Chapter 21 – Here they come (again)
"Rae, relax, it's not his fault!" Gar had drawn her to him in a light embrace. He could literally feel the dark energy crackling through his own body. "Besides, he's probably exaggerating."
Raven cooled off and her eyes returned to their normal amethyst color, which he so loved.
"Nevermind" she mumbled while Gar mouthed 'you owe me big' to Nightwing.
"Whatever a 'wild weasel' sounds like, I can assure you I heard no such thing." Jarvik interrupted. "We have more serious matters to discuss, however".
The group entered the Tower and proceeded to the common room. Gar flew to the roof to summon the Princesses to the meeting.
-(-)-
Once Gar returned with Starfire and Blackfire, Jarvik addressed the group. "There is no doubt that Ventress is aware that we have returned. Since there are no reports of any wormholes opening we know that she is still in this dimension."
"We made sure that there were several easy ways to crack dispatches that told of our return" Nightwing added. "She knows that we are here, now we just need to convince her to try again."
"Will she really come here again after getting her butt kicked?" Asked Gar, why not just go home and come back with a dozen of those monster ships?"
"We've been wondering about that." this time it was Ahsoka "We know they have not left, but not why. Is she setting a trap for us? Or maybe the damage they suffered is keeping them here."
"These Dark Side types make Slade look like Forrest Gump." Raven shared dryly "I thought you Jedi were scary at first, but these guys are even scarier. Now I understand why Trigon wanted to form an alliance with the Sith."
"That is assuming that Slade is telling the truth." Starfire intoned.
"Yeah, there's always that." Nightwing agreed.
"They are watching us, of that we have no doubt. This time we will draw them after us."
"And then what, get shot out of the sky?" Cyborg asked.
"Exactly." Jarvik replied "But not until we teleport aboard their ship."
Everyone turned to Raven.
"Raven's powers won't be detected by any sensors aboard the Hand. We'll have the droids continue a suicide mission, ultimately ramming the Hand with the Arrow."
"And what do we do once we are on board? Raven asked, not liking where this was going. "Ahsoka, how large a crew should that ship have?"
"7,400, give or take a few hundred." she answered.
And the 10 of us are going to take them on, how?" Cyborg asked wide eyed.
"We could ask other Titans and Justice Leaguers to join us." Gar added.
"We have already asked the Green Lantern Corps. They volunteered 100 Green Lanterns. Batman and the new Robin have also volunteered to help." Nightwing added. "Everyone else will stay behind to defend Earth in case Ventress goes off the deep end."
"Our objective will be to sabotage the ship's reactor. We will be cutting it close, and will have to get off the ship quickly once the chain reaction begins." Ahsoka said.
"Make sure you have a Green Lantern nearby when that happens. They can get you safely off the ship and protect you from the vacuum and cold of space" Nightwing added. He turned to Raven "So are you on board with us Raven?"
They all knew that she was worried about Gar. She didn't think he was a weakling that needed protection. Far from it, he was an advanced Padawan now, almost a Knight. But she was afraid of losing him. No, she was terrified of losing him. She couldn't imagine life without him. During their engagement they often discussed hanging up the spandex and just becoming an ordinary couple (OK, an ordinary green and grey couple with super powers). She fantasized about becoming an author and Gar being a veterinarian, and having the proverbial 2.8 children while living in a sprawling ranch in the countryside. At times like this, she felt that fantasy could never be.
"OK I'm in, but if something happens to…."
"Rae, you're embarrassing me!"
"Shut up, Gar. I'm sticking to you like glue. Understand?"
"She's got you whipped green bean." Cy chuckled, making a whip gesture with his hand. Raven glared at him.
"Whipped?" she growled "I'll show you what 'whipped' is, tin man!"
"Drop it, Cy. Maybe if you were married you'd understand." Gar snapped at his best friend. He moved closer to Raven and grasped her hand tightly.
After an awkward pause Nightwing continued "Right, now that has been settled Ahsoka is going to go over the layout of a Venator class ship."
-(-)-
Ventress and her new XO, a Clone officer, had been strategizing on the best way to ambush the Jedi. They had ruled out a second assault on Earth and instead decided to wait for the Jedi to leave the relative safety of Earth and the hundreds of Green Lanterns who were still stationed there.
The field intelligence unit on the ship was working overtime decoding and processing every message that they intercepted.
Finally, they got the break they were hoping for. A strongly encrypted message said that the Jedi Arrow was going to rendezvous the penal colony on Eridani 4, where they would drop off the Tamaranian known as Komand'r to complete her prison sentence, then proceed to Tamaran to deliver the Titans and the Jedi to attend the wedding of the Crown Prince Ryand'r. There had been other dispatches during the week confirming the upcoming wedding. It sounded legitimate.
"Commander, we will intercept the Jedi Arrow as it exits hyperspace above Eridani 4. I want no mistakes this time ,commander." Her voice was as cold as deep space itself.
"We will be victorious, My Lady. The Jedi scum will not escape." He replied.
"I hope so for your sake, commander. Keep in mind that there are over 7000 replacements for you." she threatened him.
The clone turned away from her and plotted a course to Eridani 4.
Ventress left him and walked to her private section of the ship, where her quarters were located. Once she was past the guarded entrance she proceeded to the training room. As she entered the room she saw several of her apprentices engaged in light saber dueling. They stopped as soon as she entered the room, turned towards her and bowed.
"I have new instructions for you."
"Yes mistress", the lead apprentice replied.
"Jarvik has taken on an apprentice. He is a changeling, much more gifted than the Clawdites. I wish to capture him and present him to the Emperor as a gift". Assuming we ever get home she thought. He is young and inexperienced and should be easy to capture." she said while inserting data card into a console. An image of Garfield and Raven appeared on the screen.
"The green one is the Padawan. The grey one is his mate and is a half demoness. Do not underestimate her, as according to Slade's information she is Trigon's daughter". At this the dark apprentices opened their eyes very wide. "She will protect her mate fiercely, so I recommend eliminating her first….if you can."
She flicked a switch and the image switched to Nightwing. "He is an ordinary human but again do not underestimate him." She flipped another switch and there was a video of Nightwing in combat against a platoon of Sladebots, easily destroying them. "He reminds me of the old Mandalorians, so beware."
Next up was Cyborg. "This individual is full of primitive cybernetic and mechanical implants, but he is cunning and brave. He can convert his arms into sonic canons and has the ability to fly.
Finally it was Starfire and Blackfire's turn. "These two are Tamaranians. The red head used to be in our custody until Slade freed her. The other is her sister. The red head is married to the masked freak I showed you earlier and she too is highly protective of him. The Tamaranians possess super human strength. They can survive in a vacuum. They can also launch energy blasts from their hands (she did not know of Blackfire's condition) and energy beams from their eyes. They can also fly so do not underestimate them.
"Mistress, are we to capture the other Jedi as well?" the lead apprentice asked.
"No, you have my permission to destroy them. But do not harm the changeling. Retreat from him if you must. I will capture him myself."
"And what if he resists?
"Then I will be forced to destroy him myself." She replied.
-(-)-
The Titans knew that the trap had to set carefully or Ventress might not fall for it. Since it took a few days to convincingly fake Ryand'r's wedding, they had some time to prepare for the mission.
Jarvik and Ahsoka took turns teaching the Titans and their allies on how to defend themselves from Force attacks. Unfortunately only Raven and the Green Lanterns were able to fend off some of the simpler attacks. The rest of the Titans as well as Batman and Robin failed miserably.
Most impressive was the training that Gar received to defend himself from 'Force Lightning' as Jarvik insisted on calling it. He quickly learned to absorb the lightning with his light saber. He wasn't as successful with his bare hands, even though Jarvik claimed that had there been more time for training he would have had some success. It wasn't easy for Raven to watch, as poor Gar often got zapped by the lightning, sometimes it was pretty bad.
"Can I try?" She asked Jarvik, in part to buy Gar a break.
"Are you sure you want to, Raven?" Ahsoka asked. "It's a horrible experience."
"Better now than at the hand of a Dark Jedi." She replied.
"Very well." Jarvik replied. "I'll start off easy and work our way up."
Gar found a place to sit in the bleachers and watch. He was very worried about this. "Don't get carried away Raven, I don't want you to get hurt." He shouted.
"I'm not some frail little girl Gar, stop worrying".
"Oh, so it's OK for you worry about me, but not the other way around?" he complained.
"Shut up, you big baby".
Gar frowned, then sat back down.
Raven turned to Jarvik and went into her fighting stance, while she conjured a large black shield in front of her. "I'm ready".
Jarvik extended his hand and the lighting leaped from it and was absorbed into the shield. Raven winced in pain. Jarvik stopped.
"Are you OK?" he asked.
"I'm fine, let's kick this up a few notches. Use the same level you used with Gar."
"Are you certain?" he asked.
"Just do it!" she snapped.
Gar held his breath, fearing the worst. It was. The lightning, this time much brighter, leaped once again from Jarvik's fingers. As soon as it hit Raven's shield she screamed in pain and collapsed. Jarvik immediately stopped the lightning. Tendrils of stray lightning wandered over Raven's still convulsing body. Gar was at her side in no time, drawing the residual lightning into his bare hands, wincing in pain as he did so.
The first thing Raven saw when she regained consciousness was a pair of worried emerald eyes staring down at her. "Oh Gar, I thought I was going to die." She moaned.
"I think that's enough training for today." Jarvik announced. "Let's meet after dinner on the Arrow, I have some armor for you Titans to wear, and some Jedi armor for you Gar."
He looked at Raven "Raven, go take a nap. It's the best way to shake it off. Drinking fluids helps as well. Gar, make sure she rests."
Gar nodded, picked Raven up bridal style and carried her off to their suite. As they exited the gym Cyborg picked up the following whisper with his bionic ear: 'You know Rave, it wouldn't kill you to listen to me once in a while. I'm right more often than you think.' She then rested her head on Gar's shoulder and mumbled 'You were right, I'm sorry.' Cyborg immediately regretted teasing his friend earlier about being 'whipped'. He did tame our little sorceress after all, who else could have done that? Cyborg knew that everyone but Gar was intimidated by Raven's dark powers. Who am I kidding? He ain't whipped!
Nightwing then turned to Batman. "How do we defend against that? Raven is the most powerful Titan and she couldn't fend off the lightning."
Batman replied "We can't, but there only a handful of Dark Jedi. Most of the opposition will be clone troopers. You do realize that you, Robin and I will need to arm ourselves with blasters?"
"Yes, I have been training. They are powerful weapons."
"Time to get some rest before dinner. Tomorrow we set the trap." Batman concluded. "So you will keep Raven and Gar together in the mission I suppose?"
"Like I have any choice. How about you join Starfire and me for dinner?"
"Sure. What about Tim?"
"Have him join us as well; I'll set him up with Blackfire." He grinned wickedly.
"So it's true, you have become evil." the Dark Knight chuckled.
-(-)-
The following morning the crew was boarding the Jedi Arrow. Raven and Nightwing were clad in Republic issue plastoid battle armor, and Raven wore her white cloak over her armor.
"I feel like an armadillo" she complained. The armor was incredibly lightweight and she was having a hard time believing it offered any real protection.
Gar was wearing Jedi battle armor, which was similar to regular armor but provided somewhat less protection in exchange for greater flexibility.
Cyborg was his usual self. The Green Lanterns refused any armor. The Tamaranians wore their own armor including special battle helmets. Batman and Robin wore their own Bat-Armor. They along with Nightwing were issued a Republic carbine blaster, with enough rounds to last all day.
Blackfire had two Republic carbines slung over shoulders. Nightwing approached and asked: "Ready?"
"Lock n load" she replied. She had always been good with American slang.
Nightwing lingered with her for a moment. Then he said "I forgive you."
"Thank you Richard. Thank you my friend…my brother." She embraced him and he hugged her back.
Suddenly Ahsoka's voice was heard over a loudspeaker. "This is the Captain. Secure the ship for takeoff."
Within a few minutes they were breaking orbit, preparing to jump to Eridani 4.
"Are there any reports on the whereabouts of the star destroyer?" Nightwing inquired.
"None" Jarvik replied "But I'll bet you an Italian dinner at Benini's that they will be there when we arrive."
Nightwing was pretty sure that was a bet he would lose.
"I'll treat everyone to dinner at Benini's after this is over." He promised instead.
Ahsoka pulled the hyperdrive lever and the familiar star stretching effect made its appearance as they made the jump into hyper space.
-(-)-
Ok, we're getting close to the final conflict. Action is not my strong suit, so I will write the next chapters with extra care and thought.