Disclaimer: I own nothing but myself.


Chapter 7

Telos... Finally

"I wonder if the Telosian authorities will know about Peragus?" I asked as we looked for the dock the TSF had said for us to use.

"Probably. Telos is Peragus' biggest buyer. They use a lot of fuel to keep Citadel Station in orbit," Atton explained.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about coming here. I wish Peragus had, I don't know, Nar Shaddaa in their charts instead of Telos."

"You have no idea how much I agree," Atton said, probably thinking about the Red Sector.

"You know, I can hear every word you guys are saying," Teri said, coming up behind us. "The Harbinger was on its way here before it was attacked. We're supposed to be here, whether you like it or not."

"I know," I said. "I was just saying I had a bad feeling. Didn't you hear that?" I looked at her pointedly. She rolled her eyes.

"Just make sure he-" she looked at Atton "-lands the ship properly. I'm not really interested in crashing and I'm sure the people who clean the station have better things to do."

"True. Pay attention, flyboy!" I yelled as we almost hit a shuttle flying past us.

"Sorry!" He yelled. I'm not sure whether he was yelling that at us or at the shuttle.

"Let's just land," I sighed, leaning back a bit.

Ten minutes and no major mishaps later, we landed in the TSF dock. I looked out the viewport and saw humans in stupid uniforms and ridiculous helmets. "And I thought my uniform was stupid," I said, quietly enough that Teri and Atton couldn't hear me. Then to them, I said, "Okay, if the authorities don't ask about Peragus, don't say anything."

"Way ahead of you," Atton said, holstering his blasters.

"Too right," Teri agreed, holstering her blaster and sheathing her Sith war sword.

We met Kreia and T3-M4 at the loading ramp and got off the ship in a group - safety in numbers, I guess. A TSF officer who wasn't wearing a helmet - lucky guy - came forward.

"I'm Lieutenant Grenn, Telos Security Force. You're under arrest in connection with the Peragus incident."

"We're under arrest? What do you want?" Teri asked.

"We're investigating the events leading up to and including the destruction of the Peragus mining station. As such, I have no choice but to take you into custody while the investigation is happening."

"All right, I understand. We'll come quietly."

"Says you," Atton muttered, reaching for his blasters. A glare from Teri stopped him mid-reach.

"Yes, I do. And we will come quietly and peacefully."

"Fine, Your Majesty. I'll be quiet... for now," he added under his breath.

"Good. My men will relieve you of your arms and armor. Follow us," Grenn said. One of the helmeted officers came up to me and held out his hand. I handed him my vibroblade, then took off my jacket and handed that to him as well.

"Tell me we're not going to jail again," Atton moaned.

"Okay," I chirped in a falsely cheerful tone. "We're not going to jail again." My face fell as I saw his glare. "Oh, that was rhetorical, wasn't it. Well, what else was I supposed to say?"

"How about nothing?"

"That's impossible," Teri interjected. "Don't you know that Laura can't keep her mouth shut for anything?"

"I can close it when I want to," I said. "I just like making smart-alecky comments when Atton talks." By now we were at the TSF station.

"Any chance you might stop for a while? It's getting annoying."

I grinned evilly. "Nope."

Atton groaned.

They locked us in force cages and left.

"Hmm, for some reason this seems familiar. Where have I seen this before? Oh, yeah, now I remember. I didn't like it then either."

"'This' being what?" Atton asked.

"The inside of a force cage."

"Too bad. Might as well get comfortable, though. We might be here a while."

"I guess so." I sat down, got as comfortable as I could, and waited.

After three hours of nothing happening, I got a little antsy. I wished I could get up and walk around, but no... Two jails in all of a week.

All of a sudden, Kreia stood up and said, "Someone is coming."

I hadn't heard anyone, but I trusted the game, and to a certain extent, Kreia's senses, so I stood up. It must be the fake Batu Rem coming, I thought.

Sure enough, when the door opened, he was standing there.

"What does Grenn want with us now?" Teri asked, also on her feet.

He laughed, a slimy laugh that immediately made me hate him. "I'm not with the TSF. What Dol Grenn wants with you is none of my concern."

"Then what do you want with us?" Teri's tone made it clear that she thought about as much of him as I did.

"I only want you, Jedi, for the price on your head."

"Ugh, a bounty hunter, eh?" Atton spat on the floor. "Your kind are the cheapest, most worthless mercenary scum in the galaxy. I'd hire a Mandalorian over your filth in a second."

"No Mandalorian could match my skills," he said angrily. "No Mandalorian could have infiltrated the TSF, stolen the identity of one of the guards, then-"

"Then what? Overloaded our force cages and made it look like an accident?" Atton snorted with contempt. "I bet you don't even have the guts to fight me. Heh. Pathetic."

"Don't think that overloading your cages had not occurred to me." I think he was about to explode and save us the trouble of killing him, but he kept his anger in check. "You're wanted alive, but I doubt anyone will care as long as I bring them your corpse."

"Hey, leave her alone. You want a fight? Then try me, if you've got the guts."

"You have goaded me once, and you shall not do so twice. But don't worry. I shall dispose of you all eventually."

"Feel free to try, but let's make it sooner rather than later," I said, acting bored. "For all it matters, you could just open the cages and kill us that way."

He paused, debating something in his head. He apparently came to a conclusion. "You would not be a match for me. An old woman, a fool, a child, and a broken Jedi will not stop me from getting what I want."

He opened the cages and started shooting, but man was he a terrible shot! Most of the time, he just hit the walls - or maybe that was us dodging. I went at him the only way I could, which was with my hands, not that I was getting a lot of great hits. I was swinging wildly, my fists hitting randomly. I hit his nose and it started gushing blood. Atton, meanwhile, was focusing on his back, trying to land a hit where it would end the battle. The assassin suddenly turned around as Atton was mid-punch. The punch connected with his temple, hard. He hit him again, this time under the chin. I heard a crack and the assassin - or more accurately, his body - crumpled to the floor.

"That was easier than expected," I said. "I figured he'd be tougher than that."

Atton scowled, rubbing his knuckles. "You didn't even do anything!"

"I broke his nose," I protested. "Besides, I kept him off you for most of the battle."

"Shut up, both of you!" Teri yelled. "The guards are coming!" I tried to look as innocent as I could with blood all over me and a dead body at my feet. The door opened and Grenn rushed in with other TSF officers at his heels.

"All right, Jedi," Grenn snarled. "I want you to back up slowly, hands in front of you, into the force cage!"

"Who's that?" One of them asked. "Is that Batu Rem?"

"No, that's an assassin," Teri said dryly. "I'm impressed with the security standards around here. You'd think you wanted him to kill us!"

"Rem's no assassin," the other officer protested angrily.

"Batu Rem is on leave. He shouldn't even be on the station. This man isn't him," Grenn replied. He looked us over suspiciously. "I assume you have something to do with this?"

"No, of course not," I muttered sarcastically. "The dead guy's blood is all over me and he's right there, and we have no idea what happened." He glared at me, then shook his head.

"Whatever. We've found an apartment for you. You'll be under house arrest until further notice and I'll personally clear any visitors to your quarters. There won't be a repeat of this incident."

"I hope not," I remarked. "'Cause I've certainly had enough of people trying to kill me for one lifetime."

"Why can't you just keep your mouth shut for once in your life?" Atton groaned.

"Because I'm me. I don't like being quiet."

"Can you try?"

"I can try, but I can't guarantee success."

I managed to keep quiet until we reached the apartment. Or more accurately, until our TSF escorts shoved us into the apartment.

"I can walk, thanks," I muttered angrily as I picked myself off the floor.

"Yeah," Teri said. "I mean, I know she's annoying, but you don't have to beat her up." I scowled at her.

"Thanks a lot, Teri." She grinned.

Grenn looked at us as though we were all insane. I didn't mind. I was kind of used to that. I guess he chose to ignore our antics, because all he did was roll his eyes and say: "You'll be staying here for the remainder of the investigation."

"How long will that be?"

"Shouldn't be longer than two or three standard days at most. Again, I'll personally clear any visitors to your quarters. If we need to contact you, we'll use the comm on the wall. Any questions?"

"Nope. Leave." They left.

"This isn't good," Atton muttered bleakly.

"What isn't good?"

"What do you think the TSF will find at Peragus? That could bring the Sith-" He paused and sighed defeatedly. "You know what? Forget it. As long as we're stuck here, it doesn't matter."

"We won't be here long," I said. "If the Sith do show up, I doubt we'll be on Citadel anymore."

"We'll see," Teri said, noncommittally. "Either way, we should get some rest."

"Okay, I get this bed!" Atton yelled, sounding - and looking - a bit like a five-year-old as he jumped and landed on one of the beds. Teri sat down at the foot of another bed, as did Kreia. It was then that I saw one major flaw with our apartment: there were only three beds.

"Oh well," I mumbled. "I guess I'll take the corner."

"You do that," Atton said, half asleep already. All of a sudden, a jacket hit me in the face. I pulled it off to see Teri snickering.

"I managed to get your jackets off the guards," she explained. "You might need it."

"Thanks, Teri," I said, folding my jacket into a usable pillow. As soon as my head hit it, I was asleep.


A/N: Short one this time. Sorry, but I got stuck a couple of times for ideas on this one... mainly 'cause in the rough draft, I skewed the conversation with the fake Batu Rem. Don't expext another chapter for like a week and a half - on second thought, expect one in a week or less. I will push myself, plus I'll be hyped up on leftover excitement. I have a concert on Sunday, so I'll be all motivated to work afterward. I'm so excited! Excuse me if I talk about it next Author's Notes. It's gonna be awesome!

I'm done, don't worry.

Please review! Review or I'll get Kreia to Force Persuade you to compliment me profusely. I have connections.