Chapter Nine


During the battle, Wen and his entourage stood frozen still in the doorway of the palace, scared out of their wits. They were a peaceful people unaccustomed to such violence.

Berini, Kurloh and Marka slowly walked the carbonite slab up to their frightened clients. The Dymiar stood about one-and-a-half meters tall on short legs and wore robes of deep green and brown colors that left their long arms bare. Minister Wen tilted his head down and made a series of hand gestures, a sign of respectful greetings in the Dymiar culture. Berini reciprocated with a bow.

"Minister, here is the man who stole your idol from you, as per our agreement. I regret the violent events that just took place."

"We understand the situation, Captain," Wen replied with a nervous, shaky voice. "We knew going into this that we could be dealing with less-than-pleasant beings in the course of tracking down this thief. Present company excluded, of course."

Berini's soft side showed once more, if only in a slight sense. She understood that the Dymiar did not comprehend the methods that bounty hunters sometimes had to employ. "Thank you for understanding, Minister. Also, here is the idol."

Out of the silken bag she produced the idol. It was a beautiful golden statue only about fifteen centimeters tall. Berini respectfully handed it to Wen.

With much emotion in his voice, though unable to visibly express it in a way that non-Dymiar could relate, he spoke. "Captain Berini, we can never express the level of gratitude to which we feel for you. This idol represents our most holy deity Hrrytslontu. It had been lost for many centuries. Only recently were we able to decipher the clues within the ancient texts leading to its whereabouts. It was beyond our abilities to find and retrieve it ourselves, hence our hiring Mister Johlo."

Wen paused for a moment as he looked at the idol again. His companions stared at it the entire time in amazement. "It is most unfortunate that he turned out to be an unsavory individual who had forsaken our need."

Berini gave a slight smile. "Minister, it has been an honor to return something this precious to you."

"We will honor the full payment as per our agreement. Also, we wish to honor your fallen comrade by giving her our most revered burial rites. She will be remembered for her role in this momentous event in our history for generations to come."

Berini bowed again. "We are honored by your kindness."

Kurloh realized that Ja'Ina was not with them. She turned around and found Ja'Ina still standing over Lernel's body. Kurloh walked over to her.

When the Togruta came to Ja'Ina's side, the young woman said in a soft, mournful voice, "He didn't have to die…"

"We don't know that for sure. I'm not saying this isn't unfortunate, but this is just how Berini is. She's fiercely protective of all of us, like a mother Wookiee for her wooklings."

"Still, it's hard for me to accept."

Kurloh hugged Ja'Ina. "I know. As another who has a connection with the living Force, I too feel what you feel. I sense the conflict in you. I admit that it's sometimes dangerous path to tread for Force-sensitives like us to live a life such as ours. Like it or not, we have an extra burden to combat the dark side without the Jedi – especially when the battle comes from within."

Ja'Ina stepped back, smiling to her friend. "Are you sure you're not a Jedi? You sound just like the ones in the stories told by the old spacers back home."

Kurloh laughed. "I should ask you the same question. You handle your sword just like a lightsaber."

Ja'Ina sheathed her scimitar on her back and smiled warmly at the Togruta.


The landing party stayed for the ceremony for Ruyqar that evening. The rest of the crew was able to watch via the holo-projector in the common room aboard the Queen Valkyrie.

It was a beautiful, touching ceremony, though Berini and her crew comprehended very little of it. Dozens of Dymiar were present, performing reverent chants in their native tongue. The site was punctuated with ceremonial fires, and Wen himself presided over the whole event, transformed from a politician into some kind of a high priest. The vast difference between the roles was fascinating to Berini.

The ceremony lasted well into the night, though somehow time seemed to pass quickly, as if by magic. At the conclusion, they gently laid Ruyqar's body to rest in a deep grave in the soft, fertile ground. The Dymiar believed that the deceased would grow again from the rich soil and begin life anew. Some of the pirates were visibly upset, but Berini remained stoic. However, it wasn't hard to see that she too was affected deeply by the passing of one of her crew, and also moved by the respect the Dymiar gave Ruyqar for her sacrifice.

Once it was over, Berini personally thanked Wen and all of his people in attendance. She and her crew returned to the shuttle to head back to the Queen Valkyrie, which held in orbit high above Dymia. Unlike the trip down, the flight back to the ship was devoid of any conversation. Ja'Ina regarded the remaining empty seat that Ruyqar occupied on the trip down.

Ja'Ina leaned over to Kurloh and whispered, "So what will they do with In-Dee?"

"I really don't know. But don't worry about it. It's not our place to be concerned about a bounty's fate once they've been delivered."

Ja'Ina leaned back to her seat and hoped that since the Dymiar were a peaceful people, that they would not kill In-Dee, but at worst keep him imprisoned in the carbonite, indefinitely. Just then, her thoughts turned to Soraa, encased in her own carbonite slab back on the ship. She hoped that Soraa would now be released.

Kurloh leaned over to her and whispered, "I'm sure she will be very soon…"

How does she do that? Ja'Ina thought.

Kurloh knowingly winked and smiled at her.