Author's Note and Disclaimer: The Star Wars franchise does not belong to the author in any way, shape or form. This is not for profit. The setting begins roughly a hundred years after the Yuuzhan Vong Wars in the New Jedi Order series and summarily ignores any novels that took place afterwards. The plot and characters are all mine.
The Sith Insurgency – Chapter X – Hunt
"This is Ganner Lidell," Rel introduced. "He is a hunter from Corellia, who spent a few years living among the Sand People to learn how to hunt krayt dragons. Ganner, meet my apprentice, Jason Farlander."
Ganner was a broad-shouldered man with a blaster rifle strapped to his hip and a bundle slung across his back. The cigar in his mouth looked uncomfortably hot in the desert son, and yet Ganner smoked without abandon. "Pleasure," Ganner said, without meaning it. "Master Dryden says you know where this village is?"
Jason nodded and handed over the directions.
"Great. We should go on foot. Tuskens see a speeder and they shoot before asking any questions."
The Jedi bowed to the hunter's expertise, and the three set out across the desert. Their hooded cloaks protected them from heat of the sun, while Ganner relied on a wide cap and plenty of water. Long hours after their hike began, they came within sight of a tent village embedded in a canyon.
Ganner unraveled the bundle from his back and produced a gaffe stick, the traditional weapon of a Tusken Raider. "This here was a gift from a Tusken chieftain, back when I first came to live by the Tuskens in the Dune Sea. It's a different tribe than these folk, but it should give us safe passage inside. Otherwise, we'll have a fight on our hands." He led them towards the village.
It was strange, that no Sand People were visible. Rel could sense sentients in the area, but they must have been in their homes. No, that was wrong. They were being watched, he could feel it. He felt the aggression, a split second before they appeared. Rel drew his lightsaber, and Jason automatically followed suit.
At the same time, sand burst up all around them, and Tuskens jumped out of their hiding places. They had buried themselves in the sand, in order to ambush anyone who threatened their village. Ganner and the two Jedi were completely surrounded. A pair of glowing blades snapped into existence.
One of the Sand People howled, and Ganner waved his gaffe stick in response. Then Ganner howled at them, and a brief conversation took place.
"Put away your weapons," Ganner ordered, "or they'll attack."
The two Jedi complied, yet remained wary.
Ganner and the Sand People conversed again, and then four of the Tuskens started towards the village. "I got us an audience with their chieftain. We should probably follow them." The group also headed into the village. Without their Jedi senses, they might have thought that the village was deserted. The reality was that most of the Sand People were hidden inside their bantha-hide tents, and the rest were either on sentry duty or on a hunt.
"I hope you thought about what you're going to say," Ganner told the Jedi. "Sand People are known to kill without warning, at the slightest provocation."
Rel sensed worry from his Apprentice, though Ganner was unperturbed. Either the hunter was only trying to scare the Jedi, or he thought himself safe from any Tusken reprisal. Regardless, Rel already had a plan for how to speak with the Sand People.
The chieftain was in a hut that was larger than the rest, a building that seemed to be made of scales. "This is the safest hut in the village," Ganner told them. "The walls are made of the skin of krayt dragon. It can deflect blaster bolts or bullets." It was spacious inside, and the Jedi saw females of the first time within the hut's walls. They looked almost identical to the males of the species, wrapped up in a similar manner.
The chieftain himself was wrapped in gray, instead of the usual sand-colored garb of the Tuskens. A pair of Tusken bodyguards were on either side of him. He growled at the outsiders that came to their village, and Ganner growled back.
After a brief conversation, Ganner said to the Jedi, "He is ready to listen to you."
"Tell him that word has reached the Jedi of a new prey in the desert. A beast that has not been seen in hundreds of years. Its hide is tough, it moves with great speed, and it has tusks even more vicious than its claws."
Ganner translated, and then told them the chieftain's response. "He says they have already encountered this 'new prey,' and he asks if you have come to join the hunt."
The two Jedi exchanged a look. "Terentateks are on Tatooine," Jason said, surprise evident in his voice. "Master, the Sand People don't have any weapons that can kill a terentatek. Their hunters will be slaughtered!"
"Tell the chieftain that we wish to sell new weapons to fight this prey. We will join his hunt, to show the effectiveness of our weapons."
"New weapons?" Jason asked.
Ganner surmised that Rel referred to their lightsabers, and he translated on Rel's behalf. "The chieftain agrees to your terms, Master Jedi. He also asks what price you intend to request, in exchange for these weapons."
"We offer weapons in exchange for a promise that he will cease his raids of the settlements, and that they will release any slaves in their possession."
There was another round of grunts, growls, and roars that passed between Ganner and the chieftain. A few other Sand People in the area spoke with one another in hushed tones. Rel wondered if they were pleasantly surprised by the offer, or if they were taking bets on how long it would take for the Jedi to be executed.
"The chieftain agrees to your terms, Master Jedi, but you are on dangerous ground. If his warriors are less than pleased with these weapons you mentioned, he will likely kill you."
Rel grinned. He expected precisely that response. "Thank the chieftain and tell him we are ready." After the three humans were dismissed, Rel said to Ganner, "I need your gaffe stick."
"What?"
"My 'new weapon' is a lightsaber strapped to the end of a gaffe stick. The long grip will keep them from hurting themselves, and the extra reach will be an advantage against terentateks. We only have three lightsabers with us, but I am willing to part with them."
"Master? May I question the wisdom of your decision?" Being caught without a lightsaber once was enough to make Jason wary of giving up his weapon.
"The Tuskens are an honorable people," Rel assured his apprentice. "Once we have proven ourselves by killing the terentatek, they will uphold their end of the bargain."
"I have no intention of giving up my lightsaber, Master Dryden."
"Without the Force, the Tuskens will be unable to duplicate the technology. We, on the other hand, have the resources of the entire Jedi Order to replace our lightsabers. It is a fair deal."
Jason's head hung as they were marched out towards the hunting party. The thought of losing his first lightsaber did not sit well with him, particularly after all the effort that went into its creation. This was only his second mission! He wondered how his parents would react, if they arrived to visit without the trademark weapons.
XxxxX
The droids were in contact with one another over a wireless com. One of Lorna's MagnaGuard escorts announced a location of destroyed battle droids, and then led the way towards the disturbance.
Lorna sensed their presence with the Force, even though they were invisible to all senses. She switched on her lightsaber. The MagnaGuards took their cue and brought their staffs into combat positions. The ends of the staffs lit up with blue-white electricity.
They were close, but the assassins still did not make their presence known. Lorna closed her eyes and stretched out with her feelings. There. She held out a hand and pushed with the Force, sending one of the assassins into the corridor hall. The stealth field flickered out, revealing a black-clad humanoid with a vibroblade. One of the MagnaGuards engaged the assassin with its electrostaff, and summarily dispatched its dazed opponent.
Three more assassins dropped their cloak fields and engaged the MagnaGuard. These did much better against the droids than the previous one, but the droids had more skill, speed, and strength than any of the assassins. Four more assassins appeared before the first wave died, and the fight became more intense. One of the MagnaGuards was overwhelmed by two assassins and vibroswords cut the IG-100 series droid apart.
Lorna jumped into the fight with her lightsaber and removed the arms of one assassin and the head of another. She fought side-by-side with the remaining MagnaGuard, and the two of them killed off the second squad of assassins. "That was all of them," she said.
The Jedi stretched out her senses, in search of more opponents. Her eyes widened in surprise. It had been a mistake, to rely so heavily on the droids. There was a disturbance in the Force, tainted with the Dark Side. A Dark Jedi was on the planet. Fear gripped her throat, only to be pushed back by the urgency of the moment. More assassins were nearby, two levels down. "Come with me."
The Jedi and MagnaGuard ran off towards the lift, and descended two levels. A few battle droids were disabled on the ground. Jagged cuts showed that they were hacked apart by vibroblades, a clear sign that assassins were in the area. Even though the Jedi could not see them, she knew they were close. Lorna let loose a strong push with the Force. Several forms clattered to the floor and their stealth fields switched off.
The remaining assassins disabled their stealth fields and attacked the pair. "Die, Jedi!" one of them cried out. It was the first time one of them had spoken, and the human voice caught Lorna off-guard. The assassin slipped passed Lorna's guard, and landed a shallow cut across her abdomen.
She screamed in pain and staggered back, prepared to receive the killing blow that was certain to follow. Instead of her, the assassin was the one who was killed. The MagnaGuard had been alerted by her scream, and rushed to come to her aid. Unfortunately, while it was distracted by Lorna's distress, other assassins hacked apart the MagnaGuard from behind.
Her bodyguards were gone and she was outnumbered. She charged the assassins and decapitated the one that had killed the MagnaGuard, and she cut the legs off of another. There were still five left, and Lorna was unsure of her ability to kill them all. The only answer was reinforcements. She turned around and ran.
The assassins recognized that she was the target they had been sent for and they chased after. Right into a patrol of battle droids. With their cloaking fields down, the assassins were fully visible to the droids. A wall of blaster fire quickly cut them down. Lorna smiled at the droids in gratitude, even though they were incapable of appreciating the gesture. "Good work, Sergeant," she told the lead, yellow-headed droid.
"Roger-roger," the droid said, automatically.
"Contact IG-138. What is the status of the repairs on the shuttle?"
The B-1 sergeant spoke into its comlink, and then gave its report. "Repairs will be complete in less than thirty minutes, sir."
Lorna let out a long breath of relief. She had been patrolling the battleship for six exhausting hours, hunting down any assassins she came across. It was finally time to leave this killing ground. "Order all available battle droids in position themselves to destroy the ship. Once the shuttle leaves the hangar bay, I don't want any enemy survivors. Sergeant, your squad is my new bodyguard detachment. Take me to that shuttle."
"Roger-roger. You heard her, troops. Head to the main hangar." At the same time, the droid remotely contacted the rest of the battle droids and had them do the same.
As she headed towards the hangar, she felt the approaching presence of the Dark Jedi. Her B-1 battle droids suddenly opened fire, only to have all of their blaster bolts deflected. "It's a Jedi!" one of the battle droids exclaimed.
The so-called Jedi was a human who wielded a red lightsaber. He rushed forward and cut apart the forward B-1 battle droids with ease.
Lorna was tired to the extent that she was only able to function with the help of the Force. A friendly sparring match would have been out of the question, but this was a fight for her life. The energy came out of necessity. She ran forward and met the attacker's red blade with her green lightsaber. The moment their lightsabers crashed against one another, Lorna recognized the Dark Jedi. "Laban."
"Krath Warlock Laban," he corrected, pulling back. "What a pleasure it is to see you again. I take it you were the pilot of the scout ship, in the Bastion system."
"Droids, stop firing," she ordered. The battle droids ceased their attack, yet remained at the ready. "Bastion system? Why would I go there? It's nothing but a junkyard. I came here to investigate the wreck of a Trade Federation Battleship, leftover from the Clone Wars."
Laban smiled, in amusement. "Then where is your ship?"
"In the hangar." Though the lies were subtle enough to avoid detection, Laban's confidence remained. She added another line, backed by intuition and reports from the battle droids. "There were other wrecks on the planet, as well. Perhaps the ship you are looking for landed elsewhere?"
"Have you even heard of the Krath Order, Jedi Lorna?" he asked. His smile turned into a cruel grin. "Krath Warriors are the fighting arm of the Sith Empire, and, as a Warlock, I am one of their generals. We fight against the twisted philosophies of the Jedi, for the sake of true righteousness."
"Righteous fury, perhaps," she conceded. From the moment Laban mentioned the Sith Empire, Lorna knew that he did not care whether or not she was the one to spy on Bastion. He intended to kill her for the crime of being a Jedi. During their time at the Praxeum, Laban had always been the better swordsman. Her chances of survival were slim, unless she found another way out of the fight. "Battle droids, signal Level 23, Section 14. Have them awaken our sleeping passengers."
"Roger-roger," said one of the B-1 battle droids.
Laban frowned. "What did you do?"
"During the Clone Wars, the Separatists built superior battle droids with a cortosis weave and programmed them to kill every living target. Even if you defeat me, you will be too tired to destroy the super battle droids. You will never leave this ship alive." Her words were a cold promise and rung with truth.
Laban stared Lorna in the eye for a long moment. He weighed not whether he would be able to defeat the cortosis droids – he was too confident to consider failure. Rather, Laban decided whether he would have the stamina for multiple fights. "Even with your precious battle droids, a single Krath Warrior will be enough to deal with you. It seems I have larger prey." Laban ran past Lorna and the B-series droids, towards the new enemy.
A single assassin dropped his cloak field in the middle of the corridor. While every assassin so far had wielded a vibroweapon that was roughly the size of a shortsword, this one carried a full-length vibrosword. He was also the first assassin to forgo a helmet. The human Krath was ugly, though his skin was incredibly smooth. Unlike Laban, this Krath had never walked the halls of the Praxeum. "Warlock Laban honors me. I will be the first Krath Warrior to kill a Jedi, in the entire sector."
"In the sector?" Other Jedi had died at the hands of Krath Warriors, Lorna realized. The enemy was much-better positioned than she imagined. She readied her lightsaber for the upcoming duel. "It is not too late for you to surrender, Krath."
The Krath Warrior laughed as he charged her, hate and confidence in his eyes. The vibrosword was blocked by Lorna's lightsaber and a sharp crack filled the corridor. She pulled her blade into a basic guard for Form III, Soresu. Chiss tended to be cold and calculating, and Soresu perfectly played to her species' natural traits. With her focus on complete defense, Lorna blocked every attack that came at her. She watched her opponent's motions carefully and purposefully ignored deliberate openings in the Krath's defenses. Then, when the Krath began to underestimate her, she countered with a swift strike that pierced his chest. All of the Krath's muscles simultaneously lost strength, and the fresh corpse dropped to the ground. The Krath had severely underestimated Lorna.
Lorna switched off her lightsaber. To the remaining droids, she ordered, "Take me to the hangar."
Blaster fire was constant in the hangar. The droidekas had their shields deployed, and they loosed a barrage that covered most of the hangar's entrances. A few dead assassins were littered across the corridors, proof that the droidekas' strategy was effective. Super battle droids stood ready to open similar barrages along the corridor, as soon as Lorna and her squad of protectors passed through. The stream was steady enough that no assassin could sneak into the hangar.
Lorna slipped passed all the droids, and boarded the ramp to her new shuttle. Spare parts littered the floor, and her chosen droids were settled aboard. "Sea-Pea, are you okay?"
The former protocol droid looked back at her from the pilot's seat. "Mistress Tier'lor'nuruodo! Might I say what a pleasure it is to see you, again. Thank the Force, you are alive."
"Thank you, Sea-Pea." CP-582 was now a BX battle droid, and its vocator now spoke with the deep voice of a commando. She was grateful to hear a familiar speech pattern, even though the voice was so different. "Is the shuttle ready for launch, yet?"
"We will be ready in a moment. The real difficulty will be in opening the hangar bay doors. The door mechanism was destroyed in the crash, and the repair droids have been unable to do a thing about it."
"Then we will have to blast our way out," Lorna surmised. "Take her out, whenever you are ready." She walked to the back of the ship and sealed the boarding ramp, and then came forward again to sit in the copilot's seat.
The sound of blaster fire, outside the ship, slowly began to die down. She felt the tingle of the Dark Side, the familiar presence of Laban. He had made his way to the hangar. "Get us out of here, Sea-Pea!" In a matter of minutes, Laban would arrive and their lives would be cut short.
"Please wait," Sea-Pea begged. "All systems will be fully operational, once the power-up cycle is complete."
Lorna reached out with her senses, to determine how close Laban had come. Very little time remained. She began the launch cycle, and the shuttled lifted above the deck. "Magnum, man the weapon systems. Blast us a hole out of here."
The shuttle's lasers came to life and hammered into the hangar doors. It took whole minutes to make a hole large enough for the shuttle, but at least the shuttle was high enough off the ground that the assassins could not bomb the ship. Sea-Pea took the ship out of the hangar, and they launched off into space.
"Are the shields up yet?" Lorna demanded.
"Negative," reported Sea-Pea. "We took off too quickly, and the power systems are not fully online."
"Divert all available power to the engines and the hyperdrive. Plot us a course to Csilla."
"Csilla is not in the navigational computer."
Lorna smashed a fist against the console in frustration. Blasted antique shuttle. She entered the coordinates manually, and waited for the computer to calculate a safe course.
"Mistress Tier'lor'nuruodo, a star destroyer has appeared off our port side. It appears to be an interdictor class."
"Disable the long-range scanners. That should give us a bit of a speed boost."
"Our acceleration has increased by point-five percent," the droid acknowledged.
Lorna noted Sea-Pea's tongue-in-cheek tone and decided to take its words as rebuke. She forced herself to calm and leaned back in her chair. There was nothing she could do, now. All that was left was to wait.
She switched the scanners back online and immediately wished she had not. An entire squadron of fighters uncloaked behind them and their lasers opened fire.
"Entering hyperspace," Sea-Pea reported. The cloaking fighters and their weapons shrank into nothing, as the shuttle lanced off into hyperspace.