== Chapter Twenty-One ==
Tira made a frantic dash back to the Queen Valkyrie, occasionally tripping and stumbling on the undergrowth. By the time she made it to Kurloh and Ja'Ina's tent she was disheveled and exhausted. She burst past Fitty into the tent to find they were already awake.
She cried out frantically, "Ku! Ina! Arry's in trouble! There's two people who know you and want to eat soup or something like that and-"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down Tira," Kurloh said as she stood up from her cot. "What're you talking about?"
Tira doubled over, panting hard as she repeated, "Arry's in trouble… There's two people… They know you… Were talking about eating soup… They'll kill her if you don't come!"
"'Soup'?" Kurloh asked, bewildered by Tira's words.
Ja'Ina crouched down in front of Tira. "Who are they? Who'll kill Aurelia?"
Tira looked up at her. "A strange looking man and woman. She grabbed me… She was skinny and pale… Wore a shiny tight black suit…"
Ja'Ina and Kurloh looked at each other. Ja'Ina's honey brown complexion grew pale with confused worry.
"Your fan," Kurloh muttered bitterly.
Ja'Ina slowly nodded. "Ona…" She stood up and grabbed her scimitar. "Where are they?"
Tira pointed into the trees. "Out that way into the forest. But don't take your sword!"
"Why?"
"She wanted you both to come alone and unarmed."
Ja'Ina laid her weapon down on her cot. "Figures," she muttered.
"Looks like we have no choice, Ina," Kurloh said with a shrug.
"Look, Tira," Ja'Ina said, "This will be very dangerous so leave it to us to rescue Aurelia. Don't let the others know. We don't know if Ona knows how many of us there are, and we need to keep it that way in case anything happens."
"Please don't ask me to keep this secret!"
Ja'Ina grabbed Tira's shoulders. "I know it'll be hard, but trust us, it's for the best."
"You sure it is?" asked Kurloh.
"It's gonna have to be. C'mon, let's go."
The three women stepped out of the tent, where Fitty still stood watch.
"Just stay here, Tira," said Ja'Ina. "We'll be back soon, with Aurelia."
"I hope so!" Tira said.
Kurloh tapped Fitty's domed head. "Stay here Fitty, and make sure Tira stays put."
The astromech squealed. His display read, "I should go with you. It is very dangerous!"
Ja'Ina wagged her finger. "No, you're to stay and protect the ship."
Kurloh and Ja'Ina quickly ran off into the trees.
Fitty gave a squeaky whine. "But you need me." With no warning, the droid turned around and quickly rolled off towards the Queen Valkyrie.
Tira turned back from watching the others run into the trees to see Fitty roll away. "Hey! Wait for me!"
Ja'Ina and Kurloh ran through the forest with Force-enhanced speed and agility, hoping to rescue Aurelia and somehow deal with Ona. They said nothing as they ran, but instead focused on homing in on Aurelia's presence. The fact that they could feel her through the living Force gave them some comfort to know that she was still alive. They reached a small clearing and found Ona standing there alone. She had her blaster drawn and pointed in their direction.
"Stop right there," she called out.
"Where's Aurelia?!" Ja'Ina yelled as she and Kurloh came to a stop several meters from the Anzat.
"Not far, and I'm sure you can sense that she's still alive. Whether she stays that way is up to you." She smiled at them. "I'm glad to see that you've left your weapons behind as I requested."
"You gonna take us to her or what?!" Ja'Ina angrily yelled.
"Ohhh, you're a scary one, Ja'Ina. You going to choke me with the Force from where you stand? If anything happens to me, my mate will make a quick meal of the girl."
Kurloh grimaced with startled disgust. "Meal?! What the hell are you?"
"Just someone with particular nutritional needs," Ona answered in a smug fashion.
Ja'Ina balled her fists and scowled. "If you do anything to her, so help me…" Her voice trailed off as it was swallowed up by her anger.
Ja'Ina looked at Kurloh with a growing rage burning on her face. The Togruta gestured downward with her open palm and calmly said, "Ease up, Ina…"
If Ja'Ina lost her cool, they all could very well end up dead before the morning was through. She took heed of Kurloh's warning and pulled herself back with a couple of controlled deep breaths.
Once she was re-centered, Ja'Ina addressed Ona. "Alright, what do you want from us?"
Ona gestured with her blaster. "Come with me, and keep your hands up where I can see them."
Kurloh and Ja'Ina complied with Ona's demands. They glared harshly at her as they walked toward her.
The Anzat waved her captives along. "This way." She lined up behind them, keeping her blaster trained on them. "Just follow your sense of the girl's presence." Ona made them use the Force so she could once again feel the intoxicating effects induced by the extension of their potent life energies. She did have to be cautious while the effect was active since it could easily distract her to the point of dropping her guard. Either way, she and Vorven would soon partake of the two Force sensitive beings and reap the benefits the rare feed would give them in the form of increased strength and power.
The trio walked for a few minutes until they came to a spring-fed stream. On the opposite side of the stream stood Aurelia, frozen in fear with her arms in the grasp of a grey-skinned man from behind. They could see slender tendrils extended from the man's cheeks into the teen's nostrils, which horrified Ja'Ina and Kurloh.
"Arry!" Kurloh cried out as she saw the teen in such a horrible position.
Ja'Ina's jaw dropped. "What the hell are you doing to her?!"
Vorven cocked his head slightly. "Just getting ready to have breakfast, my dear Force-sensitive prey. This little one here is quite nice, but we really came here for the two of you."
Aurelia made only the slightest whimper as Vorven's proboscises danced inside her head.
"Fine then," said Ja'Ina defiantly. "If you want us, then let her go!"
"You'll freely give yourselves to us, just like that?" Ona asked.
"For her, yes we will!" Kurloh growled back. "Just let her go!"
"You," Vorven addressed Ja'Ina. "Come here. No sudden movements or your precious girl here will be dead before she hits the ground."
"Of course," Ja'Ina said with her eyes locked on Vorven's. "You've got nothing to fear from me."
Vorven laughed. "Fear? You?! You foolishly overestimate your situation. You may have the Force with you, but we're Anzati. And Anzati can deal with Force users just fine. In fact you're the ideal food for our kind!"
Ja'Ina shuddered with the thought of being another sentient's meal, but she couldn't think of anything else to do at the moment except comply with Vorven's demands. Right now, Aurelia's safety was the utmost of her concerns. Ja'Ina figured that once the teen was free and away, she and Kurloh could find some way out of the situation. She stopped a couple of meters in front of Vorven and Aurelia.
Ja'Ina frowned. "Alright, whoever you are, let the girl go! Here I am!"
Vorven smiled smugly. His proboscises quickly retracted from Aurelia's nostrils and he roughly tossed her aside. He then stretched his will out to Ja'Ina's mind. "Now come to me…"
Ja'Ina could feel a tug on her subconscious. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. It was as if his words were trying to become her will, like they were overriding her desire to fight or flee him. She jerked her head slightly as if to pull back against an invisible string that threatened to pull her to him like a fish caught on a fisherman's hook. Ja'Ina then realized what was happening. Kurloh's words from their encounter with the Espos a few days before rang in her memory as a reminder and warning.
Your first mind trick. I'm impressed!
"It's not going to work," Ja'Ina said as she pushed back against his mental attack.
Kurloh closely followed the situation. Feeling disturbances in the Force from the exchange, she recognized what he was trying to do to Ja'Ina. At the same time Ona began to sneak up behind Kurloh. But before Ona could grab her, she found herself flying over the Togruta's head, having been grabbed by the forearm and flung forward.
Ona landed hard on her back with a loud grunt and a big splash in the stream. The noise was enough to distract Vorven from his attempt to gain control over Ja'Ina. The young woman then lunged forward and tackled him to the ground, striking him hard across the jaw with her casted arm. While he lay stunned on the ground, she sprang up and away from him.
"Ku!" she called out as she dashed back towards the ship. "Grab Arry! Let's get outta here!"
"I'm right with ya!" Kurloh replied as she retrieved Aurelia, who lay on the ground nearby, barely moving.
Vorven jumped to his feet and roared. He pulled out his blaster and began firing wildly at his fleeing prey.
Ona ran to him and pulled his weapon arm down. "No! You'll kill them and we'll have no Force-imbued soup to dine on! Set for stun!"
Vorven was furious, but he fought the urge to blast them and complied with Ona's directions. The two Anzati ran after Kurloh, Ja'Ina and Aurelia. They resumed firing on them and managed to get a few stun blasts off before their quarry got away; the two Force users were just too fast for them.
Ona and Vorven gave up the chase and watched their quarry pass out of sight. "Sh'ii mat'taa!" she cursed.
Vorven angrily bared his teeth at her. "So much for your bright idea! They know we're here now! We no longer have the subterfuge you value so greatly!"
"Don't give up so quickly, Vorven. We know where they are and can still lie in wait out of sight. Another opportunity may yet present itself."
"I've had it with your ridiculous hunting methods! I could've at least fed on the girl so I could have something to sustain myself in the meantime! Now I don't even have that, thanks to you!"
Ona stamped her foot. "Fine! You want to leave, go ahead! All the better to have their soups all to myself."
"You're so damned certain you'll have them."
"Yes! You should trust me."
"I've trusted you too long already," he sneered. "My trust in you has yielded no reward, and I can't hold out much longer. You know how hard it is for me to control myself if my hunger grows too strong."
Ona cupped Vorven's cheek in her hand and smiled. She softened her tone to pull him away from the drive of his hunger. "I do. All you need to do is be patient for a little longer. You think you can manage that? The payoff is too great to walk away from."
He pulled her hand off his cheek and pulled her in close. "I will wait one more time. After that, I will go after guaranteed prey. At this point anything is better than nothing."
"You won't regret it."
"For your sake, I'd better not."
Ona answered him with a long deep kiss, hoping to further distract him from his hunger. She left her own hunger unsaid as to not encourage Vorven's recklessness. But like Vorven, she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out.