Apologies for the late update but I couldn't find a good spot to split this.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CORUSCANT
"Wait!" Malaika hissed, pulling Dengar into a rather filthy alley. "Don't you think we should change our appearance up a bit? You look like you just walked off Tatooine and I'm a little suspicious in full blown Mandalore armor."
"I'm sorry, I left my Jedi costume behind in the Hotel Alderaan," Dengar retorted. "We're almost there, and you can have a costume change," he headed back into the street, and Malaika reluctantly followed him. No doubt a less than stellar end of a mission, but this would only make it worse. Dengar suddenly stopped and headed down a flight of steps to some basement level apartment. Knocking on the door in what could only be a code, it slowly cracked open, and Dengar barged in. Not wanting to be left behind, Malaika followed quickly, and could hardly see. The room completely lacked windows, which wasn't exactly uncommon in the lower levels, and it was lit by a lantern shoved far in a corner.
"What're you doing here? I thought you were working a job?" a low voice growled, the large man picking up a blaster pistol from the table. "If you've got cops behind you you'd better leave."
"Relax Rozal, I lost them. Sohari and I here were supposed to rob that IGBC bank, but damn Floria ratted on us," Dengar explained quickly. "Luckily we found out before we had to pull out all our gear," Malaika couldn't help but admire his smooth handling of the massive heavy bags they were carrying. The man called Rozal stared at them for a moment, before lowering his weapon.
"Then what are you doing here?" he demanded. "I'm trying to stay off the books."
"I know, and I understand that. All we need is a ship, or at the very least a ride to the top," Dengar said. The man stared at them a little while longer.
"I'll see what I can do. Wait here," the man left, going through a door they had previously been unable to see in the half-light. Once they were alone, Dengar slipped the bag off his shoulders.
"May as well rest while we can," he grumbled, resting himself on a stool. Malaika followed suit, putting down her bag as well. They had lost the police, that was true. But due to the high-profile nature of the case, she doubted there would be anything less than a Jedi on their trail. The large man returned.
"It so happens one of my smugglers is going off-world tomorrow afternoon. He'll come and get you tonight," the man told them. "And Dengar, this is the last time I want to see you around here, you hear?" Dengar nodded. "Alright, I've got an empty store room you can hide out in so Pritchee doesn't see you."
"Who's that, the smuggler?" Dengar asked.
"No just a nosy neighbor," the man growled. He led them down several sets of makeshift stairs, and slid a curtain aside. "Here you go," he headed right back up the stairs, knocking into the bag that contained the credits. Fortunately Malaika didn't let them spill out, but he would have to be as unobservant as a bantha not to realize what was in the bulky bags. Once he closed the door at the top of the staircase, Malaika turned to Dengar.
"He knows about the credits."
"Eh. Rozal isn't much of a bounty hunter anymore, strictly smuggling. We'll need to keep close to it though," Dengar said. They stacked the bags in the middle of the room, and Malaika situated her bag as a pillow on the cold floor.
"Sweet dreams," Malaika said sarcastically. Dengar grunted in return.
Mace Windu waited patiently outside the Chancellor's office. He had seen Senator Organa and his posse leave earlier, and Senator Amidala leave with her handmaids. But Anakin Skywalker was still within, and Windu didn't want him asking questions. He watched the young Jedi Knight leave, and smirked. He had bided his time as the Chancellor had suggested, and with the increased security measures placed on Senator Amidala given her situation, Windu could not have found a better way to order such large-scale surveillance. Upon his request, he was discreetly the first Jedi to see the security footage, and was pleased when he saw the unprofessional contact between Skywalker and Amidala displayed clearly upon the holo. Not much would be needed to convince the Council of a relationship.
Pulling himself from his thoughts, Windu entered the Chancellor's office. Palpatine must have been deep in thought as well, as he seemed startled by Windu's entrance.
"Master Windu, I have not seen you for quite some time," Palpatine said welcomingly. "Please sit, how are things with the Council?"
"They've certainly been better," Windu grumbled. "Four planets have joined the Confederacy, we've lost two planets in battle, and they insist on following the same procedures. Not to mention the corruption in the Senate is only another roadblock," realizing whose company he was in, Windu quickly backpedaled, "not to say that the Senate is an issue, but some of their practices are, inefficient."
"Don't worry Master Windu, as a matter of fact I had an encounter today that made me think the same thing. Some Senators calling themselves the 'Delegation of 2000' were concerned about my efforts to end the war by appointing governors. They elected me and do not trust my judgement or efforts. I fear there may be something more sinister beneath the surface," Palpatine explained.
"I see, was it Senator Organa and his posse? I saw them leaving as I arrived?"
"Yes it was. I fear the Senate is falling apart day by day, and there is nothing I can do to stop it," the older man said wearily. Mace nodded, he agreed with the Chancellor. the Senate was becoming far too unwieldy to act decisively. If only decisions were more direct and final, instead of an investigation being launched into every decision made on the battlefield. "I wish we had more men like you, who understood the importance of decision-making and finality," Palpatine said.
"Thank you, that's a very honoring statement coming from you, Chancellor," Windu said formally.
"No need to be so formal, my friend," Palpatine said warmly. "The Senate is merely too unfocused to lead a war, and the Republic suffers everyday because of it. The Jedi Council seems to suffer from the same affliction as well, and I fear the outcome of the war as a result."
"As do I, Chancellor."
"I am considering putting another constitutional amendment on the Senate floor. It would allow me to be directly in charge of the Jedi Council," Palpatine said smoothly.
"Are you sure that is a wise course of action? Many on the Council are wary of political interference," Windu objected.
"The Jedi are already so deep in indecision I fear this is the only course of action. And I am confident that you will help other Jedi understand the reasons," Palpatine assured him.
"Perhaps, proceed cautiously Chancellor, you will meet much opposition."
"I'm sure I will, Windu. I'm afraid I have to go to another meeting now, it was a pleasure to see you again."
"Of course, Chancellor," Windu said humbly, leaving the Chancellor to his duties.
Senators Amidala, Mothma, and Organa sat in the parlor of Bail's apartment. His wife Breha was in the other room, brewing some tea, and Anakin was in another room, toying with his holo.
"I can't believe so many years of democracy are falling away in one year," Bail grumbled. "Padme," he continued, "we know two thousand systems are opposed to all these, decrees, and who knows how the Jedi feel," he ranted.
"Bail, I don't know how it's come this far either, but we need to think about what we have to do next. We've confronted the Chancellor, now what?" Organa sighed.
"I don't know, it's so hard knowing who we can actually trust in the Senate. Not to mention, we hardly have a backing from the electorate or any other part of the government," he exclaimed.
"I agree, we should have waited until we had more support," Mothma concurred.
"For what? Another decree? Maybe he would just dissolve the Senate!" Padme interrupted. "I understand your concerns, and I think we should reach out to the Jedi. They're just as unhappy with this situation as we are."
"And how do you know this?" Mothma asked. Breha entered with the tea.
"Thank you, Breha," Padme told her. "There's a Jedi I trust, we discuss many things and I understand what is happening in the Order..." she trailed off as Anakin entered the room. Slightly unsettled by the Senators watchful eyes and sudden silence, Anakin gestured to the door.
"I'll be leaving for a little while," he said quietly, then leaned down to whisper in Padme's ear. "Master Yoda wants to see me, Sabe will handle your security until I return," she nodded.
"I'll see you in a few hours then," Padme said as he left. Turning to her fellow Senators, "going against the Chancellor will never get the amount of backing we think it needs. I think the Jedi will be willing to help us."
"Are you insane? Going to the Jedi is too dangerous!" Mothma hissed.
"We'd only have to consult one Jedi, one I can trust," Padme told her.
"You're positive this Jedi can be trusted?" Bail persisted.
"I promise, I trust them with my life," Padme reassured them.
"Alright," Mon Mothma conceded.
"I hate to interrupt, but you have been here for over an hour. The increased surveillance on Senators means meetings like this can't be seen happening," Breha said.
"Of course, I'll go back to the apartment right now," Padme said, rising.
"Wait, is Sabe here?" Bail asked.
"No, but I assure you I can handle walking two blocks," Padme replied.
"I'm not giving the assassin another chance. Mon, would you please leave first?" Mothma nodded, gathering her things and exiting as nonchalantly as possible.
"Bail please," Padme protested. "I'd like to get home and rest, it's getting dark out and that's only more advantageous to an attacker."
"Which is why you'll be awaiting your handmaids here," he answered. "I have to go out and run some errands. Breha, do not let her leave this apartment without an escort."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Breha reassured him. "Goodbye love," she called after him. "If you really are tired, you can always call a Senate Guard to escort you," she suggested lightly.
"Please, my feet are aching," Padme told her. Once Breha returned from the holo call, she sat next to Padme on the couch with a bottle of Alderaanian wine and two glasses.
"Have a drink. I don't know why my husband insists on serving caffeinated beverages so late, no wonder he has trouble falling asleep," she rolled her eyes. "Men."
"Thank you, but I can't. I'm on a cleanse," she lied.
"Just as well. Bail will need some to counteract that tea," she sighed. "Tell me, what's been going on in your life? And please don't start with Senate business, I think we all know what's happening there. I haven't heard news about your sister or your parents or anyone for that matter."
"I haven't seen them since the Clone Wars began," Padme told her sadly. "I try to holo message them, but communications only grow spottier as the war goes on. It's sad really, even citizens in the capitol can't get off-world information easily. But my parents are doing fine, in fact my father loves doing relief work. Sola is trying to keep Ryoo out of trouble, and Pooja is taking after me apparently," she chuckled.
"How old are they?"
"Ryoo is eleven, and Pooja is nine," Padme recalled.
"Those are such nice ages. Bail and I are considering having a child of our own, but given his frequent stays on Coruscant I'm not sure. I want our child to have a definite home, to live in the palace with us," Breha said.
"Of course. I think stability is very important for children," Padme replied. They continued to knock for quite some time, about their homeworlds and families, and what they missed the most about peacetime, when a knock sounded at the door.
"Madame Organa, we have arrived," a gruff voice said from the other side.
"Must be the Senate Guard," Breha said. "It was wonderful seeing you again Padme. We should have lunch sometime."
"Yes definitely," Padme answered. "Good night." Her conversation with Breha had renewed her drive to end the war. Soon she would have a child of her own, and she didn't want him to have to live in a wartorn galaxy.
Anakin Skywalker cautiously made his way to Master Yoda's quarters. Whatever had made the elder Jedi pull him from protecting the Senator, it must be incredibly important. Quietly entering the dark room, Yoda smiled when he saw him.
"Young Skywalker. At peace, you seem," he greeted him.
"Thank you Master," Anakin answered, unsure of how to respond to the comment.
"Trouble you have had with Dooku in the past," Yoda continued.
Where is this going? Anakin thought, becoming worried about the mentioning of the Sith Lord.
Yoda watched the young man, a curious expression on his face. He had disarmed Count Dooku while on the Invisible Hand, but had not killed him when he had an easy opportunity to. That had not gone unnoticed by the Jedi Council. However, the shift towards the Dark Side had been felt during the duel, and while Dooku had been killed in self-defense, that shift still bothered the Council.
"I suppose so, Master," Anakin replied gingerly.
"Impressed, the Council was with your discipline during the Battle of Coruscant. Killed him in combat only you did," the ancient Jedi said rather cryptically. Anakin only nodded, growing more and more anxious by the second. "Young Skywalker, unnoticed by the Council, your actions are not," Yoda took a deep breath, "good Master, you may make, if training you pursue."
Anakin could only blink in surprise.
"Master, I'm not sure I understand," he mumbled. Yoda hopped off his chair, and moved closer to the young Jedi.
"Skywalker. Emotions trouble you, do they not? Contain them, you must. Training, you need," Yoda explained.
"I agree," Anakin answered weakly. Yoda wasn't even angry with him, which puzzled him even further.
"Assist you, Obi-Wan and I will. Train you on Coruscant I will, Obi-Wan while you are away," he continued. "Return to your duties you must. Waiting for you, Senator Amidala is."
"Yes, Master Yoda," Anakin answered, almost jumping up from his chair. "Thank you," he added after a pause.
"Welcome, you are. Amidala needs you, go now."
Anakin booked it to the apartment, in part to clear his head, and also because he desperately needed to speak with someone about this. Normally Obi-Wan would be his go to for Jedi business, but he was hunting those bank robbers below-levels.
Barging into the apartment, Anakin barely noticed the handmaids gathered in a circle around Padme until he was halfway across the room. They all stopped to look at him and his loud entrance.
"Excuse me," he said, moving into the kitchen to let them be alone. The conversation resumed, and eventually died down. Padme entered the kitchen, giving him a worried look.
"Anakin, is everything alright?" she asked, reaching for his hand. He pulled away, sensing someone else was still in the apartment. "It's only Sabe," she reassured him.
"I just had a very bizarre conversation with Yoda," he whispered.
"Sabe, I'll be alright for the night," she called to the other room.
"Of course. I'll be in the next apartment if you need anything," once the door closed, the Skywalkers moved into the living room.
"What happened?" she asked, holding his hands in hers.
"Yoda said that given my trouble with emotions, he and Obi-Wan will begin to train me to contain them. He thinks I could make a good Master, but if I can contain my emotions," he told her.
"That's good, isn't it?" Padme asked. Due to their select membership, it was hard to figure out exactly how the Jedi Order worked, and what was considered a good or a bad thing.
"Yes. A Jedi Master is the highest rank. But I don't know if I want to just stop feeling," Anakin confessed. "My emotions make me stronger than they would otherwise." Padme nodded.
"That's a strange situation Anakin, I won't lie to you. But I trust Obi-Wan, I don't think he will do anything that would hinder you in any way," she reassured him.
"I know, but my concern is what if they realize that I love you?" he asked. The training didn't terrify him as much as the prospect that Padme would have to suffer public humiliation if their relationship was discovered. She understood what he must be thinking, and pulled him closer.
"Anakin, I know what you're thinking, and I know why you worry so much. But there is so much that you shouldn't have to be so concerned about, and things that are out of your control that stressing over will do no good. I'm no Force-user, but I can imagine that being trained to conceal your emotions doesn't leave much room for privacy. Yoda is one of the more compassionate Masters on the Council. He has trained all the Jedi in the Order in some way or another, and I doubt you're going to expose him to anything new. I can't predict what he or the Council would do if they found out about us, but I'm sure he wouldn't become malicious or allow the Council to. As for Obi-Wan, he's basically your brother, and a close friend of mine as well. I can't imagine him doing anything that would hurt you. And if he did find out about us, I don't think he'd be terribly surprised," she added lightly. Seeing her husband was a little more at ease about the situation, she stood up from the couch. "Come on, it's far past your bedtime," she teased, pulling him towards the bedroom.
Dengar checked his watch. It was the dead of night, he could tell by the loudness of the music that penetrated deep into the basement. Bored as ever and beginning to grow concerned about the amount of time he and Sohari had spent down here, he was relieved when a tall, dark-haired human entered the room.
"I'm leaving for the surface in five minutes. Get on when you're ready. The ship is across from the slythmonger," the man told him briefly before leaving. Dengar reached behind the crate Sohari had fallen asleep behind and shook her.
"Get up, we're out of here in five," he said briskly, hoisting up his sack of credits. Once Sohari was ready a moment later, he led her out of the apartment and over to the ship. As promised, the Corellian ship was across from the obvious slythmonger, who gave their large bags a curious look. Seconds later the ramp closed and the ship lifted up off the ground.
"Where are we getting dropped?" Sohari mumbled.
"Surface. He has the coordinates," Dengar replied. Sohari nodded, and leaned back against the bulkhead. They flew smoothly for some time, before the ship landed. As they were getting up, a harried looking man ran from the cockpit.
"Republic checkpoint, looking for fugitives. Quick, under the grates," he pulled the grating aside, and the bounty hunters slid their bags in first, hitting the deck with a mighty thunk. Sohari jumped in first, Dengar soon following far less gracefully. The copilot pulled the grating over, now obscuring the pair. He made his way to the ramp just as it descended.
"Welcome to our ship!" he said cordially, making a grand gesture with his arms, as if it were the Hotel Alderaan and not a second-rate Corellian transport. The clones stormed past him, clearing various areas of the ship. They talked to each other in low voices, then one pulled out his holo.
"General Kenobi, you should come down here," the clone said. A mumbled voice was heard in response, and soon the transmission ended. Turning to face the young copilot, "dock in Bay 08453, Lot D048 in the public hangar. Where's the cockpit?" the copilot nodded, and waved them towards the cockpit. Once they had gone, he squatted down on the floor.
"Once we land you'd better be ready for a fight and a quick exit," he told them, before going to the cockpit himself.
Down below, Sohari and Dengar exchanged a look. Somehow a shootout with Republic forces dead center in the Republic capitol didn't seem like it was going to end well. The clones returned, said some words to the copilot, and exited the ship. The grating was once again removed, and Sohari and Dengar hopped out.
"They'll be back with the Jedi any minute. Hurry, we've got to booby-trap and arm the ship," the harried copilot said. "Can either of you set charges?" Sohari looked at Dengar and he nodded. "Follow me then," he said, tossing him a bag of firestarters. "The boss should be out soon, he'll need help with the weapons," he told Sohari, before heading off down the hall with Dengar. She sighed, the sooner she got off this rock, the better. While their bounty wasn't in much of a time crunch, one standard month to do the job, lugging around unnecessary credits was beginning to annoy her.
"Sohari, you ready?" Dengar asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
"Yeah, let's do this," she answered, pulling out her rifle. Either smuggling and bounty hunting for several years early on had desensitized her to breaking the law, or fighting the Republic wasn't an exceptionally hard task. The Separatist Droid Army used more questionable battle tactics, but their leadership was far less corrupt than the Galactic Senate. Not to mention the fact that the Senate was mostly a figurehead at this point, so fighting 'democracy' wasn't as hard as she had expected.
Boots thudded on the ramp, and the gunmen pressed against the bulkhead.
"Psst," Sohari whispered, "where's the pilot?"
"He's got something planned, don't worry. Just follow our lead," the copilot said. Once the first clones were visible, they opened fire. The clones were smart and far enough away to take cover. Malaika grimaced as she saw the familiar outline of a Jedi lightsaber. So much for getting out of here quickly, she thought, following Dengar and the copilot. The latter went down when a blue bolt passed through his sternum, and Dengar and Sohari returned the favor by taking out two clones.
"Now they'll stay back. Follow me," Dengar yelled, pushing open a side flap that led to a tiny dark room. "After you." Pausing for a second, Sohari entered the darkness and waited for Dengar to follow. He shut the flap behind them, and the thunder of clone trooper boots could be heard passing by. "Distract the clones. I'll load the bags in here and we'll be on our way."
"What are you going to do, sit in here and meditate?" Sohari snapped.
"The pilot is out in a clone suit bringing a forklift over here. This is a container that he'll pick up, and we'll hopefully be inside. Now go," he urged. Sohari shot out of the container, and circled around the hall, hoping to meet the clones on the far side of the ship. As expected, they began to open fire on sight, and Sohari took cover in the form of a crate. Once again thankful for the complete concealment of her identity by her armor, she bombarded them with as much as her weapon could handle. The absence of the Jedi, however, worried her. If she were in some Outer Rim planet or going up against them in a full-scale battle, she would reach out and try to sense them through the Force. But she was on Coruscant, home of the Jedi, and they would sense any new movements in the Force. Not to mention whoever had ordered the destruction of the academy had wanted no survivors, she didn't feel that attracting their attention was a good course of action.
The commlink flashed three times short, and Sohari pulled out several flash-bangs. More than sufficient for the close quarters, she ripped out the pins and rolled them down the hallway, sprinting away before they could detonate. Fortunately the clones were in possession of lower muzzle energy weapons, and their bolts did not penetrate her armor. As soon as she shut the door to the compartment, the floor shook beneath her feet and knocked her over onto the bag of credits. She could barely see Dengar move a finger to his lips, the pilot must be moving the container. The container eventually stabilized, but it was still moving, and Sohari took a seat without making any noise.
Eventually it tumbled onto the floor, rolling its contents around.
Could we get a worse forklift driver? Sohari thought, pushing herself up off the ground. Securing the credits and her bag that held the safety deposit box, she almost missed the flap swinging open.
"Hurry, the guards come back in ten minutes," an all-too-familiar voice said. Shocked, Malaika nearly dropped her bags as she turned to see who the pilot was.
"Nayden?" she asked incredulously. It had been years since they had last seen each other, and what felt like a lifetime had passed since then.
"Malaika?" he asked, an equally stunned look on his face. "I thought you were-," Dengar cut him off.
"I hate to interrupt this little renunion, but I'd like to get off this planet," Nayden blinked, as if he had just been beamed down from space.
"Yes, of course. Follow me," he mumbled, gesturing for them to follow him out. Malaika was still processing what had just happened. A thousand questions were running through her mind, why is he working for some low-level smuggler on Coruscant? With his skill he could be making runs across the galaxy, something didn't make sense.
Surprisingly they made their way through the various corridors without difficulty. Most of the security had been directed towards the booby-trapped ship, which Dengar had activated only a moment ago, and Nayden seemed to know his way around.
"Did you come here together or on separate ships?" Nayden asked once they cleared the checkpoint. As Malaika risked a look back, she was surprised to see his ship was in flames, and dozens of clones were gathered around.
"Separate," Dengar grunted.
"Seeing as my ship is inoperable, I think one of you owes me a ride," Nayden joked.
"Single-seater. Which way to the Crimson Corridor?" Dengar interrupted. Nayden pointed him the right way, and Dengar nodded his thanks. "Sohari," he grunted, nodding to a quiet alley. She nodded, and they went to talk in private. "I'm taking this bag. Meet you at the rendezvous point," he told her, before heading off towards the Crimson Corridor. Not wanting to think about what he was going to do while down there, Malaika headed back to Nayden. During the escape the adrenaline had been enough to resist the urge to hug him, but now there was nothing.
"Nayden," she said, moving to give him a hug, but he stopped her.
"Not here," he said quietly. "Where's your ship?"
"Level 1782," she answered, falling into step beside him.
"What's it doing down there?" he asked, looking around.
"I wanted to lay low," she responded, "I know you hate interacting with the Twilighters, but you're just going to have to deal with it."
From the gunship, Obi-Wan watched the bounty hunter and the smuggler work their way down the levels from several security camera feeds.
"General Kenobi, should we close in on them?" Rex asked.
"No. We need to see who orchestrated this robbery. Has Dengar reached the prison yet?"
"Yes sir. Awaiting your orders," Rex reported, before turning back to the controls. Obi-Wan watched the screens once again. Ever since the first encounter on the Separatist destroyer, Obi-Wan had been curious how a Mandalorian had escaped the wrath of Durge. While he understood the capabilities of the Mandalorian warriors, the anatomy of a Gen'Dai made them incredibly difficult to defeat, even for Jedi Masters. This Mandalorian was one of a handful who could say they had cheated death. The Death Watch had betrayed the Separatists, and Durge and all his forces had been unleashed on the desolate moon. Not many had survived. In fact, Obi-Wan could not help but be impressed that the Separatists had prevented him from hopping on a ship and invading Mandalore itself. Of course, they didn't have to worry about the New Mandalorians responding, so it seemed reasonable to not want to agitate them into returning to their old ways. Obi-Wan sighed, the sprinkling of Mandalorians who had encountered Durge and lived to tell the tale were not forces to be reckoned with lightly, and the more the Republic knew about them, the better.
"Sir, they're advancing rapidly down the levels, we'll be running out of cameras soon and will have to proceed on foot," Rex told him.
"Very well. I'll go first, the rest of you stay far behind me. You'll stick out like a bantha on Mon Calamari."
"How much lower?" Nadyen asked.
"Would you quit whining?" Malaika snapped, falling back into their bickering routine. It was calming in a way, to have a routine after the past few months. "I'm carrying who knows how many pounds and you're complaining about going down a flight of stairs."
"Maybe if you had figured out there was a narc in your group you could have been off this planet by now," Nayden retorted. Malaika rolled her eyes.
"Says the one who got his ship blown up."
"Because of your inability to rob a bank."
"You're the one who couldn't avoid a blasted security checkpoint. Isn't that in your job description?" suddenly Nayden stopped, quickly looking up the stairwell.
"We've got a tail," he muttered.
"How close?" she whispered.
"Five flights," he answered. "How fast can you run with those blasted bags?"
"Don't have to run if I have a jet pack," she grinned.
"Every time you use it it gets shot out, you sure you want to do that?" he teased.
"Not every time,," she muttered. "In case we get separated, once you reach Level 1782 go to Sector H-94 and the ship's behind a death stick lab," she told him. He nodded.
"You always know how to find great company on Coruscant," he quipped. They continued down the stairwell, and Malaika could definitely hear more footfalls on the stairway.
"Have they got a whole battalion on us? It sounds like a bantha herd," she hissed. If anything happened to her Kom'rk not only would she be incredibly angry, but they would have no way off of Coruscant. Once they stepped out into the open, blaster fire began to rain down on their heads. Valuing her freedom more than unnecessary credits, Malaika flung the bag towards the foot of the stairs, vainly hoping it would hinder their advance. Keeping the bag containing the deposit box close, she cursed when it was ripped by a blaster bolt. Its contents went flying everywhere, and she turned and ran. There were far too many troopers, and it would be hard to run up several levels away from them. Nayden had beaten her to the ship, and she sprinted past him on the ramp.
Slamming herself into the pilots seat, Malaika powered the ship up and lifted off before the engines were ready, sending them into a heavy spin.
"What do you think you're doing?" Nayden yelled from the back seat, holding on for dear life. The engines warmed up quickly fortunately, and they began to dodge the various pipes and metalwork that obstructed their path to the surface. Not being the best nor smoothest pilot in the galaxy, the ride was jerky and uncomfortable to say the least. Maintaining a death grip on the controls, Malaika flew through traffic lanes and intersections, narrowly dodging advertisements and traffic signals. The gunship was gaining on them, but showed too much concern for its surroundings to pose a real danger. The sight of even more of them closing in from different directions made Malaika's heart drop to her stomach. Looking at the controls, Malaika got an idea.
"Strap in!" she hollered, activating the hyper-drive. A look of sheer horror crossed Nayden's face.
"You can't be-" he never finished his sentence, as the force of entering hyperspace took him by surprise.
Only fifteen standard minutes later, Malaika was confident they had eluded Republic security forces, and frankly was afraid of colliding with something, as they weren't in a hyperlane. If they went any further who knew what space debris they would encounter. The sudden deceleration shifted them forward in their seats, and Nayden exhaled sharply.
"I honestly thought you killed us with that one," he said, still breathing heavily. Clutching his chest, he leaned back in his seat. "Is this what you've been doing the past few years? Learning suicidal piloting techniques?"
"Something like that," she breathed, not realizing she had been holding her breath. "Are you alright?"
"I think so," he answered. "You're the one we should be worry about though. You lost a bag of credits you were hired to steal."
"Oh, that. I don't think they'll care so much about the credits as they will the box," she told him. He gave her a questioning look, and she elaborated. "They wanted Dengar and I to steal a deposit box. That would be far too odd to rob on it's own, and would only put the cops right on our trail. So we decided to take the money as a diversion, and took out the bank so it would take them longer to realize what all was missing." He nodded.
"Nice plan. You were always better at that sort of skulduggery," he commented. Malaika rolled her eyes.
"Anyway. You're the one who should be explaining what you've been up to the past few years. Working for some noname Rozal? What do you bring in, untaxed smokes?"
"Ay I asked you first."
"Can we find somewhere to land first? I don't like the idea of flying around aimlessly in open space," Malaika stalled.
"Oh please, let me fly," Nayden said, puling her away from the controls. "I'm far less likely to get us killed. Not to mention, you look like you went ten rounds with a pack of Tuskens."
"Thanks."
NAR SHADDAA
Malaika awoke in the small living quarters of the Kom'rk. She could hear the controls in the cockpit, and rolled over. The Kom'rk was rather small, designed to house three people uncomfortably, and Malaika had grown used to living alone. Slowly getting up from the cot, Malaika shuffled into the hallway. Never being a morning person, she stood in silence for a few minutes, zoning out.
"Hey space cadet, you alright back there?" Nayden called from the cabin.
"Yeah," she answered, moving up to the cabin. "What are we doing on Nar Shaddaa?" she asked, looking around at the advertisements that would send most upstanding citizens stomachs churning.
"You were acting so damn cagey about telling me what you've been up to the past two years I figured you'd want some space from the Separatists and the Republic, and there's no better place for a wanted bounty hunter and smuggler to lie low than Smuggler's Moon," Nayden answered. She shrugged.
"What part are we in?"
"One of the older parts, so watch your step. Upside is there's less sentients to deal with," he told her, and she nodded her approval.
"Let's find a place to crash, I'm exhausted," she said, moving towards the ramp.
"How are you exhausted? You slept the entire flight over," Nayden protested.
"It probably took two hours with your flying," she answered. "Besides that cot doesn't do a real bed justice.
Once they had found a room for rent and overpaid the owner for silence, Nayden began to ask Malaika about her antics the past few years.
"So are you ever going to tell me what you've done since Naboo?" he asked.
"Why not," she said, flopping down on the surprisingly clean bed. "I told you all the details about the academy on Naboo right?" he nodded. "So after I saw you I started learning the Dark Side of the Force, nothing bad, just abilities the Jedi don't approve of. Anyway, one night I'm down in the library looking for the most bizarre book I've ever heard of when the Separatists roll in and just start killing everybody in sight. I came back right when they were about to finish," she paused. "Durge was there, and I'm just thankful I got out in one piece. Sent out transmissions to all the remaining Kohtal and then one to you. No reponses so I picked up bounty hunting again," she rushed through it, glossing over numerous details she didn't feel like sharing.
"Durge wiped out the academy?" Nayden asked incredulously. "How come I never heard about that?"
"It's a secret academy on a backwater planet so," Malaika answered sardonically.
"I know that. But Durge, as I'm sure you know, doesn't really have a shining reputation with smugglers and bounty hunters," he explained.
"I don't know, it seemed pretty hush-hush. Ventress was there, and when I talked to some intel people no one could seem to pin down her location that day," Nayden nodded.
"So are you like a Jedi now?" Nayden asked, changing the subject. They never really got into the touchy-feely stuff with the other unless they'd had too much Alderaanian whiskey, and both were completely fine with that.
"For the most part. My lightsaber skills are amazing if I do say so myself. Force is better than it was, but that's more Chihiro's strong suit," she answered.
"Did he, make it out?" Nayden asked gingerly.
"I've no idea to be honest. He was off-world when it all went down. Still held onto his book in case he comes asking for it," she grumbled, pulling out the aged black text. "And naturally, hes been radio-silent since."
"Huh. So are you gonna use your newfound skills to end the war?" Nayden joked.
"One of the more ironic aspects of my life. I'm on par with a Jedi, but the only time I can't expose that is when I'm actually fighting a Jedi," she laughed.
"Why even bother learning it then?" he asked.
"Way back in the day before the Clone Wars, if you went around waving a lightsaber people would assume you had some authority and wouldn't really question it. So if some great injustice was going on or you just really needed to cut through a door it was no-questions-asked. But now everyone either hates or loves the Jedi and it brings a lot of unwanted attention. I can use the Force all I want as long as there's no Jedi around, but a lightsaber is too much. Plus someone tried to completely wipe out the academy, so I don't think it's a good idea to attract their attention or the Jedi."
"Huh. I'll leave all that Force business to you. What's your lightsaber look like anyway?"
"Like this," she activated her violet lightsaber, moving it around a bit to show it off.
"Purple? I thought there were only green and blue."
"Nah, we do our own thing," she answered. "I even have an extra one, but it doesn't turn on for some reason."
"Why's that?"
"I don't know, Aras went on some incredibly vague explanation, and all I got out of it was, don't lose it," she told him, somewhat bitter. Aras was incredibly wise, and knew everything there was to know about the Kohtal, she had been there for barely five years and still didn't fully understand all the Force aspects, and since Chihiro had been gone for so long she hadn't known who else to go to, and now Aras was dead and Chihiro was somewhere in the galaxy, she didn't even know what rim or if he was even alive.
"Hello?" Nayden asked, pulling her from her thoughts. "Everything alright over there?"
"Yeah," she told him, putting away her lightsaber. "Wait a minute," she said, sitting up in her bed. "You still haven't told me what you've been up to the past few years, you're hiding something!" Nayden groaned.
"Fine. I was doing some spice runs after Naboo, and I got detained by the Separatists a little over a year and a half ago. I sat in a jail cell for about a year, until I got recruited to run some material for them into Republic planets. It was better than rotting in jail, so I did it. It was pretty interesting actually, I got free access to a ton of Separatists planets, and I saw more of the Republic and neutral worlds than I would otherwise. One time I was in a cantina on Felucia, and I ran into a guy who got picked up to do the same thing I was doing only for the Republic," he laughed. "Anyway, that's why I was on Coruscant."
"Will the Separatists look for you?"
"I rigged the incendiaries to where anybody caught in the blast is unidentifiable, so hopefully they think I'm dead and I can move on to other things."
"Like what?"
"Well," he said slowly. "Ever since you went off with the Kohtal, I started thinking about my sister Rosheen more and more. I've known where she is my whole life and I never tried to see her. It's been years though, and I doubt she'd remember me," he trailed off.
"If you really want to, I can the plans to the Jedi Temple and we can sneak in. I doubt anyone would notice two extra Jedi for a day," Malaika said, half-joking half-serious.
"Ha. I have the Force abilities of a womp rat," Nayden chuckled. "What do you know about the Jedi? The sentients in it, not the Order."
"Well there's a Council that has sentients like Yoda, Plo Koon, Ki Adi Mundi, Obi-Wan Kenobi. There's more, but I don't pretend to know all their names," they remained in silence for a moment, before Nayden began adjusting himself to the short bed.
"You've had a long day, I'll let you get some sleep. Night."
"Night," Malaika returned.
Question, how did you come across my story? Just scrolling through or was it in a community or something else?