Dren sat to breakfast the next morning, unable to stop smiling happily. Last night had been a good night and they would be at Coruscant before tomorrow night. Everything was going great. Jorgan had elected to eat in their quarters instead of in the dining hall, saying that he wanted to make sure that he was caught up on operations and technical manuals for their weapons, armor and equipment. Dren chuckled at the idea. Only Aric Jorgan could decide to eat in solitude and read manuals. Suddenly, a small hand slapped his shoulder while he was sipping his caff, nearly causing him to spill it. "Morning, Soldierboy. Are you sore from last night?"
Moira Denic, wearing a very well tailored tunic and pants, plopped down across from him, a plate of food and cup of black caff in front of her. Dren set his cup down with a smile. "Morning, Beautiful. No I'm not. Are you?"
Moira nodded, winking sultrily and saying in a rather breathy voice, "Oh yes but believe me, I am not complaining."
Dren smiled smugly, obviously feeling a great sense of masculine pride. Corso can and plopped down with them too. "Morning, Lieutenant. Sleep well?"
Dren nodded. "Sure did, Corso. You?"
The big farm boy turned mercenary nodded. "Oh yeah. I haven't ever slept on a bed that comfortable."
The three of them talked as they ate. Suddenly, two more figures and a droid stood over them. "Do you mind if we take the last couple chairs?" asked a tall, lean Jedi in a suit of armor with a robe over it. Moira nodded her head. "Of course, Master Ordo. Please join us. You too, Master Thul."
The two Jedi sat down and began to eat, joining in with the lively conversation. Moira, winked at Nedeser Thul, a tall, thickly built, blond haired, blue eyed man with a long handled lightsaber at his waist. "I didn't know you Jedi could get so big. I was always under the impression that you worried about the mental and spiritual stuff of the force and less about the physical but you look like you do plenty of the physical, Master Thul."
The young Jedi blushed, turning away slightly but saying politely, "We try to balance out between the physical, spiritual and mental. I was training to be a Jedi Guardian for the longest time but that just wasn't my skills set or calling."
Moira nodded. "Well you can guard me anytime."
Ordo laughed and slapped his friend's broad back. Before he could comment or anyone else could say anything, a young blue skinned twi'lek woman walked up to their table and said, "Excuse me? Could I speak with you for a moment?"
They all turned to her and it was Jedi Nedeser Thul who pulled the chair out politely for her and said, "Of course. Here, have a seat."
She smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you. I don't mean to trouble any of you but I was wondering if any of the crew has come to speak with any of you."
Nedeser, Alias, Dren and Moira looked at one another and shook their heads before Alias turned back to the twi'lek woman. "No ma'am. No member of the ship's crew has sought us out. Should they have?"
She shifted uncomfortably. "I – I heard a rumor that there is an Imperial war ship following us – and I know, I know, the Treaty of Coruscant, but I don't trust the Empire to keep the peace."
The four travelers looked at one another. Corso had gone to get more caff and was chatting with one of the space marines and the little droid, a T3 unit if Dren was correct, was connected to a wall socket a dozen meters away. Finally, Dren shrugged. "Well we don't know for sure if the Imperials are following us. I say that it's best not to worry about it for now."
The two Jedi nodded but Moira, being less trusting of any kind of authority stayed silent. The twi'lek noticed and asked, "What do you think, miss…"
Moira shrugged and said, "It's actually Captain - Captain Moira Denic. I think that it's always best to stay on your toes and be ready for anything. If there are rumors, they had to come from somewhere, that's all."
The two Jedi looked disapprovingly at her but she ignored them. The twi'lek woman nodded and sighed in frustration and crossed her arms over her chest. "I just wish I could get one of the crew to answer my questions. They won't tell the passengers anything at all and that's not exactly reassuring."
Dren began to feel his skin prickle. It never boded well when the security and crew of a ship didn't even try to allay the fears of the passengers – especially on a passenger star liner like the Esseles. Alias cleared his throat and said, "Well, telling the passenger that there are Imperials after us would only insight panic. We don't need that."
The blue skinned twi'lek sighed and stood. "I suppose. Still, I think it's unsettling to think that we might have Imperials behind us."
Dren and Moira looked at each other uneasily. The two Jedi didn't look to at ease either. Suddenly alarms started going off and a automated voice said, "Warning! Warning! Incoming Fire! All hands, brace for incoming. Repeat, all hands, brace for –"
The four travelers leaped up, Moira cursing angrily. Of course, the rumors had to be true this time. Suddenly, the whole ship shook violently and many of the guests, as well as dishes, bottles and furniture fell to the floor. Explosions could be heard throughout the ship. Dren growled. "I hate being unarmed."
The twi'lek woman was oddly calm. "The four of you should get to the bridge. I think the captain may need the extra help. Hurry!"
The four of them took off in the direction of the bridge. The Jedi had lightsabers in their hands but the soldier and smuggler were unarmed. As they rounded a corridor, they came across an area where the damage was more severe. Lying on the ground in the wreckage were two uniformed figures. One of them was dead but the other, a young woman, was in shock, breathing hard with her legs trapped under the debris. Dren ran up to them and pulled the dead one from the wreckage. He had a blaster on his hip which Moira took. The young woman looked at Dren and said, "Lieutenant! Is everything okay?"
Dren smiled and said, "Oh yeah. Everything's good. Stay still now. We'll have you out of there and to the med center before you know it."
The two Jedi stretched out their hands. While Alias lifted the main junk pile, Nedeser carefully caught or shifted small pieces. Unfortunately for the young space marine, her legs were crushed and had shards of metal sticking out of them. She saw them and her eyes widened. Before she could scream, Nedeser Thul said, "Hush, now. Sleep."
To the amazement of Dren and Moira, the young space marine fell directly to sleep. Carefully, Dren pulled her free. She had a blaster rifle and pistol on her. Dren took both, handing the pistol to Moira while he checked the rifle. Both were good and had full powercells. As promised, they dropped the marine in the med bay before bolting to the bridge.
It was a scene of chaos, there. Out the front viewport could be seen a massive Imperial war ship, sending periodic volleys of turbo laser fire at them. At the very front of the bridge, near an utterly demolished control console lay a figure with two beings kneeling beside him. One of them, a big, broad fellow said, "He's gone, Sir. You're in charge now. What are your orders?"
The young man he was speaking to, clearly the first officer, was on the very brink of hysterics. "My orders? Weapons are out! Shields are out! Comms are out! There's nothing we can do, Navigator Plex!"
Nedeser walked up with the others at that time and said, "The path may not be clear but that doesn't mean there isn't a path."
The first officer snarled, "Who are these people and why are they on my bridge?"
Moira nodded her head firmly, "Good, you have the spine to take charge."
He glared at her but Navigator Plex said, "Sir, we need all the help we can get. We need to keep it together her or we're finished."
The first officer, who's name plate read Haken, whirled on him and said, "Keep what together? The Imperial's have us by the throat. We're as good as dead."
Dren was losing patience and snapped, "Pull yourself together. You're not helping things at all right now."
The First Officer Haken ignored him, covering his face and moaning, "I can't believe this is happening right now."
Before anyone could scold him for being witless, the comms officer said, "Sir, incoming message – the Imperial ship is hailing us."
That seemed to draw the young man out of his hysteria. "What? Oh, well put him on."
Above the holoprojector, an imposing figure was displayed – a man in an Imperial Moff's uniform perfectly tailored for him. One whole side of his face was a mess of scars. In a very rich, cultured voice, he said, "Attention Republic Transport Esseles, this is Imperial Grand Moff Rycus Kilran. Your defenses are disabled. Attempt no resistance."
Nedeser clasped his hands behind his back and said, "We are aware of the situation we're in, Kilran. Why are you here attacking us?"
Kilran smiled coldly. "Your ship is transporting a known anti-imperial terrorist and seditionist known as the Ambassador Vyn Asara."
First Officer Haken frowned. "Who? We didn't take on any passenger by that name. I've never even heard of this person."
Moff Kilran just smirked a little. "Interesting – lying or simply incompetent? It's not matter. My agents aboard your ship have informed me that the ambassador it there."
Alias, the tall Jedi Knight snorted and said, "Well obviously your agents are misinformed. The First Officer informed you that there is no ambassador on board."
The smug bastard simply replied, "You'll forgive me if I don't take his word for it, my friend. Imperial Soldiers are preparing to board your ship. My agents will ensure that you will not interfere with them. If you attempt to stop my men from arresting ambassador Asara, I will have every living thing aboard the Esseles killed."
The image of the Moff disappeared. Dren was itching for action. "Where is the primary airlock? I'm sure I and the Space Marines can stop the Imps as they try to board."
The two Jedi had their lightsabers in hand and, to Dren's surprise, Moira was checking the charge on the blasters.
The navigator looked startled, "Weren't you listening? If we try to fight, they'll slaughter us. We have to cooperate."
Just then, Jedi Ordo's T7 droid, a big trandoshan , Aric Jorgan and Corso Riggs all rushed to the bridge. The first officer seemed to have finely gained his nerves completely. With a determined expression, he shook his head. "It won't matter, Plex. Kilran has us now and he'll kill us all."
He turned towards the four travelers. "He's famous for it. The ONLY one he wants alive is the ambassador."
They all nodded. "If Kilran gets the ambassador while we're still in his sights, then we're goners. Those soldiers have to be stopped before they can succeed."
Moira holstered her two appropriated blasters and smiled coldly and confidently. "We'll ensure that no Imp soldiers get aboard this ship."
She looked at the three men with her, her mind picking that moment to realize that it could be fun working with a group of such attractive and dangerous men. Smiling beautifully, she gave them a each a sultry wink. The First Officer nodded. "Thank you for volunteering and I'm sorry I lost it."
Dren waved the apology away with a smile. "It happens to all of us our first time, Haken. You recovered, now lead these men and women."
The first officer smiled and said, "Thanks. It means a lot that you're helping, you know."
Dren's regular cockiness got the better of him and his smirked, shoulder the blaster rifle in a low ready position. "It's been awhile since I broke a sweat. This could be fun."
The First Officer's smile broadened. "I'm sure you can handle anything the Imps will throw at us. I'll have Commander Narloc and the security team meet you at the primary air lock. They haven't seen much action but the commander knows his stuff."
His face turning deadly serious, Haken said, "Good luck. We're all counting on you."
Moira hmmphed slightly and murmured, "Great, no pressure then."
"What should we do?" asked Jorgan. Dren said, "None of you are armed. Stay here and wait till we repel the boarding parties then you can get some weapons and sweep this ship of any remaining boarders and agents."
Corso looked at his captain and she nodded. "Dren's right. Stay here and wait for the all clear."
With that, Alias Ordo, Nedeser Thul, Moira Denic and Dren Antilles left the bridge. Between them and the primary airlock were several entertainment, recreation and leisure areas. When they came to the first one, they saw a half a dozen individuals holding the rest in one large group, all sitting on the ground. The six individuals were armed with hold-out blasters and it didn't take the defenders long to realize that they were the agents Kilran had spoken of. Moira and Dren didn't even bother trying to get them to surrender. They both just raised their weapons and fired. The bolts of energy took four of them out before the Imperial agents even realized they were there. The other two were slammed into the wall with telekinetic blasts from the Jedi. Alias turned and glared at the soldier and the smuggler. "You didn't even give them a chance to surrender!"
Dren shrugged as he skillfully zip-cuffed the two unconscious enemy agents. "We don't all have fancy force tricks like you, Jedi."
Nedeser, more calmly than his friend, said, "No, but you do have stun settings on those blasters."
Moira chuckled. "That we do, Jedi. But from this range, we'd stun a whole bunch of passengers along with the agents and if even one was still conscious, he would start blasting away at the passengers. What do you prefer, handsome - dead Imperials or dead passengers?"
Alias and Nedeser looked at each other, unable to come up with a viable argument. Dren solved it. "Tell you what, you two go first from now on and we'll handle the agents anyway you see fit, how's that sound, Jedi?"
The two nodded, igniting their weapons. Ordo wielded a single blue bladed lightsaber but Thul had a green, double bladed one that looked very fearsome and impressive. The next area they went into, the two Jedi batted blaster bolts aside as they used the force to sweep the agents aside. There were more of them now. Within moments, all of them, ten in total, were unconscious and the passengers grabbed their blasters and tied the agents up. Thul smirked. "See and no one died."
Moira scowled but Dren shrugged, "Well now I'm impressed. Let's keep going."
There was only one more open area that they needed to clear before they had reached the airlcok and it had eight Imperial agents inside. Each of them had a passenger as a human shield and one of them yelled as soon as the four defenders moved into the lounge area. "Don't move any closer! If you do, these people die!"
All for stopped but Alias and Nedeser didn't seem that concerned. Alias waved his hand and said, "You will let them go."
The agent sneered, "Nice try, Jedi. We have mental training against your childish tricks now drop your weapons. You have three seconds!"
The Jedi reached out their hands to wrest the weapons from their wielders' grasps. It worked accept three of the armed individuals realized what was going on and pulled the trigger. Three passenger bodies thudded to the ground, charred holes int their heads. The two Jedi seemed shocked. Moira and Dren pointed their weapons the agents and Moira's voice was cold. "Just give me a reason, Imperial scum - JUST. ONE. REASON."
They did so, trying to charge the two of them but they were blasted as soon as they took a step and none of them made it to the soldier or smuggler alive. As soon as they were dead, the former prisoners began to flock around the body's of the three executed prisoners and the cries of loved ones quickly filled the cabin. Dren and Moira were about to push on when they noticed Alias and Nedeser were still just standing their, looking as if they had been frozen. Dren went up to Jedi Thul and gave him a none to gentle slap. "HEY! Snap out of it, Jedi. We need you. When it comes to Imperial's there is always, ALWAYS, collateral damage. If you let that paralyze you, you are worse than useless. In fact, you're a liability."
Moira was doing the same thing to Alias and slowly, the Jedi shook their head, clearing them and they headed towards the primary airlock where a team of two dozen space marines waited, lead by a tall Mon Calamari. The fish-like alien was giving his grass-green recruits a pep talk and it even seemed to be helping. The Jedi strode out in the open, their weapons ready. About four meters behind them and just slightly off to the side, Dren and Moira took positions, know that the Jedi would intercept any stray bolts coming towards them. Dren took a knee and aimed down the sights of his blaster rifle while Moira stood, her legs spread just wider than shoulder width and the blaster gripped firmly in her hands. Suddenly, sparks flew and they all recognized a shaped charge. As soon as the door was gone, the defenders opened fire, pouring laser bolts into the smoking hole. More energy streaked out in return as black and red armored Imperial soldiers ran in, try to find cover. The defenders hadn't had time to move all the crates, boxes and other various things from near the air lock so the Imperials managed to get a foot hold. Over the sound of blaster fire, a demand came from an Imperial officer. "Surrender!"
In reply, Commander Narloc threw a grenade and yelled, "Victory or nothing!"
The explosion filled the end of the corridor with smoke but they could all hear the sound of the dead and the dying. Dren knew that later, he would have to wrestle with the scene in his mind in order to maintain his psychological stability. Even as a soldier, even as an elite special forces commando, he still hated killing and hated worse the need for it but he didn't shy away, firing blast after blast with expert precision. Suddenly, a grenade bounced towards him and, out of pure instinct, he kicked. He was lucky that it was not on an impact or proximity fuse but rather a timed one. Nedeser Thul, who sensed it, leaped straight up and the grenade sailed beneath him back into the midst of the Imperials before going off. Moira whooped and continued blasting away. Dren smiled grimly. The Imperial advance was stopped and they were running out of troops. Suddenly, a blaster bolt, one that Jedi Thul had missed blazed way too close to his face, leaving a horizontal burning on his cheek. Twisting and falling with a cry of pain, Dren covered his face. "Dren!"
Looking up, he saw Moira standing in front of him, blasting away at any Imperial stupid enough to show their faces. Suddenly, tired of this, Alias gave a wild cry in a language that Dren didn't understand. The Jedi Knight leaped, spun, rolled and dodged through the hail of deadly energy until, with a single stroke, he cut down the Imperial lieutenant who was leading the assault. Most of the other Imperial soldiers were killed too before four of them lay on the ground and put their hands on their heads. Dren stood slowly, his face still burning. Moira grabbed his hands and tried to move it but Dren wouldn't let her. "Let me see, damn it!"
Reluctantly he did and was pleasantly surprised to find that he not only still had an eye but that it worked just fine. Moira sighed with relief and smirked. "Looks like you have another story to tell the ladies, Soldierboy. We'll get some kolto for that later."
Dren nodded. It still hurt like hell-fire. A chorus of whoops and cheers came from the defending space marines. None had died and only three had severe injuries, none of which would be fatal it treated quickly. The Mon Calamari commander was all but crowing with pride. "Oorah! We've done it, men! We've DONE IT! The ship is saved!"
"I'm sorry commander but that - that isn't the case;" said a very sad, quiet voice from behind the marines. They parted to reveal the blue skinned twi'lek woman they had talked to before Kilran's ship had opened fire on them. Moira frowned at her. "An Imperial said that you are the one they were sent to capture."
The twi'lek woman shook her head, "Listen, that's not important right now, okay? We have a serious problem. First Officer Haken walked us right into a trap and the attack on this airlock was just a ruse. After he sent you here, Mandalorian Commandos took the bridge lead by one named Iron First."
Dren scowled. He had never faced a Mandalorian and had never wanted to. "We need more details, Ambassador."
Speaking quickly, she explained, "The Mandalorians work for the Empire and they're some of the best warriors in the galaxy and this Iron First is one of the most famous. He has never been defeated, never even been driven back. He and his commandos have stormed the bridge and now the entire area is locked down tight."
Alias crossed his arms. "How did you learn about all this?"
The twi'lek looked a little exasperated. "I snuck into the security center and watched the cams. We don't have time for this, let's go!"
Before she could turn away, Narloc grabbed her shoulder and said, "Why are the Imperials so damned desperate to capture you?"
Sighing resignedly, she said, "Because of my work. I'm a Republic ambassador. I go to Imperial controlled planets and convince their governments to come over to our side."
Moira's eyes widened and she said, "Damn! Talk about running dangerous cargo! Who gets you in and our of these places?"
"I slip in on passengers ships like this one now can we please go? The ship is still in enemy hands!"
They started heading in the direction of the bridge and Narloc said, "We need to retake the bridge and the longer we take the harder those Mandos will be to get out."
Asara, the ambassador, shook her head. "As I said, they have it locked down and there is no way to get in and out."
Dren shrugged. "There has to be an override or something."
Alias grinned and said, "Okay here is the plan: Narloc, take your marines and start making a lot of noise throughout the ship. I'm sure they used boarding pods and spread out, not to mention more Imp agents. Des, you, the lieutenant and the captain can come with me and we'll find a way to get that shield down."
Asara frowned. "What about me?"
Dren replied as he checked his blaster rifle, "You're staying with us. Let's head down to engineering. They are the only ones of the bridge who could override the lock down. Stay behind the Jedi, Ambassador."
At a brisk jog, they headed towards the engineering compartment. As they ran, the ship shook violently and, through the bulkhead speared three pods, wedging themselves in place. Dren recognized them - Imperial boarding pods. They opened and out came Imperial battle droids. They weren't much trouble. Dren and Moira took care of them while the Jedi made sure that Ambassador Asara stayed safe and in one piece. Moira blasted the last droid and said, "You know, I kinda expected more from Imperial battle droids. Then again, I expected more from the Imperial troopers too. Maybe I should just lower my expectations."
Dren chuckled but the Jedi Consular Nedeser Thul said, "I wouldn't. If you lower your expectations, you may underestimate them. It's far better to be cautious sometimes."
Moira smiled and said, "I prefer confidence, myself, Jedi."
They continued down the corridors, blasting through a few more groups of droids and Imperial agents. When they finally reached engineering, they found it sealed by a particle shield. The chief behind it scowled, "You must be crazy, coming all the way down here with Imperials everywhere."
Moira crossed her arms. "Mercs have the bridge locked down and you can get us in there."
The chief engineer rubbed his temples and said, "The Imps pulled the lock down. You have got to be kidding me."
Ambassador Asara cleared her throat. "There is no time to waste. We need to get the bridge unlocked now before Narloc and his marines get overwhelmed."
Dren frowned and said, "Can you get the bridge open from there?"
The chief replied rather snarkily, "It depends on how we go about it. Just let me thing a minute."
One of the other engineers, a young, dark skinned human lifted a hand, "What about a reactor reset? That would disengage the security locks, wouldn't it, Chief?"
The Chief scowled at him. "Yes, but a reactor reset automatically vents the engineering compartment. We'd all be sucked into the black."
Alias scratched his chin. "Okay so are there any other ways to do it that won't result in that?"
The Chief nodded. "Yes, there are two secondary conduits throughout this level. If you get to them, you can shut down the security lock down."
The four defenders nodded in agreement but Ambassador Asara said, "There is no time to go running all over the ship. If we take too long, the Imperials will overwhelm Narloc. Sorry Chief but we need to unlock the bridge while we have the chance."
All four of the defenders looked aghast. Nedeser shook his head firmly. "We will NOT sacrifice lives for an easier solution. Now listen..." he turned to his companions and outlined an idea. "I'll take either Moira or Dren and we'll go and get one of them. Alias, you take the other and get the second conduit."
Moira flashed a smiled and sidled up to Nedeser. "I'm with you, big boy."
Dren chuckled and stood next to Alias. "Okay, let me see;" said the Mandalorian Jedi Knight as he brought up a schematics of the area they were in, using them to locate the two conduits. "Des, come here and take a look. I'll take this one and you take that one."
Nedeser nodded. "Got it. Let's go."
With that, they split, leaving Asara alone. Nedeser turned to her and said, "Don't you even think about it, Ambassador. We'll have that shield down in no time."
Until Nedeser and Moira got to the conduit, neither of them met any Imperials or mercenaries. "Must be hard to be a Jedi. I mean, you miss so many of life's base experiences;" murmured the beautiful smuggler as they headed towards their target. "It's hard to miss something you've never had. Like chocolate for example. How can one miss chocolate if you never had it and don't know what it's like?"
Moira giggled and said, "That is so different than sex. Tell me something, does being a Jedi keep you from getting hard if you see a naked woman?"
Nedeser blushed but remained focused. "I've never seen a naked woman but I doubt that it would. The body still has natural reactions, though I know how to help suppress those reactions through the force and mental discipline."
Moira smiled wickedly and said, "Really?"
Putting on a burst of speed, she stopped in front of him and, with a wink, lifted her outer shirt, under shirt and bra, revealing her full, perky breasts. Nedeser's mouth went dry as sand and he was immediately required to call on the force to keep the blood from rushing to his manhood. Clearing his throat, Nedeser grinned and said, "Now that was worth seeing but is this really the time, Captain?"
Moira shook her head and she dropped and adjusted her clothes into position. "Amazing! You have all that power and you use it to keep yourself from getting hard. Just imagine the things you could do to a woman or multiple women if you wanted to."
Nedeser laughed as they came up to the door to the conduit station. It was jammed shut. "Great;" growled Moira but Nedeser just reached out with the force and force the door opened amidst a shower of sparks. Inside was a squad of eight soldiers and a large, three legged and heavily armed war droid. Nedeser ignited one of the blades of his weapon and mutter, "Oh boy."
Moira flung a grenade at the wardroid and opened fire on the troops. After the grenade scrapped the droid, Nedeser leaped at the enemy troops, cutting down several of them. Moira blasted several more and, within moments, the room was empty. Moira ran up to the console and began tapping away at it. "Got it! Back to engineering."
Alias and Dren didn't meet any trouble between the engineering shield and the conduit either and when they got to the jammed, door, Alias said, "I'm going to cut us an entrance. Get ready to throw a grenade or two as soon as I do."
Dren grinned and pulled out two grenades, saying as he got ready to prime them, "You know what, Alias - I like you. You're alright, especially for a Jedi."
The Jedi Knight laughed and then slashed through the door in a quick square before using the force to blast it inward, managing to smash a war droid as he did. Dren threw the grenades and they both ducked back into the passage till the explosives detonated. Rushing in, the found that only three of the enemy troops remained. Dren blasted two of them and Alias cut down the third. Running up to the console, Dren began to tap at it. "Do you know what your doing, Lieutenant?" asked Alias doubtfully. "It can't be hyperdrive science, can it? A-HAH! Got it. Let's go."
The four defenders got back to the shield and were happy to see it was down. "Right;" said Moira, looking very serious. "Back to the bridge."
They had a fight to get back. When they got to the command level, they found it overrun with groups of Mandalorians, all of them wearing bes'kar'gam, otherwise known as armor made of Mandalorian Iron. The stuff was resistant to lightsabers, blasterbolts, projectile weapons and just about everything else. Quickly, after several very close calls, the four defenders fell into a routine. The Jedi covered the other two and deflect blaster bolts while the other two took their time or used sonic grenades to scramble the armor's equipment or did whatever else they could. Sometimes, the Jedi would just use the force to slam, stun or put to sleep the Mandalorian boarders but that didn't always work, especially not on the older, more seasoned warriors. Despite the tough resistance, they made it to the bridge and strode onto it. Down in the pit below the main command deck stood a big man, taller than Alias and broader than Dren. With a small, sardonic smile, the big man began to clap slowly. "Well, well, I was wondering when you would come. Is this it? There aren't more of you?"
Moira leveled her blasters and said in a cold, deadly voice, "Oh I'm just shaking in my boots. Promise, I am."
Iron Fist grinned eagerly and said, "Just give me a decent fight, will you."
Turning to two Mandalorians, he said, "Let's vape this worthless scum and get back to work."
The two mandos lifted their weapon but that's all they managed. Nedeser and Alias lifted them both, slammed them into the deck plating so hard, that they dented it, slammed them into each other and then slammed them into opposite walls. The two warriors fell like dolls to the ground. At the same time, Dren and Moira were circling and firing at Iron Fist. He was quick, despite his size, avoiding most of the fire and catching the rest on his thick armor. He returned fire too, nearly killing both of them before they found cover. Iron Fist was about to fire a rocket at one of them when Alias was on him. The Jedi Knight yelled something in a strange language and Iron Fist's eyes blazed. Leveling his arm, he sent a jet of fire at the Jedi Knight, who lifted his hand and used the force to direct it away from him with ease before he blasted at the Mandalorian merc with the force. He flew backwards but, before he hit the wall, his jet pack fired up and he blasted back at Alias, plowing into him and pummeling at him. Nedeser Thul lifted both of them, separated them and tried to slam Iron Fist into the deck. Again, the Jet pack was able to dull the blow considerably. Dren, fired his last blaster bolt before dropping the rifle and charging the larger man, punching him four times in the face, hard enough to draw blood and blacken an eye. The merc laughed and swung back, slightly surprised when Dren blocked the blow, grabbed the wrist, spun, fell to a knee and threw the Mandalorian over his shoulder neatly. Viciously, he tried to stomp on the man's head but Iron fist rolled away and stood up, facing the two Jedi and the unarmed soldier. He lifted his hands, ready to fire more gauntlet mounted weapons when Moira Denic leaped onto his back and wrapped a wire around his neck. With a look of pure hatred on her face, she twisted it and yanked hard, trying to either slice deep into the Mandalorian's neck or just cut off his air. It almost worked too but Iron Fist managed to get one of his hands up under the wire just as it tightened, allowing him room to breathe. Reaching up and behind him with his other hand, he grabbed a handful of clothing and yanked. Moira came off with the sound of tearing cloth. It probably saved her life. Iron Fist had wanted to slam her head first into the ground. Seeing his new friend nearly killed galvanized Dren to move again. Charging, he slammed his forehead into the Mandalorian's nose, breaking it as he got one big hand around Iron Fist's throat. The Mandalorian removed the hand from his neck, lifted Dren and tried to throw him, but the gamely soldier refused to let go, kicking at his knee joint instead. The big Mandalorian didn't have his hydraulic joints activated and on knee buckled. With a knee, Dren smashed Iron Fist's face. Finally realizing he was in trouble, Iron Fist broke free and tried to roll away, only to come up facing a blaster muzzle and the deadly cold face of the smuggler. The last thing Moira saw in the Mandalorian's face was the look of respect - respect for a foe who had beaten him before she blew his head clean off.
Dren shook out his arms, both of which were bruised from defending against Iron Fist's bes'kar clad forearms. Neither of the Jedi were hurt and Moira had a cut on her head but nothing worse. Suddenly, the beautiful smuggler cried out and ran towards a group of huddled figures. Dren recognized them - one was his Sergeant, Aric Jorgan and another was Corso Riggs. Both were limp and lay next to a huge trandoshan. Dren ran over just as Jorgan sat up and snarled. Suddenly, he was up, a feral light in his eyes and his retractable claws and fangs bared. "Where is the bastard? I'll rip his throat out with my teeth!"
Dren held up a hand. "Easy, Sergeant. He's dead the the ship is ours. Moira, how's Corso?"
Moira looked on the verge of panic. "Corso? Corso? Come on, buddy, wake up!"
Dren knelt beside her and gently stopped her from slapping his face anymore. "Hold on, Moira. Let me see."
He tested the big farm boy's pulse and found that it was strong. They probably stunned and drugged him. Taking a look at the mercenary's hands, he noted the scrapes and scars on it. "He put up a fight so they stunned him and then probably gave him a sedative. He's fine, Moira."
Moira wasn't convinced. "He better be. How do I wake him?"
Nedeser Thul knelt beside them and closed his eyes, placing a hand on the farm boy's chest. Slowly, Corso opened his eyes and groaned. "Ouch! My head is killing me."
Moira leaned down and kissed him, saying seductively, "Does that help, Corso?"
He grinned and said, "Yeah! Maybe if you gave me one or two more, I'd be shipshape again."
Moira gave him a long, slow kiss on his brow before saying, "That will have to do. Maybe later, after we clear out the rest of these Imps and Mandos, you'll come and stay with me in my room. I'll take real good care of you, promise I will."
Corso sighed and said, "Not sure I can do that, Capt'n..."
"Save the sweet talk for later, we need to clear the rest of the ship;" said Nedeser rather huffily. Moira looked at him. "My, my, Jedi. Was that jealousy I heard?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Let's go."
Updated 07.06.2016
