Chapter: 21 They're Coming With Us

Daliz looked as though his green head was about to explode. His eye twitched his snout quivered. "V-Vala?" he uttered. "Can...Can I talk to you? Alone?"

"Of course," assured Vala. She turned to Dain and Nadess. "I'll meet you both in the lounge. This shouldn't take long." Dain earnestly agreed while Nadess kept a brow raised. She glared at Vala as the Mandalorian entered the storage room.

Daliz shut the door behind her and turned. He clenched his fists and scowled at her. "Vala...HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND?! This has to be the most idiotic thing you've ever done!"

"Keep your voice down."

"Keep my voice down? Do you even hear yourself? Vala you just brought a very much alive and high priority target to our ship. A target who...need I remind you...is our only hope at making serious credits again? Do you know what the Empire would do to us if they found out we were harboring-"

Vala gripped the Rodian's thin mouth and shushed him. "You like big profits, right?" she whispered and Daliz slowly nodded. "Then I need you to trust me. I was about to kill the Jedi when I heard him mentioning other contacts. He and his pilot believe you and I are looking for allies to fight the Empire."

Daliz's eyes widened and he muffled the word "What?"

"Hear me out," said Vala. "They believe me, and we need to be extra careful if we want to keep it that way. If we play our cards right, we could shut down this Jedi and any others he's conspiring with. We can follow this rebel chain to the source and strike a crucial blow against it. They'd never see it coming and imagine the Imperial praise."

Daliz thought for a moment and muffled a chuckle. Vala removed her hand, permitting him to speak. "And they don't suspect a thing?"

"No," assured Vala.

"I don't like this, Dain." Nadess kept her eyes trained on the sealed door. "Something about this just isn't right." Dain raised a finger to speak but Nadess shut him down. "So help me, if you tell me to trust the Force one more time-" Dain remained silent. "That's what I thought."

The young Jedi sighed. "Think of what she said, Nadess. If she wanted to kill us, we'd be dead already."

Nadess bit her lip. "It's not what she said...It's what she didn't. What if she and that Rodian are setting us up?"

"Setting us up for what, Nadess? It's not like we're the leaders of a rebellion."

"But we-...I...know members of one. That's the whole reason you and your master contacted me in the first place. What if we're the bait to something much worse?"

Dain stood up from his seat. "And what if this is our chance for a greater alliance?"

Daliz paced around the storage room. "So...we use them as bait?"

"Absolutely," said Vala.

Daliz twiddled his fingers and hummed. "I like where this is going. But what if they catch on?"

"They won't. They're too down on their luck to suspect a thing."

"You know he's a Jedi right? He can sense disturbances."

Vala scoffed. "He's the more naive of the two, especially without his master."

Daliz took a deep breath. "Alright, Vala. I'll play along if it means an even greater payout. I'll try to get in contact with Shan and inform him of our plan. So far my transmissions to the Pursuant have all been jammed. Let's hope he's still in this mess with us."

"Let's hope." Vala opened the doors and immediately heard a scuffling from the lounge. Scraps came sprinting down the corridor, only to be stopped in place by Dain's Force powers. The young Jedi thrusted his arm backward, dragging the Jawa to him. He plucked the lightsaber from his filthy palms and returned it to his belt.

"What the hell are you doing with a Jawa on your ship?" asked Nadess.

"Stowaway," replied Vala. "Just keep your shiny things well-guarded and he'll keep his hands to himself. Won't you, Scraps?" The Jawa hung his head and backed into a corner. "Forgive me for the delay. My partner and I were discussing how important it was to trust you both."

Nadess crossed her arms. "Funny, we were doing the same about you two."

Vala ignored her remark. "In a galaxy where allies are becoming harder and harder to find, trust forms from desperation. We will help you fight the Empire. My name is Vala, this is Daliz."

"Dain Marr" said the Jedi.

"I'm Nadess Marlo. Are 'Vala' and 'Daliz' your real names? Or are they part of an alias?"

Vala crossed her arms. "They're the only names you'll ever need to know from us."

Dain shrugged. "So I understand why the Nite Owl wants to fight and that a Jawa stowed away...but why is the Rodian in on this?"

Daliz huffed and straightened his jacket. "Well...Let's just say I'm tired of Imperial regulations. It's not good for the merchant business."

"My master always said Rodians are extremely frugal!"

Daliz forced a fraudulent grin. "At least those still living are."

"So," Vala began. "Now that we've escaped that bounty hunter on Hoth, what's our next move?"

Nadess cracked her knuckles and stretched her neck. "We need to make contact with my team on Felucia." Daliz rushed to set coordinates as soon as she named the planet. "Dain and I will meet with them first. Any strangers would be blasted on sight."

Vala raised a brow. "I hope you don't plan on deserting us once you meet your allies."

Nadess pursed her lips. "If we're going to trust you, you've got to trust us."

The Anooba boomed into hyperspace and Vala stepped towards the cockpit. "Fair enough. Get some rest, you two. You'll need it for whatever awaits us." Vala turned and stomped her foot. "Scraps!" The Jawa would've nabbed Nadess' blaster had she not scolded him. Instead he scurried to her side and ventured to the cockpit.

By the time Vala reached Daliz, Scraps had scurried down another hall. Once they were alone, Vala shut the door and whispered in Daliz's ear. "This works in our favor. We'll have a window to call Officer Talee while they're gathering their forces."

The Anooba soared across the stars and darted for Felucia. Colossal mushrooms towered over the dense jungle coating the planet's surface. Spores spewed fungal gunk into the air as the Anooba skimmed the jungle canopies. Daliz spotted a flatland situated under a trio of mushroom stems and landed within it. Dain and Nadess made their way to the cockpit to observe their surroundings.

"It's the best spot I could find on this fungi-infested world," said Daliz. "And that's without specific coordinates."

Nadess raised her arm and fiddled with a touchscreen device on her wrist. "This spot will do. Dain and I will go and make contact. Stay put and you'll stay alive."

"Are you sure that's a good suggestion?" asked Vala.

"It's not a suggestion," intoned Nadess. "It's an order." She and Dain departed into the lush wilderness.

Daliz waited until the hatch shut and turned to Vala. "I can't wait until you blast her face off."

Vala chuckled. "See if you can reach Officer Talee."

Daliz nearly spent half an hour trying to patch a signal through while Vala kept watch for the rebels. Much to Daliz's bewilderment, an unknown transmission came chiming in. He and Vala exchanged perplexed glances before nodding in agreement. Daliz answered the call and remained silent until Shan's voice sounded. "Daliz? Come in. Damn it, where are you?"

Daliz smirked. "I'd love to ask you the same."

Shan sighed in relief. "There's been a complication. My cadets and I had to go rogue from my personal shuttle. Please tell me the Jedi is dead."

"Not yet, but we have a greater lead."

"What?"

"Come now, Shan." Daliz chuckled. "We're both slaves to ambition, aren't we? Vala and I have tricked Marr into revealing the rest of his rebel friends. Such a result could lead to a mass arrest...or mass Jedi execution if you'd prefer."

There was a brief silence. Shan's voice was wavering when it returned. "Are you serious right now? This gamble's only getting riskier. It's only a matter of time before it catches up with us."

"Well let's hope we're beyond successful when it does. Till then, keep comms off unless we contact you." Daliz proudly cut the transition. "I love holding all the cards," he gloated.

Vala's eyes widened when a blue dot appeared on his forehead. Her reflection in the cockpit's viewport revealed another dot sliding its way to her own head. "Still think you're holding all the cards?" she jeered.

The ship's hatch was forced open and several dirt-faced gunmen came rushing in. They secured the cockpit and took aim at its inhabitants. "We're of the Jedi," assured Vala.

The men looked to one another before advancing. "Turn around!" barked one them. Daliz did as he obliged while Vala remained firm. The rebel brought his rifle closer to Vala's head. "I said turn around!"

"Vala?" whispered Daliz. "What do we do?"

Vala decided to trust Nadess and Dain. She turned around and was instantly pushed to her knees. A pair of hands ripped her helmet off of her while another threw a bag over her head. She felt her vambraces get yanked off along with her pistol. Heaviness left her back when the rebels removed her jetpack. From that moment forward, Vala had to rely on all of her other senses to determine what was happening. She felt her boots clang against the Anooba's ramp and sink into Felucia's deep muck. The land's malodorous stench made Vala tear up, even beneath the bag shrouding her. "Daliz?" she called out. "You there?"

"I'm here," his muffled voice replied.

A rebel jabbed his rifle into her abdomen. "Shut up!"

Vala and Daliz were dragged deeper into the jungle. Minutes seemed like hours as sounds deafened beneath their bags. Vala was shoved to her knees again. Just when her eyes finally grew accustomed to darkness, the bag over her head was pried off. The brightness of the Felucian sun scorched her eyes and she hung her head to recover. The ground's spores made her nose run and her eyes tear. She raised her head and examined her surroundings. Daliz had been forced to her side while the rebels surrounded them. Dain and Nadess could be seen atop the stump of a collapsed mushroom. Between them stood a stocky male whose skin was as dark as Nadess'. His green-eyed glare was piercing yet weary. A scowl formed across his black-bearded face as he wiped the sweat from his bare scalp.

"Saw Gerrera," whispered Daliz.

"Who?" asked Vala.

"Only the leader of one of the most ruthless rebel cells, the Partisans. His brutal tactics have cost the lives of countless Imperials."

"I can tell." Vala observed that some of the rebels were wearing pieces of stormtrooper armor.

Saw stepped towards the stump's edge. "So these are rebels looking to join the fight?"

"Yes," replied Nadess.

Saw stepped down for a closer look. "The scrawny Rodian may be good for intelligence. As for the woman, I've always wanted a Mandalorian on my side. That's if they're not spies."

Vala cleared her throat. "I can assure you we are not."

"You are incapable of assuring me anything!" Saw snapped. His eye twitched while he grit his teeth. "But Bor Gullet will tell me the truth. Bor Gullet will see the truth."

Dain grimaced and Nadess cringed. "Is Bor Gullet really necessary? Can't you trust my word?"

"You can never trust anyone's word," said Saw. "Bring forth Bor Gullet!"

"Not Bor Gullet, Saw." Dain sighed.

Daliz panicked. "What the hell is Bor Gullet?"

"Or who the hell," added Vala.

"Bor Gullet sees all," said Saw. "He deciphers every lie from the truth. Everyone in my battalion must endure his examination. Only the strong survive it with their minds in tact."

"Strong, you say?" Daliz laughed nervously. "Well Vala's the strongest warrior around."

Saw's eye twitched. "Then she will go first."

Vala glared at her partner. "Thanks, Daliz."

The Rodian shrugged. "I figure you'd have the best chance."

Against a mind reader? Are you insane, Daliz? Vala thought as two rebels escorted her across the muddy ground. A third dragged a rickety chair for her to be forced into. She broke free of her captors and they readied their guns. She stared coldly at them and said, "I have enough dignity to walk myself. I don't need filth like you to drag me kicking and screaming." Vala would never give them or anyone the satisfaction of such a sight. She stepped forward and sat in the chair. The rebels fastened her to the chair with wrist and leg restraints.

Just as Vala started wondering what was about to happen, a moist slithering sounded in the distance. It grew closer, allowing Vala to hear bubbling and oozing amidst the jungle ambience. A pale, purple tentacle wrapped around the stem of a mushroom. It pulled forward, heaving the rest of its body across the dirt. A whole wave of tentacles ravaged the ground in order to advance towards Vala. Some of the rebels cheered at the sight of Bor Gullet. Daliz remained utterly disgusted by the massive, octopus-like creature.

Vala was no stranger to being left unarmed. She mastered hand-to-hand combat with Lieutenant Bo-Katan years ago. But now she was even deprived of her arms and legs. She was at Saw's mercy, fidgeting in a chair while Bor Gullet closed in. His tentacles snaked up the sides of the chair and made for her face. She longed for her helmet. Not just to protect her head, but also her identity. For a Mandalorian like Vala, dying helplessly in a chair was as dishonorable as a demise could be.

"Bor Gullet sees your lies," said Saw. "No deception is safe from him!"

"You'll be alright, Vala." Dain gave her a faint smile. "You have nothing to hide." Worry faded his smile into a frown. "Right?"

Vala didn't know what to expect. No amount of warrior training could have conditioned her to guard her mind. She didn't even know how Bor Gullet worked. She held her breath as the creature's tentacles pressed against her temples and plugged into her mind.