Chapter Nineteen

Arden Lyn was almost six months into her pregnancy and she had to admit that she had done well for herself despite the difficulties of finding enough supplement on Tython. But Kadann's telepathic message to her had confirmed one thing: where he was, there was both food and security at small cost. She knew the time had come to go there and live out the last three months of her pregnancy, she would need to in order to guarantee safe passage into the galaxy for her unborn child. True that Kadann wasn't entirely trustworthy but he was a better choice than risking a stillbirth alone in the ancient Tython temple.

Besides, she longed for at least some sympathetic company and while the people of Tython were not bad, Kadann had presented himself as a very friendly individual when last they met. Jedgar and Merili tended to be violently impulsive and reckless but Kadann controlled them effectively enough. In addition, the strength of the Prophets meant that any hapless Force user who wanted trouble with her after she claimed sanctuary would immediately be vaporized before the power of the Dark Side. At this critical stage in the development of her child, protecting its future was more essential than ever before.

And so far, her heart and her mind agreed that the best security (risky as it was) lied with Kadann and his Prophets. "Don't worry sweetie, we'll be going to a new home before too much more time passes," she said to her unborn infant. She had gotten used to talking to the child whenever it told her it was afraid or to hum a lullaby when she needed it to go to sleep. Sometimes, she even went head-on and started singing Bunduki poems she had learned during her days training in Terras Kasi.

The baby would be so calm whenever she began singing that she almost thought she killed it by singing to it. However, it would wake up soon after realizing that it was hungry and Arden would begin her night hunting. She would do what she could to find nutrient sticks since they contained all the vitamins and calcium her baby would need to grow healthily. To supply the two of them with protein, she would bait lizards, edible insects, and small rodents into traps she would set up with rotten meat.

Despite the diet, she was very sociable and kept in contact with some locals of the Kalikori Village who shared food with her in exchange for small manual labor inside their house. Sometimes, she would cook vegetables from the garden and would be allowed to have a portion of the product. Other times, she would be asked to watch after other people's kids whilst the parents worked on their farm. And yet other times, she would work as a hostess at the town tavern in which she would seat people and see to cleaning the glasses and tables after it closed for the night.

The bartender frequently offered her a free room in exchange for shelter from the night but Arden would pass it off in exchange for a ride back to the Temple. She explained it was not only for her safety but for the safety of the people of Kalikori Village. Now however, she headed back to the Tavern to inform the bartender that she wouldn't be coming back. "It's time for me to head out and carve a new existence, it's not safe for me to remain here on Tython anymore," Arden added.

"Just keep out of trouble with whatever you do. I've seen quite a few people leave Tython before a year's even out but I do wish you would stay, if I had to pick someone from the crowd. Good luck Arden, you're going to need as much of it as you can get," he replied. Hugging him, she thanked him for everything and asked him if he could get her on the next transport to Dromund Kaas.

"Now why would you want to go there?" he asked. "I have friends there, friends that can help me get a good start and maybe even a job even if not on the planet itself," she answered. "Okay, don't know anyone who would willingly go all the way out there except that dwarf named Kadann. He's had personal estate there since he became a Prophet of the Dark Side, taking mastery of the others.

"Wait... you're headed to see him, aren't you?" he inquired. "I met him when I was a servant to the Empire, he's got no affiliation with the Empire now and will protect me if I can persuade him. He may even see about getting me a job at some nearby system or something like that," she explained. "Friend or not, be careful: I've heard some pretty spooky things about Kadann and his Prophets of the Dark Side," he warned.

"No worries, just get me on the next transport to Korriban and I'll make my way to Dromund Kaas. If he's not there, I'll explore the outlying systems to see if I can find him," she replied. She already knew that he was on Bosthirda and knew that there were people that could get her there. It was just a matter of being versatile and finding certain agencies on Korriban that visited the planet often.

"Goodbye Arden and good luck," he said just in time to catch her a carriage to the transport that she wanted. During the whole time that she journeyed to the transport, making sure that the credits that she had saved up were ready, she only looked back once. That was to see Kalikori Village and the people she had grown surprisingly attached to, one last time. Then she kept her eyes forward on the arduous journey that lied ahead: the journey to Kadann's homeworld of Bosthirda and his sanctuary.

Despite his status as second-in-command to his father Demetrius, Paris Zaarin was becoming not only demoralized but also impatient. The Battle at Kiilimaar had ended in a draw, all three Semag Battles had been lost, Gwar was lost, and the Serenity was also a defeat. As if that wasn't bad enough, Demetrius had foolishly tried to obtain control of the Vorknkx Project Base ended in failure. His father's lust for advanced technology was costing the Zaarin Splinter Government dear.

Now that the project was completed, he intended to try and capture the corvette called Vorknkx at To-phalian Base. "This technological desire for advanced weapons is absolutely ridiculous, father! Half our original force has willingly withdrawn aid and even requested clemency from the Emperor in exchange for information on our bases!" Paris shouted at his father. "A trivial sacrifice when the most advanced technologies of the Empire are ours to use," Demetrius replied calmly.

"God damn it, dad! Thrawn's got you by the balls in every department, including advanced technologies! Had you actually used some of that brain of yours toward strategy and critical planning, you might have held us up a little better in the battles against him! Shit, we'd have shot Colonel Stele out of fucking space by now if you had been a little smarter about training pilots!" Paris snapped.

"Watch your tone around me, boy. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had funding for the Imperial Academy and if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be wielding military power of any kind. By my grace, your career has been nothing except the product of my successes in technology," Demetrius said. "Bullshit dad, what about Mom; what about the credits she raked up by working as a waitress and as a common whore when your paychecks too damn long to come through!?" Paris demanded.

Demetrius paled, unbelieving that his son would call his mother a whore but the way he said it indicated that she did it because she had to. "Damn right Dad, the waitress money was almost never enough and wouldn't have kept the roof over our heads or food on the table without your checks! She became a prostitute between checks while you played with your worthless toys!" Pais added. Demetrius snapped and backhanded his son across the face though he soon came to regret it afterwards.

"I love your mother, Paris! She would never have gotten herself into that because I made sure to punish her severely if she did," he added soon after. "Oh no? I remember nights where I went to bed hungry because my mom couldn't get clients.

"On those nights, she barely had enough to feed me, let alone the both of us. She fucking starved on those sorts of nights so that I could live to see you again! Through her sacrifice, I was able to finish school and then attend the Imperial Academy when you could actually be around!" Paris replied. Demetrius said nothing, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes to prevent tears from coming out as he absorbed what Paris had said about his own mother.

"That's right Dad, Mom made so many damn sacrifices while you answered orders from Lord Vader and the Emperor like the cowardly little bitch you were before you defected! Now, you've proven so arrogant and so careless in your quest for greater technology, you would sacrifice everything! You never were a good strategist without your toys but dammit, I thought you were better than this," Paris added.

"Paris, we're doing better than you think. When the Vorknkx is in our possession, we'll be the ones who will have Thrawn by the balls (to quote you) and not the other way around," Demetrius said. "Bullshit Dad, even with Vorknkx in possession we couldn't compare to the Death Star plus Thrawn is brilliant in that he is not only willing to more carefully calculate his next move but guess what? He's also not afraid to create new military designs that are specifically meant to counter what we got!

"We might as well lift the surrender flag now and hope we can still arrange a truce with him! Unless we move against the Emperor once more which is better than dying here with our asses being handed to us daily by Admiral Thrawn!" Paris countered. Demetrius turned to his only remaining friend Thaddeus in the hope that he could persuade Paris to stop this rant. However, the old Admiral's reaction to all of this amazed Demetrius beyond what he had known his friend to be.

"Passionate and somewhat choppy as this speech of your son's maybe, he's right in this matter. If ever there was a mind brilliant enough to give the Emperor a run for his money, it would have to be Thrawn's. Untried courage and arrogant delusion are no match for the kind of intelligence that Thrawn wields against us. I'd dare say that he's more intimidating than the Emperor in many ways for this intelligence does more than compensate for no Force attunement and that's for starters," Thaddeus said.

"You can't be serious!" Demetrius exclaimed. "Better to die fighting the real enemy than letting an intelligent, power-hungry subordinate destroy us for him. If Paris were at the helm of a second battle at Imperial Center, I would be more than honored to die beside him," Thaddeus replied. Demetrius was stunned beyond words, feeling betrayed by both his best friend and his own flesh-and-blood son.

"I will prove you both wrong when I obtain the corvette, I will destroy Thrawn and I will bring the government we have formed to a stronger point than ever before!" Demetrius vowed finally. Paris and Thaddeus both looked at each other with eyes that spoke only of pity for their mutual benefactor. Thaddeus gave the look that told Paris that Demetrius had become a maddened, broken shadow of what he had been before to which Paris nodded in agreement. Then they both turned to look at Demetrius and thoroughly examine him and the sort of man he had become.

When they spoke, Demetrius was infuriated and almost lost his control over his temper which had not happened in years. "Demetrius, Paris and I are going to make one last stand against the Emperor right at his doorstep. We'll leave enough for you to continue your selfish pursuits if you wish but for all our sakes, I hope we're both wrong," Thaddeus said. "Fine then, leave, get yourselves killed; what a fine, poetic tale that will be!" Demetrius exclaimed.

"Hoar, pack your things. We're leaving for a last stand from whence we may never come back," Paris said. "You've said that about quite a few of our last adventures," the Tusken Raider replied. "This time it's for real though: we're headed to attack the Emperor again at Imperial Center," Paris told him.

"You still haven't given up on Arden Lyn, have you?" Hoar asked, seeing the look of pain in his eyes. Paris looked up at the elder warrior and nearly teared up right there but held it in with the stubbornness his father had indirectly forced him to obtain. "If I can't be with her again, Hoar, there is no point in living anymore. Let the galaxy be done with me if I can't love her or see her give birth to my child," he replied at last.

"Amongst my people, whenever someone was so certain of that it was either because they had gone raving mad for that person or they had fallen in love with them rather genuinely. I see a little bit of both in you and I'll honestly say I can't blame you: because of your father, you lived a very loveless life. So lonely were you even when you had your booze and women that when Arden came to you, she melted the cold exterior surrounding your heart and reached the warm, gentle man within," Hoar stated. "You always knew how to read my mind and how to be a great friend Hoar, I hope that we go out fighting," Paris said, embracing the Tusken Raider like he would a brother for the very first and last time.

"When do we leave?" Hoar asked. "As soon as the Fleet is assembled, Captain Thaddeus is making the rounds right now," Paris answered. "Then it would seem as though we'll be ready by early tomorrow if we keep up a fast pace, correct?" Hoar continued. "Actually, more than half of the force we'd be taking is already assembled; it'll be a matter of hours," Paris replied.

"Even better for us all, I think. Better to catch the Emperor by some surprise and have a good fight than to have no surprise and enter a slaughterhouse," Hoar stated. "You always had a knack for words that I think I'll miss," Paris agreed. Hoar shrugged and proceeded to prepare his few belongings for his final journey with the Zaarin insurrection and with his life.

Arden, my time is almost ended. My debt is almost paid to you for saving my life all those years ago Hoar told himself quietly. As he packed his rifle and his gaffi stick, he noticed another weapon he had almost completely forgotten about and it was one that had been a gift for him. This weapon was a darksaber that had once belonged to Mandalorian Pre Vizsla and even Darth Maul.

Shortly after the Emperor had explained where it had come from and bestowed it upon him, Arden began training him in Shii-Cho lightsaber fencing. The reason for this was that she wanted Hoar to be able to defend himself at least reasonably against someone armed with a lightsaber. Smiling beneath his mask, he packed this weapon in a compartment of his cloak where it would be well-hidden. However, this compartment had an additional benefit in that he could reach for it immediately if he had to use it against another lightsaber-wielding warrior.

With the decision in handy settled, he simply waited until he was informed by Paris that the fleet was ready. Was Hoar afraid to die? Sure, everyone who ever lived had been afraid to die when it came time to do so. But Hoar marched onto join Paris knowing that his fear of death would not consume him... rather, it would drive him to perform well in his last hours of life and die valiantly against anyone.

Kadann knew it was only a matter of time before Arden Lyn arrived on his doorstep in Bosthirda. She had telepathically informed him that she had arrived at Korriban and would be finding a transport to Kadann's new homeworld from there. It would only be a couple hours, at most, before she arrived and another hour or so before the cab brought her to the Temple. So when he calculated that she was only half an hour away, he made his way to the base of the temple stairs.

He even made arrangements for a stretcher to accommodate Arden's heavy pregnancy, knowing she would never be able to climb up the stairs without hurting her unborn child and herself. When she arrived twenty-four minutes later, Kadann greeted with a smile and a bow. "It's great to see you again Kadann though I wish it was under less desperate circumstances," she stated. "I'm already prepared to provide you sanctuary for the final months of your pregnancy if you need it," he replied.

"And I'm guessing that you'll be demanding a price for sanctuary during those months, am I correct?" she asked. "Only for any months you wish to stay beyond giving birth, such as the months needed to wean your child off breastfed milk," he answered. "Perhaps I can offer payment of a sort: the sources of recording I've read on the First Great Schism are either incomplete or inaccurate. I'm the only eyewitness to the events of the Schism and know the events before very well," she suggested.

Kadann thought about that carefully, mentally admitting that what she said was right about the incompleteness and inaccuracy of the sources surrounding the era of her early days. I could use a more detailed and accurate picture of what those days were like he thought quietly. "Very well, I could allow you to have sanctuary for that price. Is there anything else besides that, you can offer?" he asked.

"I can teach your pupils how to garden whilst carrying my child through the last three months. There were times in Tython when I had to help grow gardens in exchange for a portion of the products. Besides, I think you guys could use a little more of an independent food supply if you want to hide yourselves from the galaxy any deeper," she suggested. Kadann smiled and chuckled: for all his ability in premonition, Kadann sometimes had a lack of understanding of present needs.

She makes a very valid point however, if I want to be fully independent from any major governments in the galaxy then I am going to need to have gardeners grow our food. Hm, perhaps I can use this to bargain for a little more as well Kadann thought, smiling. "Throw in Terras Kasi training-after you give birth-for my bodyguards and you have yourself a deal," he said aloud. "How did I know you were going to ask that out of me?" she teased him.

"I have a stretcher ready to carry you up the stairs. Your room is ready and we will be having supper in a few hours, it would honor me if you would join us. By the way, would you mind me saying that you could use a less cumbersome mechanical arm?" he replied with a smile. Arden examined her right arm and had to admit that it did have a little unnatural heaviness to it which was discomforting.

"Do you have the parts for that to be possible?" she asked. "I wouldn't offer it if I didn't have the equipment to give it to you," he answered. "Is there a price for this too or is it on the house?" she inquired. Kadann chuckled, humored by what Arden Lyn had asked but reminded himself that he had already demanded enough of her.

"No, this one will be on the house. In fact, I can even arrange to have it prepared and applied to you while you wait for supper," he offered. "That would be most excellent, Supreme Prophet Kadann," she replied with a smile. As she was beared away by the subordinates of Kadann who carried the stretcher, Kadann watched in admiration of the surprising amount of strength that she showed.

For six months, she had lived on nothing but insects, small animals, earned portions from farming families, and money she earned from working-most likely-at the Kalikori Tavern. And yet her baby showed no signs of ill development, not even when he examined it through the Force. She has done amazingly well for herself in the environment that Tython offered a woman like her he thought. It was the truth, any other pregnant woman would not have survived more than two days without her man.

Still, he had to wonder why she deserted the father of her child or if he had told her to leave. Maybe he had deserted her rather than the other way around, maybe it had even been an unprotected one-night stand. He decided it was for the best, in the end, to not bother with the details of how she got pregnant but it still fascinated that she had been able to survive Tython when it would kill all others. I'll ask her how she survived at suppertime, might make for some interesting conversation he vowed.

"Is it really wise for us to help her as much as you have offered to give her?" Jedgar asked him when they were alone. "You are starting to sound like the stereotypical Dark Jedi or Sith Lord, Jedgar. We Prophets have the objective of helping anyone who asks us for their help as much as we can. Especially if that someone was able to stand up against the Emperor and live to tell about it like Arden has," Kadann answered.

"She deserves our respect because of that?" Jedgar inquired. "Precisely: she didn't kill him but she defeated him in fair combat. Of course, we have to pay her according respect," Kadann explained.