Chapter 14
Vandalyn sensed the blaster bolts coming and lunged in front of Zava Ur. Her light saber blade flashed, deflecting the attack. She pointed to her left. "Go! Get to the alcove by that column, there is some bit of shelter there!" She covered Ur's retreat and cursed under her breath. A sharp cry behind her told Vandalyn that one of the Doma's bodyguards was down.
The second bodyguard, Zava Ba, dragged his companion to the alcove and then put himself between the Doma and the attackers. Before he did that, he handed his extra weapon to the Doma. Zava Ur took it and didn't hesitate to return fire.
"Cover the sides," said Vandalyn, "but keep your heads down. Zava Ba, the Doma's safety is our primary concern." She moved forward. Zava Ur grabbed her robe and they all ducked to avoid another barrage of blaster fire.
"You cannot defend the front alone," he said.
"I will defend the front," she said simply. "I can hold off more of them with my light saber than you can with your blasters. And surely reports of blaster fire have been sent; help will come." She hoped her voice projected confidence, because she did not feel it. In her heart, Vandalyn knew that only Ressem Ud would be bold enough to orchestrate an assassination attempt. It was unlikely he would have left much opportunity for a rescue. She took a deep breath and allowed herself one, single distracting thought about Qui-Gon, and then she turned all of her focus on defending the Doma.
Qui-Gon raced down the hall with Nimat Ilo and a dozen other Dunali males. As soon as he'd understood the true purpose behind Ud's diversion, the Dunali had attacked Qui-Gon. Now Ressem Ud was writhing in pain on the Council hall floor, his arm severed at the elbow by Qui-Gon's light saber. The Jedi Master had left several guards to make sure Ressem Ud did not slither away into the shadows. As he'd run from the Council Chamber, Qui-Gon had found Nimat Ilo by sheer coincidence. He'd shouted that believed Zava Ur was going to be attacked. Nimat Ilo didn't hesitate; he ran after Qui-Gon and ordered several guards to come with them.
Of the fifteen assassins, only six were still left. Four had been taken out by Zava Ba before he'd been killed. The others had been foolish enough to rush Vandalyn, thinking their numbers would overwhelm and intimidate her. They all were either dead or seriously injured by her light saber before they realized how deadly Vandalyn really was, but she had paid a price. One blaster bolt had only partially deflected and left a deep score in her thigh. The remaining six held back more, and were now firing in waves, giving Vandalyn no opportunity to rest. They were banking on her eventually tiring as the pain of her wound sapped her strength. Eventually, they knew she would make a mistake.
She deflected three bolts in rapid succession and twisted away as a fourth shot screamed past her head, so close that it left a slight scorch mark on her cheek. It was not as deep, but it was nearly as painful as the wound on her leg. "Doma," she said. "There are few enough now that I could cover your retreat back towards the Council Hall."
"No," he nearly shouted. "I will not leave you or Cadai Fen. He is still alive but he is unconscious." The Doma pointed his blaster and pulled the trigger. One assassin grunted, injured only slightly by the bolt. Vandalyn didn't have time to reply as another volley of bolts blazed through the air. They were running out of time.
Sensing that Vandalyn was tiring quickly, four of the remaining assassins closed in on her. The other two circled around, using the columns as camouflage, towards Zava Ur. Vandalyn clenched her teeth and raised her light saber into the first Soresu defensive position. If she was going to die, she was going to die well. A blaster bolt screamed through the air, but it knocked one of her attackers off of his feet. In the background, she could hear Nimat Ilo shouting to protect the Doma.
The unexpected arrival of the soldiers startled the assassins and Vandalyn didn't waste the chance. Her defensive pose turned instantly into a lunge, and she caught the nearest one in the abdomen with her light saber blade. The next moment, Qui-Gon was next to her, driving back the others with a blinding display of Ataru attacks. Exhausted and in pain, Vandalyn relinquished her position and sank to the ground. She pressed one hand against the wound on her thigh. It wasn't bleeding – blaster fire, like light sabers, cauterized wounds. Nevertheless, it hurt and the pressure from her hand brought a small modicum of relief. Her cheek ached, too, reminding Vandalyn how close she'd come to dying. She started to shake a little.
The arrival of Qui-Gon, Nimat Ilo, and the others changed the balance of power. Two of the assassins threw down their weapons and surrendered. They shouted that Ressem Ud had threatened their families to force their help in the assassination attempt. Zava Ur had them take into custody with a promise of discovering the truth – and to deliver quick justice to the guilty.
While the Doma and Nimat Ilo dealt with that, Qui-Gon knelt down next to Vandalyn. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you badly hurt?" He kept his voice carefully moderated, and anyone else who had heard them would have, perhaps, thought he was too detached. Vandalyn, however, heard the concern in his voice, felt the small tremble in his touch.
"I'm fine," she said. "My injuries will heal. How is the Doma? Was he hurt?"
"I will live as well, Jedi Apprentice, thanks to you." Zava Ur and Qui-Gon helped Vandalyn to her feet. She tested her leg; she could walk but only with a very painful limp.
Zava Ur waved a hand that brought Nimat Ilo hurrying to his side. "My own medics, Zava Gis and Veelas Ez will attend the Jedi Apprentice," he said. "Send a medical team for her; she should not be walking."
"As you wish, Doma, but I must insist you go to your quarters while we ascertain if there is any additional threat. Thanks to the Jedi Master we have Ressem Ud in custody, but I do not wish to take any chances."
"Nimat Ilo is right, Doma," said Qui-Gon. "I will remain with the padawan for now and make certain she is cared for."
Ur nodded. "Very well. Ilo, as soon as possible I want to speak to Zava Ba's family. He fought bravely, and I want them to know how grateful I am that he was here to defend me." Nodding, Ilo hurried the Doma away, leaving Qui-Gon and Vandalyn alone. She sat back down, her back against a column, to ease the pressure on her leg. Qui-Gon stood next to her. He kept his hands folded within the sleeves of his robe and his eyes took in everything around them. He was close enough to Vandalyn to feel the weight of her shoulder on his leg as she leaned into him slightly.
"We will always face this," she said. "We are Jedi before we are anything else."
"That will be the hardest thing," answered Qui-Gon after a moment of reflection. "Even harder than the times we will be separated by mundane duties and long distances."
She looked up at him and smiled. "And I still believe it will be worth it."
"I do, too," he replied. Then he saw four Dunali hurrying towards them. "Look. The medical team is here."
The mental connection allowing the elders to share Vandalyn's memories made her head feel stuffy and full. She shook her head to try to clear it as she gently broke away from the connection. There was really not much left to tell. Three days later, after she was released by the medics, she and Qui-Gon accepted formal thanks from Zava Ur and left Dunal.
For a moment, she sat quietly, gathering her composure and then looked up at the three elders. Tabor looked thoughtful, and Yoda was nodding slightly as he came to his own conclusions. Mace Windu, however, was unreadable. "Take my rank," she said, "but please do not punish Qui-Gon for something he did not start. My actions placed us on this path."
"Your actions may have put you on the path," said Windu, "but Qui-Gon's propelled you down it."
"Give it all up, you would?" asked Yoda again. "Leave here with nothing? Leave here as no one?"
"I don't regret what I've done," she answered evenly. "If my future rank as Jedi Knight and my light saber are the price, then I pay them willingly. Willingly and gladly."
Qui-Gon closed his eyes and a small smile crossed his face. There was a conviction and a profound truth in her words that each one of them could hear. Vandalyn loved him as much as he loved her; no one could deny or refute that. And he knew that he would pay whatever price the Jedi Council demanded, willingly and gladly.
"And since your time on Dunal? What of that?" asked Windu.
"There is little more to tell," said Vandalyn. "If you wish, I will recount our time together over the past two years, but I don't believe it will provide you any additional insights." Or any additional fodder to condemn us…
"That will be unnecessary," said Usa Tabor, forestalling any possibility of Mace Windu agreeing to the idea.
"So what is the Council's ruling?" asked Qui-Gon. He wanted to be done with this inquisition.
"Would you abide by our ruling?" Windu cocked an eyebrow, answering Qui-Gon's question with another question. Vandalyn noticed that his voice had lost some of the hard edge it had held before.
"Given my history of obedience, it would depend whether or not I agreed with it," said Qui-Gon.
Windu actually cracked a flash of a smile. "At least you're honest; a claim of obedience would have been too overt of a lie. I think I would have been insulted."
As Windu and Qui-Gon spoke, Usa Tabor leaned over and whispered something to Yoda. Then he looked around the room. "I think we are in general agreement," he said. "But first there is something I must say…"
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Okay, yea, I know… another bit of a cliff-hanger. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that the back and forth between scenes wasn't too confusing. I thought of keeping all Vandalyn's stuff together and all of Qui-Gon's together, but having them interspersed seemed to work better for me… let me know what you thought of it. And of course, many many thanks to my readers and to my reviewers. I really do love hearing from y'all! Since it is the start of the work week, I may not be able to post until the weekend, but I'll try to get something else up before then. Ciao!