Chapter 12: Stolen!
Korriban was oppressive; they could feel it as they entered the atmosphere. The planet below them was in ruins—barren and lifeless as a result of a rumored civil war.
"What happened here?" Swagger asked, staring down at the ancient tombs in the Valley of the Dark Lords.
Carth explained the best he could. "The commanders of the Republic task force that was sent here assumed that the remnants of the Sith turned on each other, vying for what little power remained. Revan told me he intended to return to Korriban one day to subdue any would-be Sith insurgents, but then he disappeared. The Republic discovered evidence that several Sith Lords managed to escape the planetary conflagration, but who they were and where they went is still a mystery.
"After the fall of Darth Malak, the tombs were plundered by grave-robbers." Carth pointed down to the sand-encrusted surface. Many broken, charred corpses littered the plains. "That's all that remain of the Sith who once inhabited the world. Revan warned me about malignant spirits still present on the surface. They have guardian-familiars called Hssiss."
"Who-sis?" Flynn queried, giving the planet an ill-favored look.
Atton leaned over to gaze out at the bleak landscape. "I'll take this one. Hssiss are dark side dragons. It's a lizard species with the ability to influence Force-sensitive beings around them. If they bite you, you'll succumb to the effects of a dark side poison. They also have the ability to conceal themselves." He nodded. "Yeah, they become invisible, possibly doing so through the Force. Force-assists aside, they're savage reptilian predators." He made a face. "Nasty!"
"This just gets better and better," Flynn complained.
"Gunner, did you spot the Hawk?" Swagger asked over the inter-comm.
"Yeah, Cap. She's near the deep valley with all the creepy statues."
Swagger studied the landscape and shook his head. There was not enough room to land his ship. "We'll have to set down somewhere else. Can you give me a reading and find me enough space to set down the Seeker?"
Gunner gave the captain a heading and he took the ship in for a landing as close to the Sith Academy as he could manuever.
"Life forms?" Swagger asked.
"A few," Flynn checked the readouts. "Look to be in the building there." He pointed to the screen. "Sith Academy?"
Carth nodded. The last time he'd been there was with Revan, when he was known as Logaan and they had come to find the last Star Map. Carth had seen the destruction as they flew over the landscape. The Dreshdae Spaceport that had existed when he and Revan had been here was buried under piles of rubble. Nothing was left; it had been completely destroyed.
"What worries me is, no humanoid life forms can be seen," Flynn voiced his concern.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Atton said in his doomsday tone.
Mav winced. "Please don't say that."
"Well, I do!" Atton snapped.
"Quiet!" Swagger was tired of Rand's ill-temper. This thing—whatever it was—between him and Mav needed to be settled. "Mav, my quarters." He turned away. "Now." It was more than a request.
Mav followed Swagger to his quarters and waited for the door to shut before he turned a questioning look on the captain. Then he realized that Swagger had removed the force inhibitor. He hadn't noticed it in the cockpit, and saw it lying on a shelf.
"Swag, I would never..." Mav began.
Swagger raised a hand to stop him. "I know, Mav. I trust you." His expression was grim. "When we were on Iziz, Kavar tried to get into my mind. I don't trust him or the other masters. I think they have an agenda."
"Jedi always have an agenda, Swag." Mav rubbed his face wearily. He hadn't slept much lately, and when he did he was plagued by dreams of Revan.
The captain paced, sparing a fleeting glance at the Jedi. "You're taking on this quest." It was not phrased as a question. "You can take the Hawk and anyone who wants to go with you." There was an unspoken except Flynn and Gunner that did not need to be said, though Mav knew Swagger wouldn't stand in the way if either of them wanted to go with Mav.
Sadness rose in Mav's chest and his shoulders slumped. "I wish I'd never got back the Force," he said softly, with regret. "I was happy, dammit!"
"So was I, but this has nothing to do with you having the Force, Mav. You know how I feel about Jedi in general, and Kavar tried to violate my mind." He shook his head when Mav would have spoken. "No hard feelings. This ain't my war."
Mav bit his lip. Standing up to Swagger wasn't something that came easily to him. The captain's height and outlook had always made him hesitate in the past, but this was too important. "But it is, Swag. Nobody's safe from the Sith. The Sith Lord that killed Revan won't stop until he has control of the entire galaxy. It's what happens when you gain such power. It corrupts, and it breeds greed and contempt for all life."
"Talk like that gets on my last nerve, Mav," Swagger said hotly. "You sound too much like a Jedi spouting all those platitudes: peace, harmony... Crap!" His slender frame trembled with barely suppressed rage. "How peaceful was the Jedi who gutted my mother with his lightsaber?"
Sorrow swept over Mav like the wind over the red sands of Korriban, leaving him chilled and feeling as if everything he believed in was being tested. "Swag, I..."
Dark eyes raked over him. "Just know I don't blame you, Mav; and after this is over, you're welcome to hook back up with us."
Mav knew he was being dismissed and nothing he could say would matter. Swagger had made up his mind. Turning, Mav went to the door panel and palmed it. He walked through into the companionway, feeling as if he was losing his home and his friends.
He had a blazing moment of pure anger toward Revan; he had orchestrated all of this. His anger did not last, however; Revan had known he would not be able to turn from this path. He'd followed Revan out of loyalty, and now he saw the repercussions of the change in his leader's agenda. Rebelling against the Jedi because they were sitting idly by while millions perished had been such a noble thing. Following Revan had been an honor, and Mav had worn that badge with pride. He'd ignored the little signs, the indications that Revan was changing. He'd denied what he'd known deep down all along—that Revan was using him. And he was still being used.
Mav sought Visas and found her in the starboard cabin she was sharing with Richelle. She was holding the young private in her arms and rocking her gently.
"I know how you feel," she said in the beautiful melodic voice as she stroked Richelle's hair. "I know the loss—I know the guilt you feel that you survived."
"I'm going to find that Sith bastard and I'm going to kill him!" Richelle broke away from the gentle arms and reeled to her feet. Her green eyes flared and her face was set in an expression of fury.
Mav approached her, lending his support, knowing because of their bond that he could comfort her like no other. She put her arms about his neck and wept against his chest. As he held her he sent a form of Battle Meditation to her and everyone else on board, infusing them with courage and strength and the fortitude to fight whatever they might encounter.
Once they were outside the Seeker, Gunner turned to Swagger. "Cap, T3 located an anomaly in the new hyperdrive. If I don't fix it, it could rise up and bite us on the butt. I think I should stay behind and see to it, if that's okay with you."
Swagger nodded curtly. "Atton, Richelle, Carth, head up into those rocks and see if you can spot any of these creatures. Mav, can you sense them?"
Atton shook his head. "They feed off the Force. Mav won't be able to sense them until they uncloak." Grimly, he added, "And by then it'll be too late. Stay away from their tails. They have spikes on them that contain the same poison."
He headed up into the rocks, followed by Carth. Richelle stood undecided for a moment, and then she took the opposite direction, positioning herself on a crag overlooking the plain. Swagger sent Mira to keep her company.
"Nobody goes out alone," he commanded. "Mav, Flynn,Visas, stick with me."
"Anybody know how to fight these things?" Flynn asked, peering about nervously. "This place gives me the creeps," he added, barely avoiding stepping on a blackened Sith corpse.
"Just like the invisible Sith on Dxun, pay attention to your surroundings," Swagger lectured, his sharp eyes locked on the ground around them.
"Problem is, on Dxun you could see them coming because they disturbed the grass." Mav watched red dust and sand swirl in eddies about his feet. "The ground here is hard. We won't be able to see footprints or hear them coming."
As they neared the Valley of the Dark Lords, they saw it was now dead; nothing but rubble, razed by an unknown force. The once proud immense statues now lay in pieces, stone heads separated from their bodies and staring at the sky with sightless eyes. Elaborate tombs that had once towered above the Valley were now inaccessible. Their columns and entryways had been leveled, and the landscape was nearly flat.
The atmosphere was a miasma that roiled close to the ground; a living thing that crawled and clawed, trying to wrap around their ankles as they walked. The wind bore the moans of Sith and Jedi, forever trapped in a limbo of neither death nor life. Mav knew that those not strong in the Force would find themselves trapped in its smothering aura, unable to escape the pain, suffering, and depression.
"This place is filled with the dark side," Visas said with a shiver. "I feel all the deaths and the evil that was wrought here."
Mav was having a tough time himself, finding it nearly impossible to concentrate as he tried to cast out with the Force to locate any of the creatures Atton had described. He was also seeking Revan's Force signature, but knew it would not be possible to help him—at least at this time.
Distracted, he did not see the corpse half-hidden in the sand until he tripped over it. Flynn caught him by the arm and kept him from falling. Mav turned his head to thank him and a sudden chill spread through his body as something shimmered into view. "B-behind you! Three of them!"
Flynn whirled, blaster in hand, and stared in disbelief. "They're really big! How come Rand didn't mention that? Three meters, if not longer! Frack!"
They put their backs together as the scaly green creatures shimmered into view. The beasts had meter-long tails covered in rows of spikes that stretched up their backs and onto their necks. Their wide, strong jaws opened to display dozens of teeth. One tried to sink its teeth into Flynn's arm, while another Hssiss raked Mav's leg with its jagged claws.
Swagger knew they were in deep trouble when Mav tried to use the Force to call on Force lightning. Although it struck the Hssiss and made them roar, they did not back off. Swagger slashed at the neck of the beast attacking Flynn and it withdrew, whipping its huge body around to strike at him with its spiked tail.
Watching the battle, Richelle and Mira were helpless.
"I can't get a clear shot." Richelle shifted her aim, but could see little because of the whirling, blowing sand.
"Damn," Mira groused. "I can't use grenades because the creatures are too close to them." She bit her lip when she heard Flynn cry out sharply.
Atton and Carth were able to see a little more clearly from their vantage point and loosed blaster shots at the beasts, again with little effect. Carth stared down at them, and then looked at Atton.
"I know I hit at least one of them. Nothing fazes them!"
Gunner was on the ship with the comm-link open. When he heard the difficulty the teams were having, he hurried to the shuttle, prepped her and took off, fingers poised over the laser guns located on each side of the nose. He flew low over the landscape and swooped over the ground team. They were in dire straits. Swagger was engaged in mortal combat with a beast that was intent on taking off his head.
Gunner flipped open the inter-ship comm, relaying the message through the transmitter to the fighters on the ground. "Move about three meters to your left. Now!"
Watching each other's backs, the fighters managed to move the distance. There was a loud hissing noise that grew louder as it neared their previous location, and then three small explosions knocked Swagger and company off their feet. The three Hssiss were gone, replaced by smoking craters. Bloody pieces of the beasts rained down from the sky.
"Whoo-hoo, got 'em!" Gunner whooped, doing a victory roll with the shuttle.
Swagger regained his feet and saluted him. He stepped aside just as a large piece of smoking meat fell to the ground with a sizzling plop.
"Are there any more?" Flynn asked. He was anxiously examining his body for any sign of a bite or scratch. He blew out a relieved breath when it turned out he only had a bad bruise where one of the creatures had struck his shoulder with its sinewy neck. "You okay, guys?"
Though Swagger had managed to avoid being poisoned, he was bleeding from a slash in his side where Hssiss claws had caught him. He gave Flynn a single nod.
Mav and Visas were exhausted from fending off the creatures with their lightsabers. They tried to use the Force to heal everyone's injuries, but met with only minimal success. The Hssiss had drawn power from them, weakening them.
Mav winced at the amount of blood on Swagger's side, but he saw the lacerations were already starting to close up. Was Swagger using the Force?
As if he'd read Mav's mind, Swagger smirked. "Only good thing about my Mandalorian side is the regenerative gene." He patted Mav on the shoulder. "I'll be fine in another hour or two." He started off. "Let's get this over with and get off this frackin' planet."
They did not encounter any more of the vile creatures as they made their way across the valley. They waited outside a cave for the others to join them. Mav felt a twinge of something. Revan? He shrugged it off. There was no time now.
"Stealth," Swagger ordered as they left the cave and moved up a narrow gulch.
"Door's open," Flynn remarked, seeing that the heavily reinforced durasteel door to the Sith Academy was wide open.
"That makes me a little nervous," Carth admitted. "Should be locked up tight."
"I sense a Jedi died here," Visas said. "Only a few moments before we arrived."
"What about you, Mav?" Swagger demanded. "Do you sense anything?"
Mav nodded, then remembered Swagger could not see him. "Massive life forms inside."
Flynn groaned. "Massive as in size or as in number? Be specific there, Mav."
"We're out-numbered."
"When haven't we been?" Atton commented sourly. "And why are we here instead of at my ship?"
"Gunner, you still have heat signatures? Human?" Swagger ignored Atton.
"Yeah, Cap. In my last fly-over I saw what has to be Sith since I had T3 color-code the good guys from the bad. Red sigs immediately to your left as you enter the academy. More in the corridor to your right, and I'm picking up readings and fluxs that mean gas traps. There's an unknown heat sig in the torture chamber; probably a prisoner."
"I can use Force breath and recon, then report back once I know what we face." Mav swallowed so hard it could be heard over the sound of the sighing wind.
"How come you have all this intel, Gunner?" Mira queried.
"T3's providing it. He was with Revan."
There was a sound as if someone had slapped a hand against flesh and Carth spoke up. "That's right, he was. He'd have the specs of the place."
"Sending them to your datapad right now, Cap. There's a terminal in the student wing that you should be able to use to tap into the security measures."
"I can handle it," Atton volunteered.
"Uh, I'm also seeing smaller life readings, most likely animals of some sort."
"Any of those nasty beasts from the valley?" Flynn asked.
"No, Flynnie. You should be clear of those. Just watch your backs, boys and girls. I'm heading back to the Seeker."
"Gunner, good job." Swagger offered praise rarely, and his tone let the young man know how much he appreciated everything he'd done. "Everyone unstealth," Swagger told them and the stealth belts hummed as each member of the party appeared.
Swagger pulled out his datapad and brought up the map of the academy. He pointed to the entrance ahead of them. "In there. Then we go to the main chamber. Mav, take a left up the inclining hall and then go right. There's a terminal in there that'll open the door to the torture chamber."
Mav nodded. Theoretically, a Jedi could literally numb the body's instinct to shut itself down after long periods without oxygen, allowing the user to go without breathing for hours, even days, by using the Force to reserve the amount of air in the lungs. Also, an invisible spherical shield was produced around the user to keep poisonous gases out. Or so the masters had told him when he was a Padawan. He knew, however, it was a power reserved for masters only, and unfortunately he wasn't a master. Because of the shield generated by this power, he should be fully protected against toxic gases that would poison a human not only by breathing them, but also through mere contact of the skin. If he could do it.
"Ready?" Swagger asked.
"As I'll ever be," Atton said under his breath.
"Stealth and go in at ten second intervals. The shuttle's sensors picked up heat signatures so the Sith may be stealthed."
"Gee, maybe we'll get lucky and walk past each other." Flynn's quip earned a stern glance from Swagger. "Just a thought."
They all activated their stealth belts. Almost as soon as they entered the academy they were attacked by tuk'ata, also known as Sith hounds. Evidently, even though they could not be seen, they could be detected by smell. Tuk'ata were ferocious beasts with triple rows of teeth, claws half a foot long, and three horns. It was a rough fight, but they finally made it through the antechamber. The next obstacle proved to be Sith waiting in the hallway beyond. Swagger took most of them out, leaving two for Mav to dispatch with Force lightning.
They reached the main chamber without encountering any more Sith or tuk'ata. Mav was prepared to start up the hallway where clouds of green poison spewed into the air.
"Hang on." Atton unstealthed. "Swagger, wasn't there a terminal around here? Maybe I can shut down the gas."
"That would be good," Flynn decided.
Since they were in a tight group again, Swagger suggested everyone unstealth.
"There's one in the library." Swagger pointed to the datapad. Looking up the poison gas hallway, the library was down a hallway behind them and to their left. There was another terminal in the dormatories, down a hall directly behind them. The third terminal was on the other side of the poison.
"Let's try the library first," Atton suggested. "I'll go." He was back within seconds. "Locked door. That means the dormatories."
They did find the terminal in the dormatory—past several more tuk'ata and stealthed Sith. Atton suffered a slash to his arm and Carth had a bruise on the side of his face. Mav noted that Swagger's side was healing. Mav sent healing to the injured and was relieved when he found his powers were back to full force.
"Keep any more frackin' Sith off me while I hack this thing." Atton rubbed his hands together, cracked his knuckles and hacked into the terminal. "Looks like the Sith lost all their teachers and now rely on computers only," he muttered as his nimble fingers flew over the terminal's keyboard. "Anybody here know the Sith Code?" he asked, scowling when he saw a test pop up on the screen.
Carth nodded. "Revan had to learn it when we were here. I think I remember it." He looked over Atton's shoulder and answered the questions to the best of his ability. The rest of the test was based on logic and common sense, so they passed, getting four out of five answers. A camera on the screen showed the door to the training room slide open.
"Great, it's open." Atton accessed other cameras. "But it didn't shut off the gas. You're still gonna have to use breath control."
"Mav," Flynn whispered and pressed a breath mask into Mav's hands, shielding the action with his body. "Breath control." He winked. "Just in case."
Mav waited until he was well away from the others before he put on the mask. He stealthed and stole up the incline. He was just about to pass into the training room when he bumped into something and his hand flew for his lightsaber, blocking a saber attack from an invisible Sith.
His Force powers did not seem to work very well on the Sith, but they did seem susceptible to stasis. He waved his hands and the Sith that were just appearing froze into glowing blue statues. Mav stabbed each one in the chest with his lightsaber, feeling nothing but relief that he'd gotten the drop on them. He was surprised that he didn't feel bad about their deaths, and wondered if that was Revan's influence or was the result of hanging out with bounty hunters for so long.
Blowing out a long breath, he walked into the training room and accessed the computer. Atton had given him a crash course in computer hacking, and Mav typed in what was needed. He was dismayed when he found out the code was a trap. Had Atton done this or had the Sith?
He was soon surrounded by starving tuk'ata that had been kept in cages and were now being released. Mav reached out with the Force, knowing if he were to defeat all of them it would require not power, but pure luck. Luck that he could use the Force or fight them off. He called for help as the first beast attacked. He fought it, slicing its thin neck, and whirled around to slash at another beast. It was starving and he was the food--its tongue lolled from its mouth, drool spilled to the floor, and its eyes were red slits.
"Mav, we can't get through the door!' he heard Mira, although the door was so thick that her voice was heavily muffled.
Up to me. Mav drew the Force to him. He had been taught once how to use a Force shield for offensive purposes and hoped it worked now. He formed shields around each tuk'ata, caging them, preventing their escape and keeping them from attacking. The computer was beeping softly and he ran over to read the message.
"Frack," he growled when he saw that he had failed the test and was to report to detention. Then the door slid open, revealing the startled faces of the rest of his team.
"Mav, what the...?" Flynn's eyes were wide over the top of his breath mask when he saw the tuk'ata floating in their Force shields.
"When I release them, put the poor things out of their misery," Mav directed, feeling more compassion for the creatures than he had the Sith.
The ones carrying blasters shot the tuk'ata once they were freed. Bodies flopped to the floor, some twitching, and then the room was quiet.
Mira pointed to the doorway behind them. "The door just opened."
Mav grinned wryly. "I failed the test. I'm to report to detention."
Flynn's eyebrows rose. "To the torture room? These Sith are strict!"
Swagger snorted and Richelle even had to restrain a giggle. She was slowly coming to terms with her father's horrible death. Killing the Sith assassins was not the best therapy, but it kept her mind occupied.
They cautiously crossed to the detention/torture room and found a body sprawled just inside the door. The blonde woman was lying in a pool of blood that was fresh enough that it had barely started to coagulate. In her hand was a lightsaber hilt. Mav pried it from her death grip and hung it on his belt; he would need it, since he was swimming in Force sensitives who would eventually require a lightsaber.
There was a cage nearby and inside was a slim white-haired woman with light blue eyes. She simply stood and stared at them. Mav rushed to the computer console, fumbled at the unfamiliar sequence required to open the cage. He beckoned to Atton, who snickered at Mav's ineptitude and took over. He typed in the sequence and the cage opened.
Swagger stared at the woman, assessing her. When Mav moved toward her, the captain put his arm out to prevent him from going any further. "She's dangerous."
Her light eyes met Swagger's as if she saw a kindred spirit. His dark eyes narrowed and he jerked his blaster from the holster. "You coming out of there, sister?"
Atton's head jerked around to Swagger. How did Swagger know she was Echani—a sister? The pilot had known her right away—her type of warrior.
"You got a name?" Flynn asked, quirking a crooked smile, which earned him a hard punch to his shoulder from Mira.
"Ouch!" he groused, rubbing his already sore shoulder. "What was that for?"
"It's a territorial thing. Missy there understands even if you don't, sweet buns." Mira slapped his butt, which made him grin.
"Let's get out of here," Swagger said, never taking his eyes off the woman.
"Are you all right?" Mav asked her as she finally stepped out of the cage. Her eyes were centered on Swagger.
"Yes," she replied. "I need your help."
"Seems to me you already got our help." Flynn motioned to the cage. "You were in there and now you're out."
Mira sniggered. "That's my man."
"I was sent here to retrieve a holocron. I found the room where it's located, but was overcome by the Sith and thrown into the cage."
"Who is she?" Richelle asked, pointing at the body on the floor. "Did you know her?" She was unnerved by the nearness of the torture equipment, which reminded her of the terrible injuries her father had suffered. She could barely phrase the questions coherently.
"She was a Jedi," the white-haired woman responded. "She and...well, she was here to aid me in my quest."
"Where's the holocron?" Mav asked.
"We're going," Swagger snapped. "Everybody back to the ship. Now!"
The young woman gazed deeply into Mav's eyes. "Please! I must get that holocron. The Jedi died trying to get it."
"Where is it?" Mav reiterated.
"Maverick, dammit!" Swagger was fuming.
"Swag, we ain't leaving without Mav, and he ain't leaving without this frackin' holocron. Sooner we find it, sooner we're outta here." Flynn did not flinch when Swagger's blazing look switched from Mav to him.
"Fine." Swagger turned on his heel and stalked from the chamber. He pushed his mask over his face and hurried down the gas-filled hall.
The Handmaiden, as she asked them to call her, led the way past the main chamber and up the dormitory hallway to its terminus. They faced a huge statue that was poised as if holding up the corner of the building on its massive shoulders. The Handmaiden pointed and they turned left to find a door that looked different from the others in the academy. This one did not look like stone—it looked more like metal—and the pad to open it was located in the middle of the door. Swagger examined it and said it looked like it had been fused with a plasma beam.
"Lightsaber," Visas said, making Mav jump. How could she know that?
Mav bent and examined the melted metal on the pad. Sure enough, he could tell a lightsaber had been used to seal the door. That being the case, maybe another lightsaber could open it, he thought.
"Stand back," he warned, and when they moved back, he ignited his lightsaber and jammed it into the pad. The saber cut through the metal like a plasma torch, carving an ever-widening hole as Mav jiggled the hilt. The pad glowed bright orange as sparks flew and the lightsaber crackled with angry energy--the door itself grew warm to the touch. Mav completed the circle he'd made and the pad fell inside the room. Mav waited until the edges cooled and then he stuck his hand through the hole, searching for the mechanism that should unlock the door.
There was a loud click and then the door slowly rolled up. The room had only a bunk attached to the wall and a footlocker against the right wall. Standing in the center of the floor was a pyramid etched with strange symbols and ancient hieroglyphs. It was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. It was red and black, and did not glow, so it had not been activated. Yet.
"I...feel strange." Visas gasped. "Sick."
"What is that thing?" Flynn asked.
Mav was pretty sure he knew what it was—the Jedi Council forbade any Knight from having anything to do with one. "It's a Sith holocron. Visas, it's affecting you. I don't know much about them except they create tremors in the Force and can emit a dark presence." He gave her a gentle push toward the door. "Wait for us in the hall."
The Handmaiden's stern gaze changed to one of uneasiness. "I...don't like the way it makes me feel."
Inwardly, Mav was banging his head against the nearest wall. Another Force sensitive! The Ebon Hawk had come to Korriban for her. Now it made sense. She was one of the "Lost Jedi"—she was part of his quest. No, he amended, Revan's quest.
"We're leaving," Swagger announced and this time everyone present knew he would not take no for an answer.
Flynn opened his rucksack and carefully lifted the holocron.
"Be careful!" The Handmaiden admonished.
He frowned as he wrapped it in the extra jacket he pulled out of the rucksack and then tucked it safely inside. "Catch," he said and tossed it to her.
She swore in Echani and Swagger's lips quirked slightly at the insult to Flynn's heritage. She caught the rucksack, and then she saw Flynn was still holding the jacket containing the holocron. He gave her a cheeky grin. "Psyche!"
"I will carry it," she told him, her voice as icy as her eyes.
He shrugged. "Be my guest." He gave her the wrapped holocron.
"We lock it in the cargo hold once we get to the ship, right?" Flynn's eyes caught Swagger's.
"Yep."
They had just stepped outside the academy when Gunner made a pass over them in the shuttle. They were all stealthed again and were staggered by the next few words from the young man.
"Hey, how'd you guys get past me? Might want to hold up until I dock this boat."
"What in blazes is he talking about?" Flynn asked.
"No idea." Swagger got on the comm-link. "Gunner, we're all still on the planet's surface."
"Then who's flying the Seeker?" Gunner sounded genuinely puzzled.
Swagger swore in every language he knew as they raced to where he'd landed the ship. They were just in time to see her take off. They stood with mouths open, necks craned upward as they watched the ship diminish in size and finally disappear in the cloud cover.
"I do not frackin' believe this!" Flynn needed something to throw, so he picked up a rock and threw it with all his strength and venom. It smashed into the cliff face. "Gunner?"
"I followed her, Flynnie." The shuttle came out of the clouds. "She's...gone." He sounded disappointed and astonished. "Already made the jump to hyperspace."
"Get back here. Now we only have one ride off this dust bowl." Flynn took over, knowing his partner was unable to utter a word that wasn't a curse right then. The merc looked at Atton. "I trust you're ready to return the favor we gave you."
Swagger walked a few steps away and brought his fury under control with great difficulty. His dark eyes speared Atton. "Did your droid just take my ship?"
"Hey, your droid last I heard." Atton was not backing down. "I had nothing to do with it."
"Stop it!" Flynn realized he was shouting, but, dammit, the Seeker was his ship, his home, too. "We make our way to the Hawk. We follow the hyperspace signature and we get our ship back. Period."
Swagger stalked after the others. The Handmaiden glanced over her shoulder at him and hugged the holocron tightly to her chest as if she expected him to wrest it from her.
The Ebon Hawk lowered her ramp as they approached, as if she was welcoming them. Swagger was last on board. He stalked through the ship, acquainting himself with the differences in this ship from his beloved Seeker. He took Gunner with him and the young man was extolling the Hawk's draw-backs and virtues as they toured the ship.
"Not anywhere as much space as ours, Cap. Two dorms, three bunks in each? We're gonna have to break out the sleeping pallets. There were some in the cargo hold."
The interior of the ship was designed to accomodate only a small crew and she seemed to be packed with people right now. To the privacy-loving captain this was unacceptable. He signalled to Atton who was coming out of the cockpit that was connected to the main hold by a long hallway. There was a furious look on the pilot's face.
"What?" Atton snapped. "Just checked the galaxy map and we're going to Dantooine, and, no, we have no other choice!"
"Your ship, so you assign the sleeping arrangements for the rest." It was understood Atton was not Swagger's boss.
He jerked a finger at Flynn. "Find out how much food's on board. Cargo hold's that way. And, Flynnie, you take the communications room for your quarters. It's got a console you can access the ship's security cams." He aimed his finger at the Handmaiden. "Take her and secure her in the cargo hold."
Atton glared at Swagger a moment then he pointed at Carth. "You and Mav can take the port dormitory. Richelle, you, Mira and Visas can have the starboard dorm."
Flynn called back from the hallway. "Mira's with me."
The red-head smirked. "Guess that settles that."
"I'll bunk in the engine room," Gunner told Atton.
"I'll take the cockpit. Chairs are pretty damned comfortable." Atton looked at Swagger, wondering where he'd sleep. "You could take the medbay bed, Swagger. It's off the hallway between the main hold and the engine room." When Swagger did not answer, the pilot added, "The cockpit seats five, so you could take one of the chairs in there."
When Swagger walked away without replying, Atton muttered something not very complimentary under his breath. Swagger heard and turned back to walk up to him. The bounty hunter crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't want to upset me right now."
Atton gulped. He was no coward and he was tough, but the look in the captain's obsidian eyes brooked no argument. Vasa was close to losing his temper. Atton remained quiet and his eyes broke off first from the staring contest.
Swagger turned on his heel and walked out of the main hold to the cargo hold that Flynn was just coming out of and opened the door.
"She ain't talkin', Swag." Flynn appeared a little worried when he saw the mood his partner was in.
"She'll talk to me."
Swagger entered the semi-dark room, not seeing the woman they had rescued. Suddenly, she dropped from the ceiling onto his shoulders and slammed both hands in an Echani strike to the sides of his neck. The attack was unexpected and Swagger was caught off guard, but only for a moment. He fell backwards, almost pinning her, but she was quick and agile. She tucked and rolled and aimed a devastating kick at his chin, which he narrowly avoided.
He came to his feet, hands clenched into fists, his body low to the ground. "All I want to know is where the hell my ship is," he said through clamped teeth.
"I will tell you nothing!" She launched into another attack, but he was ready and his foot lashed out, catching her in the mid-section. She hardly seemed to react, other than to lean her body back, arms wind-milling for a moment and then she was circling him. "You know the Echani tiers," she told him, her white hair glowing like a nimbus about her head.
"I know all of them. I didn't come in here to fight you, woman!"
Her light blue eyes flashed. "You insult me! I am an Echani warrior. If you think you can defeat me, you will have to stop holding back."
Swagger tore off his vest and unbuckled his weapons belt. He tossed them to the side. His hands came up, fingers held tightly together with the thumbs across the palms in an Echani strike technique. "Back off, babe, or I will hurt you."
"If you can defeat me in the echelon tiers of combat, then, and only then, will you be worthy. For me to tell you anything about the ship would be breaking an oath I swore. You are Echani. Our word is our bond."
Swagger yanked his military T-shirt over his head and tossed it on top of the vest and belt. "I'm only half Echani—depends which side of me is more pissed off right now. My credits are on the Mandalorian side!" When she still stalked toward him, he added tersely, "Fine, babe! Don't say I didn't warn ya."
The woman removed her clothing down to the barest black underwear. She watched him as he stripped down to his shorts. Even their footwear had been discarded.
Sweat gilded Swagger's body as he paced a little, getting his anger under control. He flexed his hands several times and lowered his body as he brought his hands up in a gesture that told her the duel should begin.
She sprang at him and they both crashed to the deck, the impact forcing them apart. Both scrambled to their feet. Swagger forced air into his lungs and blinked to clear his vision.
It was a much tougher fight than Swagger expected. He relied on cool reasoning and cunning, but he found he had so much anger pent up inside him, his skin could barely contain it. Anger at his ship being stolen, anger at her because she probably knew who took it and anger at Mav for being so damned affable and starting him down this path in the first place and probably involving him in a war that wasn't his. He pulled the anger in until it was hard and razor sharp.
She lunged at him and they went down, with her kicking and clawing. She gave him a good shot in the knee, barely missing his groin. It became a no-holds barred, rough-and-tumble fight, but at times when they entered a higher tier of combat, it became an aerial dance of such deadly beauty, it did not appear they were fighting at all.
Her skin was white and when he left a mark on it, the livid bruise or welt showed up in brilliant contrast. Swagger was not unscathed by the battle-his lip was cut, one eye was swelling shut and pain lanced through his body. He ignored it, concentrating all his intense skill on the woman.
She held her own against him, pummeling him with feet and hands. She head-butted him, almost catching him off-guard, but his whipcord, lean body jerked back, years of training having honed it into a weapon of unsurpassed power.
She stopped advancing. Her breathing was accelerated and her beautiful breasts were barely contained by the black scrap of fabric she wore. With one small jerk he could free them, he thought savagely. The echelon tiers were fought entirely unencumbered by clothes.
As if she read his mind, she allowed a small smile to play about her lips. "You want to go all out," she told him. "We will do as you wish."
Swagger swore in Mandalorian, crossed to her and jerked her against his bare chest, feeling the softness and warmth.
He buried his fingers in her short hair, jerking her head back and he kissed her. She bit hard on his lower lip and he growled, subduing her, deepening the kiss. All resistance melted as she put her arms about his neck and returned his kiss with the same fervor.
She jabbed her thumbs into his neck and he went down, pulling her on top of him as he collapsed to the deck. The strike had numbed him and, for a moment, their eyes locked as she sat astride him. There was triumph in them and he knew she thought she'd won.
Swagger down was not Swagger beaten. He called upon his Mandalorian side and bucked her off and made a grab for her as she tried to roll away. They fought for supremacy, him on top, then her. He growled savagely when she connected with a particularly painful strike and he pushed off, rising into a crouch. She grabbed his foot and he went down hard on his knees. They did more rolling on the deck. There was more punching and kicking. And he broke into swearing, because Swagger was entering the Mandalorian berserker rage. He didn't just want to defeat her—he wanted to hurt her. She'd chosen the wrong time to challenge him. They fought more, the dance-like moves giving way to the brute strength of the Mandalorian race. Finally, her strength ebbed and he was able to force her down and hold her hands over her head.
"I win, babe." He was panting, sweat and blood streaming from his body.
"I concede your victory." Her eyes gazed hungrily up at him.
He stopped straddling her and released her hands and got to his feet. He had bruises and deep scratches on his body. He bent down to offer her a hand and she executed a perfect Echani leg sweep, sending him crashing to the floor.
Before he could get all the way to his feet, she was on him, her hands tight about his throat, throttling him. His hands came up and grasped her wrists, tightening like iron bands around them. She bit his ear until it bled and he grunted, but did not let her go. He bent forward, his height playing to his advantage. Her balance was affected and then he jerked her wrists, heaving her off her feet, so that her voluptuous breasts pressed against his sweat-soaked back.
She lost her balance and her grip on him faltered. Swagger took the opportunity to let go of her wrists and whipped his body around, bringing the heel of one hand up sharply, striking her between the eyes. Her neck snapped back; she could not prevent herself from falling back. Her head struck the deck and she remained where she'd fallen, her eyes fluttering as she struggled to remain conscious.
The fall had forced all of the air from her lungs. She lay there until Swagger's face loomed over her, just inches away.
Swagger bent and jammed his lips against hers, the blood making them slick. "Concede," he hissed as he gripped her shoulders, drawing her against him.
"You...win." She sat up woozily when he moved back. "I have never met anyone who could best me."
He smirked. "Babe, I'd call it a draw, but that would mean you wouldn't answer my questions."
"I will give you the answers you seek, after..."
"After?" He quirked a brow. A trickle of blood seeped down his cheek.
"After we complete the Echani ritual."
"We just did. That blow to the head addle your brain?"
She smiled and her eyes caught fire. "Not that one. You know the one I mean."
His eyes took on a naughty gleam. "Oh," he said in a low, intimate voice. "That one."
Flynn stood outside the cargo hold, listening to scuffling noises—groans, moans, muffled cries. He gulped. Swagger had to be working the woman over, but it felt weird somehow. Under normal circumstances, Flynn would have barged in to stop the misbehaving, but now he was uncertain and confused. He knew he should stop Swagger, but he wanted to be with Mira in the worst way.
"He's not hurting her." Mav walked up. "I think Atton can explain it."
"Damn right I can explain it." Atton stood just outside the garage. The ship was so crowded that people were finding privacy anywhere they could. Richelle was in the garage with Visas, who was murmuring comforting words to the grieving woman.
"Shouldn't you be...?" Flynn asked, gesturing toward Richelle.
"Yeah, but I can't." Atton's hands were balled into fists and his jaw was clenched. "She doesn't need what I want to..." He turned away.
Flynn looked from Atton to Mav and back again. "Will somebody tell me what's going on?"
"We're all feeling it, to one extent or another," Mav explained.
"It's the damn bond," Atton complained. "We all feel it." He turned on Mav. "Can't you do something about it?"
"Believe me, I would if I could."
"What is it?" Flynn demanded. "Either I get an answer, or I go find Mira..."
"That's it," Atton stated, his voice harsh. "We're all feeling it. Swagger went in there to confront the Echani and they've been fighting."
"Yeah," Flynn said easily. "So?"
"When a man and a woman have an Echani battle, they go through...certain phases." He was trying to explain it as plainly, yet as kindly, as he could. "As it escalates, the emotions get more intense. They're at the final phase, the Echelon, the..." His own emotions were so out of control he stumbled over his words. "When they reach this phase, there's a ritual. They might kill each other, or one kills the other, or..."
"They're...getting to know each other," Mav said delicately.
Flynn's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "O-hhhh. That kind of ritual."
"Yeah." Atton was relieved not to have to explain further. "It's strictly symbolic, so once they're done and come out..." He shrugged. "No further...connection is likely."
Mav's face was flushed. He had not tried to eavesdrop with the Force, but he had not been able to block out what was going on in the cargo hold no matter how much he wanted to—such was the lot of a Jedi.
"I'm going to the 'fresher," he mumbled and Flynn's low chuckle followed him.
The warriors reached the zenith of the Echani ritual and moved apart, gathering their clothes and getting dressed. The Handmaiden, as she called herself, did not look at Swagger. It was not because she felt shame, but because they had just shared something so intensely personal she did not need to see him. He had inscribed himself like a tattoo into her skin and now the ink was fading and the feeling was subsiding. She pulled on her white clothes and boots. Swagger dressed in silence. He was not angry now, but he still expected answers.
"Where's my ship?" he asked as he buckled the last of his weapons arsenal about his taut waist.
Her pale blue eyes met his obsidian orbs and she nodded. "My mistress sent us to Korriban to collect the holocron, and we were to bring her the ship called the Ebon Hawk. My sisters had never seen the ship, so when yours responded to the correct signature, they assumed it to be the Hawk."
Swagger found his new calm had not gone very deep and his anger was resurfacing. "Where did they take it?"
"Telos." She adjusted the hood over her head. "To the Polar Region. My mistress will be most displeased when she finds it is not the Ebon Hawk."
"It ain't nothing to what she's gonna feel when I get my hands on her!" he growled through clenched teeth.
"I have the codes to the hangar. If we go there now..."
Swagger jerked a death stick from his vest pocket and lit it, taking a deep drag. He expelled smoke from his lungs like a Drexl dragon. "We can't," he spat. "This damn ship is voice-locked and goes where it damn well pleases. We're on our way to Dantooine, babe."
"But I found the holocron. I must take it to my mistress."
He scowled. "What are ya, some kinda slave with all this mistress talk?"
"My mistress is Atris, and she is a Jedi."
Swagger was inhaling smoke when he heard the dreaded word and fought down the rising coughs. Tears sprang to his eyes and he snorted. "Of course she is. Every damn person I meet is either a Jedi or a wannabe!" He found a pallet in one of the storage compartments and dragged it to the engine room, dropping it beside Gunner.
"Hey, Cap, you gonna bunk in here?"
"Yes." Swagger hissed, drawing out the word, and lay on his back, glaring at the ceiling.
"You're gonna love the way this ship purrs, Cap. She's got a class 1 hyperdrive, which means they replaced the original class 3. And the realspace speed is double the baseline for the class. She's a sweet ship."
Mav came out of the refresher a short time later and made his rounds. Everyone was settling in to their assigned spaces. He went to the cargo hold and found the Echani woman sitting on the floor in meditation. To his surprise, he realized she was Force sensitive.
"So that's why the ship took off when she came on board," he muttered and moved away. He found Swagger in the engine room. The man was covered with cuts and bruises and had two black eyes. Mav quaked at the pain emanating from the captain and asked, "Do you want to be a martyr? I can heal you, you know."
"Go for it." Swagger was grateful for the wave of healing that washed over his battered body, but waited until Mav left before he groaned softly in relief.
Atton was in the cockpit, staring out the viewports without really seeing anything. Mav took the co-pilot's seat.
"Glad that's over," Atton said after a while. "Maybe now everybody can get some sleep."
"How soon will we reach Dantooine?" Mav queried.
"Not long now." Atton shot him an uneasy glance.
"It's damn cramped in the ship. Mind if I stay here with you for a little while?"
Atton glared. "You know I do."
"Rand, I want you to know something," Mav said through his teeth in irritation. "I don't care what your dark secret is! After what I did in the Mandalorian Wars, I don't judge anybody." He ran his fingers through his dirty, sweaty hair. The Hawk's shower was not working well and he hadn't wanted to add something else to the list of what needed to be fixed. "I know you have a problem with me because I'm a Jedi. I. Don't. Care. Deal with it, dammit! The only problem I have with you is that you're being a first class jerk!" He threw his hands up in disgust. "If you think I'm trying to recruit you to be a Jedi, believe me, you'd be the last guy I'd pick as a Padawan."
Atton bit his lower lip. "I have my reasons," he muttered.
"Revan recruited you," Mav stated. "I sense that without touching your thoughts; I can feel his influence. There's a darkness in you, which means he recruited you after he turned to the dark side, so that means you were a Sith."
"Sith, Jedi, they're all the same." Atton started to get up and Mav Force pushed him back into the pilot's seat.
"You can't run away from me anymore, Atton." Mav held the pilot with the Force.
Atton's eyes narrowed in fury. "Don't you see? Revan saved us—saved me!" he said hotly. "He was the only one who saw the threat—the only one who had the courage to deal with the Mandalorians." He struggled against the power that held him to no avail. "You want to know all about me? Fine. You won't like what you find out, but then, your opinion doesn't matter to me anyway." He took a deep breath. "I worked for Revan when he trained elite squads of men and women under his command to go out and capture Jedi and bring them to Korriban."
"You interrogated them?" It was easy for Mav to keep the distaste from his voice. After all, he'd done far worse.
Atton sniggered as if he found the remark repulsively funny. "I tortured them. The best was when I turned them to the dark side." He shrugged almost nonchalantly. "If they didn't turn, I killed them." His hands, clenched in his lap, were all that betrayed his emotion. "I...did terrible things to them." He glanced away briefly. "I still see their faces. I still hear their screams. They...haunt me." His eyes bored into Mav's. "Every waking moment."
Remorse, and it was real, Mav thought. "Why did you quit?"
Atton looked startled for a moment. "That obvious, huh?" He squared his shoulders, but Mav still did not release him from the seat. "It was a woman. A Jedi. She came to me—turned herself over to me. I started on her just like all the others, and she told me I was a marked man; that it was only a matter of time before the Sith discovered I was Force sensitive." His voice softened a little. "And then I would disappear like others in the ranks and be turned into something dark and evil."
"She turned you back to the light?"
Atton shook his head. "She showed me the Force--thrust it into my head like a Force pike--and I saw and felt everything she felt." He shivered. "Everything the others had felt." He drew a breath. "I...killed her for showing me that; for entering my head." Atton covered his face with his hands. "And in the end I killed her because I loved her...so she wouldn't have to suffer anymore. She offered herself to save me." His finger poked his chest. "Me!"
"So don't throw away the second chance she gave you, Atton. You could learn to use the Force like it's supposed to be used. I'm not the greatest teacher, but I take back what I said before. I will train you if you wish."
Atton peeked through his fingers. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet...Mav."
"Atton, at Dxun, I followed Revan's orders to the letter." It was Mav's turn to feel uncomfortable, and he didn't hide it. Atton needed to see it. "He ordered my troops to storm a bridge that was heavily mined, and none of us were proficient at deactivating them. Hundreds of soldiers were killed in that battle." Mav's eyes blazed silver. "And at Malachor V, Revan told me to activate the Mass Shadow Generator, and I did it without questioning him, without even knowing what it would do. Thousands died that day—Mandies and Republic and Jedi—all my responsibility, I thought." He held Atton's gaze. "But do you know what I've come to realize?"
"What?" Atton was hanging on every word now.
"You and I were just following orders during wartime—Revan's orders. We were just doing what a soldier does—you follow the leader's commands. Yes, the memories of what we did should serve to warn us and keep us from letting such dire circumstances happen again. But the guilt has to be allowed to fade away. It eats at you, destroys you. It was not our war, Atton. It was Revan's war." He leaned forward and placed a soothing hand on the pilot's shaking shoulder. "Let it go, man. It's over. It's in the past."
"You bastard!" Richelle had come to the cockpit to sit with Atton and overheard the entire conversation. All she could think about was the terrible things that had been done to her father and Atton had been one of the evil Sith during the Mandie Wars. "You Sith bastard!"
The blaster in her hand went off.
The sound of the bolt leaving the blaster resounded throughout the Ebon Hawk.
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