Chapter: 25 Standing at a Crossroads

The Anooba descended towards the bleak planet of Orondia. The desolate world was known for its fuel depots, which Daliz's ship was desperately in need of. He spent the flight in silence, allowing his discontent to sink in with Vala. He landed on a violet platform and hailed the nearby control tower. Daliz spoke in his native Rodian tongue and was answered by another of his kind. Soon several Rodian fuelers came jogging over to tend to the Anooba's needs.

Dain put on his hood and started towards the ventral hatch. "We've been spaceborne for so long that I think I'll give my legs a stretch."

"I'll come with," said Nadess. "We can grab supplies. Plus, someone's got to watch your back." She spun around and pointed at Vala. "Need anything?"

Vala thought for a moment before saying, "See if you can find any meilooruns."

Nadess wrinkled her nose. "I don't know how you can eat that musky fruit. Oh well. Does Scraps want to come? He might find some knickknacks out there." The Jawa was too busy tinkering with Vala's pistol to pay attention.

"Suit yourself, shortstuff," Nadess said before exiting the ship. The hatch shut, leaving Vala to head for the cockpit.

Daliz drummed his fingers against the dashboard. "Ready?"

"Daliz-"

"The time is now, Vala. We've found ourselves in this scenario time after time. Sure it's persisted longer than it should, but that's alright. We can-...You can still make things right. So you go out there, kill Marr, and we zoom back to an Imperial paycheck." Vala's glower made Daliz rise from his seat. "Come on, Vala. Work with me. Wishful thinking is over. Dain is as much a dead end as Agent Tolian. At least he should be."

Vala's eyes scoured the floor until Daliz spoke again. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." He placed his hands on her shoulders and dropped his voice to a whisper. "I remember the day I found you. You thought you were so brave, slaughtering my hapless crew in a hysterical rage. But I saw right through you. Beneath all of that flimsy bravado, you were just a sad...scared...broken little girl." He could see in her eyes that she was reliving that day. "Nowhere to go. No one to turn to. I felt so sorry for you. It was only right for me to take you under my wing." Vala's slow nod made Daliz smirk. He ran his hand atop her head as a master would his pet. "That's right. And thanks to me, you've grown into a successful bounty hunter. Don't throw it all away now. Payday is only a trigger pull away. I'll even help you! We can whip out the dart." Vala's eye twitched at his suggestion. "We've been wanting to use the dart for years! Hell, you almost used it on Ami Zena until you let your pride get the best of you."

Vala bit her lip. "I don't need the dart."

Daliz scoffed. "Of course you don't. But then again..." He retrieved a chrome-colored dart from one of the ship's compartments. "Wouldn't it be fun to watch Marr struggle under the dart's effects? Watch him writhe and try to call upon his dulled senses. To feel the 'Force' abandon him in his time of need. A time that'll be his doom."

"Don't associate your sadistic thoughts with my beliefs," Vala said. "Marr dies honorably at my hand. Just as his master and every Jedi before him has."

Daliz ignored her words about honor and rejoiced in hearing the only part he was interested in. "Ah! So you will kill him. Excellent!" He laughed nervously and planted a soft punch on her cheek. "You had me worried there, Vala. I almost thought you were calling off the hunt or something stupid like that."

"I-"

"It's settled then! I'll contact Shan and inform him that you're about to engage."

"Daliz-"

The Rodian's smile vanished. He slammed his fists on the dashboard and turned. "Shut up!" he roared. "Just do it! What happened the warrior I knew, huh? Has she gone soft? Lost her stomach for battle? Is that it?"

"No!" Vala barked back.

"Then prove me wrong!" He brought his sweaty face inches away from hers. Each utterance of his savage words sent spit splattering against her cheeks. "Get out there and do your job, bounty hunter!" He forced the dart onto her palm. "I thought you were different. I thought you were capable of being a successful partner. But you're still that scared little girl my crew found in a box. Maybe that's where we should've left you!"

"ENOUGH!" Vala's scream rang out across the cockpit. She grabbed Daliz by the shoulder and yanked him out of the way. "Move." Rage filled her eyes and made her lips quiver.

Daliz backed up into his seat. "What are you going to do?"

"My job." Vala marched out of the cockpit.

Daliz's slightly frightened demeanor vanished. An eager grin formed on his face as he turned towards the communicator. "Back on track," he whispered to himself.

Vala started down the hall until she saw Scraps standing before her. Though his glowing eyes were emotionless, it was clear that all was not well beneath his hood. Seeing Scraps stalled Vala's rage. She glared down at the Jawa. "Scraps?" she murmured. She noticed her WESTAR trembling in his tiny hands. "Did you fix it?" Scraps hugged the blaster and shook his head repeatedly. "Give it here." Scraps backed away as if Vala was some sort of plague. Only then did she realize that he had overhead everything. "S-Scraps," she stuttered. "I-...This-...It's not-...Just give me my blaster." Scraps didn't budge. "Please...come here." It sounded as though Scraps was whimpering under his hood. His entire body shivered with fear as Vala stepped closer. "I'm not going to hurt you! Come here!" Her raised voice frightened him further. He shrieked and dove into the nearest vent. "SCRAPS!" Vala yelled out of sheer frustration. "Get back here!" She furiously kicked the vent, making it clamor. "Fine! I don't need a pistol to kill a Jedi anyway. I'm a kriffing Mandalorian!" She recollected her rage, grabbed her helmet, and stared at her reflection its the visor. Then a thought crossed Vala's mind for a brief moment. It came in the form of a voice, one as commanding as her mother's yet as soft as Dee's.

"If the savage in this reflection is truly who you are, then it's no wonder Scraps was afraid."

Vala shook off the thought and equipped her helmet. She primed the weapons on her vambraces and trudged out of the ship.

Scraps scurried through the vents and forced himself out one of the lateral hatches. He struck against the landing pad's metallic surface and dashed towards the nearest crowd. A barrage of shins bumped against him as he frantically searched for Nadess and Dain. His heart thundered against his petite chest as he struggled to keep himself together. Why did he have to stay on the ship? Everything he knew about Vala was shattered before him. She was not the hero he believed her to be. The brave and fearless savior who rescued him from Tusken Raiders seemed just as ruthless as they were. He began to wonder if Vala had such vicious intentions from the start. Did she rescue him out of kindness, or was he just another asset for her murderous plan? Scraps had to shake himself free of his plaguing, hysterical thoughts. He had to find Nadess and Dain before it was too late.

Shan Talee endured another ferocious punch across his face. The Inquisitor's voice echoed throughout the darkness. "Are you really so ignorant, officer?" A boot sailed from the darkness and struck Shan's thigh. "What have you to hide? What have you to protect!" The Inquisitor ignited his lightsaber. The red blade swayed across the ground and slowly approached Shan's face. The sight of the scorching saber made Shan relive getting scarred by it all over again. The Inquisitor brought the lightsaber to his neck and spoke again. "You are a committed officer, Talee...but your pride makes you blind and foolish. Don't waste your life away over a prideful mistake. Tell us what you know? Where is the Jedi?"

Shan spoke through heavy pants. "The Jedi...is my kill."

The Inquisitor brought the blade even closer to his neck. The intense heat burned his throat as if it had already cut through it. "You can't get your kill if you're dead. Help us or suffer the same fate as the Jedi you seek."

The cell doors opened and an intelligence operative came stumbling through the dark. "What happened to the lights?"

"Why are you here?" boomed the Inquisitor.

The operative flinched. "Inquisitor, we've intercepted a transmission from Orondia to Officer Talee's shuttle. A Rodian appeared on the holomessage system and was asking for immediate contact."

"A Rodian?" the Inquisitor queried.

"Daliz," said Shan. "His name...is Daliz. He's my contact."

"Now you want to talk." The Inquisitor knelt beside Shan in the shadows. "Why?"

"Hunting Jedi is my life. Without it I am nothing." Shan scowled int he direction of his voice. "I'm not as blind as you think. You have no intention of sparing me once you get what you want."

"What makes you so sure?"

"We work for the Empire," said Shan. "It's what we do." He chuckled. "I should thank you."

The Inquisitor grew annoyed. "For what?"

"Giving me another reason to live. That damned Rodian has been a thorn in my side for years. If I'm going down, I'm taking that scheming bastard with me."

The Inquisitor turned to the intelligence operative and gave his orders. "Trace the exact coordinates of that transmission. Have Commander Gradek send a squad to capture this bug and bring him in for questioning."

Shan smirked through his bruises. Imagining Daliz's suffering was enough to brighten his situation, even if he was in the darkest cell.

There was a bazaar on the far side of the fueling depot. "So," said Dain. "How will you explain your absence to Saw? I mean, surely you'll have to go back eventually."

Nadess shrugged. "Hopefully he'll understand that I was going with my gut instinct."

"The will of the Force," corrected Dain.

She shot him a glare. "Call it what you will. In any case, I figured Saw could use a warrior like Vala. I was hoping that riding with her could lead us to more potential allies. Then we could regroup on Felucia."

"And then put everyone through Bor Gullet?" Dain grimaced at the thought.

"No," Nadess sighed. "Even if it meant finding the truth, who are we to shred through someone's mind like that?"

Dain turned with a faint smile. "Nadess?"

"Honestly," she assured. "Who knows how many opportunities we miss because we're too busy prejudging? We scare off what we judge to harshly and ignore when we need to accept. I don't know about this whole 'will of the Force' thing, but I do admire your ability to trust openly. Whether all you say is true and that we are meant to meet certain people, I'm grateful for your words. I've lost a lot of good people that I may have connected with if I'd only opened up. I don't plan on making that mistake again." A smile formed on her lips. "Hell, opening up gave us Vala."

"And Daliz," Dain added.

Nadess grimaced as if she was tasting how awful of a person he was. "That Rodian is something else. Say, do you think Vala knows she doesn't need him?"

Dain huffed. "They have a deep connection, that's for sure. Whether it's healthy or not, that's a completely different story."

"You saw what happened earlier. He's got her wrapped around his finger like some kind lackey. All he's missing is a leash!"

Dain raised a brow. "It's hard to believe those two are friends at all."

"But why would a warrior like Vala, a woman who says she can hold her own just fine...stick around with a sleemo like Daliz?"

"He's got issues. I sensed ceaseless disturbances in his mind."

"You don't need powers to sense that," Nadess quipped. She eyed the fruit stands in the bazaar. "I'm going to grab those meilooruns for Vala."

"You do that." Dain looked up at an entrance on the second level. A neon sign read Pilot's Lounge. The vibrant colors and an echoing tune lured Dain closer to it. "I'm going to see if they get holonews in there. I can find out what's going on in the galaxy." Dain started up a stairwell just as Scraps rounded the corner. He just missed Dain and scurried onward. Scraps bumped into a Gamorrean bystander who began to growl and snort. The pig-like humanoid took a swing at Scraps, but the Jawa slid under his legs and escaped.

Scraps called out for either Nadess or Dain to hear. But how could they? The fueling station was consumed by a cacophony of machinery and babbling travelers. Besides, neither of his companions knew Jawaese anyway. Determined to find them, Scraps climbed the nearest light fixture. His scavenger instinct made him unscrew one of the bulbs and tuck it into his robes. He then snapped himself back into the moment and scoured the premises. Scraps shrieked when he caught a glimpse of Nadess' blue vest in the crowd. He slid down the fixture's pole and sprinted in her direction.

Nadess glowered at an Ithorian merchant. "Are you kidding me? Eighteen credits for two meilooruns?" She raised a brow when she heard a Jawa crying out. "Scraps?" she said as he threw himself against her leg. She knelt down to his level and struggled to calm him down. "What's wrong, little guy? What is it?" Scraps flailed his arms, pointed in every direction, and even jumped frantically. Nadess shook her head. "Sorry. I don't understand." Scraps paused and pondered how to communicate with her. He swung one of his arms as if he had an imaginary lightsaber and used his other hand to 'use the Force'. Nadess leaned closer. "Dain?" Scraps rapidly nodded. "What about Dain?" Scraps wrapped his hands around his own neck and pretended to strangle himself. His harsh gesture and urgent demeanor were enough for Nadess to deduce some form of turmoil. "Is he in trouble?" Scraps nodded until it looked like his head would come off. He grabbed Nadess by the forearm and dragged her towards the rest of the platform. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" They ran towards the amenities while Nadess activated her comlink. "Dain!" she shouted into it. "Come in. Dain!"

Dain couldn't hear his comlink ringing because the band at the Pilot's Lounge was playing at a deafening level. He was busy swiping his finger across a touchscreen interface. Each swipe displayed a news article of happenings in the galaxy. His eyes scoured everything from Imperial arrests to stocks and senate hearings. When Dain didn't answer his comlink, Nadess tracked its location and rushed to the lounge with Scraps. Meanwhile, a drunk and haggard Sullustan stumbled out of the lounge. He wearily grasped for a wall just as Vala shoved him out of her way. The drunk went tumbling down a flight of stairs as she entered. She lowered her rangefinder and scanned the lounge for her target. Scraps and Nadess entered just as Vala locked on to Dain's signature.

The band played a song so loud that the tune seemed to vibrate through everyone's bodies. Scraps wildly pointed at Dain and then over to Vala. Bystanders shuffled between the bar and a line of couches. Vala took several steps towards the crowd. Dain paused, sensing some form of disarray. He craned his neck in an attempt to comprehend the sensation. A conflagration of color from the overhead lights streaked across his face. Several strobes flashed in his eyes, disorienting him. He turned away from the band's stage and gave his eyes a rub.

Nadess eyed Dain and gasped when she saw Vala aiming her wrist-mounted blaster at him. Scraps screamed and covered his eyes. Dain finished rubbing looked across the lounge. He spotted Nadess and his welcoming smile faded when he saw the look of horror on her face. Though he couldn't hear her over the blaring music, he managed to read Nadess' lips. They mouthed the words "Look out!" He followed her finger his left, where he stared down Vala.

Vala aligned her wrist blaster with Dain's head and pressed her finger to the trigger. Dain's hand dropped for the lightsaber at his belt. Nadess drew her pistol and took aim.

A laser sounded...screams rang out...and bodies fell.

END OF ACT II