Chapter 24
The trip took a while, but Bane made it to the forest moon of Endor. The bounty hunter thought of where to land as he was looking for an Ice Demon. The forests were dense, but there were a few places in the north that had mountains covered in ice and snow.
Bane had the starfighter land at the edge of Ice Mountain, one of the popular places for an Ice Demon to live. Once the Xanadu Blood II landed, Bane left the ship, and the boys emerged from their hiding place.
"Keep a safe distance from him and don't make a sound," Rapha ordered his gang and they nodded. They waited a few minutes and then got out of the ship, following a bit further behind Bane.
The bounty hunter checked to see if his cutting knife was sharpened well, it was and he walked on the path that lead to a cave within the Ice Mountain. He also made sure that the cooler he set up was working, he was to use it to transport the horn back to his client. The snow came down like pellets, but it didn't bother Bane and continued.
The boys, however, were shivering from the cold. "Should've brought a coat," Chinena said, while rubbing his shoulders.
"Keep quiet," Rapha ordered and they walked on.
When Bane reached the mouth of the cave, he could hear the snoring of the Ice Demon. Bane hid behind the wall opening and waited for the right opportunity. The creature moved its body to one side and Bane quietly crept in, knife ready.
The boys hid behind a snow covered boulder and watch as Bane went into the cave.
The bounty hunter went beside the Ice Demon and began to saw off the horn. The creature snored, unaware what was going on. After a few seconds, the horn came off, and Bane put it into the cooler. However, he was told by his client that his payment will double if he also got the second horn. Bane knew that he desperately needed the money and he decided to take his chances.
Then, the Ice Demon moved to his side, exposing the other horn. Bane quickly went to work and began to saw off the second horn.
Outside, the boys were getting a little worried. "Do you think he's okay?" Chinena asked Rapha.
"We haven't heard anything yet, he must be working on sawing off the horns," the leader replied. Then, Ahiga tapped Rapha's shoulder and they turned to see a starfighter ship coming down to land.
"What is that?" Moray asked, but the other boys shrug their shoulders.
"Do you think we should find out what it is?" Kaden asked and everyone nodded.
"But what about Bane?" Chinena asked, pointing to the cave.
"He'll be fine," Rapha replied and they hurried back down the mountain.
Inside the cave, Bane had finished sawing off the second horn and placed it into the cooler. His job was complete, now he needed to leave and return to Coruscant. Bane walked down the path, but he saw some other foot prints in the snow, other than his own.
He realized that the boys might have sneaked onto his ship and had followed him to the cave. "I'm going to get them!" Bane said out loud and hurried down the path towards his starfighter.
The boys were hiding behind a tree as they had spotted people, human and alien surrounding the Xanadu Blood II. "What will we do?" Chinena asked Rapha, but he points up. They began to climb up the tree and hid from the strangers.
Just then, Bane arrived and was surprised to see the intruders. They noticed him and they held up their blasters. Bane recognized the uniforms they wore, they were from Köder.
"Cad Bane?" someone said and a human emerged from the crowd. Bane recognized him immediately.
"Valeriu? What is going on?" the bounty hunter asked. The young man gave a look of dread.
"Lowell ordered us to execute you," Valeriu answered and Bane stared at him.
"Why?" the bounty hunter asked.
"He went to Tierra's apartment on Naboo, but she wasn't there. He suspects that you took her and her child and killed them," Valeriu replied and rage filled Bane.
"I would never do that! I don't know where she is!" he shouted, angrily.
"Bane," Valeriu said and took a deep breath, "I told Lowell that I gave you Tierra's location, I'm sorry. Now, tell me, is Tierra safe with her baby?"
The bounty hunter just gave a look of bitter rage at Valeriu. "You selfish son of a bitch! I put my trust in you to keep that a secret!" Bane shouted, again.
"Sir," one of the other members said, "Let's finish this."
"Wait," Valeriu replied, "I need to know, where is Tierra and her child?" he asked Bane.
The bounty hunter refused to speak, he did not want Lowell to take Tierra and Adena to whatever hell was waiting for them. In a flash, Bane pulled out his blaster and began to shoot at his former comrades.
Some were shot and they fired back. Bane ran off towards the ice caves, again, but he came face to face with the Ice Demon. It roared angrily at the bounty hunter for what he did.
The members of Köder went after Bane, but suddenly, the boys jumped out of the tree, landing on some of them. The members were knocked out, but the others shot rounds at the boys and they ran up the path.
The boys saw that Bane was facing off with the Ice Demon and Rapha got an idea. Moray and his brother, Kaden got on a boulder and began to shout and taunt at the creature.
The demon went after the boys, forgetting about Bane. The bounty hunter saw that the two brothers were now in mortal danger. "Stop! Stop!" he shouted at the creature, but it ignored him and ran after the boys.
"Bane!" Rapha cried out, grabbing him and pulled him aside.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Bane demanded at the three other boys.
"We're sorry, Tierra wanted us to go after you and make sure that nothing bad happened to you," Chinena said, but Bane was bitterly angry. However, there was no time to be nasty at them, they had to save Kaden and Moray and get off the moon as quickly as possible.
"Stay close to me and don't look back, understand?" Bane asked the three boys and they nod. They rushed out of the bush, looking for the Ice Demon and the two brothers.
Kaden and Moray were struggling to run as fast as they can from the creature. They weaved through thick trees and shrubs, but the demon still pursued them.
Then, they came to a waterfall, there was no where else to go as they were trapped on a rock. The Ice Demon snorted, staring at the two brothers, and looked ready to kill them.
The two looked at each other, they knew they had no other choice. They held hands tight, shut their eyes, and then jumped. They hurled down the falls and they vanished into the mist.
The demon snorted, again, its chance of killing the two were dashed and it went back to its cave.
Meanwhile, Bane and the other three boys went through the woods, avoiding from being caught by the Köder members and they heard someone say, "Let's leave, the Ice Demon must be close by."
Valeriu began to think and he came up with a plan. "Alright, let's go, leave the starfighter," he ordered his team and they went off.
Bane and the three boys watch as the Köder's starship left the moon and it was gone.
"C'mon," Bane said to the boys and they resumed their search for Moray and Kaden.
They came across the waterfall, but they thought the two brothers were far from it and were about to turn away, when Chinena calls out, "Look!"
Out on the water, two shapes appeared, and they realized it was the two brothers, Kaden and Moray. Bane and Rapha went into the water and pulled them out. Bane checked on their pulses, but there wasn't any.
The two brothers' faces were blue and Bane saw that their pupils had rolled back into their sockets. Rapha rubbed their shoulders, but they didn't respond, so he began to rub roughly.
"C'mon you two, wake up!" he ordered, but they still didn't respond. "Don't you dare leave us!" Rapha cried out, but it was no use, Kaden and Moray were dead.
Bane hid his face in shame and listened to Rapha's anguished cries for the two brothers. Chinena and Ahiga began to cry, too, they had lost their faithful comrades.
After a few minutes, all their tears were shed, and Bane says to them, "We can't stay here. Rapha help me carry one of them."
Bane took Moray's body onto his back and Rapha did the same and they walked back to the Xanadu Blood II. Once they got on, Bane and Rapha laid the two bodies on the bunk beds in the sleeping quarters and Bane placed white sheets over them, covering their faces.
He left the three boys in the room to let them mourn and he went to the cockpit. He turned on the ship and set the coordinates for Coruscant. The ship lifted off the ground and went out into space.
Once it was out in the open, Bane set the ship into hyperspace and put it into auto-pilot. Then, he banged his fists on the dashboard and cries out, "Shit! Shit! Dammit!" He began to sob and covered his eyes with his hands, letting the tears fall down his face. The bounty hunter blamed himself for not reaching the two brothers in time and he was going to live with that for the rest of his life.
From the author: I know! I know, I'm horrible in killing off Kaden and Moray, but this would feature Bane as having a soft spot for orphans. There's more to come!