spun around wildly, saw the probe about to attack him, and threw his hands up in front of his face. The probe itself, confused, turned its multi-eyed head towards the astromech. Savior rushed forward at top speed, extending her ion tool as she went. The tool was made for shocking broken electronics into submission, but a high enough voltage would stun a droid as large as the Imperial probe.
Once in range, Savior let loose with the ion tool. Blue bolts arced over the monster machine, shorting out its systems and causing its drive to fail. Damaged and destroyed, the droid collapsed onto the floor, arms sprawled out in all positions, now completely powerless.
Arluin, who was recovering from the close call, lowered his arms and looked at the probe, then at Savior. He grinned at his faithful little droid.
"Wow. So that's two I owe you, then?"
Savior beeped enthusiastically, happy to see her master unharmed. Arluin strode over and knelt down in front of her, checking for damage. All around them, the bartender and other customers went back to what they were doing. A random attack was not uncommon at Nar Shaddaa, and they preferred to keep to their own business anyway.
"You handled that perfectly, Savior. I'm sure lucky you were here. I should have been paying attention." Arluin sighed and shook his head. "Reina's here. She's looking for me. This probe must have been a scout trying to hunt me down."
The white-and-purple astromech hooted softly.
"Of course I'm scared," Arluin replied. "I haven't seen her since Ord Ibanna. I'm not entirely sure what to do. That's why I came here." He sucked in a deep breath and let it out. "Now it's clear we don't have any time to sit around anymore. We have to find the others and get out of here. It's too dangerous to stay." Arluin rubbed his droid on her dome, trying to calm himself down and clear his mind. "It's a good thing that probe didn't escape."
Savior was about to agree when her audio sensors detected a faint transmission from nearby. Realization shot through her, and she spun to face the fallen probe droid. Whipping out her torch, the stocky droid proceeded to incinerate the other machine's body until it's core was completely melted.
Arluin watched in confusion. "What was that about?"
Savior whistled urgently in reply.
"The droid used the last of its power to transmit our location?" Adrenaline began pumping into Arluin's body. He unholstered the blaster he had taken from the deceased Quarren. Motioning to his mechanical companion, he started rushing out the door of the cantina. "Come on. We don't have much time!"
3
"Where's Savior?" Allia asked, unease beginning to sneak into her voice. The whole group stopped in the middle of the street and swiveled their heads, looking for their fourth companion.
"She must have gone off by herself to find Arluin," Joshua said, brow knitted in frustration. First Arluin had disappeared, now his droid was gone—things were not looking up for them. He was about to suggest heading back to the base to see if Arluin had returned when Ecksfive began screeching wildly. Allia grasped the panicking astromech with both hands in an effort to calm him down.
"What is it, Ecksfive?" she asked him. The Twi'lek girl was met with a string of quick whistles and sharp beeps. Allia looked up at Joshua, concern in her face.
"He says several Stormtroopers are heading this way, and quickly."
Joshua shot into action. Gesturing to a nearby alley, he shepherded his two comrades to cover. "This way!"
As they hid in the shadows, they dared not to move. Before long, they heard the clacking of armored boots coming down the street. Joshua risked a look and saw seven Imperial troopers muscling their way through the crowded street at a fast pace. As the squad neared the rebels' position, Joshua was able to hear some of their comlink chatter.
"…target Alpha has been located, moving to intercept…"
"…Beta target locations unknown, shall we attempt search?"
"Negative, negative. Alpha has priority, repeat Alpha has priority…"
And they were gone, pushing and shoving a path through the mixed bag of beings that commuted in the street. Joshua turned to look at Allia and Ecksfive.
"They were saying something about intercepting a high-priority target," he informed them. Allia met his gaze with fear in her eyes.
"Do you think they meant Arluin?" she asked nervously.
"I don't know what else they could have been talking about."
"What are we going to do?"
Joshua unholstered his blaster. "We're going to draw them off him, that's what we're going to do."
Allia's fear turned into determination. "Let's do it."
Joshua looked down at Ecksfive. "I need you to get to the hangar and warm up the Fate. The way things are going, it looks like we'll be leaving soon, blockade or no." Ecksfive warbled an argument, but Joshua did not relent. "Please, Ecksfive? I need to be able to count on you right now."
Finally Ecksfive grumbled an affirmative. Joshua grinned. "Good droid. Now get going, and be careful." Ecksfive spun around and trundled down the alley, soon disappearing from view.
Joshua turned to Allia. "Stay behind me."
A hint of rebellion touched her blue visage. "Don't tell me what to do."
Joshua raised his blaster for emphasis, barrel pointed toward the dark sky. "You're forgetting I have the blaster, and you're unarmed. Until you get one for yourself, you're using me as a shield. No need for you to get hurt."
Allia crossed her arms over her chest angrily. "Fine, but you'd better do a damn good job of protecting me."
Joshua almost made a joke, but decided not to further incur his friend's wrath. Instead, he leaned out of the alley and searched for the Stormtroopers. Luckily, due to the overcrowded street, they were still not far away. Joshua pointed his pistol at the closest trooper's back, steadied his breathing, and squeezed the trigger.
The red bolt tore through the air and struck the trooper square in the back, searing through his body and throwing him to the ground. At the sound of their squadmate falling, the other Stormtroopers about-faced. Immediately they recognized the shooter. Com chatter burst into the air.
"Beta targets sighted! Engage! Engage!"
Knowing he had their attention, Joshua reached over and grabbed Allia by the wrist. "Come on," he shouted, and tugged her into the street after him. As blaster bolts began igniting the space around them, the two rebels ran for their lives—in the opposite direction the Imperial troops had come from in the first place.
Far above the skirmish blossoming in the streets of Nar Shaddaa, Reina Starfire paced the bridge of the Executioner. She had calmed down since her encounter with Barret in the brig and pushed traitorous thoughts out of her mind, but lack of news regarding Arluin was making her anxious. Placing one hand on her waist, she fingered the cold metal tube hanging on her belt. The lightsaber had been bestowed to her by Pando Paian, an Ithorian Jedi Master she and Arluin had met on the dead world of Katarr. Paian was one of the last remaining Jedi Masters in the galaxy, and as such one of the only beings who could instruct the Starfires in the ways of the Force.
The twins had been forced to leave before their training could be finished. This was shortly before Reina had chosen to become the Shield of the Empire. Since then, she had not seen the Ithorian and doubted Arluin had either. With no teacher, Reina had been developing her natural abilities on her own as best she could, and her torture of Barret was testament that she had made progress indeed.
Captain Forer came up to her, arms stiffly at his side. Reina shot him a dangerous look with a twist of her head, indicating that she did not want to be trifled with at this moment.
"What is it, Captain?"
Forer met her intense gaze with only a little terror. In the past few hours, the Captain had become much more comfortable with the presence of a dark Jedi on his ship. "Two of the squads have reported in, my Lady."
Reina turned her whole body to face him, presenting an imposing black figure. "And what did they report?"
The officer's stoutness crumbled slightly. "The first has informed us that they are hot on the trail of Arluin Starfire."
Exhilaration poured into Reina. This was exactly what she had been waiting to hear. "Excellent, Captain. What of the second team?"
"They have engaged the pilot boy and the Twi'lek girl in combat, lady Reina."
The Shield of the Empire nodded. Joshua and Allia. "More good news. It is also important that they— "
A memory surged forward, unbidden. A human and a blue-skinned Twi'lek, both female, resting near the landing strut of a trident-headed freighter on the surface of a dead world, laughter echoing through the forest of crumbling structures—
Reina shut her eyes. She did not need this right now. Willing the memory to go away, she took a slow, deep breath.
"My Lady?"
The dark Jedi opened her eyes again and stared at the gray-uniformed officer in front of her. Forer was regarding her with a confused and concerned gaze.
"Important that they what?"
Reina recovered her character and completed her sentence. "It is important that they are also captured alive. Make sure your troops do so, Captain."
Forer resumed his professional stance. "Of course. They will not get away this time." A small bit of worry leaked back onto his complexion. "Are you all right, my Lady?"
Reina nodded again. "I will be." She changed topics quickly. There was no reason this Captain needed to know her personal thoughts. "You are doing well, Captain. Keep up the good work."
The compliment seemed to make Forer's chest puff out slightly. A grin touched his face. "I plan to, my Lady." He saluted and departed her company.
Turning away, Reina strode out of the bridge, cape flowing behind her. The long-awaited capture of her brother was near, and she was not going to let a few memories get in her way.
Savior nudged against Arluin's keg, beeping urgently. The young rebel waved a hand in front of her eye to calm her down, then peered around the wall he was using for cover. Yes, the Stormtrooper squad was still there. A scarlet blaster bolt sizzled past his head, narrowly missing. Arluin ducked back, then came around again and fired a shot of his own. The bolt shot past a trooper on the far left and impacted on a wall, doing no damage. Arluin clenched his teeth. If he kept missing, he wasn't going to last much longer.
The Stormtroopers had ambushed them in the streets on the way back to the hideout. Seven of the Imperial troops barred the way to safety, although Arluin had brought one of them down with a quick hand before he had been forced into cover. Now he was outnumbered six-to-one, and both Jedi and droid knew those were not good numbers.
In a desperate gamble, Arluin tried to call on the Force for help, but as usual he could not concentrate well enough to summon it. Giving up, he attempted to take a shot at the Stormtroopers again, but six laser bolts seared by him, ending Arluin's counterattack prematurely. Arluin cursed under his breath. He was out of options.
Savior started whistling again. Arluin looked down at his mechanical companion in annoyance.
"What is it, Savior?" he asked in frustration.
The white and purple droid released a long string of pings, hoots, and whistles. Arluin interpreted it all immediately.
"Getting around building to building? That might work." Arluin thought about it, and decided it was the duo's only choice. "Okay, let's do it." Savior pinged excitedly and waited for orders.
Arluin looked around for an entry into one of the nearby buildings. Spotting a door left wide open on the other side of the empty street, he waited for a lull in the suppression fire, and then dashed over. He could feel the heat of blaster bolts burning past him, missing by inches. Reaching his new cover, he ducked down and spun around to cover Savior. Releasing a stream of wild fire from his handgun designed to make the Stormtroopers retreat, he ensured that his astromech friend crossed the street safely.
Once both inside the simple gray structure, Arluin and Savior double-timed it up a ramp to the building's middle floor. Finding a small chamber with one open window, both rebels rushed in. Arluin slammed the door behind him. Rushing over to the medium-sized window, Arluin almost tripped over a large couch. Savior whipped out her welding tool and began fusing the door shut. The barricade wouldn't hold off the troopers forever, but it would buy them valuable time.
Poking his head out of the window, Arluin surveyed the ground below. Almost at once he was forced back into the room as a laser bolt tore past his head. The young Jedi swore—he should have known the troopers would leave a guard or two in the street. Moving quickly, he snapped off a trio of bolts at where the shot had come from. He heard a sizzle and a grunt of pain, and knew at least one of his shots had connected. Looking out again, he identified the nearest adjacent window and blasted it open with a single well-aimed shot.
By this time, Savior had finished welding the door closed. A steady banging sounded throughout the small room as the Stormtroopers rammed into it, trying to force it open. Suddenly, the door gave way with a tremendous crash, and the white-armored soldiers began attempting to enter the chamber, aiming their blaster carbines.
Arluin whirled around and quickly released a volley of suppression fire that killed one trooper and forced the remaining five to fall back. Grabbing his chance, Arluin motioned to Savior to escape through the open window. Moving aside to give the astromech room, the young Rebel crouched behind the couch, continuing to provide suppression fire.
Once at the foot of the window, Savior extended the booster rockets that were hidden inside her legs. She activated them, and with a loud whoosh the droid began to lift off the floor. Once at sufficient altitude, she tilted the rockets forward and started to drift through the opening, slowly picking up speed. The Stormtroopers noticed and opened fire on her, but Savior had just enough room to maneuver around them. Now at a relatively high speed, the droid hurtled over the street and executed a careful landing in the room across the street.
Ensuring that his loyal companion was safe, Arluin holstered his blaster and readied for his escape. The street was much too wide for him to jump without the aid of the Force, but the Jedi had an idea. Arluin opened his toolkit and retrieved a spring-loaded mechanism that fired a grappling wire. On the end of the wire was an adhesive pad that would attach and stick to most anything. Getting up, Arluin put himself through the window and fired the wire at a space above the adjacent opening. The pad connected with the structure's metal plating and fastened in less than a second. Taking a deep breath, Arluin grabbed the wire with both hands and jumped.
He fell through empty air, and for a very frightening moment thought that the wire would snap and he would fall to his death below. Then he felt it grow taught in his grip, and he began to arc back up toward the window where Savior was waiting for him. Joy at his successful escape filled his mind, but was replaced by burning pain as something hit him in the back of his right calf. The shock caused him to yell aloud and almost let go of the wire, but he held on. Reaching the window, he tumbled in, released the wire and collapsed in front of Savior, his face a mask of hurt.
The stocky droid inspected his leg and hooted in alarm. Breathing heavily, Arluin looked back at his injured limb. What he saw made him grimace. A blaster bolt from an Imperial carbine had seared the flesh raw and burned a sizeable hole into his lower leg. Arluin clenched his teeth and forced himself to get up, reminding himself that the Stormtroopers would be back soon. As he rose shakily, Savior beeped questioningly.
"We'll look at it later, Savior," Arluin said, his voice full of pain. "Right now, we gotta move." He gingerly took a few steps forward, testing his injured leg.
Savior whistled another query. Arluin nodded.
"Yeah, I think I'll be able to make it the rest of the way on my own." He drew his scavenged blaster pistol once more. "Let's head for the roof."
Hastily locating a flight of stairs, man and droid began to make their way to the top of the structure. Arluin hobbled as fast as he could, while Savior fired off short bursts from her rocket jets to climb efficiently. They went up many floors before reaching the highest one. By then, Arluin knew the Stormtroopers were close to catching up.
At the top of the stairs was a cold metal door. Having no time to check if it was locked, Arluin rammed his left shoulder into it, bashing it open in one quick move. The action hurt his shoulder dreadfully, though, and for the second time, Arluin's yell of pain sounded in the building. Breathing deeply, Arluin forced himself to go on, with Savior rolling close behind.
They found themselves on the flattened roof of the structure. Light from Nar Shaddaa's sunrise was just beginning to touch the smuggler's moon, and skyscrapers and air traffic were highlighted against the golden-red glow. There was no time to enjoy the beautiful scenery, however—a trill from Savior told Arluin that she had detected Stormtrooper voices in the stairwell behind them. The brown-eyed Jedi looked around. From his vantage point, he could recognize the tower that the group's secret bunker was hidden below. It was still a few blocks away, though, and the closest flat-topped building was a dozen feet apart from the structure they stood upon.
Savior rolled up to Arluin, watching him carefully and waiting for orders. Arluin gestured to the nearest building. "There's no way I can jump that. Not with this leg."
Savior beeped excitedly and Arluin stared down at her. "Climb on your back?" he asked. "Like we did at Venaari?"
The droid hooted an affirmative. She was referring to the time she had flown across a gaping chasm carrying Arluin on her back. The journey had been short and shaky, but they had made it. Arluin nodded and holstered his blaster, moving to grab hold of his droid. Once he had secured his grip, Savior ignited her rockets again and lifted off, albeit straining against the extra weight. Slowly they moved off the roof and out over the street.
A red-hot bolt soared past the duo. Arluin glanced back and saw the five Stormtroopers in formation on the roof behind them, firing at him and his droid. By now, though, they were out of range—the troopers weren't going to hit them with their short-range carbines. Arluin grinned as the white-armored soldiers grew smaller and smaller and the rebels got farther away.
An alarmed whistle from the astromech brought his attention around again. Arluin's eyes widened in fear as he looked at their chosen landing zone. The building they were approaching was not flat-topped at all—it had only appeared so from the other roof. Rather, it was an extremely steep slant, and on the far side of the building was a messy pile of scrap—not a great place to touch down in.
"Savior, we need to find somewhere else to land!" Arluin shouted. A sputtering sound made his heart sink into his stomach. He looked down at Savior's rockets. The strain had finally got to them, and they were struggling to remain active—but from the rate they were degrading, the duo would not be in the air much longer. Finally, they cut out for a full second. Droid and human dipped slightly, then steadied as the rockets powered on again. Savior had one moment to softly hoot a sigh of relief before her rockets went out for good, and they both started to freefall.
The slanted building rushed rapidly up to meet them. The air was forced out of Arluin's lungs as he smacked down on its roof and began to roll down to the ground below. He heard a loud clang beside him as Savior hit the roof as well and started to slide downwards. Her electronic screech mixed with the sound of grinding metal, and sparks flew out behind her, Arluin tumbled out of control, completely unable to stop his fall. He tried to grab something, anything to slow himself down, but his hands found no purchase. They both ran out of roof quickly, and toppled over the edge.
Savior fell into the scrap pile first, plunging deep into the sea of metal parts. Arluin grunted in pain as he impacted as well, and sharp, rusty metal objects of all sorts scraped and battered his body. Luckily, he sank no further than the surface. Mind overwhelmed by pain, he simply lay there for a few moments before a shaky whistle brought him to full consciousness. Arluin looked over and saw his droid lying near him, gazing at him with her large black eye.
"Oh, Savior…"
The droid's hull was now dented and battered in almost every location. Her dome had a large crack running down it, and scorch marks spotted her white body. Her paint was scratched and ruined, and her rockets were bent and broken. She let out a woozy series of beeps, trying to assure Arluin she was all right, but her master knew better—his friend was heavily damaged. Ignoring his own pain, he crawled over to her and lifted her upright. As he did so, he observed that a gigantic black mark showed where she had been connecting to the roof as she had slid down. Arluin frowned. Savior was not in good shape at all.
His friend spun her dome around to face him. Arluin tried to put on an optimistic smile.
"I won't lie, you're fairly hurt, little one. I'll getcha back to the Fate—we'll fix you up in no time."
The promise of repair put some vigor back in the little droid, and her reply was strengthened. In return, this put some spark back into Arluin and allowed his mind to focus. Realizing he need to check himself for damage as well, he carefully ran his hand over his face. He gingerly touched a gash in his forehead and pulled his fingers away. They were covered in sticky, red blood—his blood. He detected bruises and cuts all over the rest of his body, and his jumpsuit was torn in many locations. Arluin sighed.
"You're not the only one who needs some fixing…"
Steadying himself on the pile, he guided Savior to the steady ground not too far below, then lowered himself down. Locating the tower that marked their hideout, the two set out once again, counting on their last reserves of tenacity to see them through.
Half an hour of urban combat had taken its toll on Joshua. His muscles ached, his lungs screamed for air, and his hair was matted with sweat. He and Allia had been running through endless streets and buildings, pursued by Stormtroopers the whole way. The Imperial forces had driven them farther and farther away from the hangar, and every minute made sure that more distance was put between the rebels and escape.
Currently, Joshua was struggling to fix his firearm. His blaster pistol had developed an electrical jam that prevented the system from firing. He was crouched behind a corner of a tall building, with Allia next to him, shooting at the Stormtroopers with a scavenged Imperial carbine. The street was filled with blaster fire, and there was barely room to move.
As the young pilot finally corrected the error in his weapon, he raised it again to fire just to have it suddenly torn out of his hand by a blaster bolt. Quickly, he twisted his head in the direction the shot had come from and identified the long dark barrel of a Stormtrooper sniper rifle poking out of a window across the street.
"Sniper!" he yelled, grabbing Allia and yanking her to deeper cover. A second bolt impacted the spot where she had been crouching a moment ago. Pulling them both behind a large metal dumpster, Joshua looked around for a way out.
"That sniper's going to allow the troopers to advance," he stated. "We're going to get flanked pretty soon if we don't bail."
Allia gripped the carbine tightly. "Any bright ideas, flyboy?"
Finally Joshua spotted a sign amidst the buildings that read PUBLIC GARAGE in large red letters. A light went on in his brain. "Possibly. Run on three."
"Run where?!"
"Just stay behind me," Joshua insisted. "Ready?"
Allia clutched her blaster even tighter and nodded. Joshua steeled himself and prepared to execute his plan.
"One."
He reached out and grabbed Allia's wrist.
"Two."
The radio chatter of the Stormtroopers could be heard now as they came closer.
"Three!"
The duo leapt up and started sprinting toward the garage. Almost immediately, blaster fire buzzed through the air once more. Joshua made sure to duck and weave to avoid it, keeping his solid grip on Allia's wrist as he led her to the building. As they reached the sign, Joshua spotted a small door under it and shoved it open. Making sure Allia was inside with him, he thrust it shut and bolted it. Knowing the latch would not buy them much time, he immediately began scanning the dark, open interior of the garage. Rows of colorful airspeeders awaited his gaze. Any one of them he could take under other circumstances, but he was in dire need of the fastest vehicle available. Finally, one in particular caught his eye. He identified it as a Narglatch XJ-7, a model known for speed. He wasn't sure whether it's arrowlike shape or blue-and-white paint reminded him of his old Spearhead fighter, but he shook away nostalgia and forced himself to concentrate. The XJ-7 was open-topped and held two passengers, and would be ideal for carrying Allia and to safety.
Joshua indicated the speeder to his friend. "Think you can hotwire that?"
Allia handed him the blaster and pulled out a tool. "In a jiffy."
They hurried down the line of parked speeders to the XJ-7. Allia leaned into the cockpit and started to tinker with its systems while Joshua crouched behind the speeder in front and pointed the blaster at the door, which he knew would burst open any second.
The Stormtroopers did not disappoint. With a flash and a bang they broke down the door, but the small size of the entrance forced them to enter single-file. Joshua had the upper hand now. He let loose a stream of red-hot bolts that struck the first two troopers and burned through their chests in a nanosecond. As he kept up the suppression fire, Allia finished the final procedures necessary for taking control of the speeder. Connecting two tiny wires, the control dash flashed and came to life, and a loud hum emerged from the speeder's engine. At once, Allia hopped into the driver's seat, but was quickly shoved over by Joshua, who had abandoned his position at the sound of the engine starting up.
"Nuh-uh," he said. "I'm the pilot here." He tossed the blaster into her lap and grabbed the steering controls with both hands. Lifting the airspeeder a few feet off the ground, he pointed it in the direction of the garage bay door. Ignoring the Stormtrooper fire, he poured all the speeder's power into its thrusters and held on tight as it shot forward.
The old metal buckled and split open as the speeder rammed through it and burned into the open air. Wind screamed in Joshua's ears as he quickly gained altitude and acceleration, driving the vehicle into the night sky. The speeder's engine roared as the twin turbofan thrusters propelled them through the air. Beside him, Allia had shrunk down in the passenger seat, eyes squeezed shut and holding the carbine in a death grip. The sight made Joshua grin a little—Allia was not used to the breakneck speed of piloting like he was.
All around them, the Nar Shadda skyline glowed brightly with neon lights, creating the illusion of a multihued atmosphere. Below them, skyscrapers and other assorted structures poked up like needles. Not too far off, the Executioner loomed in the distance. Joshua checked their location on the XJ-7's dashboard and ensured that they would not have to get any closer to the Star Destroyer then they were now. Twisting the speeder's controls, he pulled them through a wide right turn and started heading toward the hangar.
Allia finally poked her head up and looked around. Studying the incredible view, she seemed to relax a little.
"You okay?" Joshua asked over the shriek of wind.
"Uh-huh," the Twi'lek teenager replied a little woozily.
The rebel pilot was about to ask if she wanted him to slow down a little bit when he picked up an all-too-familiar noise coming from the direction of the Executioner. The sound was like a banshee's scream, and it was slowly getting closer. Joshua spun his head around and spotted the source—two black dots were hurtling toward them, silhouetted against the frame of the Imperial cruiser. As they came nearer, they formed into the H-shaped structure of the Imperial TIE fighter. Panic shot through Joshua, and he knew slowing down would have to wait.
"TIE fighters, on our tail!" he yelled. "Hold on, I'm going to do some fancy flying!"
He jerked the controls down just in time to avoid a laser burst from both fighters, causing Allia to slide down into her seat again. The chittering of the TIEs' cannons alerted him to when the Imperial pilots were firing at them, and he intended to avoid every shot—the thin XJ-7 had absolutely no armor at all and would not be able to take many hits. Joshua knew he would have to outmaneuver the TIEs, and so he angled the speeder down toward the skyscrapers and began seeking out the quickest route to the hangar. He began to dodge and weave around the points of the buildings, forcing the TIEs to do the same. If he was lucky, he could throw them off their tail.
Another series of laser bolts rushed past them and impacted on a skyscraper, taking a chunk out of the building. The explosion rocked the small speeder, and Joshua had to quickly correct their angle before they were flipped over and out of their seats. He gritted his teeth—he was never going to get away from them this way. He needed more cover. Flying lower, he started to make large arcs around thick structures that would prevent the TIEs from shooting at them.
"How far are we from the hangar?" Allia asked over the noise of the chase.
Joshua checked the readout again. "Not far. Just a few more minutes!"
Allia screamed a warning and Joshua looked up from the dash. In his short distraction, a third TIE fighter had come up ahead of them and blocked off their route. Before Joshua could react, the Imperial fighter fired, scored a direct hit on the speeder, and swooped away. The laser bolts had struck a section of the speeder's engine, and the wounded machine began to belch flame and smoke, partially obscuring Joshua's view. The craft immediately dipped and began accelerating out of control. Allia screamed again and covered her head with her arms. Joshua wrestled with the steering controls and found they were still functional.
"Hang on!" he yelled. "I can still maneuver this thing! We can still reach the hangar! It's not too late yet!"
The trident/half circle shape of Hadwin's Fate filled Ecksfive's photoreceptor as the stout droid finally rolled inside the large hangar bay. The battered craft had served the Hadwin family since the days of the Clone Wars, and as such had just as many scars and repairs as Ecksfive did. As Barret, the oldest Hadwin, was currently in the chains of the Empire, ownership of the vessel had temporarily fallen to Allia. However, everyone had agreed that Joshua was the best pilot of the group, and since Barret's capture the young man had been in charge of piloting the freighter from destination to destination.
Internal devices inside Ecksfive's body allowed him to control subsections of the Fate's devices whenever the astromech was nearby his larger brother machine. These came in handy as he rolled toward the parked ship, as he triggered its computers to lower the boarding ramp and allow him access to the freighter's interior.
Ecksfive wasted no time in making his way to the Fate's bridge. Once he had reached his destination, he secured himself in the special socket the ships' maker had implemented for him and connected himself to the ship's controls. Knowing his masters would be along soon, the droid began the Fate's ignition sequence and listened to the steadily growing roar of the ship as it started to power up around him.
The airspeeder was severely out of control. Despite Joshua's best efforts, it continued to soar between the towering skyscrapers of Nar Shaddaa like an angry mynock. Beside him, Allia held on for dear life. Luckily for them, the TIE fighters had broken off from the chase, but the threat of colliding into the side of a building or another speeder still posed trouble for the teens.
Glancing quickly at the dash, Joshua saw that they were still approaching the hangar. "We're almost there," he yelled. "It should be coming into view soon!"
Sure enough, as they whipped around the corner, they saw the large, boxlike hangar laid out in front of them. The sun was just beginning to come up, and rays of light streamed between the Nar Shaddaa skyline—also illuminating several inverted-Y-shaped Lambda-class shuttles moving in on their destination.
"Stormtroopers!" Joshua shouted. "If they get to the Fate before we do—"
Before he could finish his statement, a segment of engine exploded and pieces went flying away from the speeder. A high-pitch whine was emitted from the engine, and the craft began to dip even more sharply.
"I can't control it any longer!" the young pilot exclaimed. "Hold on tight!"
Allia reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it like a lifeline. Joshua was barely able to register his surprise at this move as the ground rushed up to meet them. Bracing himself, he shut his eyes and prepared for the worst.
The second the speeder connected with the ground, its nose crumpled like paper with a sickening crunch. A massive jolt tore through the small craft, almost knocking the rebels from their seats. The speeder continued to skid forward until it ground its way to a halt a few feet from the hangar. Joshua opened his eyes and looked at his Twi'lek companion.
"You all right?" he asked. Allia looked up at him and weakly nodded. She pulled her hand out of his and sat up, peering around dazedly with half-closed eyes. Joshua tried to snap her out of it.
"Those Stormtroopers are getting closer! We need to move, now!"
Allia's eyes flew fully open and focused. She hoisted herself out of the flaming wreck of the speeder and started hurrying for the hangar, Joshua running at her heels.
The two located an entrance into the large structure and rushed inside, heading for the familiar freighter. Already the hum of the Fate's engine was reaching a fever pitch, signaling the craft's readiness for departure. Ecksfive had left the boarding ramp open, letting Joshua and Allia clamber inside.
"What about Arluin?" Allia asked as Joshua hit the controls to close the ramp.
"He'll have to find another way out of here," Joshua answered as the ramp sealed shut. They turned and rushed their way to the cockpit where Ecksfive had already plugged himself in. Strapping down in the pilot's seat, Joshua called up readouts of the Fate's systems. "He's got Savior with him. They'll get another ship."
Allia sat down in the chair next to him. "We're leaving him here?!"
Joshua looked into her eyes, his dark brow furrowed. "Those Stormtroopers are going to be all over us in a matter of seconds. We go now or not at all."
Allia hung her head, looking resigned. Joshua wanted to reach over and hold her close and tell her that everything was going to be fine, but it simply wasn't the time for that sort of thing. He returned his attention to the dashboard.
"Ecksfive, open the bay doors!"
With a confirming twitter, Ecksfive activated the remote controls that dictated the hangar bay entry. The roof of the structure split down the middle as the two massive bay doors began sliding apart, exposing Hadwin's Fate to bright sunlight.
An explosion sounded below as the Stormtroopers finally forced their way into the building. Immediately the white-armored troopers turned their blasters on the Fate, peppering it with laser bolts. The freighter's shields and plating deflected most of the small-arms fire—but it wouldn't hold out forever.
Without waiting for the doors to fully open, Joshua fired the ship's ventral thrusters. Slowly but steadily, Hadwin's Fate began to lift off the ground. The strain on the old freighter's systems caused the engine to whine and scream like a wounded animal, but the craft held together. Joshua carefully directed it upward until it had enough space to clear the bay, then pointed its nose toward the sky and threw the throttle forward. With a roar that echoed through the skyscrapers of Nar Shaddaa, the thrusters of Hadwin's Fate burned like twin suns and catapulted the freighter into the atmosphere.
As Arluin and Savior rounded the corner of an apartment building, the block-like hangar bay finally came into view. Arluin stopped for a breather and felt a wave of relief—soon they would be with their friends again, in the safety of the Fate's hold. Their troubles on Nar Shaddaa were almost at an end.
The distant roar of a familiar engine made Arluin look up. Gazing skywards, he saw the orange thruster flare of Hadwin's Fate as the ship departed from the planet—without him or Savior. Almost running forward in panic, Arluin's mind went into chaos as he watched the ship get farther and farther away until he couldn't see it anymore. Then, he nearly collapsed.
He and Savior were stranded on Nar Shaddaa.
4
Reina tapped her nails against the cold metal of the Executioner's scanner controls, staring with barely contained fury. Next to her, a nervous officer was trying to prevent himself from trembling uncontrollably—and failing.
"Why is the ship known as Hadwin's Fate currently flying past our blockade and out of the system?" the Shield of the Empire snarled, upper lip curling.
"M-my Lady," the officer stammered, "the freighter took us by surprise. We did not expect it to possess the speed it does—"
"That's because you didn't listen to me!" Reina reached up and slapped the man across the face, causing him to stumble backward and hit the deck. Every eye in the bridge was suddenly turned on her. Reina addressed the whole crew as the anger bubbled over yet again.
"I warned you not to underestimate them! What is it going to take to get through your thick skulls that the Rebels are not the mindless rats that you think they are?!" Reina returned her stare to the scanner officer cowering on the deck before her. She was beginning to understand why Admiral Merik enjoyed shooting his subordinates.
Captain Forer plucked up his courage and hurried to Reina's side. "Shall we send a pursuit team after them, my Lady?"
Reina tore her gaze away from the terrified man to look at Forer, and then took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down. She had had Arluin in her grasp, and now he was—
Reina's thought process halted. She couldn't feel Arluin's presence on the Fate. That meant…
"My Lady?" Forer was staring uneasily at her. Reina snapped out of it.
"He's not on that ship," she said coldly. "He's still on the planet. We haven't lost him yet."
"And what about the freighter?" Forer asked.
"I'll send someone after it," Reina stated. "For now, keep deploying your men down to the surface. We have to find my brother!"
Allia peered out of Hadwin's Fate's viewscreen. The Star Destroyer blockade was behind them now, and it continued to get smaller and smaller every second as Joshua put as much distance between them and Nar Shaddaa as possible.
"They're not launching pursuit fighters," she observed. "Why are they letting us go this easily?"
"Don't question it," Joshua said shortly, his eyes still locked onto the dash. "This is the first break we've had in a long time."
Allia slumped back down in the co-pilot's seat, exhausted. "They must have known Arluin isn't with us. They want him more than they want us."
Joshua tapped open a diagnostic readout and checked the damage to the Fate. "Arluin will be fine. Don't worry about him." He sighed. "Looks like we strained the engines too much by taking off in such a hurry. The old systems are starting to break down. They'll last a little longer, but they're gonna need serious attention—and we don't own half the necessary repair parts." He leaned back in the pilot's seat and scratched his dark hair. "We need to dock somewhere."
"We don't even know where General Viktor and the Fleet are right now," Allia said, "so we're going to have to find a planet that will service a Rebel ship."
Joshua chuckled tiredly. "Easier said than done."
Ecksfive let out a long string of beeps and whistles, and Allia's eyes grew wide. Joshua looked back and forth between Twi'lek and droid. "What system is he talking about?"
"Of course!" Allia exclaimed. "Mon Gazza!" When Joshua arched his brow in confusion, she went on. "An old friend of Barret's, Baxter Raleigh, works at a spice mine on the planet Mon Gazza. He might be willing to help us."
"What is this Baxter like?" Joshua queried.
Allia shook her head. "Honestly, I'm not too sure. The last time I saw him I was just a kid. It's been years. But Mon Gazza is only loosely controlled by the Imperials, so this is probably our best chance."
Joshua crossed his arms and was silent for a moment. Then he shrugged. "Well, I don't have a better plan. Ecksfive, set course for Mon Gazza."
As dawn slowly crept into Nar Shaddaa, a Lambda shuttle screamed a few meters over Arluin's head, and the young Jedi reflexively ducked down. The Imperial transport was flying almost dangerously low, and it had to have seen him. Arluin cursed under his breath and picked up his pace, ignoring the pain in his wounded leg. Behind him, Savior warbled and increased her speed as well, trying to keep up with her master.
A dozen thoughts raced through Arluin's head. What chiefly concerned him at the moment was finding a flight-capable transport that would serve in being his way off Nar Shaddaa. After he had watched the Fate blast off into the atmosphere, his mind had gone back to the Quarren pilot he had seen in the streets just hours before. Before Stormtroopers had gunned down the alien, he had mentioned being the pilot of a ship named the Ebony Jewel. Since the Quarren is dead, his ship should be ownerless, Arluin thought. I just hope it isn't a pile of scrap.
Arluin had instructed Savior to access Nar Shaddaa's holonet and locate the Jewel. Luckily, the Quarren had docked his ship not too far from their present location, and Jedi and droid were both en route to its hangar. Unfortunately for them both, every Stormtrooper in the city was now heading to them—and judging by the proximity of the shuttle that had flown over them, they were getting much closer.
The duo rounded a corner and spotted their destination—one of the numerous public hangars that dotted Nar Shaddaa. Arluin was pleased to see that the Stormtroopers hadn't arrived yet. Making their way inside, the pair located the docking bay that contained the Ebony Jewel. As they hurried in, Arluin got his first look at the ship—and he didn't like what he saw.
The Ebony Jewel was settled in the center of the hangar, hunched over and squatting on three short landing struts. It was not a tall ship—barely the height of two full-grown men. It had the appearance of a large, rectangular, gray box, with a smaller box welded onto the front that had to be the cockpit. The entire vessel was colored a dull gray, with no stripes or markings to be seen. A single wing jutted out from the right side, sporting a mounted laser cannon. A lone, lopsided thruster occupied the rear of the ship, and a sliding hatch on the port airlock hung open, inviting them in.
"It's not an Ebony Jewel, more like an Ebony Junkpile," Arluin muttered under his breath. He shook his head—he hadn't been hoping for a luxury cruiser, but the so-called Jewel looked like it could barely lift itself off the ground. Of course, he thought, the Fate doesn't look like much either. It should have taught me not to judge by appearance by now. He heaved a sigh.
The sounds of Stormtrooper communications snapped Arluin out of his thoughts. "Get on board, Savior!" he yelled. "Those Imps aren't gonna wait to let us pick our favorite ship!" Savior warbled a hasty affirmative and rolled up the boarding ramp. Arluin followed, sliding the hatch closed behind her.
Leaving his droid behind in the ship's hold, Arluin raced to the cramped one-man cockpit and strapped himself in. Looking over the vehicle's controls, he found that they were simple enough that he could guess what function each button or lever performed. His touching what he thought to be the ignition and liftoff controls were rewarded with the furious sound of his new vessel's startup. Well, we know she can achieve takeoff, he thought as they slowly started to rise off of the hangar bay floor. But will she have the speed to break through that blockade?
Below them, the Stormtroopers finally made it into the bay. Raising their carbines to the sky, they blasted at the departing ship. Luckily, the Ebony Jewel's armor plating was enough to hold off small arms fire, and no real damage was done.
Once they had achieved sufficient altitude, Arluin prepared to blast out of the atmosphere of Nar Shaddaa when a flashing button on the dash spotted his eye. Not seeing any readouts to tell him what the button did but deciding it was probably necessary for extraplanetary travel, Arluin thumbed the control. He flinched as a grinding noise filled the cockpit. Behind him, the entire body of the Jewel rotated clockwise. Savior screeched as the hold tilted to one side, gravity generators adjusting to compensate for the change. The cockpit and Arluin remained level with the horizon, but the sole wing jutting out from the right of the spacecraft was now pointing directly down, with the entry hatch facing the morning sky.
This is one bizarre ship, Arluin mused to himself as he punched the controls forward. The now-righted thruster on the Jewel's tail burned a bright orange and blasted them away from the planet at a fantastic speed.
As they came closer and closer to space, Arluin experienced the familiar shaking of atmospheric friction. Peering out before him, he could see the infamous triangle shaped Imperial cruisers growing larger as he flew headlong toward them. He held his breath and prepared to use evasive maneuvers to dodge whatever his enemies were going to throw at them.
Within a minute they were on top of the Star Destroyers. Cannon fire erupted all over the blockade, and energy bolts streamed toward the Ebony Jewel. Arluin noted with disdain that the lasers were not typical bolts, but ion bolts, designed to wipe out electrical systems aboard starships. The Empire was trying to take them alive, and the young rebel had a pretty fair idea why. You won't find me easy prey, he thought angrily, and swung the ship on a wild trajectory intended to throw the Destroyers' guns off target. He tried to do a barrel roll, and was surprised when the cockpit section stayed locked in position and the rest of the ship spun around. Whoever had designed the Ebony Jewel had made sure that her pilot wouldn't be thrown off kilter in a heated firefight. Arluin was impressed.
Using this unique ability of his commandeered vessel to his advantage, he quickly outmaneuvered the slow, clunky cannons of the Star Destroyers and soared past the blockade. Thrilled at his own success, Arluin felt a broad smile come to his face. He cheered loudly and was answered by a whoop from his faithful droid. Directing the nose of the starship into open space, he opened the throttle to its full extent and headed out into the vast unknown.
Reina Starfire had watched her brother's stolen ship escape the planet from the viewport of the Executioner. She had known that as soon as he had acquired a spaceworthy vessel, it had been too late to capture him—at least for now. Indeed, his luck in finding a ship with the power to outrun a blockade was impossibly good but completely out of her control. Captain Forer was happily surprised to not find a green lightsaber sticking through his chest after he had told Reina the bad news.
While she was capable of getting very angry when reports were unfavorable, Reina did not feel that she had to kill crewmen unnecessarily. That was a waste of both good men and good anger—two things she would rather use to hunt down the rebels. Besides, she could sympathize with the men under her command—she had to report to someone as well, and as Reina strode down the dark halls of the Executioner toward the communications room, she felt a pit in her gut that only came to her when she had to address her superior—and especially when she had to tell him she'd let him down.
Entering the comms room, Reina opened up a holochannel to the one she served. A few moments later, a transparent blue hologram of her master's visage appeared in front of her. He was old, but also powerful and strong, and the lines on his face contrasted with his firm jaw line and furrowed brow. But the most distinguishing feature of Admiral Merik were his cold blue eyes, eyes that now pierced their way into Reina's core and chilled her like no others could.
"Greetings, Reina," Merik said, foregoing the use of her title. He was the only one besides the Emperor and Lord Vader who could get away with doing so. "How goes the search for your brother?"
The Shield of the Empire lowered her eyes. "I regret to inform you that Arluin has escaped Nar Shaddaa, despite the best efforts of Captain Forer and myself." Reina bowed her head. "I await whatever punishment you deem fit to serve me."
A small, kind grin came to the image of Merik's face. "No punishment needed, child. Your brother's ability to evade capture is commendable, and there is no shame in losing him again. It merely means we must change the game. This is an excellent opportunity to hone your skills and abilities, my agent."
Reina looked back up, determination on her face once more. "Shall I send a pursuit team after him, Admiral?"
Merik put a hand to his chin, thinking. "No, I think not. Arluin is especially adept at besting our tactics that involve overwhelming force. No, I think that we should try something different this time." An idea seemed to come to the Admiral. "What would you say are your brother's greatest weaknesses?"
The female Starfire pondered this for a moment. "His loyalty and attachment to his friends hinder him greatly." She folded her arms. "Also, I am still under the assumption that he strongly believes I can be turned back to who I used to be."
"And can you be turned?"
Reina stiffened slightly but showed no other signs of reaction. "No, of course not. My brother is a fool for thinking so."
The Admiral grinned again, this time more malevolently. "Indeed. Arluin wastes much time and energy in pursuit of the impossible. Now, should this be used against him…"
"He would be far easier to capture and turn," Reina stated darkly. "But how will we accomplish such a thing?"
Merik's grin widened. "You said earlier that your brother is extremely devoted to his friends. If they were to be placed in peril, and Arluin came to know about it…"
Suddenly, Merik's plan made sense to Reina. "A trap."
"Exactly."
"Barret Hadwin is already held by us," Reina reminded the Admiral. "I could use him as bait."
Merik shook his head. "I would rather have Hadwin stay aboard the Executioner. As a pilot, he is very valuable to the Rebel Alliance and could potentially be used as a bargaining chip. His colleagues, however, that boy and the Twi'lek girl, would be very efficient to drawing in Arluin."
The Shield nodded. "I'll send out someone to find them immediately. They shouldn't be hard to track."
The old Admiral looked pleased. "Very well. Remember, though, that once they are in your grasp, the more torturing they go through, the sooner Arluin will come to them."
"Yes, Admiral."
"Immense pain followed by execution should be nothing less than what is required to pull him into the trap."
Reina's spine went cold. "I understand."
The image of Merik faded and vanished. Reina banished the feeling of dread from her body. Joshua and Allia were no longer important to her. All that mattered was getting Arluin to join the Empire.
Reina tapped the comm controls and entered a special code. The image of a Stormtrooper appeared before her. This particular Stormtrooper was no ordinary Imperial soldier, however.
"Imperial Commando 2117 reporting for duty, my Lady," the Trooper flatly stated.
"Greetings, Archer," Reina said, using the Commando's nickname. "I've got a very special job for you…"