Thanks everyone for the kind words! So glad this one's being enjoyed!
Chapter Seven: Standoff
"Captain?" Milo sounded concerned. "What is it?"
It was incredibly disorienting to hear her voice in his mind but Stonewall set the feeling aside for now, as well as the myriad of questions that came arose from the communication. I'm sure it's just a Jedi thing, he thought as he looked back at the others. "She's in trouble," he replied. "Worse than we thought. The pirates know who she is; there's a group coming for us as well."
"Excellent," Traxis said, lifting his blasters. "Too bad Vera isn't here to greet the bishwags. The twins will have to do for now." Everyone chuckled at the mention of the scarred clone's blaster cannon.
Crest nodded, his hands already on a grenade. "Let's show them what real fighting looks like." Before the captain had been contacted by Kali, the squad had been running flat out across the desert, following the line of dirt that had been kicked up by the swoops; in the distance they could make out flickering, purple energy beams that led to the pirates' stronghold. The terrain here was rocky and uneven, with huge pits in the ground that periodically spewed up the corrosive acid that Stone had read about from the prior reports of this planet.
Though the others were crouched behind a series of boulders, Weave had clambered to the top of the nearest one and was using his electrobinoculars to scan the surrounding landscape. "Captain," he said, pointing to a spot in the distance. "I think I see the wreckage of the Republic ship that crashed here before – the one that the Senators rode in. It appears that it was too damaged for the pirates to salvage much."
He passed the device to Stonewall who had climbed up beside him so that the clone captain could make out the charred remains of the transport in the center of the field. Stone looked back at the others. "It seems like we're expecting guests," he said. "And I don't know about you, but I don't feel like running the rest of the way to the pirates' home."
The grin in Crest's voice was evident. "Are you suggesting that we lie in wait and spring our own trap, Captain?"
"And make use of their swoops?" Milo added. "I'm tired of sprinting all over this desert."
It was more productive to make light of the situation than worry about Kali, so Stonewall smiled beneath his bucket. "I think it's the least we can do, to repay their hospitality."
Traxis spun his blasters on his fingertips. "Mar'e. I'm itching for a fight."
"Well, it looks like you won't have long to wait, Trax," Weave replied, holding the 'oculars again. "I see a distinctive dust cloud making its way to our position. Should be here in about ten minutes."
Stonewall gestured to the wreckage of the ship. "Gentlemen: shall we?"
"I have a more important matter to attend to than this...woman," Dooku said, his gaze flicking to Kalinda once before returning to the pirate leader. "You claim that this person is a Jedi? That's why you contacted me? I have no time for such trifles."
Kali found herself unable to take much pleasure in Hondo's obvious confusion at Dooku's reaction, though the pirate leader hid it quickly. "There is a bounty of one million credits on the head of each Jedi captured," he said with a gesture towards her. "Here is a Jedi; now, when can I expect my payment?"
"I believe that you have other matters to concern yourself with," Dooku replied, raising a brow. "You would do well to remember our deal, my friend." The last two words sent chills down Kali's spine.
There was a flicker of fear from the pirate, though it was followed by a biting anger. "Our deal did not cover an event such as this," Hondo replied in a smooth voice. "Therefore I –"
Dooku waved his hand towards Kalinda. "I see no evidence that this one is even a Jedi; she may very well be one of your own crew in a very poor disguise. Besides, she lacks that cumbersome, self-righteous bearing that they all share." His stare remained on Hondo and his tone grew even more sinister. "May I reiterate that you are wasting my time? An unwise thing to do."
In the background, Kali could hear the voice of someone else, someone who sounded even less-pleased than Dooku about the situation, though she couldn't make out any words. However, at the strange voice the Sith lord seemed to grow more agitated, even glancing behind him once, though briefly, before looking back at the pirate and narrowing his eyes once more.
This is likely to be very bad, Kali thought, glancing at Hondo, who seemed to have reached a similar conclusion and had grown still.
"I should also tell you," the pirate added after a pause. "This Jedi was sent to destroy your...facility. There are others here as well, who my boys are searching for. We will see to it that they are taken care of." Kali sensed a flicker of pride from Hondo at the mention of his men, though it was swallowed by fear with the Count's next words.
"That is of little concern to me," he said in a dismissive tone. "You have already broken our deal by allowing Republic forces to arrive on your miserable little planet."
Hondo shook his head. "If I may remind you...that was not the arrangement, Count. We agreed that we would keep an eye on your base, not keep the Republic away from it." Kali could see that his fists were clenched beneath his coat.
Dooku's eyes closed for a moment; he had the air of one who was speaking to a small child. "I see little point in continuing this discussion any longer." He motioned to something that they could not see; moments later a battle droid appeared and handed the Count a small, rectangular object. "You have annoyed me for the last time, Hondo Ohnaka. However, I shall make one final use of you and see if these new droids are as effective as they have been purported to be. Unfortunately, I am unable to be present for your demise, but I shall savor the moment nonetheless." His finger moved over the device – which she could now see was a remote of some kind – and Kali watched Hondo's shoulders stiffen as the Sith entered the code that she presumed would activate the droids on Florrum. Before the pirate leader could reply, Count Dooku gave a grim smile. "Revenge is sweet, isn't it, my friend?"
The image died.
Kalinda looked at Hondo, who was again holding perfectly still, staring at the silent transmitter. "You need to let me go," she said, keeping her tone as calm as she could. "I can help you; my men can help you, but you need to let me go."
He glanced at her but shook his head. "You don't understand," he replied. "He's turned those...things loose already..." Again, she felt a throb of fear interspersed with agitation and remorse.
"It doesn't matter," Kali said. "We can do this. Out there is a force to be reckoned with: some of the best soldiers that the Republic has to offer. In here is a group of warriors whose home, whose freedom, is at risk. Together we can – "
"Why?" he interjected, approaching her again. Though his voice was hard, she could sense his thoughts wavering with her words. "Why would you help us?"
Kali met his gaze. "Let me go and I'll show you." She frowned. "And call off your men. I've ordered my troops not to harm them, but I'd rather not risk anything."
At this he threw back his head and laughed. "Though I haven't met any, I know of your clone soldiers," he said. "I know that no man has ever been bred who could take on a pirate with fire in his heart and a fight on his brain." Behind him, the pirates shuffled and nodded, their backs straightening at his words.
An image of Stonewall and his brothers came to her mind and Kali's tone softened. "My troops are more than soldiers; they are warriors – they are men – of no equal," she replied. "And I think you will be very surprised at what they are capable of."
In the last of the fading sunlight Stonewall could make out the figures of the pirates with his HUD and he tightened his grip on the Deece as the dust cloud grew closer. "Her orders still stand," he said to the others. "We're not to kill any of them outright, only disable them. We just need their transportation."
Traxis made a sound of frustration, but it was Milo who voiced the question that was on everyone's mind. "Captain, are you sure?"
"It was an order, Milo," he replied as he leaned against the bulkhead of the ship, the familiar form offering a measure of security. "And besides," he added. "As much as I'd like to blast some pirates, our fight's not with them." Traxis muttered something under his breath and Stonewall felt his own temper flare. "What was that, Trax?"
"I said it must be nice to be able to pick and choose what orders you follow."
Weave cleared his throat. Crest coughed. Milo was silent.
And this was why I wanted to keep things quiet, Stone thought. Complications. He glanced at the others. "I understand, Trax, but we can hash all of that out later; now we need to focus on the mission. I didn't hallucinate her orders from before, did I?"
"No, sir," Milo replied, his voice quiet. "You're right: she said 'no bloodshed.'" The buzz of the swoops could now be heard in the distance, growing louder with each passing moment.
Traxis sighed. "Fine. No dead pirates."
"Hey, it's okay, vod," Crest said, slapping Traxis' back. "I'm sure they'll be plenty of things for you to shoot before this mission ends."
The buzzing sound increased and Stonewall took another look at the approaching forms; he counted ten vehicles with as many pirates. Two to one, he thought. I like those odds. "Everyone set your weapons for stun," he said. "Crest: prepare to give them a distraction. A round or two of well-placed dets should do it. Weave and Milo: you're in charge of getting us the swoops we need. Trax?"
"Captain?" His tone was slightly sarcastic but Stonewall let it slide for now.
"You and I will take care of the pirates. Feel free to stun as many as you want, as long as you don't kill them."
"Fantastic."
Once more, Kalinda found herself riding with the Weequay pirates, though this time her hands were unbound and she was seated behind their leader rather than one of his lackeys. In a surprising gesture of altruism, Hondo had given her a set of goggles to shield her eyes from the worst of the dust, for which she was grateful. Night was falling in earnest, which did little to allay her concerns; along with the fear for the lives of her men and the fragile accord that had been strung between her and Hondo was the thought of the stealth-droids, who even now were marching out to meet them. How are we supposed to fight an enemy that we can't see?
Before they'd left, Kali had requested her comlink back, but Hondo's Kowakian monkey-lizard had decided to rip it apart during her interrogation, so she was trying to contact Stonewall using the Force.
It wasn't working.
Perhaps it was the distraction of racing over the dunes and rocks in the custody of one of the galaxy's more notorious pirates, the concern she felt for Stone and the others, or even her own exhaustion, but she was unable to reach him. He's fine, he's fine, he's fine, she thought, willing it to be true. We will succeed because we must succeed. The Force is with us. The words felt flat. She ducked her head to keep the dust from her nose and tried to take a deep breath; all she could smell was sand, fuel and the scent of smoke and ale that clung to the pirate's coat.
"Not much farther now," Hondo called to her, his voice carried over the buzz of the swoop. "They're near the wreck of the last Republic ship that made its way to our home."
"You still can't get a hold of your men?" Talking into the wind resulted only in more sand in her mouth and the words came out as more of a sputter than speech.
He did not respond for a moment and she sensed agitation from him. "We do not have the communication amenities that your Republic has," he said at last. "They were to check in only when they spotted your troops, and again when they were on their way back."
Kalinda nodded but kept her mouth closed. Though the goggles tinted everything yellow, she could still see the desert sands racing away beneath them, a blur in the night. Again she shut her eyes and tried to reach across the Force to Stonewall, letting all of the distractions pass through her: the buzz of the swoops; the hissing of air rushing past her ears; the thrumming of the engine beneath her seat; the biting of stray sand against her exposed skin; the fear in her heart at the thought of harm coming to him or to any of her squad.
Her concentration was broken when the swoops' frenetic pace slowed and she looked up in surprise. Ahead of her she heard Hondo's exclamation of dismay as her eyes registered what was happening at the site of the fallen Republic ship. "It appears you were correct about the prowess of your men," he said to her as he halted the vehicle. Indeed, she could make out the clones' blaster fire, electric blue in the darkness, as well as several pirate bodies on the ground before them. "So much for your promises, Jedi." His voice was bitter.
An explosion, a bright patch of orange and yellow in the darkness, blossomed beyond the pirates' position, causing the ones still standing to yelp in dismay as they were flung off of their feet. Shots fired at their hearts. The pirates who had come with Hondo began shouting and cursing, leaping from their vehicles to face the clones.
Heedless of anything besides the battle before her, Kalinda gathered the Force and leaped away from Hondo's swoop, landing about thirty yards from the clones' position. Wishing she had her saber, Kali raced towards her men. "Stone," she shouted. "What are you doing? Stand down!"
As he rose to meet her she realized that, even without his distinctive armor – beneath which he shared a face with every other clone in the galaxy – she would be able to pick him out of a thousand of his brothers; he reached beneath his kama and pulled out her lightsaber and tossed it to her with a familiar ease. She caught it but didn't activate the blade as she ran to him. Behind her she heard Hondo shout an order to his men, though she didn't know what it was.
"Kalinda?" Stonewall was there, he was an arm's length from her, hale and healthy and radiating relief and confusion. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I told you not to kill them," she said, pointing to the pirates' bodies. "I gave you an order..." She looked at the other clones who were clustered behind him and remembered his request from earlier. "You defied a direct order, trooper," she added, injecting her tone with vehemence. "I told you exactly what I expected of you, Captain, yet you ignored me. It will be the last time."
It took him a moment to reply and she winced inwardly at the distress in his thoughts. "They're only stunned," he replied, shaking his head. "We just wanted their swoops, Kali...General Halcyon. To come for you...that's it."
"Stunned?" She reached through the Force and looked at the fallen pirates again; indeed, they were only unconscious. Her chest lifted and dropped as she sighed, then she looked up at him. "So they are."
"You gave me an order," he replied, his voice quiet as he stepped closer to her. "Are you okay?" His helmet tilted as he studied her. "You're shaking." His gloved hands reached for hers, though he checked himself.
She nodded and glanced behind her at Hondo, who was approaching, several of his men at his back. "They're only stunned," she called.
The pirate leader gave a guttural instruction to one of his men, who scurried forward to check his fallen comrades. Kali glanced behind Stonewall at the other clones, who were watching the scene; she figured that Stone was relaying the information to them via the comlinks in their helmets. "I'm sorry I yelled at you," she whispered. "I didn't mean it." He was right; her hands were shaking, but a few deep breaths eased the tension.
His voice was wry. "I did ask for it, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did," she replied with a small smile. "You know I'd rather do other things to you then yell." They looked at each other for a moment before she cleared her throat. "Are the others okay?" she added, her voice still hushed.
There was a pause before he answered. "We're fine, though..." he paused again, then shook his head. "Never mind...It's not important now. I'll tell you later." There was the faintest edge of humor in his voice that made her smile as she studied at him. "Nice goggles, by the way."
She lifted them off of her eyes and grinned into his visor. "They're not pretty, but they serve their purpose." Her reflection showed that she had bright rings of clear skin around her eyes that were surrounded by dirt and dust. What I wouldn't do for a shower right about now.
The pirate had returned to Hondo and they spoke for several moments before her former captor looked up at her and tilted his head, indicating that she should approach. In response, Kalinda pointed to a spot at the dead center of their two groups, so after a moment they met in the middle. Stonewall moved to follow her; she nearly asked him to stay with the rest of his men, but decided against it as she found that she had missed his presence at her side.
Sparing Stonewall only a cursory glance, Hondo took a deep breath and looked down at her but it was Kali who spoke first. "I kept my word," she said. "Which is more, it seems, than Dooku has done." She gestured to the rocky desert. "Out there are an unknown number of droids that cannot be detected by scanners or sensors, coming our way. Will you help us or not?"
The pirate leader nodded slowly. "I have not had much opportunity to deal with Jedi," he said. "Which I'm not complaining about, mind you, but you have shown yourselves to be more than just skilled warriors." He glanced again at Stonewall and then at the others, who were standing in a loose formation a few meters behind her. "These are the Republic soldiers I have heard so much about?"
Kalinda smiled at Stone; she felt a flicker of apprehension from him, but no fear. Not anymore. "They are."
"They fought well against my men, though a droid battalion is another matter. I suppose we shall see if they are as formidable as you claim," he replied. "Now, my dear, how do you presume to defeat an enemy that we cannot see?"
