chapter 13

Adriaan swallowed. She wasn't the type to back down, even in the face of a portable missile launcher, but she was feeling unusually faint-hearted for the task ahead. She would probably be forced to kill him. Not that she liked him ––– she just hated to kill a being.

Joh-ma's hand was steady as he trained the targeting system onto her. "Move out of the way, whelp, or you're joined with the Force."

Adriaan shook her head slowly, shifting her feet so that her body was turned sideways, yet her shoulders were kept facing her opponent. She had to be ready, when the time came for him to fire.

Joh-ma's hand quivered slightly as his index finger moved to the trigger. "I don't believe it," he hissed. "You are an idiot for not taking the chance to run off and save your pitiful carcass. Where is that undying loyalty to your Republic? Do you not want to live and fight for your precious Chancellor? Are you not afraid of death?"

Am I afraid of death? Do I fear getting blasted into oblivion by a rocket?

"I am not afraid of you," Adriaan said aloud. "I am not afraid to die for the Republic. I would die a thousand times over, if only that would save the galaxy from the evil we are fighting."

"I'm insulted, Jedi," Joh-ma said. "You call my cause evil? Do you call the right to secede from a Republic that is corrupted by greed, evil? Do you say that to defend yourself from a brutal attack from the mighty Republic, is somehow wrong? Surely, you must see through the fog of lies the Jedi and the Republic have created around you."

Don't listen to him. He's given you enough trouble. Go ahead; put yourself out of your misery. Kill him.

But he IS right. The Senate truly is corrupted; those systems had the right to secede. Yet that is not why they left the Republic –––– they left for more power. They left because they thought that the Republic was not serving them. Think of the leaders of the Seps –––– the Trade Federation, the Techno Union army, the Commerce Guild……all of them have one thing in common: a ridiculous accumulation of wealth and prestige, and the desire to have more credits and power than anyone else in the galaxy. This war isn't about the desire for galactic unity and justice ––– it's about greed.

The Question is: are both sides greedy? For you cannot turn a blind eye to the petty ambitions and plots of the remaining senators…and of the Chancellor, too. Are you even fighting for the right side?

"I see what the Republic is," Adriaan said. "I see what the Republic symbolizes. I see what your cause really is; I see what it stands for. I will never lay down my loyalties and join a confederacy that is based upon greed. The Senate is corrupt with petulant representatives, it is true, but it also still has many good senators, honest beings who truly represent their people. It is not the Chancellor, it is not the debased senators for whom I fight, but for the good beings that I know exist in this galaxy. These are whom I am proud to fight for."

Joh-ma rolled his eyes. "How touching," he sneered. "It is a pity that I must kill such a morally upright person. But, as circumstances demand, I have no choice." He pulled the trigger.

Adriaan was way more than ready. She had already anticipated his attack; she knew that he would not listen to her words, no matter how eloquent she made them sound. As the rocket was released from the missile tube, she leaped off to the side, imperceptibly moving a few meters closer to Joh-ma. Her plan was to either guide the missile into her attacker, or to get close enough to simply dispatch him with her lightsaber.

Just as she had expected, the missile altered its course so that it locked onto her. Adriaan let herself lose some of the ground she had gained, running toward the wall as the rocket continued to track her. Calling upon the Force, she ran up the smooth stone and pushed against it, flipping over the incoming missile.

BOOM!

She unfolded her body to spread out her weight, riding the wave of air created from the imploding explosive. She landed neatly on the floor, rolling to a standing position and swinging her lightsaber in a challenge to Joh-ma.

He was still smiling, which wasn't a good sign. His fingers moved deftly as he reloaded the missile tube. "Good. Very good. Unfortunately, not good enough."

BAM!

Adriaan dove for the floor as the rocket locked onto her and zoomed toward her. She skidded across the tiles and cracked her head against a swoop in the process of getting out of the way, but a little bruise to the cranium could not stop her. A sharp, aching pain shot through her brain as she leaped from her back to her feet. The missile swerved and followed her.

Out of the corner of her vision, she saw a shimmering, bright red figure glide across the space, just as the missile homed in on her and dove in for the kill.

WHOOSH.

Adriaan was knocked off her feet as the rocket exploded a sickening ten meters from her. She arched her back as she flew through the air, flipping over so that she landed on her hands before springing to her feet.

Klamin fumbled for another thermal detonator, his iridescent face blackened by smoke and ash. Her mouth dropped open with the stunning reality of what had happened. No way. No one could have possibly thrown a thermal at a missile, flying at that velocity, and actually hit it. No one; I doubt that most Jedi would have been able to accomplish such a feat, unless they were terribly talented, or incredibly lucky. Klamin, who are you?

Even Joh-ma looked impressed. "Ah, it's the Queen's young advisor. You have talent…what was your name again? Kaw Mean? Claw Men ––– ah, that would make a catchy sith name, eh, Ree?'

"It's Klamin, you archaic old krayt fossil," the Zylxxian said easily, tossing the detonator from his left hand to his right.

"Klamin, then," the Weequay said, shrugging. "Now, I would suggest that you drop that shiny metal ball you are holding. Explosives are not meant to be handled by little children."

"I am as old as you, though I am happy to say that I am not as old-looking," Klamin said bitingly.

Adriaan dropped to the floor, out of Joh-ma's sight line. Klamin's eyes darted in her direction. She motioned with her hand at him to keep the Weequay distracted. He nodded and turned his gaze back toward the Separatist. Adriaan began to crawl on her stomach toward the starfighter.

Joh-ma snorted at Klamin, not noticing Adriaan's absence. "Do you think that the envoy of the Count himself would be so naïve? I have enslaved your people; I have turned your children into drudges. One of the space pirate customs that I have adopted is the practice of tattooing slaves with my own personal mark, to distinguish my slaves from the rest. This process requires a cataloguing of every individual's name, age, gender, species, and industrial worth. So instead of throwing you pitiful beings into pits to rot, I keep files on every Zylxxian under my care. Because of this, I can calculate the age and potential of any being by sight alone."

Come on, keep talking, Joh-ma. Almost there.

"Ah, so how old am I, Verbose One?" Klamin said loudly.

Adriaan reached the starfighter and slowly stood up, withdrawing her lightsaber as she did so. She pointed it at the Weequay's back and shot a look at Klamin that said, "Ready"

"Aetatis fifteen, Klamin. But, alas, I fear that you must die young."

"Get him, Jedi girl!" Klamin yelled as Joh-ma launched another missile, this time targeting the Zylxxian.

Adriaan activated her lightsaber and threw it at Joh-ma.

He whirled around, his mouth white with foam, his eyes bloodshot. "You little Dathomir witch…"

His laserwhip snaked across the space and curled around the handle of her lightsaber. The airborne weapon was jerked abruptly from its path and was sent spinning into the wall.

Adriaan licked her lips. Oops. That's not supposed to happen.

"Now, where were we, Ree?" the Weequay said calmly, as if nothing had happened. "Ah, yes. I believe you were allowing me to borrow that starfighter."

Adriaan did a front handspring to a double front flip and landed in front of him, her fists raised, her legs spread wide apart to give her balance. She was a fourth-level master of the Mabani martial arts, so she felt confident of who would win this melee. She had been instructed well in the art by her old Master, who had been taught by the Zolan artists himself…

It was the only thing he taught me correctly.

Joh-ma withdrew the vibroknife, the one that Adriaan recognized as having originally been owned by Klamin, and lunged at her.

"Hi-yah!"

She did a tornado spin hook, catching him on the left side of his jaw. The knife bore down on her, but she deflected it easily with a high block. She crossed her feet and came at him with a quick jump push kick, knocking him to the floor.

Unfortunately, Joh-ma had also been trained in the Mabani arts. Leaping swiftly to his feet, he jumped forward delivered a snap kick to her head. Turning around, he executed a back round kick, but this time he did not score a hit. Bringing up her right arm, Adriaan easily blocked the blow and brought her back hand around for a strike.

Joh-ma stumbled backward, the vibroblade still in his hand. He swiped at her with the weapon, only to be deflected again by a knife hand block. Joh-ma swung wide, and in that moment, Adriaan saw her opening. Diving into his left side, she jabbed him in the gut with her elbow, came up, turned around, and whacked him in the shins.

The Weequay screamed and arched backward. Adriaan brought her left hand down in a swift chop to his neck before knocking the knife out of his hand and rolling away.

Meanwhile, Klamin had been circling the sparring duo, waiting for his chance to take Joh-ma out with his hand blaster. Adriaan liked how he hadn't rushed in and tried to take over the situation, as would be expected from an average official. But Klamin wasn't your run-of-the-mill advisor. What he had done in the past half-hour proved that.

"You're covered, Joh-boy," Klamin called out to the Weequay. "Trapped as neatly as a massiff in a sarlacc's jaws."

Joh-ma slowly lifted his head from his prone position on the ground. He looked around, a faint smile on his face. "Traps always have an entrance. That entrance can become an exit."

"Your only exit is this way," Klamin said, indicating his blaster. "Unless you will surrender to us…"

The alien stared at the Nebula for several moments. "Then I guess I'll just have to get out the easy way," he said softly.

Then Adriaan noticed the gleam of a blaster pistol beneath the folds of Joh-ma's tunic. "No!"

She barreled into him, sending them both flying into Klamin's Jedi starfighter. The blaster was in Joh-ma's hand now, and she grappled for it, grabbing onto his wrist and twisting it so that he cried aloud in pain. Growling savagely, he brought her hand up to his face and bit it viciously. Adriaan winced but grimly held onto the barrel of the pistol.

Something picked her up and threw her against the wall suddenly, causing her breath to get knocked out of her. Sitting up groggily, she watched as the Zylxxian jammed the Weequay into the floor. The two rolled over, at each other's necks. Both pistols lay on the ground, out of their reach.

Her lightsaber would be useless in this situation. There was nothing to do but watch…

Then she noticed a dull silver gleam on the floor. Crawling forward, she grasped the edge of the vibroknife. It was curved, almost like a boomerang. It wasn't as destructive as a lightsaber. Could it…?

Adriaan took careful aim, then threw the knife at Joh-ma.